The Art of Deception

The key to this self-defense move is having the element of surprise. You obviously can’t just walk up and do this to a guy who is threatening you. You have to deceive or distract him so you can get in close for this devastating takedown. The best distraction in this scenario is to make the attacker think you are being submissive. This is obviously a great tool if you are a woman, but it works well for men too.

The Setup:

1. Deceive Your Attacker: Taking a submissive body position (a slightly slouched posture, avoiding eye contact, a weak soft voice) will allow you to get into the takedown zone without your attacker knowing what you are up to.
2. Get In Close: Once you are up close you have the advantage in the situation. Bullies, predators, and attackers are most familiar with fighting in punching range. Successfully deceiving your attacker allows you to move into a position where you are too close for punches to be effective at all.
3. Strike Their Groin: Once you have closed the gap, strike their groin and throat simultaneously. For the groin strike you need to use an upward-facing open-hand palm. When you strike you need to grab whatever you can. If you can’t grab their groin, grab the inseam of their pants because you need a handle.
4. Pinch Their Windpipe: As you are striking their groin, grab their throat with a c-hand. If you strike with a closed hand they will move backwards too quickly and you won’t be able to grab hold of their windpipe. Once you strike their throat you need to dig your thumb into the space just behind their windpipe and use the rest of your fingers to tightly grasp the other side of their throat.

Following Up

At this point you have two very effective handles and the attacker isn’t going anywhere without causing himself a LOT of pain, but to make this self-defense technique effective you can’t just hang onto him, you have to put him on the ground.

Luckily for you, having two very effective handles is a good position to be in. However, it prevents you from escaping, and since you aren’t a cop, detaining this guy is not high on your list of things to do.

The goal of any good self-defense technique is to allow you to escape to safety. This requires you to use the handles you have to put him on the ground, giving you a chance to finish the job and escape.

The Takedown

1. Sweep Their Legs: To put the attacker on the ground, simply use one of your legs to sweep one of his out from beneath him.
2. Inflict Maxmium Pain: As you are sweeping their legs out from beneath them, pull up on their groin and push them away from you with the hand you have on their throat.
3. Release Your Grip: At this point you will need to release your grip on their windpipe. This is especially important while you are practicing. If you don’t release the windpipe this could become a termination move.
4. Fight or Flight: Once your attacker is on the ground, you must decide to either immediately escape to safety or to follow this self-defense take-down up with some kicks (only if it is necessary for your safety).

DISCLAIMER

Any move where you are grasping the windpipe can be dangerous. As you can see in the video, Kathy completely releases her training partner’s throat as she sweeps his foot to avoid any serious (and potentially fatal) injuries.

Click here for more vicious takedowns and self-defense techniques from Kathy Long!