This is not a perfect world. Fortunately I live in an area that is mostly peaceful with law-abiding citizens. However a few months ago a stranger came into my home at 1:20 a.m. I am generally a light sleeper and was woken by a noise at the front door. I immediately assumed my granddaughter, age 4 years, had woke up and not realized she was staying with grandma and grandpa and had gone out the front door to look for her mommy. As I came around the corner from my bedroom to my front door I encountered a stranger standing in my house. We exchanged pleasantries and I encouraged him to leave post haste, which he did. As he ran from the house and rounded the corner he literally jumped into a police cruiser as it rounded the corner. The young man was extremely intoxicated and did not know where he was. I was relieved that my granddaughter was still asleep down the hall and never knew of the incident. I figure that this was a premier time to test my martial skill. I won! In fact we both won! The young man left with all of his body parts in tact and I did not have to hit him. If I had heard noises at the front door without my granddaughter visiting I would have greeted the young man with my 9 mm XDm. Thank God for granddaughters!
I am proud of my accomplishments in the martial arts. Not necessarily the belts but I have never had to fight my way out of a situation. OK, I did use some jujutsu when I worked in Law Enforcement but only a couple of times and it was just for arrest control or putting someone into the drunk-tank. All of my fight related bumps and bruises came from training in the dojo. So considering that I have never seen the elephant, will I be able to perform adequately under the stress of an actual attack? I think so. I have experienced the adrenalin dump many times and was able to perform as trained. Once on a night parachute jump. I had a mid-air collision with another jumper and my chute collapsed. I honestly thought I was about to die. Fortunately my chute re-inflated high enough AGL (above ground level for all you NAPs (Non-Airborne Personnel)) that I ended up with a few severe internal injuries but nothing seriously broken. I attribute the positive outcome to my training both at jump school and in the martial arts that I was still able to get up, roll up my chute and put it into the kit bag, and walk about a hundred yards before I decided I needed medical attention.
I have used the martial arts several times since then to aid in my recovery and rehabilitation from physical injuries even though the government provided nothing. Please don't get me started on the Veteran's Administration; I have nothing good to say about them. However, the practice of traditional kata has been very helpful to me in regaining my physical fitness after an injury. Martial arts have also provided me with a mechanism to get me out of the doldrums and depression associated with being laid up from an injury.
The martial arts provide a multitude of benefits. For some martial arts are a great past time and a hobby. For others it is a great way to maintain physical fitness, to meet new friends and to develop confidence and self esteem. Still for others it is an avenue for competition. For some of us it is a method of training that accentuates our profession and gives us a back up to help ensure our survival.
No matter what your motivation is for training, train hard. Train with a purpose. Train with a goal. Train as if your life depends upon it because it may in more ways than self-defense or the ability to fight.
Unfortunately in a perfect world we would not have a need for martial arts and that would be a shame.
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