Fight Fast Blog

Blocking strikes in a self defense situation is almost always a losing game. If an attacker is taking the initiative and continues to force you to react to his strikes you have very little opportunity to end the conflict on your terms. That’s why this simple triangle strike is so effective. It not only blocks an attacker’s punch, but the force of the block/strike will make the attacker react to you, not the other way around.

When used correctly this fight move puts you in control and forces your attacker on his heels. The best part is, this move relies on basic skills that can be learned quickly and easily, and doesn’t rely on size or strength.

As John Nottingham explains in the video this move is based on the strength of the triangle. With your hands together and arms locked out you can create a sort of human battering ram to drive your attacker off balance and do some serious damage wherever you strike.

The secret to making this work is keeping your arms locked out and putting your body weight behind the strike. Keeping your arms locked out is pretty self-explanatory so we’ll focus on how you put your body weight behind this fight move. Utilizing your body weight means you want to step into your attacker, lean forward, and essentially fall into him with your body weight driving into him. Your front leg will then be there to catch you as the attacker is driven backwards. You can see this in the slow motion segments at the end of the video.

As mentioned in the video there are several targets you can direct this fight move towards. The shoulder is a great target for stopping an attacker’s punch, but it won’t necessarily be a fight ender. Also as far as blocking the punch goes, simply having your arms in the triangle configuration will protect your head and neck from a punch. Since you aren’t too worried about the punch, driving this move into his head or neck would be a better choice. In most cases this will also take the power out of his punch, but has the added benefit of being a potential fight ender.

Of course as Mr. Nottingham said in the video never assume that this move alone will end the fight. You will need to follow this self defense move up with a barrage of strikes at high value targets. Only stop when it is clear the attacker is no longer a threat, or you have enough time to escape.

To see more of John Nottingham’s simple, easy to learn, self defense techniques (including some great follow-ups to the move above) check out his VIPER Street Combat training system.

For a safer life,
Bob Pierce, Head Honcho FightFast.com/TRS

Grabbing your shoulder from behind is an aggressive gesture attackers often use to start a fight. Their intention may be to demonstrate dominance, spin you around, or hold you in place while an attacker facing you prepares to do you harm. Regardless of his intentions, a shoulder grab from behind is a situation you should have an answer to.

The best answer is to simply move forward, away from the grab, and escape. That is hands down the best option you have. However, you may be in a closed in area where escape is not possible, or as mentioned earlier there may be two attackers one in front and one behind. Whatever the case, you need to have a strategy to take charge of the conflict if escape is not an option. That’s what the video above is all about.

As you can see from the clip above this move is extremely simple. When an attacker grabs you from behind the only information you have is the location of his hand and arm. This move takes full advantage of that.

By spinning around and dropping your body weight on his arm you will cause your attacker to drop with you. The secret is that you are pulling him slightly off balance while dropping your weight onto his arm. No matter how strong he is or how small you are this works. That’s one of the reasons it’s such a great defense.

There are plenty of wrist and arm locks taught by various systems for dealing with this attack, but the truth is, if your attacker is much larger that you he may be able to simply resist the joint manipulation. There is no way to resist someone pulling you slightly off balance and dropping their body weight on you.

There are a few key points you’ll want to keep in mind when using this move. First, you must spin to the inside for this to work. Next, you can’t hesitate. The second you feel a grab on your shoulder you must react full speed. This will limit his ability to respond.

Also, when doing this you’ll want to tilt your head downward slightly to protect your face. At full speed you may force him down so forcefully that his face slams into yours. By tilting you head forward and exposing your crown bone to him you will protect yourself against this.

Finally, when you drop your weight you must go all out. Depending on your size putting half your weight into it may not work, and there is no second try.

I hope you enjoyed the tip. For more brutal, simple, street proven moves from Chris Clugston Click Here.

For a safer life,
Bob Pierce
Head Honcho FightFast.com/TRS

Sometimes for the protection of others it may be necessary to take down an attacker who is threatening someone else. In situations like these you need a self-defense move which removes the threat while not endangering people around you.

The video above is a perfect example of a quick and easy to learn technique that will take an attacker down very quickly allowing you and others around you to escape, or follow up with other self defense techniques if escape is not a practical option.

The instructor in this clip is 5 Time World Kickboxing Champion Kathy Long. She is not only a great fighter in the ring, but also knows the kind of simplified no-nonsense moves that can save your skin on the streets. After watching the video I’m sure you’ll agree.

There isn’t too much that needs to be explained for this self defense technique. There are just a few key points to make this fight move effective.

The first step to this self defense technique is to strike the outside and back of the attackers knee with a quick kick. It doesn’t take much force. This will cause him to lose his stability and lower his body so that if you are smaller you will still have access to his throat for the next part of the move.

Next you’ll be stepping forward while swinging your arm around to strike his throat with the bony part of your forearm. The goal is to put the attacker on the ground so if you have enough time to think about it striking down on the throat will help ensure that he falls as opposed to just stumbling backwards. Either one will work in most self defense situations but putting him on the ground gives you more time to escape.

The scenario at the end of this clip shows one of the many real life situations where this fighting technique can be used.

For more quick and devastating fight moves from Kathy Long check out her “Sneak Attacks” DVD package. It’s packed with more easy to learn and brutally effective fight moves just like the one shown above.

For a safer life,
Bob Pierce
Head Honcho, Fightfast.com

The tackle is a pretty common attack that you may run into on the street. If you don’t know how to handle it you may be in for a world of hurt. Luckily after watching this video you’ll have the tools take care of business if someone tries to tackle you you.

Before we dig into the specifics of this self defense tackle stopper I want to quickly draw attention to Jacov’s technique of watching an attacker’s throat not his eyes. This is great advice for two reasons.

• First, watching the throat gives you a better view of the entire person.
• Second, avoiding eye contact gives you a psychological advantage because it helps you remove emotion from the conflict and eliminates an attacker’s ability to distract you with his eyes.

Now for the meat of this self defense move. To start with this tackle defense is meant to be used on a guy who is already standing in front of you. It’s not meant to stop a bull rush, or a running tackle.

If an attacker is in front of you and drops down to grab one or both of your legs your first move should be to step backwards lowering your center of gravity. This gives you more stability.

Next you want to put one hand on the crown of your attackers head while your drive your other palm forward into his face.

Driving your hand forward into his face will usually stop his forward momentum, but it also serves another purpose. Once you make contact with his face you will have both hands on opposite sides of his skull. This allows you to easily manipulate his body.

Using his chin as a handle you can torque his head to the left or right which will force his body to follow. As you saw in the video once you’ve gained control of his head there are a number of self defense moves you can use to end the fight, the choice is yours.

Keep in mind any time you are manipulating the head and twisting it the move can become lethal. So when training this self defense technique go slowly and be very careful.

For more vicious street defense moves from Jacov Bresler check out his Fast and Furious Self Defense Package.

A front tackle is usually used by a bigger man who is using his larger mass to take the advantage. Trying to stop him in his tracks is useless if you are smaller, it’s just basic physics. That’s why you need a move like this that doesn’t require you overpowering him.

This move is pretty simple. You check him with both of your forearms against his shoulders. This ensures that he doesn’t get a tight hold on you and prevent you from getting the guillotine.

Next you get the guillotine hold and drop to the ground. It’s very important that when you get the guillotine hold you have your forearm against his trachea.

As you go to the ground you keep one leg bend so that your knee is into his abdomen. Next you utilize your momentum and a push from the knee that’s into his abdomen to flip him over.

This is where this self defense technique gets lethal. If you retain control of his head in the guillotine when you flip him it will break his neck. This is not usually the goal of a self defense situation, but there may be times when you have no choice.

Because this is a lethal technique you should never practice it full speed, there are just too many things that can go wrong. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend practicing the flip part at and speed unless you and your training partner are very experienced it’s just too dangerous. Once his weight and momentum sends him over in the flip there is very little you can do to stop it. You’ll also want to make sure you have training mats for this one.

This is a great self defense move but only when your life is in serious danger.

For more self defense from former Delta Force Operator Billy Burke check out his Total Defense Package.