Can you hurt someone badly?

Do you have it inside you?

Hey folks, this may be an odd question to some. But my question is, do you have the mental toughness you need to fight for your life? Take a moment to think about what that means. I am not talking about a competition, or a tournament. I mean, a real fight. More so, I mean a self defense situation. In case you do not know the difference, let me explain. A fight is agreed upon. It is usually a verbal situation that escalates to physical violence. A self defense situation is MUCH different. That is what you do in response to a criminal assault. It is what you do when someone has chosen YOU, as their perceived victim. When the rubber hits the road, do you have what it takes to really hurt someone? Maybe even take their life? I know that there are a lot of bullies out there, who look to take advantage of other people, but I am talking about us civilized folks. In the heat and pressure of a live confrontation, can you break someone's arm Their leg? Their neck? Could you stab someone? As a judo player, could you throw someone on hard concrete? As a aikidoka, could you break someone's wrist? As a kickboxer, could you continue to knee a person in the face until they are limp?

The answer should be yes. Do NOT get me wrong, I am not a violent man by nature. As a matter of fact, I hate violence, I just happen to be good at it. But I do believe that if a real fight ensues, one should be prepared to take it to whatever lengths necessary. I have a hierarchy of violence that starts with kill, and ends with prevent. If you can control a person with a minimum of violence, great, that is what we hope for. But if it requires taking a person's life, are you able to take it there?

Remember, technical skill is only part of our battle. We need mental strength in order to keep our martial arts, and ourselves, alive. Hopefully, the people reading this will never need to use their martial arts skills to the ultimate level. But for those of us who do, we need to be able to defend ourselves, by any means necessary.