Reasons to Take Self Defense

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By Kent Ninomiya Ninomiya
eHow Contributing Writer

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There are many reasons to take self-defense lessons. The most obvious is to protect your personal safety from those who want to cause you physical harm. Self-defense training also provides many more benefits. It helps you stay physically fit, gives you confidence and helps focus the mind and spirit. Since you never know when you might need to defend yourself, it is a good idea to be prepared by taking self-defense classes.

History

There is a long history of ordinary people studying self defense. The martial arts are designed to help students defend themselves against much larger and stronger attackers. The idea is to use the attacker's aggression against him and focus on vulnerable parts of the attacker's body. Doing this negates any size or strength advantage. Self defense can be learned by anyone. In a life or death situation, it could save your life.

Considerations

You may find yourself in a situation where the safety of others is at risk. Protecting your own safety is important. Protecting your loved ones is even more important. Knowing a few self-defense techniques could be all that is needed to neutralize an attacker long enough for your loved ones to get to safety. If you are not studying self defense for you own sake, do it for those you care about.

Significance

Knowing how to fight gives you the confidence not to fight. Many lifelong martial artists have never used their self-defense skills in real life. This is because they know they don't have to. Confidence allows you to stand up to a bully. Often that's all it takes to scare them away. Bullies look for weak people to victimize. Self defense makes you strong and aware. It trains you to avoid potentially dangerous situations so you are less likely to be a target for crime.

Function

Taking self-defense lessons is excellent exercise. While you are learning to save your life, you are also improving your body, controlling your weight and releasing mood-enhancing endorphins in your brain. Self defense makes you healthy and happy.

Effects

Focus and concentration are important elements of self-defense training. A calm mind is an effective mind. The holistic lessons learned in self-defense training translate to other aspects of your life. Knowing that you can accomplish self-defense techniques with your body and mind will encourage you to reach new heights at work, at home and with other people.