It recently came to my attention that my dear friends Danielle and Jessie aren't the most savvy when it comes to self defense. I'm not talking "lookit me I'm a bad ass". I'm talking "I'm gonna break this hold, kick you in the nuts, and run like the wind". So I took it upon myself to teach them what I could. I trained in Tae Kwon Do when I was younger, so self defense I have a decent handle on. First step was teaching them to make a proper fist. I tend to forget that not everyone knows what I think is super basic common knowledge. The thumb should always lay across the curled fingers. Put the thumb on the side or inside the fist and you run the risk of jamming or breaking your thumb. Then I taught them a basic stance. Your feet should be roughly shoulder width apart with knees bent. Whatever is comfortable and gives you good balance. I point whatever foot I put in front forward and my back foot points to the side. From that stance, I had them jab and throw what I've always known as reverse punches (punching forward while turning hips and back foot) into a small punching bag. Once they didn't suck at that and could throw a punch hitting with the index and middle knuckles, we went over knife hand strikes. Basically you just swing a knife hand at someone's neck with the pinky side of your hand. We also threw some elbows and learned the palm strike to the nose or chin. With the palm to the face, you could rake at your attackers eyes, grab his shoulders or head and ram it into your knee. Effective stuff. From there we went over a knee strike and how to rock your hips into the strike to really make it effective. I also went over a low side kick to the knee or shin. With a side kick the way to go is to use your heel and rotate your hip into it. The hip puts a lot of power into the kick. Then I made them get on the floor to throw side kicks from an "I just got tossed like a rag doll" position. From the floor a side kick stays the same; use your heel and rotate the hip into it for power. This also targets the knee or shin. Make it hurt and make it count. You have to remember, these techniques are meant to disable an attacker that probably maybe wants to rape and kill you. Possibly not in that order. It was then getting late so I very briefly taught them how to get out of a wrist hold. If someone grabs your wrist, yank/twist your hand toward the attackers thumb. The thumb is, surprisingly, the weakest link. If the break doesn't work, target eyes, nose, neck, groin, knees, shin, and the solar plexus (the spot right under your sternum). Target those anyway actually. That concluded our lesson for the day. I'm going to get them together again to practice some more as well as to teach them blocking and getting out of bear hugs and head locks.
First and foremost, remember to make yourself a difficult target. Always be aware of your surroundings! Have your keys out and ready as you approach your vehicle. Thread your keys through your fingers so you can use them as a weapon when and if you punch. Stick them out of your fist between the index and middle fingers and/or your middle and ring fingers. Yell at them ("Back off!" or whatever...) and use what's around you to your advantage. I've read and heard of using hair spray or perfume sprayed into your attacker's eyes. If all they want is money or your phone or bag, give it up. Nothing you own is worth risking your life. If it comes to blows, simply disable your attacker to a point where you can run like hell. Don't stick around to exact revenge. The girls did very well and were very appreciative of the lesson. I hope you've also gleaned some knowledge from this as well. I had a lot of fun teaching them as well as it's been years since I've taught anything like this. I'll give a synopsis of our next lesson as well. Until then, be safe and stay tuned. (Am I signing off of a bad tv show?!)
Lindsey
Jewelry: HardWear by Lindsey
Sister: Film Making and Cookie Baking
Rusty J: Rustified - Lifestyle Inspiration from a Renaissance Man
First and foremost, remember to make yourself a difficult target. Always be aware of your surroundings! Have your keys out and ready as you approach your vehicle. Thread your keys through your fingers so you can use them as a weapon when and if you punch. Stick them out of your fist between the index and middle fingers and/or your middle and ring fingers. Yell at them ("Back off!" or whatever...) and use what's around you to your advantage. I've read and heard of using hair spray or perfume sprayed into your attacker's eyes. If all they want is money or your phone or bag, give it up. Nothing you own is worth risking your life. If it comes to blows, simply disable your attacker to a point where you can run like hell. Don't stick around to exact revenge. The girls did very well and were very appreciative of the lesson. I hope you've also gleaned some knowledge from this as well. I had a lot of fun teaching them as well as it's been years since I've taught anything like this. I'll give a synopsis of our next lesson as well. Until then, be safe and stay tuned. (Am I signing off of a bad tv show?!)
Lindsey
Jewelry: HardWear by Lindsey
Sister: Film Making and Cookie Baking
Rusty J: Rustified - Lifestyle Inspiration from a Renaissance Man