5 Self-Defense Moves That Will Stop Any Attacker

JGeropoulas

The Living Force
I've never been in a fist-fight in my life, but given the increasing craziness everywhere, I thought it'd be good to have a clue about defending myself if necessary. These 5 moves are really simple and extremely effective. Strength would definitely be important, but these moves really depend more on speed and precision, making them useful for anyone.
 
Thanks for the video @JGeropoulas. Those moves were easy to memorize and could definitely be useful if you have speed and the element of surprise on an aggressive male at a bar. In any self defense context I think it's also important to also emphasize situational awareness, which this article does nicely. Often if you can see someone being being rowdy and threatening, there are often ways you can de-escalate the situation without resorting to violence. Many attackers are also purely predatory in nature. These are cases where someone will try and surprise you (often with a weapon) to incapacitate you for a mugging, rape, or murder. Usually those types of attacks can only be thwarted by situation awareness since they often try and catch people off-guard. Still, these are good moves to have (but will require practice so it's a reflex as well, OSIT).:-)
 
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This Judo Teacher Is Still Kicking Butt At 94 STO
3:38 PM, Apr 23, 2018
Jack Hearn began practicing judo in 1951. Sixty seven years later, he’s still practicing and teaching that martial art at the age of 94.

What’s kept him going after all these years? It’s apparently his mindset. Hearn, aka Sensei Jack, offers this advice to others:

“Make sure that every moment that you’re here you’re doing something which was useful to yourself and to your fellow men,” he said in a recent interview with the BBC. “Whatever age you are — get off your butt and get out and do something.”

And clearly — Hearn is living his own advice.

 
Hello,

These videos are great and both have some great information, one about self defense and one about what seems to be the true essence of martial arts, a journey of self learning.

I hope that it's understood that all of the above requires discipline in training, in keeping the mind focused and the experiences, sounds, smells and feelings both internal (adrenaline is very interesting on how it works in us), as well as external in the consequences of our actions.

Something to also keep in mind, the people who will engage in a physical confrontation either have training or don't care of the consequences of their actions. One should at least be aware of where one's limits and strengths are, as well as how ones' body moves and reacts to situations of stress. A reputable school or teacher who teach self defense vs combative arts should help understand the experiences and have the knowledge one needs.

Great videos both. Thank you.
 
I hope that it's understood that all of the above requires discipline in training, in keeping the mind focused and the experiences, sounds, smells and feelings both internal (adrenaline is very interesting on how it works in us), as well as external in the consequences of our actions.

Just as J.G. I've never been in a fist-fight in my life and I would very much prefer that it will stay that way.
Apart from the tactical aspects like training or strength there are some ethical aspects or rather psychological ones that keep me ambivalent about self defense.

That guy in the first video definitely looks strong enough to be able to take some punishment and still hit back decisively.
I myself would have to strike first in order to stand any chance of coming out of an altercation relatively unharmed. I would have to decide in a split second whether the guy walking up close to me spells danger or just has a clumsy way of asking you for a light.
Keep in mind that people from certain cultures consider it impolite to talk to you from a distance. They will tend to come very close for asking you a question.

Being inexperienced and fearful I would have to act (not react) at exactly the right moment, despite my inhibition against physical aggression.

I think I'll stick to my old habit of avoiding shady places, shady people and shady situations (as long as I can).
Add to that some experience in knowing or reading peoples' intentions and we may surmise that "knowledge protects"...

Just another thing: if you're working hard to prepare for a supposed confrontation, will the probability of such an incident happening decrease or increase? I'm not hinting at a certain result, just asking...
 
Learning something practical by watching a youtube video, that "is" a great advice, like a new age of martial arts, like a product you buy in a store, american way, and normally weak willed and naive buy it and end up like they do when reality kicks in.
 
Learning something practical by watching a youtube video, that "is" a great advice, like a new age of martial arts, like a product you buy in a store, american way, and normally weak willed and naive buy it and end up like they do when reality kicks in.

1a1je6.jpg


Published on Apr 23, 2018
James Shaw Jr, who wrestled a gun from a man who killed four people in a Nashville Waffle House, broke down in tears during a press conference. Police, who are still hunting a suspect, say he prevented further loss of life

RT
Published on Apr 25, 2018
Surveillance footage shows a man with a cowboy hat tackling a would-be robber at a shop in Monterrey, Mexico.
 
I've practiced various martial arts on and off and I'm gonna be honest,if you're not practicing daily and drilling those moves into your natural fight response then just ''keeping them in mind'' is near useless. I've done Tae Kwon Do as a kid,Wing Chun as a teen and plan on going back to Systema this year (for the record Systema is the only one where i felt real progress after some months).I've been in fights and have been mugged numerous times.The thing that's gonna help you most is a capacity for violence.You have to be mentally prepared to hurt the other person,since empathy and kindness is not something they're gonna return (people really don't like to hear this one).More often than not the fight won't be 1v1 either and you'll have to be able to maneuver the situation in a way that tips the odds in your favour,such as running away or going for the leader hard and fast.Back when we were teens a mate of mine was getting mugged by 7 people and one of them pulled a knife.He was a good runner back then and simply ran 3 kilometers and they gave up. If you've never been in a fight (this is always a shocking to me that such people exist) then join a local dojo that has full contact or near-full contact sparring.Don't be rash,there's few things as likely to cause a sparring injury as an overly eager office worker.

Also keep in mind that you should always train seriously,like you're going into a life or death deal.Half assing it is only wasting your own time.Way i see it is you're training for a critical situation.Maybe you only need to be skilled or fast or strong for 5-10 seconds.Maybe you only have to do it once or twice in your whole life,but it might be that very moment that decides whether you or someone you love will live or die.So if you decide to do it,do it seriously.

As for what martial arts are good?Well I've only tried 4 (5 if you count tai chi but the instructor was trash) so I'm no authority on the matter,but if you have a small build go for wing chung.It was invented for that very purpose and focuses on fighting larger opponents.It's quick and vicious with lots of fast strikes at weak points and subtle footwork.Systema has a lot of contact sparring so you'll come home with bruises (the good kind) but it teaches you to listen to your body and (hard to describe this part) you kind of learn to let it fight for you.It also teaches you to fight 2-3 people at once and is used by the Russian military.So you know it's effective.I was surprised at the depth of the teaching there.Just knife work alone begins with training yourself to pick up the knife in such a way that you're ready to use it every time.Tae Kwon Do is okay i guess,but the training ruins your body.Krav Maga is a bit brutish,but if you find a good instructor I suppose it can be worth it.

But remember that all the training in the world is useless if you aren't capable of hurting your attacker.The first part is overcoming that instinct in your mind.
 
I've practiced various martial arts on and off and I'm gonna be honest,if you're not practicing daily and drilling those moves into your natural fight response then just ''keeping them in mind'' is near useless. I've done Tae Kwon Do as a kid,Wing Chun as a teen and plan on going back to Systema this year (for the record Systema is the only one where i felt real progress after some months).I've been in fights and have been mugged numerous times.The thing that's gonna help you most is a capacity for violence.You have to be mentally prepared to hurt the other person,since empathy and kindness is not something they're gonna return (people really don't like to hear this one).More often than not the fight won't be 1v1 either and you'll have to be able to maneuver the situation in a way that tips the odds in your favour,such as running away or going for the leader hard and fast.Back when we were teens a mate of mine was getting mugged by 7 people and one of them pulled a knife.He was a good runner back then and simply ran 3 kilometers and they gave up. If you've never been in a fight (this is always a shocking to me that such people exist) then join a local dojo that has full contact or near-full contact sparring.Don't be rash,there's few things as likely to cause a sparring injury as an overly eager office worker.

Also keep in mind that you should always train seriously,like you're going into a life or death deal.Half assing it is only wasting your own time.Way i see it is you're training for a critical situation.Maybe you only need to be skilled or fast or strong for 5-10 seconds.Maybe you only have to do it once or twice in your whole life,but it might be that very moment that decides whether you or someone you love will live or die.So if you decide to do it,do it seriously.

As for what martial arts are good?Well I've only tried 4 (5 if you count tai chi but the instructor was trash) so I'm no authority on the matter,but if you have a small build go for wing chung.It was invented for that very purpose and focuses on fighting larger opponents.It's quick and vicious with lots of fast strikes at weak points and subtle footwork.Systema has a lot of contact sparring so you'll come home with bruises (the good kind) but it teaches you to listen to your body and (hard to describe this part) you kind of learn to let it fight for you.It also teaches you to fight 2-3 people at once and is used by the Russian military.So you know it's effective.I was surprised at the depth of the teaching there.Just knife work alone begins with training yourself to pick up the knife in such a way that you're ready to use it every time.Tae Kwon Do is okay i guess,but the training ruins your body.Krav Maga is a bit brutish,but if you find a good instructor I suppose it can be worth it.

But remember that all the training in the world is useless if you aren't capable of hurting your attacker.The first part is overcoming that instinct in your mind.
Pretty much spot on!
I'll say, however, the training for the military art of Taekwondo ruins the body because the vast majority treat it more like a keep-fit hobby for moderate self-defense, and don't stretch and warm up properly... The stretch/warm-up should be treated like a serious workout in and of itself comprising at least half the session. The practicing of each technique should be done to its fullest with maximum power each and every time - as if in a real-life fight situation. The problem is its very exhausting and people burn out quick half-way through sessions - so like to pace it out a bit, this also means they tend not to click into the correct frame of mind and can get a bit lax on foothold-positioning and body-alignment leg-conditioning in particular, concentrating too much on being quick light and nimble - which is one part of course. The biggest problem starts because, people in the West in particular, choose Taekwondo for the elegance of kicks - as if a ballerina - rather than mastering the less flashy but much more its simplistic gravity-grounded-centric raw effectiveness first and foremost.
 
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Pretty much spot on!
I'll say, however, the training for the military art of Taekwondo ruins the body because the vast majority treat it more like a keep-fit hobby for moderate self-defense, and don't stretch and warm up properly... The stretch/warm-up should be treated like a serious workout in and of itself comprising at least half the session. The practicing of each technique should be done to its fullest with maximum power each and every time - as if in a real-life fight situation. The problem is its very exhausting and people burn out quick half-way through sessions - so like to pace it out a bit, this also means they tend not to click into the correct frame of mind and can get a bit lax on foothold-positioning and body-alignment leg-conditioning in particular, concentrating too much on being quick light and nimble - which is one part of course. The biggest problem starts because, people in the West in particular, choose Taekwondo for the elegance of kicks - as if a ballerina - rather than mastering the less flashy but much more its simplistic gravity-grounded-centric raw effectiveness first and foremost.
High kicks and flashy moves have their place certainly,but subtlety is more important than showing off.A kick is no good if your opponent sees you telegraphing it and dodges. As you said one of the biggest problems is how Tae Kwon is taught.You're much more likely to injure yourself in that art than any other I've tried.I think it's also important to know at least a little bit of history of martial arts.For example in China high kicks were practiced by highlanders who had open planes to fight on,where's battles in the low lands and rice fields favored hand work and subtle leg movements,since trying to kick in knee high water is not worth it.Nobles with long nails used open palm techniques while peasants used a closed fist.
Know your body type and your environment then pick a martial art for it.Something like Capoeira is beautiful to look at,but not very useful in an ordinary mugging/home invasion.I'm not against mma per se as it allows people plenty of sparring,but it's a sport.There's rules and a referee.Plus a lot of it focuses on being on the ground which is a place you don't ever want to be when you're fighting multiple opponents.
Again,that said having a small frame is no excuse for weakness as pretty much everyone is capable of getting double their bodyweight overhead.So in addition to the martial art itself,you should focus on speed training and weight lifting to be as effective as possible.This doesn't mean that you're training 24/7 as 3 sessions of 20-30 min (breaks included) weight lifting per week, followed by daily drills of speed and katas (if your art has that) will make you incredibly effective 5 or so years down the line.
By this point it should be obvious that ANY *use this move to finish fight instantly* kind of vid or article should be taken with a massive grain of salt.Any art requires dedication and martial arts aren't called that just because.But if you don't care for any of that the best advice is to act like a feral animal.Yell,snarl,be loud and puff yourself up.Bite and scratch and all that because crazy people are scary.Might not save you,but it's more effective than relying on a faint memory of a movement you saw in a video once.
 
"Hindsight Man, post: 759107, member: 10482"]I've practiced various martial arts on and off and I'm gonna be honest,if you're not practicing daily and drilling those moves into your natural fight response then just ''keeping them in mind'' is near useless. I've done Tae Kwon Do as a kid,Wing Chun as a teen and plan on going back to Systema this year (for the record Systema is the only one where i felt real progress after some months).I've been in fights and have been mugged numerous times.The thing that's gonna help you most is a capacity for violence.You have to be mentally prepared to hurt the other person,since empathy and kindness is not something they're gonna return (people really don't like to hear this one).More often than not the fight won't be 1v1 either and you'll have to be able to maneuver the situation in a way that tips the odds in your favour,such as running away or going for the leader hard and fast.Back when we were teens a mate of mine was getting mugged by 7 people and one of them pulled a knife.He was a good runner back then and simply ran 3 kilometers and they gave up. If you've never been in a fight (this is always a shocking to me that such people exist) then join a local dojo that has full contact or near-full contact sparring.Don't be rash,there's few things as likely to cause a sparring injury as an overly eager office worker..

Yeah, what you say are all very good points. The techniques in the video are good techniques but what's the use of learning them if you don't practice them every day (preferably with a sparring partner in protective gear) until they become a reflex? I once was told that you have to defeat your opponent in your dreams first before defeating them in reality. So actually visualizing your attackers first (like in shadow boxing) and then applying the techniques in earnest on a bag or sparring partner is the first order of business. In this case the body will learn to react even before your conscious mind does. But it takes constant practice. The constant practice will keep your body in a state of readiness. Psychological readiness is a prerequisite to physical readiness. I think true martial arts begins in a higher reality of energy exchanges and energy transference. Essentially it is a psychological/psychic battle. Mental training, critical thinking, mental blocking and focus is the real martial art imo. The actual 'battle' in this physical reality is but a reflection of what goes on in the psychological/psychic spheres. The biker scene in the movie 'A Bronx Tale' is a good example at how having the
psychological edge/advantage, just before going into immediate action, can turn the tide on the opponent in an instant.
 
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Yeah, what you say are all very good points. The techniques in the video are good techniques but what's the use of learning them if you don't practice them every day (preferably with a sparring partner in protective gear) until they become a reflex? I once was told that you have to defeat your opponent in your dreams first before defeating them in reality. So actually visualizing your attackers first (like in shadow boxing) and then applying the techniques in earnest on a bag or sparring partner is the first order of business. In this case the body will learn to react even before your conscious mind does. But it takes constant practice. The constant practice will keep your body in a state of readiness. Psychological readiness is a prerequisite to physical readiness. I think true martial arts begins in a higher reality of energy exchanges and energy transference. Essentially it is a psychological/psychic battle. Mental training, critical thinking, mental blocking and focus is the real martial art imo. The actual 'battle' in this physical reality is but a reflection of what goes on in the psychological/psychic spheres. The biker scene in the movie 'A Bronx Tale' is a good example at how having the
psychological edge/advantage, just before going into immediate action, can turn the tide on the opponent in an instant.

 
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Security camera footer: A man defeat two armed roberrers in a very funny way, this is what we call ''joking with the angel of death'' , he is typically turkish :)

 
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Psychological readiness is a prerequisite to physical readiness. I think true martial arts begins in a higher reality of energy exchanges and energy transference. Essentially it is a psychological/psychic battle. Mental training, critical thinking, mental blocking and focus is the real martial art imo. The actual 'battle' in this physical reality is but a reflection of what goes on in the psychological/psychic spheres.

I agree with this statement. Most combative martial arts that I've participated in taught physical preparation as a means to mental preparation. It's no accident that higher levels of any martial art go into spiritual aspects and even psychology.
I've experienced and understood that the real fight is about capturing spirit, attention, awareness and it happens long before the first punch or kick flies. No video can teach that and can even mislead by creating false awareness and comfort. Even when one practices and has the body and mind discipline, it's easy for a technique to go sideways and leave you worse off than before.
I'm glad that this knowledge is coming out and is available, but it should be treated with respect and introspection as to how it applies.
 
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I can recommend watching Nick Drossos, he covers a lot of real life situations and has many videos on his channel.

Shadowboxing can be useful if you practice it regularly through your training, you passively gain reflexes and see options of what you could do if situation arises.
 
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