alert to the potential for an assault in any given law enforcement situation. One way to stay prepared is through the constant mental rehearsal of “what-if” scenarios.You must also know that you are ready to do anything reasonable to stop the assault. (As mentioned earlier, the key word here is reasonable. If all it takes is a palm heel strike to the assailant’s chest to stop the assault, then that is all that should be used. If the assailant continues to fight, multiple strikes or a takedown may be more appropriate.)
■ Be confident. You must have confidence in yourself, and in your physical and mental ability to overcome an assailant. The best way to build this self-confidence is through actual physical training in defensive tactics skills on a weekly basis.
■ Develop and use an effective “command voice.” In many cases, the use of a loud, deep, and confident command voice will stop an assault almost as soon as it’s started. I have used this approach many times with excellent results and without having to resort to physical force. One study shows that yelling at an assailant has a definite psychological effect—and could even prevent an attack. Many martial arts systems teach a kiai or “spirit shout” as a way of both deterring an attacker and giving the defender strength, power, and confidence. (This is why many warriors scream when going into battle.)
■ Be unafraid. Officers can get hurt, injured, or killed because they are afraid of the assailant, the situation, or of getting hurt. When dealing with an aggressive assailant, you must not be afraid; you must use proper tactics and take a positive proactive approach to subduing the assailant. You have many tools—besides your pure physical ability—at your disposal to help you deal with a physical encounter (baton, pepper spray, handcuffs, radio, sap, gloves, bulletproof vest, etc.).
■ Fight to win. Once you are engaged in a fight, the primary focus in your mind must be to fight to win. Your focus should be on conclusively defeating the attacker. Winning the fight is the best way to make sure that you can go home safely at the end of your shift. Giving up, or expecting your attacker to give up, could literally cause death.
Following these five basic rules will help you defend yourself in almost any situation. You should also:
■ React immediately. When attacked, you must immediately defend yourself and fight back.
■ Maintain eye contact with your assailant. Eye contact alone may intimidate some attackers.
■ Always watch the attacker’s hands. Your assailant may have a weapon.
■ Use your anger. Anger is a powerful drive that you can use constructively. Use your anger as a force to help you subdue your assailant.
■ Get trained in basic fighting skills. Develop the proper stability, distance, balance, speed, timing, and force.
■ Be flexible and innovative. Don’t think that there is just one way of doing things. Adapt to the situation and what’s working at that time, and then use it to your advantage.
■ Use physical and verbal distractions. You can sometimes stop a physical assault by physically or verbally distracting an assailant and then striking when the assailant is not physically or mentally ready.
■ Call for backup. Many assailants calm down once a call has been put through for backup. Even if they don’t, you’ll know that help is on the way.
■ Attack vulnerable areas. Striking assailants in their vulnerable areas will subdue them more effectively than striking them in a random, haphazard fashion.
Conditioning
Many officers still rely too heavily on their weapons or their numbers to get them out of dangerous situations, even though it’s well-known that an officer in good physical condition stands a better chance of handling an attacker. Unfortunately, situations can turn from tense to life threatening before you have time to retrieve your equipment or to get help. Therefore, all officers should incorporate physical conditioning into their self-defense training. Follow a balanced fitness regimen that includes regular aerobic conditioning, muscle conditioning, flexibility, coordination, and fighting combinations. This kind of training can be rigorous, so check with your doctor before starting.
3
A Basic Stance for Self-Defense
Each of the martial arts practiced throughout the world has developed a “signature” basic stance—the starting point for its techniques or movements. These stances are based on the needs of the fighters who use the style. For example, southern Chinese martial arts developed a wide “horse” stance to give their practitioners’ stability in their wet environment (see Fig. 4).
The stance used by Indonesian ground tiger (harimau) fighters is low and close to the ground because of the unpredictability of the terrain in that region (see Fig. 5).
Police work has its own special demands—and requires its own unique approach. Officers who stand in the basic FI (field interrogation) stance, for example, leave themselves vulnerable to a street fighter’s kick to the leg. The standard low “horse” or traditional forward stance used in the martial arts is also not very functional in the demanding and dangerous situations faced in law enforcement. In police work, mobility is critical—especially when facing a larger assailant.
The best stance for law enforcement work is a modified version of the standard, modern kickboxing stance. In this stance the feet are set slightly wider than shoulder width, the knees are bent slightly, and the feet are slightly offset, with weight distributed evenly between them. The hands are held up around eye level, the elbows are tucked in, as is the head, the shoulders are raised slightly, the rear foot heel is raised slightly, and the lead foot is turned in slightly (see Fig. 6).
Every facet of this stance has a functional purpose:
Foot position: Setting the feet at shoulder width offers quick mobility in any direction when compared to the broader, lower “horse” stance. Placing one foot slightly offset from the other gives you a little more stability in your stance, as opposed to placing one foot behind the other. Placing one foot directly behind the other foot—known as tightrope walking in kickboxing—would give you good forward stability but would limit your lateral stability (see Fig. 7).
Your weight is distributed equally between your feet, again so that you can move quickly in either direction. The front foot is kept slightly turned in to protect you from getting kicked in the groin. This turns your knee in as well, so that it can
