One question I am repeatedly asked is “Do I really need to worry about self-defense if I live in (fill in the blank, nice neighborhood)? It’s not exactly a high risk area, right?”
Hollywood has done a lot to condition our psyche with respect to when to feel threatened. Dark alleys, ominous street corners in vacated sections of large cities is where all the nefarious action takes place on screen. Swelling music right before the attack is also a great cue. Sadly, real life does not offer us such a simple formula to consider…
Darien, Greenwich, Simsbury or Avon have none of those risks, right? Perhaps not.
What is real, however, is that all residents of these seemingly safe communities, leave those communities at some point for work, college, vacations or business travel. West Hartford and Farmington, for example, will probably never be hotbeds of criminal activity, but as college seniors go away to college, holiday seasons bring day trips to NYC, and business travel potentially takes you to all points on the globe, the ability to feel safe when confronted by the unexpected or the unsavory will be comforting.
Just to be clear, I do not believe in paranoid notions of the “boogie man” being around any corner, but I do believe that knowing what I know has enabled me to walk in any city or be surrounded by “uncomfortable/threatening” elements, and still feel confident that I can protect myself. This sense of peace if priceless.
Even more priceless is the knowledge that, if called to, I could protect my family & my loved ones. I have traveled to many foreign destinations with my family on vacation and was once even confronted by a large, seemingly drunken derelict in their presence. No anxiety or high stress moments followed, as I knew that things would be ok if I just followed my training on how to handle these situations.
All you need to do is watch the evening news to understand that despite all efforts to the contrary, sometimes dangerous situations and criminal activities can take place. These are the reasons I have personally advocated my entire family become trained in Krav Maga. They benefit from being better at handling themselves if confronted, as well as getting a great workout in the process. I benefit by feeling more confident that they are safe when they leave the house.
Investing in self-defense is a bit like learning how to swim. You may not live near the water, but you want to be able to swim in case you ever fall in. Make sure you can defend yourself if you “fall into” a violent encounter. Isn’t your personal safety worth the further exploration of self defense?
