Physical skills are only part of the skills that you need for self defense. You must have cognitive skills too.  One of the most important cognitive skills you can cultivate for self defense is situational awareness. What is Situational Awareness? Simply put, situational awareness is knowing what is happening around you.  It is knowing your environment and what events are occurring nearby.  In terms of self defense, situational awareness includes knowing what is happening, and knowing what, if anything, you should do about it. To do this, you must derive meaning from the circumstances in which you find yourself. Situational awareness is your perception of the environment and nearby events together with your assessment of how your actions will affect your immediate and near f...