“I’m not a violent person.”
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009I did martial arts for a while, mostly JKD. Nothing serious, no belt or trophies. Anyway, I was talking to a friend about it, and they said something to the effect of, “Well, I’m not really a violent person, so I don’t really have any reason for martial arts.”
That floored me for a couple reasons. Firstly, because I’ve never considered myself to be a violent person, yet I am interested in martial arts. Secondly, because the person misunderstood completely why I, and many hundreds of thousands of others, practice martial arts–and I know they aren’t the only ones.
At some point in their life, many people get CPR training. This can be either compulsory (job-related) or voluntary. It makes people feel good that, if the need arises, they have the ability to confidently step in and render some assistance. It does your heart good to know that you’re at least somewhat prepared to help in a state of emergency. People with CPR training do not walk around with eagle eyes, willing someone to drop because of a heart attack, or to drown, or what have you. They hope the situation never occurs where that particular service is needed, but at the same time they realize that it does occur, and may well happen in their presence. It is because of this that they take the training.
For the vast majority of martial arts practitioners, the thought process is the same. I don’t train with the hope that I’ll be able to drop some fool on my way home; I’m not on the look out for someone to duke it out with. It’s training along the line of CPR: I want to be ready if the situation arises. You don’t have to be “violent” to get martial arts training; you just need to want to be prepared. And the confidence that even rudimentary training can give you is invaluable, and just your posture goes a long way in being a deterrent. Aggressors are predators, and they like easy targets. If you feel prepared, you’ll look prepared, and they will more than likely pass you by. Why would they choose you when there’s a hundred other targets that don’t look as threatening? So, you don’t have to throw a single punch or even confront anyone for martial arts training to get you out of situations.
This can also be applied to concealed pistol carriers. These people aren’t cowboys or buckaroos waiting to squeeze off a couple of rounds at the guy who just knocked over the corner mini-mart. On the contrary, the weight of knowing that you are easily able to terminate a human life is incredibly present, and a concealed carrier’s actions are tempered by this. Remember, these are the guys who have voluntarily applied for a license and are on government lists. They want to do this the correct and above-the-table way. We should feel as safe around them as we do around armed police officers, if not more so. One reason is that civilian carriers do not have a huge political network to cover for them if they mess up; they also know that they are much more likely to be demonized by those around them if there’s a rumor breathed that they are carrying, so they aren’t going to even consider drawing unless it’s absolutely necessary. The fearmongering that is directed at people who are trained in the use of violent force is staggering and completely misdirected.
This article by Vin Suprynowicz is really the reason I wrote this post. Please read it and circulate it. Vote it, rank it up, whatever you need to do. It paints such a vivid picture of where we are at, how history has repeated in the past, and the warning signs that we need to be aware of. I’m not advocating rebellion or anything, and I want to be clear on that. But we can always be more aware of what is going on in the world around us, and what forces shape it.
