Attack Points

The human body is a wonderful living, breathing machine and comes in all shapes and sizes.  Unfortunately, someone who is about to commit an assault, is usually looking for a person that is smaller and weaker; that will put up little resistance.

In order to "level the playing field", and I am thinking of a small women versus a large man, we use specific attack points on the body to defend ourselves.

For beginner karate students, I like to focus on 5 key attack points that will help you in most self defense scenarios.  In class we covered these points in a lot more detail, so I will just briefly describe them here.

The Eyes

Slap, stab, punch or gouge.  This is one of my favorite attack points because it can be used in so many different assault scenario's, whether standing or even in a lying down position.  When you strike the eyes, they usually water, which temporarily inhibits vision, giving you time to escape.  In very dangerous situations, I would give the impression of caressing the head, only to line up the eyes for a thumb gouge.

The Nose

A strike to the nose with the back of your head, or the heal of your palm can break the nose fairly easy, resulting in watery eyes and quite a bit of pain.  Even pressing the upper lip at the base of the nose can cause your attacker to release you.  Of course, tearing nose rings and jamming a pen up a nostril are other examples of attacking the nose.

The Groin

While most men are "hardwired" to protect the groin from a strike, it can be attacked with a punch, an elbow or grabbed with the hand(s) and twisted.  Kicing the groin is an option, but it's much harder to make good contact.  Instead, I like to apply a torquing action (twisting) which is quite painful and often more effective then kicking or striking.

The Knees

Many times, I will direct my smaller stature students to consider a strike to the knees, from the front or from the sides; as a first line of defense; particularly a women who is smaller than her attacker. The strongest muscle in the women's body, is usually the leg and a strike to the knee can do a lot of damage, while helping to keep some distance from the attacker.

The Toes

The toes can be a particularly effective attack point when someone has already grabbed you, either in a bear hug or by the arms.  You want to target your heels on the toes when you stomp them.  When you stomp, you need to bring your knee up, so that gravity will help put some energy behind the strike.

You can also grind your heel on the top of the foot and that is painful as well.

Examples of Kyusho Strike Points on the Head

Aside from these 5 targets, I also like the throat, the sides of the neck and the temples.

The reason I pick these 5 is I think they are the easiest to remember and they cover the human body from head to toe.

The reality is, there are over 500 attack points, but the point of karate and self defense, is to keep it simple.  If you focus on these 5 attack points, I feel confident that you will give yourself an opportunity to escape and seek immediate help.

Sensei Chris Feldt

Samurai Karate Studio

Columbia, SC 29229

803-462-9425

samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com

Sexual Violence and the Spectrum of Prevention

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, sexual violence is preventable.

"Communities are vital in the development of effective sexual violence prevention strategies. Local initiatives are in a good position to respond to the needs of their community and involve participation of community members. This fact sheet provides information about the Spectrum of Prevention, a tool developed by the Prevention Institute and tailored by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, to assist communities in developing comprehensive sexual violence prevention initiatives. Designed for broad scale change, it focuses not just on individuals, but also on the environment, including systems and norms that contribute to sexual violence. An outline of the six levels of the Spectrum follows.

By working at all six levels simultaneously, communities can design an effective plan that
promotes confidence that their relationships, homes, neighborhoods, schools, places of
worship, and workplaces are safer."

To learn more about sexual violence and prevention, please go HERE to download a fact sheet.

Rape & Sexual Assault Statistics

Rape and Sexual Assault Statistics

(From Bureau of Justice Statistics, Criminal Victimization, 2009, National Crime Victimization Survey: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2217)

In 2009, there were 125,910 reports of rape and/or sexual assault.

More than half of rape and sexual assault crimes take place between 6pm and 6am.

Females are more likely to be victims of rape or sexual assault than males.

Most victims of rape or sexual assault are females younger than 24 years of age.

Most rapes committed against women are committed by an intimate partner (spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend) or someone else they know (friend, family member, acquaintance).

Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425

How To Take Down Your Attacker

In today's class, we worked on very basic techniques of taking your attacker down to the ground.

But before practicing our take downs on our fellow training partners, we covered the art of falling first.  This is an important part of training for a beginneer, because over time, students who train in karate must learn how to fall properly as well as take their training partner down to the mat safely as well.

Falling

For beginners learning how to fall, we practice the 4 "B"s....

1. Bite down
2. Bear down (bend neck so that your chin touches your chest)
3. Breathe in
4. Break fall (breathing out at the same time)

1.  Bite down simply means clenching your teeth so that they are together.  This will protect you from biting your tongue as well as prevent your jaw from being moved violently.

2.  Bear down with your neck.  It is important in falling that you protect your spine (neck) and one of the best ways to do this is by tucking your chin down to your chest.  This curves the spine and protects the back of the head from hitting the ground on impact.

3.  Breathe in.....it's important to get as big as you can, to slow down the take down.  When you are small and compact, you can fall with incredible force and hit the ground hard, which translates into potential injury.  We look to get big, to try and slow the actual take down.

4.  Breakfall means to hit the ground (mat or floor) with your open palms up to your elbows on impact.  They should hit at about a 45 degree angle to your body.  (4a)  You should practice breathing out on impact.  This will tighten your core and protect you from getting the wind knocked out with a hard fall.

The main principle of falling, is to allow your bottom to absorb most of the impact, with your arms dissipating much of the remaining energy during the fall.  Of course, your back is in position to take some of the fall, but you want to be careful not to land on your spine, rather, the impact of the fall should fall on the shoulder blades. 

Always, protect your head! 

You never want to fall like a big old tree.  In most instances, as you start to fall, you want to get to a squatting position, so that your bottom absorbs much of the impact.  Don't forget to kick your feet straight out, to prevent yourself from doubling over as you land on your back.  Pushing your feet out, also helps you to stay in a defensive posture.  You may have found yourself on your back, but that doesn't mean you still can't defend yourself from the ground.

 

Take Down

The basic take down that we worked on today, has the defender stepping forward with their outside foot slightly past the attackers right foot, the inside foot is used to seal the attackers right foot and to place your hip tight against the attacker.  Your hands will be holding both shoulders in a push/pull fashion.

What you are attempting to do is seal the hip and the foot, while rotating the upper body (spinning the spine on its axis) so that the attacker becomes unbalanced with, a resulting fall.

The defender should almost always carry their partner to the ground for safety.  On the street, in a real assault, you could just throw your attacker to the ground, or drop to the ground beside them, usually on one knee (closest to the attacker) so that you can follow up the take down with a strike.  Be careful never to just stand over your attacker when they are on the ground, as they can strike you or even worse, pull you to the ground if you are not careful.

Like everything else in the martial arts, falling requires some practice until you reach a point where you are confident and don't really have to think about what is happening as you are falling to the ground.  It is an important principle, as it might save you from serious injury in the event someone is attacking you and pushes you to the ground.

As for the take down, there are many other options to use to take your attacker down. We start off with this technique, as it is a good safe way to learn how to take your opponent to the ground regardless of your size or that of your attacker.

Sensei Chris Feldt

Samurai Karate Studio

803-462-9425

3 Main Reason Why Women Get Assaulted

As part of my beginner karate class at USC, I take 5-10 minute of every class and share topics that are related to assault that I want my students to understand.

There are many reasons why women get assaulted, however, most studies show that a woman gets targeted for assault for 3 MAIN reasons.  You might be surprised with the answers.  No, it doesn't have to do with how HOT the women looks or how SEXY she might be dressed.

AND yes, nearly 25% of all assault is female on man, so these rules apply to both sexes.


Reason # 1


Research shows the number one reason women get assaulted is due to poor body language.  In other words, how you walk, how you carry yourself when you are out in public is a large factor in determining if you get targeted.

Do you recognize yourself in this description?

Do you walk with your head down, your shoulders slumped, your chest in?  Do you generally keep your hands in your pockets? Do you walk with purpose or just shuffle along at a slow pace?  Do you make any eye contact?

Some people are under the impression, if they appear small, no one will notice them.  Well, they are wrong and potentially inviting trouble!

Attackers are looking for people they believe will give them little or no resistance.  The attacker wants to get in quickly, strike and take his victim to a secondary location without being seen or heard.  They are looking for someone who appears to be weak, afraid or timid.  Attackers are basically cowards and they don't want to attack anyone that they can't control easily!  So, if you look like you might put up a fight, there is a good chance the attacker will pass on you.

Why do you think the elderly get attacked so often?  Because a 90 year old is not expected to put up much of a fight if confronted!  It's a miracle that they can even walk, right?

So, I want YOU to start today, changing how you walk!  I want you to walk with a purposeful stride, like you know where you are going and what you want.  I want you to walk with your head up, shoulders back and chest pumped out!  You are walking with some "attitude" and your body language is communicating CONFIDENCE!  You want to allow your arms to swing with each stride, as psychologically, this makes you appear to be larger than you really are.  Plus, having your arms free allows you to react quicker if attacked.

Yes, I want you to make EYE CONTACT! The kind that says "I know you are there and I am making sure you know I know....and by the way, I am not afraid of you" kind of eye contact.

Need more convincing?  Just take a look around you and watch people walking in the grocery store or in the parking lot.  I am pretty certain you will be able to spot the people who are confident and portray a very strong body language and the ones who don't.

One last note about body language.  One of the most important aspects of walking with a strong body image is having your head up.  This gives your eyes the ability to remain vigilant, constantly looking for potential danger.

Reason # 2

The second most common reason women get assaulted is lack of awareness.

Are you the type that turns their back to the crowd when answering your cell phone?  I know you are trying to be polite and make the conversation quiet and private, however, you are creating a perfect opportunity to strike.

Are you someone who likes to carry a big pocket book?  I remember my mother carried this huge bag around that I could get lost in when I was a young child.  Trying to find the car keys sometimes took days!

Well, I might be exaggerating, but you get my point.  When you become focused on a singular task, that is the time that attackers like to strike.

How about sitting in your car texting or maybe updating your check book since you were shopping and purchased some items?  Another big NO, NO!

Walking into the rest room without checking to see if anyone was following you?  Looking for something in the trunk of your car?  Running the neighborhood with your Ipod at full blast and your earphones on both ears?


We live in a society filled with so many distractions every day, however, we MUST do all we can to be alert and aware when we are out somewhere and potentially vulnerable!

Reason # 3

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time!

We can't always control this, but we need to be aware and try to avoid places that could potentially be dangerous.  For example, the roof of the parking garage at the mall late at night, say during the Christmas holidays, when the stores stay open late.  Conversely, parking in the basement of a downtown parking garage.  Parking far away from the football stadium in a poorly lit parking lot.  Leaving your place of work by yourself late at night.

If you live in a city, walking down a dark alley!

Hopefully you get the picture.

I feel like you can't always prevent this, because sometimes there are circumstances beyond your control (getting a flat tire on a country road or highway); however, be mindful of potential areas that you would be vulnerable in and avoid them to the best of your ability.  Try to leave work with a friend or make arrangements to have someone pick you up.  Be patient and search for another parking spot that isn't so far away or in an area that has better security.  Don't try to change that car tire.  Call a family member or friend for help.

The Big Three

Attackers pick their victims for lots of reasons and there is NO way to predict with 100% accuracy how to avoid an attack.  However, research has shown the above reasons to be the 3 most consistent reasons given  by attackers that were caught.

If you work on creating a confident and strong body language, maintain a high alert level at all times and  avoid areas that could represent trouble for you, then you will go a long way towards helping yourself stay safe!




Sensei Chris Feldt

Samurai Karate Studio

2000 Clemson Road

Suite # 9

Columbia, SC 29229

803-462-9425

samuraikarate@bellsouth.net