Self Defense DVD

Social Anxiety Disorder and the Self Defense DVD

Lots of so-called 'experts' are prone to disrespecting the process of learning to protect yourself from a self defense DVD, claiming that in-class martial arts training or military hand to hand combat training are the only 'real' ways to learn self defense. Of course, there are a lot of issues with self defense training from a DVD, but they have a distinct place.

Classes, unless you can find a master willing to teach you and you alone, lack privacy. For people with social anxiety disorder -- the kind of people who have mannerisms that make criminals prone to targeting them -- this can make learning in a class particularly difficult. Similarly, people who simply don't want to be judged by observers might not be able to develop the necessary self-assurance and discipline in a group environment. For these people, a self defense DVD can provide an appropriate level of martial arts training without the need for a crowd.

It's becoming common for modern colleges to offer online courses to provide for the people who cannot handle the interpersonal pressure of being in class. In much the same way, a self defense DVD can be used in the privacy of your living room, giving people with social anxiety disorder and similar diseases the opportunity to practice potentially life-saving skills that have the added benefit of boosting their confidence.

By creating an engaging atmosphere within a comfortable space, a self defense DVD removes all of the distractions that public classes are prone to, from taunting peers to laughing onlookers. And with the ability to skip back and forth to any part of the martial arts training that you feel you need to review, a DVD really offers a lot of course customization that you can't get from a group class.

There are two things you need if you're learning from a self defense DVD: good discipline and a partner. Your partner can be someone that you are already comfortable with, who won't trigger your anxiety, as long as they're interested in practicing with you. The discipline is necessary because unless you create it, there is no schedule -- no mandatory time that you must set aside to train. That can lead to a rapid breakdown of training, making it almost impossible to get started once the slacking has set in.

The partner is necessary because there's simply no substitute for a target that has the weight and feel of a real human being. Of course, you don't want to actually hurt your partner, so practicing full-speed and full-force is out -- but even at half-speed and almost no power, the simple presence of someone actually receiving your attacks amplifies the effect of training a hundredfold; it's practically the only way to really learn self defense.

It's a curious thing that can happen when someone with social anxiety disorder has the discipline (and a willing enough partner) to follow through with martial arts techniques from a self defense DVD. It doesn't happen for everyone, but there are those people who gain such a sensation of confidence -- even competence -- from pursuing such training that they learn how little of an actual threat most other people pose to them. It can help someone that is already undergoing therapy to have a new and powerful tool to overcome the disease.

So, if the thought of going to a group self defense class gives you the willies, be secure in the knowledge that a self defense DVD can offer you a perfectly valid and functional alternative that might even help you in more ways than one.