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When it comes to street self defense it helps to be a one hit wonder and by that I don’t mean you should record a catchy and irritating pop song that goes to the top of the charts and makes you famous for a few weeks before you fall of the map, never to be seen again. No, by that I mean that it would be very helpful in a street fight if you could put someone down with only one blow.
Generally, in a street self defense situation you want it to be over as soon as possible, unless you’re one of those people who take pleasure in inflicting pain on others, in which case you’re on the wrong site. For those who like their fights to be over quick then the best way to achieve this is to down your opponent in as few a moves as possible, preferably one. Who wants to stand on the street or in a club or wherever trading punches with someone or wrestling around the ground like your in a cage fight? I certainly don’t. I want to be away from that situation as quickly as possible. Violence is ugly and I don’t like spending too much time in its company. It has a bad habit of corrupting the morals of those who engage with it too often.
Another thing to think about: what if you’re up against multiple opponents? Do you think you’ll have time to do more than one technique before your opponents crowd in on you? No you won’t. In fact you’ll be lucky getting of one shot before you find yourself being smothered and struck from all sides. In a situation were there is more than one opponent and you are sure that things are going to kick of then the best course of action -the only course of action worth considering, assuming you can’t turn tail and run- is the pre-emptive strike. You hit first and take your chances from there. Martial artist or not, sometimes you can’t argue with the numbers. The only thing you can do is give yourself a better chance by learning how to inflict as much damage as possible in as few a moves as possible. There are a few things you can do help yourself along in this respect.
Find the Techniques That Will Work
More often than not when we think of stopping an opponent using only one strike we think of the knock-out punch. Developing a knock-out right cross or hook is a very effective way of dropping an opponent, but it’s not the only way. There are plenty of other techniques available to you that are just as effective and just as lethal.
Kicks are an extremely good alternative to punches and in some ways are actually better because they allow you to control the distance more between yourself and your opponent/s. Low kicks are the preferred choice in a street self defense situation as they can be fired of quickly and they are very powerful. One strong kick to an opponent’s leg is all it can take to completely incapacitate them. It isn’t hard to break someone’s leg using a shin kick or a side kick/stomp to the knee area. High kicks should generally be avoided here, as they are too risky to use in such situations. For a more in depth discussion on kicking for street self defense read my article Are High Kicks Pointless? And for sound kicking advice in general, read my other article, 7 Ways to Killer Kicks.
Open Hand Strikes can also be very useful if you need to drop an opponent quickly. Open hand strikes can be a knife hand strike to the throat or a palm heel strike to the nose or chin or it could even be a finger strike to eyes. All these techniques can be quite deadly when used correctly.
It must also be remembered, just in case you’re thinking that sticking your fingers into someone’s eyes can be deemed a bit extreme, that you will most likely get seriously hurt if you don’t stop the situation before it gets a chance to develop out of your control. The pre-emptive strike is about you taking control of the situation. More than that it is about you deciding right there and then that you won’t allow yourself to be carted of in an ambulance, perhaps fighting for your life, because a person or persons didn’t like the way you looked at them. At the end of the day it is up to you to decide what response the situation requires, and these days, with a lack of respect for others and a general callousness pervading society, the situation is usually serious enough to warrant an equally serious response. The choice is yours.
Work to Develop Your Technique
Once you have figured out which are the best techniques to use for one shot drop downs you then have to work at developing those techniques to make them powerful enough so they can do the job you want them to do. This means developing your techniques in all areas, including:
Speed: Your techniques have to be fast because in a self-defence situation the quicker you are the less time your opponent/s has to react. In the case of multiple opponents especially, the quicker you drop one the quicker you can move on to the next one. Your opponent shouldn’t know what hit them until they are lying on the ground in a daze watching you send their friends down to join them.
Power: It is vital that your punch or kick or strike has enough power in it to take some one down instantly, otherwise your going to find yourself in a brawl. Most of your power will come from your speed, but you can also increase your power through weight training and the like.
Accuracy: The ability to deliver accurate blows is vitally important in this instance. A deadly accurate strike aimed at your opponent’s weak spot is much more effective than one which has speed and power but fails to find a vulnerable enough target on your opponent. If you are using a punch then connect with your opponent’s chin or between his eyes. If you’re using a low kick then connect with your opponent’s knee or groin. And if you’re using an open handed strike then connect with your opponent’s throat or nose or eyes. Hitting these spots will greatly increase your chances of a one shot drop down.
For a more information on the best attributes to cultivate as a martial artist read my previous article 5 Attributes Every Martial Artist Should Have.
Be Prepared
Geoff Thompson, a master when it comes to street self defense training, has said that he would often get his students to practice their techniques in a variety of awkward situations. So they would practice punching while lying down on the floor or they would back into a corner and practice their techniques from that position. The point is that you never know when or where something is going to kick of. You could be in a club, surrounded by tables and chairs and crowds of people- you’ll have little room to manoeuvre and therefore not enough space to use kicks or proper punches. You therefore have to be able to deliver effective blows from any position. Geoff has said that the more they practiced this method of training the better their technique became. He also said that after a while the techniques became powered by Ki and nothing else. This is because the mind and body are making up for the restriction in movement. It’s like the mind realises what the outcome needs to be – in this case, powerful strikes with little movement- and eventually asks the body to deliver it using Ki. It’s an interesting area of training and one which I’m sure has other applications in other areas of the martial arts.
So be aware of the type of situations you might find yourself in and prepare in advance to deal with them if they ever arise.
Give yourself the best chance and become a one hit wonder.
