K.I.S.S. Self–Defenses

K.I.S.S. self–defenses, depending on the person you’re teaching can mean two things. “Keep it stupid simple” or “keep it simple, stupid.” Either way the principle is to use easy escapes. The reason for this is that when you are in a situation where you are trying to defend yourself from a real attacker you will be incredibly nervous and may have difficulty remembering the more complicated escapes. You want to expend as little energy as possible, think as little as possible and get away as fast as possible. One of the biggest problems students have when developing last minute self–defenses for their tests (Which is generally a no–no) is that they tend to have some 12–step escapes. If someone is choking you there are at least 10 escapes that can be done in less than three motions. Similarly, self–defenses do not need to be flashy to work. Most of the time it is subtle movements that make a difference and catch your attacker off–guard.

One self–defense that comes to mind is one we simply call Choke: Oxjaw. The attacker grabs the would–be victim by the throat with the same ineffective forward choke with both hands on the defender’s throat. All the defender has to do is hold down one wrist with a thumb–less grip to make sure they do not go anywhere and then execute a palm strike to the chin. It’s not rocket science, but they’ll be seeing stars. Keep it stupid simple.