I heard that great quote recently, although I’m not sure of it’s origins. I couldn’t agree more.

My preferred definition of self defense is this, “when faced with the threat of violence or actual violence, self defense is doing what is necessary to move from an unsafe place to a safer place.”

In my definition, running away is as valid a form of self-defense as using a handgun, or executing an unarmed defense. So is talking your way out of a situation, avoiding conflict escalation, or sceaming bloody murder.

My thought is that the more options you have the better your chances of success. If your only possible response to an attack is to curl into the fetal position - that’s not a great option if survival is a priority.

I suggest that you explore the idea that mindsetting may be the most important thing you can do in training. Learn the unarmed and armed martial arts skills, train for endurance, but train your mind.