A Complete Approach to Self Defence

A Complete Approach to Self Defence

Self Defence is more than a collection of techniques and principles, it is a mind-set. For a high level practitioner of self defence this mind-set has an effect an almost all parts of their life, from how they carry themselves in public to how they drive their car. It is not about living in fear but about having a heightened sense of awareness.  Our goal is to avoid dangerous situations and when possible not resort to physical self defence, as the founder of Krav Maga, Imi Lichtenfeld put it, the purpose of Krav Maga is “so one may walk in peace”. In the next three articles we are going to look at

  1. Tips for planning to avoid dangerous situations
  2. The importance of awareness and taking early action to de-escalate & avoid
  3. How we react if avoidance isn’t an option

The Role of Planning in Self Defence

When people think of self defence training, they usually think of escaping dangerous holds, striking to the eyes and groin, kicking and punching. While all of these have their place in self defence, in reality our defences should start much earlier, if we can take some simple actions to avoid putting ourselves in potentially dangerous situations in the first place, the chances of the need for physical self defence are greatly reduced.

1. Don’t put yourself in situations you know are dangerous:This is a no-brainer, however we all do it from time-to-time, some people on a daily basis, they walk through the park on their own at night to shave 2 minutes off their journey, they get an uneasy feeling about a person walking behind them and to nothing to address it. If you know a particular place is dangerous, avoid going there, this simple tip can keep you out of so many potentially dangerous situations.

2. Don’t carry what you are not prepared to lose: Sometimes students find it strange when an instructor says the best option if threatened with a knife might be to hand over your wallet or purse, but in a lot of situations this is good self defence practice. Remember the goal is to walk in peace, not to protect your iphone at all costs. To ensure the best outcome for ourselves we want to prepare in advance, if there is a knife to our throat we don’t want to be hesitating because the wallet contains something so special to us, we wouldn’t want to lose it.Don’t carry a lot of cash (if you need to carry cash wear a money belt under your clothes or split it up between secure pockets).

  • Know the process required to cancel your credit & debit cards, what number do you call, what information will you need.
  • If you have important pictures of loved ones in your purse, make sure you have copies at home.
  • Download pictures form your phone regularly
  • This is not about living in fear or surrendering to a mugger but 2 years after an incident you won’t think of that stolen wallet, if however you end up the wrong side of a knife, it could have life-long implications.

3. Plan your return route: When parking your car in a busy carpark at lunch time, think of your return journey, what will this area be like at 10pm when all the other cars are gone and it is pitch black. When going on a night out, plan your journey home and have a contingency plan, if you can’t get a taxi, who do you call. Make sure to memorise a few phone numbers of close friends and family, in today’s environment we give too much trust to the iphone 6 or the Samsung S5, this is fine until our phone is lost or stolen or the battery dies. This mightn’t result directly in a dangerous situation but could be the start of a chain of events that ends in a bad way.

4. Carry yourself with purpose: Strong body language is a sign of a confident person. An attacker will profile potential victims looking for the easiest target, they also want to avoid conflict where possible, so will for a large part avoid anyone they think will give them resistance. Walk tall and confident with purpose, give off signs of knowing where you are going, even if you feel nervous, fake it.

5. When you are walking – you are walking: When you are walking, your primary goal is to get from A to B, you should avoid having your head stuck in a phone screen or listening to music so loud that it drowns out the outside world. Instead we should be constantly passively ‘scanning’ the environment for potential dangers, a high-level Krav Maga student will do this automatically. This isn’t only about attackers or muggers, a pothole or a lamppost in your path can also ruin your day. The number of times, Krav Maga instructors hear: “he came out of nowhere” (a phrase that literally doesn’t make sense). Keep an eye out, if you sense a threat, take the initiative. In our next blog at the end of February, we will give you some advice on how to do this.

Summary

If you stick to the above tips, will you avoid all future dangerous situations? The answer is of course no, but they will help you reduce the chance of you being in a dangerous situation in the first place, the less chance of you being in a dangerous situation, the lower the risk of an attack.Checkout how and when to signup for our beginners classes  or contact us for more details.


carlsmullen@gmail.com