To me martial arts is a long term journey in the development of certain skills, while self-defense courses are aimed at an assumed, quick series of sequential techniques as a solution to a situation in the street.
Martial art training, to me is more realistic than self-defense courses because it aims at the grass-root level development and involves long term individual assessment, diagnosis, as well as an ever-evolving remedy, while self-defense course like to assume that if you do this technique plus that techniques, you will get such a such result. Self-defense is generally done from static positions and do not take into consideration a continuous and an eve-evolving resistance which aims at undermining the set patterns and assumptions of a self-defense course you may be taking.
More over, the students of self-defense courses are expected to believe in such results in which no evidence is provided based on realistic situations in a street fight.
It is wise to take martial art training as part of a long term goal in life and focus on skills- development rather than frantically trying to learn quick techniques under the false assumption that they would work.
There are several systems of self-defense that I don't wish to mention them here, but they are out there. Nevertheless, I felt obliged to write something about this to make the friends as well as the general public more aware of the situation and emphasize to them, not to take the short quick road which may appear to be real, but is actually a mirage, an illusion. Remember there are no quick solutions. You must take responsibility for your own long term martial arts training and make sure you neither burn yourself out, nor cut yourself short in training.
A continuous balance in training is necessary. Training should be hard, but at the same time it should be rewarding and enjoyable. Also, it needs to contribute to your overall well-being. It should build you a gradual, solid confidence and raise the standard of your thinking, health and general life style.
In short, try to cool down on your quick self-defense mentality, and instead, look more into long term skills and character-development, as you maintain a calm and determined spirit.
Good luck on your training!
SHAHRAM MOOSAVI