Look, let’s be honest. The idea of single handidly unarming a knife wielding attacker with a flick of the wrist or movie-like sequence is awesome.
But what are the odds of that happening?
Unlikely.
Really. F***ing. Unlikely.
“But I got taught the perfect sequence to unarm an attacker in five moves or less and it works perfectly!”
Of course it does. In a controlled setting, with a fake knife and a friend doing the demonstration on you.
The reality is much different.
Emotion, fear, adrenaline, a racing heart and a very, very sharp knife.
The reality is that if someone wants to cause harm to you, they likely will. It will not be predictable, and you likely won’t see it coming.
However, we’ve got the secret…
Do you want to know the number one self-defence technique?
Run.
Leave your ego at the door and run. Do not stand and fight. Do not try and ‘re-direct your attacker by using their aggression against them’, or any other fake, self-defence course nonsense. Instead, find the space…. And run. Run fast, run hard and run until you are clear, can find a place of refuge or can find the company of others.
Now that’s obviously not going to make a cool YouTube video, and I understand that. But at the end of the day, a bruised ego is better than a knife in the chest.
“But surely there’s something that does work?”.
There is, and it is going to sound incredibly biased, but of course I am going to say it..
It’s Muay Thai!
But not for the reasons you think. It’s not a magical technique, hold, throw or strike. Instead, it’s confidence. You see, Muay Thai is a martial art that gives you confidence, and confidence is key. The confidence to know that if needed you could hold your hands up and punch, kick, knee and elbow your way out of a potentially life changing situation.
Confidence doesn’t come from a smoke-and-mirrors self-defence course with no practical implication. It comes knowing that if needed, you can fight your way out. It might not win you an Oscar or make you viral on social media, but it’s better than being a victim.
