Three Rules for Self Defense: Rule Nine

“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
• Rule Eight

3 Changes

If we find ourselves in a position of defending self or others, one of the keys to ensuring victory is to “change” the attacker in three primary ways. Though we’ll look at each aspect of change individually, the self-defense techniques we use will “change” the attacker in all three ways in two seconds or less.

Your opponent stands and moves from and with a basic structure. What we do in defending against an opponent’s physical attack is change their physical structure. We sometimes refer to it as “breaking down” or “dissolving” the structure. Here’s how we do it.

Height

First, we want to change the attacker’s height. We do that by pulling or pushing them in a downward direction. That bends their spine and helps off-balance them. We want their structure to be shorter.

Width

Second, we want to change the attacker’s width. We do that by pulling or pushing them to the side. That continues the off-balancing process. We want their structure to be thinner or wider.

Depth

Third, we want to change the attacker’s depth by pulling or pushing them forward or backward. That completes the off-balancing process. We want their structure to be deeper or shallower.

Do all three at the same time and you will steal your attacker’s strength. They will lose their balance and ability to control you. You “seize control” of their attack and move it where you will.

We don’t wait for the attack to unfold before we move. We take the first opportunity available to stop the attack.

“Attack as the arrow – quick and straight … I stop the strength of the enemy by taking the first chance. In Chinese we call ‘Stopping the strength’ Chit King. We must train to be loose in the muscles and joints so we can be quick to stop.” 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.

[Join our Grace Martial Arts Facebook Community!]

© Grace Martial Arts 2018