Grit and Empowerment; Developing a Defensive Mindset

Everyone knows that self defense is just about learning a few simple strikes so you can disable an attacker and escape. Right?

Nope. Self defense is about much more than that.

It’s about learning awareness skills so you can see and avoid dangerous situations. (Threat Awareness)

It’s about accepting the fact that anyone, anywhere, including you, can be violently attacked.

It’s about something called “Defensive Mindset.” And it includes acceptance, permission and confidence.

Acceptance

Developing a Defensive Mindset begins with acceptance. Realizing and accepting that…

• evil exists,
• there are evil people in the world,
• anyone can be attacked, including you,
• no neighborhood is completely safe,
• a violent attack can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime,
• you are responsible for your own safety,
• the only way to respond to a violent attack is with violence of your own.

Permission

Defensive mindset is also about giving yourself permission to do whatever it takes to defend yourself, including injuring your attacker, to get away from harm.

Give yourself permission to use violence on your attacker.

Give yourself permission to break bones. To stomp, kick, strike, gouge, bite, twist, rupture, crush, break, dislocate… whatever it takes to stop the attack and get away.

“You have permission to defend yourself. You have permission to be rude. You have permission to act when the scary man reaches for his belt [for a weapon]. You do not need to wait until he draws the weapon or until he points it at you or until he hurts you. You have permission to act.” ~Rory Miller

Let out the warrior inside you.

Confidence

Predators survive by reading people. They are skilled at interpreting body language. They can tell, by the signals people give off, who will be a good victim.

Psychiatrists have found that the right body language will make attackers think twice about approaching you. Keep your head up and stand tall. Make eye contact. Look confident.

Most attackers don’t want to fight. They want an easy mark. They look for someone who appears to be timid and unsure.

“Criminals prey on people that look ‘scared,’ normally the ones that walk around with their heads down and don’t make any eye contact with anyone. If you look like you belong and aren’t afraid to look at them in the eyes the confidence just radiates out of you. The criminals would then fear that you would act on their attack instead of sitting there hopelessly and giving them what they want.” ~Sgt. Alfredo Dean, Aurora Police Dept. as quoted in The Fabulous Girls Guide to Being Fearless by Cathy Steinberg

Radiating confident is almost like having an invisible force field.

Bad guys will always be out there. They hang around, waiting for an easy time to pounce. They favor people who appear weak.

“By walking with confidence and awareness — looking around and keeping your head up and your shoulders back — you will dramatically reduce the likelihood of becoming a target…” ~Meredith Gold, Self Defense Instructor, VIA blackbeltmag.com

Related Post: Are You ready to Defend Yourself?

Remember, self defense does not begin with physical action. It begins in your mind.

• Accept that violence exists and that you can be attacked anywhere and anytime.
• Give yourself permission to do harm to your attacker to save yourself.
• Radiate confidence. Even if you don’t feel confident (consider taking some self defense classes to help boost your confidence).

Value your life and take responsibility for your own defense.

“The most important element in survival, whether in wilderness survival, or combat, is MINDSET. You must make the decision and determination ahead of time that you will prevail and that you will survive… there are no timeouts or do-overs. The will to live needs to be the foundation for the rest of our preparedness or defensive training, whether it’s for a WROL [without rule of law] situation, or everyday self-defense in our current world.” ~Joe Dolio, Tactical Wisdom — Fieldcraft

I would like to leave you with the following thoughts:

“Lions are born knowing they are predators. Antelopes understand they are the prey. Humans are one of the few creatures on Earth given the choice.” ~Patrick Doyle

But… there is a third choice. You can choose to protect the prey from the predator. Be a protector… a sheepdog. Develop a defensive mindset and learn to defend yourself and others.

~Shereen

Join Personal Defense Connection on Tumblr