The introductory lesson on aikido a traditional Japanese form of martial arts was an eye-opener The sensei or teacher told us that when faced with an attacker our first response should be to ldquo run away rdquo ldquo Only if you can rsquo t run away then you fight rdquo he said seriously Run away I was taken aback Why was this highly-skilled self-defense instructor telling us to run away from a fight It seemed counterintuitive mdash until he explained that the best form of self-defense is to avoid fighting in the first place Of course When several men came
[... more]