dyer@vaxuum.DEC (Official Mail of the 1984 Olympics) (03/29/84)
| Defensive Self Defense | At the last Take Back the Night march I went to, there was a group behind me chanting "Fight back! Fight back! No more violence; no more attacks!" More than one of us were wondering about the con- tradiction between "fight back" and "no more violence." Ah, but life wouldn't work without contradiction... Nonethe- less, how is one who's spent most of their life steadfastly opposed to violence of any sort respond to the recommendations for violent self defense in the name of eliminating violence? There are, of course, the old standby answers: don't bring yourself down to your opponent's level, violence only breeds more violence in the long run, escalation rarely leads to peace, etc. I realize the need for everyone to be able to walk around with- out fear of attack. Yet is violence the only answer? I grew up in a violent neighborhood and went to violent schools. I was younger and smaller than my peers, and otherwise not able to res- pond to their violence with physical force. As I grew older, my physi- cal capabilities grew; yet I knew I would never impose violence on any- one because I knew it was wrong. I've never hit anyone in a fight. (I was dragged into a fight in Fourth Grade, but I did not strike my oppo- nent.) I survived by avoiding to be trapped and by running when neces- sary. I still wear tennis shoes; they've saved my well-being, perhaps my life, several times. (Not this pair; previous ones!) And yet, and yet... I have recently suffered the painful exper- ience of watching one man beat up another and I was unable to stop it. The only thing I could do was testify in court afterwards. This is not to say that I think I should have been able to step in and do violence to the aggressor. I agree with Isaac Asimov's saying, "violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." How, then, shall we become competent? The first step, as already mentioned, is to be alert to possible dangers. The sencond step? I suggest the martial arts. I urge everyone who needs to defend themself to learn a martial art. This path to self defense has many rewards: better health, a way of protecting oneself without aggression, and a glimpse into a philosophy that encourages the balance of our (so-called) feminine and (so-called) masculine halves. Though I find myself in less violent circumstances now than I have been in in my youth, I still intend to find training in these arts. I have not yet decided which art to take; I want one that specializes in defensive techniques that uses the aggressor's energy against the aggressor. I would appreciate it if anyone with insights into these arts would mail me suggestions on which art to learn. <_Jym_> | Jym Dyer | DEC Documentation Production Software | Nashua, New Hampshire | | ...{allegra|decvax}!decwrl!rhea!vaxuum!dyer |