Self defense isn’t about empowerment, personal gain, winning, revenge or teaching those who have hurt you a lesson. Those are the motivations of an attacker. Self-defense is about effectively ending an attack, quickly and with minimum damage to yourself. If you have those other motivations, then you aren’t defending yourself, you’re fighting. And if you are fighting, you are just as guilty of misconduct as your so-called attacker, because you are both operating from the same selfish motives.
Marc “Animal” MacYoung is an internationally renowned personal safety instructor, and the author of more than a dozen books and videos on the subject of self-defense, including The Professional’s Guide to Ending Violence Quickly.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 ootek // Feb 9, 2007
Isn’t that a rather hypocritical statement? In a self defense situation the only outcome is someone walking away and someone being carried away and if their another possibility you shouldn’t be defending yourself. Your choosing your own welfare over another’s so yes “self” defense is selfish but what other choice is there?
2 Chris // Feb 9, 2007
You are using “self-defense” as a euphemism for counter-attack. Marc is using it in a more literal sense: protecting yourself from harm, no more and no less.
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