ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

It is my sincere belief that every man, woman, and child should at the bare minimum have a knowledge of basic self-defence. Honestly, I think it would solve a lot of problems in the world in which we live in today. For starters, there would be less bullying. A bully by nature will single out a weaker person to target. If everyone can defend themselves, though, a bully will have a tougher time finding such a person. Not only that, other people are more likely to support the victim in question because they are also capable of fending off a bully. There is a lot of cowardice in the world today. People turn a blind eye when conflict arises either because of their selfish desire to protect themselves, they do not want to involve themselves out of a misguided sense of inconveniencing themselves, or they believe they lack the means necessary to intervene and put an end to such conflicts. That is why, in many cases, such injustices occur.

My Experience with Bullying

Let me tell you something, though. Most people who try to aggravate and harass others are not that strong. In fact, they are weak. Pitifully so. If they come up against even the slightest of resistance, they back off. I got bullied a lot in my secondary school years, and I endured the torment for a long time. Eventually, there came a time where things went too far, and I finally snapped and retaliated.

I was never picked on again.

Since that incident, people left me alone because bullies are lazy. They want easy victims to pick on and do not want to bother with the hassle of dealing with someone who can fight back. Taking this a step further, if more women knew how to defend themselves effectively, there would be less physical abuse and rape in the world. Overall the world would just be a better place.

Having the means to defend yourself will ingrain self-confidence within you like nothing else. You become less fearful and more in control of any situations that may arise. You will also learn discipline and self-restraint if you choose to take the basics further and attend regular martial arts classes. At any rate, I want to touch upon some basics that I think everyone should know.

The Fundamentals

The first thing to know is that if ever possible, try and avoid conflict that is directed at you. You must first calm your mind. Not easy to do for the inexperienced but a temperamental mind is of no favour to you. Then depending on the circumstances, you can try to de-escalate the situation by trying to talk your way around the conflict. Misdirection and negotiation are your friends here. Talk about something completely unrelated, and you can turn the aggressive mind of your attacker into a confused one. The pent up energy then dissipates as the attacker’s mind tries to comprehend whatever you have said. Or try and calm down the attacker by talking softly to them rather than trying to fight fire with fire.

Be wary that these types of people are usually not ones to reason with. Especially if they are intoxicated. Your second option is to run. As fast as your legs will carry you. If you can outrun them then great but if not then you pretty much have no choice but to fight your way out. If this does happen, the goal is to stun your opponent and give you the chance to escape. If this is not possible, then you will have to try and disable your opponent or knock them out. In the worst case scenario, it might be a fight to the death, and you should fight with that ultimatum in mind. Sink or swim, do or die, your life is on the line. It’s kill or be killed. That is the mentality you must have when defending yourself. Do the damage as quickly as possible then get out.

Firstly, consider your standing guard. I would recommend keeping both of your arms relatively vertical and in front of your face but not blocking your vision. This is a popular guard in kickboxing and other martial arts. It is a high guard that protects your face but leaves your stomach vulnerable. No defence is without flaw, but this at least protects your head and can prevent your mind from losing its composure. Trust me, getting hit in the face rattles the brain, both in the physical sense and also mentally. Also, try to make as much noise as possible while engaging an opponent. This serves a dual purpose. You may be able to attract attention to your situation, and this can speed up the process of getting help. Secondly, an attacker may shy away if you make a lot of noise for fear of getting caught. Below I will list a few good basic options to use against an attacker should you be forced to engage them.

1) Low kicks
This is your leading attack against an opponent to try and catch them before they get too close. Aim for the shin as getting kicked there hurts like hell. The groin also works but be wary of aiming too high as the attacker has a greater chance of intercepting the leg and throwing you off balance. So stick to the shin. This doesn’t take much skill, all you have to do is launch your knee towards your opponent, and as you extend the knee, the foot should be aimed to make contact with their shin. If you manage to stun or knock them down, you can use that opportunity to escape.

2) Palm Strikes
If you are not accustomed to punching with a bare fist, then do not throw a punch as you are liable to damage your wrist, fingers or knuckles, potentially even breaking them. Palm strikes are much safer and are very damaging. They do not have as much range as a punch, but because the aggressor will be coming towards you, this actually works to your advantage. The two main methods of striking with the palm are either a linear thrust or a circular attack much like a slap, but you hit with the ‘heel’ of the hand rather than the fingers. In fact, you should curl your fingers and thumbs inwards to prevent them from getting trapped or bent. Good targets to aim for are the chin, throat, nose, eyes, and ears. A clean shot to any of those areas gives a good chance of disorientating your opponent’s senses, giving you the window of opportunity to escape.

3) Elbows
Getting a little more advanced now, the elbow is one of the toughest and most deadly striking weapons of the human body. Like the palm strike, these work best at close range and so are ideal to use against an advancing aggressor. There are many different ways of attacking with the elbow, some more advanced than others. Some drive the elbow through as a penetrating strike, and others use the elbow to cut and slice an opponent. Just try to line up a target (the same ones mentioned for the palm striking can work just as well) and launch your elbow towards it.

4) Dirty fighting
Oh, it gets nasty now. Real nasty. Biting, scratching, and pinching are all fair game when your life is at risk. These kinds of attacks are great for targeting the joints if you can get them. If you can grab someone by the balls then, by all means, give them a good squeeze, and they’ll probably think twice before attacking you again. Use whatever means necessary to survive.

5) Ground defence
Fights may start standing up, but most end up on the ground. It is therefore imperative to have some means of protecting yourself while you’re down there. Learning to break fall would also be useful to help prevent yourself from landing awkwardly on the ground, which could lead to getting winded and/or injured. The basic idea is to get your backside to the ground first and then the rest of your body, making sure to slam the palms of your hands to the ground to spread the force of impact. Anyway if you do end up on the ground, try and wrap your legs around your opponent’s body. In Jiu-jitsu this is known as a closed guard. You can control the space between you and your opponent by extending or retracting your legs. If you can grab their head, then try and bring them down towards you as this will significantly limit their mobility. Securing their hands is a good idea also to restrict their attacking options. If you can maintain this position while they struggle in vain, they should run out of steam quicker than you, and that is when you can turn the tide.

Conclusion

That just about covers some fundamentals for, which assumes a one on one situation without weapons. Dealing with multiple attackers and opponents wielding weapons is beyond the scope of this article and is considered towards the realm of advanced self-defence. A topic I may cover down the line. Try and practice a few of the fundamentals listed above for you never know, they may come in handy one day. Remember; do not make it easy for them to subdue you. The more of a challenge you present to the aggressor, the less likely they will want to deal with you. So make it as difficult and inconvenient as possible.

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.