Fear Porn

Krav Maga good news


If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, here’s a quick experiment you can try:
Open your news feed, and take a scroll through the first 10 or 20 items that appear.

Almost without exception, you’ll notice something: fear, alarm, and despair are very quick to pop up.

I just took a quick scroll right now through the first couple of posts on my FB feed, and almost straight up was hit by “how to protect yourself from the deadly coronavirus”, “number of young girls trafficked to Europe for prostitution reaches alarming levels”, “this president is the new Hitler”, “deadly earthquake strikes Jamaica”, “artificial intelligence will wipe out humanity”, and “why the government wants to take away your land”.

Now if I look at that rationally:

  • I’m not visiting China anytime soon,
  • Although I feel outrage, abhorrence, and pity, I have no way of immediately helping trafficked girls in the Sudan,
  • The politician in question is half a world away from me,
  • I don’t live in Jamaica and am not equipped to help in any meaningful way,
  • I can’t influence or control the direction of AI research or development,
  • And (at this point) I’m reasonably unlikely to have any land expropriated by a government.


THE FEAR DRUG IN YOUR BRAIN

But, still, doom rules social media, the news, and a great deal of internet content. And the reason is simple: you react emotionally and disproportionately to fear-driven “news”. It triggers the release of cortisol (the “stress hormone”) in your brain. It makes you feel helpless, outraged, angry, and opinionated. You get drawn into the drama, like it or not. You feel compelled to like, dislike, or vent your opinion.

And that is what makes social media tick.

I remember having a conversation with someone once, and he wryly said to me: “If you’re online with a company that doesn’t sell a product, then you’re the product.”

Now if I look at the way Krav Maga (and self defense generally) is often marketed, I see the same trend.

“THE WORLD IS EVIL!”

According to the pundits of hardcore kick and punch, you’ll be the next victim, and here are horrifying pictures to “prove” it. Terrorists and criminals lurk around every corner, and hey, here’s a header image of a tearful, terrified woman to remind you of how dangerous life really is.

Listen, don’t get me wrong. Yes, crime is real, and humans can do awful things. I know this very well, because I’m writing this post right now from the third most violent country on the planet.
Of course, in certain contexts, fear can (and should!) act as a powerful life-preserving trigger to take action.

BUT – and it’s an important “but” – we need to be conscious of why we make decisions, particularly decisions based on fear.

A DIFFERENT REALITY

Krav Maga mindset

Be careful about who you allow into your mind.

In our system of Krav Maga, we don’t market our offering by using fear, we don’t teach from a position of fear, and we especially don’t teach in an atmosphere of fear, which some people seem to think is necessary to learn self defense skills.

WE WANT TO EMPOWER YOU

Our goal is not to panic you, but to empower you.

We’d rather show you how capable you are, how surprisingly smart and resilient you can be, and how you can live a life of confidence and serenity while still being super skilled and able to defend yourself realistically if you have to.
We’d like to share the testimonies of so many of our students, who will tell you how their lives have changed in ways they didn’t think was possible. We’d like to show you how you can choose to filter irrational or unfounded fear, and live without constant paranoia or angst.

And most of all, we’d like to invite you to become part of a family of amazing people who will look out for you, support you, encourage you, and celebrate your growth and success.

To us, Krav Maga is not just a system of self defense. In our world, it’s also a synonym for happiness, confidence, superb skill, deep resilience, and endless potential. So, as you learn techniques, so you learn insightful life lessons. As you learn strategies, your personal power increases in every sphere of your life. And as you embark on your Krav Maga journey, you learn – deeply – who you really are, and a sense of peace and purpose starts to permeate everything you do.

I’m not saying that Krav Maga is some kind of magic cure-all, because that would be silly and dishonest. But it is something that – if done with the right people – will add immeasurable value to your life, far beyond what you see on the surface.

Today, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that you don’t have to be a willing victim of the daily bad news bombardment – because that in itself is also a form of selective ignorance.

Calm your mind, be present, and see the beauty in all things.

Because, when you cultivate that habit, you’re far better equipped to deal with the “real world” than aggressive, tense people who walk around projecting an aura of constant suspicion, hostility, and resentment at a world filled with “enemies”, waiting for the sky to fall at any minute.

Don’t fall for the fear porn. Especially from self defense “experts” who are aiming to manipulate you into panic-buying whatever they’re peddling.

You’re better than that.

Want to find out more? Want a little more depth and perspective in self defense training, and to interact with considerate, intelligent people?
Come and visit us, either at one of our clubs, or interact with us online.

Because Elite Defence Academy International might just be what you’ve been looking for.

Come on in.

You’re welcome, anytime.


 

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