Laundry list of self defense skills.

[loki09789]

I was looking for contributions to a list of skills/abilities that you think would make a good 'self defense artist.'

I got the idea from the post on the Karate/Self DEfesne article.

Here are some things that I would say belong on the list of a well rounded SD artist:

1. Penal law familiarization.
2. Familiarization, if not outright hands on knowledge, of firearms. Minimally: various types (auto, pump, revolver, long gun, pistol..various safeties,...).
3. Empty hand skills.
4. Good fitness/conditioning.
5. Driving skills.
6. Basic home repair/construction knowledge to recognize where the 'holes' in your home security are.

All donations are tax deductable......

 

[Tgace]

-Sprays, tasers, environmental weapons.
-verbal de-escalation skills.
-to go with firearms: what is cover/what is concealment.

 

[MJS]

2. Familiarization, if not outright hands on knowledge, of firearms. Minimally: various types (auto, pump, revolver, long gun, pistol..various safeties,...).

Good list Paul! In addition to the firearms, I'd also add in bladed weapons.

Mike

 

[loki09789]

Good list Paul! In addition to the firearms, I'd also add in bladed weapons.

Mike

I was hoping someone would see the gap I left.....

 

[OUMoose]

Situational Awareness would be on the list IMO as well, both outdoor and indoor. Knowledge of basic combat tactics (Cover vs. Concealment as Tgace said, Distancing vs. Multiple attackers, environmental chokepoints to reduce number of attackers, etc.) I think would also rank up there.

 

[Flatlander]

Attitude awareness; that is, how not to get oneself into unnecessary situations.

 

[Adept]

Awareness is the biggest hole I could see (I assume deliberately left). You need to be aware of situations as they develop, be aware of potential situations before they develop, be aware of all the mitigating factors in a situation you find yourself involved in...

 

[TChase]

The most important thing in my opinion is having the proper mindset. All the skills in the world won't help you if you don't have the proper mindset to apply them.

 

[Spookey]

Dear All,


I have worked as a personal protection specialist and security consultant for a while now. The following is an off the top of my head list of things that appear to have been overlooked in previous posts (some may be duplicates).

1. Legal Issues
-use of force
-civilian arrest

2. Weapons and basic realistic application
-Firearms / projectiles
-Bladed
-Impact (blunt objects)
-Chemical Irritants

3. Awareness and mindset
-observation
-stress conditioning

4. Physical Conditioning
-technique
-strength
-stamina

5. Escape and Evasion
-tactical retreat
-tactical evasion

Most civilian (and many professional) security concerns can be addressed by an extention of some portion of the training outline.

Anyone wishing to further discuss the details of this thread, please feel free to either email or inquire as to my instant message address. This is my profession and something that I greatly enjoy.

TAEKWON!
Spookey

 

[loki09789]

The most important thing in my opinion is having the proper mindset. All the skills in the world won't help you if you don't have the proper mindset to apply them.

'mindset' is a skill in itself. what type of training would you add to the laundry list to develo the proper mindset?

 

[7starmantis]

I would add observations skills beyond situational awareness. Observation and memory of detail. Can you peek around a corner and in that 2 seconds list off how many people are in the room? How many exits? Places to take cover? Could you identify anyone in that room? I'm short on words today or short on brain, but I can't put my finger on the word I'm looking for, does that explain it? Maybe also including some profiling skills as well. There is a line where we cross from self defense to self survival in my opinion, and some of these may cross that line, but they are things I train in.

7sm

 

[loki09789]

I would add observations skills beyond situational awareness. Observation and memory of detail. Can you peek around a corner and in that 2 seconds list off how many people are in the room? How many exits? Places to take cover? Could you identify anyone in that room? I'm short on words today or short on brain, but I can't put my finger on the word I'm looking for, does that explain it? Maybe also including some profiling skills as well. There is a line where we cross from self defense to self survival in my opinion, and some of these may cross that line, but they are things I train in.

7sm

Observation is about as technical as I ever remember getting in the service or anywhere else that it was brought up. Your application of the quick peek is a good example of how observation can be necessary though.

Lots of "where's Waldo" and "short term/long term" memory stuff that can help develop that stuff.

 

[still learning]

Just my thoughts, maybe " Verbal Judo" and good running shoes? ...Aloha

 

[loki09789]

Any specific topics/techniques on the mental side of things?

Off the top of my head:

1. Signs/symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress
2. Local counselling agencies/shelters/haven houses
3. Breathing/visualization skills
4. Psych/research on predator mentallities (stalkers, rapists....)...'Gift of Fear' comes to mind.

 

[jkn75]

1. Legal Issues
-use of force
-civilian arrest

1. Penal law familiarization

Some other legal issues to be familiar with:

-self-defense-definition for your state. Is it a defense, exemption, etc.?
- when can i use lethal force?
-the result of imperfect lethal self-defense? manslaughter? 2nd degree murder? what's the difference?
-duty to flee-when do you have one?
-when does a situation cross from self-defense to assault/battery/murder?
-what are the definitions of assault/battery/murder?
-what weapons are illegal in your state?
-how are certain weapons defined in your state? (ex. in TX nunchukas are defined as clubs, which are unlawful to carry unless an exception applies.) What is a legal knife vs. an illegal one? (blade length, etc)
-what is the court process for a civil trial vs. a criminal trial? what are the differences in time, money, and jail time?
-how do you interact with the police when they arrive at the scene and one person(the perp) is down and the other (the victim who used self-defense) is up? who may be in cuffs first?
-what is the process of receiving your concealed carry license? how can I lose my CC license?

 

[7starmantis]

Yes, and I place a lot of emphsis and importance on what we call "verbal kung fu", it falls in the conflict resolution area. Its really important however to know how to read someone and how to stay in control of the conversation, without coming across as aggressive. Right out of high school I worked for a friends dad who owned a large fire investigation company down in houston. We took classes on interigation and how to look for "signs" when someone is talking. Some of these are very important and knowing how to difuse a situation with just words can come in really handy.

7sm

 

[sgtmac_46]

Any specific topics/techniques on the mental side of things?

Off the top of my head:

1. Signs/symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress
2. Local counselling agencies/shelters/haven houses
3. Breathing/visualization skills
4. Psych/research on predator mentallities (stalkers, rapists....)...'Gift of Fear' comes to mind.

Yes, in addition to all those things you listed, it's very important to truely study aggression in all it's forms. Understanding the two general types of aggression, DEFENSIVE AND PREDATORY, and the forms they take is very important to self defense. Understanding how the human body reacts to stress and violence is critical, understanding the fight or flight response, and the autonomic nervous system and how it's designed by nature to work (and it's positive and negative attributes). Understanding what motivates a predator, what he looks for, what he wants, and the tools he uses to get what he wants. Understanding power and domination. A personal assessment of how far you are willing to go to defend yourself. All these things are important.

Sounds like a good list. Can't wait to see it after you're done.

 

[loki09789]

Sounds like a good list. Can't wait to see it after you're done.

I just started the idea so can't take credit for the list as it grows. This is an open contribution, 'living document' that should be acredited to all those who post.

ANYONE can print, publish, run with this list if they decide to use it to improve their MA/SD training/instruction - that is why I got the ball rolling.

 

[Black Bear]

Hi Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Some good ideas on this thread. They seem to fall into the categories of declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, intelligences, and athletic attributes.

Declarative knowledge: factual knowledge that supports your personal protection, such as knowing to run when such-and-such happens because your likelihood of getting shot is such-and-such, knowing THAT you ought to avoid secondary crime scenes, etc... A lot of body language, pre-contact cues, etc. go here. The guy who doesn't for instance understand that the way a knife wrecks you is qualitatively different from how a blunt weapon or empty hand wrecks you, isn't going to move differently against it. This will hurt him. Declarative knowledge can be learned from books. And there are many great ones out there--you could do worse than to start with Sanford Strong's classic, "Strong On Defense".

Procedural knowledge: "knowing HOW..." rather than "knowing THAT..." If you know it by feel, it's really laborious to describe, but not to do, if it's knowledge that is acquired through practice rather than explanation, this is procedural knowledge. This covers a ton of stuff, most things you could name would go here: talking your way out, cq skills, knife, tactical shooting, empty-hand against knife. First aid could partly be here, but I think of it more as declarative knowledge because a) most of the stuff you need to know is diagnostic rather than procedural, and b) even the procedural aspect of the stuff is more memorized than routinized. First aid isn't "second nature" to most people. Defensive driving might be procedural because you train on a course, whereas the kind of tactical stuff like J-turns is for most people only declarative knowledge. If in the course of being assaulted it leaps to mind that you can tear off a car antenna and use slashing movements to cut the face and hands of the assailants, because you had heard this discussed in a seminar, this is declarative knowledge. Being able to fluidly take out three guys with it in a couple seconds because you have been doing kali for a few years, that's procedural knowledge.

Intelligences: All abilities to problem solve and reason are intelligences, but when I set intelligences apart from the other categories, I guess I'm talking about the more stable and generalizable stuff, like the observation skills, short-term memory, interpersonal intelligence that will defuse a dispute effortlessly (a sort of innate giftedness as opposed to learning a "few good lines" or "five conflict prevention tactics" which all of us can do), physical coordination, the ability to quickly see a range of alternatives and to eliminate from among them...

Athletic stuff: None of this means all that very much if you don't have power, endurance, tone, flexibility, etc...

I suspect my rough taxonomy will stimulate a few more answers...

Perhaps a fifth category could be some conative (as opposed to cognitive) features... the guy trapped in ice who saws off his leg and crawls ten miles for help obviously has some sort of "skill" that I personally lack.

 

[Flamebearer]

My $0.02 -

Personal characteristics to develop:
1. Patience
2. Respect

-Flamebearer