Self Defense Training - 3 Self Defense Tips For Surviving a Sudden Attack

Are you looking for self defense training that will teach you how to defend against and survive a sudden attack? Well, you're not alone!

One of the most common fears that serious students have is the fear that they will forget everything they know and have learned if they are suddenly jumped in a real-world, street fighting attack. I can certainly relate to this because the real world inside a street fighting self defense situation is very, very different from the way that most people train in their martial arts or self defense training classes.

In fact, the likelihood of an attack coming on suddenly and without any warning is far greater than one that gives you time to prepare. Let's face it - criminal attackers are very good at what they do. Regardless of whether they're young punks who are out "having fun" with their friends, or the more serious types looking to beat, break, or kill you for your money, car, or in the case of women - your body - it's just not in the attacker's best interest to give you a lot of warning before they make their move.

Here are 3 self defense tips to add to your self defense training that will greatly increase your chances of escaping and surviving a sudden attack:

1. Train your body to "instinctively" and automatically go to a defensive position that will work to simultaneously control the distance, remove your vulnerable targets, and get your limbs between you and your attacker for shielding.


2. Practice stress-response drills that will reduce the natural time-lag that exists between stimulus and your brain recognizing the threat and need for action to deal with it. These self defense training drills act to condition the body to the adrenal response commonly known as "fight or flight."


3. Condition yourself to stress-inducing experiences in order to learn to relax and focus under pressure. You cannot do something under pressure that is not within your natural make-up. In other words...

You will act as you have trained! Just thinking about it, reading books, or watching videos is absolutely useless in a real self defense situation because you are trying to use one part of your brain to do something that comes from a very different part.

Never Forget The Most Important Self Defense Tip Of All:

If your self defense training does not account for and address what you will "feel," "experience," and "find" inside of a real situation, including defending yourself against sudden attacks, you may find that all of the time, effort, and money spent on training will have been for nothing!

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Use Self Defense Techniques With Caution

The topic of self defense is being talked about a lot these days. And there is no doubt about the reason why this is happening. With increasing crime levels, people are becoming aware of the fact that if they are confronted with an attacker, they need to know what to do.

While self defense products like pepper sprays, stun guns and tasers are extremely easy to use and convenient, you cannot carry them with you all the time. For example, if you are wearing an elegant gown and going for a party, there is a small chance that you would like to carry a pepper spray with you. Though pepper sprays and stun guns also come in small packages and can be disguised as lipsticks or key chains, they may not be your first choice in such situations.

It is obviously advisable to arm yourself with other knowledge and skills so that you can use other self defense tactics if need be. Undergoing some kind of self defense training is especially important for those who may have jobs or professions that put them at a higher risk of attack. Security guards, waitresses and bartenders need to be more careful while they are at work and while getting off work too. With this knowledge in mind, there are various companies that have started marketing videos on self defense techniques. Some of these videos claim to tech martial arts and judo. On the other hand some of them claim to comprehensively train you in various self defense tactics that you can use when attacked.

Irrespective of how authentic these self defense videos may be, there is one thing that almost all fail to mention - the fact that active and concerted practice is required to master the art of self defense techniques. Learning self defense is not as easy as sitting on the couch and watching a self defense video once a day for five days at a stretch. For that matter, it is not even standing in front of the idiot box and practicing some moves once in a while. If you really want to learn how to defend yourself in the time of need, you need to see the video's, and involve a friend and practice the moves regularly till you become confident and adept. You could use kickboxing equipment to practice too.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that the story ends there. There is another aspect of self defense that is not very well known. Irrespective of how many times you may have practices your moves and self defense tactics, you may react in a completely different manner when you are actually confronted by a real assailant, kidnapper or rapist. Many people who consider themselves otherwise prepared for an attack freeze at the sight of someone with a knife.

One is not suggesting that you throw yourself in front of real attack situation for practice. However, thinking about the situation actively can help you prepare for it mentally. Think of what you would do when something like this happens, the moves you would make and the manner in which you will go about using your strengths. Learn about the weak spots that you can hit upon so that you can emerge victorious with the least effort required.

Following the above mentioned recommendations in conjunction with the self defense training videos can definitely help you in protecting yourself better.

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A Personal Safety Weapon To Consider: The Self-Defense Keychain

I use a generic term, "Self-Defense Keychain," to describe this device but you may have heard of it by more popular, commercial names such as "Kubaton" or "Persuader Keychain." Because, "Kubaton" is the most popular, I'll use that term interchangeably with the one I use.

The Kubaton is a light-weight metal, plastic or wooden dowel. It's about five inches long and one half inch in diameter. The shaft of this weapon is usually knurled or grooved so that it doesn't slip in your hand. On one end of the Kubaton is a ring or two holding a cluster of ten to fifteen keys.

Recently, manufacturers have attempted to enhance the Kubaton with sharpened ends, telescoping tubes, spikes, enclosed canisters of pepper spray and even hidden knife blades. I won't get into these additional "bells and whistles" and will limit my recommendation to the basic model consisting of a shaft, key rings and keys.

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The self-defense keychain is discrete, unassuming, and convenient to carry. If used properly, it can dramatically increase the odds of surviving and escaping from a serious, life-threatening assault. I discuss the keychain during my self-defense seminars because it stands up nicely to the seven evaluation questions.

I prefer to discuss and provide information about the keychain but hesitate to make blatant recommendations about it, or any other device or weapon. I believe that the decision about whether to carry a personal safety device, and which one you carry, is YOUR decision. I prefer that you evaluate and analyze the "pros and cons" for yourself. This article is to assist you in that process process.

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SEVEN EVALUATION QUESTIONS

If you missed the last issue of the Protective Strategies Self-Defense Newsletter (December 2000) I'll review the seven Personal Safety Device Evaluation Questions:

1. Is it legal?

2. Will I carry it all the time?

3. Will it be immediately available when I need it?

4. Do I have legitimate confidence in my ability to use it?

5. Is it as effective as it has been held out to be?

6. Could it be taken away and used on me?

7. Am I physically, mentally and emotionally prepared to use it?

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1. IS IT LEGAL?

In most jurisdictions that I am aware of, the Kubaton is legal. It can be purchased over the counter in security, martial arts and sporting goods stores. I found several online merchants selling them for $5 to $25 dollars. Because they have a utility function (to hold your keys) they can be legally carried.

--- Sidebar ---

In Canada, the Kubaton is neither a restricted nor a prohibited weapon. It is therefore legal to carry providing it is not used for illegal purposes. They are also available across the U.S. However, if you are considering carrying a Kubaton, you might want to make your own enquiries to confirm if they are legal in your jurisdiction.

--- Sidebar ---

2. WILL I CARRY IT ALL THE TIME?

This is the beauty of the self-defense keychain. What is the most common thing that you carry in your hand when coming or going from your vehicle, home or workplace? Your keys! Because you carry your day-to-day keys on the self-defense keychain, it is likely that you will have it in your hand more than any other object. This increases the odds that, if you are attacked, it will be in your hand and ready to go. This is a huge benefit when considering a personal safety device or weapon.

3. WILL IT BE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE WHEN I NEED IT?

Again, the self-defense keychain is likely to be ready to go when you need it most. It's not enough to have a Personal Safety Device in your possession. It won't do you much good in your purse, pocket or vehicle. If you keep your keys on the keychain, it is a simple matter of establishing a habit of carrying it in your hand whenever you leave your home.

4.DO I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITY TO USE IT?

There are a number of "SILLY" techniques associated with the Kubaton. They include fancy wristlocks, takedowns, releases from holds and other elaborate techniques that just won't stand up in the stress and chaos of a real-world confrontation. Even if they did work (which they don't) they would require extensive practice and training to become competent.

Secondly, in a stressful encounter, only simple, large-muscle actions can be performed effectively. For that reason, a practical self-defense system must be simple and have as few techniques as possible. The system that I teach, for example, consists of three basic striking methods that are natural and consistent with what one would conceivably do during a combative situation.

Because the Kubaton is a hard object, it concentrates and intensifies the striking energy that is transferred into the assailant. Even with minimal training, a keychain strike is far more likely to incapacitate a violent assailant than an empty-handed response.

5. IS IT AS EFFECTIVE AS IT HAS BEEN HELD OUT TO BE?

When used properly, the self-defense keychain is a devastating weapon with potential to seriously injure and incapacitate a violent attacker. For that reason, it should only be used in situations where you reasonably believe the attack is serious and life threatening. You must also believe that you don't have less forceful alternatives available to protect yourself.

--- Sidebar ---

WAIVER - Because of the potential consequences of using a personal safety weapon, I need to be clear that I provide this information for educational purposes only. How you use the information is up to you. Refer to my disclaimer statement at: http://www.protectivestrategies.com/disclaimer.html

--- Sidebar ---

6.COULD IT BE TAKEN AWAY AND USED ON ME?

The honest answer to this question is, "yes." ANY personal safety weapon: a knife, pepper spray or a shoe for that matter, can potentially be taken away and used on you in the same fashion you intended to use it on your assailant.

However, the general consensus amongst my seminar candidates is that the benefits of having one outweigh the possibility of losing it. A benefit of the self-defense keychain is that the assailant may not recognize it as a weapon and, if he did gain access to it, wouldn't think to use it as one.

It is important to consider the potential of being disarmed when carrying a personal safety weapon. Acknowledge the possibility of dropping or losing it and do everything you can to prevent it from falling into the hands of your attacker.

7. AM I PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY PREPARED TO USE IT?

This is a question only you can answer. Don't just buy a self-defense keychain, attach it to your keys and carry it around expecting that you will magically resort to it if you are ever attacked. A basic, self-defense response system should be learned and practiced when adopting this device.

Developing competence does not require thousands of repetitions and hours of training. However, you should spend some time learning how to prepare and grip the weapon as well as how and where to strike an assailant for maximum effectiveness.

Ideally, you should seek out instruction from a competent self-defense keychain instructor. However, if the system is simple enough (as mine is) I believe you can teach yourself the basic skills you need from a manual.

The keychain basics are simple and not hard to learn. Using the keychain will intensify the destructiveness of your response to a violent attack and increase the potential of escaping death or serious injury. Learn the basic concepts (mental preparation). Practice the basic strikes (physical preparation). The only thing left is to develop the emotional resolve to do whatever it takes to protect yourself and survive!

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CONCLUSION

Whether you decide to explore the issue of the self-defense keychain further; whether you decide to buy and carry one, is entirely up to you. I can provide you only with information to assist you with that decision making process but ultimately you must take full responsibility for your personal safety and draw your own conclusions about what is and isn't right for you. If you've read this far, I'm sure you'll make a wise choice.

Take care, train smart and stay safe,

Randy LaHaie

====================== So What? ==========================

Now that you have this information, what good is it to you? Before we get into that, let me be clear on a VERY IMPORTANT POINT. I am NOT an advocate of carrying a weapon or device as a "PRIMARY" self-defense strategy. A PSD is a piece of the overall puzzle but not nearly as effective as developing a comprehensive and balanced personal safety strategy.

Your "BRAIN" is your primary tool for staying safe. Your mental, physical and emotional development determines your ability to avoid and detect danger and to deal with it effectively if it does arise.

Fighting back... especially with a weapon, should be considered a last resort, not a first, and especially not the only one you have! If you must fight back, the keychain will help, but don't lose sight of the need to explore and develop the other components of self-defense that will have a greater affect on your ability to stay safe.

The keychain is just one more tool in your "self-defense tool box." Keep Looking for and developing other skills, knowledge and response options. That's why we say one "STUDIES" self-defense. It's an on going process. We can't buy it, borrow it or carry it in our pocket. Don't forget that.

================== Self-Defense Quote ====================

"Remember: it's not the weapon that counts so much as how you use it. Even the most commonplace or seemingly harmless item becomes an efficient weapon when directed toward the vulnerable parts of the human body. Household weapons are often at your fingertips, so use them!"

Al Marrewa

The Feminine Warrior

A Woman's Guide to Verbal, Psychological and Physical Empowerment

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Randy LaHaie is the president of Protective Strategies and has been teaching reality-based self-defense for over 30 years. He is the author of several "Toughen Up Combative Training Guides" (http://www.ToughenUp.com)

Subscribe to his FREE SELF-DEFENSE NEWSLETTER at http://www.ProtectiveStrategies.com

Women's Self-Defense Classes - The Fallacy of Women's Self Defense

There are many who say women learn self-defense better in an exclusively women-only environment. The so-called "experts" say it is less intimidating if women don't have to compete with the men, or, it is easier (more comfortable) to discuss subjects like rape without men present. So, the new trend in self-defense programs is "Women's Self Defense" classes.

I don't agree with this line of reasoning, because the overwhelming evidence suggests that this is the wrong approach. I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "I took a women's self-defense course once. But, I went home and tried some of the stuff on my husband (or boyfriend), and it didn't work!"

There is nothing more confidence-shattering than to spend the time learning all the techniques and starting to feel good about yourself, only to have the bubble burst the first time you try out your new-found skills. Women then begin to feel there is nothing they can do to protect themselves when they can't even make it work against someone who isn't really trying to hurt them.

The real shame is when someone is really attacked, and after repeated attempts, can't make their self-defense techniques work. At that point, they simply give up, and won't fight back no matter what. I can only imagine that someone in that situation would look back on the time or money spent for self-defense classes and feel that they had been victimized twice!

Why "Women's Self Defense" Programs Don't Work!

Most of the people who take my self-defense classes are women. Sometimes, I even have a class that is all women. However, that is by coincidence, not design. Women who sign up for my classes know that there may be both men and women in the class. Whether there are actually men in the class is not important, after all, I am instructing the class, so there is always at least one man in the class.

The point is, if a woman is so intimidated by men, that she will not even take a self-defense class with men, she will never survive an attack by a man. Why? Because "intimidation" is just another word for fear. Until she can prove to herself the techniques work on a man, she has done nothing to help her get over her fear of men.

If she is ever attacked, it will probably be by a man! If she hasn't gotten over her fear of men, she will immediately panic, no matter what she has learned. If she hasn't learned how to deal with the bigger, stronger, more aggressive male, she will not understand how the dynamics of the situation will change in the real world!

Women MUST practice self-defense techniques against a man! Otherwise, how will she know they work against a man? This is what we call "realistic scenario training" (more about this later). If she has only practiced self-defense techniques with other women, she gets a false sense of security that her techniques will work in the real world. But, an even bigger problem is that most of what is taught in these so-called "women's self-defense" classes wouldn't work anyway!

Poor Teaching Methods

Much of what is taught as "women's self-defense" is not only ineffectual, but insulting as well. Courses intended only for women assume they are weak, less capable of defending themselves, and therefore need different methods from men to counteract violence. Women have been told to "yell 'FIRE', carry a hat pin or umbrella to jab at him, do something vulgar to gross him out, like tell him you have VD." If any of that junk worked, we'd be teaching men to do the same thing.

The following sample of bad advice still shows up in high schools and women's self-defense courses:

"Confrontation always makes everything worse. Don't react-it might be an overreaction. Don't add to the violence by becoming violent yourself. Don't make him mad. Trying to escape risks escalating the problem."

These ideas are wishful thinking or blind optimism. Experience at real crime scenes teaches you something very different.

Imagine if the percentages of women and men raped were 50-50 instead of 98 percent women and 2 percent men. [Outside of prison, those are the true percentages.] Now imagine someone telling men, "Don't overreact to rape, guys. Go along with his demands so you won't be hurt." I think you can see there might be a double standard that is completely unfair to women.

Doing Nothing

Doing nothing against a violent attack is the biggest risk of all because it makes resistance and escape later far more difficult. Worse, statistics show it actually increases the likelihood that violence will escalate, especially when the crime is rape. The most profound example involving resisting (doing something) versus submitting (doing nothing) was a Department of Justice study of rape published in 1985:

Rapists do not normally pre-arm themselves with weapons. Only 23 percent of 1.6 million cases studied involved knives or guns. [The major exception to this are rapists who break into a residence; 96 percent grab a knife from the kitchen.]
Approximately 51 percent of women resisted in some form, ranging from screaming to fleeing, to fighting back; the remaining 49 percent did nothing.
When broken down between resistance or submission, there was only an increase of two percent in the injury level to the women who resisted.

Yes, there is always a risk involved in fighting back, but there is just as much risk in doing nothing. If you face a rapist and do nothing, he'll rape you. If you face an armed criminal forcing you into his car and do nothing, he'll kidnap you. The "do-nothing" group believes that in doing nothing, they risk nothing.

Doers, in contrast, have simple and direct reasons for taking action: "If I don't do something fast, it's going to get worse."

False Claims

Another problem is the false sense of security given by unsubstantiated claims. One direct-mail women's safety device provides an "instant and easy self-defense" video for women.... "Can you point your finger?... Can you raise your hand?... If your answer is yes, you can instantly escape anything from rape to severe attacks.... It's quick and easy." The product being mentioned here, pepper spray, almost never works this way in the real world.

One television commercial for a women's self-defense program promises "two-minute, guaranteed knockout using your feet. When your assailant tries to grab you, use the heel of your shoe to strike into his head over and over." Could you really learn to do this in two minutes? It takes years of training in karate or taekwondo to learn to effectively kick someone in the head, and even then, it's a risky move. It's just a marketing ploy to get your money.

If you buy a police radar detector that is guaranteed to work, but doesn't, the result is a speeding ticket. If you pay for "self-defense classes" or videos that don't deliver as promised, the result can be severe injury or even death. Relying on someone else's guarantee is only a false sense of security that will only have bad results!

Anti-crime gadgets, and martial arts self-defense programs marketed to women, are often too simplistic and come with unrealistic guarantees. The fact is, surviving crime requires far more mental toughness than physical abilities. Size, weight, conditioning, and upper-body strength don't make the difference. If they did, a lot of men would be in deep trouble. Crime survival takes tough-minded mental conditioning, the same for both men and women.

What Does Work

What works, as proved by the results of both police and military testing, is "realistic scenario training". Scenario training consists of learning techniques, rehearsing them in realistic scenarios, and then visualizing these actions in your mind. It is a method used in many fields, from sports to law enforcement, military to medicine.

Scenario training is a way of planning our responses. We do something similar every day in our regular lives. We plan what to say if the boss criticizes a report we've submitted, or how to appease our spouse if we've done something irritating. Often we actually rehearse the words we'll use, we do it constantly. It doesn't always get us what we want, but it gives us a better chance.

Face-to-face with violence, your first split-second problem is not what is he going to do, but, "what are you going to do?" Scenario training against violence answers that question at the right time... before it happens. You can make mistakes and learn from them before it becomes a life or death situation! Scenario training to survive violent crime draws on real-life crime cases, which allows us to analyze our own mistakes, as well as the mistakes of others, learn from them, and decide how we will respond differently.

Without realistic scenario training, people panic and freeze up; they have no way to cut through the overwhelming fear that boxes them in during a crisis. Everyone needs to train for the same scenarios, and everyone, men and women alike, need to train the same way: to develop the mental toughness needed to survive a real attack!

Summary

This is the bottom line that must be adopted by every woman, every women's self-defense teacher, and every parent of a daughter: If the how-to-survive-violence technique and advice is not acceptable to men, it's not acceptable to women.

Knowing how to handle yourself when confronted with violence is your only insurance against becoming a victim, or just another statistic in a police report. You have car insurance, home-owner's insurance, life insurance, health insurance...

What insurance do you have against being the victim of a violent crime? A long-term self-defense program offers the most comprehensive training, and therefore, the best opportunity to learn to handle almost any situation that may occur. However, if you don't have the time to commit to a long-term program, at least some form of weaponless self-defense training is better than none.

But women MUST practice techniques with MEN! The idea that women can learn to defend themselves against men, without training with men, is simply false.

Resources:

Strong, Sanford - Strong on Defense; Simon & Shuster, Inc.; 1996

Federal Bureau of Investigation - Uniform Crime Report; 2000

Mark Jordan is a 6th Degree Black Belt in Budoshin Jujitsu, Vice-president of the American Ju-Jitsu Association, and a Certified Self-Defense Instructor with the International Association of Close Combat Professionals. You may find out how to contact him for training, or read more of his articles by visiting his website:
AllJujitsu.com.

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