What are you telling the world?

Today, I'm talking about meta-communication and how it relates to keeping you safe.  In self defense terms, meta-communication is everything you put out to the world without trying to actively communicate it.  Things like body language, tone of voice, etc. are part of this.  Are you actually projecting the information you want?

For example, a guy is trying to get you in the monkey dance.  You're telling him to back off and that you don't want to fight, but you're saying it loud and angry and your fists are clenched.  While you may be saying the right things, you're actually communicating that you are ready to fight.  To calm down a situation, you need to try to be calm yourself.  A softer tone and open hands won't make you less able to defend.

What about when you're not fighting?  What do you project to the world when you're just walking around or hanging out somewhere?  How do predators see you?  Much like in the wild, predators tend to go for the weakest appearing prey.  After all, everything is a cost/benefit analysis.  If there's a decent chance that this person will fight back and the predator might lose or get hurt bad, they'll probably look for an easier one.  What can you do to be a Hard Target?

1. Pay attention: An aware target is one that might see the attack coming and call for help, run, or otherwise be ready.

2. Get in shape: If you look like you can fight back or run fast, a predator is more likely to choose an easier target.

3. Wear clothes you can move in: The fact is, you won't be running anywhere in heels, nor will you with pants sagging around your thighs, not to mention the issues if you need to fight.  If you're going to wear clothes that hinder your movement, make sure to be in a group.

The more you can tip the cost/benefit analysis in your favor, the harder a target you will be.

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The Cage

Today, I'm going to talk about something that should be plainly obvious to all martial artists and non-practitioners.  Parrying an incoming punch, that is catching/moving it, and dodging incoming punches is hard.  Really hard.  Not to say that it can't be done.

That's Muhammad Ali in his prime.  He was the best.  For his career, he spent all day learning how to do things like that.  He had no fear of the incoming flurry.  He also only had to worry about punches.

You, most likely, lack the amount of time it takes to do that as well as Muhammad Ali.  You also have to worry about this happening by surprise, nowhere near a boxing ring, and with potential multiple attackers that can also use their knees, feet, and anything that an be held.  The point is, there is a very small chance of you parrying or dodging anything other than an obvious haymaker from someone that was already in your face, building up to a fight.  This is where the Elbow Cage comes in.

The cage is formed by pressing the palms flat to the head or with support at the wrist as I show in the image above.  Though I'm using it to attack in the picture, this creates a solid structure and plane that can be used to great effect to deflect incoming attacks.  What's even better, is that it is useful the first day it's learned and becomes an automatic response much faster than parrying and dodging.  This is because it mimics one of our instinctual responses to something flying at us, balling up (covering).  When that "Oh, crap!" moment happens, you just get your hands to your head.  No having to focus on the punch or whatever and move or parry at just the right time.  Even the MMA world has all but ditched parries and the bob & weave type dodging for a type of elbow cage they generally call the crazy monkey defense.  We get more use out of it than the sporting arena, but the concept holds true throughout.

In the end, you have to ask yourself if what you're doing is the thing that has the best chance of success or if your pride is making you want to be good enough to pull it off.

www.acwafw.com

The Danger of Keys Between Fingers

During self defense seminars, we often take a poll of the group about if they have been told or have heard that in a self defense situation putting your keys between your fingers is a good idea. The majority of people always say they have and that is exactly the problem, let me explain… When we go on to ask if anyone has ever tried to strike anything any sort of solid with their keys like that, or perhaps would be willing to punch the floor like that at any decent speed.  Of course, the response is always that nobody had tried it, nor are they ready to.  We seem to know inherently that this is a bad idea and are unwilling to take the challenge.  If this is the case, then why would anyone think about doing this sort of thing to defend themselves. If you're not willing to test it in safe, controlled conditions, how can you hope to be able to do it under stress?  Let's look at some reasons why putting your keys between your fingers is a bad idea and then we will give you the CORRECT way to use your keys as a tool for self defense.

Why NOT to put your keys between your fingers:

1) It takes time – You have less than a second and pressure is on.  Even if you have a few seconds to see the assailant approaching, good luck getting everything in the right position..

2) If you strike it will damage your fingers – Try this: put a couple of keys between your fingers and then squeeze the ends together. Do you see how this makes for a virtual vice grip on your finger. This can also happen when you hit something, obviously resulting in torn up or possibly broken fingers.  The fact is, holding keys like this doesn't do much damage either.  There's just not much force impact, only the raking, which is rarely going to be enough to dissuade an assailant..

What you should do….use a hammer grip

The hammer grip is easily the best for using your keys as self defense tools. Hold the keys and whatever else is attached so that they stick out of the top and bottom of your hand.  Crash and hammer relentlessly without fear of damaging your fingers in the process.  Though a knife is shown in the picture, keys or any other hard object can be used.  Just something that’s a bit more straight than round so it fits well in the hand and you're good to go.

Reasons you should hold keys in a hammer grip for self defense:

1) It’s FAST – Hammer grip is fast and easy to set up, just grab your keys, and hammers are a gross motor skill. These skills stick with you under pressure. 

2) It’s safe  – In a hammer grip there are no qualms about smashing either side into the floor. This method passes the challenge, causing no damage to the hand or fingers.

3) It has more power – When you use this grip the entire force of the strike is concentrated onto the hard point sticking out.  The hammering motion is fast, hard to stop, and brings all of your power to bear in the strike.

Something to note for key fob carriers is that you can reach the remote buttons with your thumb in the hammer position.  That panic button is there for a reason!

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The Monkey Dance

What is the Monkey Dance?
Before the fight happens, there's often an obvious build up.  Arguing gets louder, postures get better, and phrases like "You want some?!" and "Do something!" start appearing.  The Monkey Dance is the pre-fight psych up that people do to show how tough they are to you and everyone around.

When the Monkey Dance goes wrong.

How do we handle it?

First, keep as cool and friendly as possible while getting in your fence.  "Talk" with your hands.  Treat the situation like a misunderstanding or otherwise not a big deal, but in a genuine, not condescending, manner.  Don't give them a way to mentally justify hitting you.  If things do escalate, you want to be the obvious good guy.  Perhaps the crowd, if they have no connection to the assailant, will even jump in on your side as shown in the video (unlikely) or they may just tell the police that the other guy started everything and you just defended yourself.  Basically, treat the situation as if a video of it will be played back to a judge, because it just might!

Why don't we get involved?
Not because we're better than them or it's the martial way or some BS like that.  The deal is that if you return the hostility, you consent to fighting.  That's how the law and everyone watching will see it, regardless of who is really the ass or who swings first.  If you escalate the situation at all, you go to jail too.

www.acwafw.com