Reactive Defence Techniques

[drop bear]

Other than that, the groundwork effort is probably pretty similar. It's the standing throws in arts like Judo that can get rough. I can ease someone down off a hip throw in drills (and that apparently takes some skill - students struggle to have enough control of uke to ease them down), but not in resisted training. A shoulder throw is always a shoulder throw.

And this guy weighs a bit which is going to make it more difficult.

Double leg. Single legs can be trips if you want to he nice.

That wrestling vs aikido bid is a good example of a wrestler taking care of his partner.

 

[frank raud]

No, I did not say that. Please reread my post.

"My experience is that MOST people react to pressure points if they are applied correctly. That is the key. For those few who may not, JUST BE SURE YOU HAVE A BACKUP PLAN, SOMETHING TO TRANSITION TO

FYI, the Hapkido I studied generally used pressure points as an assist. One of our early wrist grab defenses is to swing the wrist down and back over the opponents arm, while activating the pressure point in the outer elbow. The grabbed arm is then slid under the opponent's arm while we step through and behind the opponent, putting the opponent in an arm lock grabbing the clothing, and pulling back on the head by pulling the opponent's hair or forehead. Might sound complicated, but in fact is really isn't. AND IT FLOWS QUITE SMOOTHLY, WITH THE AID OF THE PRESSURE POINT."

Bolding by me. So you say PP works on most people(not all)and you should have something (non reliant on PP) to fall back on if the PP don't work, but you're not saying "So....you are saying that you can't depend on pressure points and better have an alternative because they aren't always reliable? " Then you go on to describe a technique that is not reliant, but augmented with a PP as an example?

 

[oftheherd1]

Splitting hairs. Not worth a response.

 

[drop bear]

As far as pressure points go I take it on a case by case basis.

So. When someone bites me I will nose gouge them straight off the bat. I have eye gouged guys but I think the reaction is just a bit too slow. I do it because if I get a result it is a quick one I can hit from a lot of angles pretty easily.

But it does rely totally on pain compliance. So if it fails then it fails.

But that is one pressure point for one situation.

 

[Kababayan]

Jiu Jitsu, Aikido and Wing Chun are all local to me..

There have been some really good responses here that include great information for you to consider. Let me add a few thoughts, some of which have been repeated from other posters, which may add to the validity of them. It sounds to me like you are looking for something that is practical, takes all aspects of self defense into account, and focuses on the legality of self defense. If the above martial arts are your only choices, Wing Chun may give you the closest to what you are looking for (closest, but not necessarily close.) Regarding legality, posturing, and "talking your way out of a fight", often times it's up the individual instructor to gain knowledge in those topics so that they can be passed on to students. Unfortunately, those topics aren't embedded in most martial arts. Going back to your original topic, Wing Chun is great and has practical applications (punches, kicks, blocks, etc.) Jiu Jitsu is awesome but can be very jarring on the body, especially if fitness level is a concern. Aikido is a beautiful art but may not give you the practical self defense that you are looking for. If you have access to a Krav Maga school, it may be the closest to what you are looking for. It's not so much a martial art, but rather a system of self defense. Krav has it's own limitations but, unless I misunderstood your post, I think it's the closest to what you are looking for. That being said, from your original choices, Wing Chun would be one worth checking out.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Pressure points rather than punches and kicks. Slipping and parrying in preference to brutal blocking. I like joint locks and disarms

I'm not a big fan of pressure points as many schools market them. Too many schools market pressure points as if it's a button that you can simply press and the attacker will "shut down." I use pressure points in school but they require conditioning which is often feels brutal but is needed to build up the bone in the body parts that we strike with. It also helps us to learn how to better target the pressure point.

Slipping and parrying is taught in most systems. "Brutal blocking" is usually what people say when their arms aren't conditioned. Martial arts systems in general don't preach to meet force with force when it comes to blocking, unless they are trying to break something or jam something.

From a health perspective since you have bad knees. I would probably recommend a martial art that will actually help to strengthen the ligaments and tendons in the knee and other joints. This will benefit you as you continue to get older and will go a long way to helping you remain mobile (with the exception of disease causing the problem)

To refine my original question, it's not really about who hits first, it's about appearances.

If your reaction to someone else's aggression is to take up a stance:

1) You are inviting, arguably even consenting, to violence.
2) Tipping off the aggressor you've had at least some training.
3) Making him look a chicken in front of his buddies if he backs down, meaning violence is almost inevitable.
4) Looking less sympathetic to a jury.

1) I don't like anything these 4 things. If you are being harassed, in a heated argument, or any position of where you feel like you need to defend yourself, then that "Invitation" was not only sent, but the person accepted and showed up for the party. I don't know why people have this "Keep it a secret that I'm about to defend myself" mentality.

2) I want my attacker to know that I have had training. I actually want my attacker to know this even before he approaches me. I want him to look at me and be uncertain about his outcome if he attacks me. Uncertainty prolongs decisions, so if I can keep an aggressive person in that state of mind then it's better than me. I don't want to look totally helpless like a victim. Looking like a victim is an invitation to violence. I also don't want to walk around like I'm the Alpha man that dominates over everyone. This can attract violence just as easily. The problem isn't letting my attacker know that I have training. The problem is letting my attacker know the extent of my training.

3). Making him look a chicken in front of his buddies if he backs down. This is a personality issue and not a martial arts one or self-defense one.

4) Looking less sympathetic to a jury. I wouldn't bank on this one. If you are think you are about to get into a fight then, always try to position yourself as you were the one who was trying to avoid confrontation. If cameras are around then stay in front of the camera. If witnesses are around draw attention to the conflict by talking louder and literally saying "I don't want any problem." "I don't want to fight." Layout as much as a defense before the fight actually starts. That way you don't have to try to count on someone feeling sorry for you just because you took the first punch to your face and as a result ended up in the hospital.

 

[JowGaWolf]

So....you are saying that you can't depend on pressure points and better have an alternative because they aren't always reliable?

You can't depend on pressure points as some schools advertise it. For example this:

There are more practical and safer ways to attack that nerve than what he's showing.

And then there's stuff like this. None resisting opponent. Things like this become very difficult to pull off once fist start flying and bodies start moving. It's difficult enough to punch someone in the face, now think how difficult it is, to hit a small target area on the body.

Do pressure points work? Yes. Are they easy off like what people show? No.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Some bits in that video weren't awful, then that sweep happened.

I'm not a fan of "explainer" videos like that, where the person talks through "What you could do" I like for my "explainer" videos to be videos where the teacher shows the technique working in free sparring and then after that, he can walk though the finer points. I think people just get themselves in trouble when they start by explaining things from the context of a "willing partner." I don't do ground fighting, but I know that if I'm struggling to get off my back then the person on top is struggling to keep me there. If I'm struggling to roll someone who is on top of me, then that person is going to do what he or she can to stay on top.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I'm not a fan of "explainer" videos like that, where the person talks through "What you could do" I like for my "explainer" videos to be videos where the teacher shows the technique working in free sparring and then after that, he can walk though the finer points. I think people just get themselves in trouble when they start by explaining things from the context of a "willing partner." I don't do ground fighting, but I know that if I'm struggling to get off my back then the person on top is struggling to keep me there. If I'm struggling to roll someone who is on top of me, then that person is going to do what he or she can to stay on top.

I don't mind when they don't show the sparring usage first (I prefer if they do, but that's hard to capture on video unless you video all the live work you do). But I do want to see techniques that would work against a person's weight. I don't even need them to be resisting, so long as there's a reasonable situation where some likely response would include not resisting (so, for a pulling technique, a situation where they'd be likely to push).

 

[Buka]

There are times when making somebody look like a chicken in front of his buddies can trigger violence we all wish to avoid. Given the choice, I always let someone save face.

And if the situation is reversed, and somebody is trying to make a friend of mine look like a chicken if he backs down from a fight - my attitude sometimes tends to change direction, especially if I feel the person is actually a threat.