Universal Self-Defence

Discovering the principles that makes survival possible

If self-defence focuses on ensuring street survivability, why is so much so-called ‘self-defence’ training straying so far from reality?  Does anyone teach people how to swim without taking them into the water?

Blitz Magazine

Here, self-defence instructor Pablo Cardenas looks beyond the martial arts’ obsession with technique and breaks down the underlying principles that underpin all practical self-defence techniques and make them work effectively and efficiently.

Story by Pablo Cardenas

Firstly, let’s set the scene of violence on the street.  Training in self-defence techniques often puts the would-be victim – i.e., the defender – with an assailant of similar height-to weight ratio with a martial arts background, and thus he/she demonstrates a self-defence technique that looks clean and crisp.  In reality, this situation is rarely the norm.  So instead, let’s visualise the victim as a female weighing 60kg and standing 165cm tall, and the assailant at 100kg and 180cm.

To be prepared for reality, one must consider why and how victims are selected – a process akin to a predator selecting their target.  Predators identify and target the vulnerabilities of their selected prey, and this is where it all begins.  An attack can happen anywhere, at any time, but the assailant is looking for a vulnerable victim.  Assuming our target is our 60kg girl and our assailant is a sex-offender, the qualities and situation that might make her an ideal victim might include her small stature, a hairstyle that can easily be grabbed (physical vulnerabilities), clothing that can easily be removed, pre-occupation with a mobile, purse etc. (ingredients for an ambush), walking in a car park, toilet or secluded areas (isolation means less chance of being seen or caught).  The assailant wants to be able to attack (shock and stun) and drag her to an area that the attacker cannot be seen.

Take this ugly scenario: The attacker jogs past then grabs the unaware victim by the ponytail, drags her along like a ragdoll kicking and screaming for help, only for the victim to be silenced as the attacker delivers punches to the head followed by verbal threats of further harm.

Put yourself in her shoes: the attacker, without any martial training, has broken down each dojo/kwoon technique that you have trained hard to achieve from a solid stance/platform, through to breaking your spirit.  How would you react?  As your balance and reach is compromised (non-existent) the dojo/kwoon techniques have momentarily gone MIA and the pain and shock is like nothing you’ve experienced before.

Self-defence starts anywhere and at any time.  Are you training with this in mind?  Or, for instructors, are you delivering training with this in mind?

The described violent experience took seconds; the opportunity to deliver a retaliatory technique was non-existent.  This first important battle will therefore be lost or won in the mind before a single physical self-defence technique is considered or delivered.  So, what are the martial principles we can employ here?  

These stem from the Chinese fighting arts, but are common to many effective systems:

• Firstly, beware!  Engage your mind and eyes simultaneously to guard against sneak attacks.
• Have confidence and remain composed to be able to retaliate and/or regain the initiative (this comes through realistic training.)
• Do this through precise use of timing to absorb what comes (attacks), follow what goes (a retreating foe or retracting limb) and if hands are free, thrust forward – attack!
• Chase the opponent’s position to regain your balance/posture with ferocity; don’t fight his force directly as it expends energy and makes it difficult to regain any platform from which to launch your attack.
• Even when the light dims and you do not advance your situation, do not relent.
• Be alert and adapt to the evolving situation to get maximum results with minimum effort.

Herein lies the strength of Taoism’s yin and yang principles when they are thoroughly understood.  While the mind and body are being attacked, it is important to recover or discover your survival instinct, a confident attitude and strong posturing to regain the advantage and signal to your attacker you will do whatever it takes to survive, and thus claiming you as a victim will come only at a great cost to the attacker.

In our scenario, there is a momentary pause; the attacker is now in that secondary location (a cubicle, bushes, between cars, etc.)  Again, you’re in the victim’s shoes and any technique you’ve learned will now be tested under real conditions; you should not rely on strength, but you can outsmart the attacker through basic techniques and strategies.  Leave advanced, complicated moves at the dojo/kwoon – your mind will have.  Regardless of your position, whether standing or on the ground, you have a foundation/platform to launch strikes at any target presented.  If none is presented, strike where you see motion, akin to a dog in a fight.

Among the most important universal principles to consider here is striking with your closest hard weapon to the closest soft targets.  Knowing where to strike, as well as how and when to strike, allows for a more tactical approach.  Vulnerable targets are the fingers, eyes, ears, throat, groin, inside the arms/legs – any sensitive part of the body that is protected by the body’s structure.  This is where martial combat theory can be put into action: why punch an eye, when you can thrust your fingers and gouge?  Or at the very least, use the palm, which covers areas well and offers less risk of injury to the knuckles and wrists.

You should keep it simple, direct, efficient and practical, applying these basic universal principles:

• Use linear attacks – i.e. take the shortest route from take-off to target.
• Attack pressure points (meaning, identify the natural weaknesses of the body as shown in anatomy and physiology study).
• Protect your centre to protect your vital organs, just as you attack their centre so as to hurt their vitals.
• Avoid fighting force with force: instead, redirect and redistribute, and/or absorb incoming force.  Meeting force directly will only give the larger and stronger person an advantage and a greater chance of success.
• Attack!  The best defence is good offence regardless of direction, either going forward or withdrawing.
• Attack your attacker’s strategy by overwhelming your attacker; do not hesitate, do not pause.

In applying these to our scenario, note that no roundhouse-kicks, punches, elbows, or knee-strikes have been delivered yet – so far only principles have been identified and implemented; nothing too technical.  That’s because, despite the prevalence of debate over techniques being correct or incorrect among martial arts styles, they’re relatively unimportant.  What’s important is that the techniques you employ sit on a framework of common, underlying principles that you can work from, as this theory will give birth to and encourage limitless and versatile applications in your self-defence system.  Principles offer a guide that can trigger answers to myriad questions regarding self-defence situations, whereas learning many techniques (that may sometimes not even be tactically integrated and supportive of one another) will create questions under pressure rather than answer them.

Of course, having technique is important.  More important, though, is ensuring the biomechanical theory behind them is functional so they are effective regardless of the age, size, or ability/disability of the individual.  Elbows and knees are pivotal in the arrangement and engagement of self-defence, elbows are tucked in for protection and strength, and the pivotal strong point for offence from a natural position (knees are also in a similar category).  Principally, there is only one elbow-strike, however, it can be delivered in a variety of angles, as should the other techniques in your arsenal.

Returning to our scenario, is our 60kg girl going to be able to pick and choose her techniques – can she persuade her attacker to leave the cubicle so she can execute her devastating round-house kick?  Obviously not.  Her choice of technique will be decided by her environmental constraints, her attacker (what openings he leaves, and which of her bodily weapons are closest to these targets) and her injuries (have his punches left her with blurry vision, or one eye blinded by swelling or blood?).  It’s clear to see why many Hollywood-style techniques fail under the stress and circumstances brought about by real violence.  [And if any of this scenario sounds far-fetched, check out Geoff Thompson’s book Dead or Alive: The Choice is Yours for breakdowns of similar but even more brutal real accounts of violence again carefully selected victims. – Ed]

Ultimately, learning principles that support techniques themselves is more important than learning the techniques themselves, as this allows us to select or create the right tool for whatever task and circumstances that confront them, and defend all potential attacks with similar defensive structure and tactics.  This better equips us to deal with the unknown – that usually meaning anything not covered in class.  This is vital when your attacker can come from anywhere at any time and be anybody.

No style is mentioned here so as not to distract from our pursuit of identifying the principles common to effective self-defence.  Learning principles and biomechanics such as hand shapes/positions is like learning the alphabet and grammar.  For example, we all learn the same alphabet and grammar skills, but when provided with a topic, will readers come back with the same story?  Rarely.  However, we would all have used the same alphabet and grammar skills to construct our story.

In the same way, common principles and biomechanics bind and underpin all effective combat systems.  Universal principles and biomechanically sound structures, allow their user to express a solution that suits the needs of the user regardless of their size, gender, strength etc.  They should transcend technique and be applied across a broad spectrum of techniques, just as principles of architecture and engineering (incorporating geometry, physics, and chemistry) give rise to the many structural wonders of the world.

The strength of a robust system can be judged on whether it can transcend the abilities or disabilities of a person (size, strength etc.) This means less resilience on speed and power, which is often at the centre of most systems, which apply one-glove-fits-all approach that favours the fit and strong.

The principles or tenets I’ve quoted here, from the kung fu method I teach, have been chosen because of the freedom they allow me to explore, express and develop ideas according to my attributes, rather than locking me into set movements or mindsets that pay no regard to size, gender, personality, age, environment, or ability.  For an art to have longevity and integrity, it must be allowed to adapt and evolve.  This very important adaptation ability allows versatility, evolution, and refinement of the system.

What are the principles that underpin your system’s method of self-defence and the way it is taught?  Do you recognise any of them here?

If you don’t know them, it might be time to ask yourself, why not?