The Top 10 Self Defense Techniques

Self defense can be extremely important, and knowing a few techniques could mean the difference between escaping a dangerous situation and being stuck in one. Of course, this is no replacement for actual training, but this might give you just enough information to save your life one day.

1. Stomp on their feet. This simple technique can be used even when they've grabbed you from behind. It's effectiveness is limited, and if it isn't followed up with another technique, you might find that it only angered your opponent.

2. Kick them in the knees. This is another simple technique that is sometimes available when others are not. When you strike their knees, be sure to angle downward as that will be the most painful. This one is better than stomping on their feet because it's more likely to actually keep them from being able to follow you after you hit them and run.

3. Elbow them in the stomach. This is another technique that can be used when grabbed from behind, and it works well when combined with stomping on their feet. Just be sure to do it as hard as you can.

4. Box their ears. By cupping your hands and slapping their ears, you can create a sound wave so loud that it can actually break a person's ear drums. If you break their ear drums, they will experience very intense pain, and their sense of balance will be considerably thrown off. This is an excellent way of disabling your opponent, allowing you to run as fast as you can while they stumble in an attempt to follow you.

5. Strike their neck. This will give them a choking sensation for several seconds, which is plenty of time for you to turn around and run as fast as you can. Keep in mind that this technique can kill someone, but unless you are trained to kill someone by striking them in the neck, you probably won't, as it takes an impressive amount of force to actually crush the trachea instead of just hurting it. You can use a punch or any blunt object to do this.

6. Stick your fingers in their eyes. Yeah, it sounds silly and it might feel a little gross, but a persons eyes are incredibly sensitive. Jabbing a finger in your opponents eyes will cause their eyes to water, their vision will blur, and it will hurt... a lot.

7. Hit their solar plexus hard. The highest soft area just below the center of your rib cage is called the solar plexus. There is a nerve center hidden there, and a small, weak bone that sticks out into the area. Hitting that nerve center will completely knock the wind out of your opponent, and breaking the bone there will result in immense, non-life threatening pain. While you shouldn't be afraid of killing your attacker since they could very well kill you, morals suggest that it shouldn't be your goal either. This is an excellent way to temporarily cripple someone with a very low chance of actually killing them. Keep in mind that the target area is relatively small, and it's location can make it easy to defend and difficult to hit, but if your attacker is leaving it wide open, hit it with everything you've got.

8. Hit them in the crotch. You might be called cheap for it, but this isn't a sporting fight. This is an attacker who is trying to hurt you, and often the best way to avoid being hurt is to hurt them first and then get away. Nothing is more crippling to a male attacker than a swift kick in his private area. Keep in mind that this also works on females, just not as well, and it will require more force to have a similar effect.

9. Do several of the above. A combo, if you will. Yes, it sounds silly, but while some of these techniques are effective on their own, some of them are less so, and all of them are more effective when combined with other techniques. Just stop after two or three, maybe four at most, because the point is not to beat the crap out of your opponent, but to get away from them.

10. Run away! Yes, that's right, the best self-defense technique is to get as far away from your attacker as possible. This is probably more effective if you've already injured them in some way, but the point is that fighting an enemy is inherently dangerous, while being somewhere else is inherently LESS dangerous.

Whatever you do, don't practice these techniques on your friends, except perhaps the "run away" technique. These techniques are dangerous, and many of them can permanently injure someone, or even kill them. If you would like to practice these techniques, you can do so on a punching bag of some kind, especially a body-shaped punching bag if you have access to one. If you would like to learn more about self defense techniques, a class is best, but if you simply want to know more about self defense in general, here is an excellent page on self defense.