[Sportsandrec] Self-Defense

[Thornbury, Kelly]

The first thought I had while reading this thread was that movie "The Karate 
Kid," and learning karate "from a book."

You just can't really learn self-defense from a book (although, I did learn 
to ski from reading a book, but not the same thing), just like you can't 
learn self defense from a cardio kickboxing class. You need to practice on 
other people, and optimally in an environment where you can go 90-95% of all 
out, to truly learn about how both the assailant and the defender truly 
react.

As for the standing versus ground combat debate, statistically 90% of all 
confrontations end up on the ground, and to neglect this vital part of 
training is irresponsible at best. My most comfortable "combat" position is 
actually on my back with the opponent on top "in my guard." Here, I can 
effectively control my opponent's striking force, and I've pretty 
effectively neutralize attacks from other opponents by appearing to be in 
distress and by covering myself with my attacker's body. Then, at my 
discretion, I can disable my opponent by dislocating a shoulder or elbow, 
breaking an arm or fingers, driving his head into the ground, choking him 
out, or a number of other defenses. Whatever I do, it has to disable the 
attacker long enough that he is no longer a threat, whether that is enough 
time for an escape or to defend against another attacker. One time in this 
position I was able to choke out a drunk using his own belt, you just need 
to be comfortable in your defense, and that only comes with practice.

Practice also teaches you body position, and knowing exactly where an 
opponent is (including all major targets) based on his grab or strike. I 
usually get thrashed in points sparring, but can hold my own in free 
sparring when I can take the first strike and react now that I know where my 
target is.

Now, as most experienced martial artists on list can probably attest, 
nothing ever works on the street like it does in class, so the more tools 
and techniques you can learn, the better off you will be. And sometimes, its 
the simplest defenses that work the best. Why use a complicated 6-strike 
combination or fancy kick when a stab with your keys is as (if not more) 
effective??? I do stay away from the pepper spray...I won't stab myself with 
my keys, but I certainly might shoot the pepper spray from a down wind 
position.