
Self-Defense Experts Share Moves We Should All Know
[rebelmouse-image 18359663 is_animated_gif=Self defense moves are always good to have on hand and ready to use at any point in time. No matter how tough you think you might be, there is always a more efficient way to protect yourself and others around you.
whipcreamswirl asks:
What's a self defense move everyone should know?
Get ready for some life changing tips on protecting yourself.
The best piece of advice is to avoid a fight all together
[rebelmouse-image 18348645 is_animated_gif=Walking away without escalating an argument
Isn't that something only people in horror movies do?
[rebelmouse-image 18359664 is_animated_gif=Run screaming loudly and DO NOT TRIP OR LOOK BACK
The money shot
[rebelmouse-image 18359665 is_animated_gif=I tell my young children if the assailant is a grownup male to kick him as hard as they can in his testicles.
Go for the eye or the taint
[rebelmouse-image 18359666 is_animated_gif=A buddy of mine took a course of using knifes for both defense and attack and he was told that if all else fails, stab the taint or stab the eye.
An easy way to remember
[rebelmouse-image 18359667 is_animated_gif=SING!
Hit your attacker in the following order:
Solar plexus Instep Nose Groin
Staying away is always a good tactic
[rebelmouse-image 18359668 is_animated_gif=Running in the opposite direction of the danger.
Use your words
[rebelmouse-image 18359669 is_animated_gif=Apologize and walk away. Even if they were wrong. Infuriating idiot strangers aren't worth the stress.
Pop them a solid punch!
[rebelmouse-image 18359670 is_animated_gif=A proper punch. Boxers fracture happen WAY to often.
Knowing your time and space around you
[rebelmouse-image 18359671 is_animated_gif=Awareness. Being aware of your surroundings and having the ability to recognize potential threats can buy you time in a defensive encounter. Time and space being equal, time can allow you to maintain and increase your distance from a potential threat. If someone you don't know approaches you while making furtive glances and/or while fidgiting with unseen objects, it might be time to practice your running technique.
The key is in the ear and hair
[rebelmouse-image 18359672 is_animated_gif=I have no idea if this is true.
But after telling a military trained friend many years ago that I didn't know how to throw a punch or any self defense moves, he advised to grab a hold of the ear or hair and then swiftly and with as much force as possible, pull towards the ground.
That might scare them!
[rebelmouse-image 18359673 is_animated_gif=Pull down your pants.
You will always be against the odds in a fight
[rebelmouse-image 18359674 is_animated_gif=You don't need to know any self defense if you do two things:
- Don't put yourself in that situation. Not being in the scary, dark alley, or dealing with a pissed off drug dealer is pretty easy if you don't interact with them at all in the first place. Don't follow people out into alleys, and most importantly, do not escalate. Try to continue to be calm, collected, and do not panic or escalate. Don't flash your piece, don't flash a knife, don't flash any weapon. Indicating you're armed will escalate the situation to the most dangerous levels.
- Run. Running is far, far more effective at protecting you without any kind of injury than having a gun, or a knife, or knowing 1,000 takedowns. You can learn how to run by practicing 100m sprints every few days. Being able to sprint and run for several sustained minutes will make you able to escape most situations.
Deny, deny, and deny, and you might get out of it
[rebelmouse-image 18359675 is_animated_gif=The Shaggy defense- it wasn't me.
Let it go
[rebelmouse-image 18359676 is_animated_gif=Life is more precious than a stupid mobile phone, wallet or bag. If you are being robbed, just let them have it. Cards can be stopped and replaced. Phone can be remotely wiped and replaced - hopefully everything is backed up and locked with a pin to begin with.
Your best self defense is your awareness
[rebelmouse-image 18350676 is_animated_gif=Not wearing your earbuds while walking alone aka not being aware of your surroundings.
Good call
[rebelmouse-image 18359677 is_animated_gif=Anything is a weapon if you throw it hard enough.
Expert advice
[rebelmouse-image 18359678 is_animated_gif=My TKD instructor taught me, if you cannot escape from a fight and you have a single opponent:
- Stand side on, in the ready stance. It can intimidate a potential attacker, and it makes you a smaller target. You can shuffle back, forward, side to side, switch stance faster if you stand side on with your preferred kicking leg infront.
- Most people who are going to start a fight with you are probably past being reasoned with so if your confident you can take them then strike first, hard, fast and without mercy. Aim for areas that affect their movement, such as feet, knees and groin.
- Once they go down, run away. Don't stand around. If you have hurt them enough that they fall down, they probably aren't going to chase you, so get away asap.
- Nothing beats violence of action and aggression. Show them your warface. Scream at the top of your lungs. It can put them off and will help you release adrenaline and build up your confidence and get you breathing deeper, which will cause you to raise your heart rate and your reflexes will be slightly sharper which could be the difference. Also, it has the added benefit of alerting passers by who might not be in sight, and terrifying your opponent.
- If the fight goes to ground, which is very common, you are going to want to keep hold of their arms and prevent their hips from being over yours, generally speaking. If you can prevent them from striking you and hold their arms apart, they will lose balance and you can roll them and reverse the tables. You want to use your hips as much as possible, wriggling around and searching for any impetus you can gain against your opponent. You can unbalance an attacker on top of you by rocking your hips against their support base and rolling them to the side. You want to keep your head moving, don't allow it to get pinned. The attacker will try and headbutt you, if you keep your eyes focused on his you can interpret where he might attack with his head if you have a firm grip on his arms.
- If your pinned, and have his arms in a firm grip, they may try and prize your grip with one hand. They will let go with one hand and that is a great opportunity to smash them in the face, or put a hand over their mouth and nose to inhibit their breathing, or rake them in the eyes, or grab them by the throat and squeeze as hard as possible, or shove a hand underneath their hips and force them to dismount.
For more than one assailant, it's all about buying time. Even if the situation seems hopeless and there is no one around, you never know what might happen if you can just last that little bit longer. Give yourself a chance to survive.
- Your going to want to be extremely mobile. Standing still and making a stand presents your assailants with an easy way to get around you and to your back and that's bad news. Constantly move. It doesn't matter if you are cornered, use the walls to gain height and just stay out of the range of more than one assailant. If you can get it where they are lined up, one behind the other trying to get at you, this generally works for a little while. Just keep moving so that the person at the back is roughly in line with the person in the front.
- If they rush you, there isn't an awful lot you can do. You can maybe plan to hit one as hard as you can and make sure hes out of the fight before the other guys are going to get to you.
- If your up against a wall taking punishment, keep your eyes open. It is very counter-intuitive and its really uncomfortable but no matter how hard you get hit, keep your eyes peeled and looking for where the next blow is going to come from. If you close your eyes, you might miss the punch that knocks your head back against the wall and knocks you out. If you get knocked out, it can be game over. While your unconscious, anything can happen. Normally what happens though, is they get three or four good hits at you in the face/head/body while your out of it and that can cause severe, life threatening injuries.
- If you get knocked down and are out of the fight, protect the back of your head and your face. Tuck your head as tight as possible into your chest, bring your knees up to protect your stomach and don't expose your face. Your going to take a beating and its important to remember that if you get knocked out in this spot, your in a world of trouble (not that your not already, just extra turd added)
All the tricks
[rebelmouse-image 18351384 is_animated_gif=Scream as loudly as you can. It will catch a potential attacker off-guard, and better still put your non-dominant hand behind your back or in your jacket/coat, make them think you have a weapon and hopefully get yourself even more time. The biggest threat when being attacked is panic, if you get rid of that, you'll be far better off.
That sounds unpleasant enough
[rebelmouse-image 18356021 is_animated_gif=Place your thumb and index on each side of the trachea, try to make them touch behind of it, minimal effort.
Punch instead
[rebelmouse-image 18356001 is_animated_gif=For the crotch shots, don't kick unless you absolutely have to. It takes you off balance and a kick is always much less accurate and harder to control than a punch.
Have you ever had someone try to comfort you, but ended up feeling worse after what you just heard?
It happens more frequently than people would like, when what were meant to be words of comfort and encouragement end up having the exact opposite effect.
Indeed, sometimes we might be better off, or able to sleep somewhat easier had we not been told a certain statistic or recent study, which paints an optimistic light, but is bad news nonetheless.
Redditor Soupmandog589 was curious to learn what optimistic facts aren't quite as comforting as they seem, leading them to ask:
"What’s a fact that sounds comforting but is actually highly disturbing?"
I'd rather not crash at all.
"You’re statistically more likely to die in a car crash on the way to the airport than you are in a plane crash."- 593shaun
Cold comfort at its finest.
"You did your best."- a_fortunate_accident
The possibilities are endless...
"You never truly know what anyone really thinks about you.'
"I mean this like super literally."
"Like you never know if your spouse is planning on killing you, you never know if a stranger is keeping an eye on you thinking about assaulting you.'
"Several possibilities that you could never know."- bluburry420
"There are hundreds if not thousands of versions of you in the minds of other people."
"Depending on how many people you have met in your life."- He-Who-Laughs-Last
I hope that day is a long time coming...
"One day you'll never feel pain again."- Antdawg2400·
Ignorance is bliss... or is it?
'The most peaceful way to die is in your sleep, but you’ll go to sleep not knowing you’ll never see anything ever again."- Hkro-2
We won't live to see it... but others will...
"There will be a point in time where humans go extinct."
"We wont experience it but imagine our future generations will see the 'end of the world'.
"You saw... nothing."- SunTzy69
The truth is out there... maybe...
"Either alien life exists, or we are totally alone in the universe."- ALA02
Don't get too excited
"You're really really sick, you have no energy, no appetite, and just the will to do nothing at all."
"Let’s say this is your grandpa in this situation."
"All the sudden grandpa calls you and says he wants to eat so much that it hurts and he wants to go do some fun projects, this sudden burst of energy kinda thing."
"Well you drive to the hospital to find that your grandpa has just died minutes after he called you."
"The nurse will then explain to you that this is very common when people are dying to just have a sudden burst of energy."- ReaperGrin
Either way, we're screwed
"While we're losing a lot of forests in the tropics due to climate change, we're actually gaining a lot of forest in the northern latitudes, and into formerly grassland areas as more available CO2 allows them to grow in more arid regions."
"And everyone loves trees, right?"
"The problem is the climate crisis is also a biodiversity crisis, and habitat loss, like grasslands or tundra becoming forest, is arguably even harder on species than changes in weather patterns."- RIPEOTCDXVI
Kind as it is to offer comfort to those who need it, it is also wise to think very carefully when choosing your words.
After all, as the saying goes "when you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
I've watched people devour things I couldn't fathom swallowing.
Like... "Why are you doing that to your body?"
I love food as much as the next person, but somethings really should just stay on the vine.
So many of the current most popular foods make no sense to me.
Avocado. Just... why? It's green slime.
To each their own.
Redditormintylye wanted to discuss personal issues with the menu. They asked:
"What food does everyone love to eat, but you don't?"
I am very picky eater. I try not to be, but I can't help it. My list long.
Oink
"Ham it's so gross I like other meats but ham is just so disgusting."
AHHHyhu78uj
Fresh Roast
"Not a food, but coffee. The entire planet seems to start their day with a cup and I can’t get the taste for it."
boegan
"I actually LOVE the taste of coffee but I rarely drink it. I just try to wake up with a glass of water instead of the caffeine."
"I feel like the point of coffee is to wake you up, so it never made sense to me to drink decaf (even though I like the taste), so I just decide not to drink it. I do have a coffee pot and there are times where I’m feeling frisky, but I’m glad that it’s an addiction that I haven’t gotten into."
JSto19
Hell NO!
"Steak. Not red meat, just a fat steak. Gristle, fat, texture, and childhood trauma play a key role in why I dislike steak. Trust me, I've had numerous people - including my previous roommate who is a professional chef - try to get me to like it. It ain't happening. I do love a good burger though."
Killarogue
Separate
"Chocolate ice cream I love them separately though."
SuvenPan
"Yes! A lot of chocolate flavored stuff I'd say is more 'cocao' flavored if that makes sense, same with chocolate milk, chocolate pudding, etc."
motion_bum
"I'm the same. I like chocolate, but majority of chocolate flavoured things taste very different and are not enjoyable for me."
Amber-Dragon
bad sweets...
"Marshmallow peeps."
rmdelecuona
"They are overwhelmingly sweet. But I have childhood nostalgia associated with them so I still eat them."
SpaceBass18
Those Peeps are the work of Satan. I said what I said.
I'm ill...
"Mayo and ranch, but mostly mayo. The sight of a glob of thick ranch or mayo makes my stomach uneasy."
Helicoppter
Clearly the best...
"Sweet potato pie. I can’t stand sweet potatoes but to put it in a pie… that’s just too much."
WonderlissBliss
"Dog it tastes nothing like actual sweet potatoes. Sweet potato pie is like candy trust me. My mom used to make it for me when I was little."
"But she called it 'butterscotch pie' to trick me into eating it as she knew I'd want nothing to do with it if I found out it contained sweet potatoes. Clearly the best pie. I assume you haven't ever tried it. Big mistake. It's like if someone took a pumpkin pie and was like, 'what if I increase all of its stats by ten points'. Perfect pie."
fly_it_sigh_it
fresh off the boat...
"About the only seafood I'll eat is breaded fish sticks. Which has about as much in common with seafood as Taco Bell does with Mexican food. None at all. The smell, texture and taste of the rest of the seafood world is just nauseating to me. Which some people can't seem to grasp as I live less than a 10 minute drive to the fishing docks and get whatever I want fresh off the boat."
bbpr120
In your mouth...
"Caviar tried it once like pouring salt shaker in your mouth. Venison gamey Beef."
MissGoodbean
"Then you haven't had good caviar. I had it in Moscow and it was super. I don't like sushi or a lot of seafood."
highstreethellcat
Gross Greens
"Celery. What the f**k, people. Not good."
velthrar
"Crunchy water!"
Cat385CL
I actually love celery. But I'm weird.
Accepting reality is never fun.
Once the allure of childhood wears off, all we have is a hard smack of concrete reality.
Redditor Shutup_Iamtalking wanted all of us to take sometime and prepare for life's harsh realities. They asked:
"[Serious] What is a disturbing truth, every adult has to face eventually?"
In order to get through the day we have to deal with the menial facts. Good luck.
Farewell...
"Unexpected family deaths."
SunTzy69
"Every single person you know will die. It’s just a matter of who between you dies first."
Social-director
Routine
"Life maintenance. You are gonna have to wash those dishes, Do your hair. All your hygiene and house cleaning. It never ends"
VexOut
"Same for my mom - she went from being a SAHM to getting 2 part-time jobs (maybe 3 now?) she loves, makes just enough to hire a maid/masseuse/gets crap delivered instead of going to pick it up. She prefers the community and routine her jobs provide and would rather come home to a clean house than do chores and run errands herself."
TbhIdekMyName
When We Were Young
"Damn, this thread made me not wanna grow up anymore lmao."
wassass1n
"Hold on to your youth, take too many pictures, forgive quickly, tell your friends and family how much they mean to you, aim to make other peoples day."
renderguy20
Succession
"In a lot of ways, succeeding as an adult means constantly challenging yourself to be in situations that are really uncomfortable. This applies to work, school, social life, and even just the day to day life of getting stuff done."
zazzlekdazzle
"Wow... so much truth in this one. Whenever you open a new door, the rest of the world doesn't move out of your way or even try to make it easier."
Bart-o-Man
NOOOO!!
"The mail your parents got that you wanted as a kid?? Yeah... it's just bills."
jbrown3152
I hate truth. But here we are listening.
Tissue
"Like toilet paper, closer to the end, faster it goes."
Suspicious-Bear-8940
"This is a wonderful analogy."
semiferal916
As Time Goes By...
"Caring for your parents as they weaken and die. If you are lucky they keep their wits until the end."
AblativeLaser
"This is hitting me hard, and I'm not even in the worst of it yet. Last year my dad took me skiing, something which he used to do a lot when I was a kid."
"He used to be an excellent skier. This time he could barely see the counters of the slope, wanted to stick to the bunny slope, and even then came close to seriously injuring himself multiple times. He put on a happy face, but we both tacitly understood that this was the last time he would ever go skiing. It's hard not to get sad at that realization."
zemplis
Behave
"With the exception of your minor kids, all of your relationships are based on continuous mutual renewal, cancellation at any time for any reason. This includes your parents, your spouse/partner and your siblings. Consequences for behavior can thus be very disproportionate in an absolute scale."
NotAnotherEmpire
Good People
"You will have friends who turn out to not have been friends. Some people aren’t good people."
LivingLosDream
"You also will outgrow friends and that's ok. I'm nearing 50 and there are people who are no longer in my life simply because I'm not in that part of my life anymore."
"Nothing 'happened' per se, it's just that you move in different directions. I find adult friendships tend to be much more fleeting, if you don't have some commonality holding you together (the office, a volunteer organization, an activity, etc.) the friendships tend to fade."
SuchLovelyLilacs
That's Life
"Life is not fair. It will never be fair. You’re not guaranteed happiness and hard work doesn’t always pay off. You can do the absolute best you can and still not make it in this world. Such as life."
Rootrazz
Truth is hard. Life is hard. So if we're gonna live. It's gonna be hard.
When we're little, we're inclined to believe things that seem ridiculous when we get older. Most of us believed in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy at some point. Many of us believed unicorns existed, or that there were monsters hiding under our beds.
When we were 10, my best friend and I convinced our younger brother that we were spies that went to a special spy school in the middle of the night to train. When I was 12, I managed to convince my soccer camp rival that I was pregnant with a carrot. I'm still not sure how that worked!
The point is, when we're children, we tend to believe a lot of silly, or even stupid things. However, some of us carry some of those stupid beliefs into adulthood.
Reddit users shared some of the stupidest things that they or someone they know still believe thanks to Redditor OnionChan_.
He asked:
"What are the stupidest things that some people believe?"
Live Dangerously Or Not At All
"Had a former co-worker who believed it was safer to cross in the middle of oncoming traffic than at a stop light because they were forced to see you that way. We'd be walking and she'd just cross, horns blaring and swerving around her while we waited for the light to change."
"She also believed our manager was on her side though, and she was the lowest paid in the group - even below the minimum the school allowed. It was amazing she was still alive."
– VictoryaChase
Those Cows Are Talented
"Probably late to the party but I thought that cows rolled up those hay bales until I was like 16."
– Whakefieldd
"As someone who spent the last three days throwing hay bales, I wish cows contributed."
– The_Brain_Fuc*ler
It's Like Rain On Your Wedding Day
"Up until 6th grade I thought ironic meant something was made entirely out of iron. I was only corrected on my misunderstanding when my teacher asked me to explain my logic after I commented on how the hole puncher was the only ironic object in the room. I still remember the look of bewilderment on her face as I said it lol."
– NorthEasternDunes
And Also, It's Made Of Cheese
"I knew a woman who believed that there are high-end resorts on the moon that rich people are vacationing at. She was shocked and confused when I told her that I didn't also believe this."
– grannybubbles
Where Do Babies Come From?
"When I was little, I thought children came from your kidneys."
– Myst3rySteve
"You're kidding me."
– HertogJanVanBrabant
Someone Needs To Look At A Map
"Heard some guy say "Florida doesn't exist, the government made it up". He wasn't joking"
– BigBounceZac
"That's nonsense. Wyoming is the only fictional state."
– themattboard
"Technically the government made up every single state. Like how every word is made up."
– HyperSpaceSurfer
One Of The Biggest Conspiracy Theories
"Flat earth"
– New-Highway868
"if the earth was flat, cats would have knocked everything off the edge by now."
– stormquiver
"I just want to know what is the purpose of the conspiracy? Like if the earth really was flat what would be the purpose of hiding that?"
– afellowchucker
Nothing To Do But Laugh
"We use only 33% of a traffic light. Imagine how fast traffic would flow if we used 100% instead!"
– dracosdracos
"I got into this argument with someone once. I ended it with "Let me remove 90% of your brain and let's see how well you function.""
– Stoomba
Milk Is Milk Is Milk
"I saw a video of a vegan, drinking strawberry milk the nesquick brand. They said “it’s vegan because it’s strawberry milk. Not like cow milk. You know what I mean?” I get how they can have misunderstood due to almond milk, soy milk etc. but still, I found it very stupid and I feel like it’s very common knowledge that it’s strawberry flavored, like chocolate milk."
– _Plutooo_
"Really difficult to milk all those tiny little nipples on the outside of the strawberries. Takes a lot of work"
– Jothomp79
Double, Double Toil and Trouble
"That crystals have magical powers"
– Outlier25
That made me laugh out loud, and not because of its ridiculousness. I admit, for a long time, I believed that too!