It’s a shame that Iron Mike became more famous for the “Tyson Ear Bit” than for his years of Heavy weight domination. You could see by the way Evander Holyfield reacted to the Tyson Ear Bite, that he was in absolute pain and his only focus at that point in time, was the pain.

During last nights UFC, Anthony Johnson received an accidental poke in the eye and reacted as one would expect when a finger is shoved into the eye, he fell on the ground in absolute agony, waving around on the ground and I’m sure the only thing on his mind would have been aimed towards, would he ever see out of that eye again.

Although these types of technique are not encouraged in competitive fighting it is a different story in Self Defense. The ability to cause a great deal of pain fast is what gives ordinary people an extraordinary chance of fighting back and winning, if they were to become the intended victim of an assault.

The Tyson Ear Bit and the UFC eye poke are 2 examples of effective Self Defense, and if you were in a life threatening situation or about to become the victim of a sexual assault,then you would be well justified in using them to save yourself.

Back in the late 60’s, the only woman known to have survived an attack from the Boston Strangler, grabbed his hand and bit it so hard that all his concentration at that point in time was the pain in his hand, this gave the woman time to put distance between herself and him. Soon after this event the Boston Strangler was caught.

There are obvious consequences to biting someone even in Self Defense but given the choice between biting and being killed or raped, it may not be a hard decision to make for most. There are so many other ways of achieving that level of pain like that Tyson Ear Bite and the eye poke in many different places in the body with some real simple techniques, that virtually all people are capable of performing. Fightwize Self Defense show many such techniques.

Train Smart - Fightwize!

Whether you are training for Self Defense or Competition, an effective stance is crucial.

Find a stance that fits your style and is also suitable to both attack and defense

Keep your hands up at all times. Even when you are striking with one hand, aim to keep your other hand up protecting your face. Tuck your chin down and shrug your shoulders slightly. You may need to move your hands and arms to quickly protect your head or body, you will also need to use your hands for strikes so your stance must provide an effective platform to make this possible.

Maintaining balance is also critical, your feet should be offset about shoulder width apart and also offset from front to back. This offers balance both side to side and front to back. If your feet are too close together or too far apart, you are easier to topple.

When moving to the left, move your left foot first, when moving to the right, move your right foot first and so on. This encourages you to widen your base first as opposed to letting your feet cross over.

The best stance is one that allows you to attack or defend yourself with ease. It does not always come easily and is still an aspect that requires work.

One of the biggest differences between an effective stance for self defense and an effective stance for competition is that in self defense you do not want to give away your intention to strike, therefor a non- aggresive looking stance with the hands still raised high (but open) is advisable.

There are a couple of reasons for this. A non aggressive stance disguises your intention to strike, your strikes are therefor unexpected and unexpected strikes carry far more weight. The other main reason is that any onlookers (who can later become witnesses) would have little doubt who the aggressor was, which can be useful should there be a need for witness statements down the road.

It is often asked “Is Jiu-Jitsu for Self Defense”? 

However, the answer is not a simple yes or no. Firstly, there are different types of Jiu-Jitsu which are designed for different uses. There is Traditional Jiu-Jitsu, Competitive and for Jiu-Jitsu for Self Defense. 

Many techniques may be similar. 

Self Defense must be simple to be effective under pressure. You are physically not capable of carrying out complex motor skills in a high stress situation, like that of an attack. For this reason, it is important that all techniques consist only of gross motor skills, these are simple body movements that all people are capable of performing. 

 There is also the need to cover the non-physical aspects of Self Defense that may not be covered in your average Martial arts class. You need to establish the belief that you can be effective in protecting yourself, discover how it is possible to overcome fear and avoid panic. There are also awareness and avoidance strategies to consider. 

In Self Defense there are no rules, this can be used to your advantage, unlike the restrictions of competitive Jiu-Jitsu. 

It is by using elements such as momentum, leverage and anatomy that gives smaller or weaker people an opportunity to gain an advantage.

We have posted many Self Defense Articles