subject: Defend Yourself! The 3 Strategic Elements Of The Perfect Self Defense Stance [print this page] Are you serious about being able to easily defend yourself against a real-world, brutal assailant who want to beat, break, or kill you? The reason that I ask is that, when I look at what most people are practicing as so-called, self-defense, I don't see that.
What I typically see are people "going through the motions," but not really understanding the lessons.
I see students and teachers alike, taking up positions, or stances, without really questioning whether this "thing" is effective or produces the results I will need in a given situation.
If you are to develop your ability to defend yourself to the point it will need to be to not end up beaten, broken, or bleeding - and that's if you WIN - then you must learn to develop this type of "strategic thinking."
So, let's put these two topics together and discuss the idea of examining your martial arts stances from the perspective of strategic application in a dangerous situation. Okay?
After more than 35 years of training, research, and study, not just in this or that martial art, but on the streets as a police officer, bodyguard, and undercover investigator, what I have found is that there are certain things that control an attack...
...and others that will get you zipped up in a body bag!
But, the truth is that, you have free will. And you can choose to blindly believe what you've been taught, or you can take control of your personal safety by questioning not only the skills you use, but the even more important question of...
What it's like "inside" of an attack!
Because, THAT is what your skills, techniques, and tactics are supposed to deal with - not your training partner in class. And, this ability begins with the way you position yourself relative to your assailant.
Regardless of whether you call them "stances," "kamae," or "positions of safety," it's all about positioning. Because, the fact is simple:
If he can't hit you, he can't hurt you. And, if he can't hurt you, he can't beat you!
There are 3 strategic elements to an effective self defense stance. I say, "strategic elements," because this is about what is effective - not what some "style" or meat-head with a black belt says it is!
These three strategic aspects are:
* 1) Distance - Control the distance and you control the fight itself! Typically, you want to be just out of reach so that he can't get you easily - but not so far that he may grab a weapon to make up the distance.
* 2) Remove your targets - Profiling, or "blading" your body toward your attacker, effectively makes it more difficult for him to get at you easily!
* 3) Cover - Using your limbs to shield those targets that he still has access to makes it more difficult for him to hurt you. Use your limbs to close the gaps - the open windows - that he can throw something through.
The idea is to make it as difficult for him as possible, and as easy as possible for yourself - right from the beginning. You must learn how to use your self defense stances to create a situation where you have gained control of his perceptions, and therefor his actions...
...long before he realizes that he ever lost control!
