7 Teaching Self Defence
7 Teaching Self Defence
7 Teaching Self Defence
These defences are effective given the correct prompt for the given
defence is used. Herein lies the disadvantage - if the correct prompt for
the defence is not used by the attacker, the “victim” may not be able to
defend him or herself effectively, as there is no allowance in the learned
technique to modify it accordingly to combat similar attacks.
The martial arts student therefore learns to execute this block to defend
an area of his or her body against any attack which targets it. As
training continues, more blocks are learned, as are their effectiveness
against a variety of different attacks.
This, along with the practice formats employed by the different types of
sparring (one-step to free sparring) gives the ability to “think on your
feet”. This enables the martial arts student to respond to an attack with
one of a variety of known defences, based on an understanding of why
and how the chosen defence is going to be effective, rather than a
learned reactive movement.
For an example, a release targetting the weak point of the grip. The
student learns that the release technique works by directing pressure to
the area which forms the weak point of the attackers grip to free his or
herself. Once this is understood, having an opponent grab in a variety
of ways can be used to teach a direct application of this principle.
The next issue is the timing of the defence and its effectiveness if not
done at the right moment.
From a martial art a practitioner learns the timing required for each
technique in the same way as a self defence course. The difference
however is that the broad range of possible applications of a prinicple of
defence gives the martial artist the option of executing a single or even
multiple defensive principles at any time during the confrontation, from a
premptive strike to a defence against the attack once it is made.
If the martial artist mistimes a defence, the options are similar. The
difference is that the ability to fight back is greater due to the martial art
training, and if the defence is redone it can be adapted to ensure its
success, based on the theoretical knowledge of how it works.
This arsenal gives the martial artist the ability to know how and where to
strike for the most desirable effect - from creating an opening for
escape, to ensuring the attacker cannot give chase.
In brief, applying the principles of martial art training, and the methods
used, to the teaching of self defence in order to increase its
effectiveness.