Do you train for unarmed self defense?

[TwoGun]

I'm curious. How many folks out there train for unarmed self defense?

In truth, there are times when responding with a firearm is inapproprate and will land you in hot water and there are always those places you can't carry or the once in a while that we get lazy and don't carry. Certainly there are other less than lethal weapons you can utilize, but let's keep the discussion to unarmed training.

 

[Soap]

I train unarmed far more than I do armed. My training is at least 4 days per week in unarmed fighting.

 

[Nio]

I am the weapon. Everything else is just a tool.

I get a kick out of it when I see some people say, "I couldn't bring my gun so I was totally defenseless."

Nio

 

[Charles S]

I think it is harder to train for a fight that does not involve weapons. That being stated, I have trained in full contact martial arts for five years now.

If you choose martial arts, choose one that is for fighting, not a non-contact sport.

Charles

 

[wingnutx]

Yup, Krav Maga and also just working out.

 

[mattw]

I box with my brother sometimes.. does that count?

 

[roo_ster]

Not anymore.

Did for three years in college & three years in the service.

 

[beerslurpy]

For me, unarmed self defense is running to the nearest gun or barring that, motor vehicle and if cornered fighting like cat trying to avoid a bath. Anything grabbable will be grabbed and swung. Eyes will be poked. Nads will be kicked. I view a fair fight as one that I live through. The less damage I take, the fairer it was.

If without a weapon I view my chances against a single person to be iffy unless they are puny (in which case they wouldnt have attacked in the first place) and against multiple people to be pretty slim. My basic goal would be to reopen an avenue of retreat.

 

[TwoGun]

Let me define self defense in this contex. You escape from the confrontatin realitivly unharmed and are able to contiue about your normal routine, and the police are not looking for you.

Self defense is NOT about winning a fight, it's about surviving. The key elements are avoidance and awareness. Learn to de-escalate a situation if it cannot be completely avoided. Most important, learn the proper mindset. Once the conditions are met for the ROE, (rules of engagement) you have to go into full combat mode. This is probably more difficult than many people think. But the object is not to beat the other guy up. It is to survive, to get away without injury. Unless you are in law enforcement, you have no obligation to continue the fight once you can flee, and you honestly have no real reason to.

This is not wimping out, this is being smart.

I'll have a bit more but would like to hear from others.

 

[mattw]

Self defense is NOT about winning a fight

Self defense is about winning the fight that you didn't start. You guys are too soft.

The way I look at it, if I have to fight I might as well do as much damage as possible to prevent further harm to myself. I'm not going to run away from a fight that I am winning so the bad guy can pull the gun I didn't see and shoot me as I run away or jump me later on after he has called his friends on the cell phone. If I am in a fight with someone I know nothing about I will hurt them as badly as possible, bashing heads, gougeing eyes, bitting off ears, ripping out of wind pipes, everything I can think of or do until the guy either blacks out or is dead. Self defense is self defense right? You would've killed him with a gun right? If you thought you were in enough danger to do that then what should stop you from doing the same with your hands? It will be more messy and more personal and maybe more psychologically traumatic to you. At the end of the day I want to be the one that can still walk and doesn't have to be looking over my shoulder for that guy. Always look over your shoulders for the other guy, though.

 

[smokin'n gun]

I train in Systema, the martial art of the Russian Special Forces. It is more about surviving and living than fighting. When all the cliches are said and done, it is a difficult thing to take another humans life. Sometimes there is no other option. That doesn't make it any easier.

The principles of Systema (The System) are: maintaining good breath, movement, relaxation and good form (good body posistion). Hit from all angles and with any body part, and from any posistion or predictament (blindfolded, bound, in water, sand, etc). There are no forms (katas), no ranks (and no egos thank god), and no rules except moral ones. Our teachers tell us time and again: become good people.

In today legalistic society and on occasions when less than lethal force is required (simply escorting your drunken friend to the designated drivers car), all out force is not necessary.

Interested? I am available for seminars.

Thank you.

 

[mattw]

well i'm pretty sure in Mississippi the way it works is that if you feel your life or someone elses is in danger or if you see someone committing a rape, lethal force is legal.

 

[hso]

TwoGun,

The question has been asked before in many ways and the answer comes down to there are those of us that train to survive an attack using means in addition to firearms and those that don't have the time or desire to not be dependent on a firearm. There are far more that only train with a gun than the relatively few that sweat and bruise and, sometimes, bleed.

I train, not as hard as Daniel or El T(being nearly 50 makes for a half-assed excuse ), but I also know that I don't have the raw physical abilities of a 30 year old so I accept that I need to maintain a set of skills that allow me to survive an attack (as I've done in the past).

 

[Byron Quick]

I started martial arts training in 1972.

Winning? Victory is attaining your objectives in battle. You can survive and kill your opponent and still have lost the fight. How? Suppose your primary mission is to defend other people. Suppose you kill the attacker only after he has killed the people you were to defend. You're alive. He's dead. He won.

In most cases survival in good condition is the objective. But not always.

Due to health deficits, I can't confidently fight unarmed any longer. In fact, I now practice with pistol and long guns from the prone and supine positions for I assume that I will probably lose my balance in a fight.

Therefore, my rules of engagement regarding the use of lethal force has changed. I have an open lamenectomy from C5 to T4. This means that a large portion of each vertabrae from the middle of my neck to the bottom of my shoulder blades has been removed. I'm not going to take the chance that my spinal column can take the stress of a blow to the head. If someones tries to hit me then I will shoot them until the threat stops. I'm perfectly willing to have my medical records entered into the record, have my neurosurgeon testify about the stability of my spinal column, and let a jury decide if I acted as a reasonable man would under the circumstances.

I really believe that many on this board need to contemplate deeper on what constitutes winning. You can survive and lose. You can die and win.

 

[CAnnoneer]

Nope, I don't train in martial arts, but I do train endurance and especially strength. The advantage of being 245/6'2

Other reasons - human bone is pathetic next to even a maglite or a piece of brick. Humans are big bags of water waiting to pop and leak out Martial arts tend to inure people to that simple fact, with disturbing consequences

I figure if I am ever in a SHTF, there are only these possibilities:

1) SHTF expected - I avoid and/or prepare
2) SHTF unexpected - I retreat to convert to #1
3) SHTF real bad and unexpected with not possibility for retreat - martial arts will be worth just about zilch anyway

 

[Byron Quick]

CAnnoneer,

Friend, the S has NOT HTF...yet. Even so, martial arts training has saved my butt several times in the past.

Let me tell you what your size means to you in a hand to hand situation: it means that you will be hit from behind with no warning and probably by several people. I'm a pretty big fellow myself. I've been in a lot of fights; including multiple opponents. I've lost three...every single one I lost was an attack without warning from behind. Once with a club. I think you need to rethink things as far as the probable threats go.

Size and strength does confer advantages. But it also has disadvantages. Size and strength to a determined assailant simply means that you must must be given no chance, hit harder, and hit more often. Never think that simply because you are a big strong guy that the little guys won't go for you. They will, friend, and if they do, they won't be fooling around.

 

[swampsniper]

Too old for that

I trained when I was younger, but now, if anyone attacks me they can about count on getting shot. I don't even have the option of retreat these days.

 

[jojo]

Yes I do. Nearly all of my training is unarmed.

jojo

 

[Nio]

Self defense is NOT about winning a fight, it's about surviving.

Sometimes that strategy doesn't work, though, and the fight is on. Once the fight is on:

This is the law:

The purpose of fighting is to win.
There is no possible victory in defense.
The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than either.
The final weapon is the brain.
All else is supplemental.
- John Steinbeck

Nio

 

[Z_Infidel]

Yes. I've been training heavily in martial arts for many years and teach an advanced combat / self defense class.

Mindset is key. Good technique and proper tactics provide a definite edge, assuming the mindset is there.

 

[Aikibiker]

I have trained for a few years. As much for my own enjoyment as for combat efficacy.

I can draw my gun pretty well at the range with my target in front of me without employing my martial arts skills. I imagine it would be a little harder to do if my target trying to wrestle me to the ground or stick a knife in me. Martial arts may buy me the few seconds I need to get ahead of the curve and get my gun out to deal with the threat in a more permanent manner.

 

[30 cal slob]

Ever since I got hooked up to the ball 'n chain, I've been forced to spend more time on the marital arts than the martial arts.

I have a black belt in doyerchores-do. Unfortunately it's a very common style and everybody knows it, so I'm going to start taking up takemeshopping-ryu.

 

[yorec]

Yes. Yes I train for unarmed defense...

 

[Glock Glockler]

I train, but I don't make any distinction between armed and unarmed conflict resolution, regardless of whether it's me or the other(s) that are armed. I will be doing the same movements regardless of the situation (armed v. unarmed) and it's vital to have this consistency to insure success. The fewer decisions I have to make the more the deck is stacked in my favor and this is why one should standardize training methodology.

IMO the proper way to view things is as the person being the weapon/threat and guns, knives, clubs as accessories.

 

[mattw]

You can die and win.

I'm going to have to disagree. My only objective in a fight is to not die. (Unless my family or girlfriend is involved, then I would like to concentrate on keeping them alive before myself.) In a street fight I can't really picture some thug thinking he would rather lose his life to take my girlfriend's. Your logic only applies to military or exec-protect type situations.