What are your personal philosophies/strategies/ tactics for self-defense?

[darrianation]

I am interested in hearing about your personal philosophies/strategies/ tactics for self-defense. I am not interested in your instructor’s ideas, or what your style/art teaches.

My general philosophies/strategies/ tactics for self-defense.

The D’ formula

1) Prevention by planning ahead of time! Providing yourself with your own personal threat assessments and risk evaluation for your home, family, work, travel, and past times/leisure time. Identifying and correct any weaknesses in you security and develop procedures to deal with emergencies.

2) Use your head think about what you are doing, who you’re with, where you are, the behaviors you are exhibiting as well as paying attention to the behavior of others around you, and don’t let anger or pride get the best of you.

3) Be aware and stay alert!

4) Avoid unnecessary places, people, and situations!

5) Escape and evade retreat, use natural or man made barriers to keep between you and the bad guy! Run to safety not from danger, in other words run to where people are especially those in authority.

6) Physical confrontation as a last resort only! Go on the offensive! Hit first, hit hard, hit often, and grapple only when you have to!

You should be able to defend your self in all the fighting ranges:
1) Weapons range
2) Kicking range
3) Punching range
4) Clinch (grabbing range), some call this trapping range or grappling range
5) Ground fighting range

Other important factors:
1) Psychological conditioning- Dealing with fear, anger, and adrenaline. Fighting with ferocity, determination, tenacity, and resolve. Developing mental toughness and confidence.
2) Size and strength
3) Physical conditioning- endurance, fitness, and physical toughness.
4) Self-esteem

D’s top 10 rules of self-defense:
1) First and foremost there are no rules in street fighting.
2) Never let someone into your personal space
3) Go on the offensive.
4) Do not be afraid to get hit.
5) Always look for opportunities to disengage and escape.
6) Be focused but aware of what is going on around you.
7) Never assume anything, and don’t let anything surprise you.
8) Don’t worry about how your technique looks.
9) Be aggressive, ferocious, intent, and explosive! Don’t fight fair, and do whatever it takes to win/survive. Fight like your life depends on it!
10) Weapons are better than empty hands!


D’s list of general techniques: * Keep techniques simple- movements should be gross motor as possible.

1) Movement- Keep it forward, or move laterally and at angles to avoid strikes
2) Punches- Use straight punches, palm strikes, hammer fists, eye gouges with rakes (tiger claw)
3) Kicks- use them sparingly. If you must kick, make them low kicks. Lead/rear leg kick and soccer style kicks to groin. Leg kicks (round, straight, side) to the thighs, knees, and ankles. Body kicks with front thrust kicks, front and side push kicks (teeps). Sweeps to off balance attacker. Keep them simple and low.
4) Other powerful strikes, head buts, biting, knees, and elbows. Spinning back fist/hammer fist, and spinning back elbow.
5) Grappling- Clinching, clinch knees, throws from the clinch like hip throws and trips. Counter takedowns from throws, double/single leg takedowns, and tackles. Recovery from slips and falls.
6) Ground fighting- bottom position: escapes/reversals, eye gouging, biting, finger grabbing twisting/wrenching. Joint locks and chokes. Top position: elbows, hammer fists, palm strikes, head buts, eye gouging, and biting, escapes to your feet.

*remember your grappling skills should enable you to:

1) Survive long enough to escape back to your feet. Including escapes/reversal from the bottom position.
2) Finnish your opponent quickly if you cannot escape back to your feet.

Part 2 will be my general philosophies/strategies/tactics against weapons.

[shadowkiller]

Those are pretty good. But I would add,

Be mindfull of your feelings, if you feel nervous about something then stay on guard, or get out of the situation if you feel that uncomfortable.

And always travel in a group when out on the town. Don't walk dark streets or alleys if you can help it unless you are with people you know and trust. Usually this is an easy one, regularly when you go bar hopping you have people with you. My advice is to stick with them.

[darrianation]

Yes those are good. Here is some good info on those topics:
Body Language - 'talking the talk' & 'walking the walk'

[Thai Bri]

Greeat idea. Why not start a thread, just so you can link to another thread that you wrote....

Wassup? Baby want some attention?

[darrianation]

Originally Posted by Thai Bri

Greeat idea. Why not start a thread, just so you can link to another thread that you wrote....

Wassup? Baby want some attention?

Except I didn't start that other thread! HuSanYan did! I think his article was very good.

[Tom Yum]

Originally Posted by HandtoHand

Stupid cafeman use weapon

Just when you thought the cafe was a safe place.....

[Tom Yum]

Originally Posted by HandtoHand

After all i'm a gigalo's gigalo who comes from the gay state, now kiss my boo-boo that i got after that SOB pushed me. jj

with or without the tongue...

I've got standards 'cept Friday nites..hehe.

Hey man, the cafe thing was a joke, not intended at your spelling, but just cutin' up.

[Tom Yum]

you've got too much free time on your hands, boy...jj

[Hikage]

Originally Posted by shadowkiller

Be mindfull of your feelings...

What are you? Someone's padawan?

-Hikage

[Smart Fighter]

Originally Posted by shadowkiller

Those are pretty good. But I would add,

Be mindfull of your feelings, if you feel nervous about something then stay on guard, or get out of the situation if you feel that uncomfortable.

And always travel in a group when out on the town. Don't walk dark streets or alleys if you can help it unless you are with people you know and trust. Usually this is an easy one, regularly when you go bar hopping you have people with you. My advice is to stick with them.

Good advice that is.

[darrianation]

My philosophies about knife defense are this.

1) RUN!
2) Use an obstacle to keep between you and the attacker (Table, car, desk, etc.).
3) Pull your own weapon if distance and time allows
4) Hasty weapons: Weapons that gives you better distance like a chair (you can swing it or throw it at the attacker to give you an opportunity to escape), Pool cue, beer bottles (beer mugs), end tables, etc can all be used as weapons to keep distance and, or provide time/opportunity to escape.
5) Kick- kicks to cause damage. This also helps to maintain distance.
6) Unarmed techniques: All the above has failed perform unarmed against armed techniques or in other words fight with your hands and feet and for ECQB (extremely close quarters battle) use disarms

* If you are armed with a gun, I would still attempt escape first, if there were no practical escape then shoot.

The basic triage works like this a knife is pulled by an attacker- retreat, retreat to gain access to a weapon, use distance enhancers like a firearm, pool cue, chair, tree branch, 2x4, throw things such as beer mugs, rocks/bricks pull a knife of your own, finely feet (kicks), and etc.

If you are left fighting this guy empty handed then go for the knife hand controls/disarms just remember if you are lucky enough to grab the knife arm he still has a free arm (or maybe a 2nd knife), an elbow, two knees and feet, teeth to bite you with and a head in which he can head but.

There are also some great ideas for knife fighting and defenses here. William started this thread.
Knife