Self defense: how panic moves can cost you

Of all the self defense classes I have seen, I have never come across an instructor who gives his students lessons on how to minimize panic moves for better results.

You generally make panic moves without thinking. You don't focus on the target ahead of you. It's kind of a reflex action that happens subconsciously, hence it is ineffectual in most cases.

A good example is when you lash out in the general direction of your opponent, trying to land a strike on them, hoping to really hit them. But I can assure you that invariably, the strike will be weak and way off in terms of accuracy.

If you do this and somehow manage to hit them, you will be lucky. But chances are that you will never land that strike where it's supposed to land on. You will miss your target because you blindly lashed out without focus.

Panic moves can also happen in the event that you were taking too many strikes from your opponent and you subconsciously decided to move forward to close the gap and grab them halfway, hoping to subdue them.

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Again, I can assure you that when you do this, you will probably find yourself in some sort of a wrestling match, getting hit faster and harder than before. In fact, both of you would go to the ground and more panic would ensure. You can see where this is going.

If you're panicking under real threat, it's forgivable. But the same thing doesn't apply in training. Unfortunately, I have seen students enter the panic mode as soon as they are subjected to the slightest pressure during training.

Let's take the example of a student learning any self defense move in a Shou Shu studio. The instructor tells them to free their wrist from an opponent's grab, pull them forward slightly and kick their groin before finishing the matter with their right elbow.

The trainee will often perform the first step correctly. However, the subsequent ones will invariably be performed with haste and panic in an attempt to complete the steps quickly. And the results would be loss of power and effectiveness. They might even end up losing their balance in the process, although we highly emphasize on the use of centerline principle.

The subsequent but incorrect moves performed by the student are almost a sure indication of that student being in panic mode. In other words, they are not centered well on the target as they strike.

And the danger is that if this habit isn't eliminated from the student as soon as possible, it will be hard to break it. Panic moves will become a significant hindrance of their training as they encounter more pressure, hence they will not be able to achieve the kind of results they want from their self defense training.

So, what's the way to avoiding panic, unfocused moves?

Your move should be an assured one. You want to make assured moves more than you make panic moves. Using the term assured may not be appropriate here, but nonetheless, it gives a clear picture of what I am trying to communicate.

You want more focus, control and eventually power. And the secret to developing assured moves in self defense is to take your time training  in those moves no matter the prevailing conditions you find yourself in.

In fact, to avoid falling into the trap, you will need to learn how to take your time with whatever you're trying to master. Your mind has to be centered on the target no matter how much pressure you're facing. And the secret resides in how your mind controls your body.

If you let your mind dictate your action, (if it's a mind that's under pressure), you will panic when you try thinking of what needs to be done quickly. Your body will resonate with your mind, hence a panic move will ensue.

On developing the skills to kill panic moves

 

Take your time and tell yourself that you will not rush through what needs to be done. When you do this, you are in total control of your mind rather than your mind taking control of you. Just focus, breath and make sure your mind isn't focusing on the outcome you desire to achieve.

Unfortunately, the danger of focusing on results is that your mind will begin thinking of all the things that could be at stake.

But the answer to this challenge is to focus on what you're doing and know that you have the ability to do it perfectly. If you practice taking your time when executing those moves, you will find them not only effective, but powerful and reassured.

Perhaps you're thinking this is some sort of a complex mental process you have to undergo in order to deliver assured strikes.

No, it's not. It's only a matter of re-evaluating yourself first to ensure you're correctly centered on your target before making any move. This is a process that should happen within the split of a millisecond.

You should practice this with simple drills, and then carry on with the practice until you're able to handle complex drills where you typically don't have much time to consciously direct your focus on the target.

With a bit of practice, you can learn to develop assured moves into your subconscious nature, and they will become automatic responses. Therefore, cultivate your moves to make them as precise as you can.