We’ve all heard the term before.  Ready, willing and able can be used to describe the student eager to begin learning a new skill.  It can be used in business, in school, in life.  If you are in the mode to learn martial arts, you may say that you are ready, willing and able.  But when it comes to a real and present danger staring you in the face, are you ready willing and able to fight?

Something very interesting happens, physiologically, during a crime or attack; something that even martial arts self defense can’t train you for.  See, we can take someone who is ready, willing and able and train them with great technique. You can go far in your training of martial arts self defense with little thought to your mental attitude and focus.  You can even develop a keen sense of confidence when you learn martial arts or combat self defense.

What you may not learn in simple martial arts self defense, however, is the single thing that could mean the difference between life and death – or at least injury.  The thing that you need is to train your mind along with your body.  The reason is that the mind is instinctive.  Not long ago, man himself was the predator and the prey.   In not so distant history, man was hunted by the “food” he was hunting.  And in those times, man’s best defense was to high-tail it out of there as fast as possible.  The sharp edge of a stick was not much of a match for a roaring grizzly bear.

The point is that, in a stressful situation, you are ready to run.  In fact, your mind screams “Run! Run! Run!”  This is what we are programmed for.  So, you have taken the time to learn martial arts or combat self defense, or both.  You have learned how to maintain awareness and avoid danger.  And then you become the target.  You are Ready and you are Able..but are you going to be Willing?  Will your instincts take over or will you have also learned to fight against the instinct to freeze up and instead use your training to save your life?

Training in any type of reality based self defense is a big step in the right direction of true and lasting personal safety.   But there is more to it and you should always remember that your mental ability to resist instinctive urges must be conquered.  It is important that you train your mind along with your body on a consistent basis.