yourmaker's guide to unarmed self defence

I will try to share some of what i've learned for your survival itinerary.

The Human Body - Yours and your attacker's

Airway, Breathing and Circulation, the vitals to any living Human Being.

Most combat lies within the mind as you are fighting yourself for control of your own body in a tense situation.
An adrenalin dump can include tight breathing, rapid heart beating, queasy stomach, dry mouth and stiff limbs.

Known as autogenic breathing.
Breath in through the nose for a 3 count,
hold for 3 count then breath out through the mouth for 3 counts
Studies have found that if a person was to do these on a 3-cycle count it decreases ones heart rate up to 30% for up to 40 seconds.

Fear effects -
Your brain and it's chemistry, your quick-judgment will be impaired

Your auditory and visual systems, i.e tunnel vision, blurred sounds

Heart rate and Motor skills.

How to lessen the effects of Fear;

Anger/emotion to switch your mindset into a killer instinct, remember brain chemistry.
Thoughts mixed with emotion become a magnetic force, which attracts similar thoughts.

Strikepoints

Throat - A strong enough force to this region can inflict serious internal damage and constriction which can cause the airway to block and your attacker to asphyxiate. This region hosts the cororoid artery.
The neck is unusually vulnerable as there is little muscle to pad the impact of force.

Eyes - Sand or any other irritant would do just fine to incapacitate someone for just the amount of time needed for escape. Or gouge your hands into this region in a short range attack.

Interesting fact;

The visual system in the brain is too slow to process information if the images are slipping across the retina at more than a few degrees per second, for humans to be able to see while moving, the brain must compensate for the motion of the head by turning the eyes. It is more difficult to visually estimate speed in low light conditions or while moving

Nose - Mostly consists of cartilage, weak point at the bridge could be target for bloody distraction.

Solar Plexus - This group of nerves can cause a muscle spasm of the diaphragm causing the attacker to "catch his breath"
Other damage includes the ribs at the base of the sternum and possible diaphragmal tearing

Groin/Ribs - This is where you could damage the Zyphoid process and the potential for fractures and punctures exists.

Knees/Feet/Fingers - A sideways strike to the kneejoint is dangerous.
Twist a foot the wrong way and it breaks, same with fingers.

Timing

It is a necessity that you strike before your attacker.
This is where timing becomes one of the most important things.
While physical force plays a role, as well as where you strike,
it's WHEN you strike that you will find the greatest of advantages.

The moment your attacker prepares him/herself to strike is always the moment of your attack.
There is no defence against it.

Range

Long - Where you would like to be most of the time,
this is just beyond your kick and where you watch and wait for your attacker to prepare.

Medium - This is where you need to ready to time your strike with either a punch or kick then either move into a short range attack or back out into long range defence.

Short - You should be mercilessly pummelling your attacker with jabs this close to the middle portion of the stomach or quick jabs to the throat/facial area. One clean shot to the inner thigh can create an imbalance for your attacker rendering them essentially inoperable.

You want to spend the least amount of time possible in short range, never more then a few seconds.

Situational Awareness

Avoidance of conflict is key.

Maintain Audio/Visual contact on your surroundings as well as distancing yourself from other humans.

Don't reply to this thread, but please feel free to add defence tips, no weapons.

Balance is a great weapon. One can not stand without it.

mindset .... a fight is to the death either the attacker or you .. if you fear death you already lost ... there is no second place

When the body is active, the mind should be at rest, when the body is at rest, the mind should be active.

Martial Arts is not so much to teach one to fight, but to learn how not to THINK,(about the combat) while fighting.

When taking a strike to the mid section, breath out. If it's a kick, breath all your air out before/while the strike hits. Don't breath in while getting hit in the midsection.

To bust up a knee, kick/stomp ABOVE the knee and never on it or below it (the force would just cause it to pivot or be directed down the leg with very minimal damage).

Heel palm strikes are usually safer than punches when striking the face. Uppercut, palm strike the jaw and push upwards to make the head tilt back - more of a push than a solid strike. Hook shot, palm strike and follow through hitting the lower jaw - more of a strike and not a push except for the follow through.

Judy chops to the neck should be aimed not to the front or side but to a almost 45 deg part of the neck...imagine a line from the front of the throat to the side of the neck - you want to strike that area...usually two strikes will daze'em for enough time to get the upper hand.

Piggyback on the solar plexus strike. To find the solar plexus image a line down their center, then image a line from their elbows. Works well if they have a coat on or something. If you hit them while they inhale - they'll be jacked up for a few secs - enough time to get the upper hand.

Quite frankly, your best unarmed defense is the ability to HIDE.

Unless there is something you are fighting FOR, in a SHTF scenario, best to not fight at all, without modern medicine to help with the injuries.

Even then (something to fight for), better to get away and then decide YOUR terms to get it back...with YOU picking the time and place, etc.

reply to post by yourmaker


The best defense is the best offense. Proclaim peace and bomb the hell out of em. Hitlers blitzkrieg on a smaller scale. The breakfast of champions is the opposition.

Angles No not the spanish word for English but rather from the Latin word angulus, meaning "a corner".

Angles in martial arts encompass a variety of different things.
Your body and how certain angles can produce far more force and precision
Your attackers movements in relation to your own, maintaining a certain angle between you.
Your environment and the angle at which you find yourself in relation to your surroundings and attacker.

Angle Interception Theory is about anticipation of certain movements based on observing the Angles at which your attacker displays. Every angle in which they stand has corresponding equivalents, meaning they can only do so many things based on what they've displayed.

Body;
Downward angular motions are more likely to produce greater velocity than upwards motions.

That said, in a counter, you would throw your weight into a momentum that ends with your force coming downwards with maximum angular velocity into one of the vitals.

Attacker;
Never be square with a person but always to the side just a bit. Somewhat closed.
This is to protect your vitals but also to put yourself in a position of readiness for maximum angular velocity.