Each case warrants a different approach to self-defense. Using a one-size-fits-all approach to self-defense will land you in jail and/or a civil suit. You can cry about being judged by 12 being better than carried by 6, if the situation meant making that choice. But a bar drunk who is annoyed at your stepping on his shoes, or the pickpocket who wants your wallet are not your average life threats, and using lethal force is not necessary. Unfortunately, too many places teach hit hard and ask questions later, only to have to pay the rest of their natural lives to the estate of the person they killed or maimed because of a reckless reaction.
Conversely, some places choose not to go into the gory details of self-defense, and advance their students in a manner reminiscent of a gentleman's club: "give the chap a black belt, he's paid his dues this month, and who's turn is it on the shuffleboard?" These students go out into the dangerous world not knowing until it's too late that their skills can't help then get out of a wet paper bag. These people live cradled lives, and may never experience a confrontation; others learn the hard lessons.
That means the instructor of a martial arts school carries an awesome responsibility. Not only must s/he teach the technical aspects of the style, but also developing proper mindset so that the student doesn't make the wrong choice.
You can see an answer or two given already indicate some may not have had proper training, or have had reckless training. Maybe they've learned from a book that taught only particular techniques. Maybe they just don't get it. Whatever the case, you can bet that there will be many more people in your martial arts journey who seem to thing that brawn beats brains any day.
There ain't no "tap out" in the real world.
The goal is to stop the fight as swiftly as possible. Sometimes that means running away and sometimes it means deploying overwhelming force. Smartest thing is of course to avoid the situation altogether.
How do you teach someone? Neither you not I do, because we are not very skilled.
Best thing is to learn from one who is.
There are of course many approaches and disciplines but most people don't want to get all into that. How about carrying a ball point pen and poking their eye out? That stops things pretty quickly. Problem with that is you have to allow the evildoer to get way too close to you. Action at a distance requires pepper spray or pistol, home invasions require firearms. Most Americans don;t have the ruthlessness within them to actually pull the trigger; they think they can reason with the perpetrator.
Got your "reason" right here:
"There's the exit. run away or die".
But most Americans don't understand that in a defensive situation, you can't just react emotionally, you have to be the on scene commander and take charge of the situation. this means you can not be REacting out of fear. You have to act. Few Americans understand the difference.
The difference is when you REAact, the other is on control. When you act, you are.
One of the main problems Americans have is they think "if I hurt the bad guy I am going to get in trouble with "the authorities" and this makes them hesitate and overthink. By then you are a victim. Any American who thinks like that is what's for dinner.
When the tiger attacks one shouldn't worry about the game laws, eh?
First you must survive and defeat the threat. You won't have time to think, which is why training is important. When ones heart rate gets above 140, higher brain functions shut down and if one has no training to fall back on, one runs on instinct. Instinct is not highly developed in humans and you will be defeated.
So get professional training. That's not hard to find.
http://valriazanov.com/
Put them DOWN and Fast!
Then let Them decide if they want to continue the battle.
Don't fight fair. As you noted, they won't.
Look at videos of tips for women being attacked by men. The are (generally) at a disadvantage in both strength and size so they are taught to be very nasty indeed.
You know, like keys held in a manner that allows them to protrude from the fist. Stomp on the arch of their foot. Kick 'em where it hurts.,,,
So follow those suggestions if needed but the Best idea is to avoid getting into places where attacks are likely.
I train realistically. Usually reserved for my older students who can handle it.
We start out with a light spar to warm up and get the blood flowing. Then I attack them as if I want to seriously them.
They defend.
When we go over weapons I do the same. Train like this guy does:
You can NOT teach "killer instinct". Muscle memory, and conditioned reflex. This is what you teach someone first to prepare them for a fight situation. Even a timid person, with proper training over time, will subconsciously react to the stimulus (attack) that is presented. Then you can train their mind to see the steps necessary in protecting themselves as pragmatic. Simply logical progressions to a desired outcome.
Example: In our school there was a 2nd degree BB in Songahm TKD (Mrs. Glassburner [real name]) that kept saying she wasn't sure she could use what she had learned to genuinely defend herself. In class she did her forms excellently, she did her competition sparring excellently,...but in "free" sparring, and Krav Maga class, she became hesitant and would withdraw from an aggressor rather than confront and defeat them.
I would always tell her that she knew the techniques needed to do it, and she had the skill with those techniques to do it, but she was defeating herself in her mind by overthinking the situation in "free" sparring. This interaction took place several times without her improving in the "threat defense" scenario.
Sooo, one day after class was technically over, I hid around a corner and waited for her to exit the floor. When she came near the corner I jumped out in front of her, grabbed her by both arms just above the elbow, and twisted them backwards. The instant I did this she immediately jerked both elbows straight back past her ribs and then blasted me in the head with a vertical strike "knife-hand". The blow was sufficient to make me take two steps back, and split my eyebrow (didn't expect that). It was a totally conditioned reflex response to being "attacked", and was more than enough to "set me up" if she had been inclined to continue to defend. It took her about 6 or 7 seconds to come back to a normal state, and then she started to apologize profusely when she saw the blood running down my face.
After that she realized that what she knew worked when she needed it. It changed her entire approach to sparring in all instances, it became about "finishing" her opponent, rather than just winning. Her confidence increased dramatically, but she remained humble in herself. She's actually quite good at what she does.
the reason why its not like the movies is because most go by street fighting and not professional martial arts techniques. And in the movies its all rehearsed- not at all realistic. Most people cannot even predict someones next move. that means they go by instinct. those that take boxing will strike with hands and feet to try to deal as much damage to the body as fast as possible. depending on what type of martial art someone takes, they will always either try to follow through with a move to deal even more damage than the last move or counter a move with another move that deals with the position of their opponent. Street fighting deals with goin into a battle blind, but with a machine gun so to speak. as long as they have a trigger, they can pull it. when u fight someone like that, let them strike first and counter. never let them draw you into striking their territory. if you want the best martial art to deal with street fighters, learn jui jutsu
1. If someone does not know how to use their skills, it is not a skill. Therefore, the person must be acquire the skill.
2. The only way to prepare someone for a real fight is by simulating a real fight. That's why in dojos, you see two people sparring and practicing specific moves in specific scenarios. You can't practice it by yourself.
3. Whether fair or not - it doesn't matter. Self-defense is learned to help prevent you from being cornered. If you are able to defend yourself properly, there shouldn't be a need to tap out. If you fail to defend yourself properly, you are screwed. It's pretty black and white. In a fight, you either win or you lose.
4. If a home invader enters your home and attacks you. He will approach you in a specific way. If you are a master of self-defense, you would know how to react properly, call out a specific learned technique, and pin down your aggressor. That's it - simple as that.
To reply to your Updates:
When in danger, people tend not to care about whether or not they will injure their perpetrator. For example, a timid girl who freaks out and pepper-sprays her attacker in the eyes. This can potentially blind a person - however the girl isn't considering that, she is simply defending herself the only way she knows how.
When someone is being attacked - if they are equipped with the right technique, they will break a person's arm without hesitation. They will do so not because they want to break the person's arm or is comfortable hurting others, but because they are defending themselves the only way they know how. That is why when people teach self-defense, the techniques taught are usually (relatively) simple and require less strength (more strategic than brute force). The human body has many weak points, and self-defense teaches people how to exploit those weakness where even a smaller and weaker victim can overthrow their attacker.
You can't see this in a dojo among the more timid students because they do not have that feeling of fear or danger. It is not wise to simulate these feelings as it can create traumatic experiences for some people. It is probably better to teach people how to stay calm in these events so that they will be able to utilize what they have learned effectively.
Personally, I am relatively weak and scared to injure others, but that didn't stop me from throwing sand in people's eyes and bashing them with a nearby rock (someone tried to pick a fight with me once in school).
I think a well peace of mind instructor an instructor who has had a lot of struggles.
I tend to have them use them on me as I try to avoid letting it work. If it works on someone who know what they are doing who is not letting them do it then it works
I guess their sh**t out of luck.
... in a genuine self defense situation?
A real scrap is nothing like the movies. And even further from what one sees in point sparring.
The rapist, mugger, home invader, drunk at the bar doesn't fight fair. He doesn't stop attacking when you tap out. He does not play by the rules of your dojo. So how do you prepare someone who has never been in a real fight, to fight?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxkr4wS7XqY
for entertainment purposes only
