Fight On

There are many paths to take in self defense. Some choose jiu-jitsu, some boxing, and some practice a multitude of martial arts to encompass all training offered.

Some may say one of these is better than another but the best path, the most important path someone can take in taking care of themselves is battling the fear to train at all. Some people have never had a self defense lesson in their life and get attacked. Many people train for years without ever having to utilize their skill-set. Each of these people battles a unique fear; whether to train at all or to train everyday with the fear that they could have to use their skills one day.

To get personal, my self defense training has taken me to a place I have battled for many years. Whether you fear training or you fear not being trained, we each have our demons we must overcome. This semester I faced many of those demons but darkest and hardest of all was getting on the mat and learning jiu-jitsu.

Healing trauma and scars from the past can only happen when we face them, when we dance with our demons. That’s what jiu-jitsu has been for me and what many self defense disciplines are for other people.

(Photo credit to author. No, I’m not biting him.)

Training after you’ve been assaulted has a different feel than if you do it with a preventative mindset with no real world experience. Some positions are harder to be in when you’ve been there before. You not only have to learn how to escape and understand the “science” of it but you have to learn to sit with the discomfort of knowing what it’s like to NOT be able to escape.

Learning to protect yourself isn’t just a workout or a way to look cool, it’s a gateway to healing, to true change and to walking the path towards your best self because you do the things you always thought you couldn’t do.

Sit down with your fears. Write them down, describe them in detail. Stop pretending they don’t exist and admit to yourself what lies in the darkest corners of your mind. And then take that list and work on one. Work at it one step at a time, one inch at a time until it no longer controls you. Some days will be easy and some days will take all the strength you have. Start now to control your fears or they will continue to control you.