In a perfect world we would not need to be concerned with violence and the problems the violent create. But, the world isn’t perfect and violence is a reality nonetheless. We can however, become students of violence and analyze situations systematically in order to find solutions to help protect ourselves.

What is Stick-Fighting?

There are many types of weapons people can use to commit violent acts against one another. For the sake of this discussion I want to cover a stick “like” weapon. Stick-Fighting can involve any long narrow object from an actual stick, to a pipe, crowbar, baseball bat, pool stick, […]

Safety From Mounted Chokes – Especially for Women

A very interesting style of choke indeed. “Choking is largely a crime of passion, a crime that takes place between two people within a close relationship, a domestic relationship. According to the Journal of Emergency Medicine, 43% of women killed in domestic assaults had been choked by their partner’s in the year preceding their death. In other words, if someone experiences this type of domestic violence it is bound to escalate. Learn more at Experienced Criminal Lawyers.

Let’s take a look at a few technical nuances, and principles in the solution.

Principle over Technique

First let […]

Be Prepared to be Attacked from the Worst Possible Angle: Behind

Before we can ever understand the simplicity of a solution, we must first understand the nature of the problem. If sketchy people always approached from the front then our prevention tactics would be on point and there would hardly be a reason to train for the worst. This, however, is simply not reality. You can watch animal planet for 30 minutes and conclude that predators attack at all kinds of angles. After all, it is their desire to ensure the highest route of success for them, not you. The two […]

A headlock from the side is a great place to start learning what I call “a means to an end” kind of attacks. Meaning, the headlock is not the end itself. No one puts another person in a headlock just to hold them indefinitely. A very large portion of the time it is only a transitional phase. The headlock is used, like in the video, to hold the person for punches. It is also used to take a person to the ground. If someone knows what they are doing it can even be used to choke the person out. So, […]

Escaping headlock from the ground: If we are truly talking about self-defense in day-to-day, real-world environments, and not fighting then we have to admit A LOT of things had to go wrong BEFORE we find ourselves on the ground. We have to ask ourselves, how did we get to the ground? Was it intentional? Was it what the attacker wanted? Were we blitzed? How did we end up in a headlock on the ground?

Here are a couple videos of wrestlers using a headlock to hip toss someone to the ground and then pin them.

As you can see it is an […]

Before my conscience is even clear discussing a topic like this let me first ask a blunt question. How in the world did you end up in a situation involving multiple opponents? I understand there are circumstances outside of our control, such as wrong place wrong time. However, it is safe to say that 99% of proper self-defense revolves around prevention. Meaning, we don’t go places we are likely to be jumped if it is within our control. I know that doesn’t sound cool nor does it sound tough. But, what is right isn’t always what is cool.

Now, that being […]

How to Escape From a Rear Bear Hug

In this video, I wanted to cover some of the reasons a bear hug is dangerous. First of all, these can come from all different angles and different heights. If you happen to be grabbed low around your waist then it is obvious the person wishes to lift you. If you are grabbed high around the chest the person can either lift and sweep your feet, or, hold you as their friends do what they want. I personally compartmentalize this type of attack as a “means to an end” attack. Meaning, the end […]

This is for the person who has no idea how to throw a punch. We are going to start from scratch. Once upon a time, the old-fashioned straight punch was a “go to” choice for most of your problem-solving. Why? Because it’s fast, it hurts, it creates distance, it can cause a knockout, break a nose, black and eye, and the list goes on, and on. I want to give you a solid foundation before this blog is over. If you do what I say, you too will throw an effective straight punch. One thing we can all admit is […]

In the IKMF when the female program was being developed some convicted rapists were asked, “How do you rape a girl?”

Why would they do this?

It’s obvious, isn’t it?

If you want to understand evil, you ask the devil. One of the interesting responses was, “You put a knife to her face.” Some of the reasons are that it is a huge intimidation factor, and another is that in most cultures a woman’s “beauty” is held in high esteem. And women know this. So the logic is to hold a knife to her face and threaten to cut her in a place […]

This particular kind of kick is a fantastic tool to have in your toolkit. Most strikes are meant to do some sort of damage, and even though this kick will hurt, the main purpose of this kick is to get distance from the thing you are kicking. Rather than trying to block all the attacks a knife wielding person delivers you can use this kick instead, as seen in the video.

However, it is important to note that you should only do so if the person has little to no momentum forward. If the person is at a sprint moving in […]