What Is the Best Strategy for “Strike and Flee” Self-Defense?

We should all know the first rule of self-defense is to always avoid conflict.

Step 1: Don’t be an asshole. Step 2: De-escalate. Step 3: Run.

But what if I find myself in a situation where I know that violence or kidnapping is imminent, and I’m not sure if I can outrun the assailant? I’ve never been in a real fight my entire life but I’ve contemplated this situation quite a few times. I believe that my best strategy would be to land a pre-emptive strike to slow down my opponent and run as fast as I can.

But what would that pre-emptive strike look like? What is the best way to immobilize or slow down an opponent in less than 2 seconds? Should I kick my opponent in the shin, the knee or the ankle? Should I stomp on their foot (toes or metatarsal region?)? Should I go for the old fashioned kick to the balls? A push-kick may give me a good head-start but it probably won’t slow them down very much. A punch from me wouldn’t slow them down at all and would probably just boost their adrenaline.

I did a lot of soccer and Taekwando as a kid so kicking is definitely the best option for me, but I’m more interested to hear what advice works best for the general population. IE what would work best for a woman protecting herself from a sexual predator.

Submitted January 12, 2025 at 01:55PM by Pharose https://ift.tt/4VYvdot