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Stick with basic, easy to learn and do techniques.
During high stress situations your motor skills will deterioate, you will not be able to remember or perform complicated, flashy moves, you will only be able to perform simple, basic movement. The more simple a technique is the more efficient it will be when your life depends on it.
Go for quality techniques rather than quantity.
The more techniques you have available for each attack the longer it will take you to respond to that attack. It takes time to make a choice between different techniques, in a life or death situation you may not have enough time. Try to select universal techniques that work for various different attacks. Mimiumize the number of techniques you use and practice them frequently to become proficient with each of them.
Use What you have available to the best of your ability.
Learn to compensate for weaknesses until you are able to strengthen them. learn to use your enviroment and everything in it very effectivly and efficently. Learn to use your body to the best of your ability and never become relient on any one weapon or technique.
Learn to improvise.
In a real life self-defense situation you may not have the exact items or weapons available to you, that you used for training. Learn to improvise with items in your enviroment. In almost every situation there will be items and objects that you can utilize to stack the odds in your favor. Examples of improvised weapons or tools include but are definitely not limited to: clothing, purses, wallets, belts, rocks, walls, vehicles, pens, briefcases, bottles, cans, combs, brushes, phones, food, glass, etc. the items you can use are limited only by your imagination. Remember if you can not take the weapon to the attacker, take the attacker to the weapon. If the only thing available is to heavy to lift, then slam your attacker into it (preferably head first).
Take any target you can get when you can get it.
Primary targets are generally considered the eyes, nose, throat, groin and joints. these are targets that will usually cause the most pain and damage, however they may not always be readily open for striking. Utilize strikes to secondary targets to open up primary targets. Fingers, hands, feet and other body parts can be viable targets and can mean the difference between life and death.
Train for different environments and situations.
Even the best techniques can fail when proformed in an unfamilur environment or surface. Its alot different to fight on a sandy beach in the summer time, than it is to fight on ice covered pavement in the winter time. incorporate environmental and seasonal training into your training program. your most likely to not be able to chose the area or time you are attacked, so train for as much realistic environments as you can. Step outside the comfort zone and take your training outdoors and to other areas and continue doing so no matter what the weather is like.
Keep your ego in check.
There is absolutely no room for ego in a real world self-defense situation. In any life or death situation your primary goals are survival and the protection of others by any means necessary. Do not take any unnecessary risk because of ego, you have nothing to prove, other than you are willing to do anything it takes to survive. Keep your ego in check, if the opportunity to escape presents itself, take it.
Learn the basics of all styles and systems available in your area.
You to not need to master every art or system, but you should familiarize yourself with as many as you can, starting with whats avaialable in the areas you live in and visit. If you are attacked by someone who is trained in a paticular art or system, it is unlikely that this person as traveled around the world to train in exotic arts. It is much more likely that the training your attacker has trained in is the ones available in the local area. If you are familiar with the basics of a style you are attacked with it increases the odds of survival.
Carry legal weapons for personal defense.
There is no reason to carry illegal weapons, there are plenty of legal weapons at your disposal both natural and improvised. You will not preserve your life by going to prison. A big part of self-defense is avoidance, it would be much harder to avoid an attack in prison. some legal weapons are even more effective than the illegal weapons people choose to carry. Think about it! If you are attacked by a person with a knife would you rather be carrying an illegal 6 inch knive or a legal 3 foot cane that would give you distance. Even better a legally carried firearm when permitted in your state. Don't carry a weapon because you think it's cool, evaluate the effectiveness of the weapon and determine the risk factors for carrying it, then make an informed decision based on knowledge and common sense.
Never give up.
The #1 most importent aspect of any life or death situation is your will to survive. You must find some reason (person, place, thing, idea or flat out stubborness) to live and never give up. Have in your mind set that you will go through anything to live and/or return to that one reason. No amount of pain could ever get you to give up. As long as you breath and have any life left in you, you will fight and do whatever else it takes to preserve that last bit of life. If someone does take your life, don't just give it to them, make sure they earn every bit of it and that they never forget and regret that they ever attacked you for the rest of their lives!
Learn universal techniques, that work against multiple attacks.
The less techniques you have the quicker you will be able to respond with one, against an attack. There are some techniques that will work against more than one type of attack, these are the types of techniques that you should try to incorporate into your self-defense system. Example: forearm smash - strike the attacker in the forearm, by striking with your right arm and violently swinging it across your body to the left smashing into the attackers arm. This technique will work against any attack that requires the attacker to extend their arm towards your body, including: A punch, grab, push, pull, hold or any other attack that extends the arm towards you. There are numerous techniques available that have a universal use. Experiment with different techniques, include the ones that work for you and eliminate the rest.
Make training as realistic as possible.
You perform, like you train. When you train you are conditioning your body to respond in the exact way you train. Make sure you train as realistically as possible without causing injury. When you mess up a technique in training, don't stop and start over, continue through and make it work. there are no second chances in a real world fight, whatever you do you have to make it work. Don't pull your punches in training, if you pull punches in training you will condition yourself to pull punches in an actual situation. Instead of pulling punches, when learning a technique, slow your movement down but follow through the entire range of motion for that technique. This will condition your mind and body to always drive through each technique. Speed is easier compinsated for in real life, than the habit of pulling punches. You should also pad up every once in awhile and go at close to full speed, still not pulling punches. Do scenario training utilizing props and anything else to create a realistic attack.
Always be aware of your surroundings.
Constantly pay attention to whats around you. When you enter a new area scan the environment and make a mental note of not only whats there but also what you can use to your advantage and what might hinder your chances. By being aware of your surroundings you can be better prepared if your attacked. Don't get boxed in or tripped up on objects, know what you can use for improvised weapons. Some of you old school fanboys may recognize this saying, "knowing is half the battle".
Always be aware of your most important priorities, survival and protection of others.
The only thing that matters in any life or death situation is your survival and the protection of others. The others, include your family and friends but also anyone else who is not attacking you. You should not risk someone elses life just to save your own. The only life or lives that are expendable is those of the attackers. Beating your attacker does not matter. Property damage does not matter. Being a hero does not matter. Looking good does not matter. Ego does not matter. Capturing the attacker does not matter. Nothing else other than the preservation of life matters. After you have acomplished this you can allow your self to focus on secondary concerns, but life is first.
Customize and personalize every style, system and technique.
Everyone is different, some are tall, some are short, some are light, some are heavy, some can walk and run, some are in wheelchairs or crutches, I think you get the pitcure. Everyone, has the right to defend their lives against attacks, no matter what their age, phisical ability, beliefs or any other aspect that make them different. In order to increase your chances you need to personalize every technique you use to fit your abilities and beliefs. It does you no good to practice complicated kicks, if you are unable to use them in a real world situation. If you are not willing to harm or kill another individual, no matter what, then violent killing techniques are worthless to you. Customize and personalize each technique you use to fit your own personal abilities and beliefs.
Use surroundings to your advantage.
Knowing how to use your surroundings to your advantage can mean the difference between life and death. If you have good balance and are sure on your feet, would it improve your chances to move the fight to an unstable or slick surface? If you are a very good swwimmer, can you use this against an attacker who can out fight you on land, is there a pool or other body of water close by? Use objects as weapons to stop your attacker. use them as barricades to keep your attacker at bay. Use objects to aid in escape and hinder any pursuit. Slam your attacker into or through objects to cause him pain, injure or throw him off balance and possibly make him feel the attack is not worth the pain and effort. Slamming your attacker into or through objects such as vehicles or store windows can not only cause him damage, but may also set off alarms, bringing police or other forms of help. Utilize your surroundings in conjunction with your abilites in order to avoid, escape, draw attention or survive anyway you can against an attack.
Become the predator and commit fully to your attacks.
When you are attacked you should turn the tables as quickly as you can. You must become the one who is doing the attacking. You did not start it, but you must finish it. Once you have turned the attack around you must continue violently and commit fully to the attack doing whatever is neccasary in order to stop your attacker and you must continue until the attacker is no longer a threat or until you are able to safely escape.
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