06.03.13
After a long layoff it was time to revise the entire basic self-protection course for this student. I was happy to see that most of the material had been retained and the hard skills had been maintained. We used resistance bands and some other aids to help better correct form on the hand striking.
We began with the fence, confirming straight and hook strikes. This was done as a preemptive strike and then through transitional postures. We also confirmed responsive combinations, looking at elbows, hammer strikes, knee strikes and groin kicks. Moving on to reactions, we went back over the cover. Then we covered bites, eye gouges, finger locks and sprawls into knee strikes for the anti-grappling applications. I finished this off with a small amount of stand-up grappling using the philtrum takedown.
The client reported injuries, not incurred in training, which affected their lesson. It is important that a client does not aggravate any existing conditions or worsen any injuries. However, it is also worth noting that an attacker is not going to care how injured or disabled you are when they attack. Students need to learn how to train around injuries and use restriction to their advantage. They also need to know how to fight from disadvantageous circumstances; this is the essence of bespoke self-defence training.
The session was finished with ground fighting. First we did asymmetrical ground defence. Here the importance was on spinning the body so that the feet met the feet of the attacker. Then we did symmetrical ground fighting from the mounted position. We brought in anti-grappling tactics, but the most important response to remember when defending from underneath in this context is the shoulder bridge. Position is paramount in all aspects of fighting. Who holds the position has most options and nearly aways the advantage. Bridging is the most efficient way to move someone pinning you. Eye-gouges provide good leverage. Biting make provide some gaps. You can strike upwads, but gravity is against you. However, what moves someone on top is the briding motion. We looked at arm-wrapping too and how to turn an attacker before fighting your way back to your feet.
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