Self Defense Vs. Self Offense
An important skill set in any altercation is to know when to stay and fight and when to walk away. Something we teach all of our students is to know when to use self defense and when to find another Adult to help. If they are in a situation alone with an aggressive adult, and the adult is coming at them, then it’s best that they fight and run away the first chance they get. As it is more likely that the adult will eventually over power the younger child. By learning to read the situation correctly and watching for the signs of an aggressive person or predator then they can try to keep themselves out of that situation in the first place. As a martial arts dojo we do teach offense, teaching the kids to be confident with their skill set enough that if the situation arises they are able to fight off a bully or aggressive adult. However, we mainly focus on self-defense. We also make it a point to explain to the students that when learning martial arts, this skill set when applied can cause damage to another person, so it is important that they do not bully other kids, animals or even other family members. We discourage bullying anytime we hear or see it happen, as that is not acceptable. Overall, knowing when to use martial arts and when not too is important. Explaining that to our students is one of the very first things taught and is brought up multiple times through out their journey to black belt. Being a black belt isn’t just about physical strength and skill, but also about character.