What is it about knives that fascinate people? When I was a young teenager in the early seventies I collected knives.  I had many varieties from pen knives to large sharp sheath knives.  Many other children I knew also had knife collections but I cannot remember a single instance when a knife was used in a fight or to rob.  We may have been lucky in my town but just maybe we had more sense.  We were not angels Grantham was and still is to a certain extent a violent town; we have our fair share of troublemakers drug related crime even the odd murder.

In the seventies most trouble ended with a fist fight, you got bruised and bloodied but most of the time your pride got hurt the most.  Today you would be lucky if you only got bruised the willingness of some people to use a knife today is terrifying.  What has caused this total disregard for the sanctity of life?  Do we blame? Television or violent computer games maybe some forms of music like gangsta rap.  Where has all this coldness come from, has the easy access to drink and drugs fuelled this problem.

The answers to these questions are beyond me, all I can do is make sure I can protect myself as much as possible.  Simple precautions like staying away from known troublespots,making sure no argument or disagreement escalates to violence.  Just use your common sense if somewhere looks or feels bad leave trust your instincts.

I train in the martial arts and self defense in particular this gives me the confidence to walk away from any trouble with no effect to my self esteem.  False pride or worrying about what people may think can kill.  Even when I have done everything possible to halt any violence if I have no choice at least I have the skills to hopefully get away in one piece.  We also train avidly in preventing violence looking at ways to calm situations how to react in stressful conditions.  We have a free fifty minute DVD showing what and how we train if you would like to get your free copy just go to our website at http://www.selfdefencemadeeasy.com this is totally free and gives you a ton of information about self defense.