Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
lets, but real life simply does not work that way. You might say that if you could carry a hand-
gun, why would you ever need to practice and learn the techniques of hand-to-hand combat and
self-defense? The answer is that life is messy. You never know when you might be surprised,
suddenly finding yourself in a situation where you need to apply one or more of these tech-
niques.
Naturally it is preferable that you receive personal instruction from a true expert, and prac-
tice, practice, practice until a number of key techniques for self-defense become so engrained
into your being as to become essentially automatic reflex reactions. Since repetition will in-
grain these practices into your being, it is in your best interest to ensure that your martial-arts or
self-defense instructor is of the highest moral and spiritual integrity as well as having top-notch
athletic and instructional skills. There are a lot of bogus macho jerks in the various martial-arts
and self-defense disciplines, so choose your instructor wisely.
Unfortunately, the reality is that many of my readers simply will not spend the time and
money for professional training. If this is your case, and you have the misfortune to be stuck in
some disaster scenario where lawlessness and chaos are the rule of the day, please take the time
to at least practice the following techniques within your mind's eye. If you have the opportunity
to practice them with a partner, or against an inanimate object, such as a
makiwara
, which is a
padded striking post used in training in the martial arts and traditionally made of rice straw
bound with a rope, that would be much better.
Remember, there is no single “right answer” or “right technique” for every situation. Ul-
timately it will be a combination of the inner compass of your intuitional guidance, guts, de-
termination, skill, natural reactions, conditioning, surprise, strategy, and just plain luck that will
determine whether or not you will be successful in your attempts to defend yourself in that mo-
ment when self-defense suddenly becomes the most important thing in your world. In real-life
situations it may well be “all or nothing.” There will be no “do-overs” or “time-outs,” and there
will be no referee standing by to ensure that nobody gets hurt and everybody fights “clean.”
Here are a few thoughts and observations:
1. The object of self-defense is to escape with your life, and hopefully your health and well-being
intact. If you can avoid the physical conflict altogether, that would be best. Simply “walking tall”
with head held high, shoulders back, and an air of self-confidence is often all it takes to persuade
a would-be-attacker to pursue an easier target. Predators and bullies usually try to attack what
they consider to be easy prey.
2. Sometimes words alone are enough to defuse a situation, and at other times, they may provide
a much needed distraction that buys you valuable seconds and a few inches of personal space
from which to launch a devastating counterattack that at least temporarily cripples your opponent,
