Unarmed Self Defense Tactics

The human foot is made up of 26 bones that are tied together by strong ligaments. Of these there are seven tarsal bones that form the area directly below the ankle joint and make up the instep of the foot. Five metatarsal bones that make up the ball of the foot then follow these seven and of course you have fourteen phalanges that form the toes. For those wondering how five toes divide into fourteen bones it is simple, there are only two bones in the big toe and three in the others.

By now you are probably also wondering what basic foot anatomy has to do with an assailant. Actually the knowledge of how the foot and hand (which we will cover shortly) is made up will enable you to better understand how to use them against an assailant.

The heel of the foot is the toughest bone of the foot and it is unlikely you will be able to do damage to it. The ankle bones can be hurt but are supported by the heel so more effort would have to be expended. The tiny bones that make up the instep and the toes on the other hand are very vulnerable and easy to break.

When a male or female assailant grabs you, there is an excellent chance that they have your hands, wrists or arms pinned and out of commission. By pinning you in this way, your assailant has affectively removed two of your most powerful weapons, both hands and elbows.

At the same time, it is important to remember they are not the only weapons you have in your arsenal. Your most powerful weapon is of course your head and by using it while staying calm, you are already in a stronger defensive position. Another strong set of weapons is your legs and feet.

It is possible to break the small bones of the feet regardless of which way your assailant has you facing in regards to him. The important part to remember is to use your own strong heel to make the strike, not the ball of your foot or instep.

To get the desired effect you will need to bring your knee up as far as possible and then slamming it downward with your ankle flexed upward so your heel hits first. For any of the following instructions to work, you must be within striking range of your assailant. YOUR striking range, not his.

If your back is to your assailant, you can bring your knee up without impediment and think for a moment of how a mule kicks with his rear legs. He will bring his leg up with the hoof close to his underside and then kick straight back. In some styles of martial arts, bringing your knee and foot up and also kicking straight back just happens to be termed a “mule kick.”

Ideally, as you slam your heel backwards, you will hit the assailant’s knee, a very unstable, vulnerable joint. Regardless if you hit the knee or the shin, the rest of the technique requires you to allow your heel to slide down the assailant’s leg and onto the bones of the instep or toes.

For those that wear high heels or boots, you will have an added advantage although the technique will still work well in tennis shoes or bare feet. You just have to remember to put as much force behind the strike as possible.

If you have been lucky enough to hit the knee or break the bones of the foot, don’t stop there. Use your head as a battering ram against your assailant’s nose and mouth, if your arms are pinned but your hands are free, attempt to step backwards as close to your assailant as possible, use your strongest hand to reach back and grab a handful of testicles or pinch as hard as you can on the inside of the thigh as close to the groin as possible. To get the idea of how light a pinch can cause pain, reach down and pinch the inside of your own thigh.

As to the human hand, there are twenty-seven bones that comprise the fingers, palm and wrist. The wrist itself has eight strong cube shaped bones that attaches the actual hand to the end of the arm. The palm is made up of five long metacarpal bones. From the palm, fourteen phalangeal bones become the fingers with the same breakdown in individual digits as listed in the toes. Three bones are in each finger, two in the thumb.

The hand itself with all the fingers grasping your wrist, shoulder or arm is strong but one finger by itself is weak. For the sake of simplicity, lets assume your assailant has a big meaty hand wrapped around your left wrist or lower arm. Regardless as to who this person is, he or she has no right to touch you without your permission and if permission has been given, the point of this article would be mute.

Keeping calm, look down at the offending hand, reach over with you right hand and instead of grabbing their wrist or entire hand, simply grab one little finger. The weakest fingers in an average person’s hand are the pinkie and the ring finger. Use this knowledge to your advantage. Wrap your hand as best as possible around the pinkie and with a sharp motion down and back, make the back of the finger smash into the back of your assailant’s hand. You must do this quickly, forcefully and be committed to the act.

By hesitating, the assailant is given time to be aware of what you are doing and take appropriate actions and if you feel squeamish about breaking someone’s bones, you won’t use the force needed to do the most good.

If your assailant is holding your hand in such a way you can’t get a good grip on the pinkie or ring finger, don’t give up. The index finger or the thumb will be as affective; they just require a greater deal of force.

To give yourself an added advantage, precede the breaking of the finger with the foot strike and stomping of toes to get your assailant distracted first. If you are facing him, you can see exactly where the knee and foot for the best quality strike.

These suggestions are just a couple of the possible self-defense escape methods that can be used. As with any technique, no single one works 100% of the time in all given situations and against any or all opponents. They can be affective though by themselves or as follow-ups to other types of defensive moves.

As with any and all techniques, they do little good if they have not been practiced and require a period of thought on you part to remember. With any attack, you will have a very small window of opportunity to get your strikes in and get away. After all, that is your main objective, to get away. Once you are free, run, don’t walk to the closest safe place you can find and call for law enforcement authorities to handle the matter from there.

Tags: martial art, martial arts, self defense, Techniques

Choosing the Right Non-Lethal Self-Defense Devices

Just like any consumer product in the market, each merchandise belongs to a particular brand and has its own size, configuration, and function. This is no different in the world of non-lethal self-defense hardware. I will only mention 3 categories of such weaponry plus the folding pocket knife since this specific tool can be applied in non-lethal ways.

The Kubotan, or mini-baton, comes in different shapes, sizes, colors, and perceived functions. The most prominent among these is the Kubotan keychain which measures about 5.5 inches in length and 0.75 inch in diameter. It has a keyring at one end and a tip at the other. It is composed of metal and is available in about 4 colors: black, blue, silver, and pink. What is practical about this tool is that it is readily available in your pocket; “don’t leave home without it” without your set of keys. Additionally, it is legal to carry in most, if not all, states. The best keychain Kubotan to carry is the one that is painted black so it would appear almost invisible in your hand. Moreover, pick the one that has a pointed tip instead of a flat tip. The Kubotan is considered an impact weapon. Therefore, striking bone or tissue with a pointed tip generates more pressure with a given amount of force applied as compared to hitting with a flat tip.

Other Kubotans are disguised as writing instruments such as the “Sharkie” from Cold Steel. It writes just like a Sharpie but it is a longer and denser version made of high-impact polycarbonate. There are no metal parts in the Sharkie; so, there should be no hassle passing through a metal detector even if you carry it inside your front shirt pocket.

Sharkie Kubotan

Pepper sprays, or the more accurate term, “defensive sprays,” are readily available in all shapes, sizes, compositions, and types of release. They range in sizes from pocket, personal, to police models, from 3 to 5 inches in length, since we are limiting our parameters to personal carry. Of course, the smaller they are, the easier they are to conceal; although, the police model which has a length of 5 inches should not be hard to hide either. The best type of spray to consider is what most law enforcement personnel carry, the one with a flip-top cap. This design minimizes accidental discharges and is one of the easiest to operate. The bigger the content, the longer the spray time; consider this when you happen to spray at varying effective distances. It is crucial for you to spray directly into the eyes, nostrils, and mouth of the attacker where the mucus membranes are located, never just in the “facial area.”

Generally, sprays squirt their material in spray or stream form. Pick the one that excretes a stream of liquid since this is less likely to disperse quicker in an enclosed space, thereby affecting you also, and less likely to bounce back in a headwind. Newer versions of pepper sprays emit foam or gel, hence the terms, pepper foam and pepper gel. Foam has the advantage of creeping between the eyeglasses and eyes of a perpetrator. Gel, on the other hand, has a tendency to stick more on the skin; so, the “perp” would have a harder time “shaking off” the gel on his or her face.

Pepper Spray

Defensive sprays are composed of a pepper solution, OC, with varying concentrations or a mixture of OC, tear gas, and UV (ultraviolet) dye. OC is a natural irritant that irritates and swells the mucus membranes while tear gas affects the respiratory system. The reaction to OC is faster than tear gas; that is why pepper sprays gained in popularity. Some people are almost immune to the effects of OC due to their high tolerance to peppers. So, pick the spray that has both OC and tear gas.

Stun guns too come in a plethora of sizes, shapes, and voltage potentials. As tiny as a pen or as massive as a magnum sized device; in the form of a pen, pager, cell phone, flashlight, baton, and expandable baton; ranging from 10,000 volts to almost 1 million volts. Carrying the stun gun concealed is the best method to surprise an attacker since it has to make contact for it to be effective. Concealment means size consideration; so, a pager size stun gun that emits close to a million volts would be most effective. Remember that the bigger the voltage, the more spectacular and louder the spark. This is advantageous as a deterrent against aggressive dogs. Their hearing is more sensitive to a broader band of sound frequencies; therefore, they are more in tune and fearful of the crackling sound of a discharging stun gun.

Even though a stun gun can discharge as much as 1 million volts, the wattage is not large enough to kill since it only has a few milliamperes of current, much like static electricity. A stun device can, however, numb muscle groups after being zapped from at least 3 to 5 seconds. Therefore, have your stun gun make contact with the “perp’s” major muscle groups such as the neck, shoulder, back, groin, and thigh areas.

Tasers and Stun Guns are effective.

Tasers, on the other hand, are a different breed of beasts than stun guns. The civilian versions have disposable cartridges that fire 2 probes up to 15 feet. However, the ideal distance between victim and perpetrator should be between 5 to 7 feet apart when discharged. Thus, the shooter is able to subdue the attacker remotely, a certain advantage especially when the bad guy is armed with a knife and/or a gun. Additionally, Tasers emit “T-waves” that overwhelms the human body’s nervous system, rendering the whole body incapable of voluntary movement which lasts several minutes.

Current models in the market are the C2 and M18. The former resembles a slim TV remote control while the latter looks like an oversized Glock 17 semiautomatic pistol. In my opinion, most successful deployments of Tasers are when they are initially concealed from attackers, when they are surprised and unable to defend themselves. Undoubtedly, the obvious choice for carry is the C2 for its diminutive size.

Surprisingly, a folding pocket knife can be considered a non-lethal weapon as long as it can applied with skill in the hands of a martial artist trained in Escrima, Arnis, Kali, and Penkjat Silat. Limbs can be rendered totally useless by cutting, slashing, and puncturing into nerves, tendons, and muscles. Of course, arteries and internal organs must be avoided. A less bloody and messy way of controlling a “perp” would be to keep the knife folded and use it as an impact weapon, similar to a Kubotan. I carry a Cold Steel Voyager Tanto folding blade with a 5-inch plain edge off duty. Cold Steel is known for manufacturing knives that are sharp, durable, and reasonably priced. Also, I find the Voyager series folding knives lighter and more balanced between the handles and blades compared with another model folders called Recon 1 which have far heavier handles. One drawback, however, with Cold Steel’s serrated edge is that it tends to snag, unlike Cutco kitchen knives that have functional serrations.

If you are going to purchase a folding knife for your own, I recommend choosing one with a Tanto designed tip, similar to the tip of a Samurai or Ninja sword, since they are the most durable. More so, test the edge whether it is plain or serrated, to determine how effectively the knife cuts. The more skilled you are in mastering your weapons, the more you control their lethality.

Never forget though that the most lethal weapon of all is your mind!

Tags: kubotan keychain, kubotans, martial art, Ninja, pepper sprays, pocket knife, self defense, sharkie

Cardio benefits of Karate Training

It has virtually become common knowledge that regular exercise - especially sustained activity which places an optimum load on your pulmonary-cardiovascular system - promotes health and, according to recent research, greater longevity. There are various exercises which are found to be good for your health including certain forms of self-defense activities. This was first reported in a well-controlled, long-term, Stanford University study headed by exercise physician Dr. Paffenbarger.

Dr. Paffenbarger first found that people who burn over 2000 calories per week through exercise significantly reduce their cardiovascular risks. He then evaluated a number of different types of exercise to see how effective each is in helping the practitioner burn 2000 weekly calories.

He and his co-workers grouped the types of exercise into three categories with respect to their effectiveness in burning the minimum calories he found necessary to be of health benefit. The categories were: Best, Fair and Least effective.

In the ‘Best’ Category we find the expected - running, jogging, walking, bicycling, cross-country skiing and swimming. These are the forms of exercise which, at the time of Paffenbarger’s study, already had strong scientific support. Along with these types of exercise, Dr. Paffenbarger’s study also found that karate rated in the ‘Best’ exercise category for pulmonary-cardiovascular health.

Karate, a set of Okinawan/Japanese self-defense and fighting systems, is not only healthy from an exercise standpoint but, in my opinion, is the optimum, effective self-defense for the average person at just about any age level. Dr. Paffenbarger found that practicing karate for one hour on each of three different days per week causes the body to burn over 2000 calories each week.

Tags: cardiovascular health, Karate, karate training, self defense