How to Defend Yourself from a Grab

There are a variety of reasons to take a martial arts class - but one of the most frequent is to learn the art of self-defense. Even with all of the self-discipline you learn, being able to defend yourself can build up a great deal of self-confidence that doesn't come through reading about martial arts. With that in mind, this article will address one of the most basic defenses: defending yourself from a grab.

One of the first things to understand about self-defense are an opponent's weak points and vulnerabilities. Someone without martial arts training will likely be very susceptible to a quick counter-defense that they did not anticipate. For example, while many inexperienced people might try to fight and grab with hands, you can gain an advantage over your opponent by grabbing their rest, rendering their hand essentially useless. You can then use this wrist to pull them in and get them out of attacking position.

If someone comes at you with a hand coming forward, you can use your opposing hand to grab their wrist and pull them off-balance. For example, if someone pushes at you with a right hand coming forward, use your right hand to pull their wrist and subsequently the rest of their upper body. You can stay in attacking/defending position, but they'll be off-balance. This is the time to strike.

Keeping your opponent off-balance is one of the keys to defending an attack. You don't necessarily want to fight back, you simply want to get them to stop using an attack position. If their upper body is facing you, they have the potential to strike at you. Either get distance between the grabber, or use the aforementioned wrist-grab technique to get them off balance.

It's important that you learn to make these moves with confidence and strength. You can't "guide" your opponent's wrist to where you want to go. You've got to move it there yourself. That means being physically assertive. This is one of the things you'll learn in martial arts classes, and it's part of the reason you break wooden boards.

Mentally intimidating your opponent is a great advantage of being so assertive. If they see that you are self-confident and that you mean it when you grab them, they might think twice about the attack. Be sure to keep that in mind, and build up an "assertive vibe" so that people don't invade your personal space.

Photo Credits: dangoodwin

Originally posted 2009-08-11 03:01:27.

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Posted by Martial Arts Karate Kung Fu on January 13, 2012 in Defend, Martial Arts. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.