Monday, December 31, 2007

IS STRIKING THE GROIN AN EFFECTIVE SELF DEFENSE TECHNIQUE?

Many people who write to me ask if attacking the groin is an effective self defense technique to protect themselves with since most self defense schools teach striking this area of the body. The answer to this question is sometimes since there are many variables that have to be in place to make striking this area effective. You have to remember that every man is taught at a very young age to protect this area because it is one of the first areas to get hit, so a simple squeezing the upper thighs together usually can get the job done when protecting this area.

The other variable that needs to be considered is that when someone is wearing clothing such as jeans it changes the effectiveness of your self defense technique drastically. When training most people wear loose clothing such as track pants or a martial arts uniform but on the street most people wear jeans. Now try grabbing or twisting the groin area of someone now, much harder now since that variable came into the picture isn't it? This does not go to say that it is not an effective area to strike but be prepared that it may not work so well for you and that many variables need to be in place for it to work for you.

Monday, December 24, 2007

SELF DEFENSE TIPS FROM IDENTITY THEFT

The results are in the biggest and most problematic crime for 2007 was identity theft and it's growing at a rapid rate. The reason it's on the rise is due to people's lack of knowledge on what to not give out when it comes to information on themselves.
Social networking sites such as Facebook are a great example. When filling out profiles on this site or on any others avoid giving out your date of birth, address, phone number or full name. By having this information on your profile you give criminals everything they need to steal your identity away from you.

Friday, December 21, 2007

HOW TO PRACTICE REALISTIC SELF DEFENSE BITING TECHNIQUES

You have heard me say countless times that one of the most powerful self defense techniques out there is biting. No matter what position you are in this self defense tactic can usually be executed and is very successful without having to have much skill at it.

Now the question is how do you practice this self defense technique? Well there is a realistic way and that is by buying meat such as pork because its the cheapest, frying it up and then practicing biting it and tearing the meat off the pork chop. This will give you a realistic feel on how much force you need behind your bite and tear to get the job done correctly.

Monday, December 17, 2007

FINDING VARIABLES IN SELF DEFENSE TECHNIQUES

A good question to ask yourself whenever you learn a new self defense technique is "If something could go wrong what would it be?" From here you can see if the self defense tactic you are using is realistic or full of fluff. Ask questions such as if the attacker has a longer reach than me could I still do this?, If I was fighting in a confined area could I still move this way? If my attacker was on higher ground would my self defense technique be successful still? If my body was pumped full of adrenaline would I still be able to execute this tactic involving fine motor coordination? By asking these questions and being honest with the answer you will get no surprises when you have to put them to the ultimate test.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

SELF DEFENSE FOR YOUR SELF CONFIDENCE

To have confidence is to trust yourself and what you know.
Trust that even if you don't know how to do something that you will
one day. If you don't have confidence in yourself, then you don't
trust yourself. If you don't trust yourself, then who can you trust?

"Experience tells you what do to do, confidence allows you to do it" ~
Stan Smith

Monday, December 10, 2007

SELF DEFENSE STANCE

Whenever in a threatening situation knowing how to properly stand can mean the difference between life and death for you. If you stand square toe to toe with your attacker it will be much harder for you to move out of the line of attack or move backwards when your attacker attacks you.

The best stance to take is the bladed stance or a 45 degree stance so that your body is not directly in front of your attackers. By having your feet face a slight 45 degree angle you are better able to move in any direction quicker and easier than in a square stance and there are less points of the body you have to worry about protecting. Remember to always talk with your hands at chest level so you dont telegraph your intent of attack and you can easily deflect any blows coming your way.

Friday, December 07, 2007

HOW YOU TRAIN IS EXACTLY HOW YOU RESPOND IN SELF DEFENSE SITUATIONS

Last week I spend the entire week training with a cop regarding use of force, restraint techniques and learning different teaching methods. We talked about the importance of training and how you train is how you will respond in a real life self defense situation. We exchanged stories of what we found that worked best for teaching our students and we also shared horror stories of bad training habits, here is one of them.


A cop learns a new gun disarming technique at the academy he begins by putting his hands up then makes a statement while at the same time hitting the gun so he is out of the line of fire. He then grabs and twists the gun away from his partner and takes 4 steps back so he is at a safe distance and points the gun at his partner. He repeats these steps though out the day with his training partner.


He then goes home and gets his wife to play the attacker, he does every step of the technique expect for the last part of stepping back and pointing the gun. Instead due to limited space he just passes the gun back to his wife after he disarms her. He continues training like this for the next two weeks.


Six months later he is walking the beat and has someone pull out a gun on him. Instinct takes over he disarms the attacker then hands him the gun, the attacker shoots him dead. At a later time after all was said and done and the killer was found. During his questioning he stated that he was totally surprised why the cop disarmed him then handed him the gun back. But in all honesty we know why, you respond exactly like how you train so keep your training as real as possible keeping watch for any bad habits.

Monday, December 03, 2007

KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS IN SELF DEFENSE SITUATIONS

Many people ask me what is my rights as a citizen when it comes to use of force and protecting themselves in a self defense situation. Well it is a bit difficult to get into detail on this blog posting on what your rights are when it comes to use of force but to break it down quickly here is a quick explanation. You as a citizen have the right to protect themselves when you feel a threat towards your safety is occurring.


That means that you don't have to wait for an attacker to throw the first punch or kick to be able to physically fight back. A threat is also considered if the person in front of you is verbally threatening you such as saying " I am going to kick your ass" That gives you the legal right to protect yourself physically. Now that does not go to say that you can pull a gun on him and shoot him cause that would be excessive force but you can protect yourself with empty hand tactics if need be.

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About Me

Norm Bettencourt is the Creator/President of Tactical Self Defense which specializes in personal protection tactics against modern day threats of violence. For more information visit www.tactselfdefense.com