What situations are likely to happen to a normal person that requires them to use self defence? That means using their decision making skills to decide whether to run, talk, fight, act crazy, etc. and then deciding what to say, how to fight, how to act, etc. Highest on my list are common situations that are likely to leave you dead or grievously injured. Down to ludicrously unlikely situations that are going to at most leave you with a bruised ego. Firstly, what attacks are common (just the physical confrontation part of the self defence)? Secondly, common situations that are likely to occur in a self defence situation? You can draw on personal experience, or just statistics. Would be particularly helpful for things especially relating to Australia. Thanks
LIST My top list of self defense situations Egotism Home invasion/robbery Drug dealer being robbed for drugs and/or money Random robbery Military defence Premeditated robbery Influence of alcohol Influence of cocaine Influence of PCP Influence of various amphetamines Person flaunting money being robbed Person beaten for drug debts Person beaten for having relations with someone's girlfriend/wife Mob-mentality leading to physical violence Rape
I think it was Patrick Mcarthy that first formulated the HAPV's (Habitual Acts of Physical Violence)? They are a good place to start. I think apart from that situations change with age and sex. A 24 year old women's self defence situations would be different from a 24 year old male and also different when that same woman stops going clubbing/pubbing and settles into later life as she gets older. I think everyone can have a look at their life and see where situations are more likely than at other times. For example I go to a video shop near a dodgy bit of York. I know for a fact that my chances of being a target increase when I go to there so I'm a bit more swichted on at those times. Right now I'm sat at my desk so my SD requirements are virtually nil. However the last self defence situtation I found myself in was right on my own street.
this could be a very long list so I'll stick to a couple of major common ones. Situations: Alcohol Groups - I very very rarely have seen or heard of fights that are one on one, they almost always involve gangs trying to be hard and egging each other on Women - This is a very common one I see since I'm still at school and there;s a lot of ball busting over girlfriends and ex's and so on. Insults - My personal main reason for fights are people insulting my family, also doesn;t help that I'm a lairy little kid As for common attacks well again because most of the fights i see and am in are at school pushing is the most common one. Show your strength (or lack of in my case) and generally show off. Defending a push is actually surprisingly easy i found. Almost always there's a like a timed sequence so step aside, they stumble and look like a prat (normally escalates things ) or put a knee in their stomach. Other option would be i spose to grab their arm. I have managed to kimura someone but that was a mate not a proper fight. Headbutting is also quite common i think. I don't like nutting people as it seems a stupid thing to do since it hurts you as well, only thing I've ever headbutted was a cupboard when there was a huge family thingy a while back. I actually know bugger all about defending them as well, I've read you can lower your head so they don't hit your face but thats split second reaction which i don't have. I don;t know how common this one is but in a proper street fight (i have very little experiance thankfully) my philosophy has always been go for the groin. A quick kick, they double over, push them to the floor and put another kick in their abdomen. Thinking about it I never actually see too many groin hits so i might have just wasted my time writing this The is pretty much endless mate but those are my "top few"
i think one of the main things of self defense is that they can be any attacks from any type of person and there isnt any list of common attacks im sure some types of physical attacks are more common than others, also there is nothing to say that the person that attacks u is going to be jo bob on the street that just swings crazy and hard and inaccurate it could be another martial artist with the wrong ideas or someone trained in something. I do think that one of the most common things though is the push with both hands from the one starting the situation, that seems to be one of those typical things that almost always happens if its going to be a fight that started verbaly and escalated to a physical fight. I have also read that in 70 percent of attacks on the street the people are under the influence of some drugs so that could change things completely. From a normal person i would think that u usually see they first raise their guard then just start throwing punches with all the power they have in every punch.
is it true that if your on drugs you don;t feel the pain as much as well? I heard some sas saying which i think sums up defence quite nicely: Speed Aggression Suprise (ooo i see an acronym)
bingo! As for common attacks.. think american steel company Mr gun Mrs knife Little baby brother the razor blade and my personal favourite.. the steel baseball bat In my experience the people who you really need to defend yourself against for your life are armed 90% of the time so you either need to outrun or outgun if it comes to it but as always prevention is the better alternative. @ Southpaw535 As for not feeling stuff on drugs I've had the unfortunate experience to come across people jacked on some crazy stuff. Depending on what they're on kicking them in the groin and a laying a pipe into their head won't stop them. It took 6 huge people to hold one guy I saw down and he wasn't much taller than 5'6" so I'd say it goes a little beyond "not feeling" to "holy ____ how do we stop this guy?"
Most Governments publish lists of crime statistics so you could do some research and find them online for Australia. JWT on MAP tends to have these things at his fingertips, but in the UK the right haymaker is by far the most common HAOV or HAPV. Headbutts are much more prevelant in the UK than in many other cultures. Come on John, you're online by the looks of it Mitch
In australia specifically id say cab ranks, train and tram stops, convenience stores, basically anywhere people will go to get food or transport late at night when they are off it. Something as minor as an argument for the next cab can turn into a punch up because of the alcohol/drug/boredom factor.
There is no common self defence scenario BUT the one you should hope for is the one where you strike the first effective blow. regards koyo
the one you should hope for is the one that gives you the most effective path out of there. self defence is not about getting the "first" blow its about getting out of that scenario to begin with even if you take a hit getting out of there thats what its all about. moving away from it or using the ground and surroundings to your advantage to enable you to 1. get out of that scenario 2. if you have to react you have changed the ground and surroundings into a more favorable situation allowing you to strike first
To me self defence is when there is no other way out and you HAVE to fight. If you are defending ,he has the initiative.The outcome of a street fight is decided in the first few seconds. Most attacks are when he has the situational awareness and has no intention of being talked down. (if he is serious) In my experiemce. I will only fight (1) if I am attacked (2) relative friend or child is attacked (3) if I am about to be attacked I much prefare (3) regards koyo
Self Defence is about getting out there if you have to fight or not land one blow and run home thats what its all about. If you have to fight and from in most cases you have to you your not going to stand toe to toe with the guy as more often than not there is at least 2. You / we as a martial artist should be trained and have enough skill (even if your doing kata all day) to have the ability to read the ground your put in and turn it to your advantage climb up stairs, get in a door way or even put your back up against the wall, put the odds back in your favour and only allow them to attack you from an angle you can see and controll there is no point getting the first hit in if 2 seconds later you are going to be attacked from behind. If your confronted by 10 people you either do the above or get out of there even as posted you take 1 or 2 hits trying to get home and to a safe place, there is no point getting the first hit in against 10 people as sooner rather than later you will get hit and hit badly. I do agree that in a perfect world 1 on 1 then yes hit him first and leave him there and go home.
With the bit about defending attacks in the OP if your in an area where you think you'll be attakced (dark alley, bus stop at night, scotland etc) look around and see what could be a weapon. could even be subtle. I had someone square up to me when i was walking back from bjj at night and rather than fight him (he scared the crap outta me ) i shoved him into a thorn bush and ran off. I think some environmental knowledge helps
As has been said there are no 'common' self defence situations because overall, violence isn't really that common. It happens a great deal, but with the exception of a few locales, not so much as media exposure would have us believe. UK: That being said, deep down we already know the context of most violent situations. With regard to male on male violence - alcohol related violence is the most common cause (and the scenario could range from imagined insults, lack of respect, sexual jealousy, class rivalry/wealth jealousy, racism, accidental contact, mistaken identity) followed by robbery. With women the most common causes are still robbery, sexual attack and domestic violence. Although alcohol related violence seems to be on the increase in young women, I've yet to see any hard statistical evidence to support this. Individual v group? It's about 50/50. And the groups are not necessarily single sex. That being said - where one person attacks and another just cheers them on (like the unfortunate queue jumping case recently) - that's still a group so far as statistics are concerned. Male on Male (UK) - in order of 'most common' HAOV: 1. Push Punch 2. Punch 3. Grab Punch 4. Double Grab headbutt 5. Double Grab Knee I've yet to go through the new knife statistics that include the younger age groups, but my gut feeling is that even with these included, the most common weapon of the night time economy remains glass. With pretty much all the above, if your hands aren't already up near your collar bone, at the range and speed they are launched - you're getting hit. But that's just physical stuff. Knowing how to spot trouble and avoid it, and knowing how to talk to people, that's the most important thing. Your instinct and intuition are rarely wrong.
Hi Dougbug With respect I feel that you are bing too reasonable and too logical. I admire these characteristics in others BUT after working in deprived areas of Glasgow involved with gangs. I have seen that it is near impossible to bring reason into an unreasonable situation. One crazy example..One of the gang members had been in prison.for stabbing a man at a football match. The "reason"? ..He could not see over the guys shoulder!! Sadly there is no defence if the victim has a timid spirit or is unfit or unaware. As above instinct and intuition to avoid if at all possible. If not as has been posted SAS surprise aggresion and sustain then get out of there. regards koyo
