It's Not Violence That'll Kill You

Last weeks newsletter centred around Self Defence or Personal Protection.

You may be happy to know I have the online course in development now, once I have it done and reviewed by a couple of trusted folks, it’ll be launched via this mailing list.

Newsletter Subscribers will be among the first to be able to get your eyes on a distillation of almost 40 years in and around martial arts, self defence and security work.

I would like to say the resulting information would surprise you, but I also know I give a lot away for free in this newsletter and the blog, so you may already have an idea of what I’m going to show.

What I do want to say is, even though the media paints a picture, we do actually live in the safest time in history.

The vast majority of people are going to live pretty long and pretty healthy lives free from violence.

And that is really cool.

I did a quick bit of digging to get some numbers on causes of death across the population.

Because I used an AI assistant and collated results from the whole of the British Isles landmasses, the numbers are not to be taken as pure fact, but as pointing at the current trend:

• Cancers (all of them rolled into a single): A little under 30% of all deaths

• Circulatory Diseases: around 25%

• Respiratory Diseases: Somewhere close to 10% (highest in ROI!)

• Endocrine (Diabetes): around 3%

• Road Traffic Accident: Just under 0.3%

• Violent Assault: less that 0.1%

Now that’s death, not injury.

Injury numbers are a little harder to track as people may not go to A&E, may have team physios or simply don’t go for any treatment at all.

In comparing injuries from Sports and from Violent Assaults, I have normalised them as per 100,000 people.

Otherwise the Soccer results look astronomical due to simply how many people play compared to other sports.

• Rugby (both codes): Just shy of 12000 per 100,000

• Football: A little under 5000 per 100,000

• Combat Sports: Around the 2000 mark per 100,000

• GAA (both codes) close to 1500 per 100,000

• Fitness/Weightlifting: less than 250 per 100,000

• Assault related injury: Around 140 per 100,000

Just to reiterate, these numbers are ballpark, not dead on.

But it goes to show the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to self defence/close protection is to keep yourself fit and healthy.

That includes playing sport, even if the reported injury numbers from sports dwarf those from violent assault!

Eat real foods, that you have cooked

Do things that build and maintain bone density, muscel mass

Do things that keep your resting heart rate in the low 60’s, and a resting breathing rate close to 6 breaths per minute

But heart and breathing (cardio-respiratory) systems that are flexible, can handle high loads and recover quickly, can come down almost as quickly as they can climb.

Build and maintain Strength, Mobility and Endurance

And do so across Mind, Body and Spirit

Do that, and you’ll be just fine. But don't let that put you off buying the course once it's released.....

Simple

Not Easy

Dave.

www.davehedges.net