Components Of Effective Self Defense

By Author: Ross Perkins
Total Articles: 4717
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There are many self defense schools, books, and videos on the market today, all claiming to teach realistic self defense. Yet the majority of these claims fall short. There are three components necessary for effective self defense: techniques, training methods, and strategy. When looking at any self defense program or educational material these three components should be thoroughly examined.

The first component, self defense techniques, is obvious to most people. Without techniques you have nothing. But all techniques are not created equal. The best offensive techniques are those that create maximum damage with minimum effort, and work regardless of the size and strength of the attacker. Techniques to the eyes and groin are two good examples. The best defensive techniques do not need to be specifically matched to a particular attack. For example, a defense that only works against a straight right punch is not as good as a defense that works against straight or round, right or left punches. Additionally, techniques that are simultaneously offensive and defensive are far better than techniques that are offensive ...
... or defensive only. But techniques are not enough.

The second component of effective self defense is training methods. If all you have are techniques, you won't have the skills to be able to apply them under the stress of a serious attack. Training methods need to involve progressive resistance and uncooperative partners. At the beginning of training practitioners should train soft and relaxed, gradually progressing to a high level of resistance. Once any technique has been cooperatively trained to technical proficiency, training partners should become uncooperative. In a real attack the attacker is not going to cooperate, so in training a person must also be able to handle a completely uncooperative opponent. But training methods are not enough.

In order to successfully use techniques and training methods, a strategy is necessary. You need to know when to act and when not to act. You need to have a plan as to when it's time to escape and when it's time to attack. If you haven't decided when it's time to attack, your attacker will do it for you!

To be able to successfully defend yourself, whenever you learn a self defense technique you must be sure to train it using effective training methods, and have a strategy for implementation. If you keep these three components in mind you'll be on your way to learning realistic self defense.
About Author:
Ross Perkins specializes in self defense and boxing. More information can be found at http://www.hertao.com.