I studied karate a while ago and have looked into self defense since.
I think the most important think is to learn how to control your emotions during any confrontation either using them to your advantage or learning how to calm yourself, heart rate, the adrenalin spikes etc.
Notice what your body is doing and work with it to either calm it or not be so uncontrolled.
yes, though that’s not necessarily possible in real danger so I also meant getting used to it for if you need to do it unfortunately for real.