Psychology in self-defense

Course description:

An important workshop focused on a deep understanding of conflicts, violent behavior & situational threats, taking into account various factors that one has to be aware in a very short instant. Having this knowledge strongly increases the chances for making the right decisions and taking the right behavioral actions in particular „problem situation setup“

Course topics overview:

Part 1: Analysis

1. “Seeing & reading” pre-conflict phase
2. Stages of problem situation evolvement
3. Psychological and behavioral mechanisms ongoing in the background of violence and conflicts
4. Mental and behavioral prevention as a key to avoid violence triggers
5. Personal security & situational awareness

Part 2: Synthesis

1. Decisions in the situation of threat or violence
2. Behavioral defense methods designed to deal with developing violent situations and conflicts
3. Case studies: learn from the real situations
4. Stress reaction and its regulation

If we are vigilant, aware and action capable, it is normally possible to stop the fire in its inception. However, if we do nothing, we may face the fire, which we will no longer have under control and it will evolve to unstoppable catastrophe with devastating consequences.

Elimination of fire hazards is our automatic and natural reaction and most people instinctively prevent fires (this is prevention!), or can the fire inception eliminate by immediate reaction (this is behavioral action!).

But can we likewise think, react and act in the initiation of conflict or attack? How do we eliminate the triggers of violence? How are we able to act in the situation of threat?

It is necessary to understand that the combat self-defense by its character is the last inevitable option for solving a threatening situation. Therefore, the use of combat techniques precedes:

1. Knowledge of prevention principles and the clarity of the mental „set up“. This is the first key to avoid problem situations & violence triggers
2. Skill to analyse: „Seeing & reading the pre-conflict phase“, that means the capacity to see many hidden and ongoing behavioral and psychological mechanism in the background and foreground of the problem situation
3. Tactical behavior and behavioral defense methods of solving problem situations and inceptions of violence. In layman's terms this is a „psychological self-defense“

The defender behavioral solution is based on more pillars, but the key tool is the skill to analyse. You really need to get an insight into the situation. And the more variables you can see, the highest are your chances to response to the situation properly.

For example, can you read aggressor's mo­tivation? Can you read the intention? Can you estimate the social background from which is the he coming from? Can you read his psychological strategy? (of course he also has a strategy, but sometimes this is only manifested in attackers subconscious behavior).

Is he an individual aggressor or is it a group where a strong social dynamics will take a place. Is the incident taking place in public with potential allies, or we are in dark park with no one around?

Furthermore, the situation of threat has particular stages of its development. We will talk about them in detail on the workshop. A person in defense can clearly see these stages, and act upon that behaviorally. But the behavioral defense action within each stage would be usually different. And we can continue…

In the end, one should realize, that the defender is also a human. The more you can read, the more open the door for solutions. The more factors you know, the higher is your chance to prevent, to avoid, or to de-escalate the conflict.

Both combat self-defense and behavioral self-defense are options for dealing with the threat or intended violence. The first might turn out brutal and is thus dangerous for both sides. Should be used when inevitable. The second is what makes us inteligent.

Behavioral strategies are very similar to a „chess encounter“, where the know-how of psychological principles and behavioral strategies can modulate the problem situation outcome in favor of defender strongly."

From the point of self-defense, defender's approach should be a violence prevention at first place. If we have noticed that we are just on the doorstep of the situation with risk of physical attack, in most of the cases there is a high chance to avert it, whether as a man or women.

In fact, the way of defender's behavior and communication (verbal & non-verbal) forms a strong determining factor which is responsible for direction of the next course of the events: What can be either further „escalation & graduation“ into the attack or „de-escalation & pacification“ of the problem situation.

There are particular methods that can be applied: We call them behavioral defense strategies or simply behavioral self-defense. We talk about them in detail on our lectures and workshops.

After years of analysis and discussions with psychologists, other martial art instructors and the police & military experts we have made conclusion, that behavioral defense strategies can by applied in most of risk situations with the success of averting violence up to 95%. And that is the really high number.