Paradigma de investigación

What this means is not to get caught up with a ‘tactic’ for every physical action i.e. a technique for a kick, punch, head butt, strangle, grab, lapel grab, rear grab, hair grab, low punch, round punch, knife, stick, elbow grab, etc etc. This is the approach that most self defence books adopt because they have approached the problem from a martial arts background and include everything the writers have come across and seen as a technique - the principle being the more they can include the better it will be. 99% won’t work, certainly if you are a female, and they only breed confusion as to the precise technique you should use if the attack is not quite as you expected it.

Remember the ‘egg timer’ - you will have a ‘technique log jam’.

A good ‘broad strategy’ is - Run or Pre-empt! A ‘narrow tactic’, is to wait until an attack takes place, rely on exceptional reactions, block what comes and employ a restraining arm lock to make him cease the attack - Good Luck. The simpler your options the better your chances of coming through the experience relatively unscathed.

Some of the following are general points you should bear in mind:-

• Upset your attackers plan of action. A street robber has a simple plan of action (POA) and it works on shocking you into submission. To do other than is expected of you will shift control away from him.

B A S I C P R I N C I P L E S O F S E L F D E F E N C E

If confronted, one ploy is to feign acquies- cence! Keep ‘talking’ with your hands, so he gets used to them.

... And then - do exactly the opposite to what they want, such as a pre-emptive strike. Here, delivered to an impact pad.

• Ladies and also men don’t forget to employ your best weapon at all times - your voice. What our American cousins call ‘acoustic warfare’ scream Rape! Help! Fire! anything, but make a noise.

• The timid nature of the majority of women and the lack of confidence in

physical confrontations makes having to resort to actual combat very difficult, but not impossible.

• Never show your attacker a weapon. Even a brolly you may

feel can be brought into play don’t tele- graph its potential by lifting it threateningly. A brolly is no weapon at all once its been seen as going to be used.

• Act quickly - it confus- es if you do the reverse

of what’s asked. Also the ‘hostage mentality’ soon sets in (the longer it goes the harder it gets to act) as it is no longer instinctive but actions are thought through and decided upon, which results in no action, also the better they can secure you whilst you weaken physically and mentally, you lose anger and so you lose dynamism.

• Keep your distance from a knife and look for an escape.

• Hit & Run - Don’t stay to finish.

• If we think of our bodies as a gun with our hands and feet as the bullets and our mind as the trigger you will soon realise the problem when you find your mind no longer works to your command - the gun’s useless. • The truth is that every assault situation is unique. Effective self

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Don’t make this complicated! If you can be convinced that ‘action beats reaction’ you will have a chance.

Now run - don’t try and wrap up the arm - it won’t work!

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defence means having as wide a range of options as possible with which to address each situation, but remember keep the options to Broad Strategies (options may include a calm, firm verbal command, yelling, fleeing, pre-empting, eye gouging etc) all as warranted by the intelligence you gather from the developing situation. • A gang rape won’t happen in the middle of the street, but people have been dragged even hundreds of yards into buildings and waste ground where the assault happens. Other people won’t help and whilst on the street it’s your last chance to break free. If you stay stunned you won’t and then you will be isolated - don’t simply resist - fight.

• Verbal assertions and simple evasive techniques e.g. wrist release, break- aways may be sufficient in social, work, home situations.

• Any device designed to injure can be used against you, so don’t be the one who provides it e.g. weapons or sprays.

• The thing you must solve is how to avoid the adverse effects of stress produced whilst under a violent attack and how to harness the useful ones.

Bad Advice

If you are trying to find good material on self defence be careful to avoid those ‘on the bandwagon’ books

written by someone with a made up name and pretending to disclose ‘secrets’ to you. You may find some good points brought out, but they are potentially more damaging than of value. You can tell what you have got hold of because you will see the drawings where two people are squared off in ‘fighting stances’ prepared to do battle. This is bollocks. They are teaching you how to fight! not how to defend yourself. If you let it get to that point you will probably lose. Learning how to fight in a ‘square go’ with someone takes a long time. You also receive erroneous advice such as -

- ’empty your bladder before you get in a street fight’ - bollocks! empty your bladder before you get out on the street

- ‘Never face an opponent square on’ - good advice in a fight, but it may be you are caught square on and if its the best your given you should deal with it - ‘A good stance will present the strongest side to your opponent and allows forward and backward move- ment ‘ - again this is about fighting and not self defence. In self defence you can’t teach people to move around like boxers or martial artists.

- ’Going for the one punch blow and says it leaves you over extended’ - bollocks, only if you don’t know how to

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do it and can’t generate impact. Teaching combinations is all about fighting.

- ’Don’t get over-excited’ - you will be frightened to death, never mind over-excited

- ‘Any boxer will tell you it is better to counter-attack than attack’ - true, because boxing is a point scoring sport which is held over ten rounds.

- ’Clinch if you are hit with a stunner, you are simply a target if you stand there’ - you probably were just standing there, because you had accepted the advice to wait and counter-attack!

I hate being critical (no I don’t), but the above is rubbish and dangerous rubbish at that.

I want you to remember one thing and it is the most important you should take on board about self defence -