Martial Arts Vs Self Defence
MARTIAL ARTS VS SELF DEFENCE
What is martial arts vs self defence? As a Martial artist you have probably come across the debate is martial arts and self-defense the same thing. Let’s take a sneak peak at the difference before we get started.
MARTIAL ARTS
is can be described as consensual violence, which I will dive into later on. Also martial arts has a belt rank system and combines a mixture of modern and traditional arts . The combined practices of combat were practiced for a variety of reasons such as self defence, competition, military training, physical, mentally and spiritually. Each style of martial arts has its own technical skills of strikes, kicks, blocks, defences or take-downs.
Over the years many martial arts styles e.g karate, taekwondo, judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu have been adapted for competition. Intense sparring sessions and kata from karate & taekwondo or the impressive grappling skills of judo or BJJ. Although these styles can be effective for self defence situations. A martial artist needs to have both the physical and mental strength to be able to adapt each technique to make it work in any given situation.
SELF DEFENCE
on the other hand is known as non consensual violence. It is the use of physical force to counter attack or de-escalate an immediate threat of violence. But by law cannot be done by using excessive force, causing serious bodily harm or death.
Despite what many combat sport and traditional sensei’s say there is a distinct different between practicing martial arts and self-defence. While often taught as one and the same, they have fundamentally distinct skills with different objectives and methodologies. This article aims to shed light on these differences, highlighting some of the unique aspects of each practice.
CONSENSUAL VS. NON-CONSENSUAL VIOLENCE
Martial Arts: Controlled Violence
Martial arts is classed as a form of consensual violence where practitioners agree to engage in sparring matches under a set of predefined rules. This controlled environment is designed to ensure the safety of the practitioners while allowing them to practice and demonstrate their technical abilities. These rules include restrictions what types of strikes can be used, targets to the body, weight class, amount of force and usually includes a time limit. There is also the presence of referees who ensures rules are not broken and a sparring match is halted if the practitioner is at risk of serious injury.
Self-defence: Unpredictable and Uncontrolled
In stark contrast, self-defence is about responding to non-consensual violence. Remember there are no rules involved and attackers would use the element of surprise, to make sure you are your most vulnerable. In this situation the primary goal is not to demonstrate skill or win a medal but to protect oneself from any potential injury and escape to safety.
In order to become add these skills into your martial arts training. You need to set up real life simulation of an attack (with safety measures) and see how you would react. This could be done not only with adults but also kids. But using different scenarios for each age group. It is important to get in touch with your fight or flight response. Giving you a chance to adjust your techniques by learning your strengths or weaknesses and improving each time.
MARTIAL ARTS SPARRING VS SELF DEFENCE
Martial arts sparring could be classed as wilful engagement. This because when you spar inside the dojo or for competitive reasons. You are aware of the following.
- You both agreed to the fight and it’s becomes more about winning, rather than causing injury to your opponent. This is clearly shown in competitive arts like Taekwondo, Brazillian Ju Jitsu, Judo and Karate.
- When you’re only focused on winning by using legal techniques allowed in your martial arts system. Also because the fight in stopped after a point has been rewarded you are actually increases the amount of time you fight. By doing this it greatly increases your chances of losing, which you cannot afford to do in any self-defence situation especially when a weapon is involved.
SELF DEFENCE
On the other hand is more of a defensive strategy with goal of deflecting the immediate danger and escaping before another strike can occur. While martial arts uses fancy techniques, like spin kicks etc. In a self defence scenario you would only use some of those techniques. But if used those techniques with excessive force causing grievous bodily harm or death. Would cause you legal problems. Self-defence is an act of survival – not a ‘fist fight’. In a martial arts sparring match you could lose, whereas in a real-life self-defence situation you could die. In other words in self defence you become a survivor not a winner.
Self-defence also differs to a sport / martial arts ‘fight’ or sparring match by missing several things:
1. Awareness – Both parties are fully aware of the fight ahead of time.
2. Preparation – Mental, emotional, and physical preparation is done far in advance.
3. Consent – There will be prior agreement that both people will fight at a specific time and place.
4. Rules / Environment – Safety rules ( no illegal moves, no multiple attackers, etc), time limits / rounds, presence of referee, takes place in a safe environment free of gravel, curbs, broken glass, cars, water etc. All these factors stop someone from being seriously injured or killed.
MINDSET COMPARISONS
The mindset is also different when approaching martial arts vs self defence. Think about this in martial arts training you know you what skills and techniques will be used and you know you won’t get hurt. You know your attacker and you have protective gear like gloves, mouth guard, helmet and mats. Also when you spar it is only a one on one situation where in real life you could have multiple attackers.
You never want a martial arts student having a false sense of security. Often if not taught they will attempt to fight instead of run, believing they can handle themselves. In addition, training could actually interfere with your threat assessment because you are already trained in a particular style.
Especially with younger children as they are training against people of the same age. Not a grown male with way more power and weight ratio . When I started doing martial arts I actually preferred training with guys, because I knew they were who I would need to escape from in a real life scenario. All the guys were so helpful in guidance of how I could adjust and improve my techniques to get better. One of my best sparring partners used to call me his arch nemesis. Because we were always trying to out do each other.
MORE INFORMATION
Self defence we can look at it in 2 different ways. We cannot control how, where or why we are attacked. A perpetrator will try to catch you off guard and when you are most vulnerable. They may have a weapon and as stated before multiple attackers can occur. Environmental factors can come to play such surface tension and confined areas. All these thing’s will affect how you fight, your mindset and chances of survival.
Also if we look at it from a domestic violence perspective. Yes you will know your attacker but now you also have an emotional connection to the person wishing to cause you harm. Maybe your kids are even in the same room and let’s not forget the emotional, mental and physical torment you have been exposed to is not a once off. But has been building and escalating for months or even years.
WEAPONS TRAINING MARTIAL ARTS VS SELF DEFENCE
Martial arts such will teach you not only weapon defence against a gun, knife or stick. But also how to fight with weapons like karate with Bo sticks, Sai and Nunchucks. Let’s remember these weapons are illegal to use outside of the dojo.
Here is Australia it’s basically illegal to carry anything for self defence. Even self-defence keychains can be a grey area. While they aren’t explicitly banned, any device designed to cause harm could potentially be considered a weapon under Australian law. So we need to rely on our martial arts or self defence skills in order to defend ourselves.
In a self defence situation, most of your martial arts training will go out the window if there’s a weapon involved. When I have done knife defence training basics, they teach you how to deflect the knife and disarm. But the problem is that we always trained in a way, where you can always see the knife.
After doing a lot research I discovered that the majority of knife attacks occur when a knife is pulled in the middle of an attack. And are likely to be stabbed at least 3 times before you’re even aware it has occurred.
That is why it’s better that if you are held at knife point for a robbery or car jacking to give the attacker exactly what they want. Phone, wallet, purse, doesn’t matter. These items can always be replaced, unlike your life.
TIMELINE TO EFFICIENCY
Most martial artist systems out there take roughly 5-6 years to earn their Blackbelts. Whereas Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners can take 10 years or more. I was always taught when I started karate that blackbelt is like getting your white belt all over again. As this when the real training begins.
Self defence classes can generally range from a couple of weeks up to a month depending where the classes are held. It is important to remember that just like a martial artist, if you stop training over a period of time your skill set will start to decline overtime. Which can leave you vulnerable if you find yourself in a dangerous situation. I would highly recommend to retake self defence classes once a year, just to keep your technique fresh. Also note both martial arts and self defence requires not just physical ability but a high mental strength.
CONCLUSION
Know understanding martial arts vs self defence is crucial aspect for anyone interested in personal protection and combat training. Martial arts offer a structured approach to learning combat techniques within a rule-based system, focusing on physical skills and mental discipline.
Self-defence, however, is about survival in unpredictable, non-consensual confrontations. It requires a broader mindset and skill level that includes awareness, de-escalation techniques, legal knowledge, and strategies for dealing with multiple attackers or escape. While there is overlap, the distinct nature of each field necessitates a tailored approach to training and preparation in real life scenarios.
WHY I FEEL THIS WAY
A lot of martial arts overtime has become a lot more focused on competing at high levels. Therefore, some of lost the traditional practices of self defence. Self-defence training is far more geared to protecting yourself and loved ones in a ‘street’ context. In addition, no martial art style or self-defence system will ever be able to teach you everything you need to know about the complexities of violence especially when involved in a high risk situation.
The goal is to teach people how to avoid conflict by using mental and physical skills. That allow them to de-escalate potentially dangerous situations when necessary.
And of course, if required to physically defend yourself or your loved ones. I have always said that your instructor can teach a lot of vital skills and a share of knowledge. But it is up-to you as a students to put those skills to practice. By always working out how to improve by adjusting and testing your skills over an over again.
https://theselfdefenceexpert.com
Power of Sparring
