How to Kick Your Ass Gracefully
Every fight has a winner and a loser, and if you don’t spend serious time training, there’s a good chance you’ll lose at least once. Hopefully it never happens, but if it does, these techniques will help you deal with the bumps and get away with a few scratches and bruises.
Learn to hit the face and body
In any fight, especially a losing one, you will get more than a few hits. According to Cade Courtley, author of SEAL Survival Guide: Secrets of Seal Survival, how to survive any disaster , the first thing you need to know is how to protect your face. You have weak spots all over your body, but most of them are at the level of your collarbones.
Start by keeping your arms raised in front of your face so that you can block punches with your hands and forearms. Also, press your chin against your chest. This prevents whiplash injuries and allows you to keep an eye on your opponent so you can see when he is about to hit. Claressa Shields, an Olympic gold medalist in boxing, invites you to focus on their chest rather than their eyes so you can see early muscle movements that indicate an attack. That way, even if the strike overcomes your defenses, you will still know what it is going and where it is going. When the blow passes, move your head and upper body in the same direction as your opponent. Academic Earth explains the physics in the video above, but the bottom line is that you want to move with a punch, increasing the amount of time that momentum is transmitted.
Shane Fazen on YouTube channel fightTIPS describes being punched in the faceas in a head-oncollision . As you roll from the bumps, the bump becomes more like a collision, with both drivers turning at the last second and just looking at each other. If you are short on reaction time or too close to an opponent,John Greyden of the Martial Arts Teachers Association recommends that you lower your head and let your forehead absorb the blow.
For body strikes, Shields recommends keeping your elbows close to your sides. This acts like a body armor that absorbs some of the blows, and if you continue to move your body during the blow, the opponent’s fists graze your elbows and biceps. However, Fazen notes that blocking your bodydoesn’t mean throwing a guard in your face . Roll to the side and protect your ribs by keeping your arms raised. When you receive a punch to the stomach, tighten your abs and exhale when the punch lands.
If your opponent just wants to show you how tough he is, or “teach you a lesson,” he may be satisfied with a couple of punches, especially if you can sell the fact that you are hurting and he has already won. If they don’t stop, you need to find a way to escape or try to reset them yourself .
Regardless, stay on your feet
Getting knocked down can seriously injure you, especially if you land on your head. You are also more vulnerable to hits on the ground, so you need to stay on your feet. We spoke to Gary Wolfe , a pro boxer turned boxing coach, and he recommended that you always go forward to maintain balance, agility and strength. If your feet are pressed against the enemy, it is more difficult for you to dodge attacks, absorb the blunt force of blows and it is much easier to knock you down.
This lead-foot setup is what is commonly referred to as a fighter stance. AsJack Slack , the martial arts analyst in the video above from the YouTube channel Fightland, explains , almost every martial arts in the world uses a similar position (with some variation), and for good reason. This is important for multidirectional movement and for generating energy when you are trying to strike back. Fighter stance allows you to move your head from side to side, front to back, and allows you to use your foot to block low kicks that would otherwise knock you to the ground.
If your opponent is attacking you trying to grab you, you can shift your weight into a stance and use a basic technique called “hand stopping” to hold the position.This video from the Funker Tactical YouTube channel shows Krav Maga trainer Ryan Hoover. This can keep you upright and create some space between you and your opponent. After stopping your hand, you can push them away, try to run away, or use this as an opportunity to hit them. They can still hit you, but it’s worth it if you need to stay off the ground and possibly escape. If you do end up on the ground, protect your face and body just as if you were upright anduse your legs to kick like crazy and push your opponent away so you can go back and get the hell out of there.
Learn to break out of a choke hold and protect your neck
Just like your face, it is vital that you protect your neck as well, even if it takes a few punches to do so. If they attack you from the front and manage to grab you by the neck, Fred Mastro, who teaches the Silat defense system, recommends two steps to break free. The first trick, shown in the video above, is simple: as soon as they grab your throat, quickly twist your body and push their arms out to the sides with your shoulder. The combination of the twisting motion and the strength of your shoulder will break their grip. The second techniquedemonstrated in this video is for when your back is against a wall. Raising both arms to protect your face, cross one arm over one of your opponent’s arms and grab the other wrist, then pull his elbow inward sharply. They will have to loosen their grip or they risk breaking their elbow.
If thechoke hold comes from behind,Shane Fazen offers you three suggestions in the video above :gouge out your eyes, bite, andbend your fingers. The eyes and fingers are some of the most effective places on the body to hurt easily , and they can hurt them enough for you to slip away. Remember that your ass is being kicked and you are trying to get out safe and sound, not trying to win a medal. Do your best to break out of the choke hold and create distance between you and your opponent.
Make an opening to leave
It’s best to avoid a fight, but if you do get into one – especially one that you are likely to lose – you should constantly look for opportunities to get away. Whenever you have the option to either run or do something that will allow you to run, take advantage of it. Wolfe recommends pepper spray for situations like this, but also suggests two simple things that can create a loophole:
- A direct shot of their solar plexus: The solar plexus, orceliac plexus (pictured above), is a network of nerves located in the upper abdomen, just above the belly. If you hit someone there, he will “knock the wind out of his head” and it will take him a few moments to recover.
- Move on to the groin: The groin is very vulnerable and hitting hard in this area will take some time to recover. There are many different ways to attack this area of the body , so go crazy.
Until you find a way to escape, the key is distance.As Jack Slack explains in this video , a push kick, in which you push your opponent away, will help you keep your distance while you spin. In fact,Travis Roesler on the FightSmart YouTube channel recommends using kicks to fend off opponents who are too aggressive or much larger than you. This allows you to maintain your distance until they get tired and gives you time to find a way to escape. Remember, just because you are about to lose the fight does not mean you have to stay close to see the end of the fight.