Basic Self Defense

compiled by Alan Boswell

Self defense techniques must be accessible to the average person, not just athletes.

This information was compiled in preparation for promotion to a second degree black belt in Taekwondo. The information was gathered from numerous sources (a complete list of these sources can be found in the appendix). The reader has permission to reprint information from this document for personal use, but permission may be needed from the authors of the resources cited in the appendix for use beyond personal education. This information is not intended to be substituted for proper self-defense or martial arts training by a certified instructor.

Basic Self Defense

Table of Contents 1. Prevention Strategies ................................................................................1 a. Detection .......................................................................................1 b. Intrusion ........................................................................................1 c. Isolation.........................................................................................1 d. Response .......................................................................................1 e. Reaction ........................................................................................1 2. Verbal Defense..........................................................................................2 a. Understanding Whats Really Going On ......................................2 b. Listening Instead of Leaping to Conclusions ...............................2 c. Knowing How to Respond............................................................2 3. Anatomy ...................................................................................................4 a. Foot ...............................................................................................4 b. Hand..............................................................................................4 4. Weapons....................................................................................................5 a. Hands, Feet, Knees, Elbows, and Head ........................................5 b. Keys ..............................................................................................6 c. Other Items....................................................................................6 5. Targets.......................................................................................................7 a. Face ...............................................................................................7 b. Throat............................................................................................7 c. Genital Region ..............................................................................7 d. Knees.............................................................................................8 e. Feet................................................................................................8 6. Striking......................................................................................................9 a. Punching with the Fist ..................................................................9 b. Punching with the Palm ...............................................................9 c. Eye and Nose Gouge.....................................................................9 d. Back Kick......................................................................................9 e. Knee Strikes ................................................................................10

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7. Escapes....................................................................................................11 a. Breaking a Wrist Grab ................................................................11 b. Breaking a Grab ..........................................................................11 c. Stopping a Choke Attack ............................................................11 8. Takedown defense ..................................................................................12 a. Defense against a double leg takedown ......................................12 b. Defense against a single leg takedown .......................................12 c. Defense against a takedown from behind with arms trapped .....12 d. Defense against a takedown from behind with arms free ...........12 9. Conclusion ..............................................................................................13 10. Appendix A: Sources ..............................................................................14 11. Appendix B: Course Outline ..................................................................15

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Prevention Strategies
A practical approach to prevention is to understand the principles behind the prevention tactics. If you understand the fundamentals of prevention, you will be able to improvise safety strategies appropriate to your situation when the need arises. We are all different and have different concerns and needs. The degree to which you incorporate safety advice depends on your circumstances, environment, risk potential and even your personality. There are five categories of prevention tactics. This manual will provide you with situation specific tips to help you understand how the fundamentals are applied. Don't worry about memorizing them. Try to understand how they work. Decide whether the tip makes sense and whether it is useful to you. a. Detection Offenders do not want to get caught. Increasing your visibility to witnesses and/or drawing attention to an assailant, makes it less likely that a confrontation will even occur. Awareness strategies and detection devices fall into this category. b. Intrusion An assailant can not assault you if he can not get to you. These tactics involve securing your environment to inhibit the assailant's access to you. Keeping intruders out of your home and vehicle, or even placing a barrier between you and an attacker, are examples of this principle. c. Isolation Offenders are far more likely to attack when you are alone; 96% of rapists check to see if the intended victim is alone prior to attacking. The greater the likelihood that an assault will be witnessed or interrupted, the less likely it is that it will be initiated. d. Response Responding to avoid an encounter is far superior then reacting to it once one has been initiated. Response skills begin with paying attention to your surroundings and being able to detect and recognize when you are being targeted as a potential victim. This strategy focuses on locating and identifying potential dangers and responding in ways that are likely to discourage volatile situations. e. Reaction Reaction involves taking immediate physical actions when you confirm that you are being attacked or about to be. The more you know about what to do to ward off a physical assault and the sooner you plan those actions, the more likely you will be successful at defending yourself and escaping to safety. Prevention tactics are based on one or more of the strategies listed above. Identify the underlying principle on which each tactic is based and consider which ones you would be comfortable incorporating in your own life.

Verbal Defense
Your voice is one of your strongest weapons. Use it before you attempt anything else. In the early days, when primitive man dealt with wild animals at close range on a daily basis, the amygdala (a part of the brain that processes fear and aggression) was on constant duty. One of its primary tasks is to scan for danger. When it senses danger, it can invoke an immediate fight-or-flight reaction without going through the reasoning part of the brain, literally short-circuiting the thinking process. In those early days, this act first, think later response increased your odds of survival tremendously. This part of your brain can still be a good thing on those very rare occasions when you do face imminent peril, but it's just as likely to kick in when the only threat is a teenager with a water pistol. If the amygdala thinks the water pistol is a threat, it bypasses your ability to reason. Understanding What's Really Going On First and foremost, you need to educate your amygdala. When somebody comes at you with hostile language, your amygdala typically says, "DANGER! RED ALERT!" and off you go. You need to be able to tell the difference between a physical threat and someone just blowing off steam. Listening Instead of Leaping to Conclusions Psychologist George Miller said, "In order to understand what another person is saying, you must assume that it is true and try to find out what it could be true of." That is, when somebody says, "Hey! My toaster talks to me!" your proper response is a neutral "Oh? What does your toaster say?" Follow up that statement by carefully listening, with your full attention. Knowing How to Respond The goal of a verbal attack is to draw your full attention to the attacker. In our culture, there are three standard ways to respond to a verbal attack: 1. Attacking back - "How DARE you say that to me!" 2. Pleading - "I can't BELIEVE you're going to start that again when you KNOW how much work I have to do today!" 3. Debating - "There are three reasons why what you say is ridiculous. First..." All three are incorrect, because all three gives the attacker what they want. All you do when you use those three traditional responses is encourage the attacker to do it again. After all, it worked. You need a response that lets the attacker know you won't serve as willing victim. Fleeing the scene won't do it; fleeing makes it obvious to attackers that they "got to you" and they'll be eager to do it again. Silently ignoring attackers won't work either; silence is just another kind of counterattack. Like fleeing, it says, "You got to me." There are several techniques for verbal defense. One such response is called the Boring Baroque Response (from the work of Suzette Haden Elgin). For example, suppose you have to deal with someone who is forever coming at you with hostile attacks like "WHY

can't you EVER do your share of the WORK around here??" and "WHY do you eat SO MUCH JUNK food??" A Boring Baroque Response to this attacker would be to stare not at the attacker but off into space, as if you were deep in thought. "You know, I think it's because of something that happened to me when I was just a little kid. We were living in Detroit at the time, and... No, wait a minute! It couldn't have been Detroit, it must have been when we were living in Indianapolis, because that was the summer my Aunt Grace came to visit us and brought her dog. You know those funny little dogs with the big ears that stick out? Well, this dog...." [And so on, for as long as it takes.] A response like this delivers the following message: "I notice that you're here to pick a fight. Do that if you like, but it's not going to be much fun for you, because I won't play that game." Listening to a BBR is excruciatingly boring. The usual result is that by the time you've gotten to the part about your aunt's dog, the attacker is already saying, "Oh, never MIND!" and leaving in a hurry. There's a very different way of talking (from the work of Virginia Satir), that is called Computer Mode. To use Computer Mode, avoid everything personal; talk in platitudes and generalities and hypotheticals. Keep your body language -- including the tone of your voice -- neutral and controlled. Computer Mode defuses verbal attacks because it doesn't give the attacker what he or she wants and it doesn't give the attacker any fuel with which to keep the altercation going. There is no safer stance. Now if you can not prevent an attack or if the attack starts at a physical level, please proceed to the next page to find out how to physically respond.

Anatomy
a. Foot The human foot is made up of 26 bones tied together by strong ligaments. Of these, there are seven tarsal bones that form the area directly below the ankle joint and make up the instep of the foot, five metatarsal bones that make up the ball of the foot and then fourteen phalanges that form the toes. For those wondering how five toes divide into fourteen bones, it is simple: there are only two bones in the big toe and three in each of the others. By now you are probably also wondering what basic foot anatomy has to do with an assailant. Actually, the knowledge of how the foot and hand are made up will enable you to better understand how to use them against an assailant. The heel of the foot is the toughest bone of the foot and it is unlikely you will be able to do damage to it. The ankle bones can be hurt but are supported by the heel so more effort would have to be expended. The tiny bones that make up the instep and the toes, on the other hand, are very vulnerable and easy to break. b. Hand As to the human hand, there are 27 bones that comprise the fingers, palm and wrist. The wrist itself has eight strong cube-shaped bones that attach the actual hand to the end of the arm. The palm is made up of five long metacarpal bones. From the palm, fourteen phalange bones become the fingers with the same breakdown in individual digits as in the toes: three bones in each finger and two in the thumb. The hand, with all fingers grasping your wrist, shoulder or arm, is strong, but one finger by itself is weak. For the sake of simplicity, lets assume your assailant has a big meaty hand wrapped around your left wrist or lower arm. Regardless as to whom this person is, he or she has no right to touch you without your permission and if permission had been given, the point of this manual would be moot. By grabbing a single finger you can control the whole hand. To remove the assailants hand from your shoulder, just grab a finger and bend it backward. You can add force to this by adding some rotation to your move.

Weapons
The first thing to do during an assault is to look at what the assailant has in their hands; make sure that they do not have a weapon. A weapon can be just about anything from keys or a bottle to a knife or a gun. Always keep your eyes on the attackers and keep them in front of you, even if you have to reposition yourself. Dont let them get behind you, even if there are two or more; keep them in front of you. In order to use your weapons (strikes), you must create distance between you and your attacker. a. Hands, Feet, Knees, Elbows, and Head The bulk of techniques used are punches, kicks, elbows, and knees. Any part of the body can be used. Head butts, hips and shoulders can be used to catch your attacker off guard or to knock them off balance. When an assailant grabs you, there is an excellent chance that they have your hands, wrists or arms pinned and out of commission. By pinning you in this way, your assailant has effectively removed two of your most powerful weapons, both hands and elbows. At the same time, it is important to remember they are not the only weapons you have in your arsenal. Your most powerful weapon is, of course, your head and by using it while staying calm, you are already in a stronger defensive position. Another strong set of weapons is your legs and feet. Hopefully, you will be facing your assailant which will enable you to have a wider range of possible moves. The great thing about the following moves is that they can be used against someone who has you in a forward choke hold, a one or two fisted lapel grab, or holding and shaking you by the shoulders; they can even be done with one hand if the other is being held in a strong grip. The first move to attempt is to turn your fingers into claws and reach for the attacker's forehead and dig in as deep as possible while raking downward toward the chin. Dont be squeamish and let up on the pressure as you reach the eyes. This person obviously isnt worried about your safety, so there is no reason to worry about theirs. You will want to do this rake as fast and strong as you possibly can and build up momentum behind your attack. In most cases, a persons first involuntary response will be to shut their eyes and then attempt to grab the area for protection as well as to see if there is blood. Assailants can be a funny bunch, they dont mind seeing your blood, but their own often upsets them. Remember the momentum you built up? Now is the time to use it. As you are raking downward, allow your arms and hands to follow the given course and pop back up towards the assailants neck and facial region. At this point you again have choices, you can go for the assailants windpipe, eyes, nose, or ears.

b. Keys Keys are great weapons to use. You can place a key between each finger of your fist. Positioned this way, the keys can be used to stab or slash with. c. Other Items A purse can be thrown at an assailant. High heel shoes can be thrown at assailants or used as clubs. An aluminum can or bottle can be used to crush into the assailants face. Use anything within reach to ward off your assailant.

Targets
The assailant has picked you as his target. Now it is your turn to return the favor and target the assailant. The assailant has the same weak areas that you do: face, throat, genital region, knees, and feet. a. Face Eyes: An eye gouge can force an assailant to focus on his own well-being. By using your thumbs to press the assailants eyes and force his head back, you gain control of the assailant. This can break the assailants hold on you and allow you to use your weapons. Nose: The nose has no bones and can be easily broken. Ears: The ears can be slapped to disorient an assailant. b. Throat Usually when you target the throat, you want as much upward momentum as you can get, but for this move, close your fist and attempt to hit the throat more towards the chest than the chin. This is the area where the trachea and esophagus are, so use these vulnerable areas to your advantage. Can you do permanent damage to the assailant by hitting these areas with force? Yes, but that is his or her problem, not yours. If you wish to see just how little effort it takes to cause discomfort in the throat area, take your own thumb, place it in the hollow area at the base of your throat and gently apply an increasing amount of pressure. You will find it takes very little to make you stop your curiosity in regards to this experiment. With luck, you will hit the throat, causing the assailant extreme discomfort or even rupture the trachea. If this occurs, he or she will stop pursuing you immediately. Their main concern will be to get enough oxygen to survive until medical assistance can be found. Despite the fact that they were attacking you moments ago, calling 911 from a safe distance and notifying the police of the situation should be your next move. c. Genital Region From birth, females are taught that if a man grabs them, they should kick him where it hurts to get away. This has always meant giving a good solid knee strike to the testicles and, according to our mothers and Hollywood, the man will grab himself, roll up his eyes and drop like a stone. In reality, every man has had a mother, sister, girlfriend or cousin who has also been taught this simple means of escape so they all expect it. Are we saying not to attempt it? By no means am I suggesting this! The only wrong move in self-defense is no move at all. Be prepared, however, in case you cant get the strike in. Another real life fact is that men are not the only ones to commit robbery, murder or sexual assault. In such a case many victims become confused as to what to do since women obviously dont have testicles. You may still want to attempt the knee to the

groin strike. A woman wont be expecting it nearly as much as a man and it is still a painful blow when enough force is put behind it. Although the possibilities are limitless, I will leave you with one last technique to use as a follow up to the facial rake. If your assailant has indeed attempted to protect his face, allow your upward moving hands to grab HIM by the shoulders, shirt collar or top of Tshirt and yank downward as you take a small step forward with your weaker leg, (this would be left if you are right handed). As you are doing this, proceed to slam your stronger knee into your assailants groin or abdominal area and then slam your heel downward onto the arch of his foot or onto his toes. d. Knees The knee is strong but when it is hit to the inside or the outside, it can be damaged fairly easily. A kick to the knee, forcing it backward, may dislocate the knee cap or hyperextend the knee. A kick sideways to the knee cap can easily dislocate the kneecap. When you damage your assailants knee, the rest of his leg will be useless. e. Feet The toes of the feet are very weak and can be easily broken, as we talked about before in the anatomy of the foot. The foot can be stomped to break the toes or the instep. When stomping down on an assailants foot, use the strong bone of your heal against the weak bones of the toes and instep. Damaging the assailants foot will limit their ability to chase and catch you as you make your escape.

Striking
Anyone should be able to use strikes, even from a point of disadvantage. You should practice using several striking styles like punching with the fist, with the palm, or kicking with the heel. In order to use a strike, you must first create distance between you and the assailant. For any of the following instructions to work, you must also be in your striking range, not the assailants. a. Punching with the fist Punch straight with the fist; do not make a sweeping punch. This way you can continue the punch even if the assailant moves back. A straight punch is like a jab in boxing and gets power from the arm, shoulder, stomach, and legs. All parts of the body should drive the fist straight to the target. A punch should connect to the target with the first two knuckles of the fist. The thumb should not be enclosed in the fingers, but should be outside the fingers. b. Punching with the palm (Palm heel strike) For women with long nails, punching with the palm can be equally effective. The meaty part of the palm is very strong and can be used even to strike the top of the head or other strong parts of the body. The fingers should be held tightly together. The hand will look like a tigers paw. When striking at the eyes, open your hands and have the four fingers slightly cupped with the thumb opened by itself. As your upward momentum is increasing, attempt to ram the thumbs into each of your assailants eyes. As they make contact, grab each side of his head in a firm grip and proceed to dig your thumbs into the eye sockets with as much force as possible. Remember while you are doing this that this lowlife had no regard for your person or your property, so dont feel pity and dont hesitate. What you want to feel is the fight or flight instinct in full swing that will give you strength with its sudden rush of adrenalin. With luck, these moves will make the assailant back away and allow you an escape route. c. Eye and Nose Gouge (warning: graphic description) Another step that involves the face often has new martial arts students making gagging gross noises in class. This time you will want to make claws of your hand, but have the claw turned so your fingers are pointing towards the sky with your palm flat as if you were holding a soft ball. Once again using that upward momentum (isnt it a wonderful thing), ram your index and middle fingers as far into your assailants nose as possible, hook your fingers and then rake them down and out as forcefully as you can. Your intent here is to take as much of the meat inside the nose as possible. Sounds gross, but it is effective. d. Back Kick (rear kick or mule kick) It is possible to break the small bones of the feet regardless of which way your assailant has you facing in regards to him. The important part to remember is to use your own strong heel to make the strike, not the ball of your foot or instep.

To get the desired effect, you will need to bring your knee up as far as possible and then slam it downward with your ankle flexed upward so your heel hits first. If your back is to your assailant, you can bring your knee up without impediment (think for a moment of how a mule kicks with his rear legs). The mule will bring his leg up with the hoof close to his underside and then kick straight back. In some styles of martial arts, bringing your knee and foot up and also kicking straight back just happens to be termed a mule kick. Ideally, as you slam your heel backwards, you will hit the assailants knee, a very unstable, vulnerable joint. Regardless, if you hit the knee or the shin, the rest of the technique requires that you allow your heel to slide down the assailants leg and onto the bones of the instep or toes. Those that wear high heels or boots will have an added advantage although the technique will still work well in tennis shoes or bare feet. You just have to remember to put as much force behind the strike as possible. If you have been lucky enough to hit the knee or break the bones of the foot, dont stop there. Use your head as a battering ram against your assailants nose and mouth; if your arms are pinned, but your hands are free, attempt to step backwards as close to your assailant as possible, use your strongest hand to reach back and grab a handful of testicles or pinch as hard as you can on the inside of the thigh as close to the groin as possible. To get the idea of how a light pinch can cause pain, reach down and pinch the inside of your own thigh. e. Knee Strikes Attacking an assailant with a knee strike can be very effective. When an assailant is close in, you dont have the space to use kicks or punches very effectively. This is when knee strikes and elbows come into play. A well-executed knee to the abdomen can deliver the same force as hitting the assailant with a sledge hammer. Knee to the groin When an assailant is facing you, you can drive the top of the knee up and into the groin. Grab your assailant by the shoulders, drop the striking knee back, then pull your assailant to you while driving your knee into the assailants groin. Push up with the leg that is planted to add more power to your knee strike. Knee to the abdomen or liver A knee straight to the abdomen can bruise or tear the liver and other internal organs. As you might imagine, this can be very painful and even disable the assailant.

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Escapes
When you are trying to escape, you can not hesitate or feel squeamish. This is your life that you may be saving, so use all the force you can generate. If you hesitate, the assailant has time to realize what you are doing and take appropriate action. If you feel squeamish about breaking the assailants bones, you will not use the force needed to do the most good. These suggestions are just a few of the possible self-defense escape methods that can be used. As with any technique, no single one works 100% of the time in all given situations and against any or all opponents, but they can often be effective, either by themselves or as follow-ups to other types of defensive moves. Always follow up an escape move with an attack of your own. a. Breaking a Wrist Grab To break a wrist grab, rotate your arm so that the thin part of your wrist can slide between the openings of the hand (between the thumb and fingers). b. Breaking a Grab Staying calm, look down at the offending hand, reach over with your stronger hand and instead of grabbing their wrist or entire hand, simply grab one little finger. The weakest fingers in an average persons hand are the pinkie and the ring finger. Use this knowledge to your advantage. Wrap your hand as best as possible around the pinkie and with a sharp motion down and back, make the back of the finger smash into the back of your assailants hand. You must do this quickly, forcefully and be committed to the act. If your assailant is holding your hand in such a way you cant get a good grip on the pinkie or ring finger, dont give up. The index finger or the thumb can be just as effective; they just require a greater deal of force. To give yourself an added advantage, precede the breaking of the finger with the foot strike and stomping of toes to get your assailant distracted first. If you are facing him, you can see exactly where the knee and foot are for the most accurate strike. c. Stopping a Choke Attack The best way to stop a choke attack is to block the attack before the choke is ever applied. The prayer block can stop the attack before it gets started. To execute the prayer block, bring your hands together in front of you as if you were praying. When the assailants hands are within range, move your hands apart quickly, thus separating the assailants hands as they are coming toward you and stopping the attack. There are escape moves in every martial art, but they do no good without practice. Find some way to practice the moves you think will feel comfortable using if you are attacked. Start off slow; then as you get to know and understand the move, increase the speed of the attack and the escape.

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Takedown Defense
Being taken down to the ground is no fun at all. Stopping your attacker and helping him meet the ground is a lot more fun. Here are a few suggestions on how to handle this situation. a. Defense against a double leg takedown There is a nice way to prevent an attacker from taking you to the ground and a not-sonice way. First, we will discuss the nice way. This is a great way to practice the takedown defense without hurting your sparring partner. As the attacker comes in for a takedown, drop your arms inside his so that your forearms will meet his shoulders. Next, kick your legs back and out so that your body makes a triangle with your arms and your feet being the points of the triangle. Then all that is left is to drop your weight onto your attackers shoulders driving him to the ground. Second, we will discuss the not-so-nice way. But first, I need to stress a word of warning. This defense can be very dangerous; it is best to practice this technique alone before practicing it with a partner. When the attacker comes in to take you to the ground, drop your elbows inside his shoulders close to his head. Next, kick your legs back and out the same way as described above. Then as you drop your weight, you place your hands behind the head of your attacker and press down as hard as you can. This will drive the face and head of your attacker into the floor effectively stopping the attack right there. b. Defense against single leg takedown First, catch the attacker by the back of their head. If you control the attackers head, you control whether the attacker is able to lift you off your feet. Next, bending at the waist, drop your weight onto the attacker. Using your opposite hand, grab the attacker under the rib cage. Once again, kick your legs back and out forcing your attacker to the ground. Once the attacker is on the ground, you can use your arm under the attackers ribs to roll him over to finish him off. c. Defense against a takedown from behind with arms trapped First, take a deep breath. This will expand your chest, loosening the attackers grip. Next, breathing out quickly, drop to the floor by lifting your feet off the floor and landing on your bottom. You can then turn and using a single leg takedown drop the attacker to the ground. d. Defense against a takedown from behind with arms free First, wrap a leg around one of the attackers leg. This will keep the attacker from being able to lift you off your feet. Grab the attackers wrist and bending it down, start to break the attackers hold. Wrap your other arm under the attackers arm and support your own arm to apply more pressure onto the attackers wrist. As the attackers hold breaks, step out away from the attacker while maintaining your pressure on the wrist. After turning to the side of the attacker, you may kick the attacker wherever and however it will make you feel better.

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Conclusion
With any attack, you will have a very small window of opportunity to get your strikes in and get away. No single self-defense move will work 100% of the time in any and all situations so your best means of escape is to have an arsenal of back up techniques to be able to move on to without having to stop and think while allowing your assailant time to regroup and attack again. And as with any and all techniques, they do little good if they have not been practiced until they require no thought (i.e. hesitation) on you part to remember and execute. Your best chances of using these and regaining your freedom are to carefully practice them repeatedly with a friend until you can do them without hesitation. Getting away is your main objective. If you are lucky enough to become free, take advantage of your good fortune and run, dont walk. Dont stand there telling off your assailant or attempting to get another good kick in while they are down. Simply turn and run to the nearest safe location, call the police and take the time to file a report. If you are lucky, the authorities will catch the assailant and hopefully prevent someone else from becoming a victim.

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Appendix A: Sources
Suzette Haden Elgin, PhD, Author of Verbal Self Defense Bas Rutten, Author of Big Book of Combat, former UFC heavyweight champion, three-time King of Pancrase Jason Hall, Self Defense Instructor Darren Levine, U.S. chief Instructor of Krav Maga, and founder of the Krav Maga Association of America

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Appendix B: Course Outline

1. Prevention Strategies a. Don't worry about memorizing them. Try to understand how they work. Decide whether the tip makes sense and whether it is useful to you. b. Detection increasing your visibility, awareness strategies, detection devices c. Intrusion secure your environment, barriers d. Isolation stay with a group e. Response avoid the encounter, discourage volatile situations f. Reaction immediate physical actions, defending yourself and escaping. 2. Verbal Defense a. Understanding whats really going on b. Listening, instead of leaping to conclusions c. Knowing how to respond i. Boring Baroque Response ii. Computer mode 3. Anatomy a. Foot weak bones of the toes, strong bones of the heel b. Hand fingers weak, palm strong, 4. Weapons a. Hands punches, palm heel strikes, fingers as claws b. Feet heel kicks, top of the foot c. Knees knee strikes d. Elbows round elbow, straight elbow e. Head head butts, dont lose your cool f. Keys between the fingers g. Other Items purse, high heel shoes, pens, mace, cell phone, roll of coins, bottle, cans. 5. Targets a. Face eyes, nose, ears b. Throat trachea, esophagus, c. Genital Region knee strike, palm heel strike, male or female d. Knees inside or outside, backward e. Feet toes and instep are weak 6. Striking a. Strikes from a point of disadvantage b. Create distance an effective strike needs distance c. Punching with the fist straight, first two knuckles d. Punching with the palm i. Women with long nails ii. Strike anywhere

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e. Eye and Nose Gouge eye gouge with fingers or thumbs, nose gouge with fingers f. Back Kick use your heel, bring your knee up, target knees and feet g. Knee Strikes i. top of the knee into the groin, ii. to the abdomen or liver 7. Escapes a. Breaking a wrist grab b. Breaking a grab c. Breaking a choke attack 8. Takedown defense a. Against a double leg takedown b. Against a single leg takedown c. Against a takedown from behind with arms trapped d. Against a takedown from behind with arms free 9. Practical a. Practice striking b. Practice kicking with feet and knees c. Escapes

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