Counter Attactics - Homemade Self Defence

[Wounded Ronin]

Xiangfei's comment about the Michellin man smacking one of the clients with a giant vinyl fist made me giggle.

[sanguine]

Fortunately for this kind of discussion, people have done (many) outcome-based empirical analyses of self-defense situations. About six years ago, I did a review paper on them. Some notables:

Most rapes are committed by acquaintances (so there goes that helpful "don't get into cars with strangers advice - not that it's bad advice, but it's not your primary threat)

Positive correlates with avoiding rape:

Yelling/making noise (yes, it does help)
Fighting back physically
Running
Fearing rape more than death

Negative correlates with avoiding rape:

Pleading
Negotiation
Claiming disease

(All the rape outcome correlates are relative to "doing nothing at all")

Positive correlate with avoiding injury in any self-defense situation:

Fighting back as an initial response


Given that the typical rape scenario is an attack by an acquaintance, getting women into the mindset of being able to get ramped up, yell and smack someone isn't a bad basic toolbox for self defense -- because the biggest barrier they have to overcome is hitting and yelling at someone they know.

Based on the research I've seen, the fundamental change needed for a lot of self defense training is convincing the person that they have a right to their own body and safety. There's a lot of cultural training to overcome there.

[Matt Bernius]

9. Understand that you are more likely to be robbed by a stranger and raped by an aquantance.

10. Understand that under no circumstances are you ever to go anywhere with an attacker.

Based on the research I've seen, the fundamental change needed for a lot of self defense training is convincing the person that they have a right to their own body and safety. There's a lot of cultural training to overcome there.

The other change, as suggested above, is to understand that "stranger danger" is highly overstated. I blame media portrayals of violence for this. The fact is you are far more likely to be attacked by someone you know than by someone you don't know.

Xiang,

BTW - sorry if I came down to harsh. Quite frankly I was suffering through a cold and probably shouldn't have been posting. My issue is that you seem to feel that the weighting of these courses are wrong without knowing what the weighting is.

All of the good self defense courses I've seen take place over a number of weeks and include a major physical defense section with an escalating level of contact. Personally, I've never met a reputable self defense instructor who claimed that they can prepared you to defend yourself in a single seminar.

That said, clearly you've had your own situations. I really can't comment on that. I can comment on the courses that I've reviewed that were put together by people who surveyed countless encounters and police reports and have worked with experts to put together the most comprehensive programs they can.

As far as the Wing Chun comment, that wasn't directed at WC but most (if not all) Martial Arts programs. Martial arts =/= Self defense. Two similiar but very different things. Can martial arts training help one in a self defense situation? Yes. But learning martial arts is not necessarily (and often not even close) to learning tactical self defense.

- Matt

[Fantasy Warrior]

I'd still have to have more emphasis on the physical, even if it wasn't physical punching/kicking. Defence against grabs, simple kick to the knee, .

Nothing "simple" about a kick to the knee- bloody hard to entrain unless you go for no-contact crap. Grabs??? no offense but you're describing what to me is the worst (and most common) type of so-called SD training -that which underemphasises the awareness, avoidance, verbel and instead concerntrates on ill-considered and poorly entrain "magic moves". Such courses would greatly benefit from the Michelin man type exercises IMO.

[Matt Bernius]

Nothing "simple" about a kick to the knee- bloody hard to entrain unless you go for no-contact crap. Grabs??? no offense but you're describing what to me is the worst (and most common) type of so-called SD training -that which underemphasises the awareness, avoidance, verbel and instead concerntrates on ill-considered and poorly entrain "magic moves". Such courses would greatly benefit from the Michelin man type exercises IMO.

Again I say, what he said.

- Matt

[rexkwon]

Alot of places would benefit from a good game of stop the "Michelin man" .