Violence all around – or is it?

If we open any form of media in todays modern age it will be guaranteed that something around violence will pop up. Whether it be the war in Ukraine or a local fight on a Saturday night has resulted in terrible consequences. But how bad is it really?

The media need us to pay attention to their stream of news or they don’t make money. Human beings focus on the negative over the positive, its human nature. In reality, from a UK perspective the majority of our streets are not that bad.

We all know of areas that most law-abiding citizens will not venture, especially at night, but as a whole the streets of the UK are pretty safe, common sense considered. Our figures around violence have been in decline since the mid-17^th century believe it or not. Certainly since 1995 we have seen quite a sharp decrease in what is reported, from 4.7% of the population being affected to under 2% now. The pandemic has played its part, (who knew it would bring some welcoming news), but as a whole we are getting better.

Yet when we listen to the news or open up our social media it appears the country is in a terrible state. Don’t get me wrong, in every society and because of how we are made up in our DNA you can expect some sort of trouble. It is inevitable. But isn’t it better to focus on the good news and keep moving in the right direction. To keep being informed and educated round the consequences of violence, especially to the younger generations who will bring the knowledge through and pass it on.

It’s time we focused on the positive and all the things we can do well before any physical altercation begins. To swallow our pride if necessary, put our ego’s in our back pocket, let common sense prevail and walk away. The physical part of most aggressive altercations in the majority of circumstances will have had so many warning signs that will have been ignored. Spatial and situational awareness, gut feeling, (which is now proven to have neurological links), body language, tone of voice, an innocuous incident such as bumping into someone. All these will more than likely present before we get anywhere near the physical. In reality we choose to ignore them. We need to continue to educate and re-educate so we take notice.

You don’t hear the figures about how violence has dropped through the media because it wouldn’t sell as much news. That is why I am trying to spread some positivity around it. We have still got quite a bit of work to do, though we are on the right track. Let’s keep moving forward with a positive smile.

My name is Paul Bell, Training Director at Instincts Training. With over 41 years training in martial arts, 15 years personal safety training under one of Europe’s leading experts and a degree in Psychology I aim to keep educating and re-educating in this field. Giving you the confidence to do the right thing at the right time. Please feel free to reach out at [email protected].