Fundamentals of Self-Defense

My name is David Wilde and this is the first in a series of articles on self defense. I have a combination of 19 years experience in security. I worked 6 years as an animal cop. I have personally survived deadly street confrontations in a number of ways. When I was 15 I lived in a cardboard box in Barstow, California. I’ve had to fight for everything from food and shelter to my very life. I am also an in depth researcher. What I will share with you comes from a great deal of personal experience. I am not a jungle fighting mercenary or a Green Beret with Special Forces. My experiences are from right here in the US. This series is a no nonsense approach to all the things you can do to protect yourself and your family. In these chaotic times of financial crisis and job insecurity, I believe we need these basic survival skills more than ever. The first thing I want you to know, is that nothing is fool proof. There is no perfect method that will save you from everything in the universe. There is no guaranty that you will win every fight you get into. That being said, arming yourself with proper knowledge increases your chances of survival by leaps and bounds. That is what t his series is about. With that, I offer you rules 1 and 2:

1:  Never under-estimate anyone or anything, no matter what.

2:  Nothing is foolproof

Now you may wonder why I list the foolproof rule as number two when it was the first thing I wanted you to know? This is a matter of application. When you are learning techniques to defend yourself, these two rules reverse position. When you go out into the world and apply what you know, this is the proper order for these rules. It’s the difference between learning and applying. With rule number one, you have to understand that not everything or everyone are what they appear to be. It’s not possible for you to know everything about any one individual and they are bound to surprise you if you let your guard down enough. Here are some common excuses for letting your guard down:

Age

No matter what the age of your opponent, you can’t let that be a reason to assume they’re weak anywhere. Youth may be inexperienced, but still fast and strong. Age may be slow, but highly experienced.  My late brother once told me that an old man is old for a reason. After all, he’s survived all the things I haven’t met yet.

Disability

I have personally had my kiester handed to me by an elderly blind man. He had been in  the martial arts since he was 6 years old. I’ve seen a man in a wheelchair perform a judo-like throw on a standing target. The truth about disabilities is that they cause people to adapt to using other senses or body parts in ways you don’t.

Poor/homeless

Never ever underestimate the power of desperation. I’ve read more than one news article about the athletic guy who thought he could push around the old bum, just to get poked with a knife. Those old clothes, the push cart, and dirty appearance can easily make you mistake a person for something weak.  Don’t make that mistake. For all you know, he’s a marine down on his luck. Just because he’s weak in the pocket and has dirty clothes, doesn’t mean his knuckles will hurt any less if they connect. This also causes people to assume a lack of intelligence, another crucial mistake.

Intelligence

Even a dummy can whack the snot out of you, think about it and avoid being the real dummy.

Inferiority

Believing that you are superior is the fastest way to lose a fight and even get yourself killed. I’ve met more than one black belt martial artist who somehow missed that lesson in class. Then they find themselves in a brawl with outback Jack who may as well have a black belt for all the bar fights he’s been in and won. There’s more than one way to be experienced and it’s safer to never ever consider yourself someone’s superior, even if you defeat them. Besides, self defense isn’t about who’s the bigger badass, it’s about surviving and you aren’t much of a badass if you’re dead.

All of these pitfalls affect the ways of self defense in more than just the physical. There are four fundamental areas of self defense to cover and Physical is just one. The other three are:

Mental/emotional

Fear is a bully’s best weapon and it comes with the physical aspects, but when you aren’t afraid anymore, you realize that pain is just pain and he’s not so tough after all. Abusers use fear and emotional criticism to control their victims. Scam artists want to trick their way into your wallet. Sharpening your mental edge and learning to think things through can save you money, heartache, and a few beatings.

Financial

We can re-mention the Scam artist here but also lawsuits, over due bills, credit cards, and bad financial choices or unemployment can hurt you and set the stage for issues like depression (ah, another mental attacker).

Image

How you are viewed by your community or other communities (such as that of law enforcement) can strongly affect how you are regarded if anything important happens. If you give yourself a bad reputation in your community and then find yourself needing neighborhood help or police assistance, you may not be taken seriously when it counts. Your image is especially important if you are in a profession like law enforcement. If you abuse community trust, you can find yourself an outcast fast.

Naturally there are plenty of ways for attacks to affect mutliple fronts. We’ll get to those as we go. Now that I have explained the four fundamentals and the first two rules, you are ready for us to roll up our sleeves and get started. My next article will be about avoiding scams. Stay tuned.