Virendra S Rathore wrote:When I have kids, I'm going to see that they train thoroughly right from the early days, even if they hate me for it.
I'd prefer being called the security obsessed and paranoid father, rather than a repenting father some day.
Screw everything else, to get a good life you ought to have a life first. That should be the priority and it doesn't mean Guns only.
It covers a vast plethora of physical fitness, basic street fight skills, first aid training and emergency response readiness etc.
Yes, Virendra, That is the correct attitude towards what to teach your kids and those around you.
Most people don't have a clue(or don't want to know) what goes on around them. Being aware of your surroundings can be half the battle.
The best way to avoid trouble is not to be there when the trouble occurs. If you can see trouble starting somewhere and leave before anything happens, you've just taken yourself out of a bad situation.
If you can see that you're at a questionable place with irresponsible people, it's OK to leave BEFORE a situation develops. Awareness, awareness, awareness: one can't stress that enough.
One thing to teach them is where not to be and who not to hang around.
There is a saying we have here: "Go stupid places with stupid people; win stupid prizes" or basically "Avoid stupid people in stupid places doing stupid things".
Being well versed in the martial arts can build confidence in a practitioner. Confidence in themselves is what many children, teens and even some adults, lack. You need confidence in yourself to avoid peer pressure to hang with the wrong crowd or to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Teenagers especially will go against their survival instincts when exposed to peer pressure. They lack the maturity and the experience to laugh and walk away.
It's all very well being prepared to use martial arts, weapons, etc, but if you do your job right, they might never have to be in a situation where they would be required to use any of those things. However, sometimes, no matter what you do, you get caught up in a situation and that is where some training can mean the difference between life and death. You're absolutely correct that one don't necessarily need a gun, anything can be used as a weapon; a cricket bat, a tree branch, the lid on the top of the toilet tank, etc. (none of which need to be reloaded
). However, if you don't see the trouble coming till someone hits you in the head from behind, then all your proficiency in martial arts, with weapons, etc was a total waste of time.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941