Three Self Defense Ingredients and Four Moves

What does adult self defense training need to consist of?

What moves should a person perform? Before we talk about specific moves, realize every successful self defense move has to meet three criteria to work in the real world. They all have to be:

Effective: Many self defense moves work well against one kind of an attacker, but fail miserably against another kind (usually one who is bigger and stronger). That is why you must focus on moves that work against everyone, regardless of their size, strength, or even skill.

Efficient: Time is not on your side in an altercation, it is on the attacker’s side. The longer they can draw it out, the more time they have to assault, rob, rape, and even kill you. You want all of your moves to be quick, so you can accomplish your one main goal: survival.

Simple: All self defense moves have to be easy to learn, train, and perform. Multi-defense moves may look great, but in most cases are very unrealistic. Moves need to be easy to learn, as you should have them down in a couple dozen repetitions, not thousands. The moves should also be easy to practice, as most of us don’t have hours each day to dedicate to training. Lastly, it should be simple to perform. Complexity is the enemy, just as much as the “dummies” which attacks people.

Here are four instant and basic self defense moves, which are very adaptable to a variety of situations.

The first is the knee strike. Targets include the groin, thigh, and even abdomen. The knee is a simple direct movement, where you strike with the kneecap in a thrusting motion. You can use this move in any frontal assault very easily. When you practice this move, perform repetitions with the front and rear knee, as well as the right and left. Although you should get this move down in a couple dozen reps, additional reps can only help. To see a detailed video of this move, click here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/757ohim6swuiwbq/chapter-8.mp4?dl=0

The next move is the eye jab.

Whether you are attacked on the ground, from the side, or from the front, this move works wonders. If there is some space between you and the attacker, simply flick your fingers at the person’s eyes. A minimal touch on the target will give you enough time to escape or follow up with one of these other moves. If you get tackled down to the ground, this move can adapt to an eye gouge. Realizing you would only do this move if your life depended on it, simply plunge your thumbs into the attackers eye sockets. If you are on the ground, continue to gouge until you can get up. In order to find out more of the eye jab, click here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/d20hax76aa0d0f5/chapter-14.mp4?dl=0

The third move is an elbow strike.

Targets for this tool can range from an attackers face to their abdomen. To complete this move, bend your arm at the point where your elbow protrudes. As you strike with this tool, you must complete a downward strike, aiming for the side of the face (assuming the person is in front of you). If the person attacks from behind, it may depend on where your arms are. If they are pinned down low, go for the stomach and ribs, if the attacker grabs you around the waist, perform a rear elbow to the face. The point is to try a number of positions, and see how versatile and effective this move is. If you want more information on this move, check out this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l8h25bexh328gdr/chapter-11.mp4?dl=0

Finally, there is the head butt.

Many people squint their eyes at this one, or think it may hurt them too much to perform it. However, take a look at the surface area of your fist, and compare it to the much larger surface area of the top of your head. I also want you to realize that a person’s fist is made up of dozens upon dozens of little easily breakable bones. The skull, on the other hand, is among the strongest structures in the human body. Therefore, if we have to use it, it is a great tool to strike an attacker’s face. Think of a person grabbing you from behind or in front, and then picking you off the ground. You can’t elbow strike them, kick them, get your hands free to eye jab them, or even stomp on their foot. The only striking tool you may have is your own head. You would want to use as much of the top of it as possible, as this is the thickest and strongest part. Furthermore, aim for his face, which is the weakest and most vulnerable part. Discover more about the head butt here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yu2yrq3zl2ahjyg/chapter-15.mp4?dl=0

When reviewing all of these moves, a final thing to keep in mind, is that most self defense moves are based on fine motor skills (just like putting a key into a key hole) and complex motor skills (multi step moves, such as throwing a ball while running). When the human response of an “adrenaline dump” into our bloodstream happens, following feeling threatened, the ability to perform fine and complex motor skills decreases. Gross motor skills, which are single direct moves completed by large muscle groups, actually increase in their ability with adrenaline. As a result, make sure self defense moves are gross motor skill based, so you can actually perform them when threatened.