Self Defense - An Art to Be Learned

Self defense is an art of defending oneself from physical harm. It may be considered as a force used in times of danger. An act of self defense may be of two types, unarmed and armed.

The act of defending using body parts is considered as unarmed self defense. This includes various arts of fighting. One of the major self defense techniques is Martial Arts. The individual is subjected to stress and the proper use of gross motor skills is taught to control the stress level and react accordingly. Nowadays, many Martial Art training schools follow the same technique to teach people of all age group the art self defense.

Another type of self defense is an armed self defense wherein the individual is allowed to carry weapons and use them appropriately under self defense situation. Some countries have legalized the use of weapons like knives, firearms, batons for the sake of self defense, whereas some countries issue license for the use of the same. Weapons may be categorized under lethal and non-lethal weapons. Lethal weapons may sometimes be fatal for the users too and hence non-lethal weapons are considered more for self defense. These include pepper spray and stun guns. Pepper spray contains irritating chemicals that can be sprayed directly onto the opponent's eyes and this may give time for the individual to react. The stun gun however produces electric shock and so it must be in contact with the opponent.

Self defense may be engaged to defend one's own life or the lives of others in times of violence. It a spontaneous activity and is encountered only when the individual is subjected to stress. The unarmed self defense techniques are the most commonly used act during these situation as people do not have rights to use weapons. People who do not learn the art of self defending improvise their own ways to defend themselves from their opponents. In this situation they use everyday objects like heavy objects and knives for their safety, or else they try to use the body force to overcome their opponent in times of fight.

Self defense may be considered as an art which people either learn or improvise to defend themselves from certain situations which they encounter in their day to day life. Self defense whether armed or unarmed is legal only if it is used for the right reason and if it could be justified.