Some Simple Tips To Fend Off Someone

[Andre Marc]

Excellent question! the answer is: it depends. Some of our clients have worked on "team tactics", with both contributing to a plan of action. This can be "you move the kids toward safety, and make sure I stay between you and the bad guy" or it can be "I'll stay in front of him and you come in from the side and kick him in the knee" The response will depend upon the level of training and confidence you both possess, and the "need" inspired by the situation.

A highly-regarded martial artist named Tony Blauer once said, "If you came home and I had your daughter tied up on the kitchen table as I was taking my pants off, how much martial arts would you need to know?" The rage and immediacy of this type of situation has caused thousands of people to act in vicious self-defense. The element of moral commitment cannot be underestimated! We often read stories about the little old lady who fended off the bad guy.... it's the same outrage that fuels us once we've decided to act.

Lee

Lee, let me give you a big THANK YOU for taking the time in all these self defense threads. I have read them all and
I find them fascinating. You have been most generous!

I do have one quick point. There are attacks you hear about where the attacker was just out to hurt some one, ANYONE.
Unfortunately for those who get picked, there is no way to diffuse the situation. The attacker is DETERMINED to
have a physical encounter and and inflict damage. It DOES become a matter of defense and
survival. Do you often hear about these encounters?

I am sure much of it involves those with extreme anger issues, anti social tendencies, and alcohol.

 

[mep]

There are gangs who participate in "knockout" videos. They pick out their mark at random and someone comes up and just sucker punches him in an attempt to knock the victim out. They usually film their handiwork and post it online because they think it's funny. An elderly oriental man was recently killed in one of these senseless attacks.

 

[Andre Marc]

There are gangs who participate in "knockout" videos. They pick out their mark at random and someone comes up and just sucker punches him in an attempt to knock the victim out. They usually film their handiwork and post it online because they think it's funny. An elderly oriental man was recently killed in one of these senseless attacks.

Yes, I was going to mention this type of behavior...where there is a "mark" picked at random as part of some ritual violence.

 

[RBFC]

Lee, let me give you a big THANK YOU for taking the time in all these self defense threads. I have read them all and
I find them fascinating. You have been most generous!

I do have one quick point. There are attacks you hear about where the attacker was just out to hurt some one, ANYONE.
Unfortunately for those who get picked, there is no way to diffuse the situation. The attacker is DETERMINED to
have a physical encounter and and inflict damage. It DOES become a matter of defense and
survival. Do you often hear about these encounters?

I am sure much of it involves those with extreme anger issues, anti social tendencies, and alcohol.

Caught me online! Yes, there are instances of violence that is not "focused" upon a specific victim. Please note that once the "process" is switched on, you should consider that you may be fighting at any time. The fence and other aspects of the process help you to sort out those who are truly determined to harm you, and those who are not really committed to violence against you. Fortunately, the process provides us with the best "start" to the proceedings, leaving us least vulnerable to the type(s) of attacks that could quickly cause serious injury. The process is really a way of tactically moving around in a fighting stance, but not looking like you're ready to fight.

It should be obvious that unless one does some live training, there are certain aspects of combat that we simply cannot understand from a pictorial. The psychological, emotional, and physical demands of combat are best experienced in progressive doses under the supervision of an experienced trainer. In this way, you can maximize your capabilities while learning to filter out the negative, performance-detracting effects of adrenaline.

Lee

 

[Andre Marc]

Caught me online! Yes, there are instances of violence that is not "focused" upon a specific victim. Please note that once the "process" is switched on, you should consider that you may be fighting at any time. The fence and other aspects of the process help you to sort out those who are truly determined to harm you, and those who are not really committed to violence against you. Fortunately, the process provides us with the best "start" to the proceedings, leaving us least vulnerable to the type(s) of attacks that could quickly cause serious injury. The process is really a way of tactically moving around in a fighting stance, but not looking like you're ready to fight.

It should be obvious that unless one does some live training, there are certain aspects of combat that we simply cannot understand from a pictorial. The psychological, emotional, and physical demands of combat are best experienced in progressive doses under the supervision of an experienced trainer. In this way, you can maximize your capabilities while learning to filter out the negative, performance-detracting effects of adrenaline.

Lee

Totally understood and makes perfect sense.

 

[RBFC]

Yes, I was going to mention this type of behavior...where there is a "mark" picked at random as part of some ritual violence.

A fellow who trained with us for about a year was walking two blocks home from a nearby restaurant. Halfway home, he was "greeted" by two of our city's finest citizens who were adorned with tattoos and bandanas that identified them as gang members. They blocked the sidewalk in front of him, and without saying a word, the one on his left (as he faced them) began drawing a pistol from his right pocket. Our guy immediately grabbed the guy's gun wrist with both hands, like holding a baseball bat, and head-butted the guy. The guy went down. Our guy immediately threw an elbow strike at the second guy's head and that guy went down too. Our guy was pushed to the ground by two more guys who had just jumped out of a car nearby, and the two new guys helped pick up their injured buddies to escape.

Our guy immediately called me after the incident. Local police and I both felt that this was a botched gang initiation attempt, where these two clowns were supposed to shoot our guy in cold blood. They were told to choose a random victim to earn their acceptance into the gang.

I relate this story to affirm that there is random violence that may come your way. I compare it to swimming in the ocean: occasionally, there's a shark behind one of the corals.

Most folks tell me: "Well, I've never had anything happen to me, so self-defense isn't such a big deal." Of course, I've never seen testimony from a victim who said they knew it was coming and deserved it....

Overall, it becomes a matter of one's dedication to prepare and a realistic appraisal of the risks in your lifestyle. Awareness, one of the most valuable skills in this whole game, can keep you out of the random violence setting quite often. We have a saying: STUPID PEOPLE, STUPID PLACES...

Lee

 

[Andre Marc]

A fellow who trained with us for about a year was walking two blocks home from a nearby restaurant. Halfway home, he was "greeted" by two of our city's finest citizens who were adorned with tattoos and bandanas that identified them as gang members. They blocked the sidewalk in front of him, and without saying a word, the one on his left (as he faced them) began drawing a pistol from his right pocket. Our guy immediately grabbed the guy's gun wrist with both hands, like holding a baseball bat, and head-butted the guy. The guy went down. Our guy immediately threw an elbow strike at the second guy's head and that guy went down too. Our guy was pushed to the ground by two more guys who had just jumped out of a car nearby, and the two new guys helped pick up their injured buddies to escape.

Our guy immediately called me after the incident. Local police and I both felt that this was a botched gang initiation attempt, where these two clowns were supposed to shoot our guy in cold blood. They were told to choose a random victim to earn their acceptance into the gang.

I relate this story to affirm that there is random violence that may come your way. I compare it to swimming in the ocean: occasionally, there's a shark behind one of the corals.

Most folks tell me: "Well, I've never had anything happen to me, so self-defense isn't such a big deal." Of course, I've never seen testimony from a victim who said they knew it was coming and deserved it....

Overall, it becomes a matter of one's dedication to prepare and a realistic appraisal of the risks in your lifestyle. Awareness, one of the most valuable skills in this whole game, can keep you out of the random violence setting quite often. We have a saying: STUPID PEOPLE, STUPID PLACES...

Lee

One for the good guys!

Great story, and as you said, you never know.

 

[Keith_W]

Wow, thanks for taking the time to post, Lee. You have inspired me to enrol in some self-defence classes. I'm a pretty placid guy who has never gotten into a fight in my life, and I tend to avoid all the usual hotspots (pubs, nightclubs, city at night, etc). If people abuse me in public, I keep silent. As the guy in the video said, always best to avoid the fight, even if your ego is hurt in the process. But you never know.

 

[RBFC]

Now that many have seen the few graphically-violent video clips I put up, I hope that it has become much clearer why a strong pre-emptive strategy greatly improves our chances of avoiding victimization.

Thank you all deeply for your questions, comments, and participation in this endeavor.

Lee