Strange. Not even my the majority of my own (past/present/potential) students read my blog, which contains likely far more important information on staying safe than any physical/fight training I can give them, yet the reverse is (as usual, as has been discussed) true. The physical classes are deemed and perceived as far more important to real-world skills than commentaries that actually have to do with the daily reality of things and things that can be immediately-implemented into their day-to-day to up safety levels. Than books I’ve been asked to testify to. Than friends programs I push. Than the page I ran. Safety, risk-assessment, patterns, self-containment (triggers, breathing, state-awareness), mentality/mindset, pre-crime/pre-conflict assessment (“what would you dos” with complex social interactions and sliding-scale escalation of conflict). Truly a case-study that has piqued my curiosity, the inability to see reality for what it is and get over the “fight-only” hump. To see how many ways there are to stay safe, assess risk, avoid violence, manage conflict, communicate, self-control.

There’s a ton of free information out there, that can be incorporated into real-life almost immediately, that ups the safety-factor exponentially, and takes far less physical-investment to achieve. Yet they’d rather pay for the physical avenue that most-often has not a thing to do with any threat they’ll face during the extent of the days. It doesn’t correlate with their patterns, routines, interactions, or environments. As one of colleagues stated the other day, “it’s hard to even give this stuff away.” Indeed. I guess I’ll lump this into the “self-defense conundrum” pile that seems to grow ever-bigger with the days.