Standing armlocks are a staple in the martial arts, including Aikido, classical ju-jujutsu, and many modern self defense systems. They're usually practised something like this: your partner comes in with a lunging punch, you block and sidestep, control the arm, step in, and then apply pressure to the arm until he taps out. Here's what some of those standing armbars from … [Read more...]
5 Steps to Defend against the Sucker Punch
In your regular training you may practice all kinds of cool blocks and counters to punches, but what about defending against the punch that you don't see coming? The sucker punch! That's a really tricky, and very scary situation. But there are certain precautions and techniques you can use to minimise the danger from this cowardly ambush scenario. In fact, here are 5 … [Read more...]
Self Defense Tips from a Long Time Bouncer
Doormen and bouncers deal with potential violent confrontations every night they're working, and that makes their experiences and insights super-valuable to the rest of us. In this first instalment of 'Tales from the Door' I pick the brain of my friend, training partner and long-time bouncer Chad Skands. Some of the topics we cover include... Specific strategies to … [Read more...]
The Mount Position in the Street and How to Survive It
If you’re flat on your back in a streetfight with someone sitting on your chest - a position called the mount - then you’re in one of the very worst situations you can ever be in. The guy on top has all the advantages - reach, gravity, targeting and mobility - and can drop devastating bombs on your face at will. From the mount he has close to absolute dominance. Even … [Read more...]
How to Headbutt Someone
Want to learn the fine points of headbutting someone into oblivion and how to avoid hurting yourself in the process? How about using your head to amplify takedowns, set up strikes, and dominate the clinching range? It's all covered in this video on the Self Defense Tutorials channel in a video called "How to Use Your Head as a … [Read more...]
Too Deadly for Boxing, MMA and BJJ: Illegal but Effective Combat Sport Techniques
by Jeff Meszaros Many people learn martial arts to learn how to handle themselves in a real fight. But many martial arts are sports and sports have rules while street fights don't. That means many things happen in fights that aren't allowed in certain martial arts. Although it started out as "no-holds-barred", mixed martial arts has rules today. Headbutts, groin … [Read more...]
Submissions for Self Defense
In self defense you need at least some submissions in your arsenal. Breaking someone's arm or putting them to sleep with a choke is often a much more effective (and safer) strategy than standing in front of the guy and trading haymakers. Now when it comes to submissions you have thousands of options: armlocks, chokes, wrist locks, neck cranks, face crushes etc. But … [Read more...]
How to Get Behind Enemy Lines in a Streetfight
If you and your opponent are squaring off face-to-face then it's sort of an equal situation. From here he can swing at you and you can swing at him... He can try to tackle you, and you can try to clinch him. To paraphrase the old song, at this point anything he can do, hopefully you can do better! But we don't want it to be a fair fight. Ideally you should set up a … [Read more...]
How to Make Sure Your Martial Art Will Work in the Street
You may train in a martial art, but will your techniques really work in the street, in real life, against a real attacker? This is a question a lot of martial artists wrestle with... No matter what martial art you are learning, there are countless techniques you will be trying to master and then combine to serve various purposes. It can be overwhelming, and even once you … [Read more...]
The Fastest Way to Stay Safe on the Ground
If you’re interested in self defense in the modern era then it’s absolutely essential to have at least some BJJ skills. While no one wants to start a fight on the ground, the fact is that ground happens. A larger opponent could tackle you to the ground… A wannabe tough guy who has watched too many UFC fights might take you down… You could get your legs kicked out from … [Read more...]
Why the Mount is So Devastating in a Streetfight
It's absolutely devastating to be on the bottom of mount in a street fight. First of all the guy on top has the power of gravity behind the strikes, making them much more powerful. This can turn just a regular punch to your face into an absolute BOMB! Secondly, the guy on top can rotate his upper body to increase the power of the strikes. Just like hip rotation is the key … [Read more...]
Too Deadly to Spar?
When it comes to self defense, we’ve all heard guys talking about the devastating, “deadly” techniques that are illegal in combat sports. These guys are pretty sure that while they might get schooled on the mats when they have to follow sport rules, but in a real fight, they would certainly win. Of course, because these “deadly” techniques can’t ever actually be tested in … [Read more...]
How Understanding ‘Woofing’ Kept Me Out of A Mexican Prison
There's a concept about human confrontation that I learned many years ago from a book by Marc 'Animal' McYoung. He talked about something called 'woofing', and understanding this has kept me out of quite a few fights (including one that I'll tell you about later in this email). The idea of woofing goes like this... If two dogs are having a dispute then they don't … [Read more...]
The Most Important Jiu-Jitsu Move for Self Defense
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of moves in jiu-jitsu. So many ways to attack, sweep, choke, lock, throw and submit. But there's one move (or, more correctly, combination of moves) that is more important than all the other offensive moves when it comes to self defense. It's one of my bread and butter moves on the mat... Almost every jiu-jitsu guy I know who has … [Read more...]
Best Takedowns for Self Defense
I've never advocated that every fight go to the ground; sometimes it's the right decision and sometimes it's not. The fact is that street situations are far too variable to have a one-size-fits-all approach. That being said, taking a fight to the ground is an important tool to have in your toolbox. For example that option could prevent someone from running away, or if your … [Read more...]