5 Stages of Self-defense

Admin November 5, 2014

by Sang H. Kim, author of Junsado Fundamentals, Standing and Ground Combat

I am a lifetime marital artist and former combat instructor in Special Forces. I have developed, written and taught combat and self defense courses around the world to more than 100,000 students and instructors. Even after more than 35 years of experience in martial arts training and combat survival experiences, every time I enter an unknown environment, I always question myself on "What if…"

No matter how experienced you are in the martial arts or how confident you feel in defending yourself, awareness is a far more powerful weapon than any other you practice in the training hall. Don't be an easy prey. Watch for signs that signal danger during the following stages of interacting with a potential assailant:

Stage #1: Approaching

Remember: Don't Run Away from Danger; Run to Safety. You don't need to beat or defeat an assailant - there are no winners in self-defense. Your only goal is to escape safely.

Taekwondo Self-defense: Assess, Attack, Adapt

Admin July 19, 2014

In a hostile situation, you have to make a lot of decisions very quickly. In this excerpt from Taekwondo Self-defense: Taekwondo Hoshinsool, Sang H. Kim summarizes the key stages of a self-defense situation and the important decisions you'll need to make in each stage.

1. ASSESS:

• Trust your gut feeling, stay cool.

• Size up the situation:
   1. Hostility intensity: deadly threat, mild conflict, casual unpleasantness.
   2. Environmental factors: indoor, outdoor, sloping ground, exits, available environmental    weapons.
   3. Weapons: attacker has a gun, knife, pipe, or bat.
   4. People factors: numbers, size, athleticism, position.

• What are your options? If possible, escape as fast as you can. If you can’t escape, breathe deeply, stay cool and control the distance.

Vital Points: What are they and Why do they work?

Admin July 2, 2014

Excerpted from Vital Point Striking: The Art and Science of Striking Vital Targets for Self-defense and Combat Sports by Sang H. Kim

A vital point is a pressure sensitive point on or near the surface of the human body. Vital points function like gateways to the nervous system, the main controller of the body, allowing you to use pain to influence the actions and reactions of an opponent. Even a single strike can cause serious damage, unconsciousness or, in rare cases, death.

For example, a forceful strike into the Wind Mansion (GV16) at the base of the brain can result in instant death. The gallbladder (on the right side of the trunk, below the liver) and the Sauce Receptacle (CV24) on the tip of the chin are targets for potential knockout blows in boxing. The carotid artery, temple and Philtrum are common targets for striking in a selfdefense situation.

Vital Points Can Shut Down the System

Because the human body is a highly complicated interconnected system, it is vulnerable to attacks that disable key points of the system, thereby causing systemwide failure. By attacking one of the vital regions of the body, you can paralyze the entire system.

5 Stages of Self-defense

Stage #1: Approaching

Taekwondo Self-defense: Assess, Attack, Adapt

1. ASSESS:

Vital Points: What are they and Why do they work?

Vital Points Can Shut Down the System

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Stage #1: Approaching

1. ASSESS:

Vital Points Can Shut Down the System

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