Ok, so all you instructors out there, have you
ever asked yourself “Am I guilty of scaremongering?” To a degree I think we all
are, look at the majority of adverts for martial arts clubs and they will
advertise the fact that they will teach you how to defend yourself. I think we
can pretty much agree that the majority of the people start training in the
martial arts to learn how to defend themselves, but how do we attract the
student to our class? I have seen a number of adverts over the years, an
example being: an attacker wearing a ski mask brandishing a knife and various
similar scenarios. Are these just scaremongering tactics that prey on the fears
of the general public?
Looking at scaremongering from a different point of view, I am sitting here
writing this the day after the horrific shooting of PC Ian
Dibell; now because of this shooting we may well see an increase of people
claiming to teach firearms defence but in the UK is this sort of training
really necessary? If you train for reality then surely this is something you
need to consider, but really, how prevalent is gun crime in your neighbourhood?
The
Metropolitan Police class gun crime as, “Crime (Violence against the Person,
Robbery, Burglary and Sexual Offences) in which guns are used. A gun is taken
to be involved in an offence if it is fired, used as a blunt instrument to
cause injury to a person, or used as a threat. Where the victim is convinced of
the presence of a firearm, even if it is concealed, and there is evidence too
of the suspect's intention to create this impression, then the incident counts.
Both real, and fake firearms, and air weapons are counted within this
category.”
A quick
search of the Met Police website (www.met.police.uk) reports that in the 12 months to May
2012 there were 2277 reported gun crimes, approximately six a day over the
course of a year, down on the reported 2591 from the previous 12 months and
this in a city with a population of circa 7,825,200 (reported figures from
2010). If you want further information on gun crime figures you can check out
this website, www.gun-control-network.org
Looking at
these figures we could ask ourselves if teaching firearm defences to the
general public are necessary then. Look around at many of the modern “reality
based” system and you will see them highlighting the fact that they teach
defences against various types of firearms - pistols, shotguns, machine guns
etc. but, is it necessary? That is the question. Some may argue that we should
offer our students the option and opportunity of training in this area, maybe
arguing better to have the skill and not need it instead of possibly needing it
and not having it. In a country or society that has a greater exposure to
firearms, say the USA; is it a valid area of training? Possibly, who am I to say?
We also need to consider what our
students do as a job - armed forces, law enforcement, close protection, all
areas that may need some exposure to firearms training. There is good reason for offering this type
of training to people serving in these areas but what about Joe Bloggs who
works in the supermarket?
In
closing, please do not interpret what I have said here as a pop at systems that
teach firearms defences etc. I have merely used it as an example to highlight
the original question of, ”Are we guilty of scaremongering?”
Personally, I do not teach firearms defences, I have no knowledge or exposure
to this area and so avoid teaching it. However, as with anything, if someone is
skilled in this area and has a good level of knowledge and understanding then I
do not see why they cannot teach it.
As with most of the blogs and articles I
write, I do try and get the reader to at least go away and think about their
approach to the martial arts and get them to reflect and question the what, why
and how of what they are doing. Sometimes this means being the devil’s
advocate, but in the long run I understand that this can be beneficial as long
as I open my mind to all points of view.
Thanks again for taking the time to read my
blog here on www.martialnews.co.uk
As usual I welcome any comments, feedback or
questions and you can contact me via my website
You can e-mail Stuart at: stuart.rider@hotmail.co.uk