Cw for violence and mentions of violence I never knew that some people didn't know how to fight, or didn't think about fighting all day, or were afraid of fighting. It never occurred to me? Maybe because I spent such a long time always analyzing people's weaknesses, how I could take them down if they turned on me, how I could get back at them if they pissed me off. I researched ways to poison and hurt and disable people when I was younger, which is a little fucked up in retrospect, but hey, I was an angry kid. I still am angry, honestly. Plus, my dad has historically just been trouble looking for a place to happen, and he taught me a lot about fighting from his experiences as a brawler. So I might mention something that's common knowledge to me but that a less aggressive person might have never heard of, so if you want clarification, just say so! -Never put your thumb in your fist. Never. This is the #1 rule of fighting. It's apparently a common thing to try and protect your thumb by keeping it in your fist, but all that's going to get you is a broken thumb and a lost fight. Keep it across the front of your fingers instead (not perpendicular to them). -Strike with your first 2 knuckles. They're the strongest and least likely to break, unlike your ring finger and pinky knuckles, which are more fragile. (It's called a boxer's fracture when you break them for good reason.) Also, try not to hit them with the flats of your fingers. It feels like a gentle slap if you do. -If you can, hold something in your fist when you punch. It makes your punch more solid plus helps increase your hand's structural stability, making you less likely to break your bones or fuck up your hand. Those aluminum mini-maglites are good, and so are rolls of coins, batteries, even lighters. -Get the biggest possible flathead screwdriver you can find at the hardware store; the ones that are as thick as your finger, longer than your forearm, and weigh almost a pound? Those are the best. Keep it next to your seat in your car. They make great improvised weapons because you can use them for bashing and stabbing (and goddamn you can break bones easy with those things), they don't count as a 'weapon', and if someone tries to take it out of your grip, you have the textured handle to hang onto and they just have a slick metal rod. V good, would recommend. -In a fight, the face and guts are your 2 best bets for hitting. A good pounding in the nose or throat will slow someone long enough to get away or get another few swings in, and a good hit to the ears (especially both at once) will seriously disorient anyone. Shock is as good as pain when you're fighting. A solid elbow or fist to the guts or the solar plexus will cause most people to double over, and you can get them with a knee to the face or an elbow to the back of the head or neck. Or both! The abdomen is softer and bigger, but easier to protect. The face is harder(mostly bones) and a smaller target, but its harder to effectively defend. -People don't typically expect to be pulled TOWARD the person they're fighting if they're inexperienced, so they'll usually be off balance if you can manage to pull them in a way they weren't braced for. Again, this lets you get some solid blows in because it brings you closer to them. Proximity is your friend in this scenario. Get as many hits in as you can as fast as you can if you want to win. -For God's sake, stay upright. If you go down, you've lost. If you think you're going down, you better drag them down with you, because if you get on the ground while they're still up, thats like an invitation to get kicked in the guts/back/face. If you do go down, though: curl up, protect your face and soft bits with your arms and legs. Funny thing, though, when someone kicks at you, it leaves them extremely unbalanced, so if you can grab their kicking foot and yank/push, they'll at least stumble if not come crashing down next to you. -People vastly underestimate the power of just bitchslapping someone right in the face, especially when they're expecting a punch. Try to hit their ear if you go that route. I'll probably show up later with more cool fighting stuff. Until then, I'd love to hear anyone else's favorite fighting advice or answer questions about it!
You should throw a punch with your whole body, not just your arm. Start with your weight on your back foot, and twist your torso forward along with your punch, moving your weight to your front foot. (So, assuming you're using your right hand, you want to start with your right hip pointed a bit back, and as you punch bring your right hip, shoulder, etc forward along with your arm. Now that your right side is forward, follow up with your left.)
Something i remember from IMPACT, is that if you have a female body setup, you do have stronger legs, and a better balance for them. I can't remember how they explained it well enough for me to explain, but I would totally recommend taking the class - IMPACT Combative Self Defense. Especially since it does teach how to fight from the ground If you knee someone, step through them, not into them, otherwise you can lose a lot of momentum.
try to keep your body centered! knees slightly bent a la horse stance will help keep you balanced n stuff
Here's a good thing to get: a tactical flashlight. I have one like this that was about $15 at Target. Flashing a bright light in an attacker's eyes, particularly if it's dark out, will temporarily blind and confuse them. You can strike with it--just sort of, like, rubber-stamp their forehead real hard with the bright end. And if you have it on and you're sweeping the beam around lighting up dark spots on the way to your vehicle or whatever, it might scare off anyone who was hiding in one of them and counting on getting the drop on you.
if you live in a windy state or area, don't do it ...that's apparently my only opinion, since I think it's actually illegal in ND (where I went to college) because it can be more dangerous to you than your attacker
this might not be answerable, but what do you do if you always falter at the last second? i've taken self defense classes before, and generally know how to punch properly and defend and get out of some holds, but the few times i needed to actually hurt someone to protect myself, i set myself up, do the move, and at the very last second as the punch is about to land i freeze. at best i scared someone once with a punch literally a centimeter or two from their face, and in the instances where i kept going it probably felt like a kitten tapped them. how do you pass such a mental block? is it a fear thing? also, i've heard about the hold something in your fist thing and keys are usually suggested if you're in a parking lot going back to your car and someone attacks you. what's the general opinion on that? do y'all think it works?
@Deresto: There are classes where you specifically practice actually landing the hits: look for a "model mugging" program (the volunteers you punch are heavily padded and agree to it).
IMPACT is like that! the guys from my class were volunteer firefighters, and also wore this crazy huge padded, duct taped football gear swag really ups your confidence, throwing one of those dudes across a mat
if you can't bring yourself to hurt someone, then don't focus on techniques that only work for hurting. that is to say, don't practice kneeing someone in the gut if you know you won't go through with it. instead, focus on methods to disorient them, take them aback, confuse them. getting in their face with your hands is surprisingly effective. a flurry of slaps or pokes coming at your eyes is one of the most distracting things in the world. boxing their ears is good. shoving is good. if you carry a backpack or large purse, clock 'em upside the head with it; a stunning blow with a big soft object will stagger even quite large and aggressive people. most of all, just show you're not going to be an easy mark, and a whole lot of predatory people will just shove off. they will shout insults while they do it, to protect their damaged egos. don't shout after them, just bail. you don't want them to feel like another facial backpacking is worth it to punish you for what you said. re: falling down. don't just curl up, i disagree with that. climb their legs. it is really hard to give someone a good kicking when they're wrapped around your kneecap and headbutting you in the crotch.
Similar problem here, lol. Absolutely no arm strength. Got a fucker in the temples tho, and he fucked off. (I'll never tire of telling that story. That story is also the reason I lost most of my inhibitions in martial arts. Stopped subconciously pulling my punches after that, heh.)
Biting. Never underestimate the power of biting. Especially if someone grabs you and you can't use your fists. Roleplay Kanaya like you've never roleplayed her before.
If someone grabs you from behind, probably a chokehold, you should brace your feet well against the ground ina stable wide ish stance nd bend your knees. Grab the attackers arms to give yourself a grip and pull to have less pressure against your throat. Then lean forward,tucking your head into your chest. The attacker will, even if big, end up a bit like a backpack on you. Continue the motion so that you are curling into a roll, and actually do said roll... Because the attacker will hit the ground first, possibly hitting their head, and you'll be fine (make sure to tuck your head! Your head has to have chin at your chest so that you don't hurt yourself!), the shock will make the attacker release you, and you can scramble off for a quick kick at the guts and run off.
And if they just got their arms under your armpits, you can slip out of that hold by holding your arms up and going into a crouch.
fighter stance: keep your feet apart, one more forward than the other put 3/4 of your weight in the back foot, lower your center of gravity. do that and you're a shit ton harder to knock down and its a lot easier to kick /w your front foot if you need to. for the love if god keep moving if you can dodge, dodge! Fact: it only take 8lbs (3.6kg) to break a knee, kick it from the side and your opponent will go down is someone grabs you around the neck with their arm turn your head it will lessen the pressure on your esophagus, making it easier to breath. you can't escape if your unconscious! Stay safe guys.
Yo pepper spray is great imo. Use all available resources to your full advantage to make up for lack of size or strength. Just be careful because it's illegal in some areas, so check local laws if you go that route!
If you can't get pepper spray, a bottle of perfume (if it has continuous spray instead of spurts) or hairspray also does nicely. It'll all fuck with their eyes.
