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While this piece was written directed at parents of youth members, adult students should keep all of the relevant safety points in mind. Remember: Safety and vigilance are not 'things' to do. They are constant states of mind.

I remember talking to one of my teachers once about the traits of a master leader. 'The' trait that lay at the center, or formed the foundation for all of these others was: "Decisiveness" - 'the simple ability to make a decision.'

You know, when I first started learning how to protect myself through the martial arts, the training was almost entirely focused on the memorization and performance of the technique...But, that performance was tied more to duplicating a string of "moves" than it was on...the successful resolution of the situation

Weapons should be a part of any sound self-defense and martial arts program, training, and strategy. However, far too many people rely on a quick-fix. The false assumption by many well-inentioned people concerned about self-defense issues is that there is a "best" weapon that will make up for not having self-defense skills in the first place.

When discussing self-defense training, we really need to be discussing more than just learning some tricks and techniques for dodging punches or escaping locks and holds. Why then, are most instructors content with stopping at, and most students satisfied with learning, self-defense in a vaccuum?

What do you do when, you want to pursue the study of the martial arts or learn real-world self-defense and there are no schools near where you live? What do you do even if there are martial arts schools or self-defense classes being offered in your local area but...