Something to brag about?

I have not yet posted any of my specific stories here but I will get to it. Before I do, I wanted to say something I am proud of.

I have been insulted. I have had "issues" with certain people, and certain people have had "issues" with me. I admit I have always wanted to test my skills. I have even been physically attacked.

In spite of this, I have never truly fought. My definition of this does not include tournaments, sparring, etc. I would consider it a fight if I had to strike with the intention of causing harm.

Every altercation I have been in, I defused one way or another before I have been forced to strike out. Most imprtantly, on all of my close calls, I have recognized what it was that caused the situation to escalate and done my best to avoid it.

I think self-defense starts before you leave your home, and the most important techniques to learn are preventative measures.

I will post my stories later, but I hope that, when I do, people learn from them, and use the knowledge to avoid similar situations themselves.

that is an awesome post xaith. i love to hear when people other than myself have that kind of view on fighting.i mean a lot of people i work with i work with always ask me how would you get out of this move and i always say "don't be there" and they always say something like "don't you take karate?" i always say "yes but when was the last fight you have heard about me being in?" they obviously don't have an answer because even if i did get into a fight i am not going to go to work and brag. if someone sees the fight they might tend to talk about it. but i wouldn't tell people "oh yeah man this one guy came up talkin' all this crap and pushin me arround right. and so i let him have it!" but i do do some breaking techniques for my co-workers viewing pleasure (cause people always bring in a little piece of pine sometimes just to see me do it) but anyway before i derail this thread i will just say that this is an awesome topic and i think that we should be learning to fight so we don't have to.

absolutely. I've only ever been in one real fight in my life, and it was before I started my training. Yea, sometimes people have tried to start fights with me, but I'm generally polite and I stand up straight, so I don't end up with much trouble. Two of the people who were most aggressive with me are now two of my closest friends. The train-not-to-fight attitude is worth it.

I totally agree with you. I've also never been in a fight or attacked and I'm extremely happy about that. As you say, the best self defence is about being aware of your surroundings and not putting yourself into dangerous situations. There are so many threads about getting into fights or decking someone or situations where they "used" their MA techniques. I would definitely be interested in stories where people show their ability to be smart, avoid dangerous situations or control their emotions and walk away rather than fighting in the heat of the moment. I think that that is often the measure of a good martial artist. There are always some unavoidable situations where defending yourself is necessary but prevention is the best skill you can employ.