Last night, I attended a Hapkido Seminar where I'm a student at White Tiger Tae Kwon Do & Martial Arts in Cary, NC,

As I snapped away at photos, the question of self-defense in today's society came to mind.

It seems all too often the "answer" to protecting yourself and your right to self-defense equates to whether you're a gun-owner or not. But as I watch the seminar participants learn simple techniques of both defending

and disarming a weapon from a would-be attacker, I continued pondering.

"For every rare case where one actually uses a gun to protect themselves, how many more times are they themselves, a child, or a close friend or family member actually injured by the very weapon intended to "protect", I thought to myself.

I'm convinced that learning self-defense through Martial Arts is the perfect way to protect yourself and your family. Your "weapon" is always with you and It's available to those of ALL ages, genders, and backgrounds... and above all, there's no need for a gun safe.