Eskrima Kombat

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SURVIVAL
SELF DEFENSE FROM A CEREBRAL PERSPECTIVE
“True courage is being afraid, and going ahead
and doing your job ~ General Norman Schwarzkopf . WHAT DETERMINES VICTORY IN A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION? Too often when training in self defense we misunderstand the conditions of “victory.” We see ourselves standing over and subduing an attacker, disarming guns, or knocking someone unconscious.

IN A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION OR A STREET FIGHT THE ONLY CONDITION IS SURVIVAL

SELF DEFENSE OFTEN HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FIGHTING.

It is important to know that in history there are more untrained people who successfully defend themselves than there will be black belts in the martial arts.

Why is this?

Why is it that people who train so hard and spend countless years perfecting self defense can be murdered, and people with no training get away and survive.

The answer is that people, who train on a particular system, rely on their self defense answers from that particular system. Judoka, train against Judo techniques. Kung Fu people train against Kung Fu techniques. Boxers train against boxers.

Let’s say we have a woman who is walking alone in garage parking lot. Two men are following her. She has no training at all, and she is scared. She doesn’t have enough time to use her cell phone because the two men are closing fast. She thinks about screaming, but she wonders if she is afraid that people will ignore her.

We ask a group of martial artists about the situation:

The Judo instructor wants her to throw one attacker into the other, so she can get away quickly.

The Kung Fu Instructor wants her block any oncoming strikes and hit them in they eyes.

The Krav Maga Instructor wants her to kick the first attacker in the groin as soon as he comes close, and then use her keys in the eyes of the second attacker.

SHE DOESN’T DO ANY OF THAT! She finds the nearest fire alarm and pulls it. A loud bell sounds instantly alerting everyone in the area that there is a fire. The two attackers are confused, and then they hear the sounds of sirens growing louder and louder. They realize that fire trucks are approaching. The woman runs for the garage elevator and presses the emergency stop button.

The fact is that all of the respective self defense instructors strategies, MIGHT work. However, they also might have failed miserably because they involve a woman confronting two large men who might be armed. She didn’t use any martial art, she didn’t even fight, yet she survived a situation that could have ended horribly! There are countless stories of people surviving using their INTELECT, INSTINCTS, and INTUITION.