Oh god half of these will get you killed. Please don’t learn to defend yourself from a picture you saw on tumblr.
I have personally attempted most of these on people my size AND bigger and maybe 2 of them have any effect.
Actually you know what? I have time.
Number 1: Armpit strikes.
What the HELL are you thinking? Do you honestly believe you have the strength in this position to exert any power? This chick has her body flash up against a wall, striking distance is less than her full arm length and shes using her FINGERS in the first one. Why do we NOT strike with fingers?? You ever snapped a finger in a fight before? You either die or you carry on struggling with a useless fist. Don’t do these. Please.
This is a bit better, but number ‘3′ in this little combo implies you still have striking ability in this position and I can assure you that is horribly false. Especially if your opponent is looming a full headheight above you. Don’t aim for the chin because lets be honest, you’re not Mike Tyson. Aim for the throat. As hard as you can. And don’t let up. Ignore number 4 because most headbutts are an opener to a fight not an ender to a combo, and chances are you’ll give yourself a concussion or atleast disorientation. Don’t do either of these.
Number 3: Kung-fu bullshit.
To fully appreciate how bad an idea this is I’ll break apart the individual movements.
Movement 1: the upward palm to the chin. This is done in combination with shooting your arm above and around your opponents arm but I’ll get to that later. The upwards palm is designed to deter your attacker at best, not as a primary striking move. This strike implies two things:
1. You have the ability to force your opponent’s head backwards with arm strength alone.
2. Your opponent is not determined enough to walk straight through your wing-chun bullshit.
Point 2 is important because most people have never engaged in a confrontation with someone who is DETERMINED to harm them. They don’t care that you’re punching them in the head. They will walk through it and mess you up even worse. Assume all attackers are determined and deal with them in an appropriate way, with aggression that is GREATER than that they are displaying. Sounds crazy to do, but you need to exhibit a larger urge to harm than theirs during your response.
Movement 2: The arm shoot. Anyone who has done wrestling, jujutsu or BJJ will tell you that trying to manipulate a larger opponent is absolute hell. Especially if they are significantly larger than you. What an arm shoot is setting yourself up for is a grappling match you are more than probably going to lose. This assumes he doesn’t have 2-3 buddies waiting close by to help him out whilst you’re struggling around like an idiot. Avoid wrestling in all non-sport fights, it usually ends badly for you. Don’t do this.
SO CLOSE. YOU WERE SO CLOSE.
This is a two part technique that almost functions well as an opener to a combo and creating some distance between you and your attacker. Movement 1 is a dual headbutt and push towards the groin. This is just not quite enough to create a gap; your ability to perform a decent headbutt at bear-hug range is massively hindered. At best you have 4cm of wiggle room with your head to make the shot. Most people, especially when jumped up on adrenaline, won’t even notice a small headbutt. The little boop to the groin even less so. Hell you might even arouse your would-be rapist. Striking with the knee to the groin should be on a more forwards angle. The nut-cracking is only part of this, you want to create distance. Push forwards with your hips and drive that knee THROUGH the nuts, he’ll instinctually move backwards. This works on women too, by the way. They’re expecting it less.
Number 5: Single leg sweep.
Don’t. Don’t do this. He’s bear hugging you and already has full back control. The moment you reach forwards, old mate here is going to posture all his weight onto your back and you’re going to eat cement and end up looking like Lady Deadpool. Avoid eating cement, don’t do this.
If you are concerned for your safety and want to learn more, please contact a self defence or martial arts school in your area.
When assessing the gym/dojo for their practicality in self defence, you should be looking at their drills:
- Are the ‘attackers’ showing aggression that you would expect in a real confrontation?
- Are the ‘defenders’ showing the correctly response to aggression that you need to display to survive an attack?
This is important as many institutes will have ‘choreographed’ fights, which assume your attacker will behave as someone training and have minimal or no aggression and unexpected/unsual movements.
Stay safe out there.
Also shoutout to our Lord and Saviour,
WarriorMale.
- Chroniclesofachemist, krav maga / MMA practitioner.
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