gangs?

[ShoriKid]

Try to flee. Crash and make a hole and run like the Devil himself is hot on your heels. If you can't get away, try your best to stay mobile, hit and move, anything you can lay hands on as a weapon use. Then flee. Notice a theme here?

The final thing to think about is when it comes to using deadly force, it isn't something that most of us can just decide to do. Think to yourself right now, "Am I willing to kill someone if I have to?" If you answer yes, then you have to take it a step further, and think about what that is going to be like. Can you force yourself to visualize what its like to snap a neck? To squeeze a throat until someone stops gagging? Can you hear that gagging in your mind? Can you visualize yourself twisting a knife into someone?

I think many people easily resolve themselves to the fact that they would defend their life by taking another if they had to. But I don't think many think about what will actually take place there. It is very much a mindset thing, and just saying it to yourself doesn't really make it so.

And this is a discussion we had with our students last week actually. Bunkai work involved a lot of neck wringing, throws that would land someone on their head etc. When we finished with the physical side of it, I told them they had to "go through the list" of things they might have to do. Put a thumb in a person's eye? Not that hard an act physically, but emotional and psychologically it's a whole different deal. If they can't envision it, live with the thought every day of having done the act, they needed to take it off the list. Go all the way through to ending a life. Include your own death as a possibility, of having all those things you think you could or couldn't do, done to you in return. Psychological preparation for violence is as, if not more, important than the physical preparation. It wasn't about the macho, bad butt imagery either, but about survival and being the one to go home to your family at night.

A man with thousands of techniques and decades of training isn't nearly as dangerous as a deliberate and determined man with a handful of techniques and a year of hard work behind him.

[Groinstrike]

Try to flee. Crash and make a hole and run like the Devil himself is hot on your heels. If you can't get away, try your best to stay mobile, hit and move, anything you can lay hands on as a weapon use. Then flee. Notice a theme here?

The final thing to think about is when it comes to using deadly force, it isn't something that most of us can just decide to do. Think to yourself right now, "Am I willing to kill someone if I have to?" If you answer yes, then you have to take it a step further, and think about what that is going to be like. Can you force yourself to visualize what its like to snap a neck? To squeeze a throat until someone stops gagging? Can you hear that gagging in your mind? Can you visualize yourself twisting a knife into someone?

I think many people easily resolve themselves to the fact that they would defend their life by taking another if they had to. But I don't think many think about what will actually take place there. It is very much a mindset thing, and just saying it to yourself doesn't really make it so.

And this is a discussion we had with our students last week actually. Bunkai work involved a lot of neck wringing, throws that would land someone on their head etc. When we finished with the physical side of it, I told them they had to "go through the list" of things they might have to do. Put a thumb in a person's eye? Not that hard an act physically, but emotional and psychologically it's a whole different deal. If they can't envision it, live with the thought every day of having done the act, they needed to take it off the list. Go all the way through to ending a life. Include your own death as a possibility, of having all those things you think you could or couldn't do, done to you in return. Psychological preparation for violence is as, if not more, important than the physical preparation. It wasn't about the macho, bad butt imagery either, but about survival and being the one to go home to your family at night.

A man with thousands of techniques and decades of training isn't nearly as dangerous as a deliberate and determined man with a handful of techniques and a year of hard work behind him.

As far as the whole thumb in the eye thing, its definately something to think about, but is more difficult that many people think against a non-compliant uke. A person definately wants to have positional dominance before expecting a technique like this to work.

[ShoriKid]

As far as the whole thumb in the eye thing, its definately something to think about, but is more difficult that many people think against a non-compliant uke. A person definately wants to have positional dominance before expecting a technique like this to work.

Solid head control is the assumed from the start, which required good positioning. It's not trick to try while you're mounted. Had to point that out once or twice to different folks.

[yamesu]

That said, if you're being threatened by a whole bunch of people and one of them doesn't survive your panicked wildcat response while you're trying to not get killed by said gang, it's not likely that anyone could actually convince a jury to convict you for it.

Agreed, but the odds are ther will still be some sort of investigation or court case that i would rather not be involved in.

[GeterDone]

You'll have to look up the laws in your area but in Canada, you'd probably get a lesser charge, such as manslaughter. In our self-defense classes, we do circle or bull-pin training, where you're in the center of a circle and have to defend against a particular attacker. We also train in defending against 2+ attackers where the idea isn't to stand and fight like Rambo. Instead, disarm or defend against 1 attacker, use them as a meat shield if necessary, ensure you're no longer surrounded and run like there's no tomorrow because there may not be.

It's not like sparring or simulating an attack in the dojo. For example, in the dojo, the partner taps, whereas in a real gang attack, even if you break, say, the arm, it doesn't mean that one person will stop. They may continue or it'd incite the others to want to cause more damage to you than before. Your best bet from the start would be to not be surrounded and run.

[barrypardue]

Run as fast as you can , if they are faster than you fight with all you have what happens at that point doesn't really matter Just do your best!