You may consider yourself “streetwise” and able to hold your own in a fight. You may even work-out at the gym on a regular basis. Yet, anyone can become a victim of street crime or burglary at home. So, how do you avoid being a victim?

In today’s troubled times with economic woes, rise in drug use, and upsurge in violence and crime in general, the chance of being attacked or assaulted increase. More and more people are thinking about defending themselves. Gun sales are up tremendously. Interest in personal self-defense is on the rise. If you are one of these people interested in learning self-defense, then consider this.

Some martial arts systems have lost knowledge of basic self-defense tactics and techniques. Finding a school that teaches self-defense tactics is hard since most schools train for show and sport. Most martial arts schools have gotten away from the rigorous traditional training methods and replaced it with easy physical exercise type martial arts. The techniques taught in these schools lack in power and strength. This is why so many people trained in martial arts will choke when attacked on the street. Overcome this by learning combat self-defense from an instructor teaching solid tactics and techniques, a form of street fighting martial art.

So, many people run around like zombies with no ambitions or direction. You can see it in their eyes. This is a display of weakness. Their head bent down looking at the ground impervious to the environment and people around them. Criminals prey on these types of people. It’s a known fact. They know what to look for. They look for weakness! They look for vulnerability. They look for someone with their gaurd down, someone who is not paying attention.

These people can change their outlook on life immediately preventing them from becoming victims.

7 Tactics to Avoid Becoming a Victim:

1. Know and be aware of your environment
2. Keep the head and eyes up. If some scrupulous person looks at you, don’t just abruptly look away. Smoothly with the head up scan the room slowly keeping the eyes up. This appears as a non-threatening action but shows confidence. 3. Show confidence at all times. Stand up straight with shoulders pulled back in a comfortable position. Talk with authority when talking.
4. Know when to hold your ground and when to retreat.
5. Learn to read threatening body movements
6. Don’t clinch your fists when confronted.
7. If verbal invectives come into play, raise your hands to about shoulder height with the fingers pointing up. This has a tendency to let the person know you are aware of the situation in a non-threatening way. If something does happen the hands are ready to react.

6 Lifestyle Self-Defense Tactics:

(1). Stay away from bad areas. Every town or city has them. Avoid them as much as possible drive around them if possible.

(2). Know the neighbors. A lot of time is spent in the neighborhood. Know the neighbors and their demeanor.

(3). Lock car doors: Whether the car is parked or driving keep the doors locked. Don’t roll down the window for just anybody especially at a stop sign or stop light.

(4). Lock house doors: The same is true with the home. Keep the house doors and windows locked when not around or preoccupied in another area of the house.

(5). Public places are usually safe. It’s when walking from the public place to maybe the parking garage where problems arise. Stay in well-lit places.

(6). Self defense techniques that involve striking another individual should only be used as the last resort. Just remember the entire body can become a weapon. The techniques available are hand strikes, elbow strikes, kicking techniques, and striking with the knee.

This is by no means a complete list of self-defense tactics. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Do not develop a state of paranoia thinking about all this. These tactics are tools to help in the prevention of violence and crime. Live and Learn. Live Free and Live Strong.

by Fred Nichols

Edited by Admin.

Original article source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fred_P_Nichols

For centuries martial arts instructors have been training students to deliver the most efficient and devastating punching techniques. In Okinawa the same is true. Karate instructors perfected Karate punching techniques to penetrate armor worn by the Samurai.

Only after years of training and experimentation could the Karate student achieve this proficiency. To execute an efficient and devastating punch, a student had to perform the technique about 10,000 times correctly to master it. This applies to any technique a modern day Karate student learns. Once the techniques were mastered only then could a student deliver a devastating strike without even thinking about it. In some cases they wouldn’t even remember doing it.

Very few Karate students totally understand the concept of Karate punching. They have never really been told all the aspects of the punch because these were part of the secret techniques. There were only a few extremely faithful martial artists who had access to the secrets and would only use the information for personal and family self-defense. They did not what this information to get in to the wrong hands. Some of this information, for years, never left a small group of practitioners protecting the secrets of Karate.

To actually understand the proper way to execute a Karate punch, the karate student must first understand the three basic human responses to danger and how to deal with them. These are primitive in nature and still exist in humans today. The three basic responses to danger are Freeze, Flight, or Fight mechanisms. These responses effect the body’s reaction. In other words your response to danger is to first stand perfectly still, second is to run, and lastly if cornered fight. As a martial artist, to respond to danger you must first overcome the freeze response to take action against the threat. If you freeze when someone is throwing a punch at you, you are going to get hit. The flight mechanism is a good defense and first defense that should be considered. The fight mechanism should only be utilized when you have no other choice. With some training and knowledge overcoming the basic responses is relatively easy.

A punch or strike can be quick and fast but not powerful if not executed correctly. The effect could be a stinging strike to an opponent instead of a knock out blow. Delivering a punch off balance will lose a large portion of stunning strength at contact. The physics state Force equals Mass times Acceleration. In this equation speed can make up for inefficiencies in technique. Looking into the equation a little deeper if mass and acceleration are at maximum the force delivered can be devastating to an assailant.

There are several aspects to the karate punch, they are focus, muscle control, eye location, breathing technique, mental attitude, unification of mind and body, formation of the fist, ready stance, hip action, shoulder action, arm movement, elbow placement, knowledge of maximum power range, recoil, and an understanding of the Physics of the strike. It sounds like there’s a lot to remember. Actually it’s not, with proper training and an in depth knowledge of the basic aspects. The practitioner can deliver a powerful explosive Karate punch without consideration to all the aspects of the punch. Subconsciously the mind reacts so fast no thinking is required. The subconscious mind controls the body allowing the body to react to any threatening conflict or danger.

Secrets on Karate punching: The punch must be executed with no inhibitions what so ever. Execution must be precise, on the mark, without thinking, and delivered with speed, balance, and proper technique. Abrupt body movements waste energy and redirect the striking strength of the technique. Your body should be upright with eyes up looking to the front to increase your peripheral vision and vision of the striking area.

Smoothly executed techniques deliver the most power without wasting energy. Most Karate students spend years learning this. Some never learn it and quit because they haven’t mastered these basic concepts. Understanding these concepts will help tremendously with developing Karate punching techniques. Basic knowledge of how to execute the Karate punch will lead to a greater understanding of all Karate techniques.

by Fred P Nichols

Edited by Admin.

Original article source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fred_P_Nichols