Martial Arts | Self Defense | Use of Force | Combat | Research and Training
The most effective way to attack is the ambush. It is so effective quite simply because the victim is unprepared tactically and psychologically. It causes damage before they are aware their attackers exist, followed by confusion and fear. It’s a sucker punch on another scale entirely.
In this video, two Kurds ambush and kill several Turkish soldiers who never stood a chance.
Any fight in a public space can be seen and judged by other people. There is always the potential for bystanders to intervene in any capacity – they may stop the fight by using physical restraint or attack someone involved when they perceive their behaviour in a negative way. Quite often, bystanders will actually prevent others from intervening so they can see how the fight unfolds.
In this case, a person intervenes to prevent what he saw as an unfair attack, then left too soon as the aggressor returned.
Man who throws the punch takes a drag from his cigarette and glances away with feigned disinterest to disguise his intention to attack. He also takes a bladed stance, stepping back with his right foot to generate more power when he throws the punch. All common signs he is about to punch.
Victim does not take situation seriously, does not appear to be fearful and stands in a vulnerable position before getting sucker punched and falling on a hard surface. This goes from verbal argument to assault to robbery to manslaughter within seconds.
Male was obviously extremely aggressive, taking an angled stance as he prepared to strike which the female failed to read. Male then actually attempted a sucker punch which missed and the female still failed to attempt escape, instead raising her fists to defend further punches.
She may have felt that she had a chance in defending herself, but more likely she felt that attempting escape would have the same outcome with the male chasing and beating her.
A skilled grappler may employ this position effectively depending on the situation. However, standing headlocks are commonly used by those who lack grappling skills. This is often not only ineffective, but dangerous as this video demonstrates.
Victim attempts to stop mugger walking out with his wallet. The criminal beats him horribly.
Another demonstration of the danger posed by hard surfaces. Slamming the head this way can easily prive fatal or life changing.
“Street effective” techniques like eye gouges, biting, groin strikes and the like are considered by many self defense experts as some of the most effective techniques in a street fight, almost like a kind of off-switch for bad guys. The following video appears to confirm this:
And a groin kick seems to be effective at ending this fight:
These techniques can be effective. However, they are not the self defence panacea many believe them to be.
The victim is stabbed repeatedly. He used everything he had to defend himself: punches, kicks and throws, and attempted two eye gouges and two groin strikes.
None were effective -the assailant moved his head away when eye gouges attempted and blocked kicks to groin.
It should also be noted that although the victim was stabbed many times, he was still capable of fighting and managed to escape – neither person was incapacitated, and both were capable of continuing the fight.
Any technique can fail or be blocked and countered. Eye gouges and groin strikes are not special in this respect. There is no magic technique.
In 1995, Yuki Nakai entered an MMA knockout tournament. Competitors would have multiple fights and be eliminated with their first loss.
Note the sporting context – his life was not at risk, he could have chosen to stop any time he wished.
His first opponent was Gerard Gordeau. Gerard illegally eye gouged Yuki, which left him permanently blind in his right eye.
Yuki continued to fight and won by heel hook in the fourth round. He told no one that he had been blinded. The photo above shows Yuki talking to his corner backstage after the first fight.
His next opponent that night was Craig Pittman, an american wrestler with a 100 pound weight advantage. Yuki won via armbar.
In the third and final bout, Yuki fought BJJ legend Rickson Gracie and lost at 6:22 in the first round via rear naked choke.
Yuki was not taken out of the fight when he was eye gouged. He was still capable of fighting and his will remained unbroken.
He stopped fighting when he was incapacitated with a strangle. He was now physically unable to continue, despite any level of motivation to win.
The distinction between maiming and incapacitation is an important one which we’ll look at later.
The first two strikes in this one are groin kicks thrown by both parties. They both seem to lose confidence in the groin kick and immediately go to punches.
The man who kneed the police officer in the groin had no plan beyond the groin shot. This is the critical mistake mentioned at the beginning of the video – he probably expected that the cop would go down from the strike. The reality was that he had initiated a physical fight in that moment which he was totally unprepared for.
While the groin strike may have caused pain, the punch he took in return left him incapacitated.
The following image shows an accidental eye poke during an MMA match. It’s quite obvious that the finger has entered the eye all the way to the first knuckle. However Werdum, the fighter who suffered the eye poke, continued the match as if nothing happened and won by decision. He did say afterwards that his eye was a little sore.
Two main things to note here:
A man is able to continue fighting despite having his ear bitten off, and in fact is dominating the fight when the video ends.
Above, a bite from an inferior position only causes the other man to escalate the level of violence. Biting did not end the fight or cause the person in control of the fight to release him.
What is commonly known as a “submission” in combat sports is a break in reality. When no one submits and the technique is taken to completion, the end result should be a torn joint or broken bone.
Below are two sport examples where a fighter has refused to tap out and was willing to continue the fight, and two examples in street fights where limbs AND the will to fight were broken.
Strangulation is an effective way to incapacitate, although what to do when they wake up must be considered. By then you should have a dominant position at least.
