self defense techniques

self defense techniques questions and answers

Q: What is the better way to teach self defense techniques?
Serious martial arts students and instructors only please. In a system that has about 100 self defense techniques to black belt, Is it better to teach many different techniques off similar grabs (i.e. arm bar, wrist lock, and shoulder lock off of a wrist grab) or teach one defense against each type of grab (i.e. wrist grab, shoulder grab, choke)? I want my students to get a well rounded system. I have done both types but I am trying to figure out what works best for the majority.

A: In my experience with teaching and being taught you always begin with the techniques that are easiest to learn; for example to could teach the defense against a regular punch and maybe a choke first, then if the class seems to pick up on that concept easily enough you could also teach them the arm bar in the same class. So in one class you would teach a couple easy techniques and one difficult technique. This is a solid rule because regardless of how experienced or tough your students are, and regardless of how quickly they learn they are in your class to learn all of your 100+ self defense moves. This includes the easy ones, so teaching them based on their skill level isn't very effective because then the only moves they won't know towards the end of their training will be the easy ones, and at that point it will be very frustrating to go back. Another reason that easy moves are taught first is because in self defense the advanced moves are usually built upon the easy moves: for instance you are taught to punch and block before you are taught to block, grab, lock, and break in one move. So honestly it isn't important if any of the moves are related or not: get some paper and on one page write all of the moves (even the simple ones like a punch) down that you can think of and then on another page write them in order of difficulty to learn/apply with 1 being the easiest. If some moves are equally easy/difficult in your mind just put them in order of importance for self defense. This is a great teaching tool as well because you can type up your numbered list and hand it out to your students as a guideline for learning: this lets them know where they are at in their belt progression as well as gives them something to look forward to. Happy Training!

Q: how do you flip someone over or more easy self defense techniques that aren't too dangerous?
I don't want to go out and take a long course of Karate or whatever just for a few things and there is nowhere that teaches self defense around here. Just incase I ever got in a fight, what are some techniques that wouldn't hurt someone too badly but would kind of knock them over? Like flipping someone? Nothing too complicated or hard to learn? I have some Tai Kwan Do experience and I can do a Judo shoulder throw.

A: Hey! Go to this link! Another yahoo-ian asked this question and got a great answer! http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080513142839AAVB4UD

Q: how to check my self-defense techniques without severe injury?
Hi! I'm training a new mixed martial art called "full contact karate kick boxing" in my gym in addition to learning reality based self-defense techniques. i want to know does the things that i have learned, will help me someday or i will forget everything due to stress, new situation, fear of confrontation etc? is it safe to check it with a friend or you recommend another way? Thanks.

A: That's why you have to burn the techniques into your muscle memory by practicing over and over again. Obviously you have to train your moves on a real person. Practice restraint when you do the moves and practice on a gym mat. Example: When you're putting someone in a joint lock, you're trying to get a submission tap out, not break their arm.

Q: What are some good self defense techniques for me to learn?
My entire life I have lived in a small town, surrounded by family. In the summer, though, I'll be moving to a rather large city (Rome, Italy)...and I'll be by myself for a while. I'll use my common sense, but things still happen.....so, what are some self defense moves I could learn? Any suggestions? Thanks. Oh, and I didn't know what category to put it in...but I am female, and I guess the question is pertaining to my health and well being...so, women's health it is. lol

A: Let me start by saying that self defense does not necessarly have the same goals as martial arts. Self defense is about surviving, hopefully unhamred after a violent encounter. The goal is not really to fight, or to beat up the other person but rather to escape to safety. While I certainly encourage you to start with a martial arts class, understand that many martial arts have the goal of teaching you to fight or to compete. I've trained in several martail arts school and not a one of them ever talk or trained students in awareness or avoidance which are very key components to staying safe. Learn how to avoid dangerous places, dangers people and risky behaviour. Keep your head up and don't get overly involved on cell phone calls. Do not look lost or like you are uncertain, even when you are. If you don't look like prey, it greatly reduces the chance that you will become prey. Self defense needs to be simple, efficient and brutal. Nothing fancy. And you cannot approach it was a timid mindset. You have to committ to a course of action and committe 110%. You will most likey be confronted by someone who is larger and stronger than you. Aggressors seldom attack someone unless they are pretty certain they can win. So you cannot use half way measures. Primary targets are soft tissue. The eyes, the throat, the solar plexis and the groin are good examples. Don't strike at the head with your fist. It is very easy to break a bone in your hand or sprain your wrist when striking, this is especailly true if you have not trained for that type of impact. You and you alone are responsible for your safety. Take it seriously and understand that there is a lot to learn. I don't think anyone learns it all. Most of it is mental and deal with your behaviour in order to avoid conflict. The physcial part requires learning techniques which is really pretty easy, and learning how to apply them which is a whole lot harder. They are pershable skills and require regular practice even after you feel you have mastered them. A martial arts class will help you get used to making the needed striking motions as well as get you used to forceful physcial contact. A good instructor will also help you get your head around the idea of hurting another human being. This is very difficult for some people when the rubber meets the road and many women will attemtp to use a technique to hurt someone "just a little bit" and the results are no normally good. So yes, join a martial arts school or club. But keep your focus on self defense, unless you decide to get into competitive sparring which if fine if that is what you are looking for. Just dont' confuse a martial art with the emphasis on sparring with real world self defense. Good luck to you! (Once again spell checking is not working. I guess they will get it fixed soon.)

Q: Is there a good website that shows self-defense techniques without actual fighting?
I'm gonna do a speech about how to defend yourself against attackers. Not everybody in the class or teacher would know martial arts. I want to tell them useful tactics to use if they suddenly encounter an enemy. And techniques the girls could use also.

A: The best kind of defense that any person could easily use against an attacker would either be Pepper spray, a stun gun, or a Taser. All three are ideal defense products for women, as they are small, lightweight, concealable, and extremely easy to use. Pepper Spray can be bought for under 10 dollars, and stun guns can be found for under 20. I own a website that sells these products and if you would like to offer our services to your group, you can message me at Keith.Shetler@Gmail.com and I can arrange a special Discount Code for you and your group.

Q: What are some self-defense techniques I can practice at home?
I'm a total novice. My main problems are balance, focus and timing. I had my first training today. It was horrible! I hate it when my instructor puts on that frustrated face. Pls help? Anything I can do to prepare myself for next training? Thanks! Ali I tried to kick him in the balls and his elbow ended up in my face.... Travis I will definitely practice your advice, thanks! :) Appreciate more suggestions!

A: Wear shoes that you have to tie and untie. Take them on and off while standing up every single time, including tying and untying. But if you are serious about taking responsibility for your own safety, then start with awareness and avoidance. This will help to you avoid the the need for the physical skills. Yet the physical skills are still needed. Concentrate on understanding a concept more than understanding a technique itself. Take a self defense class but be wary of them. Many so called self defense classes will teach just enough to get yourself hurt. Your primary targets are soft body tissue. This means the eyes, throat, the solar plexus and the groin. You must also realize that in most instances your attacker will be larger, stronger, and more aggressive than you. This means that once you decide to act, you must fully intend to do that person damage and you put 110% effort into that. Now the chances that you will actually do permanent harm to someone is there but it is slight. If you hesitate or hold back your chances of success are greatly reduced. Mindset is very important and commitment to act and act with everything you've got as important as any technique you may learn. Good luck

Q: Women’s self defense techniques?
Hi! I was wondering if any girl here has ever had to use self defense in a real world situation, or if any boys ever witnessed this or helped train their GF how to fight. Any techniques utilized which were effective would be helpful!

A: hey thats a good question,well one time i attacked theses two women one of them poked me in the eye and the other bit me lol, seriously though if you get attacked dont panic but dont be calm either you should actually poke your attackers eyes hit them in the private parts,do what comes natural to you but dont give up,make him fear you.

Q: What tv shows are the best for learning different fight stiles and self defense techniques?
I'm referring to tv shows like fight science and human weapon and I'm wondering if there are more of them that are even more detailed Just looking for any related documentary or tv show.

A: You can learn ABOUT different styles and techniques by watching TV, reading books, etc., but if you want to actually learn the techniques -- that is, be able to do them -- then watching TV is not going to help you, except as part of a professional-quality curriculum. There are some schools that make a good faith attempt at long distance, video instruction. But even so, it is vastly different from actually learning, in person, from a skilled instructor. The main thing is that TV won't tell you when you are doing something wrong. Also, as I've said many times in answer to similar questions, one has to recognize that "fight styles" (martial arts) and self defense are two different things. If you want to learn self defense, then you need to study SELF DEFENSE. If you want to learn martial arts, then you need to choose and study a particular martial art. These are two different things, and it doesn't help that so many martial arts instructors confuse their students on this matter. This all being said, if you do want to be able to watch some shows that will demonstrate effective techniques, I recommend two: 1. Professional MMA matches like WEC or UFC league competitions. Here you will see actual techniques applied in a fluid, live attempt to defeat an opponent. Sometimes it gets a little boring when the fighters have really similar styles. But sometimes it is pretty good. 2. Lookup "real fights" or something like that on youtube.com. There you will see what kind of techniques attackers use in real life, and what kind of responses work... and don't. Youtube also has some pretty good brief presentations on particular techniques. This is good if you already know what you are looking for. For example, if you've decided you want to learn to do a jumping spinning roundhouse kick -- which is a neat show-off move -- you can find some decent tutorials on the Internet. I thought that Fight Quest wasn't too bad at demonstrating the fundamental styles and philosophies of different martial arts, but I don't get Discovery channel any more, and so don't know if it is still running. You can probably watch past episodes online.

Q: What are some good Self Defense techniques?
I'm always being picked on at school and outside of school. I want to be able to defend myself when it happens again. I've looked up for any site that could help but it didn't really come up with anything. Help would be greatly appreciated. When I say I'm being picked on, I mean physically being pushed around and hit.

A: The single best self defense "technique" is to avoid trouble in the first place. There is a difference between self defense from assault and self defense from bullies. Sounds like you seek help in defense from a bully (or multiple bullies). For defense against bullies, especially in a school setting, you should take wrestling, grappling, jujitsu or similar training. With several months' effort you can learn to deal with most bully situations with minimal injury to yourself or the other person. This is important for school scenarios where throwing punches or doing other things that are part of a legitimate self defense inventory would result in suspension, expulsion, or perhaps even arrest or prosecution. However, if someone is hitting you, and you take him to the ground and tie him up -- perhaps in a very painful way -- you can legitimately claim that you were just protecting yourself and didn't cause any injury. School administrators are pretty stupid these days, but most should get that.

Q: What are best self-defense techniques to protect your groin?
Kick, punch, grab, Kick from backwards (when you get echo fraction of second before it), grab from behind and street fight? Is tactical T stance going to work? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4oWYV9ze4g What about other techniques? I am not talking about hard street fights (mostly) I mean when like in school or something and other think it is funny to attack your groin... And you anticipate/se it =)

A: wear a cup

Q: Self defense techniques: open hand versus regular punch?
I would like to write a fiction involving self defense and i want to know about open hand strikes (with the heel of the palm) and punches how much force does each apply to the opponent? does either one cause the attacker to move backward a certain distance? where and how is each one most beneficial (situation where on the opponent's body etcetera) as an added bonus can anyone tell me about finger strikes such as ones typically used in snake drunken fist and mantis style?

A: Hey Straw Hat Samurai, A palm strike can generate more power behind it while a punch is limited due to possible knuckle damage. I've punched on a makiwara for years and years and there's still a little fear striking something like a concrete wall. I can without harm thanks to the training but one goof and your hand's screwed. In any traditional martial art is going to have some form of supplementary training whether makiwara or the iron palm coconut break which I've trained and have done. It's ideal for perform palm strikes to hard areas like the skull or for elbows or even ribs. Punches are less aggressive (I think anyway) and good really only for meaty areas. You can punch someone in the face, but I wouldn't if I hadn't training on the makiwara. Leaving an open palm is also good for quick joint manipulation techniques. Any art that professes circular movement can appreciate that. Also on finger stikes; that also bowls down to supplementary training. Take Shinyu Gushi for example. He's been featured on tv special on martial arts doing breaks, especially using the hand technique where the fingers resemble a crane's beak (can't remember the name) and breaking through 3 inches of pine! Finger strikes are only advised for soft areas of the body like the underarm, above the clavicle, neck, inner thigh (where the groin joins the leg), and the groin itself. In Dim-Mak (pressure point striking art) finger techniques aren't always used exept around the wrist. Knuckle technique are often used in harder areas like in Phoenix Eye Fist: http://www.martialartsgathering.com/chuka.html One finger technique I see a lot in snake style is using the tips of the fingers to graze across the opponents eyes. All finger techniques will always be executed quickly, swiftly and accurately to soft vital areas of the body just like a snake would. Drunken fist is a harder style and uses knuckle techniques. Mantis styles vary between schools. I'm more familiar with Seven Star myself and it uses finger techniques for deception, not inlike the snake, but just in a different theology. Mantis utilizes far more of chin-na than many others. I hope that helps. I've dabled in fiction writing myself and I know how hard it can be, especially to write fights. I wish you the best,

Q: Are there self-defense techniques for body-on-body situations?
I would really like to know if there are specific techniques that are step by step for when a person is on top of another. The body of the person on the bottom is against the ground or bed or stairs or something.

A: Some call that a "Top-mount pin" or similar. This specific area of self-defense is covered in a lot of arts that deal with Ground Fighting and wrestling. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a popular art that concentrates in this area. There even whole instruction course and videos on pin-escapes. Many techniques involve using the ground as leverage and exploiting the attacker's high center of gravity to unbalance them and make them fall tip over to gain advantage. Below is an video I found with some good examples of different ways to escape this pin.

Q: If I were a spy, or a secret operative of some type, what self defense techniques should I know?
By this I mean hand to hand. I have been watching Chuck lately, and was just curious haha

A: A really good thing to do at some point is get hold of a Karate instructor or perhaps Judo instructor and take a couple years of lessons. It's very very interesting what you can do with your body when you're trained - and it's not all fighting - it's just a whole way of living your life and being confident in your ability to look out for yourself without a weapon in your hand. I think I recall that "Karate" means - "open hand". Always good stuff to know whether you get to be a spy or not.

Q: What's a good way to practice self defense techniques when you don't have a partner?


A: It depends on the style. I practice walking stick techniques. These can either be done with a fixed target (like a large punching bag) or in a form similar to shadow boxing. When you practice stick techniques with a partner you are only moving at 1/4 speed anyway!

Q: Concerning street self defense, which techniques is of the least value to you?
I believe that the spinning crescent kick and the jumping front kick would be the most impractical? What do you think?

A: Any kick targeted above the waist. Too many things on the street to slip and fall on. Any punch that locks out and stays there. Too easy to have it grabbed and pulled into a lock or broken(the joint) by a good fighter. Any spinning technique because it gives both a striker and a grappler your back even if only a for a second. Elbows thrown above rib height because it opens your ribs, liver, solar plex, etc. and also let someone get in under it for a choke. Any take down where you have to lower your head and lose sight of your opponents upper body, If he knows how to sprawl and defend it, because an elbow on the back of the head or neck hurts badly(can knock you out) and is legal on the street. (Take downs where you dont give your opponent that chance are good) Basicly any technique that leaves you totally open if you miss/ do not put the guy down.