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This is something that certainly separates learning martial arts from learning self defense. If you are seriously about learning self defense then its important to look at the most common types of attacks that you are going to face, a technical 1-2 combo is probably not that common outside of the ring, if someone is intent on hurting you, then you will more likely face an attack on your mind first off followed by some type of sucker punch or continuous swinging. That doesnt mean you shouldnt learn to defend against the 1-2, but if your goal is self protection then it shouldnt be the most commonly practiced thing.

It would be near impossible to come up with an accurate set of figures for this, there are far 2 many variables... How much power can you generate with a strike? Can you actually land a strike of that power? how physically fit is the person your striking? How many times are you getting hit yourself while you are hitting them? Etc etc. There have been a number of cases where people are killed from getting punched once in the head and then has they fall they hit their head on the ground. And at the other end of the scale there are fights where 20 or 30 strikes are thrown and both people walk away without a mark.

Wish i could take credit for coming up with the idea, but the first place i heard it used was by the senshido guys at https://www.senshido.com

Often the best way to develop a specific skill is to isolate that skill. If you want to learn to function on the ground then you need to work specifically on the ground. That doesnt mean that you are going to go out and actively seek a ground fight in a self defense situation.

No one has ever got out of line, being that i dont do this kind of training with just anyone, i have alot of trust for the people who are doing it. Also they dont get totally drunk, just enough so they start feeling it a little. Their reactions are generally slower and most find it harder to concentrate when trying to verbally diffuse.

The best way is to start learning groundfighting from a good instructor. Also if you want to work specifically on your takedown defense then do drills that focus on that. Have a partner try to get you on the ground anyway they want and all you do is try to remain standing up. Within this drill you can practice effective clinch management, sprewling etc and later on you can add striking etc into the mix.

You will probably pick up useful things from any of those. However if your goal is purely self defense you may want to look into some more specialized training in this area.

At the martial arts schools i attend(1 is karate, 1 is mma) there is no specific alcohol policy. However i assume that if a person turned up intoxicated they would be told to leave the class. If a person has an ongoing problem with alcohol abuse i would suggest that they seek professional help from an organization such has alcoholics anonymous. For interests sakes, when we train for purely self protection we have the students who go to clubs/pubs and drink regularly, drink an amount of alcohol that makes they start feeling a little "tipsy" and then we place them in scenarios from there. Its good for them to see how their response varies when they are under the influence. (Note, this is not done on a regular basis, but when we do this kind of training it is performed in a safe environment with designated drivers already organised before the training session.)

Very interesting use of an improvised weapon.

I agree with those who said front and round kicks along the low-line. Thats all you "need" if you had to choice 2 kicks, but that doesnt mean knowing others is going to be detrimental. Its better to know 10 kicks and need 5 than to know 5 and need 10.

The theory within our system is that the initial contact is made with the muscle and then the forearm "rolls" so the bone makes the final contact. I prefer to cover and make use of all the bony parts of my arms when jamming/blocking. Keep in mind that an effective jam usually hits the attackers arm before it has had time to reach full speed so chances of damaging your own arm are slim-to-none. This is of course if distancing and movement hasnt worked because those are generally my first choice in terms of defence.

We do both. Predominantly the full rotation is taught and practiced in kihon. This covers the full range of motion you can expect from the punch including a short shot to the body with the knuckles facing down, the vertical punch, the 3/4 turn punch, and the full rotation punch. To me neither method really feels any more or less natural than the other, i think each has its place and knowing both is beneficial.

Heres the stuff i can think of for now: Gym(my garage lol) Stuff: 2x heavybags top and bottom bag bob dummy benchpress bench + weights exercise bike swiss ball skipping rope wobble board focus mitts Protective Equipment: boxing gloves mma gloves bag gloves karate mitts shin guards hand wraps elastic "slip on" hand wraps full-face boxing headgear motorbike helmet Weapons: tonfa 2 x bo selection of sticks of various sizes and thicknesses training knives

I think its not such a problem if each method is taught and the context of both is known. I.e. hand on comes to the hip when it is holding onto something. All other times its guard up.

Can you do both?

I would normally agree with this statement. However, I have noticed that I do not have this problem when I spar or do self defense work. I always do a pretty good job of keeping my hands up at these times. Sometimes I have been able to use the pulling back actions of the arms in some applications. I also do decent jab/cross combinations while not pulling the opposite hand back to the ribs. I have found my experience to be similar to yours here bushido_man, after doing karate for 6 years and training with hand on hip i dont have any problem keeping my hands up, that however is largely due to training constantly with hands up doing boxing/kickboxing. It doesnt really effect you if you have trained to keep your hands up, but i have seen alot of people with my old karate class who couldnt keep their hands up to save themselves and it all comes from the bad training habit of pulling the hand to the hip.

Thats taken a little out of context, what i actually said was: So you can see i basically agree with everything you have said.

This is where problems start to arise when it comes to teaching self defense. If something worked for a person a few times that doesnt automatically make it applicable to everyone, or mean it equates to smart self defense. In this case staring down an aggressor(let alone a group of attackers, which is what the question was related to) will most likely get you seriously injured, or worse and is in no way an effective means of de-escalating a situation. Dont get me wrong, posturing(staring people down, acting tough) etc is a valid method of preventing a situation from becoming violent, in certain circumstances. But against multiple attacks it would be one of the last options on my list of things to do.

We separate our training into 2 seperate aspects.. sport, and self defense. Within the sport component of our training the sparring rules depend on what skill we are trying to develop and range from hands only, all the way through to all out mma style sparring. Within the self defense component we dont do sparring, but rather scenario replication.

Firstly, assuming that you have injured a person severely enough that they require a stay in hospital, we would also assume that you were legally justified in using that level of force. In most cases i would consider the best option to be leaving the scene asap. Has you mention above this depends alot on the situation, but in general, getting as far away from the threat as early as possible is your safest option. If the authorities do find out that you were involved and take you in for questioning, or come to your house to ask questions, its important to be honest and tell them only information they need to know. If you are charged and they wish to question you further, i would suggest that you wait until you have a solicitor/lawyer present. Going back to the reasonable force thing, this should be the basis of your argument. I.e. You defended yourself using a level of force you felt appropriate to the level of threat you were facing and you felt that if you didnt act at that time then you were in immediate danger of being seriously injured/killed. You fled the scene because you feared that you were in immediate danger if you didnt leave at that time. Bottom line is, if you are going to get sued, put in jail etc for defending yourself, leaving or staying after the event will make little difference from a legal perspective(in my opinion), but leaving will dramatically increase your chance of survival.

Some concerns i have regarding carrying a specialized weapon for self defense are as follows: Ability to deploy and use. Unless you practice drawing/opening/using/retaining the weapon in a high stress environment on a regular basis, your chance of doing so when it counts is slim to none. Also even if you can draw the weapon, the chance of the attacker taking control of it and using it against you is always present. I suppose with that you need to weigh up risk vs reward. Also i feel that a person carrying a weapon will be more inclined to use it, even if the situation doesnt warrant its use. Just some thoughts.

Thats true. The laws in my state regarding knives are as follows: "it is an offence for a person to have custody of a knife in a public place without reasonable excuse. Acceptable excuse includes: * lawful pursuit of the person's occupation * preparation or consumption of food or drink * participation in a lawful entertainment, recreation or sport * or during travel to or from or incidental to these activities." In regards to guns, the rules are very strict also, no carry or ownership without a licence, very specific storage and carrying regulations. So for the average law abiding citizen in aus, carrying a weapon for protection is limited to more improvised weapons, not specialized ones.

Whilst i agree that running is the best option, its not always the only one you have. What if you are out with your wife and kids, is running still a suitable option? In an elevator or other confined space? there are lots of examples but the point is you cant always run, straight away. And its easy to say "just run" and that should be one of the first options in all self defense situations(doesnt have to be running specifically, but leaving the scene), but that doesnt really deal with the question very well. Just for the purpose of discussion, lets assume running isnt an option... then what? Chances are you will probably get severely injured and possibly die facing 1 knife let alone 2. But that doesnt mean their arnt certain principles you can train in that will help increase your chances of survival. They are not guarantees, but things that can help much more than having no gameplan at all. Firstly, has others have mentioned, finding an improvised weapon would be a huge benefit, preferably something big that you can hit hard with or throw. Once again, this is not always an option and alot depends on how creative you are and if you have the presence of mind to make use of something. When it comes to unarmed vs. knife, there are usually 2 schools of thought: 1. Always grab the weapon hand before striking the attacker. 2. Never grab the weapon hand, just strike the attacker. I dont think that defending against a knife(or any other attack) is that absolute. Each one has its place at certain times within a situation. Sometimes its better for your own good to try and secure the weapon hand, while at other times its more appropriate to just strike, or strike and then secure. It depends purely on what is happening in front of you in the moment. The training we do to defend against a dynamic knife attack follows a fairly specific process. Firstly, learn the parts of the body you should avoid getting cut, and at the same time the parts where you can afford to get cut and still be able to function(minimization of wounds). This is important because if a persons only goal is to cut you with a knife, then you most likely will get cut. The advantage you have however is that you will hopefully be able to get cut in areas that are not life threatening to you. Next develop a knife defense "stance" that protects your vulnerable areas as much as possible and still gives you access to your offensive weapons. From here we work on some basic jamming skills that give you a much greater chance of being able to wrap the arm and secure the weapon hand. Then practice each of the things a person with a knife will likely try to do to you once you have secured their weapon hand. Also look at the attacks you can perform from these positions. Each thing is drilled against a person with a training knife attacking at full speed with real energy in a completely random way with the sole intent of cutting you to pieces with the knife. From here you start to experience what works and what doesnt, then you can slow things down and break down individual areas you want to work on and then build up the intensity again. If you want to work against 2 blades, give your friend the 2 training blades again and tell him to cut you with them. Make it your goal to minimize the damage and more importantly, keep going even if you get "cut". These isnt really a 1 size fits all answer to this that is foolproof, but by throwing yourself in the deep end you will learn alot fairly quickly.

Im interested to know what options you would consider to be more appropriate?

If we are talking about purely physical training then probably kickboxing and wrestling. With these you learn to hit hard and control a person at close range.