Target-focused self-defense training is the key to a successful self-defense system. Knowing which targets to focus on and how to attack them is really the foundation of any successful fighting system. This is where many martial arts fall short when compared to self defense systems. Martial arts often focus heavily on fine motor techniques that are amazing to watch and extremely difficult to master, but woefully less effective than some simple self-defense moves.
The real secret of self-defense is knowing which targets are the most vulnerable, annoying and painful. Before I list the top 5, keep in mind that you should never develop targeting (focusing on a single target as your only hope of stopping an attacker). You need to be able to easily switch targets as the fight or altercation progresses. More on this later…
The 5 main objectives:
- Groin – This is not a big surprise, but it is often overlooked. Most fights will start with a right haymaker. A good fighter will go straight for a valuable target like the muzzle (if he isn’t protected). The groin is an effective target due to the extreme pain and involuntary reaction it causes in men. It’s almost impossible not to bend over with a good shot to the nose. This makes him the perfect combination of being vulnerable, distracting, and hurtful.
- Eyes: The eyes are a great target because they are our main sense used in fighting. Hitting the eyes also elicits an emotional response from attackers because it is such a valuable target. An eye gouge will instantly make your eyes water, making your vision blurry for a second, allowing you to get the upper hand. Eye strikes should only be attempted if the eyes are not protected. They are especially effective when an attacker has their hands full grabbing your shirt or shoulders etc. Instead of fighting his hold, he just punches the eyes out.
- Throat: The throat is a particularly sensitive and vulnerable part of the body. Often the natural instinct in a fight or self-defense situation is to hit the head. This is great if you happen to land a knockout punch, but chances are you won’t. Aim for the throat instead. It’s soft (it won’t break knuckles), damaging (it can cut off your air supply), and it can end a fight quickly (a hit to the neck can cause a knockout). Best of all, a throat hit, even if not executed perfectly, is very distracting (I can taste it…press your thumb on the spot just below your Adam’s apple, yeah, not very comfortable, to say the least).
- Ear: This may seem a bit dark, but the ear is a great self-defense target (and I’m not talking about a Tyson ear bite). A slap in the ear can be a very damaging and painfully excruciating blow. A punch to the ear won’t hurt his hand (like a punch will), if executed well it will burst the eardrum causing a lot of pain, temporary hearing loss and dizziness. This certainly meets the criteria for vulnerable (requires minimal force to deal a large amount of damage), distracting, and painful.
- Knee: So far I have only mentioned targets that will distract and cause pain allowing you to escape an attacker by taking advantage of the distraction and running. The knee is a target that can easily prevent an assailant from following you or continuing with any type of attack. The knee is not a very strong joint. Yes, they carry us around all day, so they’re strong in a couple of directions, but they’re very vulnerable when hit in the right spot.
The good news is that people rarely protect their knees. Only an experienced martial artist (not your average street thug) will defend your vulnerable knees effectively. The trick is to hit the inside of the knee. This is the most vulnerable part of the joint. A well-placed blow to the inside of the knee will tear some of the ligaments and tendons in the knee, eliminating your ability to walk, run, or stand. This makes it a perfect target for self defense.
This target is especially good if you’re being held from behind. You can hit the inside of the knee with your heel. The knee front is also effective, but requires more strength.
3 principles for using goals effectively:
- Know how to hit all of these targets from various self-defense scenarios (while being held from behind, being held face-to-face, from a shooting range, etc.).
- Learn to always scan attackers or fellow combatants for open targets, these will constantly change during a self defense situation.
- Always follow up a high value target attack with another (it can be the same target, but not always). For example, if a muzzle blow doubles an attacker, use this moment to slap them on the ear or elbow them on the back of the head. The point is that you should never expect one punch to end a fight no matter how brilliantly it is executed. Hit him until he is incapacitated (on the ground or you have a real chance to escape).
These are universal principles. Targets should be the focus of any good fighting or self defense system. As a leader in the self defense industry, I have my own system that I teach, but these principles must be the foundation of any system. How do I know this? Over the years, I have met and worked with dozens of black belt instructors from many martial arts, bar bouncers, Special Forces military personnel from various countries, defense contractors, police chiefs, and high-level security guards. . Although each person had a different teaching style and set of shots they taught, they all focus very much on targets (because targets are the real key). Just think about it, a fancy punch is just a fancy punch until it lands in the right spot. Every self-defense tool known to man is useless unless he hits the right target.