What Not To Do in Self–Defense

First of all the very first thing you need to do is know what not to do. The reason you want to know what not to do is because it’s better to mess up in training than in a self-defense situation. However there are really dumb things you shouldn’t do that people still do. The most important thing in self-defense is that it works. The only thing that comes close is not hurting yourself.

Spin Kicks

The first thing I should mention is no spinning kicks. Spinning kicks are dangerous simply because they are easy to see regardless of how slow your reflexes are. If I see a spinning kick coming at me I can anticipate and counter it. Possibly even talking their back. Which leads me to the second thing you should not do in self-defense.

Give them your back

Don’t give them your back at all. When you get grabbed from behind your back, you can’t do much to them, but they have a variety of attacks to choose from. During grappling sparring for several years my dad always got me behind the back and choked me. I’m surprised it took me this long to figure out that he was able to choke me because I kept giving him my back.

Jumping

Jumping. Don’t jump! Don’t jump kick! When you jump, much like the spinning kicks, it’s easy to anticipate the attack. You can also get cut off in midair, creating opportunity to get injured or worse. If you’ve disengaged and are running and you want to try to jump over something I would still advise against jumping. You’ll lose speed upon landing and take the risk of clipping whatever you’re trying to clear. Just go around it.

Ducking

Don’t duck. When you duck it gives an opportunity to get kicked in the head. A friend was telling me about how boxers dip their heads a little bit left right or down to evade strikes. I wouldn’t recommend it, as it can get you into the bad habit of dodging by ducking. When you duck it’s almost a free ticket for your opponent to knee or kick you in the head.

Spinning Jump Kicks

I don’t think I should have to mention this but there’s one in every crowd. Never and I mean Never do a spinning jump kick of any kind. It breaks three previously mentioned rules simultaneously.

High Kicks

Kicking above the knee isn’t recommended either. They can catch your leg throw you to the ground. If you aren’t injured from the fall you won’t exactly be in a pleasant position.

Go to the Ground (Men with Ground fighting training excluded)

The last don’t is more aimed at the ladies and young children than the adult men but if you aren’t good at grappling you can learn from this. Keep off the ground. Do not let them get you to the ground. We at Zimmerman Martial Arts have our reasons for this rule. I am not being sexist. I want to keep this PG so children can still learn from the list.

Final Note

As the culture finds new ways to attack we have to be able to adapt create new escapes. These are common tricks that may have worked in a previous time but now are more dangerous than just standing there. Maybe you have some things that fail horrendously. If you do respectfully leave a comment below so others can use it.