While watching the news one day about a year ago they did a story about a shark attack that happened nearby.  They mentioned a stat that, while I’m not a violent man, made me want to reach through the tv screen and slap the news reporter across the back of the head.  They claimed that you are more likely to be injured by a Chihuahua than a shark.  While this IS true, it’s also incredibly misleading!

It’s not that Chihuahuas are more dangerous than sharks, it’s that we spend considerably more time around Chihuahuas while we avoid sharks.  Sooner or later, you’re going to accidentally step on that little rat-like dog with a napoleon complex and it will bite you!  On average there is only one death per year by shark attack.  Why?  Because we know how dangerous these animals can be and we avoid them whenever possible.  So what kills more people than sharks and Chihuahuas?  Cows!  Those sneaky little buggers lull you to sleep with their lack of movement and reaction to tipping them over while sleeping, then BAM they attack!  Mind you cows and bulls are quite large and strong, it doesn’t take much to crush you, even by accident.  Cows kill, on average, 22 people a year!  So what does any of this have to do with martial arts?  Simple, we need to start focusing on training our cow-killing techniques!  Wait…no, that’s not it.  Oh yeah, learn to stay away from obviously dangerous places and don’t be misled by statistics!

We all know to not walk down a dark alleyway all alone, yet we still do.  Humans do a lot of stupid things that should be blatantly obvious not to do.  Imagine this; you’re sitting alone on a bench waiting for a bus.  There is little to no traffic and no one else around.  A very large, scary, intimidating man sits down right next to you.  Mind you he could have stayed standing or sat at the other end of the bench.  What do you do?  Most will stay right where they are and say and do nothing.  Are people not scared?  No, most would be horribly terrified.  The problem is that we are even more scared to move as it would be seem “rude” to the person who just sat down next to us despite our “spidey-senses” going crazy saying this is a bad situation.  We are the only creature on earth that ignores its instincts when it comes to safety!  We knowingly enter or stay in dangerous situations on a regular basis.  This is the cause of many physical attacks!

We’ve all seen or heard the statistics about violence in America.  How 1 in 3 women will be a victim of abuse at some point in their lifetime or how every 9 seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten.  While these are true, it’s not as grim as you might think.  We have to understand that these are “averages” for a large population and wide area.  A person from a small town in South Dakota will not have the level of risk as a person in New York City.  Each area is different, some better, some worse.  There is an example I give when I talk to people about my disgust of most statistics.  If there are 10 people in a room, five of them are 10 years old and five of them are 20 years old, then the average age of the people in that room is 15 years old…yet there are no 15 year olds in the room.  It’s easy to see that “averages” and “statistics” don’t always represent the truth and can be manipulated quite easily.

So how can we shift through all the statistics and discover the truth about how “at risk” you are of being a victim?  You have a couple of options.  First, have you ever seen the movie Bubble Boy?  That’s one option.  Second, if living your life in a bubble doesn’t sound interesting, you can simply assess your risks and learn to understand where most crimes and attacks happen so you know to avoid them or at least be prepared if unavoidable.

There is an excellent book written by Nathaniel Cooke called, “How NOT to get HIT: The art of fighting without fighting”.  In this book he has researched personal risk factors and listed them as follows:  Gender, location, social status, marital status, employment, highest qualification, visits to the pub (bar), and age.  All of these categories hold a level of risk depending on the answer.  For instance, someone who is a 60 years old, retired, married, female, living in a small town and rarely visits the local bars is obviously not very likely to be a victim of a violent crime.  On the other hand, a 21-year-old single male who is unemployed and frequently visits local bars in a bad area of New York is highly likely to be a victim of a violent crime.

So to recap, learn to trust your instincts (we’ve spent thousands of years developing them!). Be aware of your surroundings and learn about who you are and how your lifestyle can effect whether or not you will become a victim. There is no reason to live in fear if you simply take the time to think logically about who you are and where you are at.

Remember, 85% of statistics are made up on the spot, the other 25% are misquotes.