 LIFEHACKER

 THE A.V. CLUB

 DEADSPIN
 EARTHER
 GIZMODO
 JALOPNIK
 JEZEBEL
 KOTAKU
 SPLINTER
 THE TAKEOUT
 THE ROOT
 THE ONION
 CLICKHOLE
 VIDEO
 SKILLET
 TWO CENTS
 VITALS
 OFFSPRING
 THE UPGRADE
 APP DIRECTORY
 HOW I WORK

Basic Self-Defense Moves

Anyone Can Do (and Everyone
Should Know)
Melanie Pinola
7/28/11 11:00am

1.7M
18834
Would you be able to defend yourself and your loved ones if someone were to
physically attack you? It’s a question most of us don’t want to consider, but violence
is, unfortunately, a fact of life. Thankfully, regardless of strength, size, or previous
training, anyone can learn several effective self-defense techniques. Here’s how to
prepare for and stay safe in common real-world violent situations.

Prevention Is the Best Self-Defense

First, remember that prevention is the best self-defense. Attackers, whatever their
objectives, are looking for unsuspecting, vulnerable targets. So be sure to follow
general safety tips like being aware of your surroundings, only walking and parking
in well-lit areas, keeping your keys in hand as you approach your door or car, varying
your route and times of travel, and other personal security precautions.

Outstream Video
00:00
00:00

Apart from avoiding confrontation, if you can defuse a situation (talk someone down
from physically assaulting you) or get away—by handing over your wallet/purse or
whatever they want, do that. Hand over your money rather than fight. Nothing you
own is worth more than your life or health.

If violence is unavoidable, however, to really defend yourself, you’ll want to know

ahead of time how to fight back effectively—it’s possible even against someone bigger
or stronger than you. Here are some basic self-defense techniques that can keep you
safe:

Get Loud and Push Back

As soon as the attacker touches you or it’s clear that escape isn’t possible, shout
loudly (“BACK OFF!”) and push back at him or her (for simplicity’s sake we’re going
to use “him” for the rest of the article, although your opponent could be female). This
does two things: it signals for help and it lets the attacker know you’re not an easy
target. The video at left from Rob Redenbach, a former trainer of Nelson Mandela’s
bodyguards, shows why this is the first thing you need to do. It may not dissuade all
attackers, but getting loud will warn off those that were looking for easy prey.

The Most Effective Body Parts to Hit

When you’re in a confrontation, you only have a few seconds and a few moves to try
before the fight may be decided. Before an attacker has gained full control of you, you
must do everything you can—conserving as much energy as possible—to inflict injury
so you can get away. (This is no time to be civil. In a physical confrontation that calls
for self-defense, it’s hurt or be hurt.) So aim for the parts of the body where you can
do the most damage easily: the eyes, nose, ears, neck, groin, knee, and legs.

Su Ericksen, who writes the very helpful Self-Defense for Women website, offers
techniques for striking these pressure points so you can defend yourself and get to
safety. She writes:

Depending on the position of the attacker and how close he is will determine where you
will strike and with what part of your body you will employ. Do not step in closer, say, to
strike his nose with your hand, when you can reach his knee with a kick.

When striking a target on the upper half of the body you will use your hand. Effective
strikes can be made with the outer edge of your hand in a knife hand position, a palm
strike or knuckle blow for softer targets or a tightly curled fist.

Here are some photos Su offers on attacking these highly sensitive pressure points
(you can view others for additional pressure points on her website):

Eyes: Gouging, poking, or scratching the attacker’s eyes with your fingers or
knuckles would be effective, as you can imagine. Besides causing a lot of pain, this
should also make your escape easier by at least temporarily interfering with his
vision.

Nose: If the attacker is close in front of you, use the heel of your palm to strike up
under his nose; throw the whole weight of your body into the move to cause the most
pain and force him to loosen his grip on you. If he’s behind you, you can strike his
nose (from the side or front) with your elbow. Either way, aim for the nasal bones.

Neck: The side of the neck is a bigger target, where both the carotid artery and
jugular vein are located. You could possibly temporarily stun your attacker with a
knife hand strike (all fingers held straight and tightly together, with thumb tucked
and slightly bent at the knuckle) at the side of the neck. (For even more injury, you
could thrust your elbow into your assailant’s throat while pitching the weight of your
body forward. See the Target Focus Training video below.)

Knee: Su says the knee is an ideal self-defense target, vulnerable from every angle
and easily kicked without risk of your foot being grabbed. Kick the side of the knee to
cause injury or partially incapacitate your attacker. Kicking the front of the knee may
cause more injury but is less likely to result in imbalance.

How to Maximize Damage

Use your elbows, knees, and head. Those are the parts of the body that are most
sensitive when hit. Now here are the parts of the body used most effectively for
inflicting damage: your elbows, knees, and head (they’re your body’s bony built-in
weapons). This video from Elite Defense Systems in IL explains how to defend
yourself against three most common attacks by using these key body parts.

Use everyday objects. Everyday objects you carry around with you or things in
your environment can also be used to your advantage as weapons. Hold a key or pen
between your middle and ring finger while you’re walking home in the dark for more
assurance. Outdoors, you can toss some dirt or sand into your attacker’s eyes.
Women are often told to spray perfume or hairspray into an assailant’s eyes. The
point is, use what ever you can to make your defense stronger (for more inspiration,
watch some Jackie Chan movies).

Leverage your weight. No matter your size, weight, or strength in relation to your
opponent, you can defend yourself by strategically using your body and the simple
law of physics. This is the principle behind martial arts systems like Jujitsu and other
self-defense programs where a smaller person is able to defeat a larger one.

Tim Larkin teaches in his Target Focus Training self-defense system that striking is
not about punching or kicking, it’s about throwing your body weight strategically at
someone. You don’t want to be standing there trading punches or kicks with an
attacker; in a violent situation, it’s critical to injure him using efficient, targeted
moves. Basically, target those pressure points mentioned above, but leverage your
weight to cause the most damage. (Note: The video at left is a bit long, though all of it
is insightful; if you want to skip to the demonstration part showing how to use your
body weight in this “point of injury” technique, scrub to about the 4-minute mark.
Also note that this technique, used by law enforcement agencies, can seriously injure
the attacker.)

Moves for Getting Out of or Defending Against Common Holds or

Attacks

Wrist Hold: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is another school of self-defense, one that offers
modified Jujitsu techniques that normal (or even weak) people can carry out. This
video from Gracie Academy shows what to do when an attacker has grabbed your
wrist. Instead of pulling back to try to get out of the hold, squat down into a strong
stance, then lean forward and bend your elbow towards him all the way towards his
forearm until he can no longer hold onto your wrist.

Front and Back Choke Holds: Similarly, this video from Ford Models suggests
bending your elbow in to get out of the wrist hold, but then pushing upwards to break
free. The video also offers techniques to get out of a front choke hold and a back
choke hold: Swing one arm across to break the attacker’s hold then use your other
arm’s elbow or hand in a knife strike position to hit the attacker.

Bear Hug: Krav Maga is the official hand-to-hand self-defense system of the Israeli
Defense Forces, with techniques to defend against realistic grabs and holds. This
video shows a Krav Maga defense for when someone holds you from behind: Drop
your weight and try to hit his head with your elbows or stomp his feet with your feet.
If that doesn’t work, pull his fingers back to force him to release you, rotate out of his
hold, and attack him with your knees/kicks. (Pulling fingers is also an effective move
in a choke hold in some cases.)

Mount Position: If the attacker has you pinned on the floor, you can pivot to be on
top with this Gracie Jiu-Jitsu technique. Hook onto his wrist with one hand and use
your other hand to grab behind his elbow, trapping his arm to your chest. Then use
your foot to trap his foot and leg, lift your hips and turn over onto your knees to get
on top.
Sexual Assault: In my interview with Rener Gracie, whose grandfather established
the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu method 90 years ago, he told me there are four phases to nearly
all sexual attacks on women: 1) Identify an unsuspecting target, 2) Subdue the target,
3) Exhaust the target, and 4) Execute the sexual assault. We want to fight with all our
might and the moves we have above in the second phase. In the third phase,
however, right before an assailant executes his sexual attack, all he wants to do is
exhaust the victim and gain complete control, so fighting back actually may backfire
at that point, wasting energy. Gracie’s Women Empowered training program teaches
women to recognize when they’ve entered that phase where they are truly trapped
and are no longer in the defensive movements phase—and to feign giving in. Pretend
to be compliant (kind of like playing dead for a bear). In those split moments, the
predator will think you have given up and will loosen his grip, giving you a chance get
away.

Resources

These are just a sampling of the kinds of self-defense moves and techniques that
might protect you one day or at least help you feel safer and more confident. There’s
no replacement, however, for taking a self-defense class and practicing the moves in
real life.

To find a good self-defense program, the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault
offers these Guidelines for Choosing a Self-Defense Course.

You’ll probably easily find self-defense classes at martial arts centers, but other
resources to look into include:

 Local colleges or community colleges

 Women’s centers

 Just Yell Fire—a free self-defense movie specifically for girls age 11-19

 C.O.B.R.A. Self-Defense classes—real world self-defense training

 Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy—online, DVD, and in-person self-defense training

If you know of any other good self-defense tips, techniques, or resources, please
share them with us in the comments.

Su Ericksen is a first degree TaeKwonDo black belt and has taught self-defense
workshops. She lives in the Midwest with her family and works at a large medical
center in the cardiology clinic.
To read more about women’s self-defense, visit her web site: Self Defense-4-
Women.com.

Established in 1925, The Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy is a global organization

comprised of a network of Certified Training Centers. For more information Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu, the Gracie Family, or any of their specialized self-defense programs,
please visitwww.GracieUniversity.com.