Your body is an amazing creation that can exceed the boundaries of even your own imagination! Don’t believe me? Take a pause here and go over to Youtube. Do a search for “People are awesome” and watch a few videos…I’ll wait. Ok, so you’ve seen some pretty cool stuff if you followed my previous instruction. “But how does that help me with self-defense?” you ask. Well, let’s take a look at some of the ways that fitness can improve your chances of surviving a violent attack.

Vital organ protection:

Think about your body for a moment, where are all your vital organs? That’s right. They are primarily located within the center of your abdomen behind a wall of bone and muscle. This is the absolute best place for them to be! Our bodies are designed to protect the life sustaining organs from impact and even from sharp instruments. When we are born the muscles are weak, and the bone is soft and pliable. However, as we get older, our body strengthens and solidifies the cage around our heart, lungs, and other vital organs. Having a strong core (abs, back, chest) is like building a better cage. Each muscle you strengthen becomes a thicker layer of protection against impact damage. It isn’t a perfect defense, but it does a pretty good job. You want as much protection between you and the threat as possible!

Stamina:

Imagine that you have been attacked in the park, and your attacker is determined to take your life. By some means or another, you are able to briefly free yourself from his/her grasp. Now you MUST escape! However, you used a lot of effort getting free of the attacker to begin with. If you are in poor physical condition, you may be unable to run very far or very fast even with the added boost of adrenaline. The attacker only needs to be a little bit more fit than you are to catch and injure you. Keeping yourself in good cardiovascular condition is an essential part of preparation for a violent encounter.

Agility:

Flexibility is defined as “the quality of bending easily without breaking”. Whether you are in a violent encounter, a car wreck, or just walking on an icy street, the chances of you falling or being pushed/slammed into an unpleasant body position are pretty high. When a human body is tight and uncoordinated, this can cause immediate and irreparable damage. Damage of that sort can lead to an inability to respond to an attack. If you can’t move, you can’t defend yourself. Being able to move in awkward positions can actually give you an advantage over an attacker who believes he/she has you pinned.

Reaction:

Muscles that are used to moving, move quicker when your brain tells them too. Your ability to respond to an emergency is improved when your body is used to high levels of activity. Your neural pathways are improved, and you will be able to react faster to an attacker’s movement. In fact, you can train your body to react to certain triggers without you even having to think about it! This takes a lot of time and repetition, but it can save your life!

All of these things are wonderful to think about, but I know from experience that it can be hard to get motivated even with good reasons. Don’t get wrapped up in the idea that you have to train for HOURS a day to become some sort of gymnast or body builder. Start small… spend 10 minutes a day doing some basic exercises and stretches. Squats, lunges, pushups, crunches/sit ups, all seem like simple things, but you don’t need a full home gym and fancy shoes to make yourself safer and more capable. Try a google search for basic fitness programs. Pick some movements that you can do and start with them. You will find that as you practice them, you will begin to feel better and want even greater fitness. Go strengthen yourself!

*A big thank you to Jeremy Lesniak from Whistlekick Martial Arts Radio for the title to this post. Jeremy, let me know if you ever find out where this quote originated so I can credit it properly.

Check out Jeremy's podcast here: http://www.whistlekickmartialartsradio.com/