As stated in yesterday’s post, today’s will be a continuation of our discussion about self-defence, and how crucial it is to understand how to defend yourself. In this day and age, assault and harassment occur more often than not, especially if you’re a woman; I’ve lost count of how many harrowing incidents I have had in this context.
The following information comes from healthline.com.
“5. Alternative elbow strikes: Depending on how you’re standing when you’re initially attacked, you may be in a better position for variations on the elbow strike. To perform from the front:
- Lift your elbow to shoulder height.
- Pivot on same-side foot and allow your hips to rotate, creating more momentum into the front part of your elbow when you strike.
“To perform from the side and back:
- Make sure you see the target.
- Bring your elbow up and pivot your opposite foot, rotating your hips and turning into the target, making contact with the back part of your elbow.
“6. Escape from a ‘bear hug attack’: For cases where the attacker is coming from behind, you’ll want to use this move. Focus on getting low and creating space to free yourself. To perform:
- Bend forward from the waist. This shifts your weight forward, making it more difficult for your attacker to pick you up. It also gives you a better angle to throw elbows from side to side to the attacker’s face.
- Turn into the attacker with one of your elbows and continue counterattacking.
- This should give you space to turn fully, using another move to injure the face or strike the groin. With the space these moves have created, you may be able to escape and run away.
“7. Escape with hands trapped: If your attacker comes from behind and traps your arms (this is similar to a bear hug, but you won’t be able to move as freely), here’s what to do:
- First reaction should be to stop your attacker’s arms from going higher into a headlock. Shift your hips to one side. This gives an opening for strikes to the groin with open-handed slaps.
- Bring your hand back up to your arms and raise your opposite elbow to turn into the wrap. Keep your arms tight to your chest as you’re turning in.
- Stay aggressive with your knees and other counterattacks until you can disengage.
“8. Escape from side headlock: When the attacker locks their arm around your head from the side, your first instinct should be to avoid getting choked. To perform:
- Turn into the attacker’s side as much as possible to avoid being choked.
- With your hand that’s furthest away, strike the groin with open-handed slaps until you have enough mobility to turn your head all the way out to disengage,” the web page explains.
Here’s hoping this can help and benefit someone out there.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
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