Personal Protection Part 1

Self Defense Tips, Krav Maga

Your personal safety is very important. No matter what style you train in, or even if you do not train at all, here you find many useful self defense tips. We incorporate these tips as part of our krav maga program.
The most common mistake people make begins when they sign up for self defense lessons.
First they often confuse martial arts for self defense; the two overlap but are certainly not the same. Many arts emphasize other aspects way above street self defense. i.e. spirituality, self awareness, sports, discipline, fitness etc. If you are looking for a self defense program make that part of your search for an appropriate school. Self defense schools are often hard to find since they are less commercial. Most people are looking for fun and fitness, not the serious training involved in life and death situations.
The next most common mistake that people make is thinking that their training is only physical. Truth is the attack begins long before the attack begins. Bruce Lee said you need to attack his preparation. Arthur Cohen says you begin long before that; you have to detect the signs based on how he walks, how he is dressed. In Israel these skills are honed in the army and on the street. Certain kinds of clothing are more likely to conceal a bomb or an explosive belt. My nephew was serving with the paratroopers in the Jewish city of Hebron. They spotted a man pacing back and forth nervously and jumped him. He was concealing a large knife. They successfully disarmed and apprehended him.
Most self defense instructors ignore your most powerful weapon; your mind. Although sitting in a class and discussing psychology is clearly not as much fun as training in gun disarms or acting out self defense scenarios, I venture to say that if you don't properly train your mind all or most of your self defense training will prove useless on the street. (or in the office or rest room or plane or car or elevator or escalator etc.) A thorough self defense course includes training in the way the mind works; the mind of the intended victim (you) and the mind of the aggressor. Both must be understood for proper self defense.
"Street" situations must be taken into account, i.e. environmental factors. Is it a cold climate? Will they be wearing heavy clothing that will make your punches to the body ineffective? Is it warm climate or the beach where there will be no garment to grab to do your judo throws?
Self defense includes weapons. Do you want to carry a weapon? Are you willing to train in the use of that weapon and become proficient? Will you be able to draw the weapon in time to make it useful? These are all questions you need to consider.

Self Defense Tips for Men, Women, and Children
SCHOOL PROGRAM

For several years I was employed by the Israeli Ministry of Education as a Krav Maga safety expert. My job was to travel around the country meeting with and teaching students grades one through twelve. Our sessions were divided into two parts; hands on self defense, and personal safety measures appropriate for each age group.
The following material is the personal safety portion; a result of those years of experience. It includes my own research, advice from experts and the knowledge I gained from the experience of the students themselves.

A Definition of Survival

"Survival" and "Fighting" sometimes go together and sometimes are direct opposites. Sometimes in order to survive you must fight and fight hard, other times fighting is the worse choice of action and if fact can get you killed. Avoidance or running away, if possible, is better methods of survival than fighting or confrontation. Let's look at a few stories.

Outside a martial arts school, many years ago, someone had tied a nervous volatile donkey. As a student walked up to the school, the donkey kicked him and the broke his leg. Shortly afterwards another student came along, this student was more advanced and was quicker with his reactions. Once again the donkey attacked. The student used a martial arts evasive technique and managed to partially avoid the direct hit. Nonetheless he was kicked and suffered a bad bruise and a twisted ankle. Along came another student, this one much more advanced and accomplished. Once again the donkey attacked but this student managed to avoid the attack completely. Soon the students saw the Master instructor approaching. The question I know ask my students is what to do you think the Master did?
The answers I usually get are as follows: He killed the donkey with a single blow, he knocked the donkey unconscious, he broke the donkey's leg. More moderate students answer; he let the donkey go free, or, he calmed down the donkey.
The first answers, which are most common, miss the point of survival completely. They view martial arts and survival as synonymous with fighting, which is grave error. They reason that since the teacher is a great master he should be able to subdue a powerful beast, stronger than us humans, with force. When I tell the students that this is not the correct answer they then offer more clever answers like, "He untied the donkey and let him free." Good try but still wrong. The answer is so simple; the Master saw the violent donkey and went around the other way, completely avoiding the dangerous animal. That is an example of survival which has nothing to do with fighting. In fact it is all about not fighting. Don't get me wrong; learning how to fight and defend yourself if vitally important in my opinion, but fighting is always a last resort when all other options have been exhausted. Avoidance, on the other hand, is the first option.

Another story: The Tragic ending of a Great Boxer.

There was once a great boxer. He was an immigrant to the USA. He was born into poverty but through hard work and determination he rose to the top of his profession; boxing. After a very successful ring career he opened a school, this too was successful. One day a nasty driver smashed into his car, which was parked just outside the school. The boxer, who was teaching a class at the time, saw this through the window and came running outside, still in his boxing shorts and gloves, to confront the driver. The driver cursed him and drove off. The boxing expert would not let the matter go so easily. Being a great physical condition he ran after the car and caught up with it at the next traffic light. The car stopped at the red light and the boxer demanded the driver open his window to "discuss" the matter. The driver refused. The boxer than smashed the window with a single punch. At this point the driver, who turned out to be a wanted criminal, pulled out a pistol and shot the boxer. The boxer died on the spot.

Was he a great fighter? No question, he was. Could he beat just about any opponent in the ring? Yes, indeed. Did this serve him well on the street in a real situation? No, it did not. Had he just let it go, cooled down and called his car insurance agent he would still be alive. Your ego is not worth dying for. In Israel we have a saying, "On the street, don't be right, be WISE".

There is a valuable lesson here for all of us. Don't go looking for trouble. This was not a self-defense situation. It could have been avoided.

Another Story: Two Stubborn Drivers.

The drivers on the way home from work. One passes the other. The one who is passed is annoyed and insulted. He decided to pursue the "passer". He corners him in a parking lot. They argue. One pulls out a knife. One man ends the day in prison, the other in the morgue. Cause of Death: Ego. Appropriate self defense measure: Simply let go, listen to a happy song and get on with your life.

One More Story

And let me tell one more story, this one imaginary. Imagine two boxers in the ring. They are both highly paid and are about to compete for the championship title. One decides that the other looks a bit scary and figures he should make a run for it. He shouts, "Wow! Look at that pretty girl!" the other boxer turns to look and when he turns back to face his opponent, he sees his opponent heading for the exit, on his way to safety.
Clearly this is in appropriate behavior. Why? Because in a competitive match one should compete and not run away. On the street, however, this would be a very acceptable approach. The "run away guy" managed to avoid a fight and he arrived home safely. He survived, and that is all that counts. The street is not an arena for sporting competition. A professional match is no place fro a run away tactic. Clearly they are very different.
I know I said just one more story but there is another way I like to tell the students.
This is a true story and took place on the streets of New York City. An old woman was attacked by a mugger, he wanted her purse. Being a Streetwise Woman and living in New York City her whole life she was not about to become a victim. She hit him over the head with her umbrella. As he was reeling from that shock she poked him in the chest and continued to smack him around some more. He walked away with nothing but aches and pains plus some humiliation.
Now if you were a betting man and I said, 'OK, in this corner we have granny, aged 79, weighing in at 90 pounds. In the other corner we have this young fellow, aged 24, weighing in at 179 pounds.' Who would you put your money on? Pretty obvious. But the street is not a tournament and the rules are different. With her street savvy and clever use of her umbrella, coupled with the element of surprise, old Granny won the day! The street and the ring are two different stories. Survival and fighting are too different games.

Reference source: Moshe Katz

Part 2 ...tomorrow