Michael Hackett

Phillip, often training in a martial art will give the practitioner the confidence and the ability to deescalate the episode without physical action - something that might not be possible or practical without the underlying training. I found the ability to deescalate a conflict much easier as a police agent for decades a valuable tool - one that might not have been possible without the specific defensive tactics training and all the cool toys they gave us to use. I certainly could have used the physical training techniques, the chemical agents, the impact weapons, the firearms to resolve the conflicts I encountered, but the ability to apprehend the suspect without those actions depended on the underlying training completely. From my view, it is hard to separate the two concepts. Smashing and bashing are easy; not having to smash and bash is harder and based entirely on the ability to smash and bash if necessary. Perhaps this idea doesn't fit in your dictionary view, but would you agree that they are clearly related?