With a client today we were talking about a bachelor night he organised for his brother with one of the events being kickboxing. He showed a few videos and there was a mix of skills there and the trained held back on the untrained. 

<div class="pull-left">https://i.imgur.com/K1DUCI4.jpg</div>This lead into a conversation about self-defense and reminded me of a conversation I had with my wife a little while ago when getting some feedback on a post topic. As you may be aware, I have posted a few times about violence, especially against women. My interest in this has increased since the birth of my daughter.

The simple question I asked my wife was: Have you ever hit Somebody as hard as you can?

She told me that she used to go to boxing training and of course there she hit the bag. That is not the question I asked however.

Most women (and many men) have never hit somebody with their full force and I think that everyone should train this. Obviously not by going on to the street to pick a fight but there are enough places where it is possible to get some instruction and practice without having to become an MMA fighter.

The reason I asked my wife was I was thinking what it may be like to be a wife in an abusive relationship. I am not a big guy but weigh literally double that of my wife. If I wanted to overpower her, there is very little she would be able to do about it. Of course, I would not do this under any circumstances to her or any other woman for I am a man, not a woman-hating, mentally disturbed fool. 

But, if she was to get attacked, she has very little chance to overpower a man and her only real options are to run or the element of surprise. And one such surprise is being able to deliver a blow that will stun someone enough to open  the space for the possibility to run.

I am not expecting she will ever need to do this but there are other factors to consider like the sense of fear. If my wife has taken the time to think about this, train and have an understanding of how to react to and assailant, she is more likely to be aware of such possibilities and be more confident in herself.

If she feels that she is entering into such an environment where it may be necessary to defend herself, she can recognize early and maybe be able to avoid it. But, if she is forced into this type of situation, she can start mentally and physically preparing to do all she can to control all she can.

Most men underestimate how hard a trained woman can hit. I don't mean gym training, I mean trained to hit fast and hard. The person looking to assault a woman is likely to pick a target that he thinks he has an upper-hand over. This underestimation is where surprise is most devastating and if rather than being submissive, the woman looks to do maximum damage quickly, she can.

But, she has to understand what is really at stake and realize that there is no holding back at this point. Without training, that is unlikely and what is more likely is that fear will freeze the body when it is necessary to move.

This is of course worst case scenario but unfortunately all too common in this world. There are always those who are broken and dangerous and there likely always will be. I think every woman should should train for worst case. I think the training alone would be empowering to somebody (male or female) and if consistent, there are a whole range of health benefits both physical and mental.

When I train my clients in business and personal skill development, I look to value add and kill as many birds simultaneously as possible. When I go to the gym, I try to train practical use of the body so it functions well overall, not just so it can bench heavy weights. I think training should generally have a practical application and there is none more than defending life.

At some point, we will find a place we can train here and put on some gear so she can learn to hit anyone that means to do her harm as hard as possible and make them as sorry as she can for choosing her and so hard they will never want to target another. In time, she may be able to teach our daughter herself.

Taraz
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