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Imagine for a moment there is a large man standing in your personal zone with his hands around your throat. By grabbing ineffectively at his hands and panicking, you have already lost the fight. It is imperative in these situations that you keep your wits about you and be prepared to fight back.
On the other hand, the assailant could try to choke you into submission by having one arm around your neck and proceeding to use the other arm and hand to pull against you.
Since the majority of the time an assailant will have both hands around your throat and shaking you back and forth, we will discuss this escape method first. Use the backward motion to your advantage. Let him pull you in and while he starts to push you back, take your left foot and plant it as far back and behind you as possible. Normally when you are practicing this movement at home you will want to bend the knees slightly and rotate the body all the way to the opposite side. In martial arts this is called the “Hidden Foot”. This move must be practiced because the first few times you will feel very off balance with it. When done correctly, you will end with your side to your opponent’s chest. This hidden foot technique is to be used in combination with the following arm and hand movements.
If you have stepped back with your left foot, you will want to use your right arm to break the hold. If you stepped back with your right, simply reverse the following instructions.
Remember, for this to be effective, you must combine it with the hidden foot movement.
Assuming you have stepped back with your left foot, swing your right arm up and over your assailant’s arms while imagining yourself trying to touch your left hip. You should be bending and twisting your body at the same time. This is usually more than enough to break his hold. Don’t stop at this point though.
Making a fist, bend your elbow and use the torque of your twisted body to slam the bent elbow into the head, face, or throat of your attacker. If he is much taller than you, straighten the elbow slightly and make the strike with your clenched fist.
While you are executing these moves, yell in a forceful manner as you make contact. This will focus your power as well as startle your assailant. Another important thing to remember is to carry the blow on through. Don’t think of stopping at his head or jaw.
When you have this in mind it will often make you pull the strike before you actually make contact. Your goal is to attempt to knock his head off. This carrying through of the strike will allow your body to twist around to the right and you will once again be set up for a forceful strike due to the torque in your body.
In addition to the technique described above, there are several options you can throw in as distraction to your attacker as well.
1. Although every man has had a sister, mother, wife or girl friend that has mentioned “kicking a man where it hurts” it is still an option to use. The pitfall to limiting yourself to this one backup technique, as your only defense is most men will expect the kick. It is also possible that it will not have the effect your mother promised. Regardless of what you have seen in movies or been told, all men will NOT grab themselves and conveniently fall to the ground to roll or moan in pain.
2. There is a very weak spot in the throat that can easily be used to your advantage. To find it, take your index and middle finger and place them at the hollow spot that is at the base of your throat. Gently push them into the area and find where it causes the most discomfort. Practice on a partner while he or she has hands around your throat. You want to be as familiar with this area as possible so when you need it, you will know without a doubt where to push, poke, punch, or strike. When a retaliatory strike is executed with force, damage can occur to the attackers trachea and larynx. To make any strike, bring the hand you are using up from your hip, between his arms and with as much force as you can manage.
3. Using your fingers and nails, as claws will often cause an attacker to release his hold as well. Instead of settling for just the meaty portions of the cheeks, attempt to reach up and dig your fingernails into his skin while gouging his face from forehead to chin. This includes trying to claw the eyes! Do not worry about whether you may hurt or blind the person attacking you. HE has no regards for your personal well being, so don’t concern yourself about his.
4. If your attacker is shaking you back and forth, give with the forward momentum and use your forehead as a battering ram against his nose and/or mouth. A broken nose is extremely painful and bloody. It will also cause the eyes to start swelling and tear up.
5. It takes very little pressure to break the toes and small bones of the instep of a foot. An easy way of doing this is to raise your knee up as far as possible (if you hit him in the testicles so much the better), then slam your foot downward towards his feet. If you let your foot ride the front of his leg down, it will be lead to the exact spot needed to break the bones.
If you are being attacked from the rear and the assailant’s arm is across your throat, the first thing you want to do is clench the muscles in your throat, neck and bottom jaw while turning your head into the crook of his or her elbow. The idea is to get the front of your throat placed into this crook while buying yourself a little extra time while the clenching muscles will help protect at the same time.
There are several options for getting out of this situation that can be used in conjunction with a few of the maneuvers listed above. Breaking the toes will be done in basically the same manner as mentioned above except you will be using your heel to drive straight down the attacker’s leg. As you do this, attempt to make a good, solid hit to the knees first. If the knee is taken out, the assailant is going to have a much more difficult time chasing you.
An excellent distraction for the next technique is to tuck your chin while it is in the crook of the assailant’s elbow and latch on with your teeth. Anytime you use your teeth, bite with feeling and purpose and then follow it up by moving your hips slightly to one side while using the inside fist and elbow to make strikes to the breadbasket, groin and chin. This maneuver is done in a very quick, one two three movement without out any pauses between strikes. Your first strike will be a solid one by your bent elbow into the breadbasket. As soon as this hits, slam your clenched fist downward into the groin. The third motion will involve you leaning away from your attacker to bring your elbow (with fist still clenched) as fast possible up to strike the assailant under the chin. Hopefully this will allow you to break free and run. If not, move immediately into some other techniques.
A head butt is possible from this backward chokehold. In this case you will allow your head and chin to drop as far as possible towards your chest and then slam it backwards with as much force as you can into his or her face. This will often stun an assailant long enough for you to get away or at least move into another technique.
The single most important thing to remember when attempting to escape an attacker is to keep going and that no single technique will work 100% of the time in all given scenarios. If your first attempt fails, don’t freeze or give up. Keep falling back on other techniques until you find one that will work. If you have the ability to scream for help, don’t hesitate to use it but if help doesn’t work, yell out “fire” as it will often get better results. Don’t pause, stop to think, or change your mind. Once you do, he automatically wins because he will look and fight you in a totally different manner.
The second most important thing is to run away once you are free. Never stick around to see if your attacker is going to get up, needs help from your defense or how close behind you he is. Looking back takes your focus off your pathway as well as slows you down. If the assailant is up and running after you, you will know it soon enough so don’t give him an added advantage. Run away and live to see another day.
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