Gangs
The Way of the Monkey is
to play the fool.
While you laugh at his antics;
He bites you from behind.
(The Silent Flute)
Fighting
Fighting
should be avoided at all costs.
Only a sadist takes pleasure in hurting others.
Old-fashioned notions of duels fought between
samurai for honour and clan
are sadly romantic in today's society.
Realistically, there will more than one
opponent. And they will be
armed.
Gangs
According to the media,
modern culture is
filled with gangs of young men looking for trouble.
Depending upon where you live, this may or may not be the case.
The best defence is to stay public and visible.
Gangs of people are intimidating - they could well be armed and potentially dangerous.
The best way to deal with them is to stay well clear.
If forced to defend yourself against a gang, you must be
ruthless. Any hesitation could mean your life.
He moved but I struck first
We advocate striking at the
first indication of movement from the aggressor.
This is an attitude taken from the 'tai
chi classics'.
With practice, it is possible to move so suddenly that the defence will
actually appear pre-emptive.
In some situations, pre-emptive measures are necessary and advisable.
Tai chi and multiple opponents
Tai chi is intended against multiple opponents, consequently much of the
self defence training takes gangs into
consideration.
The tai chi approach to gangs is quite unorthodox and takes considerable
training.
The system was specifically designed with a large number of attackers in mind.
Conditioning
Our students usually start
multiple opponent exercises within their
first couple of lessons.
They become accustomed to the fact that a real-life physical confrontation
may well involve more than one assailant.
As the syllabus unfolds, the multiple opponent scenarios become increasingly
more
realistic, incorporating full speed
punches, kicks and grapples. And eventually armed attacks.
The aim is to stay relaxed, calm and composed. Rather than panic, students
learn to treat it as
play.
Commitment
Step-by-step
techniques usually do not work in self
defence. Against a gang they are suicidal.
It is necessary to learn how to defend yourself without becoming entangled
with just one person.
Stunning, distracting, damaging, impeding - these are all essential
strategies to consider.
Incapacitating people
smoothly and effectively is paramount.
Your aim is to escape the situation as quickly and comfortably as you can.
This may involve evasive body work and limited commitment or it may
necessitate a demonstration of brutality.
You learn how to gauge the dynamic of the gang and respond appropriately.
Page created 23 June 2002