Since I started training martial arts many years ago I have seen one common theme demonstrated by practitioners- that of really wanting to teach a bad guy a lesson, to really tune somebody up, kick an assailants skull in or some similar mindset. In a nutshell, they want to put into practice what they have learned in order to physically and mentally dominant (read as overpower and destroy) an aggressor.  As a matter of fact, I recently read an article by a some-what popular self defense instructor, who came home to find their apartment burglarized.  In turn this person openly admits to wishing they could have caught the perp in progress so they could “open a can of whoop-ass on them.”  To that I say, what in the world are you thinking?  Do you have a death wish?   

If you really take a second and analyze this scenario, let’s ask a few relevant questions.  When you got to the apartment did they know how many people were in the there? (Answer. No.) For the sake of argument let’s say there was only one, can you say for sure the perp did not have a gun? (Same answer. No.)  If you found them “in the act” what do you think that person would have done to keep from getting caught? (Answer- anything and everything including fighting you as hard as they can.  Keep in mind criminals do not want to get caught, identified and don’t care about the law.) In short, that can of whoop-ass can cost you your life.  To be blunt, if that instructor had any sense of what to do- they would not go in the apartment but call the cops.  Let them handle it.  Misplaced bravado and a tough-guy “I can beat anyone” attitude can get you seriously hurt.   All of this chest thumping and ego stroking may sound good in training halls, but in reality things get complicated.  If we continue with our apartment scenario let’s pretend we did find the perp in action, we worked our magic and kicked their tush up-town, downtown and all-around and won the day. Then what?  After all the adrenaline subsides another interesting phenomenon occurs, something called “fallout”.

Fallout occurs when our brains realize what we have done- that of seriously harming another person. It is the trauma some people experience when they realize what they have done to another person.  I tend to believe that it is unnatural for people to want to hurt each other.  Boxers, mixed martial artists and professional fighters aside, most people do not want to knowingly injure another person.  But this is where the conundrum starts…. how can we defend ourselves against an attack if we don’t use force for force?  Or put another way– most popular self defense programs teach you to punch, kick, scratch, bite, eye-gouge or “do what must be done” to get out of a situation but what if that does not fit into our moral framework.  True I agree with using brutal tactics to a point, but only as a last resort. What if there was another way?  What if, or is it possible to defend yourself and NOT hurt the aggressor?  The answer is yes.

There are two martial arts styles that I have focused on, the first being Aikido and the second being Systema.  Both styles share a re-markedly similar trait,  that of non-destruction.  Non-destruction is, in layman’s terms, continually knocking an aggressor down until he realizes that every time he gets up you knock him down… he will eventually get the point.  And every time you knock him down it is done in such a way that you do not permanently damage the person.  To go one step further, we’ll look at both the Aikido and Systema philosophy. In Aikido we are taught there are four levels of aggression and that you have an ethical duty to mankind NOT to damage another person, no matter what they are trying to do to you.  The four levels of aggression:

• One person (A) walks up to another person (B) and kills them outright.  Ethically this is the lowest form of aggression.  Killing another person unprovoked
• The second level is one person (A) walks up to another person (B), provokes them through some means (taunting, chatter, etc) and kills them (A kills B). Still not good or very ethical
• The third level is person A walks up to B.  A provokes B and B kills A.  When B kills A it is ethically more defensible but not the optimal solution.  In the above cases someone gets killed
• The fourth (and most desirable) level is when A walks up to B, provokes B and in return B defends themselves with such skill as to not harm A

This fourth level is the best from an ethical and psychological standpoint.  The person defending themselves handles the situation in such a way that the aggressor is not hurt (ethical) or seriously injured therefore lessoning the chances of psychological fallout (trauma that follows conflict).

In Systema we are taught a similar principle. One of the topics to consider is that some view fighting as morally wrong and that we should not physically engage with another person, despite what may happen to us. In truth, fighting is only morally wrong when there is pride and aggression in it, or if it contains hatred, revenge or callousness, when the causes are greed, vanity, envy, desperation and other such vices. Otherwise, if it is fighting for defense, for rescue – it is a sin not to fight and let your loved ones get hurt or killed or have your country destroyed. Therefore in Systema an overriding principle is one of non-destruction. The goal is to make sure that your training or practical application do not damage to the body or the psyche of you or your partners or attackers.  If we operate in such a way, we are morally free from any condemnation, fallout and in the end our conscious will be at ease knowing that we did “do what we had to do”, but not at the expense of another individual.

When looking for a self defense class make sure that the instructor does not adocate total destruction of an opponent, this is not something you want to get involved with.  If you would like to read more about finding a school please click here: finding a good school