06/06/2021
Five A’s of Self Defense
Awareness, Alertness, Avoidance, Anticipation, ActionThe Five A’s are part of the first set of philosophies taught to kids and adults in Cuong Nhu. It belongs to a category of principles that are so important that in case someone doesn’t make a lifetime commitment to training, we want to be sure they learn them in the first few months. The Five A’s apply to any potentially hazardous situation from driving, to venomous snakes, to scuba diving.
Awareness is about knowledge more than senses. In the analogy of the snakes this would mean being able to identify different snakes, where they like to be, and which ones are venomous. We use this knowledge to raise our Alertness when danger is likely instead of worrying endlessly.
Alertness is when our senses come into play. We also use our intuition or “gut feeling” about a situation to alert us to possible danger. When we are driving, a siren warns of an ambulance coming behind us, the car that turns on their blinker to merge makes us adjust our speed, or the person who’s driving up ahead seems “off,” and causes us to take measures to Avoid them.
Most scenarios end here at Avoidance when we distance ourselves from the potential danger before it has a chance to cause us harm. If we succeed at Awareness and Alertness, it’s easy to move ourselves into a safer situation. The times when we have to do more are when we fail at the first three steps, or if the hazard is pursuing us.
Anticipation is the preparation to take action. For martial artists this means practicing with higher and higher speed and intensity so that our confidence and reaction time are well trained. If a college student realizes that she has been separated from her friends and is suddenly alone with a larger male, all the times she practiced her self defense make it easier to make clear decisions in that moment and take Action out of courage rather than fear.
Action is when we use what we have practiced. It wraps up all of our preparation into a single moment of courage to step into the danger to confront it. In a moment of fear, many people freeze because all the uncertainties overwhelm them, but with consistent practice we can quiet our fear response and do what needs to be done to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
Join us for our next free self-defense seminar on Sunday June 27 with a school/college focus!