Someone recently asked me to cite the 12 points that I thought were most important to understand the correct mental attitude during a self-defense situation. Here’s my answer.1. “Trust your gut.” If you have any doubt, then there is no doubt-something ain’t right.
2. Perfect intention is more powerful than perfect technique. If you have the perfect intention to defeat an enemy, then it is at least possible to defeat an enemy, but if not, then not.
3. Resolve that you are worth fighting for yourself. You are too valuable to allow yourself to die, or to be injured or crippled stupidly. Either you are in control of yourself or others are.
4. Do not deny the enemy’s presence, nor his posturing or threats. Your denial will not make him disappear, but will encourage him that he has found his proper victim. He doesn’t search for a fight, but only a victim; therefore, do not appear to be his prey.
5. Never pause during combat, for any reason, neither to judge your injuries nor your enemy’s. Never stop fighting, except to affect a sure escape or because the enemy is clearly no longer any possible danger to you.
6. Never be provoked or accept the challenge to fight. To do so is to allow the enemy to choose the time and place of the battle.
7. Humans are tool users and, thus, weapons are the first choice for combat. Weapons are always available to the alert martial mind, even if they are not carried on your person. Your best weapon is always your brain and correct mindset. A tire iron, flashlight, knife or gun, sometimes the hard steel of a parked car, your car keys or even a broomstick can be the tool at hand. Yet, first you must put that tool in your mind, and then your hand.
Your first and often greatest enemy always lies within yourself. During any of life’s activities this is true, but in combat it is the world.
8. Your first and often greatest enemy always lies within yourself. During any of life’s activities this is true, but during combat it is the world. There is seldom time to recognize and eliminate this inner enemy during combat; hence, you must do so before you first meet the external enemy. Face your fear and let it go, if you can. Then, when and if you meet the external enemy, you may see that he has failed to do this, meaning he still carries his most formidable enemy within him; thus, you have almost already won.
9. The essence of clarity is found in doing just one thing at a time and only that thing at that time. This is why combat can be so enlightening to the mind, since it absolutely forces this condition upon us. It also purges our subconscious denial of our mortality. If we learn the ways of fighting, then we can learn the ways of humankind. In this way, the world itself is clearer to us. “You can’t beat the river and the mountains don’t care.”
10. When facing the enemy, show no fear, except as a deception to ambush him. Showing no fear is easier than feeling no fear. You don’t want to feel no fear anyway because you must make your fear work for you once the battle commences.
11. Realize that any physical conflict between two or more human beings always has the potential for homicide. Decide beforehand for which of your values are worth killing or dying. Then, try hard to avoid fighting for anything less than these values. Your car or motorcycle is not worth your killing or dying. You and your loved ones are.
12. The essence of real world, effective self-defense is simply learning to deal effectively with aggressive and discordant people in a way that avoids violence. To do this, you must first understand yourself and your internal discords, so you can recognize them and even exploit them in your enemies. Awareness and avoidance are thus the true arts, and they must and can be perfected almost daily.
What one needs, in terms of learning physical fighting skills, is generally less important than the arts of awareness and avoidance. The few physical skills needed are also much more quickly and easily learned for most.
