Let's take a close look!

[Luther unleashed]

Self defense is a mindframe.

First off in dealing with self-defense, the literal meaning is to essentially protect yourself and this means to first remove yourself from the situation when possible. The use of force that could potentially harm another human being should only be used when necessary, this means when there is no other option and you cannot remove your self safely or your family safely from the threat to your self Self defense. In traditional martial arts we have come to use this term as a separate meaning from a fighting stance and striking combinations. My martial arts experience goes back to 1993, and has been geared always towards self defense. I never had an interest in competing in tournaments, I never had an interest in sport fighting, only self defense and the best means to deal with an opponent that intends to hurt me badly!

So I welcome others views, I welcome the discussion about what is really effective and what is not, these are my personal feelings about self defense.

First off let me say that there IS what I call "nice techniques, and "not so nice" techniques.

What I mean by this is that if somebody attacks me, weather it be a punch I deflected and grabbed, or they are grabbing me, I can use my forearm to press against the back of his arm behind the elbow, to lock their arm and take them down or using the same exact technique I can strike the back of the Elbow instead. This becomes either in arm break, or a movement where I can take my opponent to the ground. One of these movements is obviously much nicer than the other.

Thinking in this way, I am thinking about whether I need to seriously injure my opponent or not, this thinking could get in the way. If we are to discuss the most effective means of self-defense then we would be naïve to not discuss the most simple way, as the most simple way is the easiest to pull off thus making it often the most effective way.

STRIKING! Striking a person in the nose would fall in to the "not so nice" category, but think about this. If a person grabs my shirt, what would Be easier for me to pull off, a grab and elbow lock/arm break, or a quick swift strike to the nose? The answer IMHO is the strike. HOWEVER Because I teach karate, part of this martial arts path means that I must teach a great deal of children. Therefore, I have a great responsibility to make sure we use our knowledge to determine what may be a nice technique. You do not want your child breaking another students nose at school just because they grab him/her on the shoulder, The other student is just a child too and may not be out for blood so it may be quite an over reaction to break their nose, thus my use of the "nice techniques"!

In the end the idea is that as adults we must be able to determine the severity of the threat, and we must be able to react to it appropriately. The most effective self-defense is not always the most effective self-defense. What the heck does this mean? It means that what may drop your attacker most quickly is not always what is needed so the most aggressive technique may not be the most effective in that situation. As for what is the most effective to drop an attacker, I will always go with striking, striking a person whether it be a low kick or a direct attack to the face using a hand strike, will always be something that is very easy to pull off because we spend countless hours striking and swinging our limbs to inevitably hit hard to break something, this is why my personal choice in a situation where I am being attacked and maybe afraid for myself or my wife or children, I will always use strikes if the threat dictate this level of aggression of course!

What are some of your thoughts guys?

[mazzybear]

Like you stated, it very much depends on the situation. Is a strike to the face, breaking the nose going to be enough? Is it only going to serve to anger them? Are they drunk/high? Someone under the influence of say, cocaine, will take a lot more to keep them down than someone who is sober. It might take more than one "not so nice" techniques to keep them down. Possibly a strike to the face as a distraction before a kick to the knee joint? Whereas someone who is sober and just being "Jack the Lad" a simple arm lock to control him and make him apologise in front of his mates, should be sufficient.

Mo.