It would be interesting to see what you guys think about defending yourselves.
Do you know any martial arts?
Do you own a weapon?
Do you know how to use it?
What is your self-defense philosophy?
Personally, I think that the best "martial art" is running-like-you-stole-it if you sense any danger or someone is about to attack you. If some guys just stop you and want to get your money/phone but don't seem like they would kill you then just give them the stuff they want (don't forget to ask if you could get your sim card though) and try to be confident but just do what they ask you to. If someone jumps you and its too late to run then by all means start acting like a crazy psycho. Start shaking as if demon possessed and scream your lungs out using strange weird noises and sounds. This method has helped a few friends actually. Sometimes criminals are very religious and are scared of that stuff. If you have no choice and your only way out is fighting then fight as dirty as you can. Keep acting crazy. BECOME crazy. I am talking about thrusting your fingers into their eyes as deep as you can, grabbing and squeezing/pulling their balls, breaking their fingers and biting them as hard as you can (preferably an area with as little fat as possible, because less fat equals more nerve density which means more pain). And once they are in lots of pain you can try to get them on the ground. Also never ever try to kick them above the knee level. Why? because its dangerous and not required. They could grab your leg and then you will go down very quickly and once you are down they can stomp your head and chest and you can be dead very quickly. So unless you have some serious experience in muay thai or something like it don't use kicks in a fight. Anyway if you manage to get them on the ground, keep kicking them and inflicting pain in any way you fancy until you think they can't do much to you anymore. Then you could just turn around and get the hell out of there. Or wait there and call police. I don't know do what ever you want. If it you were attacked far away from your home then I would recommend just getting the hell out of there because police can be stupid at times and if the attacker is smart and knows how to tell stories YOU might get into trouble. Especially if you messed him up pretty bad. So best just to leave him. You live far away so he wont find your home anyway. Also unless you have proper training in using knifes or other weapons DONT use them. Sometimes you might put yourself in more danger by trying to draw and use a knife if you dont know how to use it. Also, DONT punch the guy in the face using fists unless you have experience OR have conditioned your fist for impact. Human head is very hard, and human head bone structure is much more stronger (structurally) then human fist bone structure. By punching him with your fist to the face you might actually break some of your bones in the fist, and that could do two things: 1. you won't be able to use that hand to do anything and 2. you MIGHT be in lots of pain (depending how it broke) and the excess pain might make it hard to concentrate and hence fight efficiently. So better just use the above mentioned dirty methods which wont hurt you much but will hurt him as hell. If you must give him a blow, then use the hammer first or your lower palm to hit him. Or just punch other softer areas with a normal fist punch.
I never carry weapons because the chance of getting attacked is very small and because in UK no weapons are allowed (and I mean NO weapons. No guns, no sticks, no knifes, NOTHING. If you are attacked by someone and use anything to defend yourself and can't give a good reason to the police why you were carrying that thing for other purposes then fighting you will be in trouble).
Finally I think that if you want to learn self defense DONT bother learning traditional martial arts. Why? Because if self-defence is the only reason, there are better ways. Go do some boxing for half a year. You will be better of then a first degree traditional martial arts black belt. Trust me. Its a proven fact. Traditional martial arts take ages to master, and unless you study them for a very long time, they will be useless as far as practical self defense is concerned. However, if you just want a nice hobby and self-defense is not your primary focus, then yes, feel free to study traditional martial arts.
The only way to be an effective fighter is to fight. Practice makes perfect. The problem with traditional martial arts is that their practitioners don't really fight at the speeds that fights happen in real life. In boxing on the other hand, you get as much real life practice as you want. You hit each other to the head at full speed and intensity. You also learn to time your attacks well, and timing in a fight is EVERYTHING.
Anyway, thats what I think about this self-defence/martial arts thing.
Please share your insights and philosophies.
