DON’T RELY ON ADRENALINE TO SAVE YOU
ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE
May 15, 2009
DON’T WAIT FOR ADRENALINE TO KICK IN TO “LEARN” SELF DEFENSE TECHNIQUES.
I just completed my fourth of four Self Defense for Women classes at the local community college last night, and, frankly, it might be the last one I teach in that venue.
HERE’S THE THING, Hammer Fans: It is simply too hard on this Old Dog to experience girls and women who do, or, better put, refuse to do the following during training:
· Refuse to strike their training partner with any significant power, even when her partner, who is playing the “Bad Guy” role, is attacking and either wearing protective gear or holding a strike bag.
· Apologize to her “Bad Guy” partner after “striking” the Bad Guy.
· Refuse to even feign an eye gouge or throat strike (all I ever ask anyone to perform on those areas is the lightest possible touch drill), claiming that those areas are “icky,” or “yucky.”
· Absolutely refuse or decline to take part in any techniques on the ground.
· And, as in every class I have taught, forget to scream, yell, or say anything (I prefer the liberating and empowering yell – “Kai!”) when under attack.
· And, probably the worst to me, when questioned about her refusal to strike with any body mass, or to actually even Touch Drill the eyes, throat, nose or groin (“GENT – “ the acronym for the Primary Targets, include the Groin, Eyes, Nose/Nees and Throat), or to take part in Ground Counterattack drills, state with absolute confidence and certainty that “ when the adrenaline kicks in, I will do what I have to do—“
PLEASE, LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR. There is no way on Earth, ladies and gents, that any of my lovely students, nor you, for that matter, will magically learn to defend yourself in a life and death struggle when your adrenaline kicks in. And I am sure that anyone in their right mind who is reading this understands that, but, for the sake of clarity, allow me to explain why.
WHEN you perceive that you are under a possible deadly threat; when you have never faced that type of threat before; when you are forced to defend yourself against such a threat; and, finally, when you have little or no confidence in your ability to defend yourself, your mind and body will be flooded with survival stress hormones, which will accelerate your heart rate from around 70 beats per minute (BPM) to over 220 BPM. When this happens, your SNS (Sympathetic Nervous System) will be activated – the adrenaline my optimistic students were referring to – and you will experience the “benefits” of the adrenal rush, better known as Fight of Flight.
THE BENEFITS OF ADRENALINE, especially on an untrained person, are:
- An inability to make quick and effective self defense related decisions. (depreciation of cognitive skills).
- Auditory Exclusion.
- Visual Dysfunctions, such as Tunnel Vision, and Inability to Focus, Loss of Near Vision, Loss of Night Vision, Loss of Monocular Vision.
- Inability to use Fine and Complex Motor Skills.
- Accelerated Heart rate and Respiration.
- An inability to fight at 100% maximum output for longer than 10 seconds.
Add to this the fact that the Bad Guy will almost always be stronger, faster, more experienced at fighting, will have a definite attack plan, will often be armed, and will orchestrate and time his or her attack in such a way that you will not only be surprised, you will not breathe, will freeze in place (9 out of 10 male and female victims of a surprise attack will not breathe and will freeze upon the attacker’ First Touch).
BOTTOM LINE. Unless you train seriously and learn to think like a Hard Target (previous blogs), adrenaline will never be your friend and training coach if and when you are attacked. Even if you “participate” in a serious self defense program, if you refuse to carry out the strikes and other techniques as they are designed – Touch Drill Training really works. Your body and mind learns when it replicates the techniques in training – you will never be able to replicate the moves with the predator so close you can smell what the asshole ate and drank at the local Bar and Grille a few hours before he attacked and had his way with you.
IF I never teach another Self Defense for Women class, it is because I have finally tired of driving home afterwards and conceding to myself that, for those women who have falsely believed in the Magic of Adrenaline, or, simply of providence, I have done absolutely nothing.
Nothing.
Until the next post, please Stay Safe.
Hammer