Enhancing awareness through Zanshin: In order to avoid or effectively manage interpersonal conflict (including potential violent assaults on your person), it is necessary to develop zanshin, the ability to live fully in each moment so you may be always aware of your environment. Zanshin is the ability to concentrate fully when necessary, ignoring all distractions. Zanshin is an important concept in all martial arts and life in general. Developing Zanshin Through Focused and consistent Karate training:
This Zen Buddhist concept can be further developed by practicing the following habits on a daily basis wherever you find yourself:
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: The practice of environmental scanning may seem a bit paranoid, but it will eventually become an unconscious habit and may some day save your life. As well, it occurs in your mind and is a private practice. Below is a practical example of Zanshin in daily life: A karate student boards a crowded bus and sits down. Almost immediately, another person sits behind them and begins muttering obscenities to no one in particular. The Karate student smells alcohol from the person and senses that they might be mentally unstable. The karate student is torn between the desire to stay comfortably seated and the more sensible choice of taking a standing position behind the other person. The Karate student rises and moves to the back of the bus, far from the obscenity-muttering person. This simple act resolved an unpleasant scenario in a simple manner with the least effort. Further, they are now in a position to monitor the behavior of the potentially unstable person, thus protecting themselves and possibly others. Fight or Flight - the Psychology/Physiology of Confrontational Situations: All potential violent encounters are predicated to a greater or lessor degree on the concept of fight or flight. Both you and your attacker will be affected by the fight or flight response. Fight or Flight is a physiological/psychological response to a threat. During this automatic, involuntary response, an area of the brain stem will release increased quantity of NOREPINEPHRINE which in turn causes the ADRENAL glands to release more ADRENALINE. This increase in Adrenaline causes faster heart rate, pulse rate, respiration rate. There is also, shunting of the blood to more vital areas, and release of blood sugar, lactic acid and other chemicals, all of which is involved in getting the body ready for fighting the danger. Training to Overcome Limitations of Fight/Flight Reaction : Some individuals are naturally assertive and aggressive but most of us, especially women; are hesitant to perform a violent act, even in self-defense. However, everyone can learn to defend themselves effectively. The greatest liability to a person in danger is hyper vigilance, which is a fear-induced state of paralysis. This response can be managed using the following methods:
Warning Signs of a Potential Violent Assault: The person who attacks you may be intoxicated, mentally-disturbed, seeking to rob you or just plain nasty. While the following warning signs are not fool-proof, they do provide a reasonable way to assess a potential threat. Being aware provides you with an opportunity to either exit the situation or prepare for self-defense. A person about to attack you may exhibit:
Legal Aspects of Self-defense: Advance warning of a potential violent attack on you or another person is the key to effective self-defense. Unlike police officers, regular citizens must wait for an attacker to actually initiate a physical attack before they can act in self-defense. Under Canadian law, a pre-emptive strike is considered assault and trained martial artists may be held to a higher standard of care than an untrained person. It is a fine line to tread and the key factor is the level of force employed. In self-defense, only the minimum use of force is allowed to protect you or another person. The level of reciprocal force allowed operates on a sliding scale depending on the seriousness of the threat to your health and safety. Zanshin will assist you in interpreting the intentions of a potential attacker. Ultimately, it is a matter of personal judgement. Five Stages of Violent Crime: once you establish that a potential violent attacker possesses the ability and opportunity to attack you, look for these elements in their behavior:
HABITUAL ACTS OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE (HAPV): According to researcher Patrick McCarthy, humanity has always had to deal with the phenomenon of HAPV. He has theorized that martial arts techniques evolved from the necessity of dealing with these acts of violence. As well, since most HAPV are perpetrated by untrained individuals, they are unlikely to be familiar with the techniques being used against them. This fact increases the effectiveness of proven techniques. According to my research the following list represents the most common HAPV likely to occur in Canada. Because of general cultural similarity, this list could also also apply to other Western industrialized nations like the U.S., Germany, France, etc. HAPV: MAN vs MAN (in tentative order of likelihood)
Type of Attackers:
MOST COMMON HAPV: MAN vs WOMAN (in tentative order of likelihood):
* all of the above may occur in a domestic situation, as a simple HAPV or as a prelude to a sexual assault Types of attacker:
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