Contained within this section of the website is practical information on dealing with & resolving conflict.

The first part concerns how to initially avoid conflicts by using awareness skills, the second part deals with the physical side; how to apply the skills learnt in the dojang to the street.

This is called street self-defence, or combat TKD.

Self defence is not just about having the ability to defend yourself with the various techniques that you learn in the dojang; being able to defend yourself extends to avoiding potential trouble in the first place. This information is to serve as guide as to how to avoid trouble, and if trouble finds you, how to get out of it.

Around 90% of successful self defence is to do with avoiding violence in the first place, the remaining 10% depends on using physical action to combat the attacker.

Getting into a fight is easy, avoiding the fight is the difficult part.

But remember: everyone has the right to defend him or her self against physical attack. If you have done everything in your power to avoid conflict, and there is no chance of getting away by subterfuge or flight, then you have to commit yourself fully to the fight. Knowledge, skill and the conviction of your moral right will give you the determination and power to win.

Personal space

As individuals we all have an invisible area of personal space around us. If someone encroaches on this we feel uneasy. The extent of this personal space varies according to who is doing the encroaching, and the circumstances that we are in. How we respect other people's personal space, and how we respond when they encroach on our space, is at the heart of successful self defence.

You can avoid a lot of aggravation by being careful not to invade someone's space unknowingly. For example, do not close up too much on someone you are walking behind (men can make women feel very uncomfortable by this, esp. at night -so please take note!). Do not crowd people, it makes them nervous, and could trigger violence. Do not bang into people on the pavement (this is the bully's age old tactic of a clumsy attempt to ensnare you into a confrontation), etc.

The following sections deal with various elements that come into play during the build up to a confrontation or during the actual confrontation itself, which includes; awareness, adrenaline (recognising & dealing with the effects), self defence psychology, the law regarding self defence (in the UK) & techniques to use when things turn physical.

For ease of navigation, as there is a large amount of information, use the links to jump to the section that you require.

[self defence & the law]

[adrenalin & fear]

[self defence psychology]

[combat TKD techniques]

Colour codes of awareness

Code White is known as 'switched off', unaware of environment, inhabitants and their ritual of attack. Code White is the victim state that all attackers look for. They usually don't have to look far because most people are completely switched off most of the time.

Code Yellow is threat awareness. Known as being 'switched on', this state of perception allows 360 degree peripheral awareness of environmental vulnerability. For example, the awareness of secluded doorways, entries etc. and the psychological dangers of untested physical artillery (self-defence techniques that have not been pressure tested) adrenal dump, attacker's rituals etc. Initially, Code Yellow is similar to commentary driving, where you talk through and describe, as you drive, everything you can see around you. Similarly, as you walk, run a subconscious commentary of everything that is happening in your locale, ultimately, with practice, managing the same without verbalising the commentary.

Code Yellow is the state of mind which everyone adopts whilst crossing a busy road.

It is not a state of paranoia, rather a state of heightened observance.

Code Orange represents rising threat, allowing evaluation if circumstances in your locale deteriorate. For instance, you may, as you walk, notice a couple of suspicious looking men over the road from you. If they begin to cross in your direction with menacing intent, and you feel there is a possible threat, Code Orange will allow assessment and evaluation of the situation.

Code Red is the final stage. You have evaluated the situation in Code Orange. If there is a threat, prepare to fight or run. Never stand and fight if there is a possibility of flight. If no threat presents itself, drop back to Orange and Yellow. Never lose your awareness and drop to White - many people have been beaten in real situations because they have lost their zanshin (awareness). Stay switched on.

Self-defence & the British Law

(This information is as accurate as I can verify at time of writing. January 2002)

Put more simply, you may only use 'reasonable force' to defend yourself or others from attack. What you see as reasonable will depend entirely on the situation and its progress. For example, if you really believe that you or someone else is about to be murdered, then you can use any appropriate method to stop the assault. However this does not give you a free licence to murder the assailant. Likewise if you have used a metal bar to beat the assailant, to the point where there is no further risk from him, you are breaking the law if you continue your attack. In essence, you must only do the minimum that is required to stop or avoid further injury.

Weapons

[back]

Fear is a very natural accompaniment to being attacked, and everyone feels it. The man who says that he is frightened of nothing is either deluding himself or else is seriously disturbed, and should be avoided as a danger to himself and the people who surround him. Having an understanding of fear and the rush of adrenaline will help you to use it positively rather than allowing it to control you.

Most fights are lost before they even become physical due to the victim falling to the effects of the adrenaline and fear. It is possible to be immobilised by fear, like a rabbit confronted by a snake or an animal frozen in car headlights, and it is this response that bullies, muggers and rapists seek in their victims. Fear is in fact a very positive thing, and will stand you in good stead as long as you can control it and use it in your defence.
 

Adrenalin & its effects

When you are frightened, the adrenal glands secrete adrenaline into the bloodstream. The effect of the adrenaline boost is for fight or flight, the effects of this are;

Blood is sent to the major muscles and organs (the reason for a pale face -the blood draining to more important areas) -this provides the muscles with more energy reserves to draw from.

Increased strength.

Increased heart rate.

Increased breathing rate.

Heightened vision, hearing and sense of smell (but the eyes suffer from tunnel vision. This enhances visual concentration, but a negative by-product is the blinkering of your peripheral vision).

Time distortion -everything seems to go into slow-motion (due to the brain processing everything a lot faster).

Dilation of the pupils.

The hair follicle muscles contract (giving the feeling of your hair standing on end).

Pre-fight shakes -your limbs may shake uncontrollably.

Dry mouth.

Voice quiver -your voice may acquire an audible tremor.

Profuse sweating -especially the palms and the forehead.

Nausea -adrenaline may cause vomiting or the feeling of vomiting.

Bowel loosening -the sudden urge to go to the toilet.

"Yellow fever" -sudden feeling of abject terror and helplessness (this may cause you to become frozen to the spot and unable to move).

This is a survival mechanism that all animals have, including humans, and is the basis of the fight or flight reaction to stress. The danger in a combat situation is that you may lose control of all this useful energy and descend into panic, so you have to learn how to co-ordinate these emergency powers. This is partly a question of focusing your mind on the task at hand.

Pain & fear

People are understandably frightened by the idea of pain, yet pain is a natural and useful process that prevents you from damaging your body with rash actions. It tells you something is wrong so that you can do something about it. Pain and fear go together in many ways, and both can be overcome. In a fight, when the adrenaline is flowing, pain is temporarily suppressed by the body, as it acts as an anaesthetic.
 

Controlling your fear

One way to have control over what is happening is to use a breathing technique. Concentrate on a point an inch below your navel as you inhale through your nose for a 5 count, hold your breath for a further 5, then exhale through the mouth. repeat the cycle if you have time. This will help you to use the adrenaline relaxes. Instead of panicking you will have time to assess the situation and choose the right options. By controlling your breath, and focusing on what is happening as the adrenaline flows, you can work out what to do next and implement it.

[back]

The fear of losing

This was called "the black dog" by Winston Churchill, and was named "the inner opponent" by the famous Chinese General and tactician Sun Tzu.

Many people are reluctant to fight, not only because they don't want to be hurt, but because they are frightened of losing. The inner opponent appears to be a little voice in your subconscious telling you that you can't handle the situation, you're not good enough, not strong enough, fast enough, trained enough etc. This sort of fear is partly due to lack of experience.

The fact of the matter is that there is always someone bigger, faster and stronger than you. The over confident aggressor is going to be taken aback when, instead of being intimidated, you go forward and deliver an efficient strike.

Self defence psychology

The will to survive is often over looked in self defence training. You can have all the knowledge and skill in the world, but without the will to live you could perish.

This is an instinctive quality, which your attacker will also possess, so your will to live must be stronger if you are to beat him/ her. Remember you cannot afford to lose, you must have a fierce conviction that there is no way he is going to beat you.

When the fight starts you must feel 100% that you are going to win, do not let any doubts creep into your head. Any fears about your weaknesses will let you down, be positive. Tell yourself "I AM GOING TO WIN" and go for it.

Body language

In self defence scenarios, both aggressor and potential victim use their knowledge of body language. In the first instance, the aggressor is looking for a target who looks like a victim. The muggers main goal is to succeed in their robbery and to avoid getting hurt. If you have a timid posture, you will look like an attractive proposition.

On the other hand, if you are walking confidently, with your head up, the mugger may well decide to give you a miss. Also take note of the potential attackers actions; is he (they) converging on you without seeming to look at you; is he concealing something in his hand; does he look confident or furtive; is he dressed for a fast getaway; is he cutting off any escape route that you have?

Bullies depend a lot on body language, because their main aim is to intimidate. They take up too much of the pavement, puff up their chests, try and make their shoulders look broader. They may roll the sleeves of their T-shirts up to emphasise their upper arm muscles. We see the signals that we are meant to see, and give them a wide berth.

The eyes can also give away a lot of information; when someone is angry their eyes narrow and the eyes take on a hard, staring look. In the case of a potential mugger, he may be nervous and keep looking away and around him (esp. if he has approached you with the intent to deceive you, and lull you into a false sense of security, before the actual attack).

A good way of measuring the determination of an attacker is the colouration of their face. The person who blows up into a mad rage and goes red in the face, shouting "I'm going to smack you in the face!" etc. generally isn't going to do it. He would like to hit you but he hasn't got the will to step over the line UNLESS you push it. If you back off and talk him down ("It's all right mate, calm down. No problems" etc.), you have given him a way out from his initial display of aggression, he can walk away without feeling that he has lost face.

The aggressor to be really wary of is the one whose face is very pale. This indicates that his blood has drained away to wherever he may need it for sudden, violent action. His pupils may reduce down to pinpoints, and he will begin to look you up and down. That is time to get out of the way by any means possible. The "white faced man" is dangerous.

Assertiveness

Rolling up your sleeves is an aggressive gesture. If you want to avoid escalating a situation, make all your movements slow when you are talking to an aggressor. Do not wave your arms about, do not crouch down into a recognisably combat-ready position.

However, you cannot allow a potential opponent take liberties. Bodily contact is strictly off limits. If he starts to jab at you with his finger, he is testing you to see just how far he can go, just how near he is to the point of no return. He may be trying to provoke you into action, but he is just as likely trying to make you back off.

In this situation use directional commands: "Don't do that! Keep away from me! Don't touch me!" Tell him that you don't want to hit him.

If he does it again, put him down hard and fast.

 

Language

When you use dialogue / language to control situations you are being assertive, but you have to be aware of the boundary between assertiveness and aggression, so temper your language accordingly.

Remember always give someone a way out.

Never threaten, and never make promises. When you are in a confrontation remember that the aggressor is unsure of your abilities so if you appear assertive and confident in how you speak, and therefore how you "come across", this can be enough to sow the seeds of doubt into the aggressors mind and therefore stop a situation from escalating into a physical conflict. Remember the old saying "where ignorance is mutual, confidence is king".

 

Avoiding physical contact

Keep your voice down, and never lay hands on someone. That gives them the excuse and the motivation to grab you. When trying to talk an aggressor out of a confrontation, do not adopt an aggressive posture. Standing face-on with your arms folded over your chest is aggressive, and tactically very weak, as you cannot free your arms quick enough to protect yourself if someone throws a punch.

If you are dissuading someone from approaching you, hold your hands out at chest level with the palms held outwards. This emphasises your dialogue commands -"Stay away!" -and your hands are where you want them to be if you have to fight. The open palms are a diffusing gesture, showing that you have no weapons.

 

Anger control

You must always control your anger. Lose your temper and you lose your assertiveness, you also lose your co-ordination, so that you start to fight with your heart instead of your brain. When you descend into a "red mist" all your training goes out of the window, and you revert to brute force and ignorance. Anger will destroy your fighting disciplines, and if your opponent is also trained, and remains cooler than you, he will beat you.

[back]

Most effective self defence techniques are not pretty & not nice, but you do have to put them into perspective. Remember that you only have to use these as a last resort & when you have no other choice but to defend yourself.

You will be required to make split second judgements & the defender has to weigh up in that short space of time, just what response is required.

As a martial arts instructor I still find it difficult to try & explain the unfortunate necessity of using certain types of physical responses to an attack; because the end results can be really horrific. But, you must ask yourself would you rather bite a lump out of a rapists cheek & scratch at his eyes, suffering from the guilt & nausea that would go with that, or would you rather accept the more serious consequences of a rape?

Combat TKD techniques

If the situation turns physical & you are not in a position to apply a restraining technique (or the situation is one that a restraining technique would be unsuitable), when you launch into an attack, surge forward with a fast barrage of attacks, shouting with a kihap, this will drive the attacker onto his back foot; once he starts going backwards you are in control. You just keep steaming forward without giving him a chance to retaliate.

 
The element of surprise plays a major role in successful self defence, but it has to be backed up by commitment, and your desire to survive.

The following gives a brief description of the various attacking tools that you have at your disposal & their practical use.
 

The head

The forehead can be use to butt an attacker to the nose, jaw, temples, eye-sockets, cheekbones, (even to the sternum) etc. Do NOT head-butt to other hard parts of the attackers head (you are likely to do just as much damage to yourself).

It can be used at various angles; forwards, backwards (if you are grabbed from behind), upwards & from the side.

If an attacker attempts to butt you in the face, tuck your head down with your chin into your chest -quickly!

This is a very common attack form used by street-fighters, usually masked by some form of deception beforehand. It is one of those techniques that seems "ungentle-manly" & viewed as the tool of the thug, but it is no more "ungentle-manly" than punching some-one in the face, which hypocritically most people view as acceptable (in the context of self defence or for sport).

The teeth

 
The teeth can give a nasty bite & can cause an incredible amount of pain. This technique can be especially useful for women; for if an assault has a sexual motive then the attackers ears, mouth, nose, neck, hands are going to be within range.

When you bite, dig in deep & bite down hard. This is a last resort technique due to the risk of cross contamination of blood disorders.

Again, this is another one of those techniques which is viewed to be in the realm of the thug, & this is for many good reasons. It is not a civilised thing to do, it is viewed as lowering ourselves to the level of an animal; not the thing an intelligent human being does.

Street-fighters have been known to bite off noses, take lumps out of cheeks or ears etc. Don't think it happens? Just think back to Mike Tyson's bout against Evander Holyfield. 

The hands

 
Do not punch to a hard area like the top and sides of the head as you are likely to hurt yourself just as much as the attacker. Many people have found that they have broken their hands/wrists after a fight, after punching someone in the head.

Use your palms; just as effective, less risk of damage & not so much of an "offensive weapon" if you have to explain your actions in a court-room. 

Use the punch to strike the nose, mouth, jaw, body etc. Cupped hands can be used to slap the ears. Fingers can strike the eyes or throat. If an attacker is (temporarily or permanently) blinded it will be very traumatic for him and will give you the added bonus of being able to escape. A palm heel strike can be thrust up under the chin or nose. The hammerfist strike is very effective if struck downwards onto the nose. A knifehand can be used to strike the side of the neck.

Fingers & thumbs can be used to grab the face, get in the eyes, up the nose, pull ears & hair, grip lumps of flesh (to squeeze/twist/dig) etc.

When putting punching combinations together don't expect to drop the attacker with the first punch -normally, the first punch stuns and sets you up for the second, more powerful punch (unless you are lucky).

Don't forget, that you can grab & push/sweep/trip/throw your attacker to the ground. If you do, slam them hard into the ground to "wind" them.

The elbows

 
This is a very effective close range technique, again aim for similar target areas as for the hands, use your hips to really drive the techniques in. An attacker approaching from behind can be struck in the solar plexus (thus winding him).

Don't try to go "looking" for a target with the elbows unless you are already in that fighting range & they present the most effective attacking tool.

The knees

 
These can be used to deliver blows to the groin, or the "dead leg" point on the outside of the thigh (or the inside), or into the stomach/ solar plexus. If it doesn't work first time, grab on to the attacker and keep driving them in, if he doubles up, drive them into his face. If an attacker is doing this to you then use your hands to protect your face.

Kicking techniques

I have written a separate article regarding the pro's & con's of using kicks for combat. You can read this on the "articles" page or jump to it directly by clicking the following link. If you are serious about your Art & are concerned about the practicalities of TKD as an effective combat Art, I suggest you take the time to read this.

[click here]

Turning kicks with the shins are very effective to outside of the thigh, or to the knee (but use your hips to really drive them in & make them more effective). This could quite easily collapse an attacker's legs, this can be a fight stopper. Front kicks to the stomach, or groin, and stamping kicks to the shins and feet are painful, but only really distraction techniques, not stopping techniques.

In Taekwon-Do there are a great multitude of kicks, all with various applications. BUT -A WORD OF CAUTION; it takes a very, very good kicker to successfully apply high kicks in a "live" situation, it is a lot safer to keep your kicks low.

You will only probably get just one chance to throw a kick before the fight gets into a close range fight, if you get the chance to use a kick at all. Most fights will start off at very close range anyway, and a lot of the times will end up in a grapple against a wall or on the floor.

Remember it would be very easy for an attacker to grab your leg and pull you off balance & leave you in a very vulnerable position.

Some final thoughts...

Training your body and mind for self defence is a good investment. You must not start to become paranoid, but it is prudent to be prepared for the worst. Even if nothing ever happens to you, you will have immeasurably improved the quality of your life.

Remember, we all have the right to feel safe and to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and if we feel the need to physically defend ourselves then we have the right to do so, but we must remain within the boundaries of the law. It is always best to avoid trouble, but sometimes trouble is unavoidable, and you will have to deal with it, remembering you will have to be 100% committed to "go for it".

Fortunately most of us will never encounter a serious physical assault, but some of you reading this information will, or already have. Remember their is no substitute for training hard to prepare for this. A famous Chinese general once said "maintain an army for a thousand years even if you will only use it for just one day". In relation to self defence, this profound piece of wisdom translates into meaning; train hard in your chosen martial art, and train with realism and prepare for the eventuality of using it for real. Also, remember that the way you train is the way you will react, so if you never put 100% into your training, when you need to rely on it, it won't be there for you.

Another important factor for martial artists is that a Dojang (or Dojo) is a controlled environment and has rules -the street does not, do not let your art confine you in the street! Certain techniques are not suitable for self defence purposes so keep them in the Dojang where they belong! 

On a final note, broaching the subject of self defence can frighten people, which is understandable, but violence is an ugly thing and you cannot afford to be squeamish, but your health is the primary concern and if someone is going to attack they must accept the consequences. So, read this information carefully and try to absorb the advice, be safe and don't become another statistic!

[back]

Licence renewal forms

Competition entry forms

Click on the above to download

For all new prospective students a free two week trial is offered if you book via this site

[click here to book you place NOW!]