Help

One of the biggest obstacles in self-defense is that during emergency situations, most of us subconsciously rely on some kind of help appearing at the last minute to save us during our time of need. We subconsciously expect that help will come from somewhere – law enforcement, a good samaritan, or maybe the mercy of the attacker. Most of us have this feeling, and it weakens our intent and our will to survive and prevail. We need to train ourselves to rely on our own actions.

So how do we do it? Having awareness of this inclination is a start, then comes the guided training, where one needs to train under stress. Theoretical training is simply not enough. Learning physical techniques is not enough. One needs to train under stressful circumstances. Not to learn to overcome stress, but to get used to functioning under it. This behavior is applicable not only in self-defense, but also in emergency situations like natural disasters and riots.

Relying only on outside parties or institutional organizations to help and protect us is ineffective, as was seen at the riots in Oakland, CA earlier in July, and this week in Huntington Beach, CA*. Some individuals got physically hurt and many businesses experienced property damage. The police cannot be everywhere at all times, and with politics at play, we can easily find ourselves alone facing the problem.

Preparing for a natural disaster includes buying the proper equipment. The same is required for other unexpected disasters, such as preparing for a riot by sealing your personal property whether it is your home or business. So like most of the important things in life: Help should start from the self.

– Danny Zelig

* US Open of Surfing riots in Huntington Beach (with video) – Shop owner’s account of the event