There are a wide variety of difference self defense courses available, and they all seem to teach different strategies. However, every strategy can fall into one of the three basic self defense tactics that exist. Some strategies fit solely into one tactic, while other strategies may be a combination of these three tactics. Regardless of what strategy you choose to learn, at least one of these self defense tactics will exist within it. By understanding what these self defense tactics are and what they are trying to achieve, it will be easier for you to identify what type of self defense course is best suited to what you want to learn. Here is a quick overview of all three.
The first basic tactic prevention. Courses that primarily focus on this tactic will cover a variety of issues and strategies. This includes walking, talking, and moving with confidence. It also includes how to verbally and non-verbally communicate a position of power to your attacker, thus increasing the chances that they will either back down before a confrontation actually happens or simply looking for a different target altogether. This tactic also teaches visual prevention such as walking with your keys stuck between your fingers so that they can used as weapon. Visually, this tells a potential attacker that you have some idea of how to deal with a confrontation and attacking you may be more trouble than its worth. This tactic is usually taught in conjunction with one of the other self defense tactics because this tactic is 99% mental and only 1% physical, which means once an attack starts, prevention is no longer an option.
The second basic tactic is the quick escape. With this tactic, you will often be taught techniques that are meant to momentarily stun your attacker, thus giving you a small window to escape. Strategies that fall into this tactic often include quick strikes and misdirection. This will give you a small window in which you can escape the situation. Keep in mind that while you may momentarily stun your opponent and get the chance to escape, you will often have to exit the situation quickly and sometimes run several blocks or more to completely get out of danger. While this isn’t a bad thing, it is important to keep in mind.
The third basic self defense tactic is incapacitation. The techniques that involved with this type of tactic are often much more damaging to an attacker. For example, to stun someone, you might kick them in shins, but to incapacitate someone, you might kick their knees, which can create lasting damage. Essentially, the strategies that utilize this tactic will damage your attacker for an extended period of time rather than stun them for a few moments.
As you can see, each of these tactics focus on creating a single specific scenario. While strategies often use a combination of these self defense tactics, they don’t necessarily have to. If one of these self defense tactics seems particularly suited to your needs, then choosing a course that emphasizes that tactic over the rest would likely be a good fit for you. Remember, the three basic tactics are prevention, stunning, and incapacitation.
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