Self Defense Tips

SensibleManiac

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Hi, I'd like to try something a little different here.

Since this forum is great for sharing and discussing ideas, I would like us to compile a series of ideas, facts, techniques, skills, etc... for self defense.

Anything that you have found useful and applicable to making you safer would be welcomed.

Let's brainstorm and see what we can come up with.
 

Decker

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I'd personally think "self-defense" goes beyond just getting out of a physical confrontation. Conflict prevention/avoidance would most definitely be much better and safer than conflict resolution, no?

Conflict prevention would include stuff like not engaging in high-risk behaviour, knowing the difference between emotional and rational behaviour and when to disregard emotions and act rationally, etc.

Basically I'm just regurgitating stuff from www.nononsenseselfdefense.com.
I find it a great website - lots of information; reminds the greenhorns that there's more to self-defense than the physical component.
 

Carol

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Don't flex your beer muscles or bad things can happen ;)
 

morph4me

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Be aware of what's going on around you and trust your gut.
 

Joab

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Awareness of your surroundings is very important. Learning how to verbally de-escalate a situation is very important, "verbal judo" is good for learning this. If all else fails and you can't run, look for something to pick up and hit him with, kick low, hit high, use hard parts of your body and impact them against soft parts of the attackers body and disengage and run if the situation allows it.

Living in a low crime rate area helps, as well as working in one.
 
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still learning

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Hello, Learning to trust your "instincts"! ...and learn to Keep your "ego's in check...!

Prevention is better than cure ...awareness and avoidness...(learn this well)

Know your state laws...on self-defense and things you can do and NOT allow..

Off course: proper verbal languages and learn about body languages for you and aggressors'...(one should learn a peaceful stance-yet ready for any attack!)

Physcial fitness....the number one key in Martial arts....If one is fit..one can run, fight back and last...(research this futher..

Aloha,
 

celtic_crippler

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From a flyer we handed out at a self-defense seminar:

Ø First and foremost, be aware of your surroundings.
Ø Avoid doing things that are distracting such as talking on your cell phone or wearing headphones when you run or take a walk.
Ø Have your car keys ready when you exit a building to avoid having to rummage through your purse/pockets when you arrive at your vehicle.
Ø Lock your car doors immediately once you get inside the vehicle.
Ø Before parking your vehicle and unlocking the doors, survey the surroundings for anything that may seem suspicious or out of the ordinary.
Ø DON’T be nice. If approached by a stranger asking for help or directions just say “No” and keep walking. Don’t stop or worry about sounding rude. This is a common ruse used by attackers to get you to drop your guard.
Ø If an attacker demands your purse throw it in their direction and turn and run in the opposite direction as fast as you can. This diverts attention from you as the attacker instinctively goes for your belongings allowing you time to escape.
Ø If your hands are tied up from carrying a lot of bags and you feel threatened by an attacker, drop the bags and run! Don’t try to flee with the baggage. Material items can be replaced but your life can’t.
Ø Don’t wear a lot of loose clothing. It can be easily grabbed and easy to pull off.
Ø Maintain a strong and confident air about you when out. Attackers look for victims; those they feel will not put up much of a fight.
Ø Carry pepper spray in your hand when walking or running. It can’t help you in your purse!
Ø If you own a gun, know how to use it. Take a gun-safety course at your local gun club.
Ø If you are on an elevator by yourself and another person gets on by themselves, get off. They won’t know what floor you were going to and it’s better to be safe and wait on the next elevator.
Ø Attackers don’t want a real fight. If you feel threatened it is important to react quickly and decisively. Scream as loud as you can. Yell obscenities as this will draw attention. Make a real scene and be animated. This will surprise the attacker causing them to hesitate giving you the opportunity to run away.
Ø Have a home invasion plan. Your family probably has a fire escape plan, but do you have a plan in the event of a home invasion?
Ø Keep your cell phone by the bed. If a break in occurs and your land line is compromised you can still call 911.
Ø Invest in good locks, doors, and even an alarm system for your home.
Ø NEVER enter your home if you arrive and the door is open and you do not expect anyone to be home. Call the police immediately.
Ø Never indicate the number of people in your household or that you are on vacation or out of town on your voice mail or answering machine. Have your message recorded in a male voice and keep it simple.
 

Omar B

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Situational awareness is the best thing you can work on to keep you out of a fight. Sit, close your eyes and reach out with your sences one at a time. Learn to probe the room you are in, then the next, then outside with your ears, and nose, try to feel movement in the room through how the air moves over your skin. With practise you should be able to notice things you would have usually missed. Use your eyes to identify the objects and people within a space with just one sweep of your yes, note their position in relation to the space and you. Sweep the room again with the eyes and see what's changed.

You gotta learn to notice everything, meditate, learn to feel a room/space. I had the luck as a child to have a grand-uncle who was deaf. You could never sneak up on the guy, nor could you get anything past him.
 

BLACK LION

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Principles are paramount...

What is most basic is the most absolute.

Know the difference between social and asocial.

Know what violence is avoidable and what violence is not... act accordingly.

In order to successfully use violence as a tool it must be habituated.

Understand that fear is a tool and controlled anger is a virtue.

Targeting specific areas and causing specific trauma is essential in any confrontation.

The goal in combat is to interrupt or completely stop either the brain and/or body from functioning.

All humans are equal in the realm of injury... bigger, stronger, faster only prevails when there are rules.

You do not fight fire with fire... you drop an ocean on it...

Always be prepared to be as unfair as possible...Your true worst case scenario is a fair fight.


of course there is more but I dont want to get carried away with a bunch of random rambles :)
 
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SensibleManiac

SensibleManiac

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Great ideas so far, but how about we elaborate and further discuss some of them.

Black Lion, you wrote, "Understand that fear is a tool and controlled anger is a virtue."

I understand but in what ways can we use fear as a tool, and controlled anger and purpose is a great motivator for defending ourselves but in what ways can we summon it in ourselves and control it to keep it from simply becoming a mindless rage.
 

Daniel Sullivan

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Great ideas so far, but how about we elaborate and further discuss some of them.

Black Lion, you wrote, "Understand that fear is a tool and controlled anger is a virtue."

I understand but in what ways can we use fear as a tool, and controlled anger and purpose is a great motivator for defending ourselves but in what ways can we summon it in ourselves and control it to keep it from simply becoming a mindless rage.
Fear is something is often either ignored or paralyzing.

Some people do things that they should not be doing because they ignore their fear and either stay in situations that they should leave or go into things that shey should not.

Some people are so afraid in general that their fear paralyzes them and they cannot live an enjoyable life because they are afraid of the consequenses of even inconsequential actions.

As for anger, anger uncontroled blinds us and makes us act thoughtlessly. Controled anger focusus us and sharpens us, enabling us to overcome thigns that may otherwise cause us to dispair.

Daniel
 

Shotgun Buddha

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As a young boy, its very unwise to walk down the train tracks with three of your friends.

The best defence against strike is to not be there when it happens. Instead be in the nice pub with nice people in the nice part of town. Drinking a sensible amount.

Fights are about survival not winning. You're looking to get out of there not stand upon a pile of your slain enemies with patriotic music in the background.

Survival is about more than just surviving that moment. It means also ensuring you don't have pesky consequences like a prison sentence and the romantic opportunities therein.

Pride is only of use if you're not at its beck and call.

Avoid those who who seem eager to fall prey to the Dark Lord Darwins victim selection process.
Seriously. Stupid people will get you killed.
 

BLACK LION

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For ease of absorbtion and retention, I break FEAR down into the "triple Fs" ... To find out how to utilize fear as a tool and turn it into controlled anger we must first understand what fear is and in what ways it effects the body.

Fear is a natural survival instinct that cannot be turned off or eliminated...it was set in place to warn us of impending danger and provide us with the ability to get out of it through the natural chemical concoction of "adrenaline"(dopeamine, cortisol etc)...
Blood is taken from irrelevant places and focused on large muscle groups hence the reason why gross motor skills are far more important and superior than fine motor skills...
Anger is the exact opposite of fear and the only solution for harnessing it and wringing out fears full potential...

Understanding the response to fear is of equal importance and here is where the "triple Fs" were born... Previously, in most material I referenced there were only two response... I took the liberty of assing a third since it is seemingly the most prevelant, yet most ignored...

Fight= active, assertive, agression (Triple A's)

Flight= evasion, escape, egression(Triple E's)

Fright= actively frozen, immobile, confused or awestruck from the effects of Fear.

Basically you will do one of these 3 things... either becuase of training or lack of training... Just becuase you are trained doesnt mean you are trained right and just becuase you are not trained doesnt mean you cant "fight" or take "flight"...

The "triple F's" bing forth the "triple A's" and "triple E's" in our training... these are the options we base our trainig off of... controlled anger is the fuel...


In the end...once you understand whay fear is and why it is there... you understand that unbridled agression is its exact counterpart and the only solution to the effects of fear if protection and preservation is your mission.
 

K-man

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About the first thing that happens when you first realise you are in trouble is the adrenalin dump. If you do have some time, take a few deep breaths to bring your breathing under control. You will then be able to reduce any panic and think more clearly. :asian:
 

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