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Self Defense & Martial Arts: Defense Against Weapons
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Over the past weekend, a man was stabbed to death in Allston-Brighton, in a street fight that started shortly after closing time at the local bars. You can find more information in today's Boston Globe online, and in the Allston-Brighton Tab online.
There have been a number of late-night incidents in Allston-Brighton in which alcohol, ego, and a lack of common sense have played a role in generating trouble and physical violence. In the case of Sunday morning's unfortunate stabbing homicide, it's very likely that the entire affair could have been avoided if those involved had taken heed of a few very simple safety tips.
At some point in their curriculum, most modern self defense and martial arts courses and programs cover the subject of dealing with an armed attacker. The most common weapons covered in "reality based" self-defense classes are knives and clubs. Knives are easy to use, easy to conceal, and they are very effective when intended to be used to cause serious bodily injury or harm to another person. A club is not a weapon you'll find most criminals carrying around, but almost anything at hand can be wielded with club-like effect: a broom handle, a pool cue, even a tightly rolled newspaper or magazine.
The best self-defense strategy, particularly when weapons are involved, is avoiding trouble altogether by not being in the places where and when any trouble starts. If avoiding trouble isn't possible, quickly retreat to safety if you can!
The next best strategy is avoiding a physical confrontation by employing assertive-but-non-aggressive verbal de-escalation techniques, and/or by giving the aggressor what they want. Nothing you can replace with cash is worth getting shot, clubbed, or stabbed over. And always keep in mind that a well timed, sincere apology might be the best "weapon" in your arsenal!
If a physical confrontation is unavoidable, mounting a successful defense rests in the defender's willingness and ability to engage forcefully, with the intent to do harm and with a tolerance for being injured, and to do so while maintaining an awareness of the environment and when the threat has been neutralized.
In short, mounting a successful physical defense in a stressful environment where weapons are involved requires a great deal of training — and a great deal of luck. There are no guarantees in self-defense!
So if you're going to train "for the street," train hard, and train seriously. Check out the Fast Defense training system, or similar programs. But always remember that the best defense you can mount against an armed and committed attacker is DISTANCE. Avoid trouble if you can!
(Some self defense programs, such as the popular Krav Maga system, deal extensively with unarmed defense scenarios against an attacker with a hand gun. That's a subject for another article!)
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