Practice Makes Perfect
Last week I wrote how I love football. There’s something so raw about these guys going out there and leaving all they have on the field. The best players throw themselves fully into the game as if they were indeed fighting for their lives. Seeing as football is such a big part of their life; they probably feel like they are, but that’s a whole different point. The real point is that in order to make for an exciting three hours of football watching for me, my teams go out to practice all week long; for hours each day. Why? Because they have to learn new plays and perfect the play that they have been taught ever since spring training.
You walk in self defense is no different than the walk professional athletes take to perfect their shot, throw or batting average. With practice, you will always be prepared for anything. Complacency leads to danger. Period.
This is true for those who have learned martial arts or are currently learning martial arts. Whether you are learning for sport or learning martial arts to gain personal awareness and safety; you’ve got to practice on a regular basis to ingrain all the movements into your brain. This is something that everyone knows and understands; and yet most people will, at some point in time, become a little complacent when they have learned just enough.
Whatever style of martial arts or self defense training you are in, it’s good to grab a martial arts DVD that can help you practice at home (or self defense DVD, whichever you are studying). When you keep a martial arts DVD on hand at home, you are reminding yourself to practice moves, even if you know them very well. By having tools at home, you set yourself for success in your art.
Why practice at home? Why use a martial arts DVD or self defense DVD? It’s really very simple. I have a friend who is retired Special Forces. When he was active, he was always on guard. Out and about in his home town, even, he would let people only so far into his personal space. Why? Because he was prepared for violence due to all of his rigorous training.
As I teach in my self defense DVDs, you always want to have your hands above the other person’s hands. Well this isn’t just something you do sometimes; it’s something you do all the time. My friend understood this when he was actively training, and was therefore always safer in public. However, he told me that when he retired, he stopped training. Even after years of knowing what to do to maintain personal safety; he became complacent and gave up some of that safety.
Luckily, he did not learn the hard way by becoming a victim. He simply got back into some martial arts training and realized just how complacent he had become. So, self defense is all about awareness. Keep up your practice even when you get good at your art and you will not become complacent about your personal safety.
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