Best 3 kicks for self defence

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Over my 40 years of training in martial arts I am often asked about what the best techniques to use in various situations, for self defence I only have three primary targets, the eyes, the throat and the knee.  These are only for use in the most serious of circumstances as the outcome of strikes to these target areas can result in death or life changing disabilities.  These targets are very easy to get to with very simple techniques; they are very effective with a single strike.

The real benefit of these strikes is that it does not matter how drugged up or how much stronger the attacker is they can allow you to effectively defend yourself and break away.

I then have a series of secondary targets, these are effective but the resulting injury is more temporary, but not necessarily less painful, however if someone is on drugs or drunk they may not feel the effect until after they have sobered up and so they may continue the attack even while injured.

So with that let’s have a look at my top 3 strikes.

A strike consists of 3 parts, the target (where we will strike), the weapon (in this case the ball of the foot or tip of the shoe) and how we get the weapon to the target (in this case a simple front kick).

I will not try and teach you how to do a front kick but a couple of hours with a competent coach will give you all you need, from then it is just a matter of you practicing.  This takes care of the weapon and how to get it to the target. 

My primary target is the knee.  If I hit the knee from the inside out or outside in, i.e. across the knee from the side, then I am likely to floor my attacker, this is because the knee is a hinge joint, it is made for stability and will move forward and backwards, not from side to side (at least not as far as we are going to take it).  This type of injury to the knee will likely stop the attacker from chasing you (probably for at least 9 months), it is extremely effective and your opponent will likely need to visit the hospital meaning they will be easy for the police to pick up afterwards.  We can kick with the ball off the foot or we can stamp through with the heel of the foot.  In both cases we commit fully and drive through towards the ground.

My next go to target is the bladder.  This is a point just below the belly button and just above the belt line.  A good hard kick here will either empty the bladder or rupture the bladder.  I have used this when younger in a pub fight, I kicked the guy here and he immediately wet himself, the fight stopped there and then as he disappeared to the toilet, no one wants to be seen to have wet themselves in a fight (hurts the ego as much as the physical injury J).  If you rupture the bladder this is very painful and will need an immediate trip to the hospital.  This is probably as serious as kicking the knee although takes more skill to employ and so this is my main go to strike in a fight where I do not believe my life is at risk.

Finally the inside of the shin, if you have ever hit your shin on a low table you know how painful it can be, now multiply that by several levels.  On the inside of the foot, locate your ankle (the bone that sticks out on the inside), now measure 2 finger widths up and just tap this point with your knuckles.  Painful J?  This point is easy to find as it is usually just above the top of a shoe or trainer, a swift kick here will get your attacker hopping around on one foot.

These points are guaranteed to be effective, but most importantly if you are in a fight and use these, don’t forget the most important part which is to tell the police that you were “acting in self defence”.

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