Criteria on finding a good self defense program:
If you are looking for a self defense training program or are currently training consider these questions.
If you are looking for a self-defense-training program or are currently training consider these questions:
Do you use protective gear to train, wear loose clothing, and are barefoot? Conditions completely different from the streets. Is training confined to rules?
Do you train under Situation-Specific Scenarios? Do they have to change if your attacker does something different or "If he does this than you do that?" and then you ask "What if he does this" question making everything to hard to remember and confusing.
Do methods consider every type of environment? Streets, bus, rain, living room. Can you perform the techniques even if you are injured or in small spaces?
Do methods require constant practice and you have to separate techniques for empty hand, weapons, or multiple attackers?
If you say yes to any of these questions find a different self defense program, school or class because you are wasting your money, time and are being lied to. These programs will get you hurt or killed; self-defense programs or learning to defend yourself should not be complicated. It should be quick, easy to learn and apply in extreme situations. How you train is how you will respond in the real world, training should be as realistic as possible.
Mindset Tips :
Always assume that your attacker has the intent to harm or kill you
Always assume your attacker knows something about fighting that you do not know
Assume the attacker is meaner and tougher than you are, even if he is smaller than you, never underestimate a person by their size
Assume they are armed with a weapon and are not alone
Self Defense Tactical Tips:
Eyes: Finger Flick Or Eye Gouge
Finger Flick: With an open hand whip it out like you are snapping a towel, strikes the eyes using the back of the hand and finger nails.
Finger Press: Firmly place your thumb below or above the eye socket area and press
Flat On Your Back (Anti Rape Positioning)
Have your hands on attackers shoulders, lock out your elbows so you have something to push off of and begin moving your body from underneath his. Get your feet onto his hips and use your legs to control his hips pushing his body away from yours and preventing penetration. Move him enough so you have room to kick his face/throat, keep kicking till he doesn't move or leaves.
If you are on your back ALWAYS try to raise your knees onto your chest so you can push someone off you if they are trying to mount you by placing your feet on there hips. It is also a good idea when you have your hands on the attackers shoulders to lift your hands off the shoulders place your palms to the sides of his face and press your thumbs and nails into his eyes or above or below the eye socket area. Always be sneaky attack in mid sentence or word, speak in a sweet tone " Don't hurt me I will do anything …" ATTACK he will not expect it.
If you can not move take the first opening you can get there may not be another chance to get away. The second he fumbles with clothing, puts his weapon down or moves ATTACK. Do not let yourself be put into a car, be tied up or moved to a second location you will most likely never seen again.
Combat Conditioning Tips
Hands/Fingers
Individual Finger Lifts: Just grasp dumbbell bar with your fingers or go on a low hanging bar let your bodyweight hang and left yourself up.
Curl Ups: Take a loaded dumbbell/barbell grasp it so it's just supported by your finger tips then using your fingers curl the weight into your hand and squeeze for a five count.
Grippers: Squeeze grippers in and out for a five count, can be used individually by each finger also. If you do not have a gripper, car cable clamps work well.
Jam your hands in sand/rice, finger tip push ups and rock climbing
Fill with sand or dry concrete an army duffel bag of any shape or size. Grasp bag by the loose material then throw it, hoist it, slam it in any direction. Simulates grappling someone by his or her clothes.
TIP: When using fingers to apply locks use your two middle fingers, they are naturally the strongest fingers, that is why rock climbers use them primarily.
Wrists
You can have super strong hands but if your wrists are weak those hands are useless. There are a number of ways to strengthen and condition your wrists. Remember size doesn't equal strength; train for strength not size.
Plate Wrist Curls: Take weight plate, grasp plate with your fingers on the backside and your thumb hooked over the side facing you. Sit on a chair/bench, rest your arm on your leg with your hand and plate hanging over your knee. Curl the plate up; twist your wrist so your pinky goes towards your face. Lower and raise on a five count, five sets of six reps. Works forearms, fingers and thumb also.
Sledgehammer Curls: Grab sledgehammer by the bottom handle, hold hammer out to the side so it does not drop on your head, with your arm straight lower the hammer down to your shoulder and back up. Warning be careful not to hurt your shoulder while performing this exercise.
OR
Hold the hammer in the middle of the handle and levering it side to side, keep your arm neutral and straight the only thing that should move is your wrist.
Wrist push ups, simply place the back of your hands on the floor instead of your palms.
Stay intense, change things around in your program so you don't get bored or plateau. Changing exercises every five weeks will give you greater gains in all areas of combat.
Defintions:
Load: Amount of weight lifted
Rep: Number of consecutive contractions or lifts performed without a rest
Rep: MAX: Max number of reps possible during one set
Set: Number of reps performed consecutively before resting
Rest/Set: Rest time between sets
Rest/Days: Rest time between days
Time/Rep: Speed of each rep
Train For Maximum Muscle Gain
To gain maximum muscle, the focus of your workouts should consist of free weight exercises. Not machines or bodyweight exercises. To get an effective, workout, you must stimulate the most muscle fibers as possible, and machines can not do this. The main reason for this is a lack of stabilizer muscle development. Stabilizer muscles are supporting muscles that assist the main muscle in performing a complex lift. The more stabilizers worked, the more muscle fibers stimulated. Compound free weight exercises like the bench press, require many stabilizer and synergistic muscle assistance to complete the lift. Put performing a bench press exercise using a machine will need almost no stabilizer assistance. Since machines are locked into a specific range of motion and help to support the weight along that path, they fail to stimulate the muscles that surround the area you are working (stabilizers). If your stabilizer muscles are weak, then the major muscle group will never grow! Free weight exercises like the dumbbell press or squat, for example, put a very large amount of stress on supporting muscle groups. That's why you will get fatigued faster and not be able to lift as much weight as you did on the machine. But you will gain more muscle and become stronger quicker. If you use machines in your program, they should be used to work isolated areas and only after compound exercises have been completed. Beginners should begin with a limited combination of machine exercises, bodyweight exercises and free weights.
Compound Excercies : The exercises that work the large muscle groups are called compound movements that involve the stimulation of many muscle groups. Compound exercises should be the foundation of any weight training program because they stimulate the most amount of muscle in the least amount of time.
Basic Movements : Bench Presses (works the chest, shoulders, triceps) Overhead Presses (shoulders, triceps) Pull-ups/Barbell Rows (back, bicep) Squats (legs, lower back) Deadlifts (legs, back, shoulders) Bar Dips (shoulders, chest, arms) Don't start a weight-training program without them! They have been proven to encourage muscle and strength gain unlike any other exercises.
Train With Heavy Weights: To build mass, you must weight train with heavy weights. To consider a weight heavy, you should only be able to do a maximum of 8-12 reps before your muscles temporarily fail. Heavy weights stimulate more muscle fibers than lighter weights. More muscle stimulation means more muscle growth.
Beware Of Training: Heavy weight training puts a huge strain on your body, so adequate rest and recuperation after your workouts is essential. If you are prone to train too often, several things happen: * You don't give your muscles enough time to recuperate between workouts. If your muscles have not repaired themselves, you will not be at maximum strength for your next workout. Rest is essential, you only grow when you are resting. Other than eating, this should be your main focus.
