Last-ditch self-defense: hand to hand

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You don't have time to get a black belt, and you aren't 200 lbs of solid muscle. Things don't go as planned, you're bugging out and out of ammo, and some jerk decides to take your backpack. What to do?

There is one place to learn really solid self-defense, really fast. A guy named Jerry Peterson, who used to be a tunnel rat in Vietnam, spent twenty years developing a combat system based on pure physics and physiology. It's now the official hand-to-hand training for the Navy Seals, and a lot of other spec-ops and police groups. (Various pretenders have claimed this, but this is the real one--there have been a number of articles about it in various magazines this year.) There are two basic concepts:

1) Every person responds the same way to being hit on the same target. Peterson catalogued 170 strike points, and the autonomic reaction to each. If you know how your opponent will move immediately after you hit him, you can have a followup technique already on the way.

2) Never block. Never act defensively. If someone swings at you, strike the nerve point on the arm, disrupting his balance and opening him up for your next shot.

At www.scars.com you can purchase videos that you can actually learn this stuff from (the techniques are surprisingly simple), and you can take a rather expensive training course in person (3 days, $1400). Either way, you train by learning a few combinations at a time, and doing a lot of half-speed free-fighting--the idea is not to memorize combinations, but to overload your brain and get it all subconscious and instinctive. The 3-day course by all accounts is arduous but very effective.

This is a military system, so some of the techniques really aren't appropriate for civilian use except in the most extreme scenarios. But there's no faster or more effective way to learn how to fight. (I spent about four years doing aikido and taekwondo, by the way. Both excellent martial arts.)

I don't have any affiliation with SCARS, just a satisfied video customer with a reservation for a training camp.

-- Shimrod (shimrod@lycosmail.com), September 14, 1999

Answers

A key advantage to hand-to-hand combat is that no one is likely to take your weapon away from you and use it on you...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), September 14, 1999.

Heh, never heard the threat "I'll rip your arm off and beat you to death with it.", eh? :)

-- James Collins (jacollins@thegrid.net), September 14, 1999.

"If someone swings at you, strike the nerve point on the arm...." Do you have any idea how hard this would be to make work in a real fight? Unless you had a lot of practice? Here is a rule of thumb: be skeptical of any technique that relies on pressure points, bone breaking (which can never be practiced, unless you have a very willing and very stupid partner to practice it on!), and complex set-ups.

For anyone who really wants to learn a few good self-defensive techniques that work, and fast (like before 1/1/2000), you might try reading Peyton Quinn's A Bouncer's Guide to Barroom Brawling, as well as buying the video he produced with the same title, and also his video Blitzkrieg Attacks: Knockout Blows from the Bouncer Trade. He keeps things pretty simple, mainly just using a handfull of boxing and judo techniques that anyone can pick up with a little practice. (I personally think he should have emphasized kicking more, but again, he is trying to keep things simple, and his years in the bar bouncer biz convinced him that the few techniques that he advocates will handle the great majority of real-world encounters.) www.paladin-press.com

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.net), September 15, 1999.

I've taught self defenceand women's protection for years,right now there's not really enough time before y2k to develop any real skills that will not fall away in a stres situation.Also those comando type styles produce terrible character flaws in the practitionar,ass- kicker personalities without nurturing,humility,or compassionate qualities.Just "strike hard strike fast no mercy,sir!" distorted comic book psychopaths.Martial arts should be practiced for self improvement in the spirit of improving the world.As to vital strikes,or atemi,Jack's right,that type of instantaneous reaction takes years to develope,and I'm not even taking into account the impact conditioning required to deliver a true concentrated penetrating blow without injuring yourself.Turning your fists/palms/shutos/fingers into impact weapons takes time and effort.I would recommend an oblique compression stomp kick to the ankle/instep/shin/knee if you felt you needed to internalize a technique just to break people.With the time left,you'd be better off getting a second job and spending the money on preps.If you're just becoming concerned about the need for self defence less than 4 months before the rollover,buy a gun,learn how to shoot and present it,and carry it with you wherever you go.Guns are the great equalizer.

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), September 16, 1999.

Zoobie: I agree. I have Nidan rank in Budo Aikido, and taught for 8 years. The time, both hours of practice and span for absorbtion is long. I saw many hundreds of wouldbe students in mine and other classes who did not know their right from left and could lose their balance standing in place. It takes a lot of practice and natural coordination to hit the ulna when blocking a strike. As difficult as the physical training is, the mental is even more difficult. The mind must be calm, clear and focused when defending and countering an attack. Without the experience of encounter and physical contract, one would have a false sense of security.

-- curtis schalek (cschalek@earthlink.net), September 16, 1999.


"budo aikido"? hey,that's cool,but isn't all aikido tecknicly a budo?Is that aikikai or a schism style?

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), September 16, 1999.

I was always a fan of the tactical baton as a defense tool, since they're comparatively small and can inflict a whoopin' in a hurry without requiring a lot of training. Asp makes several good ones and these tend to be the ones used by law enforcement personnel. They're pricey though, and some states frown on civvies owning one.

But for real hand-to-hand, it doesn't hurt to cheat. Well, it doesn't hurt -you- anyway. I found a gizmo on a law-enforcement supply company's website that might be of interest. It's called a Kerambit and what it does is give you tougher hands by presenting an impact surface that's not made of you. It also helps straight-on hits by rotating your wrist into a stronger position and again the Kerambit serves as the impact surface, not your knuckles, etc.

Botach Tactical has it for $8.00 as an 'each,' with a video on it for $25, and the URL is http://www.botach .com/dtl_impact_kerambit.htm if anyone's interested. I can see how the design would work well, although I have never tried one out to see how it works in real life. Maybe I'll order a couple to experiment with. Hey, for eight bucks why not? I would imagine that a good uppercut to the ribs with one of these would be pretty burly to the receipient...

The ever insane...



-- OddOne (mocklamer_1999@yahoo.com), September 16, 1999.

Zoobie: Budo Aikido is a combination both soft and hard styles of martial arts. It consists of Karate blocks, strikes and kicks; Judo throws; Jujitsu pressure points and arm locks; and Aikido stances, moves, and hand techniques. All of this was taught as counters to a large range of attacks, including those involving weapons. I also have training in Bojitsu, and have attended various other martial arts classes. In all I was active for 15 years as student and teacher. The techniques are ingrained and will never be forgotten. It has been 12 years now, but I am in better physical condition now than I ever was. Budo Aikido was one of the most important things I have learned because it taught me so much about myself. Not only what I could do, but also what I could not.

-- curtis schalek (cschalek@earthlink.net), September 16, 1999.

I am a big fan of the Glockemptythefifteenroundclipintoyourass school of martial arts.

I am a 40 caliber 180 grain hydroshok master in this school.

I have also studied assaultriflejitsu and am proficient in the oneshotonekill manuever.

This is also known as the art of fighting without fighting to paraphrase Bruce Lee.

-- gordon (g_gecko_69@hotmail.com), September 16, 1999.


Actually, gordon, I suspect a better way to paraphrase Bruce Lee would be to call your "martial art" style "The Way Of The Intercepting Bullet"!

(Since Lee's Jeet Kune Do translates to Way Of The Intercepting Fist....)

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.net), September 16, 1999.


curtis,no disrespect intended,but I do not see the basis for using the term "aikido" if it does not reflect the philosophy handed down by aikido's founder,Ueshiba Morihei O sensei.O sensei created an art that had no kicks or punches specificly because there is no compassionate non-violent way to accept and blend with agression (aiki)while punching or kicking someone.Did this art actualy originate in japan,or was it created by an american? (marketing,baby,yeah!)While I'm sure of your styles efficacy,as well as your prowess as a budoka,what you are describing has nothing to do with Aikido.With out Aikido's unique philosophical approach Aikido would merely be aikijutsu.Even schism styles such as Tomiki-Aikido and Tohei-Aikido acknoledge this.

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), September 17, 1999.

Some excellent answers. I can speak from personal experience that under stress you will only do what you have been EXTREMELY well trained to do.

About a year ago I chased down one of 2 punks that had broken into a friend's car. Yes--I know--it was very silly to chase not knowing whether they were armed or not. Anyway I caught up and confronted the criminal, but my disinclination to aggression, and thoughts of legal consequences for taking him down, slowed my response. No matter, he started swinging, I pepper sprayed, hitting both him and myself with back-spray :-( I kicked from the ground, he ran off, and I went to find a garden hose to clear my eyes.

MAJOR LESSONS

1. You must be mentally prepared ahead of time to overrule your peaceful impulses--and have a clear idea of the force you are willing to use. I hesitated out of innate peaceableness, and legal fears, and gave the initiative to the criminal. Now I visualize situations and play out my reactions in my mind to counter this. (Interestingly, basketball players studied, have improved almost as much from mentally visualizing foul shots, as much as physical practice.)

2. Pepper spray is useful only at 3 feet or longer ranges and can easily backfire with back-spray or wind--use with discretion and practice! Now I carry a 4 or 6 'D' cell Maglite flashlight in the car. Held over the head like a club, it can blind your opponent and almost instantly strike him if attacked. Of course I would much prefer to be shouldering a 12 gauge :-) but that is not always realistic when traveling in a car.

3. Y2K could be a field day (or month, or year...) for criminals. Law-abiding citizens operate under a huge disadvantage when confronted by criminals, because the criminal is usually the one initiating the attack. By design you are REacting in catch-up mode. Anticipation of dangerous situations and mental visualization of your response is critical. Be safe.

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-- Nick Taylor (solutions@access1.net), September 17, 1999.


Quotable quote: "In a real balls-to-the-wall fight, you do not rise to your expectations, but rather you sink to the level of your training."

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.net), September 17, 1999.

To clear up one misconception, which was my fault--the system does not depend on you hitting a small nerve point in the arm. You do a forceful downward strike, and if you hit the nerve so much the better. The system is based on the fact that even the best fighters hit their targets only a third of the time, and it's set up to compensate for misses (which makes the combinations look like overkill, but in real life they're not). The main point is to think about hitting a target, not blocking an attack. The vast majority of SCARS clients are people who fight for their lives as part of their jobs, so I'm inclined to think that it works.

As for character development...SCARS leaves that up to you. Learning SCARS is like buying a gun and learning to use it--it's up to you to provide maturity and character. Personally, from previous training I've found that the more capable I am at fighting, the less I want to fight. I've also found that buying a gun has given me a different perspective on martial arts--no matter what I do to someone hand-to- hand, it's not going to do as much damage as a load of buckshot. Even a "commando" style martial art gives me an option to practice mercy, if it gives me the ability to use it instead of going for a gun. And in fact, the SCARS instructors are very low-key, humble type people, not comic-book ass-kickers.

-- Shimrod (shimrod@lycosmail.com), September 18, 1999.


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