Self Defense for Blind & Deaf

Evainski · May 15, 2012

Hi Map.

I have an uncle who is both partially blind and Deaf. He was born deaf but he can hear to an extent and can speak although with some impediment. He was fitted with a cochlear implant a few years ago and that has helped matters but he is still deaf. As far as his eye site goes, he was diagnosed with Retinitis pigmentosa about 20 years ago and has been classed as legally blind for the last 10. Retinitis pigmentosa is a condition that worsens slowly over time, first loosing night vision and peripheral vision until eventual blindness.

He has had a guide dog for the past 5 years and insists on remaining active, going for long walks with his dog which is good but he doesn't live in the best area. He has been robbed of his phone, threatened abused and followed and thugs are rife in the area. He is a fairly stubborn old bugger and often walks quite late at night which makes him very vulnerable.

Now to the point, the other day he said he was threatened by some men again and he has been feeling very vulnerable of late. I train in taekwondo and he was asking me if my instructor would be ok with giving him some one on one training. He says he doesn't want to train in a group or gain ranks, just pick up some self defense skills. I told him that I don't think taekwondo would have much to offer him considering that it is primarily a striking style as striking without vision would be a bit difficult I imagine. I suggested maybe he should look at a grappling style like jujitsu or judo or possibly look for a self defense course specifically for the disabled.

I'm just after some advice from you fine people on this and if anyone knows a good school or style I could direct him to. He lives in Adelaide, South Australia.

Thankyou.

YouKnowWho · May 15, 2012

I'll suggest just one move for blind people and that's "bear hug". Get a used heavy bag (~100 lb) and use your bear hug to lift that heavy bag off the ground 100 times daily. The day that you can "squeeze" your opponent to death, the day that you have developed yourself a dependable combat skill (even if you may be blind).

AndrewTheAndroid · May 15, 2012

I have heard that judo is good for blind people.

Mangosteen · May 15, 2012

Judo has a lot of blind competitors and top judo black belts, they feel the movement and it's been suggested that this is an advantage.
Judo is also one of the most easily accessible arts anywhere in the world.

BTW youknowwho probably isnt joking.

Putrid · May 15, 2012

He is a fairly stubborn old bugger and often walks quite late at night which makes him very vulnerable.
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Self defence starts by accepting your own limitations.I can see and hear perfectly well but due to lack of physical size there are quite a few people I am not going to fight well against so I have to avoid getting into conflict with them.If he wants to walk late at night it might be an idea to get someone to go with him.If that isn't an option then its best he changes his routine and walks during the daytime when its safer.

Its very difficult for an able-bodied person to defend themselves.Add disabilities and it goes up a few notches.Unless he is prepared to dedicate his life to training then physical self defence is really a non-starter and might lead to him trying to defend a cheap phone when the safer option would be to hand it over.

Sorry to be so negative but street fighting isn't a sport or game and one mistake can lead to you ending up on a mortuary slab.

TaekwonPRO · Jun 4, 2012

He should carry around a claymore or a broadsword.

Or a cane sword.

Bottomline, he should carry a sword.

I wish I had a sword.

old timer · Jun 4, 2012

A guy from the Tse Qigong Centre is partially sighted and teaches Wing Chun.

http://www.marcomalaca.com/medicine-buddha/radio-talk.html
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Learn+to+relax.-a0118547595

inthespirit · Jun 25, 2012

Just saw this on BBC, interesting read.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18442581

How can blind people stay safe?
By Damon Rose

A lot of people worry when they are walking alone on a quiet urban street, but imagine how much greater the fear would be if you were blind. A growing number are turning to self-defence to help boost their confidence.

Many blind and visually impaired people rely on their dogs to get around, but what happens if the assistance animal is attacked? Only last week, a charity warned that attacks on guide dogs had reached a new high.

But with or without a dog, a blind person is more vulnerable to attack. Sighted people can look out for cues - which are often non-verbal - to assess whether a situation may turn nasty. How many people have crossed the road, or moved seats on a bus or train because of an instinctive feeling that all is not right?

Continue reading the main story Guide dog attacks 183 dog attacks between 30 May 2010 and 30 April 2012 Majority of victims qualified guide dogs (67.6%) with 56.8% working in harness at time of attackAttacks resulted in injuries to people on 13.3% of occasions, although in 10 of these cases, attacks not reported to policeEmotional wellbeing of handlers reported affected after 68.3% of attacksVictim dogs injured in 43.7% of incidents and required veterinary attention after 76.3% of the incidents, at estimated cost to Guide Dogs of over £6,000Victims' working performance and/or behaviour reported affected after 43.2% of incidentsSix dogs retired as result of attacks at estimated cost to Guide Dogs of £136,000Source: Guide DogsAttacks on guide dogs hit new high
But for many blind or partially sighted people, taking such evasive action is all the harder as they miss out on many of these cues.

Tim Stirling, who was attacked on a train by two men a few months ago, says anxiety can be heightened if you are unable to judge what's happening around you.

Stirling, who has serious sight loss, explains that a lot of non-verbal communication can be missed.

The 28-year-old was attacked after he asked them to be more careful after one of the men stood on his guide dog's tail.

One of them struck out at Stirling, who was travelling with a totally blind friend.

"He was intoxicated and abusive. He said I was too young to have a guide dog and that one of his relatives needed it more than me.

"Then he hit me. A shove in my upper arm and my back. It was almost like he was goading me to respond, and I had no intention of doing that.

"After a delay, the second attack was harder than the first. I think he wanted to justify what he was doing by getting me to react.

"I could only really go on words. When I thought he was going to lay into me, I grabbed my friend and ran off the train quickly.

Tim didn't sustain serious physical damage, but was severely shaken up.

Continue reading the main story Guide dog facts Guide Dogs charity trains about 780 dogs a year 4,500 working guide dogs Costs £50,000 to breed, train and support dog until retirement Starts with breeding and puppy-walkingVolunteers help puppies get used to everyday sights, sounds and smells Charity spends time training a guide dog and its owner, and they graduate togetherLifetime commitment to each owner to provide a guide dog for as long as neededSource: Guide dogs
Stirling says initially the attack left him worried about taking the train, but he tried to rationalise it by telling himself that this was the first time he had been attacked and that it might not happen again.

Michael Wilson, regional campaigns manager for the Royal National Institute of Blind People, says "hate crime" is on the rise and, though they don't hear of many attacks on people with sight loss, personal safety is a major concern.

A growing number of blind and partially sighted people are turning to self-defence techniques to help keep them safe and boost their confidence.

One way is via martial arts techniques.

Judo, for example, is the only martial art in the 2012 London Paralympics that is exclusively reserved for athletes who are blind. Being a close contact sport makes it accessible.

Prof Stephen Nicholls has taken elements from martial arts to develop a programme for blind or visually impaired people. His method, 1Touch, he says, has been devised to work in a real-life confrontational situation.

It was designed after years of "forensically" studying what blind people perceive of the world and also themselves.

"The minute somebody puts their hand upon you, they are disabled, on the floor, and in a compromised position, Nicholls says.

When an attacker lays his or her hand on someone, the blind person is taught to put their hand on top of theirs - "touch them back".

Damon Rose with his guide dog Beckett
The idea is that the blind person then knows where the thumb is and, with that knowledge, will know how the attacker is positioned and can employ joint-attacking moves.

If they let go of the attacker, they are once again "invisible".

"You don't want to do sport, you want to do something which has an edge of reality to it," says Nicholls.

Continue reading the main story Deafblind street attack On my way home from work, I walked out of a London tube station and very suddenly had my red and white cane and communication book snatched from my hand. Just like that. When I got my spare cane out, that too was taken. I was left with no mobility aid and no means of communicating with the public. I was stranded - unable to walk, or ask for assistance, safely.
With almost a mile to walk - including ten roads to cross and countless people, posts, walls and other hazards to avoid - attempting this journey alone without a cane hardly bore thinking about.
Liz Ball writes for the BBC Ouch! blog
Nicholls, who has studied the anatomy of attacks on blind people, says aggressors cannot physically square up to someone who can't see because there is no eye contact and the body language is all wrong.

Body language is learned, but blind people cannot see it in others. When they walk down the street, they don't hold themselves in the same way, which means they to look more vulnerable.

As a consequence, blind people aren't considered threatening and so attacks are usually close up. Nicholls says that 90% of his course is about self perception and creating confidence.

Stirling, like many disabled people, says he didn't think of himself as particularly vulnerable before his attack.

"The thing with being partially sighted is you don't feel like you're blind. It's only when this happened. I had a sense of how much I couldn't see, really. Not being able to successfully relate to the person in a visual sense, not knowing where others were and not knowing what stop I was at."

Continue reading the main story 1Touch programme15 registered coaches and 9 schools across the United StatesStephen Nicholls hopes to develop it in Britain1Touch
Perhaps further underlining the unique challenges blind people encounter, Nicholls says that the techniques involved in teaching his programme are very different to teaching sighted people.

"I've taught in front of 400 people before but when I have a class of blind people it's maybe 10 to 12. The instruction has to be disseminated in a different fashion. Physical contact, verbal description, one-on-one tuition, explanation, sensation - that's very, very different to a standard martial arts school."

Nicholls hopes the programme will be learnt by blind people and transmitted through the community by blind instructors.

Paralympic champion Ben Quilter (left), competes in the 2008 Beijing Games
Andrew Jones from London is in his early 40s and was initially sceptical about the idea of a self-defence programme. Now he's a convert and says it helps him to lead the kind of life he wants to lead.

"It gives you a sense of awareness, confidence, awareness of the space around you. If someone approaches you in a threatening way, you don't have to just lie on the floor and roll over, you can stand up for yourself.

"The fact you walk tall and confident makes you less of a target to start with."
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Self Defense for Blind & Deaf

Evainski Valued Member

YouKnowWho Valued Member

AndrewTheAndroid A hero for fun.

Mangosteen Hold strong not

Putrid Moved on

TaekwonPRO Valued Member

old timer Just well worn !

inthespirit ignant

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Self Defense for Blind & Deaf

Evainski Valued Member

YouKnowWho Valued Member

AndrewTheAndroid A hero for fun.

Mangosteen Hold strong not

Putrid Moved on

TaekwonPRO Valued Member

old timer Just well worn !

inthespirit ignant

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