Is “Running Away” REALLY The Best Self Defense Technique?
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It always cracks me up when self defense instructors recommend to their students that, when faced with a violent attack, they should “just run away”.
C’mon…is that REALLY a sound self defense strategy?
No, I’m not saying that running is “sissy-like”. You should ALWAYS avoid a fight if you can.
But if THIS is your primary self defense strategy then you’re most likely going to get killed.
Sorry…had to say it. And here’s why…
1. Arthritis, Bad Knees And Hip Replacements…OH MY!
63% of our members in the International Society of Close Quarter Combatants are over the age of 40 and many are up in their ’70’s.
Some of these guys have had to face the hard fact that they may have NO CHOICE but to stand and fight if they’re ever attacked.
Being “over 40″ myself, I can attest to the increase in creaks, cracks, and reduction in mobility that comes with getting older. Sucks!
So your chances of outrunning a younger, stronger, more agile attacker are pretty much next to nil.
The answer is to learn brutally effective close quarters combat techniques that DON’T rely on strength or speed to get the job done.
2. “Running Away” Is Just Plain DANGEROUS!
When you’re running from an attacker (or attackers!), your adrenaline is pumping, your heart is racing, and your judgement is even MORE clouded than if you were standing toe-to-toe.
Fact is, especially in an urban setting, if you’re in the “lead” while running away, YOU have to be the one to watch for obstacles and pitfalls.
It’s easy to trip over a box, curb, trash can, bicycle, fence, bystander, or any number of other environmental challenges…especially if it’s dark out.
The guy running behind you only has to follow you and if YOU jump over something, he already knows what obstacles are in his path. When you trip…he has you!
Worse still…run into the street to escape and a mack truck might have you!
3. Training For Gang Olympics!
Why in the world would I want to put my fate in the hands of whether or not I’m a faster sprinter than my attacker?
Besides, gangbangers and professional criminals get WAY more “running practice” than I do from:
- running from the police
- running from other gang members
- running from their 3 girlfriends and 12 kids
- running from the boyfriends or husbands of their 3 girlfriends
I think I’ll just assume that he’s faster than I am.
How To Win A Running Contest…
Ok, all that being said…running away DOES have it’s advantages!
Sticking around to fight also means that you’re open to attack by other “bad guys” in the area who come to help your attacker out. Not good!
If you DO have a safe exit…go for it!
1. Strike FIRST…Run SECOND!
You can use any headstart you can get so…
…shove your fingers in your attacker’s eyes and he can’t see where he’s going
…stomp on the top of his foot to crush the small bones there and he won’t be able to run
…shove his testicles up into the deep recesses of his guts and he may run…but a bit “lopsided” and damn slow
…you get the picture!
2. Use Your Environment!
When running, look for something…ANYTHING…you can throw in the path of the guy running after you!
A garbage can, a bicycle, a shopping cart…anything they’ll have to maneuver around that can trip them up or slow them down.
3. Worst Case Self Defense Technique…When THEY Are Faster!
There’s always the real possibility that you WON’T be able to outrun your attacker.
You’re huffing and puffing and you can slowly hear the sound of his stolen Nike Air’s getting closer and closer.
You know the inevitable is going to happen and running away ISN’T going to help you out of this one.
So you stop and turn around to go face-to-face, right?
WRONG!
Here’s a little trick I picked up in 1st grade as a somewhat brutal game we played on the playground.
Some call it “Johnny Tackle”. We had a less politically correct name for it, but in my opinion, it’s a GOLDEN MARTIAL ARTS LESSON for self defense and it goes like this…
Someone is “it” and has a ball. “It” runs around the schoolyard and everyone else has to try to tackle the guy with the ball or kick their feet out from under them until they throw the ball up in the air for someone else to catch and run away with while everyone now attacks the new “it”.
One trick I picked up when I had the ball was to wait until the mob that was trying to smear my face into the ground was so close that I could hear their feet close to mine and could practically feel the snot from their nose dripping down the back of my neck.
Then I would quickly drop to the ground, covering my head and curling up into a tight “ball”.
The closest person behind me would never be able to react in time and would inevitably trip over me and land flat on his face.
If there were others right behind him, they often fell over me also and there may be a pile of bloodied 1st graders lying on the ground.
Then I’d hop up and begin running again!
YOU can use this same technique if YOU feel the hot breath of your attacker getting closer and closer and you know you can’t outrun him.
Just wait until he’s nearly on top of you and has no time to react.
Then quickly drop to the ground so he trips over you and lands flat on his face.
From that point, you can either continue to run away in a different direction to escape (hopefully)…
…or take advantage of his unfavorable position and follow up with your own close combat tactics, like a nice football kick to the face, to finish him off.
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i really like this article, it really sets an example on the ways an attacker can reach you and the ways to help yourself instead of just running.
you would set a good example for kids a schools with maybe bully or gang problems.
Your right Jeff. I had not thought about this before but it is an excellent strategy. You may well have saved some readers life here…
good thought……………Peter
sounds good “on paper” but the
premise is flawed, namely that the
fetal-trip-finish-em-off move would
work for the older types, like me.
granted, it may have worked great
for you as a first-grader. but foks
with arthritis, etc. don’t tend to
be in the first grade, or have
equivalent levels of performance
abilities or nimbleness that this
move requires. also, i don’t like
being on the ground — no matter
how well timed the drop — in front
of ANY bad guy. it’s a sub optimal
place to hang out.
sorry. doesn’t fly here. might for
those in better shape.
my solution for when the bus leaving
dodge won’t budge:
“always have a gun”
craig smith
waterford, va
nra certified instructor
That’s great! I know just when I can use it too…
Hi Jeff,
Think that the technique is possible if it was one you practiced a LOT, or you got lucky (and never discount ‘getting lucky’ – probably saved more people than any amount of training)…
I go for the idea that in one to one (as a civilian) you want to do what is necessary to allow you to get away, and if you are elderly or infirm, that means walking away, leaving your attacker on the ground for a while…
In a gang attack situation (and I have been blessed that I have never had this happen outside of training) I go with the grab one, hurt one, use them as a shield if it was a fight. If it was at an earlier threat stage I would suggest grab one, hurt them bad (Bloody and so they are Screaming) and take the initiative and threaten the gang… HIGH RISK – assumes NO firearms – but maybe a best bet.
I’m currently suffering (only a little) from a bruised windpipe from some over-enthusiastic training at the weekend. So, it’s real prominent in my mind that “Getting hit hurts” – I think we all need to work real hard on our strategic skills – risk assessment, avoidance and of course verbal self defense.
Like they used to say (TV – Hill Street Blues)
“Be Safe Out There”
All the best.
Robert.
—
Robert Agar-Hutton.
Teacher!
Thanks for the offer I did, was very good for me to know that I will learn a trick that did not.
Thank you for themselves the Armed forces of the United States of America.
Wait for more news to be usable for me.
Professor I could buy you a CD but I am unemployed and can not buy, beg many excuses for him, to know my life.
Good trick Jeff.
here’s one I used when I was a kid… Turn and fake out your adversary by making him think you’re going to run, when he’s very close,turn sideways and bend over into a semi squat, when he gets there he’ll bump into you because he won’t be able to stop in time- when he does straighten up suddenly and he’ll go sprawling. He’ll have at least some skinned elbows and chin if he’s lucky, a broken neck if you are.
Ed Anderson
personal stratergy is to get the first shot in, but if theres a gang deffinatly running is a good idea, ad if their catching up to you quickly this johnny tackle is the best advice i ve heard….. nice post jeff
Peter, #2 may have a rightous comment there. I’m one of those over 70 and if there is one thing I can do well, its fall down with conviction. Done well the guy in chase will not be able to perform a convienent roll out like the burly young man in the demo and when his upper body contacts the macadam it will cause his head to weigh more than he can imagine. I remember it used to work well in playground Dodgeball and Kickball but that was about 60 years ago. Another trick is to run near a familiar telephone pole with a cable brace on it. The trick is to just barely duck under it. This is one that truly the bigger they are the harder they fall. regards…The Ole Master Chief.
well for the old guys with arthritis, you can always put on the brakes suddenly and take any of the following actions.
1. elbow strike to the face/throat/sternum.
2. shift left/right in the stop, reach back as attacker makes contact and grab head/ears, bend, twist and release the bag of bones over your shoulder.
3. fake a trip, take a knee with palms down in the push up position, and follow through with Jeff’s technique.
Adapt and overcome. semper fi
Don’t run, walk. Running away from a fight is dangerous.
1. It shows fear and therefore impetus for your attacker to continue
2. When you run, you’re not thinking straight
3. You leave yourself in a weaker position physically if and when you do need to retaliate
4. You run (sorry about the pun) the risk of running into an obstacle or worst still, in a strategically bad location – a dead end. Regardless of what Sun Tsu said, still not a good idea
Walking away on the other hand, shows that you’re calm and therefore thinking straight. It’s easier for you to retaliate should physical confrontation eventuate. Furthermore, it doesn’t show fear. You’re not afraid of them, just level headed enough to walk away however, you’re still a threat to them should they persist.
There’s a lot of wisdom in the old sayings…
K
Lotsa good ideas here, now if I could only do like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix, and dodge bullets and fly and such.
This is a good theory, but what happens to you when you’re running at “full” speed and then drop suddenly to your knees in a ball? My guess is you’ll hurt yourself from the force of the fall or at least get some nasty road-rash. You’ll probably also tip over from the momentum. The effect it has on the attacker may still be the same – they go tumbling – but my guess is you’ll be a little worse for the wear and maybe not so quick to pop up and start kicking the attacker. Just a thought…
First, regarding running (and being the guy who gets dropped). I remember a couple of schoolyard games in which this dropping and having the follower fall was not unusual. I caused and took a few falls myself. But this was around 4th, perhaps 5th grade… so I was pretty flexible, as were all my schoolmates. Some of the running also took place in winter, and heavy Chicago snowfalls helped. But now? Hmm. Being in your “over 60″ crowd, I don’t know if I could pull it off. Flexibility is not the same. So I may pass on that.
Second, a successful running story. 4th yr High School student… I decided to take a short cut through an alley… not a wise decision. Two guys, one quite taller than me, call out and they start running towards me. One has what looks like a long stick in his hand. I saw a clear path ahead and started running – very fast – and pumped by adrenaline. I was able to make it out of the alley into a more heavily trafficked street and my pursuers dropped off before the end of the alley. So running worked that time.
Third, a successful non-running story. Fast forward a few years. Now a 48 yr old man… in Denver. Apparently walked through wrong neighborhood. Guy runs at me with a stick… raises it. Instinctively hit his forearm near the elbow with left hand and rammed the palm of my right hand under his jaw. Head snaps back, momentum stops, body arched backward… so I rammed my knee up into the crotch and the palm went up under his jaw again. he dropped and THEN I ran – again pumped up by adrenaline – away from there.
So… three experiences with running… as a grade school kid… as a high school kid… and as an adult. All circumstances were different. What would I do today at 61? Probably hit and run if possible. Might opt for the gun alternative mentioned above in an extreme case. Going toe-to-toe with two or more groupie types half my age doesn’t fill me with enthusiasm. I’ll leave that to Jet Li choreographed fights in the movies. But perhaps the best option is to increase SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. I probably could have avoided situations 2 and 3 above if I’d had better situational awareness. Now, I’m much more conscious of the need to not “let down the guard”. So perhaps that is the best option for the older generation. But, if in spite of this you end up facing someone who’s not armed, hit and run is probably the best bet. Like someone above said, I don’t like the idea of voluntarily dropping to the ground – and I’m not sure how my skeleton will take a hit from a speeding pursuers leg, knee or waist. Time passes, age makes its presence known and one has to deal with the ensuing consequences. Maybe we need to think this through a little more for some of the audience members.
I liked reading story Jeff, good technique. We used to play that game too in elementary school. I was always one of the bigger kids in school, so running was not always a good option for me, due to lack cardio conditioning. (I have greatly improved since then) I would just run right through everybody and mow them over. The other kids hated when I was “it”, because they knew they were getting hurt. Running isn’t a good option for everyone due to physical limitations and environment. The best solution to any problem is prevention, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We should remember the 3 As: Awareness, attention and avoidance. I have a size advantage over most people (6′1 330lbs solid frame), but there is always that person who wants to try me. The most I can do is be prepared (I have a conceal carry permit) and try to learn as much as possible. Keep sending more good info like this!
Sounds good in the situation described but I wouldn’t drop down at a 90 degree angle to the attacker. I would be leary of getting a knee in the side while tripping him. I would drop at a slight angle so my hip would be the first thing contacted and place my trailing hand over the back of my neck.
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I like that technique very much, and I think I used it in about the same context when I was a child.
I actually did something very similar a few years ago when I was assaulted by a drunken person at the bus station. He was sronger than me, and no matter how I tried, I could not get him to let go of me. So I tricked him into a fight where we tried to push each other backwards. I managed to get him to push with all his bodyweight and power, and then I quickly stepped aside at the same time as I stopped pushing and started pulling.
The result was that he fell forward very forcefully on a very hard bench, which almost knocked him out. I went on the bus, and when the bus left several minutes later, he still had not been able to stand up.
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Good instruction, actually I did that kind of thing when I played football, so it’s really nothing new to me, however timming is everything, if you drop to soon your attacker could see this and jump over you, but even so, it still gives you a chance to get away, as for the other guy complaining about not being agile, in a life or death situation, you would be amazed at what you can do, believe me I know, I don’t carry a gun, never have and never will.. Good instruction, keep up the good work…
Daniel
Jeff, that is a great idea, I was reading some of the comments and was thinking that you don’t want the gang to siround you before you make a move. If they do siround you, you are going to have to stand and fight. I think one thing we can do if posiable is to always be looking ahead so we know what is there and go a different way if need be. I would like to hear your comments on this and what you think about it.