10 Considerations for Self Defense

Welcome to the post... I just wanted to give you some tips on self defense. Things you should consider and think about before you ever need to use them or find yourself in a situation where you are physically threatened.
 
They are in no particular order:

1.    Self Awareness: Always be aware of yourself and in particular your composure when you are out and about... This speaks volumes when a potential attacker is deciding on who to target in the first place.

2.    Expect the unexpected: No one can tell you what is likely to happen if you face an attack... Everything is a potential “what if?” Your best response to this is to have a neutral base from which you can deal with the unexpected

If you have thought about this previously as suggested at the top, you will have a goal to survive, unscathed and this can be the base from which you respond to the unexpected and it will self-govern your natural responses.


3.    A relaxed, yet alert mind and body: You definitely don’t want to go around thinking “I could be attacked any minute now”. If you do, the stress will be immense... However you want to be alert – in a state where you can react instantly should the need arise.

To put this into effect, you only have to intend to do so... You could say to yourself “I am relaxed but alert”.


4.    Change of state: In the instant you sense danger. You need to switch to defense mode... If an attack is not underway but all the signs are there, then this change of state may be as simple as making eye contact and letting the assailant know he is in more danger than he thinks. Because you are not going to let him off lightly.

If the attack is already underway, you can communicate a change of state with solid stances, loud intense kiai with the aggression to match (not anger).

5.    Preparation: This simply means you need to take all the steps listed here and practice, role play and internalise them... With friends and Family who are willing. But definitely with other members of your Martial Arts club/Dojo.

6.    Your survival is key: The overruling principle has to be that you live to tell the tale. This determines your choices from the outset when you are faced with danger... Survival means you don’t take chances – You make sure!

Do this:

• Strike to put em down.

• Presume there may be others lurking around the corner.

•  And, definitely stay away from the ego that says “I’m gonna beat you up slowly”... No! Execute and get out of there.

7.    Attack the nucleus: This will vary, depending on the situation... I feel the best way to look at it is to think “Where can I hurt this offence the most?”

Sometimes it is to take out the little guy... But in another case, you have to take out the big guy to put the ‘fear of God’ into the others.

An out of the box way to look at this is: What if I gave them what they wanted – money, jewellery etc... It doesn’t mean you are their friend. But it buys you thinking time and possibly an escape route.

8.    No mercy - at your expense: If you find yourself in a situation where you have taken out one or more assailants and they are pleading for mercy... You have to seriously consider that mercy could mean risking your life!

Only consider mercy when your escape is absolutely accomplished... Not before.

9.    It is still 80% mental: In competitions and in the dojo we are continually taught that it is a mental game... Remember this... You’ll need to think on your feet, in the air and on the ground.

An example – You are knocked to the ground and are being kicked by two guys... Naturally you cover up... Well, you can’t just stay there (or play dead). They will not stop until you are no longer moving.

‘Thinking on the ground’ You could:

• Grab one leg and sweep the other – this get’s one person on the floor, giving you vital seconds to rise to your feet and it is 1 on 1 while the other guy recovers... This gives you the ‘run!’ option or at least resets the clock for you to carry out your plan b.

•  Through your guard, you sight a groin and hit HARD with a kick or punch... A sure game changer.

• Execute an escape technique; consisting of rolling out of there if you can. Failing that, rolling into a position where you can use your legs for a continuous barrage of kicks aimed at both assailants. Yes, you might concede a hit or two while moving into the position. But you will slow them down... Buying you some all important time.

10. Your Loved Ones: Always a tricky subject... What is the right or wrong way to deal, considering you don’t want to put them in a worse position than they are already in.

The goal here will be for everyone to survive, preferably unscathed. The nine previous lessons will be invaluable here... In particular the ones where you remain relaxed, think on your feet and attack the nucleus.

In addition to that, you’ll need to maintain a ‘sweeper’ position... This means don’t get into any individual scraps if you can avoid it... You want to protect your loved ones and throw what is necessary to keep your assailants at bay.

If you can get your loved ones to a safe position where they can’t be got at easily... All the better... This gives you time to deal with the attackers in a more efficient way.

Bonus item - Use what you got:

Here, the goal is simple... Yes you are a Martial Artist... but in a situation which is self defense... If the opportunity to end a potential threat by cracking a bar stool or any other object within reach on your attackers head is available... Then my advise is to take it... ~Get out of there in one piece. Then go explain why you did it later.

Don’t stand there squaring off when your attacker clearly has a ‘no rules’ I’m gonna hurt you policy.

There you have it... My 10 self defense considerations. Note: that’s all they are considerations. Consider, practise, role play and internalise what will help you, before you’ll ever need them.

Remember, your mind and how you think will always be your greatest asset in any situation... Going through these considerations can act as a mental and physical rehearsal before the need ever arises. Be safe!

All the best

Paul.

Copyright Paul Adjayi 2013 ©

How to Get Faster, Without Trying

George Donahue practices the first move of Pin'an one (Pin'an two or Heian two in some styles).

The first move of some of the basic katas of the Shorin tradition, including Shotokan and its offshoots (and many basic katas of other traditions), is a trained reaction to being startled or surprised. In schools that maintain the old ways, most of the training involved is in what NOT to do. 

Imagine a parent driving a car with a child (even a grown offspring) in the front passenger seat. If the average parent has to hit the brakes unexpectedly, the first thing that happens as the foot presses the brake pedal is an almost universal startle reaction: 

The parent throws out his or her right arm to shield the child.* The move is a combination of an effort to restrain the child from slamming forward and an attempt to cushion the child. No conscious thought is involved. It doesn't matter whether the child is firmly buckled or flagrantly unsecured, the parent's reaction is the same. Even people who are ordinarily very slow at reacting, tortoise slow in their movements, do this arm throw with great speed. It's almost instantaneous and sometimes powerful enough to leave bruises on both the parent's arm and the child's torso.

Now picture yourself doing any of the basic katas of your repertoire. I'll use Pin'an Shodan (Heian Nidan**) as an example. We often practice this kata very slowly, deliberately, and simplistically with moves broken down into their components and even subcomponents. This is the ordinary way to practice, and it serves many good purposes. Unfortunately, when we then want to practice at full power and speed, if we’re not careful we stay on the same continuum as the slow-motion movement. 

We do the move quickly but not explosively. We perform ordinarily when we ought to be explosively extraordinary. To use old Star Trek terminology, we move from Warp Factor One (slow, deliberate motion) to Warp Factor Two (fast, deliberate motion). What we need to do is jump directly from a resting posture or normal deliberate speed to Warp Factor Five, or Ten, or more—a speed that leaves not an instant for deliberation. We need the speed of a parent protecting a child. We need the speed of a dog jumping straight up when it finds itself about to step on a snake. (Some humans do this, too. If you are one of those humans, you already know how to move at Warp Five. You just need to replicate it in your kata.)

There are several rudimentary factors involved in producing this hyper speed.

First, there is no time for a windup, either of the limb or the torso—so we skip it. Only with arrows and some guns is a cocking motion necessary. Fists and feet don’t need it. In fact, in all martial arts windups are almost always unnecessary and often are counterproductive anyway, except when the intent is to deceive. The parent in the example above doesn’t take a windup and yet generates great power and speed. 

Second, there is no attempt to tighten the muscles into a focus position. That would be the same as slamming the brakes on the limb as you slam the brakes on the car. Your arm wouldn’t get into position in time to protect your child. The relaxed, unflexed arm works much like a whip. If there is any tightening at all, it happens after the parent’s arm is completely in the protective position. 

Third, we don’t focus our intentions or our actions on the arm being thrown out to protect the child. We do it without thought, without concentration, without focus. That way, we can perform many actions simultaneously. In the car, at the same time we’d be throwing out the protective arm, we would be pressing the brake pedal, maybe pressing the clutch pedal, if we had one, maybe violently turning the steering wheel to avoid collision and, if not, then holding the wheel firmly to keep control of the car. 

Fourth, we don’t imagine a specific attack that will always trigger the first move of the kata. If we get into the habit of thinking that a kata symbolizes the reaction of a defender dealing with an attacker doing exactly Attack A or Attack B, either of which is best dealt with by Reaction C or Reaction D, then we needlessly limit our repertoire, at least. At most, we train our bodies to work in only one or a few specific ways. When things don’t go exactly as scripted, we have to think quickly to modify or overcome our trained specific reaction. Quick thinking is always slower than no thinking. 

So, I’ve just set out four things we don’t do if we want to succeed in the car or in the kata. The average person can easily double the speed of a reaction by avoiding these four impediments. Unfortunately, it’s sometimes harder to learn to undo something than it is to learn to do something. Although there are several elements we can add to our way of moving, such as proper breathing, use of koshi, arches, compression and torque, and visualization, it’s important to clear out the impediments to speed and power first. 

Getting back to Pin’an Shodan, or any Pin’an kata, for that matter: Try relaxing as completely as you can while standing in the ready position, using just enough energy to remain standing. Since your arms play very little part in keeping your body erect, they can and should be as limp as wet, over-boiled noodles. At the signal to begin the kata, whip your hands from in front of you to their final position. Don’t worry about being crisp or exact, don’t worry about the path of your movement—your hands can’t go farther than the end of your arms anyway. Don’t even worry about being fast, just whip it. 

After you’ve consistently doubled your speed, you can begin to think about refining your movements or about the many possible applications of those movements. Then, too, is a good time to begin to add advanced elements to your movements. Once again, however, it’s important to get rid of what is not essential before you attempt to add new elements. 

Footnotes:

* Throwing out your arm to protect your passenger doesn’t really do much to secure the safety of the passenger, but we do it anyway. It’s a small indication of the essential nobility of human nature. 

** Gichin Funakoshi-sensei switched the order of Pin’an Shodan and Nidan when he renamed the Pin’an series to Heian, with Pin’an Shodan becoming Heian Nidan and Pin’an Nidan becoming Heian Shodan. Some Shorin schools followed his example, as far as the order of the kata and for those schools former Pin’an Shodan became Pin’an Nidan, and vice versa.

Copyright © 2011 George Donahue & FightingArts.com
All rights reserved 

By George Donahue