Search the Internet for the term 'self defense' and you will find hundreds of websites selling a plethora of various self defense weapons. Stuns guns, key chains, kubatons, throwing stars, pepper sprays and on and on. Now they even have stun guns that are disguised as cell phones! Are these so called self defense weapons effective? Should you consider purchasing any of them? The answer is yes and no. First of all if you happen to have a stun gun or pepper spray canister in hand and ready to fire when you are attacked, I would say they probably would work very well. The two key phrases here are 'in hand' and 'ready to fire'. What are the chances of that? You see these weapons can work and really help you out of jamb but they need to be: A) In hand B) Ready to fire C) Hidden or disguised Surprise is an important element in self defense, especially if you plan to use a weapon. The problem with most self defense weapons is that they look like a weapon (I suppose they are making progress with stun guns that look like a cell phone). How about a knife or pistol? A knife can be very effective if you know how to use it and most of all if you have it in hand or ready at the time of an attack. A gun could be great, again if it's in hand, you are at close range and know how to use it. Many a police officer could not get their gun un-holstered and fired before some maniac attacked them. There are many verified cases of this happening. Another big problem with knives and guns is that they are illegal to carry in some states, the UK, Australia and many other places. So what is a possible solution? In my mind it is learning to recognize and use just about anything in reach as an effective weapon of self defense. Practicing a little so you can hit a vital target and learning how to disguise the implement so it doesn't look like a weapon, giving you the element of surprise. I learned this years ago at some weird seminar I took. The guy was an expert at this and his training (although the instructor was very odd and somewhat scary) was great. It is the essence of my Extraordinary Impact DVD which teaches the entire system.Putting Together Your Self Defense Puzzle As you are learning self defense (and I hope you are continuing to learn, regardless of your experience) you will come across many teachers, styles and systems. Some will make sense, be easy to learn and you will feel comfortable with the style and techniques. Others will seem foreign to you. They might make you feel inadequate or even fearful of your lack of knowledge. Some will be striking systems, others grappling or throwing arts. Some will use mostly or all hand techniques. Others will rely primarily on kicking. Some will base their system on locks, pressure points or joint manipulation. So what is right for you? For self defense to be effective I believe the following things are important: 1. Whatever system or style you are using, it should be simple and effective. 2. It should address or at least be compliant with the realities of the adrenal rush. It must take into account tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, loss of fine motor coordination, body shakes and sweats and minimized cognitive thinking. While some experts claim they can eliminate the effects of the adrenal rush (by various methods of meditation, breathing control, etc.) the truth is that everyone, to one extent or another, is effected by the huge amounts of adrenaline the body 'Automatically' pumps into your blood stream when you are threatened or attacked. 3. In my opinion it should rely primarily on striking as opposed to throwing, joint manipulation or locks. 4. Again, in my opinion, it should rely more (mostly) on the use of hand techniques as opposed to kicking. Some of my (mostly Korean stylist) friends believe that kicking is the answer. Their argument is that: a) the legs are longer than the arms and they feel they have the reach advantage over someone relying on hand techniques. b) the legs are much stronger than the arms so are more powerful and devastating. The truth is that real attacks and fights are close in. In fact if they start at a distance the gap is closed very quickly and rarely separates again. So the two biggest advantages of kicking go right out the window. Knee kicks, stomps and scrapes do work well at close quarters and so I highly recommend them. 5. The best system, style or techniques for you are ones you feel confident with and believe in. Things you feel you can actually 'pull off' when it counts. As you probably know I review many self defense DVD programs. Occasionally I will recommend a program based on my opinion of it's effectiveness. I look for techniques that will work in real situations and sometimes find a technique or modification that will enhance my own system. When I do, I test it out at my school and if it's better than what I am doing for a particular attack, I incorporate it into my system. If you are serious about being effective with your own self defense you should do the same.
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