What it Means to Protect

I have often contemplated on what it means to protect. Who do I protect? How I protect? What it means to protect and how I ensure I am ready to protect?

Why do I think about this? Because I never want to be in a situation where I cannot protect those I love and care for. NEVER! I have only told a few people this, but for years, several times a month I would wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare. My heart would always be racing. In the nightmare someone was attacking my family, and I was helpless; the person attacking my family was stronger than me, better trained, and it seem like I moved in slow motion. All my punches, kicks, attacks would bounce off them and I was helpless to protect my family. Afterwards, I felt like I had to train more, work harder because I would never want to be in that situation, for this is my WORST FEAR!

This is one reason I train, eat well, take care of my body- to ensure I am ready. Ready for when I might need to protect. It is not a matter of if this time will come; it is a matter of when. How horrible would it be if the time came, and you were not ready?

I recently came across this video of this exact time coming for someone and her baby was in grave danger. Here is the video https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=799275091281550

How horrible is this? When the time mattered most, she could not rise to the occasion. When I watched this video I was shocked and thought- “this is my worst nightmare. MY WORST!”

Often, I hear people say, “When the time comes, I will go crazy.” Or “When it matters, I will see red, and bodies will hit the floor.” I smile at these because we don’t rise to the occasion, we fall to our level of training. Let me say that again- we don’t rise to the occasion, we fall to our level of training. Imagine the audacity to think that you could walk into the NBA finals and win the championship at a moment’s notice, with no training because you felt you were good at basketball? It wouldn’t happen. So why do people think they can protect when they do nothing to ensure they can?

In the most difficult and discouraging days of World War II, Winston Churchill said to the people of England: “To every man there comes … that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a special thing unique to him and fitted to his talent. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour.”

That would indeed be a tragedy. Going back to my first questions, what does it mean to protect? Most people think about protecting their families, their minds jump straight to self-defense, firearms, or the ability to fight. Yes, and these things are important. However, I have met many people who are great with a firearm but are out of breath walking up a set of stairs. How can you protect when you cannot breathe? Protecting also means:

• Having the energy to play with your kids instead of sitting on the sidelines.
• Being strong enough to carry them up the stairs when they fall asleep in the car.
• Being capable of staying calm and in control during a high-stress situation—whether it’s a car accident, medical emergency, or just a chaotic day.
• Having the stamina to run, lift, or push through an emergency when your family needs you.
• Juggling your career, your workouts, and your responsibilities without burning out or getting stressed out.
• Doing difficult things, not because you want too, but because you know they need to be done and no one else will do them.
• And staying healthy long-term so your family never has to worry about taking care of YOU.

If you’re out of shape, exhausted, and constantly running on fumes, all the guns and gear in the world won’t make you an effective protector. You’ll be a liability.

The foundation of protecting is your fitness, your nutrition, your overall health, then you add marital arts training like BJJ, Muay Thai, and gun training.  If you’re overweight, weak, and out of shape, what are you really protecting?

Want to truly protect?  Start with yourself. Start with your health. Start with training. Start with doing hard things. You don’t have time to do this? Hogwash that is an excuse. You make time for that which is important. So get after it and be the person you were meant to be!