OK, technically speaking this myth doesn’t usually come from martial artists. It comes from others outside the community who think that all of life’s problems can be solved by sitting around a campfire singing “Kumbaya.” They live delusional lives in a make believe Cloud Cuckoo Land in their heads.
Truth: Most fights actually can be avoided – and that’s exactly what we encourage our students to do. Avoiding the fight altogether is the best way to defend yourself. The simplest ways to do this are to avoid trouble areas (your local police can tell you where the high crime areas are; these days they might even have it online) and keep your wits – and your calm – about you.
But there are people out there who, for one reason or another, want to hurt you. And they aren’t always so thoughtful as to keep themselves pent up in predictable “bad areas of town.” Thankfully, most of my readers live in a place and an age where those people are rare. It was not always so – and in many parts of the world still isn’t. Even so, some people out there will do everything they can to hurt you.
It may be because they’re high. Or it may be because they’re depressed. Or poor. Or hungry. Or they’ve had a hard life. Or, occasionally, even because they’re evil. It doesn’t really matter why. They are out there. Sometimes the only way to defend against these people is with violence.