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The always-working techniques

In terms of self-defense, the first thing to say is that there are no secret / smart combat moves able to guarantee us:

To survive every type of aggression
To prevail against any kind of opponent

There are no always-working techniques: the best self-preservation method is prevention (read /// Subscribe (it's free!) or Login to see this content ///) but even it can fail in extreme scenarios.

Illusions are very expensive in terms of safety

Who talks about always-working techniques is naive or a scammer (read Recognize a good / bad master: 5 characteristics), the reason is that:

In a sudden confrontation, everything will go exactly as we had not foreseen (the scenario’s conformation, the moment, etc., read Self-Defense: is it possible to always be ready to fight?)
It is not easy to prevail against someone who has already chosen us as ideal victims (read Why and when self-defense does not work)
Each time we accept to fight we accept many risks (including to die, read Best martial arts for self-defense); it is like using a paracord to get off a plane, it is correct but only when we have no choice (in all the other cases it is probably better to use the ladder after the landing)
Without a solid mind, daily training and periodical sparring sessions, we risk being less effective than knowing nothing
…

A serious path made of physical and mental preparation (read How to start practicing from scratch) can certainly and drastically increase our chances but nothing can give us certainties.

With these premises, let’s see a few simple and effective combat moves specifically for beginners and / or not-practitioner (against low-level opponents).

A note by Master Kongling – The ones we are going to see are not resolutive methods: only samples of possibilities.

3 self-defense striking techniques easy to learn and apply

The key concepts

A few fundamental tips:

Violence is the last option, this is the plan of action Personal defense: the S.A.F.E. method
On the street, if the only chance to preserve our life is to fight, there are no rules, the goal is to make the aggressor unable to pursue his / her aggression
…

Practical indications:

Let’s study 4 Tips to effectively apply any fighting technique
The targets to avoid are where the bones are harder / thicker (knees, forehead, elbows, etc.)
Let’s always maintain the knees bent
Let’s try to always maintain our weight forward (while attacking, while moving, etc.)
Let’s always maintain up the guard (read How to rapidly learn Kung Fu: guard stance)
When a hit hits, we have to insist, let’s do not stop attacking
…

1. The open palm strike

If we are not more than conditioned we cannot use te knuckes to hit:

Let’s imagine that our aggressor exposes for an instant his / her face forward without protection
Let’s bend the upper phalanges of our fingers (as to expose the palm)
Let’s concentrate all of our strength and let’s hit with the base of the palm
The ideal targets are the nose or the chin (from the bottom upward)
If we reach the target with the right strength the aggressor could even lose the senses, in any case, we will have time to attack more / better or to escape

A note by Master Kongling – For the Core Course’s practitioners: this technique is described in detail in Lesson 43. Remember that this is a not-practitioner level explanation (no muscle chain, etc.).

2. The low roundhouse kick

If we are not more than trained we should not hit above the height of the knee (read Use of legs in a street fight):

Let’s imagine that the aggressor is struggling with our arms (eg. trying to block them)
Let’s take a safe step back with our dominant leg (eg. the right) to load the maximum power
Let’s assume a stable stance (even eventually using the body of the aggressor as a partial support)
Let’s rotate externally the foot of the non-dominant leg (eg. left foot toward the left) and then let’s make the shoulders follow that direction
As a consequence let’s immediately kick (with the dominant leg)
Before extending the leg, let’s try to raise the knee as much as we can (as to make it touch the opposite shoulder)
Let’s hit with the upper part of the back of the foot (not with the side)
The ideal targets are the internal or the external side of the knee (from the bottom)
Everything we said is a single connected and violent movement
If we reach the target with the right strength the pain will be high and we will have time to attack more and better (eg. repeating the move until he / she will not be able to continue the aggression)

A note by Master Kongling – For the Core Course’s practitioners: this technique is for not-practitioners only, there are myriads of other details but most of all: we train to never load our blows; in this case, we are forced to charge because the ability to attack explosively in tight spaces requires a level of preparation that a novice does not have (even with this loading, due for example to a wrong trajectory, the blow risk to be not strong enough). With a precise execution, such a blow performed by an expert easily brokes the leg.

3. The ram-elbow strike

During an aggression the most normal human reaction is to cover the head, let’s modify it as to make it more useful:

Let’s imagine that our aggressor is trying to hit our head with that kind of big-loading wrong punches
Let’s cover our head and putting our hands on the back of the top of it, let’s expose frontally our elbows (leaving only a small opening to see)
Let’s concentrate all of our strength and let’s vibrate elbows strikes like a ram
The ideal target is the internal side of the upper part of the arm (but even the nose is good)
If we reach the target with the right strength the pain will be high and we will have time to attack more and better (eg. with the other 2 techniques)

Final notes

A few conclusive thoughts:

These are less than beginner-level fast explanations; for a practitioner of 6 Dragons Kung Fu is wrong to use these techniques this way (the more we are trained the more and better we can do)
Fighting techniques are not effective by themselves, they become useful when they become part of us, through training and experimentation; to start to know them let’s repeat each one at least 100 times per side (read A scheme to quickly learn any kind of technique)
Last but not least, read all the linked articles or everything you read will be useless (if not counterproductive)
…

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – The exercises that make the difference in terms of combat effectiveness
Basic free hand fighting techniques – Al the core moves of 6 Dragons Kung Fu in 1 video course
Self-defense basics: how to – The 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s path to self-defense
Self-defense: not violent self-preservation – A sub-course of “Self-defense basics: how to” (the not violent part)

In-depth articles

How to simulate realistic self-defense scenarios – The right way to plan useful simulations for personal-defense
Self-Defense: 10 things to avoid in a quarrel – The correct attitude to avoid problems in a dangerous context in escalation

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Which technique do you prefer for self defense?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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