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Four Self-Defense Tips (Just in Case ...)
Mike Delaney
Most people will do whatever they can to steer far
clear of situations that may take a violent turn. But
sometimes, for some people, violent behavior erupts
uninvited and unexpected.
Ten years spent mastering Tai Mai Shu kung fu may keep
you fit, flexible, and graceful. But ten minutes
invested reading these four tips may save your life.
They are simple ideas, but not common. Since most
people don't plan to be attacked, these ideas don't
occur to them until they are remembering the event and
thinking, "If only I had ... "
TIP #1 - USE YOUR HEAD
First, stay calm and think. As soon as the adrenaline
kicks in, everything will seem to happen in slow
motion. Your mind processes thoughts so rapidly that it
will seem like you have hours to make a decision about
how to react.
Second, the human skull is an awesomely powerful
weapon. Bashing your forehead into the goon's nose is
tremendously more effective than bashing your fist into
it.
Similarly, ladies, if you are grabbed, bear-hug style
from behind, don't waste your time trying to step on
his toes, or elbow his ribs, or kick your heel up into
his groin. Those moves will do little besides anger
your attacker.
Instead, start trying to bash his face with the back of
your head. All you have to do is connect once or twice
with your attacker's face or collarbone.
TIP #2 - ALWAYS HAVE A TOOL HANDY
Always, always, always have something easily and
quickly accessible to use as a weapon. Note that I did
not say, "have a weapon accessible" which is not always
practical or advisable. I mean, if someone surprises
you, there should be something instantly accessible to
aid in your defense. It can be a pen, keys, a can of
vegetables, an umbrella -- anything.
If you remember this one absurdly simple rule about
weapons fighting, you will see the potential weapon in
virtually everything around you AND be able to
effectively use it: anything hard and fast goes to
bone, and anything pointed goes to soft tissue.
For example, a stick or can of vegetables would target
bone: the face, skull, hip, shin, elbow, kneecap. It
would be less effective to use these against, say, an
attacker's abdomen.
Conversely, a knife or pen is much more effective
targeting the throat, eyes, crotch, armpit, or belly
than they are targeting the kneecap.
Hard goes to bone, point goes to soft tissue --
remember that rule, and you will never be without a
weapon again.
TIP #3 - MOVE ALONG A TRIANGLE (a bit of theory)
There is one tip about self-defense that is so
important that entire martial arts systems are based
upon it. The tip: don't get hit. I mention that,
because moving along a triangle goes a long way toward
the goal of not getting hit.
One of the most dangerous mistakes the average person
makes during a fight is to move in straight lines,
either forward and backward, or side to side. This is
also the mistake that will cause the Tai Mai Shu black
belt to get his or her butt whooped in very short order
on the street.
Imagine a vertical dividing line along your body,
dividing your body into left and right halves. The
aggressor is probably going to attack some point along
or around that line: your face, your throat, your
heart, your groin.
Your goal is to move that line out of the path of the
attack AND change the distance of the target from
attacker.
The attacker has mentally committed to striking to a
particular target. His brain has sent the signal to his
fist that the intended target is located at a
particular distance in a particular direction. When you
change the target's coordinates, it spoils the
effectiveness of the attack.
The attacker may be able to recover from a change in
target location or change in target distance alone, but
changing both factors is your best bet. Then, even if
it does connect, the strength of the attack will be
greatly diminished.
Moving in a straight line backward and forward changes
the distance, but does not move your centerline out of
the attack path. Moving laterally changes the location
of the centerline, but not the distance. Moving along
an imaginary triangle changes both.
Imagine standing with both feet on the point of a
triangle and facing the bad guy. The other two points
of the triangle can either be in front of you or behind
you -- I have a preference, but that's tip #4. Each of
the other triangle points are about one medium-large
step away.
Step one foot onto either of the two available triangle
points. Note what has happened to the distance to and
the location of the attacker's original target? Bingo!
Bring your other foot up, and you are now at the
starting point of another triangle.
TIP #4 - ALWAYS ADVANCE WHEN YOU SHOULD RETREAT
During a fight, as during a game of chess, the
experienced player is already planning the second or
third move before the first one is ever completed. In
fact, many of the experienced fighters' moves are used
solely to get the opponent to react in a predetermined
manner.
Fight you own instinct and do not back up. Your
instinct is wrong.
For example, imagine you are throwing a flurry of jabs
at me. In your mind, you "know" exactly what I am going
to do: backpedal to escape your jabs.
In fact, you are counting upon me backpedaling into
that corner behind me, then you'll pound me into a
liquid, right? How surprised are you going to be when I
step forward, along my trusty triangle, and not
backward? You'd be very surprised because I'm not
"supposed" to step into an attack, rather away from it.
Since, in this scenario, I've stepped forward along the
triangle, while you are busy trying to figure out how
to handle this unexpected happening, I am now inside
your defenses, and face your unprotected ribs, armpit,
neck, head, abdomen, flank, and knee -- a virtual
smorgasbord of targets. Then it's back to tip #2: hard
goes to bone, point goes to soft.
All of these tips are simple common sense. But, most
people never think about them until someone points them
out. Additionally, most people will never use this
advice because they do not put themselves in situations
which may become violent.
As I see it, goal of self-defense training is to have
the ability to utterly destroy another person, but
foresight to never have to demonstrate it.
About the Author
Mike Delaney is the author of
How to Beat Shoplifters and Increase Profits
available at Bison Creek Desktop Publishing
http://www.zianet.com/bisoncreek
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