Three Rules for Self Defense: Rule Eight

“No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” 2 Timothy 2:4-5

We are currently sharing with you several “Rules of Three” that are part of training in Grace Martial Arts.

You can look at previous Rules here:

• Rule One
• Rule Two
• Rule Three
• Rule Four
• Rule Five
• Rule Six
• Rule Seven

3 Protections

The purpose of learning self defense is to be able to protect yourself and others if attacked. Training to protect is about preventing harm or injury.

So, what parts of your body would you like to protect? Above the neck in front of your body? Below the back of your knees? Of course not! We want to protect front, side, back, high, middle and low. Every effective self-defense system will focus on protecting the whole person. If we train well and remain alert, we can protect ourselves and others in any direction.

“Meet the attack with cleverness. Wait like the cat, who springs to catch the mouse. Control the situation.” The Chinese Five Word Song

High

The idea of protecting “high” usually means above the shoulders. When we execute a “high” block in self defense it is usually because someone is attacking the upper part of our body (neck and head). That can be in the front, side or back of our neck and head.

When we learn how to defend “high” we focus on defending neck and head from the front first. We then learn how to defend “high” from attacks to our left and right sides and from attacks behind us.

Defending often begins with a “block” or “stop,” but it does not end there. Making contact with the attacker is only the beginning. “Contact” quickly moves to “control” and “counter.”

Our goal is to quickly steal our attacker’s strength and take control of the fighting situation. If the attacker pushes, we pull and off-balance. If the attacker pulls, we push and off-balance. We steal their strength and lead them to emptiness – a place where they can consider their bad behavior.

“To remain fearless, you must be well practiced in every movement. Through initial hardship you will gain something that will make you more than healthy and strong. Your arms will be like steel bars; your footing will be like a huge tree rooting deeply into the earth. Who can push you down? Who can attack you? You are not afraid.” The Chinese Five Word Song

Middle

The idea of protecting “middle” usually means from bottom of waist to top of shoulders. When we execute a “middle” block in self defense it is usually because someone is attacking the middle part of our body. That can be in the front, side or back of the middle part of our body.

When we learn how to defend “middle” we focus on defending our torso from the front first. We then learn how to defend “middle” from attacks to our left and right sides and from attacks behind us.

“Every action is self-initiated. In the art of self-defense, how to meet my attacker is my decision. Sometimes we do not use ‘yield;’ sometimes we use ‘stop,’ and counter his advance.” The Chinese Five Word Song

Low

The idea of protecting “low” usually means below the waist. When we execute a “low” block in self defense it is usually because someone is attacking the lower part of our body (feet to waist). That can be in the front, side or back of the lower part of our body.

When we learn how to defend “low” we focus on defending our lower body from the front first. We then learn how to defend “low” from attacks to our left and right sides and from attacks behind us.

“For self-defense, we yield to our attacker with softness, then follow soft with hard, and with a little force, a little touch applied to his oncoming force, he is sure to lose his balance. The heavier the attack that is coming to me, the heavier my opponent’s fall will be. When I yield to heavy advance (by swift movements from my relaxed muscles), his attack will follow towards my emptiness, and he will fall. Relaxation of the muscles is an important lesson for the beginner. That is the secret of this exercise. As a merchant should have capital for business, we should have relaxation for self-defense. ” The Chinese Five Word Song

Next Time

We will look at another set of Rules of Three for Grace Martial Arts when our special series continues.

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© Grace Martial Arts 2018