Self Defense

Self Defense and the Principles of Punching

Effective striking is a fundamental skill that needed for many different approaches to self defense. It doesn't matter where you learn how to do, the principles of punching are fairly consistent. Every martial arts DVD will discuss punching in great detail, because if executed incorrectly, you can end up hurting yourself more than the target. There are a wide variety of punching methods, especially if you take a close look at a wide berth of martial arts techniques. To gain a better understanding about the nuances of punching, here is closer look at some of the basic principles.

One of the first concepts that will discussed when you learn martial arts is that muscle relaxation is vital to execute a punch properly. Many people will naturally begin to tense as their start their punch, however this will cause rapid fatigue and limited power. Additionally, relaxing your forearms will increase the speed of your punch, the power of your punch, and your overall reaction time. Another basic principle of punching is weight transfer. In order to generate power, weight transfer is vital. This is often done by rotating the hips, following the punch with the body, or dropping your body weight into it.

One of the most important principles of punching is rapid retraction. Once you have delivered your strike, you should retract your wrist as quickly as possible. Accomplishing this will provide 3 basic advantages. The first is that your arm will return to the protection that your stance provides instead of leaving it open to a counter attack that could cause joint damage. Another advantage of rapid retraction is that it removes your arm from your opponents reach, thus preventing them from grabbing your arm and pulling your off balance or using a painful clinch. Finally, it allows your hand and arm to quickly return to a position of power, so that you can throw another punch. If you do not have rapid retraction, you will either only land one punch instead of two, or your second punch will lack the speed, power, and precision necessary for a successful strike.

The final principle of punching is telegraphing. Telegraphing your strike will occur if your body movement alert your opponent to what you are about to do. One of the best ways to prevent this is to simply remain relaxed. Another way to telegraph your punch is to draw your arm back, much like you are cocking a gun, changing your facial expression, and even tensing your neck muscles. All of these movements can potentially alert your opponent that you are about to strike, which gives them a better chance of blocking or deflecting it. Every self defense DVD will give you additional telegraphing actions that you can look for as well.

All of these principles are fairly simple to understand, but can be difficult to conquer When it comes to self defense, one or two well thrown punches will be able to disorient, distract, or immobilize your opponent long enough to allow you to get away. Just remember to: keep your muscles relaxed, transfer your weight, retract rapidly, never telegraph your attack.

Martial Arts Self Defense

Martial Arts Self Defense – Targeting Areas of the Body

During your martial arts self defense training, you will learn the different areas of the body that are best to target when defending yourself. This is incredibly important because if you can execute a devastating strike, it will not be very effective if it is not properly targeted. There seem to be 5 major areas of the body that are targeted by most self defense videos. They include the: head, neck, torso, groin, and extremities Here is a quick overview of each area and the type of damage that is most effective against it.

The first area to discuss is the head. In almost every self defense video, the best places that are identified to target are the eyes, nose, ears, temple, and jaw. The eyes stand out as a great place to attack because they are made up of soft tissue and are not protected by bone or muscle. Additionally, an effective attack to they can momentarily blind or disorient your attacker which will give you enough time to escape. If you are forced to target lower, then the neck is a fantastic option and is discussed in almost every martial arts DVD. The front of the neck, the throat area, is also composed of soft tissue that has no natural protection from bone or muscle. An effective strike to the throat will cause it to swell, which can temporarily close their airway.

The torso has four major areas that can be effectively attacked, they include: the clavicle, solar plexus, ribs, and kidneys. If your goal is to stun your attacker, then a swift strike to the solar plexus will knock the wind out of them and can temporarily immobilize them. The ribs are also an excellent target because damage to the ribs can also be immobilizing and even cause internal damage as well. The groin is another soft tissue area that has no natural protection. Additionally, because of its central location, almost all offensive martial arts moves can be used to strike it. When striking the groin, aim specifically for the scrotum. If you miss, you still cause a large amount of pain, and if you connect, it can cause the lower abdominal muscles to contract and the attacker will not be able to effectively stand for some time.

The final area that needs to be discussed is the extremities This area should rarely be the focal point of your attacks, however hindering this area in a close quarter situation is extremely helpful as it gives you a control advantage. Additionally, damage to the joints can cause immobilization.

As you can see there are a wide variety of options to choose from, so it is important that your strike serves a purpose. The most effective aspect of martial arts self defense is that with only one or two strikes, you can either disorient or immobilize your attacker long enough to escape, which should always be the top priority. Remember, when striking your attacker, focus on one of these five areas: the head, the neck, the torso, the groin, or specific areas of the extremities

Martial Arts Training

Martial Arts Training – The Body as Weapon

The fundamentals of martial arts training is to teach you how to utilize your body as a weapon. There are a lot more potential weapons on the human body than many people realize. By focusing on the two most common areas (the arms and the legs) there are a large number of potential striking points. One of the most important aspects of self defense training is that you learn how to use your surroundings, which in many cases is only your body. Let's break down the two main areas of emphasized in self defense videos and see how many weapons we can find.

Let's start with the legs because they are considered by many self defense training videos as the most powerful weapon on the human body. One of the largest benefits that using your legs as weapon provides is that this area of your body is the hardest to injure, which makes it a safe choice. In military self defense, the feet are used quite often because of boots that are worn by soldiers. Marines will use the balls of their feet, toes, and insteps to attack an opponent. They will even use the cutting edge of their heels to stomp on an opponent. Another potent weapon on the legs is the knees. Knees are ideal for close range strike where extending your entire leg is impractical. It is recommended in several military manuals to strike an opponent in the groin with your knee and as they bend over, you can also use your knee to deliver a strike to their face, which can potentially break bones, but at minimum take them to the ground.

Along with the legs, using your arms and hands is often considered a primary strategy throughout most martial arts training. The hands can be used in a variety of ways. The most well known is simply to make a fist to target soft tissue areas. The edge of the hand can also be used against soft tissue area. The palms, because of their extra padding, is used for a variety of tasks including striking and blocking. Finally, the fingers can be used to rip, gouge, and even tear at soft tissue areas (specifically the eyes, throat, and groin).

With so much emphasis place upon the hands, it can be easy to overlook how useful the elbow is as a weapon. Marines use their elbows very similar to the way that they use their knees. They are striking weapons that are to be utilized during close combat.

As you can see, even when you focus on only the two primary areas, the legs and arms, you can still find a wide variety of potential weapons. Many types of martial arts training will teach people ways to use all of these weapons and more. If you ever find yourself in a position where are being attacked, it is important to remember that you have a wide variety of weapons available to you, and that is only counting different parts of your body and not the surrounding environment.

Self Defense DVD

Self Defense DVD – Simple Rules to Winning a Surprise Street Attack

A self defense DVD will cover a variety of different situations that the average person needs to be aware of, however some of these situation may seem unlikely for you personally depending on your lifestyle: where you live, what you do, the hours you out, do you travel a lot, how many crazy ex's you have etc While this will give you an excellent foundation of military self defense, a surprise street attack is something that you simply cannot prepare for in its entirety. Many of the variables can be reproduced during your training, but not all of them. Here are some simple rules to keep mind when addressing strategies for dealing with a surprise street attack.

The first thing that you absolutely cannot do in a street fight is go to the ground. This issue is widely debated as grappling and submission holds become more popular. However, if you get surprised on the street, there is a chance that your attacker may have a buddy or two lurking around. Until you have had time to assess your surroundings, going to the ground is dangerous for a variety of reasons. The first is that those buddies who are lurking around can easily come up while you are on the ground and stomp on you until there isn't much left.

Another potential hazard is the environment itself. If you are the target of a surprise attack, then you probably have not completely assessed your surroundings. There is nothing worse than dropping to ground, only to find out that a broken bottle or a few nails have found their way into your side. Keep in mind that nearly every combat self defense manual used by the military states that going to the ground should be a last resort.

Another tip to keep in mind is that you should never use all of your power on your first strike. This is a problem that is most commonly found with martial arts moves because they are designed with only one strike in mind, not an extended fight. The problem is that probably have not been able to assess your attackers potential strengths and weaknesses, which means that you have not found their weakest points. Why waste most of your power on a strike that plays into your attackers strength. The key is to combine a quick barrage of strikes. This will not only put you on the offensive, but your attacker reaction will tell you a lot about them.

As you can see, there are some simple rules that you can follow to give yourself a better chance to stand against a surprise attack on the street. Remember, follow the combat self defense rule of thumb - “stay off of the ground”, make sure to accurately assess your surrounding environment, and make sure that you never waste all of your power on your first strike. Even though these rules are specifically applied to fighting on the street, there is a good chance that these rules will also be applicable to a variety of situations that are discussed on your self defense DVD.

Learn Self Defense

3 Things to Keep in Mind as You Learn Self Defense

When you first start to learn self defense, everything can quickly become intimidating and overwhelming. You start to think about the infinite amount of situations that arise and how you will react to each one of them. This kind of thought process is going to do you a lot more harm than good. While it is true that you could be placed in a situation that you have not specifically prepared for, by setting a few guidelines that can apply to every situation, you will feel more confident and be more effective. Here are 3 guidelines that can be applied to any situation.

The first is that you absolutely must remain calm. One of the fundamental rules that govern every form of martial arts is that you must always be in control of yourself. This includes both your body and your mind. If you do not stay calm when a dangerous situation arises, you likely response will be a snap-decision made out of fear or under stress. Either way, these states of mind do not allow you to think clearly. By staying calm, you will be able to react quickly and execute the moves that you can practiced over and over again during your hand to hand combat training.

The next guideline is often often one of the hardest to truly let sink in. Expect to get hit. If you are attacked, there is a good chance that you attacker will land at least one strike. Getting hit isn't fun, in fact it will probably hurt. But if you let one or two punches affect what you are going to do, then you might as well not waste your time learning self defense in the first place. Your attacker isn't going to just stand there and let you pummel them, they are going to come at you as hard as they can.

The final guideline is that there are no rules. Nearly all martial arts styles have a set of rules that must be followed while you are training. This isn't the case when are fighting on the sidewalk, in a bar, or even the middle of the street. This is especially true if your attacker seems to be a solid fighter. Ram your fingers in their eyes, throw dirt in their face, kick them in the groin, if it is against the “rules” then it will probably give you an advantage. What's the worse that could happen, someone makes fun of you fighting dirty? That is much better than being one who is laying on ground. The one caveat to this rule is that you should try to avoid strikes to the spine or back of the head because those cause life changing injuries and could land you in jail. Remember, defense not assault and battery.

If you can keep these three guidelines in mind while you learn self defense, you will be much more successful if you ever have to use it. Make sure that you always remain calm and in control, going into every encounter expecting to get hit, and when someone is attacking you on the street, it's all fair game.