Resetting your default: desensitising your reactions to help you better manage confrontation
Reset your default
Fight, Flight or Freeze
Whenever we are faced with a violent encounter, our bodies instinctively respond in one of three ways: fight, flight, or freeze. These reactions are completely normal and automatic they happen to everyone. However, with training, we can learn to manage these responses so that we don’t freeze when confronted with a self-defence situation.
Through consistent practice and repetition, we can desensitise our primal reactions and replace them with deliberate responses that improve our chances of escaping safely while minimising harm to ourselves and others. You can read more about the relationship between stress and fear in this older blog post: UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESS AND FEAR
Why Desensitisation Matters in Self Defence
In self-defence classes, we train our responses so that we don’t panic, escalate the situation, or make unsafe decisions. Through scenario-based drills, students practise using verbal cues to de-escalate or set boundaries, as well as applying the physical skills they’ve learned if a situation turns violent.
Training also provides a safe environment to make mistakes, build confidence, and gradually learn how to manage the pressure of facing an aggressor. Over time, this ensures that when confronted with a real-life self-defence situation, your training takes over allowing you to respond calmly, decisively, and effectively.
How to Reset Your Default Reaction
The only way to improve how you respond under pressure is through consistent training. By becoming aware of your natural reactions and gradually retraining them through scenario practice and technique rehearsal, you can reset your fight, flight, or freeze response.
This process isn’t easy you’ll need to work through discomfort and challenge yourself in high-stress situations. But if you stick with it, the results are powerful: your body learns to stay composed under pressure, and your training becomes your new default.
Mindset Shift: From Reacting to Responding
It’s important to understand that the goal isn’t to eliminate fear, but to learn how to manage it. ‘Resetting’ your default means reprogramming yourself so that, even in the presence of fear, you can think clearly and act appropriately. In this way, fear doesn’t control you instead, it becomes a tool that sharpens your awareness and helps you act effectively under pressure. With practice, managing fear can become your new default response.
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
In self-defence, it’s essential to understand and manage your fear so it doesn’t overwhelm you in a real situation. The only way to achieve this is through consistent practice.
It’s perfectly normal to feel nervous about attending your first class walking into a new environment can be daunting. But think of it as the first step toward conquering your fears and building the skills to protect yourself. By coming to class, you’ll get the regular practice you need and discover what Brixton Self Defence has to offer in a safe, supportive environment.