Self-Offense vs. Self-Defense

In all honesty, the term self-defense is something of a misnomer. Technically, self-offense is what you really want. The problem is, self-offense is 10 times harder to market, everyone wants to hear about self-defense. It just sounds nicer. When most people hear offense, they picture the aggressive, black mask-wearing bad guys. Going on the offense in the streets is what street thugs with bad intentions do. A good mild-mannered citizen does not want to be one of the bad guys…

Let’s reverse this course of thinking for a minute. Do you want to be chased, or be the chaser? Think about antelopes and lions in the wild. The lion always has the early advantage, and the antelope only needs to be caught once. Then it’s game over. Antelope for dinner.

But what if at the split second the antelope was about to be chased, it decided to turn the tables and fight back? Of course, the lion is stronger and typically has the element of surprise on its side. But what if the antelope unexpectedly and forcefully kicked the lion in the throat? Or gouged out its eyes (suspending the notion that the antelope lacks thumbs)? Hey, the lion started it, and the antelope feared for its life. To get away from the antelope example, and revisit the human-on-human scenario, what if the potentially chased person was armed with a powerful stun gun or pepper spray?

One of the themes we talk about in martial arts, is you want action to action, not reaction to action. As soon someone expresses their intent to harm you, BAM! It is on. Your gears must shift to the offensive and make the creep sorry he ever made the mistake of messing with the wrong person. Whether it’s Wildfire pepper spray, a Master Blaster 95 Million Volt Stun Gun, or a full-on flurry of martial arts strikes, let that attacker have it. Fight back until the threat is stopped, or you can safely get away and call the police.

Take control of the situation, be safe, and be prepared.

Action to action, will not make you a bad guy. It may very well save your life or the life of a loved one. One of the best things you can do is invest in a couple of self-defense products, practice, practice, practice how to use them effectively, and always have them at the ready. There is not a police officer on every corner, ready to come running and save the day as soon as you start yelling. At best, he will be 8-30 minutes away to take the after-incident report long after it’s over.