Smart Defences is a book that supports a practical self-defence system consisting of twenty-seven basic defences that fully utilize the mind, body and spirit. My name is Yvon Gionet, I began researching on this matter more than 20 years ago when I started to understand that other people were controlling my destiny. I was going with the flow, continuously repeating events stemming from decisions made by others who had only one goal: advancing their own interests. At that precise point in time, I decided to become a wiser person, increase my understanding of human beings, and develop the inherent ability to apply my new knowledge in a given environment, whether in self-defence, in other physical activities, in my work, or personal life.
I asked myself: What is a wise person? A wise human being has a deep understanding of people, things, events, or situations. With this understanding, they can make better decisions by controlling their emotional reactions (for example, fear). When emotions are under control, wiser thinking such as facts, principles, reasons, and knowledge can prevail when determining one's actions. Ultimately, I made a firm decision to express myself without fear or anger by opening up, learning from others, being who I am, and showing people what I believe in.
In my early stages of my research, I was telling others about my new discoveries and mindset, but I realized that it didn't have the expected effect on them. Eventually, I realized that it takes the right mindset to cultivate the same understanding I had gained through my life. They needed a process to guide them there and a period of experimentation to fully understand and graduate as a practitioner in a system. I have since put my time and energy in creating the Smart Defences System.