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This article deals with the concept of defending oneself from an attack. For the legal usage, see Self-defense (theory) Self-defense refers to actions taken by a person to prevent another person from causing harm to one's self, one's property or one's home.
Forms of self-defense Self-defense strategies form the basis of numerous martial arts, especially East Asian martial arts, which usually provide self-defense classes as part of their curricula. The 1980's/1990's saw the growth in popularity of systems that are termed 'Reality Based Martial Arts', that are based upon traditional martial artists experience and the techniques, strategeies and tactics that they have employed, or on systems used by Law Enforcement and/or Military Agencies (Such as Commando Krav Maga, the system used by elite Israeli military units.) Many schools of self-defense also teach theoretical strategies aimed at avoiding or defusing physical confrontations. The curriculum for such courses commonly teach positioning strategies and strengthening the defender's self-confidence in front of an aggressor, which is purported to discourage some physical attacks. Some studies, for instance, including those by David Lesak, have shown perpetrators who sexually assault acquaintances test their victims first. The perpetrator will gradually cross the potential victim's boundaries through techniques such as touching or making inappropriate sexual comments. If the victim responds with discomfort or fear his or her intrusive behavior may escalate to sexual assault. Victims who responded to these early tactics with consistent assertiveness avoided rape. Academic studies such as these are of course quite subjective? Scenario-based self defense training Having to physically defend oneself (e.g. blocks, punches, kicks, weapons, etc) should be considered the last line of self-defense, that needs to be used if several other techniques and strategies have failed which can often be much more effective than physical self-defense. Even if one is quite capable of physical self-defense, it is still often best to avoid being in a situation of having to physically defend oneself, because of possible: It is always better to use techniques to avoid or diffuse trouble before it gets to oneself, e.g: Responsibility of application There is considerable debate amongst individuals as to what constitutes an acceptable level of physical force during self-defense. Some individuals prefer a limited pacifist response, while others advocate means up to and including deadly force, such as firearms. In martial art terms, acceptable force is that which is required to prevent the assailent from carrying out further violent actions. Laws vary from country to country as to the level of force one is capable of using in defending one's self from an attacker. A responsible self-defense teacher will teach students to respond with the force necessary to defend themselves based on the situation, lest they find themselves in serious legal trouble. National self-defense In politics, the concept of national or mutual self-defense to counter a war of aggression refers to a defensive war organised by the state, and is one possible criterion in the Just War theory. See also | ||||||||
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