Self Defence: Can it Actually Protect You?

I haven't got loads of experience in this part, however I can say what I have done and heard. Everyone sees the movies of Jackie Chan and Matrix and immediately wants to learn how to do the moves that look incredibly cool.

I decided to do Wing Chun Kung Fu and of course at the beginning it wasn't what I had imagined. It took 3 years and I still hadn't learnt much to protect myself in anyway and I hadn't even learnt any of the flashy, glitzy moves that we see on tv and movies. I felt that it was a waste of time and decided to stop.

Then I came upon Jujitsu. Not only was this art grappling it had far more 'real life' defences such as against hair grabs, wrist grabs and body grabs. These defences and strikes (which are called Atemi) are very effective and there 21 of them (7 on the head, body and back). On my first session I learnt how to defend my self from a punch using a very simple throw, how to fall safely without hurting myself, how to defend against a bottle attack; more than I had learn't in my entire 3 years of Kung Fu.

But are these martial arts all they are out to be? Can martial arts actually protect against muggers or knife wielders that see hundreds of deaths each year? I think the answer is half yes half no. The first stage in any confrontation is to avoid the confrontation all together. This means that you should do common sense things like not wlaking into an alleyway after dark or not walking in a 'bad area'. These sorts of things can reduce your odds of being attacked greatly. If you are unfortunate enough to be attacked by a mugger, it is important to note three things: if he is armed, if he is drunk and if he is alone. If he is armed then there is little chance escaping without injury and so should give in to anything they ask. However if they are out to hurt you and are not satisfied to just take your belongings then self defences like jujitsu should be used. Self defence should only be used as a last resort as it could end up very badly unless you use up evey ounce of concentration and body strength, which doesn't usually work until you have adrenaline running through your veins. Drunks are usually easy to handle as their slow movements causes them to lose balance easily, which make them perfect for a jujitsu throw, which are all about breaking balance. Some of throws I have learnt in my 9 months of jujitsu I would never use when confronted as they are either to nice or just not practical. The best ones are quick and simple and deadly. This way they have no time to react and punch you or hurt you in anyway. Drunks are usually hard to talk to and should dispatched quickly unless he is with friends. The more people involved the slimmer your chances, but in someways if there are more than about 6 then you will have some hope, as they will most likely get in eachothers way. Fighting more than one person is an art in itself and cannot be learnt overnight. In any confrontation make sure you give over your stuff and unless you have no last resort don't use self defence unless you are confidant in your skills.

A fight in the street is very different from he simple throw punch and do a move scenarios that happen on the mat. In my style of jujitsu (The Jitsu Foundation), we do V's, which simulate attackers coming at you and punching you. This gets your adrenaline running and also increases your endurance as they usually wait many minutes of constant attacks of punches, knives, bottles and even swords and chains all of which have to be defended against. This is the closest thing to a real fight as you have to think in a split second of what you are going to do to defend yourself against these weapons. This kind of practice is very good for remembering techniques and how to use them in a real fight situation.