Escrima is not a competition art. It’s an “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t doing it right” type art. You are always looking for battlefield expedients.
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Very.
Every form of martial arts teaches you how to handle an opponent bigger than you. You always benefit from such combat skills.
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It’s always good to have a few basic hand to hand skills—holds and take downs as well as counter moves, especially escapes. all when one’s physical limitations are taken into consideration, of course(says the old guy.)
If you want to be a martial artist, cool beans, but very few have the time to invest (much like knife fighting) however just knowing the main pressure points for self defense doesn’t take years study at a dojo, and may just save your life.
My two cents anyway.
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LIKE SO <<<
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LOL We used to do TKD weapons demos to that song
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I used to be a Corrections Officer, so I have become hyper aware of my surroundings and the people in them. The first mistake I noticed in the video was the guy was looking around and saw the three sketchy-looking guys and did nothing to change how he was doing things. IMHO, he should have let his wife continue to load the groceries into the car, turn to face the thugs and not allowed them to get as close as he did. In the prison environment, within arm’s reach is putting your life in danger. So is showing the prisoners your back, which the guy did until the first thug was at point-blank range.
When one of the armed thugs drew his pistol, the guy did not shoot him, as he was a serious threat. Had the armed thug seized the initiative and shot, it would have been 3 on 1 against the apparently unarmed woman. If the wife was armed, she should have drawn as well. The man was lucky that the first thug was scared into inaction when faced with a produced firearm, and the armed thug did not fire. It could have been a bad day for both of them.
In the physical location of the video, a dark parking garage, both the guy and his wife should have been a lot more aware of their surroundings and on their guard. In those questionable settings, inattention and complacency kills.
In the immortal words of GEN Mattis: “Be polite and respectful, but have a plan to kill everyone in the room.” You can never be too prepared.
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Just for starters, learn the pressure points. These are weak points that everybody has, and they can put them down to the floor with them if used correctly.
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Most of the time if your close enough to draw a pistol, and your not a expert marksman or your aggressor is under some influence. Your gonna get bloody. Train like it’s real. If your a good shot empty the magazine, if your a bad shot conserve your ammo, they Are gonna keep coming making your target bigger and bigger. I’m small and weak, not embarrassed to say it, yeah a long time ago I was heavily into martial arts, I trained many styles, including Leatherneck square. At that time I would have been more likely to go hand to hand. Typically a fight is over within 30 seconds or less. I had a heat stroke a and then became very sick, I had to be in a a drug induced coma for an extended period of time twice in my life both related to pneumonia and now I’m terminal, that BS about being in a coma for 20+ years and just hopping up is so irritating now. I had to relearn to walk and feed myself 2x’s in my life. So me lasting 10sec in a fight is slim to none, but you have to know the basics. Deflecting a gun to your right or left. If they’re behind you too close, with a gun to your head, stopping abruptly and getting your hands on that gun. If you say “well he’ll just pull the trigger and kill me. THINK ON THIS. If he it putting a gun to your head and forcing you to do what he wants in a public/semi-public area what do you think he is going to do when he gets you to where he wants you. Better to die there then having someone do unthinkable, depraved, sick, evil. Fight back refuse give it hell, try!
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I agree with you. I would like to add “mindset and awareness” as additional pillars of personal self-defense.
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% true embarrassed that I didn’t think about that, Situational awareness is the #1 way to turn an altercation of some form to a near miss or that TSAHTF & get prepared. Whether that mean flipping a “switch”, immediately changing course, or just getting your adrenaline under control, we could go for days.
Mindset - fight or flight… as long as you haven’t been taken<(well here to I guess) or killed, you have options!! Get your mindset in check.
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I’m not a big hand to hand guy, never really “trained” in a form or a style. I spent most of my life at 6’-2" 165 - 175 lbs so I was long and lean, aerodynamic if you will. My advantage was always my reach (both legs and arms) on my back I was just about as good as a turtle in the same position. I’d been in a few scraps where at first blood it was over. Then I got stationed with a bunch of guys that practiced getting their butts kicked daily by each other. I’d sit on the sidelines and watch. Inevitably I got called to the mat. I told the guy who had me by at least 40 lbs of muscle “I don’t know how to spar” He laughed and said I won’t let you hurt me. 30 seconds later he was rolling around on the ground trying to breathe because I elbowed him in the throat full force. There is evidently this little dance you are supposed to do when sparring, I didn’t know that part so I just attacked. He turned my frontal assault but I caught him in the process of “passing through”. The worst part was I had to fix him and ride with him in the ambulance because I was the Corpsman on site. Fortunately I didn’t break his hyoid bone but the MD said it was close.
IMHO having a few well oiled “moves” or more precisely TARGETS can make or break the 30 seconds you are in a fight. Violence of action is the key to breaking an attack. Violently attack your attacker, they are not used to it. Kick them when they are down when its for real. Any joint is in play any soft spot is a target. Don’t use your hands: elbows, knees, feet, shoulders are better options. Don’t be afraid of “off limits” parts, they are fair game. If you are in bad breath contact DO NOT go to your gun unless you are in a “hold” situation or they go for it. If they take their hands off you to go for your gun, spin, twist, twirl, rotate and break contact. Pain is temporary, death is the only guarantee you get checking in on this rock but in a fight you have options.
Cheers,
Craig6
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Add penetration and rotation, which you mentioned, and you have Tim Lakin at Target Focus Training…if you are not familiar, I invite you to check him out at timlarkin.com and at Rumble and Youtube.
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A timeless training film. 
\https://youtu.be/qpzwAMP7C54
Take away comment. 
USMCArchAngel03
I was in the Marine Corps infantry and I had some training on Knife fighting. I’ll never forget my instructor said “This is all great but if you come across someone who actually know how to use a knife you better just shoot him.”
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He didn’t say “Anti J@p Club” did he?!?!
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