The Best Defense is a Good Offense by Zoran Sevic

The Best Defense is a Good Offense by Zoran Sevic

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The Best Defense is a Good Offense by Zoran Sevic - Mar. 5th, 2007, 6:28:45 PM

Zoran

Posts: 146
Joined: Mar. 4th, 2007,
From: Chicago Area, Illinois
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If you are in a situation where you can't find a non violent solution, pull the trigger. Most self defense techniques start with a block or some sort of counter movement. A self offense technique will usually start with a strike. Here is my disclaimer, I am not advocating the next time you are confronted by someone calling you something you don't like to hit that person. But if all else fails, don't wait for him to make the first move.

A Bad Technique

You are in a bar. You accidentally bump a patron. That person had a bad day, his girlfriend dumped him, he got kicked out of his apartment, his dog has fleas, or maybe he just likes to fight. What ever the reason, he is in your face yelling at you and you can smell what he had for lunch. Now you get angry, so with your hands at your side, you are chest to chest exchanging slurs with your antagonist. He tells you that he is going to beat you to a bloody pulp. You tell him that he could try. All of a sudden you see stars and find yourself on the dirty bar floor being helped up by the bouncer.

So what happened to all that great training you had? You’re a martial artist, all that training should have let you see that strike a mile away, right. Wrong! All the training in the world couldn’t save you from your own mistakes.

So what were those mistakes in that above situation?

You need a certain amount of distance between your attacker and yourself for a self defense technique to work. Far enough so the attacker has to either step or lean in to strike you. It’s a common mistake, especially when your angry.

Your hands are no good to you at your sides. Bring those hands up. Put them between you and you assailant in a non threatening manner. With your hands up and palms out, it could easily be made to look like a gesture of supplication. From there you could convert it to a block or strike.

Anger is a powerful emotion. Focused anger could be used to your advantage. However, most of the time anger will not allow you to think clearly. Which usually equates to making really stupid mistakes. Try to keep your cool. Although easier said than done.

The final mistake. The assailant threatens you with bodily harm, and your macho reaction is, that he could try. That is the point when you should have pulled the trigger. Self offense should have been your reaction to the threat.

A Good Technique

Let’s try it again.

You are in a bar. You accidentally bump a patron. That person had a bad day, his girlfriend dumped him, he got kicked out of his apartment, his dog has fleas, or maybe he just likes to fight. What ever the reason, he is in your face yelling at you and you can smell what he had for lunch. You raise your hands in a non threatening manner and try to calm the person down. Your assailant seems to get angrier. You can’t move to create distance, with your hands up you try to offer an apology. Now he tells you he is going to beat you to a bloody pulp. Seeing that there is no way out of this situation, you throw a quick right heel palm to his nose which causes his head to snap back. You follow up with a right hand yoke (a strike made by spreading your thumb and forefinger apart) to his throat which makes your assailant step back and start gagging. Seeing that he is no longer a threat, you walk out to the exit door and get in your car and leave.

In this second scenario you stay calm and focused. You can’t create distance but you keep your hands up. You try to find a non violent solution, which only leads to a threat of bodily harm. Knowing this is going to become a violent situation you pull the trigger. You take it far enough to make sure he isn’t a threat and not any further. You leave the bar so you don’t have anymore problems with his friends or the establishment. You go home without a headache.

The Law

Be careful when ever you are in a self defense or offense situation. There can be a fine line between victim and criminal. They say the law is blind. I sometimes feel the law should take the blind fold off.