5 Practical and Effective Self-Defense Tips for the Modern Man

The outside world is becoming a more hectic place by the day. Crime rates are going up, home invasions are becoming a more frequent occurrence, and there is always a possibility that you will encounter an aggressive drunk at the bar. What’s more, you never know when someone might try to pickpocket you on your way to work or while you’re walking home. God forbid that you find yourself in a situation where you have to protect yourself and your partner from one or more assailants.

Love it or hate it, learning self-defense is nowadays paramount for a man’s survival, and even though you think you could hold your own in such a stressful situation, chances are that you’re vastly underprepared for a real-world physical confrontation. That’s why today we’ll be talking about the most effective self-defense lessons and rules that you need to adhere to at all times, and we’ll be tackling some crucial fitness and martial arts tips that will help you reduce stress and get you into fighting-ready shape.

Understand the Nature of Physical Confrontation

If you think that defending yourself from another human being requires nothing more than a few fancy martial arts moves, congratulations, you have no idea what real physical confrontation looks like. In order to survive a real-world attack, whether someone is coming at you bare-handed or with a weapon, you have to understand what physical confrontation entails. Firstly, disregard the notion that you are stronger than your assailant.

Most of the time, your assailant will be physically stronger and more aggressive than you. Secondly, understand that fighting off an assailant in the real world is nothing like what you might have seen on TV. Physical altercations on the street are messy, chaotic, and they last only a few seconds. If you get into a fight, you will have a split-second chance to react and protect yourself. Lastly, understand that psychology plays a big role here, so you will need to train yourself to defuse a situation before it gets physical, and know how to handle an aggressive individual.

Identify the Weak Areas on Your Attacker

If it comes to it and you find yourself fighting for your life, you can’t rely on the moves and techniques you saw in popular movies and YouTube videos. The vast majority of self-defense tips out there do not work in the real world, and there is only a handful of self-defense concepts that can save your life. You might think that you should train MMA to become a better fighter, but in reality, your best bet is a real-world fighting system like Israeli Krav Maga.

That said, any type of martial art will improve your reaction time and reflexes. However, only Krav Maga and similar systems will teach you how to fight someone mercilessly and defeat them ruthlessly on the street, making it the most effective system out there. Whatever you choose to train, be sure that it’s a system that will teach you how to target the weak areas, such as the eyes, ears, nose, lips, throat, and the groin.

Use a Handgun to Protect Your Home

While it is true that guns rarely solve any problems and that they bring more harm than good to the world, there is no denying that a handgun is the most effective self-defense tool of all. You cannot expect to protect your home and your family from one or several home invaders with your bare hands or a baseball bat, because you will get overwhelmed.

This is why you should have a handgun at your side for home defense. That said, it’s imperative that you store it in a safe place, so be sure to look for honest gun safe reviews to find a safe that will keep the gun away from your kids but will allow you to retrieve your weapon quickly in case of an emergency. When you have a break-in, the only real way to protect your home is with a firearm, so be sure to train with the handgun at a shooting range and know how to handle the firearm in stressful situations.

Train Rigorously in Self-Defense and Psychology

You can’t expect to stay calm and composed during a self-defense situation. This is a high-stress, high-adrenaline environment, and you can expect your fight or flight response to hit you like a freight train the moment you feel you’re in danger.

For this and many other reasons, it’s imperative that you train in self-defense, push your body to the limit to develop physical strength and agility, and choose a self-defense system that will teach you how to use psychology to intimidate the attacker or diffuse a situation.

Remember Your Key Objective

Speaking of diffusing a situation before it escalates, you should always try to calm things down instead of entering a physical confrontation. Remember, your key objective is to come back home safe and sound, that’s the only thing that matters. You can never be sure that your attacker isn’t holding a knife in their pocket or that their friends aren’t waiting for you around the corner.

The biggest mistake you can make is to think that your wallet is more important than your life. It’s not, and if a mugger asks for it, don’t hesitate to give your possessions away. On the other hand, if you’re truly unable to talk your away out of a fight, then you have to leverage the aforementioned tips to become as ruthless and aggressive as you can – this is your only chance to survive the confrontation unscathed. 

Wrapping Up

More often than not, people like to think that self-defense means taking a couple of classes at the local gym and being aware of your surroundings. In reality, though, true self-defense means being aware of the dangers of physical confrontation, and being ready to fight for your life on a moment’s notice. Be sure to use these tips to become stronger mentally and physically, and equip yourself to protect your home and family in any adverse situation.