Your Body's Weapons

If you are like most people, you probably don’t carry a weapon in your back pocket (unless you have a concealed weapons permit). Fortunately, you don’t necessarily need a weapon to defend yourself. Your body is a marvelous creation with several built in weapons of its own.

Hands – Think about the ways an attacker might come at you. He can punch or slap you. He can grab you. Chances are that an attacker’s initial strike will involve his hands. Your hands can also be used to defend yourself. You can use them to block or to counter-attack. You can punch an attacker with your knuckles or strike with the bottom (heel) of your palm. You can strike with the blade of your hand (the famous karate chop). You can even use your fingers or wrists as effective weapons against an attacker. I will discuss some specific striking and blocking techniques in future posts.

Feet – Your legs are longer than your arms, so using your feet to defend yourself can give you greater reach and, in many cases, more power. This is especially true for women, who have a great deal more strength in their legs than in their arms. Your feet can help you reach targets such as the knees. Kicks can also help you keep attackers at a greater distance.

Knees – If an attacker has you stuck at close range (somewhere I hate to be), you can turn to your knees for help. You can knee an attacker in the groin, ribs, or even solar plexus if you can reach it. If you are lucky enough to hit a pressure point on your attacker’s thigh, a knee strike to that area can even deaden his leg and drop him to the ground. Knees are a great self-defense weapon. Research done by National Geographic found that knee strikes can generate the same force as a 30-mile-an-hour car crash. (If you have never watched National Geographic’s “Fight Science” I would highly recommend it.)

Elbows – The sharpest point on your body, your elbows make a fantastic close-range self-defense weapon. Striking your attacker in the temple or back of the skull can knock your attacker unconscious. Jabbing an elbow into his face will cause him to bleed (especially if you hit the nose) and may convince him to back off. At the very least, it can give you a moment to finish the fight or escape.