Five
Fundamentals of Unarmed Self-Defense for Preppers
Any survivalist worth his or her salt would view self-defense as a very
important prepper skill that they need to have in their toolbox. You
could be an expert at storing water and food and your bug out bag could
be all ready to go, but if two hoodlums break into your home and injure
or kill you just to take whatever you’ve got – all your efforts would be
for nothing. This is a real-life scenario that occurs over and
over whenever there’s a crisis. When people get desperate for food and
supplies, they’ll do whatever it takes to look out for themselves. That
includes stealing or even killing to get what they want.
Over and above that, crime will be rampant during a crisis situation.
We’ve all seen crises such as riots where looting is widespread or
places like the ghettos where the crime rate is at an all-time high.
This is the reality that most people fail to grasp. Things can get very
ugly and you absolutely must be prepared. In this article, we’ll
look at the five principles of unarmed self-defense. While it’s
recommended that you always have a firearm for your safety, in the event
you do not have one, or are not comfortable with firearms, these five
tips will come in handy.
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1. Every Blow Must Count:
Unlike mixed martial arts tournaments or boxing matches with 3-minute
rounds, real-life altercations last only seconds to a minute or two.
Within this time, you could be mortally wounded, unconscious or even
dead in seconds. In a real fight, every blow you throw must have
intent and purpose. Aim for the soft tissues and vulnerable points in
the body. The eyes, throat, nose, etc. are all soft targets that you
must aim for. Avoid striking the torso unless you know where to
hit. While kidney shots and blows to the solar plexus are devastating,
most people are not trained well-enough to strike these areas
effectively. It’s more difficult when you’re stressed out in a combat
situation.
2. The Best Defense is a Good Offense:
Some martial arts like aikido focus on wrist locks and other complicated
techniques, where you need to block followed by a strike. You’re better
off learning an art like Kali or Krav Maga where a defense is just as
damaging as an offence. For example, if you learned Kali, your response
to someone throwing a fist will be to smash it with your elbow in
defense. So, not only are you protecting your face, but the hard point
of your elbow may break your opponent’s fist. This is efficiency at its
finest. Pick a self-defense course that is based on real-world scenarios
and learn how to defend yourself.
3. Continuous Striking:
In self-defense, you will aim to strike three to four times in quick
succession to bring your opponent down. You’ll always be moving forward
and delivering blow after blow in a rapid, continuous and determined
fashion till they are down, or they run away. Once your opponent
is down, you’ll flee the scene. The goal of self-defense is to escape
with your life intact. You’re not in a death match. Escape the first
chance you get.
4.
Decisiveness:
Never allow yourself to be in a situation where the attacker hits you
first. If you find that the situation you’re facing is getting
increasingly hostile, you can execute a pre-emptive strike and run away.
For example, a palm heel strike to your opponent’s nose will send them
reeling, or a swift kick to their groin will drop them to their knees.
This is your opportunity to escape.
5. Practice, Practice and More Practice:
The key to reacting instinctively is repeated practice. You want the
moves to be seared into your mind and muscle memory. During an actual
altercation, you’ll not have time to think. However, your instincts and
training will kick in and you’ll be able to protect yourself.
Adhere to the 5 points in this article and you’ll be much more likely to
survive a dangerous situation with minimal injury to yourself.
The goal of self-defense is to win, not merely survive. Whether
armed or unarmed, you must stop the attack and be able to escape.
There are no substitutes for training and practice. These are
perishable skills, requiring muscle memory and the requirement to have
"war-gamed" these scenarios over and over so that you know how you will
handle the situation. Be prepared, get trained, and have a plan!
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