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Not always is possible to avoid the physical confrontation

The most effective self-defense technique is always prevention (read /// Subscribe (it's free!) or Login to see this content ///) but in some cases, it could happen something that we cannot avoid (or even imagine).

Unfortunately, there are situations where the only option is to accept to fight, for example:

When facing improvise and extreme violence
When we are under serious threat and we cannot escape
When we forcibly have to protect the life of who is with us
…

We are talking about those specific types of scenarios where there is no more time / space to pacifically discuss or to leave: the exact moment before the first violent interaction (for our students, the last part of the S.A.F.E. method, read Personal defense: the S.A.F.E. method).

It is a bad situation but in order to increase our safety chances, we want to see how to avoid 2 of the biggest errors that we can make:

Leave the first attack to the aggressor
Have delusions of control and superiority

1. Leave the first attack to the aggressor

The first thing to stress is that our aggressors (in 90% of the cases) have a series of big advantages:

Contrary to us, they want to attack us (not everyone can immediately enter into the mentality of combat, read Self-Defense: is it possible to always be ready to fight?)
They are already prepared to attack (again, they are there for that, in most cases, we are the ones caught by surprise)
They have chosen us as good targets (this means that, in most cases, they have evaluated that they have good chances to prevail)
…

If we add to these crucial advantages the one to attack first, it is obvious that our chances to “survive” decrease drastically.

The solution

To correctly address similar scenarios, the best thing to do is to “defend first”:

This does not mean that we have to punch everyone who has something to say to us (read The signals that do not necessarily precede an aggression)
This means that we have to learn how to recognize the signals of a person truly ready to attack (read The signals that identify an imminent aggression)

In those cases, where more than one signal overlaps, it is fundamental to be ready to act instantaneously (defending first).

What does it mean to “defend first”?

Since (reasonably) in most of the legislative systems, who attacks first is wrong (read Best martial arts for self-defense), to be able to “defend first” means:

To be ready to intercept or counterattack
To be ready to block, avoid or deviate his offense
To be ready to attack faster than our aggressors
To be ready to exploit the surroundings
…

How to be prepared to defend first

It does not exist a technique or a method that is infallible but we can do a few things that certainly will increase our possibilities, like:

Choosing an advantageous stance (a guard that cover our most vulnerable parts, read A self-defense trick: the secret guard stances)
Choosing an advantageous position in the fighting scenario (eg. having the sun behind us or moving away from dangerous areas / people)
Choosing advantageous strategies / tactics (read for example The best way to hit first: a little trick)
Searching for an immediate overwhelming advantage ( for example, an improper weapon, read Improper weapons in a real situation)

2. Have delusions of control and superiority

It is wrong to think to always be inferior to the others but it is equally incorrect to think to be better than them. Some people believe they are ahead because:

They are taller, heavier, more athletic (etc.)
They know that always-working secret move
They practice martial arts
…

Wrong. This is the best way to surely decrease our chances of prevailing.

A note by Master Kongling – As my Wing Chun master always said to me: “Be aware of what you know and what you are but always assume that your opponents are better than you”. This is the only way to always stay focused at 100% and to express each time our full potential. Remember: it is 10 times better to lose a battle that we cannot win (due to the skills of our adversaries) rather than losing the occasion to win (due to our arrogance).

You will be punched in the face…

When the fight is real, we always have to try to expect the unexpectable. We must be ready to adapt and improvise:

No one will attack us as we want (or as we have seen in the gym)
No one will attack us when and where we are ready (they will try to take us by surprise, to frustrate our defense)
No one will be beaten without giving even a punch (this applies as to beginners as well as to experts)

A note by Master Kongling – In a real fight (read The 6 types of martial clash), there are no rules or limitations and a determined criminal, born on the street, is naturally more dangerous of an amateur practitioner. The point is that in a lot of cases, they have nothing to lose, they are born in contexts where violence is a normal part of the day and even if they have no specific preparation, they know a lot about combat dynamics (to be clear, it is the same difference that passes between a wild and a domesticated animal, read also Why martial arts do not work: 5 reasons).

The correct mindset

If we do not want to get knocked out at the first attack, in our mind, the scheme must be:

Have a general strategy to reach our safety goal (eg. gain time for help, recover space to escape, demonstrate to a group of cowards to be able to harm, etc.)
Divide the strategy into various interchangeable and contextual tactics (eg. move to a certain position, recover a specific element of the scenario, move circularly, etc.)
Divide each tactic into interchangeable and contextual combat techniques (eg. a punches sequence, a throw, a counterattack, etc.)
Accept the uneven, prevent the unexpected and ignore what is useless (eg. accept that there are no preconfigured sequences, distinguish what is possible from what is impossible, accept the pain without being distracted by it, etc.)
The defense is more important than the offense (eg. always protect our vulnerable parts, do not attack in the wrong moments or discovering us, be far from the active / passive dangerous elements of the scenario, etc., read also Personal defense: parry the first attack)

Final notes

It is important to stress that:

Naturally, all of this cannot be improvised in the stressful moment of need, it must be trained day by day (read /// Subscribe (it's free!) or Login to see this content ///)
The fact of having read this article, do not transform us into experts of self-defense, we have to start a serious daily training plan (with mental preparation, body conditioning and sparring, read How to start practicing from scratch)

Now that we have seen a general theory, in the next article of this series, we will see a few practical ideas on how to correctly react to a sudden fight.

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – The exercises that will make you able to sustain a fight
Basic free hand fighting techniques – All the fundamental combat techniques of 6 Dragons Kung Fu

In-depth articles

Acceptance and prevention of pain – How to start a serious conditioning path
The meaning of sparring fighting in martial arts – Everything you should know about sparring

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Have you ever been involved in a street fight?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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