Do you know how to defend yourself?

             Do you know how to defend yourself? For most people the answer is, unfortunately, no. For some the answer is yes but this a false sense of confidence, which can sometimes just make a bad situation worse. Does anybody really "know" how to defend themselves you ask... Yes. Can anyone learn to defend themselves? Sure... With the proper mindset, an individual can be more prepared for a self-defense situation even without years of in-depth training.
             Simple concepts like being aware of ones surroundings can be a huge contributing factor when it comes to avoiding bad situation. What about when you can't avoid having to physically defend yourself? Remember the concept "Flight or flight". If a situation is life threatening, then you must have it in your mind that you will do whatever you must to survive. There are no rules like "no hitting below the belt or no biting" in self-defense. Claw, bite, gouge... anything that you can do to get yourself out of that situation where your life might be threatened. Theses are things that you already know how to do, but are you willing to do it or will you freeze. That's what I'm talking about when I say "it's a mindset".
              I've been training in martial arts for 23 years, and I've been teaching Tae Kwon Do for almost 11 years now. In that time I've cultivated a mature understanding of self defense, and I've taught many. The most common misunderstanding is that you should know some fancy moves, and sure knowing proper technique will greaten your chances but isn't completely necessary. But knowing how to jam ones thumbs into an eye socket isn't exactly rocket science, you've just got to think quickly and logically about how you can put an attacker out of commision.