fending of an animal

[Son Goku the monkeyking]

okay we have all seen or heard of this in many martial art movies or shows, how wood u go about killing or defendeding ur self without a weapon or if God forbid u ever hade to. espicailly sence there fighter patterns are alot differant an example of some animals i meen are tigers, bears, dogs, or wolfs/cayotys

[White Warlock]

Well, i've been attacked aplenty, mostly by dogs & cats, but also by various other varmints including a bull, baboon, goat, snake, rooster, duck, rabbit (vorpal), turtle, etc.

I guess the best answer is, every animal and their triggers are different. Wild animals fall more on instinct than domesticated animals, and so they would behave as their calling (predator/prey survival instincts). Herbivores fear you will eat them or their offspring. Carnivores want to eat you or your offspring. Small creatures will generally run away, while large creatures will generally run after. Creatures that act alone are more likely to attack you unawares, while creatures that act in groups will be more bold and you'll likely have plenty of time to kiss your butt goodbye.

You are right in that we spend an inordinate amount of time studying how to defend against a man or woman, but almost no time studying how to defend against an animal. Part of this is because there are so many different types of animals that the best we can do is know which ones to avoid outright, and which ones taste like chicken (dogs, for example).

There are, however, some things you can learn. One of the most important is 'respect.' As one should always respect another human being, so should one respect every animal. Failure to do so means you will take for granted their lethality. And, make no errors on this: animals ARE lethal. Even a cat, a cute little hairy furball, can rip you to shreds before you can get a decent enough grip on her to 'tear' her off you and throw her against the wall. And, if she's ornery, she'll come right back on you and keep at it until death ends the physical debate, because even a smack on a wall is not likely to take out a cat. Oh, and man... they can run upside down on ceilings and sideways on walls when their going nuts. I've seen it and heard the wildest tales from my sister who used to work as a vet nurse. Don't even dare underestimate those little hairy furballs.

Which touches on the next thought. Humans have a tendency to hold back when it comes to defending against animals on the attack. Don't ask me why, but i've watched enough incidents in which men hold back. We don't go for the eyes, the throat, breaking of limbs, nor even biting. Here these creatures will use everything at their disposal, and we tend to leave it at pushing, pulling, punching and kicking, thinking somehow we can avoid this confrontation while this creature is attempting to disembowel us. In contrast, animals are usually aiming to kill, are better equipped than we are to perform such an act, and also tend to be rather talented at keeping us off-balance, increasing their likelihood of succeeding in such an act. For example dogs, the domesticated ones, instinctively know to ram you upon attack, and then to pull at you until you fall.

How about some insights?

Dogs

A good thing to know about dogs is that they are inherently pack animals, which means they work best in groups. The reason this is important is that dogs are predisposed to attacking limbs, unless you fall to the ground. While standing, they will attack a limb, or your head, and try to pull you to the ground... then will go for the throat or the back of the neck. This is because they are encoded with the thought that they will receive help bringing you to the ground, and that if each creature in the pack attacks a separate limb, you will be unable to strike back... thus the entire pack is safe while taking down the kill.

The two main weapons of a dog are his fierce jaw and his ramming ability, which is usually what catches people off guard. They think, "well, all i need to do is put my arm in front and he'll attack the arm, and then i can knee him in the chest." Unfortunately, because the majority of dog attack victims that know well enough to do this, still make the error of not taking into consideration the amount of force a 30 lb (13kg) to 200 lb (90kg) dog accelerated to 40 mph (65kph) can do to your ability to remain standing, not to mention their horrid tendency to start swinging their bodies aggressively back and forth once they have a firm grip on a body part (let us hope it's not your face... happened to me).

Dogs have weaknesses. One is, they like snacks. You seriously can dispel a threat by providing a snack, but i wouldn't recommend betting on such a tactic and definitely don't recommend that tactic if the dog is not quite decided on whether to attack. Your reaching for a snack may be the only trigger he needs to get into action. Also, tossing a snack to a dog could very well cause him to think you're throwing something 'at' him.

So, if you really don't have very many choices left, and you have a snack handy, then a friendly voice, without eye contact (looking to the dog's feet is the more respectful approach... similar to doing a mild bow, knees bent in case of body collision), and a snack laying loosely on your upward facing palm (really friggin' critical, as a downward facing palm is often associated with a smack on the nose... negative association), may just mend relationships.

And DO NOT try to pet the dog, even after he takes the snack. If he feels your offering is sufficient, let him be the one to lick your hand, and hopefully he's not doing so to see if humans really do taste like chicken.

Be 'absolutely positive' the relationship is mended before crossing such a boundary.

As to places to strike, dogs are all different in shape/size, but their bone structures are basically the same and their organs are in the same place, so their weaknesses will be easy enough to exploit... especially since they are not designed to go solo against a creature that has four limbs, nor especially one that is trained in weird war rituals (katas). I recommend, if needs comes to that, to strike the snout, nose, ears, rear legs near the buttocks, inner thigh of rear legs, and underarms, breaking or tearing off of the legs, reproductive organs (if any), and ears (tail is too difficult and too dangerous to implement, so don't bother). Attacks to the neck are usually going to come up empty, but it can be a good area to 'hold' while attempting to determine what to do with this volatile creature. Still, be full aware that dogs can wriggle out of neck holds or grabs. Movies would have you believe that a dog would stand in such a grip and growl and bare teeth, but we all know how educational movies are.

We can use the weapons we've developed through our ma studies, and even some of the various grappling/break techniques, but they need to be adapted to the type of threat... and we must recognize that animals are 'born' with lethal weapons, so a great emphasis must be presented to deal with such embedded weapons whilst not putting so much attention to said weapons that we fail to deal with the creature utilizing them.

More importantly, however, is... as always, knowing how to 'avoid' confrontations. Even animals can be avoided. Wild animals are just that, wild, and domesticated ones are not too far off, so knowing to steer clear and to give respect to nature's creatures will help to ensure your continued survival.

Anyone have recommends for the handling of other animals? A cat, badgers, roos, bears, or more on dogs?

[Rateh]

wow, thanks for the information

ive always had a fear of dogs, and more so since i started martial arts training actually. Because i know how a human works, and how to defend against one, but i have no idea about a dog...

but now i do, thanks so much

maybe now i wont be so scared of them

next thing is to learn for a cat i guess...im not as scared of em, but still not at all comfortable.

anyways thanks again

[White Warlock]

next thing is to learn for a cat i guess...im not as scared of em, but still not at all comfortable.

Hehe, they taste like chicken too.

And you're welcome, was fun to write it.

[Belasko]

Living near Yellowstone this one is right up my ally. I apologize now for any ranting. For the most part wild animals don't care about you and don't care to be involved with you. Therefore common sense (which I have found isn't all that common it seems) would dictate that you stay a respectful distance away and not try to get close. The most common scenario that I see up in Yellostone is tourists thinking that it's a petting zoo and trying to get within petting zoo range of elk, buffalo, bears, deer, etc. Any of these critters can maim or kill you with relatively little effort. We probably get one or two bufalo pt's in the hospital every year and one or two bear pt's. Bears the exchange is usually d/t a surprise interaction as both parties involved come to a turn at the same time and the bear decides to swat the person out of the way so to speak. The herbivores are usually cases of lack of common sense. No, they don't want to give your kids a ride! As far as how to defend against these critters I have usually heard that with a black bear fight for all you're worth. Grizzly bears you want to play dead protecting your head neck and belly, and pray. fetal position works great for this. Many of the larger ones just pray they leave you alone soon. Of coarse this is different with the small fury ones like otters, beavers, muskrats, badgers etc. Most encounters I've heard of involving them are much like small dogs, they are tenascious. So, overall, good luck and hope for the best!

[Menjo]

Ha some really good advice here, however the saying i like the most is when in one of the posts it said "nor especially one that is trained in weird war rituals (katas)." lol