Will It Work?

People tend to be attracted to things that are different, strange, exotic, or flashy; therefore, some people are attracted to fighting styles that are different, strange, exotic, or flashy. Once they began to train in one of these fighting styles, they tend to dwell on its good attributes, while ignoring its bad attributes. Proponents of each fighting style think their style is good for "realistic" self-defense and many think their style is "the best" for self-defense.

What is a realistic self-defense situation?

Since self-defense means having to defend yourself against an attack, it is assumed that you did not cause a confrontation or deliberately enter into a confrontation where you would have to defend yourself, and thus, that you would have had no notice or preparation for the situation. However, the attacker would be prepared for the confrontation by choosing the time and place for the attack and being mentally prepared for the attack. Your being surprised and the attacker being prepared means that in a self-defense situation, one of more of the following factors will probably be present:

• Conditions, such as weather, terrain, time of say, clothing worn, lighting, etc., will not be ideal for you and may or may not be ideal for the attacker, but the attacker chose to attack at the time and location for a reason.
• You may or may not be expecting an attack but the attacker has planned the attack and has prepared for it. You will probably try to end the confrontation as quickly as possible with minimal injury to yourself or damage to your property. Your attacker may also want to end the confrontation quickly but he or she is not concerned about personal harm and is certainly not concerned about harming you.
• You may be thinking about the consequences of defending yourself or injuring the attacker, such as your job, your family, lawsuits, etc. However, your attacker is only thinking about harming you, with no consideration for the consequences.
• While you may not want to injure the attacker seriously, the attacker intends to injure or kill you.

All these factors mean that the attack will be unexpected and will occur at the most inopportune time and place, under the most inopportune conditions. So, will your fighting style work when you really need it?