Learning how to defend against an attacker is an unsavory but necessary fact of life. There may be an instance in your life when you are unable to avoid a confrontation and there is no one nearby to come to your rescue. In this unfortunate situation, your safety may depend on your ability to fight back.

The myth is that you should not do anything.  The reality is that you must strike back – hard. Here are some tips on turning the tables on an attacker.  Don’t read this if you have moral objections to seriously incapacitating an attacker.

Fact 1 – Attackers are cowards.  They back off quickly when they know that they will get hurt.  They will attack someone who they think is weaker.  You need to always strike quickly, even if it is a first strike, if you are about to be attacked.

Fact 2 – A street fight has no rules. Your attacker will use every trick, and so should you.

Fact 3 – If a street fight continues, it will end up on the ground.  You need to avoid this, especially if you are a woman.

Fact 4 – You will be in street clothes and will be restricted in movement.

Fact 5 – Most attackers are not trained fighters.  They will use one movement (a right handed punch), or brute strength.  Be prepared to maneuver around it.

Fact 6 – An attack is not usually immediate, and there will be threatening behavior beforehand.  This is when your opponent sizes you up.

Fact 7 – If you are hit, it might all be over.  So avoid that, and strike first and hard.  Avoid being put in a restrictive position, don’t be forced into a car, don’t allow someone to pin your arms.

Here are some useful self-defense techniques:

• My favorite is a hammer fist to the nose.  Clench your fist and swing it hard as if you are holding a hammer.  You need to direct it against someone’s nose because this is so painful as to be incapacitating. After someone’s nose is broken, their focus is off you.
• Another technique is the eye gouge. Hook your fingers (all of them) and drag them from the eye downwards.  It is even more effective if you can do both sides.  This is a close range move.
• Don’t throw a punch.  Unless you are a boxer, you won’t be strong enough to be effective.  Use an elbow instead.  The elbow is much harder than the hand.  To use your elbow step towards the attacker, firstly bend your arm and twist your body to give it some power as you snap the elbow out sideways or upwards.  Aim for the temple, or under the jaw.
• Use your knees. Put your hands around the back of an attacker’s neck (don’t interlock your fingers).  Quickly pull the face down, and snap your knee up into it. You may also knee the attacker in the groin, this is especially effective if your attacker is a man!
• If you are a woman and wearing heels, a high heel makes an excellent improvised weapon.  Smash the heel into the attackers face as hard as you can. Or you can even stamp it into an attacker’s instep (you will need to do this if grabbed from behind).
• When there are multiple attackers, the one who talks is the leader.  He is the one you need to take down.

The aim of these movements is to dramatically end the confrontation and eliminate the criminal as quickly as possible.  Once you have stopped them, flee the scene, and go for help. Don’t be a victim.

Tags: self defence, Survival

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 at 7:03 pm and is filed under Survival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.