In our self-defense workshops we create a simple structure of purpose. The #1 purpose over everything is to get home safe to your loved ones. This may be way of running away, avoiding a confrontation, talking your way out of something, or actual physical fighting. When we act we need to know the BIG 4!
The BIG 4 targets for self-defense are: the eyes, the neck/throat, the groin, and the ankles. Let’s explore the importance of each of these targets.
(1) EYES: Damage the eyes and you damage your attacker’s vision. He can no longer attack what he cannot properly see or focus on. Once the vision is impaired, get out of there.
(2) NECK/THROAT: The neck involves the rear and the sides of the throat while the throat focuses on the front (adam’s apple/larynax). Damage to the throat involves airway destruction thus causing breathing difficulty. If your attacker is too worried about breathing, he is not going to focus on you. Get out of there. The sides and rear of the neck involve whiplash and/or nerve damage resulting in mental confusion and possible unconsciousness. Again, get out of there.
(3) GROIN: Attacks to the groin, although easy to understand, are not so simple in reality. Yes there is intense pain but it is only for a moment. After which, the attacker is going to be really pissed off. The goal here is to cause damage to the testicles, resulting in a bent over position that now gives me access to the eyes, neck/throat. See above and then get out of there.
(4) ANKLES: Structural damage to the ankles is fairly easy to pull off. We want to cause at least a sprain, if not a full-on break of the ankle. No ankle, no standing, no running. Get out of there.
TIP: To cause actual damage to the BIG 4 requires not just reading about it but actual, on-going, physical practice in a multitude of ways and under a variety of conditions. If you are interested in this. Give us a call or click the button below.
