Bohdi Sanders
Your mind is your greatest weapon. If you have the right mindset, you are always armed, although it wouldn’t seem that way to most people. As I sit at my desk writing this article, I appear totally unarmed to anyone who may walk into my office, but I am always armed in one way or another. Actually, while I am sitting at my desk, I am extremely armed.
I know that sounds like an oxymoron, because I just told you that anyone who saw me would claim that I am completely unarmed. So, what am I getting at here? The point is, if you have the right mindset, you see weapons everywhere you look. Once you have trained your mind to be prepared for an unexpected attack, and to respond in the correct way, you automatically see weapons when you walk into a room, although they may not be what other people consider weapons.
Let’s stick with the example of me at my desk. Without ever having to get out of my desk chair, I have an abundance of weapons within arm’s reach that most others would not see as threatening or as any kind of weapon at all. Here is a list of the weapons that my mind sees within arm’s reach where I am sitting:
1) Two knives in my pen holder
2) A Post-It note dispenser that has four sharp edges, which can easily be used as a weapon
3) A pewter coaster with a sharp ridge around the top, which could be used to strike or to slice
4) A plastic picture frame that could be used as is to strike with the edge, or broken to provide me with a sharper edge
5) Dozens of pens, which are great for attacking the eyes
6) A sharp metal pen that could be used for attacking the eyes, throat, or temples
7) An old metal calculator, perfect for striking with the corners
8) An 8 inch Bose speaker with sharp edges
9) The speaker wire and power cords can be used as a small whip or to choke someone
10) My phone, with a hard plastic case that could be used for striking
11) My desk chair, which could be used to shield me and buy me time
12) Even this keyboard that I am typing on could be used for striking or broken and used for cutting
13) CD’s which could be broken and used for cutting
14) My glasses, which could be broken, and both the frame and the lens can be used as a weapon
And these are just a few of the weapons available to me without even opening a drawer. Do you see what I am getting at? With the right mindset, you are always armed in one way or another. But if someone came into my office and was asked whether I am armed, his answer would be no.
Most people have the mindset that “armed” means either carrying a firearm or a knife, and that is generally what is meant by that term. Most would consider nothing on the above list, except for my two knives, as a weapon that they could use to defend themselves. That is one difference between a warrior mindset and the mindset of the average person.
You must develop the mindset that if you must defend yourself, anything and everything is a potential weapon. There is very little that can’t be used as a weapon if you have the right mindset. Even a magazine or rolled-up newspaper can make a suitable weapon. The possibilities are endless.
Start training your mind to see possible weapons everywhere you go. When you go out to a restaurant, while you are waiting for your food, take a minute to think about what you could use as a weapon if you absolutely had to. Obviously, there is your knife, your fork, and you could break your water glass and use it as a weapon, but what else? Train yourself to do this wherever you go.
Your mind is your greatest weapon, but only if you train it to be. The average person doesn’t train their mind to think this way, or to prepare for the unexpected. That is why so many people are prone to panic or to freeze up during an unexpected attack. You must train your mind to see all the possibilities around you and to react appropriately to any threat.
Using unconventional weapons is only one way that your mind can be trained to keep you safe. You should also make visualization a part of your overall training. Visualize what you would do if someone attacked you in certain situations. How would you defend yourself? What weapons would be available for you to use? How would you keep those around you safe?
See yourself using these things in your mind. Play the whole scenario out in your mind like a movie. See yourself easily defeating the bad guy. Never visualize yourself losing! This is important. Visualization is a form of practicing your self-defense. Just as you wouldn’t want to practice your martial arts techniques the wrong way repeatedly, you don’t want to visualize yourself messing up or losing a fight.
Each time you visualize yourself doing a technique perfectly, you anchor it in your mind. This is not some new-age mumbo-jumbo but has been scientifically proven. Many studies have been done on the effectiveness of visualization in sports, and all have shown that visualization does in fact play a positive role in physical performance. It certainly will not replace your physical training, but it works to enhance it.
Train your mind, as well as your body, to respond in the correct way to any threat. Use the element of surprise to your advantage. Baltasar Gracian stated that, “Things do not pass for what they are, but for what they seem… things are judged by how they look, even though most things are far different from what they appear.” This is exactly how you want it.
When you have the attitude of “one mind—any weapon,” things are far different from what they appear, at least where you are concerned. Where other people see a fork and a water glass, you see a straight-edged weapon and a possible lifesaving, sharp-edged piece of glass. Train your mind to see the hidden weapons available to you wherever you are. One mind—any weapon!
Dr. Bohdi Sanders is an award-winning, bestselling author of 17 books, most on martial arts and warrior philosophy, and is a multiple Martial Arts Hall of Fame inductee. His books are available from Amazon and from his website, TheWisdomWarrior.com.
