“Admiration for a quality or an art can be so strong that it deters us from striving to possess it.” – Friedrich Nietzsche. Do you reach points where, after you’ve decided to gain self-responsibility, the knowledge needed to reach the level which you want to attain is just daunting? A decision that A is the ultimate goal but even glancing toward A is blinding enough that it seems no amount of effort could possibly allow you to reach it. This is common and, given the requirements for some skills, logical.

Understand that you will not end up an expert at everything. Natural aptitude will help in some areas, force of will can generate the fortitude to learn in others, while time and money constraints will always work against your efforts. Anything you are doing to move forward puts you ahead of those who stop striving at all, and infinitely ahead of the sheep who have never attempted anything at all. If you are stalled, it may be that effort still exists but some part of the knowledge already gained has caused a shift in where that effort should be directed.

Consideration of what threat management entails has evolved as the understanding of threats has changed. In the 1980s, a background in accurate shooting using a proper stance to steady a handgun coupled with traditional martial arts training would have one qualified to deflect any threat. As new information came from people like Marc Denny, Gabriel Suarez and others, the qualifications changed. This doesn’t mean those who had learned the earlier methods had wasted years of practice, but they now have to consider other learning to gain the advantages offered by new techniques. If threat management is the goal, that goal really should be thought of as a “quality or an art” – it is a result, a state of being that is maintained. There is no reason in the long term to be deterred from striving for it. There’s no final goal, no black belt.

When stagnating for short periods, reflect on whether you think you have been moving in the direction you wish. If not, reconsider the direction and your expectations for it. Telling yourself that ‘since you can never reach A, you might as well stop’ leaves you with no choice. Instead, realize that A is constantly moving, you can take some time to consider where you want to be in relation to A and then strive toward that. Know it can’t be reached but you can reach it. How? It is in the act of reaching that you will gain the qualities you want. The time you spend reaching will always yield a positive result. If you’ve shot handguns for years and are now learning to move and fire, think of the advantage you already have over those who have never fired a pistol. With an open mind, you will make quick progress.

Winning a fight, whether by destroying the attackers or by putting yourself in a position to walk away, is an art. It is a quality you develop. As long as you are learning, you are already one who should be admired. And, you are not spending your time bleating in a herd.