Positive Mind set.
More important than perfecting your physical skills for self protection is preparing yourself psychologically. This is often overlooked in traditional martial arts training much to the detrement of the practitioner who, when confornted by an assailant will often suffer from the 'freeze syndrome'.
With the onset of fear will come other feelings and sensations such as 'butterflys in your stomach' which is the blood rushing to the core of your body and to the vital organs.
You may also find yourself doing a bad elvis impression as your legs begin to shake this is due to adrenaline coursing through your vains at a fast rate. These feelings can often overwhelm the average person, and can make a person feel like a coward which is not the case. This is nothing more than your body preparing to fight, the endorphins in your system will de-sensitise you againts pain and will make you stronger and faster. You will also experience tunnel vision and auditory exclusion, but this also helps you focus on the threat.
It is vital that you maintain a positive mindset, do not think about all the terrible things an attacker can do to you but focus on what you can do to the aggressor. Mental imaging is a great tool and you can ready yourself by visualising an attack and imagine yourself responding to that attack positively. Do not think about winning or losing but about surviving, which will prevent you from being too overconfident and making bad choices. Try to relax your shoulders, be calm yet assertive and use short sentences as you will find it difficult to talk as the blood rushes away from your brain and you end up with the same IQ as your pet goldfish.
This aspect of self protection will also be covered in class by way of scenario based training and unique drills designed to prepare you not only for the physical aspect of an attack but also the psychological effects.
Train hard and stay safe.
A realted article will be posted soon. In the meantime if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail, message board or by phone. Thank you
