I once saw a YouTube video of a drunk Canadian, who was arrested and being taken to the local police station. The video went viral, because the intoxicated man, started belting out a queen song. Somehow, he nailed all the words, the thing that struck me the most despite how funny it was. Was when they arrived at the station, the officer (If my memory serves me well) says to the man: “is there anything else I’m going to have to worry about?”
The drunk guy responds by saying “Physical violence is the least of my priorities.”

Think about what he is saying for a moment, his statement goes against a huge part of the current self-defense industry. Where almost every school that claims to teach self-defense, starts with the physical violence first, and very little if not any word about situational awareness and legal aspects of violence.

For me, the more I learn about asocial violence, the more I want nothing to do with violence. I train self-defense, not because I love violence, but because I refuse to be a sheep the day violence comes toward me or anyone I care about. Again, the violence that I’m speaking of is the kind you can’t talk your way out of, nor walk away from.

And here’s the key, most forms of social violence, you can walk away from. That is, if you physically can. I mention that because, if you are in a wheelchair or some other context, you either must get darn good at verbal judo, or you must know when to flip the switch and defend your life.

Let your ego go. In fact, make it take a dirt nap, just because someone insults you, does not mean that you must go and prove what a bad ass you think you are. What happens then, when you walk over to that dude that insults you, and you knock him down only to have him hit his head and die? Or at least brain damage?

Do you have the pocket to pay for legal fees, counter lawsuits and so on? Was it worth it then? Was it worth to spend time in prison? I’m guessing not, plus, most people would regret their actions soon after.

There was a top ranked MMA fighter, who was said to be known for going around sucker punching people. This disturbed soul also claims to have the best sucker punch in the world. As of result of actions, his dumb ass got arrested. MMA coaches/gyms surely could do a better job instilling values into their fighters or at least laying out what they will not tolerate, because in all honesty it sets a bad precedence for the coach and gyms.

The moral of the story is this, violence should be avoided until it cannot be avoided any longer. We need to think more deeply about what we are being taught, and what is being taught to us. If you’re considering taking self defense classes (which you should) if all that is being taught is deadly force, you probably should reconsider. If all that’s being taught is how to break an arm, or take someone’s vision away, you might want to find another school.

There is a time for deadly force, but often, there is a scalability involved. Simply meaning that not all situations call for a level ten response. Sometimes compliance and restraining a person is all that’s needed.

Train smart, engage your mind, don’t let your ego dictate your actions, make violence the least of your priorities.