Self defence and self awareness

[dannytsg]

This topic seems to pop up on here from time to time so I thought I would share my own thoughts and try to invoke good discussion on the subject. I have my own "system" which really is a simple aid memoire for self defence situations but is by no means a substitute for real physical training and preparation.

SIT-K (simplicity is the key)

Self-defence is something that everyone should be conscious of, especially in the current climate where there could one day come a time where you have no option but to take some action to effectively defend yourself. Everyone on here will be preparing for some eventuality but one of the most likely things we may encounter in every day life is having to do something to defend ourselves.

As someone who has been a lifelong martial artist, I have learned a lot from cross training and studying martial arts such as boxing, muay thai, karate, BJJ and more. The main thing I have learnt however is the sheer lack of understanding that many people hold with the perception of their own actions and behavior when thrust into a self-defence situation.

As a result I thought I’d document my thoughts on this with what I believe to be the simplest way to understand the dynamic of a self-defence situation and the actions we should be looking to implement. I am writing this as a guide from my own learning and experience. This is not intended as a substitute for practical training under certified martial arts instructors but just my own writings. I will not be held responsible for anyone attempting to use this model without correct training.

When I talk to people about self-defence I always reference an acronym I have come to hold close: ADNECC. This stands for:

• Avoid the confrontation
• De-escalate the situation
• Neutralise the threat
• Escape the area
• Communicate to the authorities
• Check for injury

Avoid the confrontation
99% of all self-defence situations that arise could have been avoided. These generally stem from us not being able to control our emotions and check our egos at the door. A big part of self-defence is not even getting to a confrontational stage or putting ourselves in a position whereby danger is prevalent. You wouldn’t visit a bar that has a reputation for fights would you? So don’t openly put yourself in harm’s way.

De-escalate the situation
So now you find yourself in a state where tensions are heightened and you get the feeling something is going to ‘kick off’. At this point it is vital to de-escalate and extricate yourself from the situation. The easiest way to do this is to put your own ego aside and become submissive, apologise and leave. Bravado in this situation is just going to escalate things to a physical degree that you may not want or be prepared to engage in.

Neutralise the threat
Avoiding the confrontation and trying to de-escalate it haven’t worked. You now feel in imminent danger of a physical attack from the person stood in front of you. At this point you must neutralise the threat as quickly as possible to prevent harm to yourself and to you would be attacker, My personal preference in such a situation is to keep at least 2 arm lengths distance between myself and the opposing person. This gives you time and space and puts you in a safe zone during phases 1 and 2 as described above. At the point I feel like physical attack is imminent I put hands high to protect my head and would aim to close distance, take the threat to the ground and then disengage.

Escape the area
Once you have disengaged it’s time to get away from the area as fast as possible, hanging around could only get you into more bother of which you don’t want. I would always advocate running as fast as you can away from the confrontation and once you feel safe stop.

Communicate to the authorities
At this point, dependent on the situation, you may need to communicate what has just happened to the authorities. If the attacker was trying to mug you for example, alerting the police would be best advised so they can try and apprehend the person quickly. It’s also worth reporting to log with them the incident itself.

Check for injury
If you have had to invoke the ‘Neutralise’ phase of ADNECC then you need to at this point check yourself for any injuries. Adrenaline is a powerful, natural drug that can mask injuries for quite some time, so a physical check of your body needs to be conducted to ensure you don’t have any serious or life threatening injuries.

Seems simple but in actual fact being able to control your emotions, check your ego, avoid and deal with confrontation altogether is a real skill that needs to be mastered. I would implore anyone reading to attend a martial arts class just to experience being put in such an uncomfortable and stressful situation and then continue to train to become efficient and competent.

[Arzosah]

I have a pitiful amount of training in self defence, nothing like you're describing, Danny, but I like that list - and the last one on there has never occurred to me, checking for injuries - a very good point about adrenaline masking what's happened to you.

Avoidance is crucial, isn't it, even in ordinary life. When a group of friends I was with went into an unfamiliar area, a couple of the guys would go into the pub we thought we might visit, to check out the atmosphere/situation. We ended up leaving the area - none of them felt safe. And as a female walking alone, even on main roads, it pays to be vigilant about who's behind you, as well as traffic and who's in front.

There are sexualised attacks too: when I lived in London, I was walking to Blackfriars station, i.e. central London, at about 6.30 in the evening, and I was literally pulled off the pavement by a guy who just came out of nowhere. He was so drunk I could vanquish him by acting like a fishwife but it could definitely have been a bit tricky.

And that's another issue in the de-escalating, too: when do you act nice and sidle away, when do you act firm and say, no thank you, absolutely not, don't do that, whatever. I stick to the "be nice" approach as long as I can, but then I graduate to the firm approach, myself, all other things being equal. I've knocked on a stranger's door for help before now too.

[Plymtom]

Good thread and good advice with the possible exception of running away.... I never was good at running, I could walk away yes, I could avoid trouble and for the most part always have, but I've always also thought by running I would be so severely weakening myself that I would be almost sure to be throwing away any fighting chance I had

[dannytsg]

I'm glad it makes sense.

I use this when I teach self defence courses as a way of helping people to understand the fundamental aspects of a confrontational situation. The problem however is that a confrontational situation is very dynamic and fluid, not as simple as an acronym and herein lies the skill in being able to use your own judgement to deal with any situation along the scale. Sometimes someone may resort to violence straight away so talking to them or avoiding them isn't an option, at that point you have to go straight to neutralise onwards.

I also try to teach that in a confrontational situation the person you are potential fighting against isn't the person being aggressive toward you, you are actually fighting against yourself, your emotions, your adrenaline. Being able to control that and having sound mind in such a stressful situation is ultimately what helps you to survive and prevail.