When we think of self-defense, much of the time we portray ourselves as an empty handed defender striving to overcome a weapon wielding attacker. However in this day and age, never knowing if, when, or how we may be attacked, should we consider using a blade to defend ourselves? This question should never be taken lightly. Just as we train not to injure our opponent with our hands, we should also train, if we are going to use one, to be proficient enough with a blade as to inflict minimal damage.
At our school when we train our younger students to defend against sharp pointy things, one of the first questions we ask is, “Has anybody ever had a paper cut?”
The answer is usually a unanimous “Yes!”
The second question would be, “Did it hurt?”
Another unanimous “Yes!”
Knowing that a simple paper cut can cause pain and discomfort leads us to wonder how much of a wound do we need to inflict to dissuade an attacker. Most times when we discuss defending ourselves with a weapon we talk of the legal ramifications. What are the consequences of defending ourselves? Will we go to court? Will we go to jail?
The quick answer to both of these questions is, yes you will end up in court, and you will end up in jail whether it be for a day or years is dependent upon whether you can make bail and how good your lawyer is. Of course it would be in self-defense, but still that is not up to the police to decide, that is up to the judge to decide.
But that is not why we train for anything. If we do use our martial skills our intent must be pure in whatever aspect we use them. We should never think of ourselves when using our martial skills other than the fact that we should be trying to get home to our loved ones. Now let us take it a step further and say that our loved ones are the ones being threatened and assaulted.
Should we or could we hesitate in doing everything in our power to protect them? I do not believe that anyone that calls themselves a true martial artist would even wait a second before acting.
Now for the real kicker, the moral and emotional ramifications of self-defense with a blade, or any weapon for that matter, how are you going to feel afterwards? This single thought should not dissuade you from defending your loved ones and yourself, but perhaps it might influence how harshly you retaliate on your attacker, there are many factors that we must take in in a split second.
So what is the answer? The answer lies in the secret of the martial arts, and the secret of the martial arts is there is no secret. No secret besides training, training, training. Bring your mind body and spirit into harmony. Ok. I know these seem like strange words coming from someone who talks about using blades to defend ourselves. But if we have the forethought of when, how, and how much we need to use the blade, then everyone, even the bad guy, will be better off.
And that only comes through training.
"One of the greatest things in the martial arts is the transmission of knowledge to the next generation." - Tashi Mark Warner
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