I have a fear of not being able to protect the ones i love.

i am absolutely terrified of the idea that i won't be able to protect the people i care about. Just earlier today i was walking with my best friend(a girl) and we saw this group of teenagers (about 5 of them, same age as us, maybe 16 or 17) with sagging pants on the street corner. As they saw us when we were about maybe 20 odd yards away they started smiling, laughing and calling out to her saying things like "ayo shorty lemme talk to you" and "i bet she got a fat ***". we had to take the long way around the block by going back and circling around because my friend was so scared of something happening or anyone getting hurt. The thing that bothers me is as this was happening i felt so weak and cowardly. I felt like she shouldn't have had to turn around because i should have been able to defend her and myself against those people. I should have been strong enough to guarantee her and my safety but i wasn't. This has also happened with my younger cousin when we pass by groups of rude kids. I felt likea fight couldve started so i apologized for her and kept walking. But it still haunts me weather i avoided potential conflict all those times because i didnt want trouble or if i just couldnt handle it. I know how to fight and i have taken about a months worth of martial arts already but every time a similar situation arises, an extreme sense of dread fear overcomes me.
What if something happens and im not strong enough to protect myself and (.......)?
I have had this fear for as long as i can remember and i dont know if theres a name for it or how to stop it. Any help?

I think it is important for you to explore this fear, not so you can fight others but so that you can feel OK with decisions you make in difficult situations. There is nothing wrong in avoiding conflict when possible.
I grew up in a neighborhood with lots of these "types" of groups on the corner. As a girl, I found that learning to speak back, sometimes using humor, sometimes just being blunt, was usually successful, but there were times I avoided (I listen to my gut...). I used to (and sometimes still do for situations I am entering) think of multiple ways to respond to different potentially threatening situation, some creatively, some straight forward; I did find this helpful and in one case I was able, without thinking, to pull one of these "tricks" out in a potentially dangerous situation and it worked well....I think practicing in your head does help. It is a kind of practice (like, as a nurse I will review emergency responses in my head, especially the ones I rarely encounter so that when it happens I don't have to think about it....) Not sure if this makes sense.

welcome to PC.
it is good you can post here and share with the rest of us.

(((((hugs)))))))

Welcome to PC I think I understand how you're feeling. I worry a lot about not being able to protect my loved ones.

I understand where you are coming from and i do actually do the mental preparation from time to time and I know that there's nothing wrong with avoiding conflict but it just feels like every time i do there's a little voice in my head saying "You didn't avoid/walk away because you didn't want to fight or argue, you did it because you know you'd lose."
And its gotten to a point where this has gone on for so long, since i was about 11, that now regardless of the person i'm gonna be in potential conflict with (even if i know i'm stronger and more skilled in combat) there's always a side of me telling me "Don't risk it". And i feel like a coward for listening to it.