Your Intuition for Self Defense

To me self defense is learned best once you find the particular self defense system that works for you. You have to find a system that is adaptable to your body. Studying martial arts since I was 13, it took me years to figure out the form of self defense that worked best for me. That being said, the main focus on self defense should always with out question be, creating a more aware state of mind. It really doesn't matter if you are a black belt and can do all the right moves, but are unable to sense a possible bad situation before you have to resort to defending yourself. You might be thinking that it will take years to develop a 6th sense so to speak.

Not really, I believe that most people already have this ability, but just haven't exercised it enough to be able to use it in practical application. Most of us in our lives have had the feeling that something is going to happen. Many women I have talked to can be very intuitive, so it could be a natural trait that they are more aware most of their lives. This intuition is probably the most valuable tool in self defense. Think about it, if you can sense, that maybe you shouldn't be in the place that you are at the moment and move, you could be saved from plenty of unneeded stress.

Certainly many of the great martial artists have developed this trait from many long hours of training and practice. I believe that intuition should be taught first. Intuition is of primary importance to your survival and it is easy to become more aware. If you relax and begin to really notice how you feel at any given moment you will be developing your intuition. Many of us aren't really thinking about how we feel when certain things happen in our lives. It's time to take notice. Becoming more aware of your feelings can only benefit you.

One of the fun exercises that I enjoy is to have someone stand behind you and attempt to touch you. Close your eyes and say stop before the person actually touches you. Try to notice how you feel at the time when you are wanting to say stop. This may be you connecting to you intuition. If you sense that you are going to be struck you can just move. It's that simple.

A personal example that I have is when one of my family members really never believed that I had studied martial arts for 37 years. They seemed to enjoy saying things that were derogatory about my years of training. This could be because they have never seen me do any sort of martial arts in public, I have almost always practiced in private. One day they decided to pull a sort of mean trick on me. They hid in the garage, which was large and quite easy to hide in. When I entered I had a very strange feeling, so I decided to turn around and leave. As I walked out of the garage I had an even stranger feeling, so I turned around quickly and my first instinct was to punch. I saw my family member flying in the air attempting to jump on my back. This was a very silly thing to attempt because I stepped aside and punched instinctively, splitting their lip open. As they splatted face first on the floor I was shocked that anyone would try something so immature. This person weighed at least 50 pounds more than I did at the time and would have hurt me if they had actually landed on me.

This is a good example of how a little intuition can go a long way in protecting you, so it would be a good idea to get in touch with yourself, It can only help.