How do you protect yourself?

Simple question pietro_21 on a complex topic.

As you highlight avoidance is best however a hermit like existence is not a practical solution.

Violent self-defence MAY have some legitimacy however for obvious social reasons is non-sustainable both for individuals and society.  As a bit of a disclaimer here for my background I trained for many years in martial arts including being awarded 2 black belts.

So then the issue of defending ones well being from a more complex level than that of physical harm from the obvious forms of attack.

I can give my perspective upon this that I think the answer may be in exploring further too.

Seeking support from others to defend one's own well-being is an important key.

This was something of a seed-change for me to acknowledge as implicit in understanding of my own vulnerability.

Support from others I was very fortunate to have, developing this to be less necessary took a lot of tenacity and energy to do - especially since it takes time to discern who and/or what and/or when works in this respect.

I would say that before I could defend my well-being I also had to gather insight into what well-being might actually be for me - especially since I was coming from a strong sense of "unwellness" that I had lived with for many years

To get to this point required developing skills of analysing my own body for signs of health beyond those of "normal" physical health into gaining "interoception" of correlates with mental states that my body gives insight into.  This then developed into the capacity of increased self-monitoring and self regulation.

I guess what I am saying is that we need help to identify what it is we are missing and from lived experiences work towards strategies that we self generate to be "new" people.

For me it was recognising how my posture, how I breathed etc and from this how such physical frameworks correlated with my mental framework too.

This is the domain of linking the body with the mind and the emotions (and dare one say it the spirit too).  There are many therapies that explore this.  They aren't easy but by my evidence they can be learned.

I believe this helps defend well-being by establishing what it was in us that is resonant with a sense of health and personal values.

I find people who I have known who studied martial arts have a lot of discipline when it comes to emotional control. 
my issue may be forgetting the practical element and looking for a quick fix, even though I follow routines it is my own dissatisfaction at the results, or others behaviours that leads me to states like this.

I think maybe we need to redefine our relationship to the word DISCIPLINE, its not crime and punishment, well it can be, but it's more about training yourself into good habits, which is why people who've studied martial arts can come across as well adjusted, partly its having an outlet for negative emotions, theres nothing quite like a session with a punch bag or kick pads for releasing tension and partly it's because I think it teaches you to see the insecurities and weakness of others and of course knowing you can physically defend yourself helps too.

Yoga or tai chi are disciplines, study is a discipline, music is too, it's anything that you set aside time for, regualarly and don't allow to be disrupted.

I understand there is some interest and practice in late medieval and renaissance martial arts based on  a few books from the period TheCatWoman .

Yes Greco-Roman wrestling may be seen as something of a continuation of the ancient arts ArchaeC 

Devaluing Eastern equivalents? Perhaps.

The arts that have their roots in Taoism are particularly interesting because they come with a philosophy that, to me anyway, goes beyond the pragmatic physical combat element of many others.

Yes, how one carries oneself does make a difference in respect of the choice bullies make about which of the socially different they choose to pick on.  Not appearing vulnerable or indeed constituting a risk to the aggressor makes a difference in this. This at a bit of a balance as one also needs to be aware of "tall poppy syndrome" where standing out too much can draw attention to aggressors too.

So much of it is socio-cultural based upon how much time one has for practice and how risky it is for the elite to have skilled warriors wandering about who might upset the status quo...

Evolution of weaponry also means many arts are lost - or perhaps tactics are kept but shift in the means of their expression.

So, on a lighter note - Morris Dancing?  Hehe the evolution of stick defence?

TheCatWoman said:

One of the things I'd love to know is what Western martial arts have we lost? We must have had them, even quarter staff fighting, why do we devalue that but value the Eastern equalvents?

Does Ancient Greek and Roman wrestling and fighting count? 

Renaissance art scenes illustrate fighting with swords and poles. I did fencing at school and it remains popular in some places. I found it invaluable in helping my posture as I used to try to ‘shrink away’ at school.

He did at first when he was practicing, but when he stopped he became child like, but I think there were far more complex issues going on.

I did bits a pieces of martial arts for a few years, I wanted to learn to defend myself and never be a mans punch bag ever again, it was part of the healing journey for me. I've never had to use the skills I learnt, thankfully, I think peope who've done martial arts often project a sort of confidence that makes others think your more trouble that it's worth to bother you.

One of the things I'd love to know is what Western martial arts have we lost? We must have had them, even quarter staff fighting, why do we devalue that but value the Eastern equalvents?

He did at first when he was practicing, but when he stopped he became child like, but I think there were far more complex issues going on.

I did bits a pieces of martial arts for a few years, I wanted to learn to defend myself and never be a mans punch bag ever again, it was part of the healing journey for me. I've never had to use the skills I learnt, thankfully, I think peope who've done martial arts often project a sort of confidence that makes others think your more trouble that it's worth to bother you.

One of the things I'd love to know is what Western martial arts have we lost? We must have had them, even quarter staff fighting, why do we devalue that but value the Eastern equalvents?

I understand there is some interest and practice in late medieval and renaissance martial arts based on  a few books from the period TheCatWoman .

Yes Greco-Roman wrestling may be seen as something of a continuation of the ancient arts ArchaeC 

Devaluing Eastern equivalents? Perhaps.

The arts that have their roots in Taoism are particularly interesting because they come with a philosophy that, to me anyway, goes beyond the pragmatic physical combat element of many others.

Yes, how one carries oneself does make a difference in respect of the choice bullies make about which of the socially different they choose to pick on.  Not appearing vulnerable or indeed constituting a risk to the aggressor makes a difference in this. This at a bit of a balance as one also needs to be aware of "tall poppy syndrome" where standing out too much can draw attention to aggressors too.

So much of it is socio-cultural based upon how much time one has for practice and how risky it is for the elite to have skilled warriors wandering about who might upset the status quo...

Evolution of weaponry also means many arts are lost - or perhaps tactics are kept but shift in the means of their expression.

So, on a lighter note - Morris Dancing?  Hehe the evolution of stick defence?

TheCatWoman said:

One of the things I'd love to know is what Western martial arts have we lost? We must have had them, even quarter staff fighting, why do we devalue that but value the Eastern equalvents?

Does Ancient Greek and Roman wrestling and fighting count? 

Renaissance art scenes illustrate fighting with swords and poles. I did fencing at school and it remains popular in some places. I found it invaluable in helping my posture as I used to try to ‘shrink away’ at school.