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Gotcha.
\”Bigger they are, harder they fall\” Truer words were never spoken.\”I went in with brute force, they’re coercing technique out of me\” LOL Glad to hear it’s working out for you. I’m of the opinion that the person using brut force will almost always be the person flat on their backside when they meet someone with proper technique, I guess I’ve seen it proven to many times. Thanks for all the great gouge!
-WaltOk, how about decent gouge, meaning slang for information (yeah, I know it’s not an actual defintion) and great conversation to keep me awake while I was at work from 1900-0700 last night/this morning. 🙂
Don’t get too caught up in the \”Bigger they are the Harder they fall\”, myth. You could also say that the bigger they are, the harder they hit. While it’s true that someone with good technique but smaller size/strength, may be able to beat someone with greater size/strength with very little or no technique, the real world \”ain’t\” like the movies.
Size and strength can make up for alot of technique. There is a reason why world champions in boxing, wrestling, and other combat sports struggle against technically inferior opponents when they move up in weight classes. That’s not to say that catching a larger/stronger someone quickly and ferociously won’t win you the battle for the day. Also the training we do can make up for some of the differential in size.
There is a maxim in many sports that a good big man will beat a good small man. And before I get a bunch of examples of how others have seen some little guy destroy some monsterous bully, yes, there are always exceptions to the rule.
Hey, what are you trying to say?? 😥 😉
125? 133? You guys are HUGE!!!!!
Now, BJJ is a system that was designed to work for smaller people against bigger people. Not sure the same can be said about KM, although generally the techniques should work for everyone. The pluck for example should work even against a much stronger person.
Some techniques can be more difficult to perform if you are smaller. Downward stab for example. Ideally, you would want to move in as soon as you see the attack, keeping your defending arm at a 90 degree angle and punching simultanously. You shouldn’t reach for the knife (straighten your arm). So, if the guy is a foot taller (or more 🙁 ) you will not be able to reach his knife arm that way and might have to wait until he brings the knife down, at which point he is very strong and all of his weight is behind it, making it harder to defend. Also, your counterattack will have less weight behind it and punching upwards sucks, you lose a lot of power.
But you’ll just have to learn to deal with all of these things and figure them out on your own. For example, if you see the knife attack early and the assailant is very tall, you could just put your arm up as a shield (as in 360 defense) and move in to punch without making contact with the arm he is attacking with. So, you’d punch first, then make contact with the wrist. It’s not ideal, but better than to wait until he is very strong, has all of his weight behind the punch and you would have to stand so close to reach his chin that you would practically make the defense above your head (which makes the defense weaker, too). If you are a little later, you could also hit his wrist at a bit of a side angle, that might make your block stronger.
Some things to watch out for, but overall KM is a great system and will work for the little people, too.
Always remember, flyweights rule!!! 😈
USNavy, thanks for the update on my slang 😉
Klem, I agree with you. That’s why I work on my technique. Just letting Navy know that accidents will happen, and as they’re even more likely to happen in real life than in the studio, it’s best to know how to run with them.
Giantkiller, how little are you?
Man, I don’t know what happened! I kinda stopped growing around the time I was 12. I’m 104 right now. 🙁 Actually, before I started working out (maybe ten years ago) I was only around 90! So, 104 is actually a step up for me… 😀
I’ve only gotten about 1\” taller since I was 9, but I’ve gotta stay at least somewhat on top of my diet and workouts to keep from pushing 200lbs…as in scale weight, not iron 😳
Oh, and about the knife defense…I got pulled on last Friday, and while situations will always be different, you’ll do what comes reflexively, which in my case was a frontkick to the solarplexus. Unless you’re dealing with a pro-basketball player, you should be able to get the reach on someone that way.You do the kick defense if he is further away, coming toward you and you have room to kick. If he is closer, you will have to do a 360 hand defense, which is were the weird angles come in. Kick defense can be harder, too, it’s good if you can kick him high on the chest (as opposed to the abdomen), because it is easier to stop him that way, but if he’s tall it’s hard to reach, unless you are very flexible. And it’s never fun trying to stop a moving mass twice your own weight (or more) with just one kick… 🙁
Well, I may be skinny (perhaps scrawny is the proper term! 😀 ) but I’m tall enough to kick somewhere square in the chest without much effort. That being said, I can’t imagine a \”good scenario\” for kicking someone in the chest during a street fight. I guess I’ll learn a thing or two when I start my classes soon!!
Most of the knife defenses we cover in Krav deal with someone extending the knife towards us, not walking in on us with the knife…which is more likely to happen when you’re dealing with somebody who knows a thing or two about knifing people. I can’t figure a way for me to have used a 360 in that scenario…they’re all different, so it’s hard to say \”I’d do this.\” It’s just practise in class as much as we can, and then trust our reflexes if we ever need to use it. I’m flexible and have short legs, which makes timing and placement pretty easier for me. Also, having done loads of \”kick the moving target\” drills in class, I don’t think high on the chest is better than the abdomen…although I wouldn’t want to get too close to the groin, as that folds the person, bringing their hands/weopon closer to me. Navy, the usual reason for a kick to the chest is to create distance, either to give us time to get out or plan the next move.
\”Navy, the usual reason for a kick to the chest is to create distance, either to give us time to get out or plan the next move.\”
That makes since. All my training to this point has either revolved around Prisoner Control or has incorporated weapons. I think my natural reaction to a guy trying to knife me at close distant would be control the wrist with one hand and draw my weapon with the other. Obviously that training is completely different when you’re unarmed. That’s one of the major reasons I looked in KM in the first place, because even as a CCW holder, there will still be times and places where I’m not carrying.
When we do 360 defenses against knife we usually do an immediate counterattack (punch to the face). So block with one hand, punch with the other. Then there is a way to catch the attacker’s wrist, give a few more knees if necessary, then do a cavalier to take the knife. Of course you don’t have to take the knife if you can get away safely without doing so. If you have your own gun, you could just make the initial block and counter and if that hurts the guy enough, make some distance and draw your weapon. Could be dangerous, too, though, I’ve heard that if a guy with a knife attacks a guy with a drawn gun from about 20 feet away (or closer) it’s likely the knife guy is still going to win (unless maybe he’s hit in the head). Guns can be inaccurate and even though you might hit him, you may not kill him and he will still be able to get close enough to you to stab you multiple times. So maybe you shouldn’t disengage and draw your weapon unless you have really hurt him with your initial set of counters.
Kick higher on the chest tends to stop the person more easily, because it will push his upper body backwards, while kicking to the abdomen will just fold him over (and thus cause the knife to come toward you). Sometimes you might even kick to the head, such as in underhand stab, because his head will be closest to you in that attack. But wherever you kick, the main thing is that you kick at all if you can.
Giant Killer,
A gun is only as accurate as it’s owner. Using a gun is really no different than using unarmed self-defense skills, you’ve got to practice often if you plan on being any good. I wouldn’t break contact with the attacker then draw. I’d control the wrist; draw and fire then, break away and gain ground. You are correct, the average person can close a distant of 21 feet or less before you could draw and fire. That being said, if you’ve already drawn, you could get shots off as someone is lunging and you just need to back up as you fire. Believe me, a jacked hollow point to the chest will be more affective than a kick from a 133-pound guy! 😉What it all boils down to in my opinion is that everyone should employ a 3-layered approach at a minimum. Those layer would be; 1) self/situational awareness, 2) unarmed self-defense skills, 3) firearm or other deadly force tool. Now that’s just my $.02, if you don’t like firearms than adjust that to mean stun gun, knife, mace, etc. Or, if you’re completely confident you could affectively disable an attacker wielding a knife, club, or gun while unarmed before he/she lands a deadly blow well, more power to you. I know I’m not that proficient with my hands yet.
Well I just got back from my first Krav class. I jogged the 1.08 miles to the studio and got there about 15 minutes early. After chatting with the instructor for about 10 minutes the \”other guy\” showed up. The studio just opened this month so there were only two of us in the 1200 class.
I was very impressed with the method of training, the simplicity, and the perceived effectiveness of the techniques. We went through all the basic strikes, practices them on a pad against each other, then did a two minute \”shotgun\” drill in which we threw a constant flurry of strikes while the target moved around. I had done this type of training before (once with a Marine Security Cadre a few other times during some Navy training). I find it very affective and this time was no different. After that we practice the pluck on a rear choke. I can say that I had to fight through a couple old habits (like twisting the wrist and turning immediately to my attacker instead of side stepping and locking out the wrist).
Funny thing, I’m a big gun guru (comes with the territory) and it just so happens that the instructor is looking to buy his first handgun so we spent about 20-30 minutes after the class discussing his options, when we could get to the range so he could try out a few guns, etc.
Overall I was very impressed with the instructor and the training. I’m officially hooked. Iíll be going back on Thursday and then next week making it my normal routine (at least MON, TUES, and THURS, and probably an occasional Saturday class). Well, thatís it. Just wanted to share my positive experience.
Oh, a couple people had commented about the jog home. It wasnít too bad. I could tell that I had already worked out but it wasnít anything too devastating. Then again, it was only one mile. Had it been 3 or 5 Iím sure it would have got up with me more!
-Walt
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