Self-defense in a defensive encounter. Do you rise to the occasion or sink to the level of your training?

Have you ever tried to do something that requires fine motor skills when you are under extreme stress?  For example sending a text or dialing a phone number.  Your hands shake, you can’t seem to think clearly, and it is struggle to get what might be a simple task done under normal conditions.  

The value of training your mind, body, and spirit to do something under stress is key to surviving a defensive encounter.  Why do you think that CPR is taught the way it is? They give you’re the head knowledge, they make you physical practice the skills, they make you talk out loud and say they words you will use during CPR.  They test your head knowledge and skills to get the certificate which adds some training stress for you to overcome.   They employee the three major learning styles of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.  They stress the actual physical skills you will need under a life and death CPR situation.  What do you think would happen if they just focused on the head knowledge of CPR and not the physical skills when it came time to save a friend, family member, or someone on the street?  Would you rise to the occasion or sink to the level of your training?

Based upon my training and real world experience in law Enforcement.  I highly suggest looking for self-protection classes (whether they be self-defense or concealed carry classes) that have a skill part of the training.   I have personally fell back to my level of training more than I have ever risen to the occasion.   I cannot stress enough the value of good training when it comes to self-protection. 

How to spot a good training environment and teacher?  Mr. Huh my first martial arts instructor shared this insight.  “If you want to know if the teacher is any good watch the students.  If the students are good, then the teacher is good.”  I have personally walked out of many a dojo before ever signing up because they students weren’t good.