by Damian Ross
Founder, The Self Defense Company
Hi Damian,
Your videos are amazing. Simple,but so efficient. I had an awful experience a few years ago.
I was attacked by 2 guys. A big guy (about 2 meters high) was behind me and put his hands around me (“Bear hug”) so I couldn’ t move. I am only 1.75 meters high. Another guy came in front of me and punched me in the face. It was all so quick…What would you have done? Please advise.
-Dan
Thanks for writing Dan,
There are only two reasons someone will grab you in this manner – to move you from one place to another, to pick you up and slam you on the ground or to hold you while someone else puts your lights out. Oh, and the guys who do this will definitely be LARGER and comfortable with this assault.
We cover this specifically in SDTS Module 4, Units 24 through 26 – Rear Body Grabs and Assaults.
But to simply show you a video and say DO THAT – would be misleading and irresponsible as an instructor because to successfully defend yourself in this situation takes a little more preparation than just watching a video.
In fact, to REALLY defend yourself here, requires the development of primary Core Combat Skills…but more on that later…
The big question is…
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED BEFORE YOU WERE GRABBED AND PUNCHED IN THE FACE!!!!!
Where did these guys come from? Did they target you or did you piss them off. Either way, something happened that made them pick you. They just didn’t magically decide to go outside, and systematically attack you.
There was a decision and a plan and that takes time.
So what really happened was…YOU WEREN’T PAYING ATTENTION.
The actual physical attack is the LAST PART of any self defense situation. Before that there’s the size up by your attacker(s). This is when they’re trying to determine if they can do what they want without getting caught, identified, injured or killed.
Unfortunately martial arts train you to focus on the ATTACK and DEFENSE…which in most cases is WAY TOO LATE.
In the Self Defense Training System (SDTS) we don’t just talk about awareness, we give you actual techniques and drills to develop it and help you avoid being dragged into the alley and punched in the face.
Those exercises can be done right now, and should be used every time you’re in public.
Remember, with self defense, you don’t need to be some INTERNET NINJA and train 3 hours a day, 7 days a week…well you could and you’d be a beast…but self defense doesn’t have to be like that.
Self defense is an education, not a complete physical endeavor. Yes there are some physical components, but in the early stages it’s a lot of tactics that don’t require any physical training at all.
Think of it this way…
Your self defense education is like driving on the highway – you can exit wherever you want.
Exit 1 is AWARENESS and AVOIDANCE.
Not too much required here except how you present yourself to the world (do you look like a pushover or are you aware, alert and confident) and how you interact with your environment (do you avoid places of ambush and maintain avenues of escape). Plus, once you understand how to follow your instinct you can avoid many situations.
Exit 20 is ESCAPE and EVASION.
Now you’re trying to minimize physical contact to maintain your mobility so you can escape. Pepper spray (or bug spray), personal alarms and techniques like the FINGER DART, will limit your physical contact but slow down your attacker allowing you to escape. You don’t want to get entangled with the attacker(s) – so the less physical contact, the better. This is why grappling arts are not technically good for self defense. The more contact you have, the more your size, strength and skill are a factor. It’s much easier to juice someone with pepper spray and run than it is to take them down and submit them.
Exit 40 is USE OF FORCE.
Next you’re getting into your attacker in an aggressive manner, using a variety of weapons and empty hand techniques to inflict injury. More contact equals more power, commitment and training. Edge of hands, hammer fists, knees, stomps and the forward drive are some of the Core Combat Skills used here. Keeping your momentum forward and your target off balance are the key.
Exit 50 is ESCAPING GRABS AND HOLDS.
The next step is handling extreme close quarters situations from the standing position. Now your attacker is in your space which makes it more difficult to generate power to strike. To do that you need to create space and maintain your balance to work BACK to exit 40.
Exit 60 is GROUND FIGHTING.
Never choose the ground, you wind there by either tripping, getting taken down or knocked down. Now things have gotten a lot more involved and you need to improve your position as fast as possible. Even when you’re here – avoid grappling and stick to fighting which means you’re still using weapons and your Core Combat Skills. It’s just going to take MORE energy and MORE training to survive.
Exit 100 is CONTROL and DOMINATION.
This includes, throws, takedowns (of course weapons) and more aggressive actions to dominate your attacker. It is by far the hardest thing to do, and you need to really physically train, and be willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to get the job done.
So Dan, what you’re asking me to help you with is literally halfway down the self defense highway and simply showing you will only get you in trouble and punched in the face again.
I suggest you start your self defense education and pick an SDTS program >>HERE <<
Again, you don’t need to go crazy with this – you can take it to exit 1 or 100, the choice is yours.
This is why we have three levels of the SDTS (Bronze, Gold and Elite) to take you as far as you want to go.
And you can start for FREE here: https://www.myselfdefensetraining.com/new-enrollment-options/
See you on the inside so we can really solve your problem.
Train Honestly,
Damian
PS. Look Dan, I don’t know what you’ve been doing for the last 2 years, but you’re here now. Let’s get you sorted out, for real. >>START HERE <<
