PREEMPTIVE Strikes in Self Defence

For the sake of this paper, let’s call the person who is approaching you with violent intent the ‘criminal’.

What is a pre-emptive strike?

A pre-emptive strike is a surprise attack against a criminal who you genuinely believe is about to use violence against you.

You would use a pre-emptive strike if you have been unable to de-escalate a threatening situation and unable to leave.  If this is the case, then you’re now engaged in a self-defence situation and a pre-emptive strike is used to defend yourself.

Pre-emptive strikes are legal in the UK.

Why are pre-emptive strikes necessary and why are they so important?

Pre-emptive strikes can stop a criminal from attacking you and are important because they can help you avoid a fight. If you strike with the correct amount of force to stun and shock the criminal, you can create enough time to escape.

If you wait for the criminal to strike first, you may end up in a pretty dangerous situation.  You may have been knocked to the floor and the criminal continues to kick and punch you.  There may be multiple assailants who could join in. The floor is not a safe place to be.  If you have received a couple of hard strikes which shock and stun you, it will be more difficult to recover your senses and physical ability to then strike back and defend yourself.  You are already on the back foot.  

– It is often seen that who starts the fight, wins the fight. 

What are we trying to achieve with pre-emptive strikes?

A pre-emptive strike is aiming to stop and avoid a fight by stunning and shocking the criminal which in turn gives you time and space to escape. 

Pre-emptive strikes can also help keep the criminal out of close range and not allow them to gain grips on you. Once somebody has a grip on you, your hair, or your clothes it is very hard to disengage.

The element of surprise is vital, so you’ll need to either perform a non-telegraphing strike or hide the telegraph.

When do I use my pre-emptive strike?

How do we know the right time to strike? How do we know if an attack is imminent? First, we can talk about range.  Most self-defence situations involving a stranger (non-consensual violence) happen at a much closer range than that of sport (consensual violence).  It’s likely that the criminal is going to be ‘in your face’ quite quickly.  To help you gauge when the criminal is getting too close you can use your hands as a range finder.  Hold them up in front of you and as soon as their chest touches your fingers, they are too close and now is the time for your strike. If you let them get too close, it will be too late.

It’s worth noting here that you may be in a crowded place, the criminal is already very close and you have no space to maintain distance.  In this instance you would need to rely on looking out for ‘danger signs’. Danger signs may include head down, lips tighten, breathing becomes rapid, fists are clenching etc.  If you see these signs and the situation is escalating, now is the time to use your pre-emptive strike.

How do we carry out an effective pre-emptive strike?

The element of surprise is vital for your pre-emptive strike to be effective. 

Training includes power generation techniques, so you have the physical ability to deliver a strike that is very fast and very hard.  During specific self-defence training scenarios, you will drill your psychological responses, so your pre-emptive strike becomes automatic.  Part of this training will also include learning to fully committed to your pre-emptive strike. You only get one chance, and you want your strike to count.

To generate the most power for your pre-emptive strike you want to take full advantage of the rotation of your hips and throw your weight into the strike. You want to create as much shock as you can to give yourself time to make an escape. This works well for strikes, slaps or bone strikes to the head.  Kicks are generally avoided as they can compromise our stability and are therefore more risky. If you are going to kick, the general rule of thumb is to kick below the fingertips of your opponent.  This reduces the risk of them catching your kick and taking you down.

You might find yourself in a tight spot and unable to generate power using rotational force. Part of self-defence pre-emptive strike training involves drilling the ability to create power from any position without a preload.

What if the criminal is wearing a bike helmet?  You now can’t hit them on the head, so you will need to have another pre-emptive strike up your sleeve. You could strike to the solar plexus, groin, stomp on the knee or throw yourself into a low round kick to the outside of the thigh. These might be less effective than a head strike but can give you that moment to get away.

A matter of size…..

The pre-emptive strike you have chosen to use and have drilled needs to have maximum impact within the context of the person attacking you. 

 Here are two examples to illustrate the point:

1.     An average size 14-year-old criminal boy is threatening to attack at 6ft 3, muscular build 35-year-old man.  The 35-year-old man would not need to use full force for his pre-emptive strike to be effective.

2.     If a 6ft 3 muscular 35-year-old criminal male is threatening to attack a 5ft 6 woman of average build, she would most likely need to use her absolute full force and strength for the pre-emptive strike to be effective.

What are ‘action triggers’ and why use them?

The term ‘action trigger’ is a technique used to help create new habits or responses.  A trigger can be a phrase that automatically sets off a reaction or action.

How do we use action triggers in self-defence?

When we are faced with the imminent threat of violence, we are going to feel fear.  Fear creates the fight, flight or freeze response and humans are pretty good at freezing.  The last thing we want to do when faced with a violent attack is stand there waiting to be hit. To help you override this ‘freeze’ response you need to drill a technique that can help push you into action and perform your pre-emptive strike. This is where the action trigger comes in.

Using the action trigger during training we can program ourselves to deliver a pre-emptive strike when we say a particular phrase.  A good example of an action trigger in self-defence is using an open-ended question, such as “why can’t we talk about this”. We want to distract the criminal (even if just for a moment) so it’s important not to use a question that just requires a yes or no answer.  You don’t want to antagonise the criminal, so keep the question neutral and non-aggressive.  We want our pre-emptive strike to be a surprise and do not want to give away that we are about to hit them.  This open-ended question uses misdirection which leads the criminal into believing we want to talk, whereas it’s our trigger to carry out our pre-emptive strike.

How do I hide a pre-emptive strike?

There are a few things to consider here.  Firstly and most importantly, your pre-emptive strike needs to be a surprise.  The attacker must not know it is coming. You can use dialogue and body language to hide it. By holding your hands out in front of you, not only can you use them as you range finder, but you can “talk” with your hands and use this continual movement to distract the attacker and also set up a preload for your strike. This is like a disguised guard and means you are ready to respond if you need to.

You could also hide the pre-emptive strike by playing up to being scared (probably not difficult), lulling the criminal into believing he’s in control. 

Secondly, we want to generate as much power as possible to our highest advantage by telegraphing our strike – we can achieve this (space and range permitting) by using our ‘talking hands’ to disguise the telegraph and not give away the strike.

Part of your training should also involve the ability to generate power from any position, so if you do not have space to preload, you can still deliver a fast, powerful strike.

If you cannot escape and are required to continue defending yourself after the pre-emptive strike, telegraphing shots does not matter as we need to be able to produce the most speed and power to overcome the attack.

What if my pre-emptive strike is blocked or doesn’t work?

It doesn’t matter, use that moment of surprise and confusion to run away.

If your pre-emptive strike does not work and you are a trained martial artist, you will need to fall back on your martial arts training to defend yourself.

What do I do after the pre-emptive strike?

Let’s start by looking at what you should do before you strike?  First look around you and find out where your escape routes are.  Is there anything in the environment you can use as an obstacle between you and the criminal ie. A car?  Can you de-escalate the situation or has the criminal gone beyond reason? Is the criminal actively blocking your escape route? Is he trying to close the distance? Are you alone? Are they alone? This collected information will help determine what you decide to do after you have delivered your strike.

If escape is possible, you must hit once and run. If you hit once and the criminal goes down to the ground and you continue hitting, what will witnesses think? It might look like you are the criminal, not the victim.  The criminal may also lie and tell everyone that you attacked them.

There are situations where escape is not possible and after you have delivered your pre-emptive strike you will need to fall back on any martial arts training you have.  If you have delivered a pre-emptive strike, at least you won’t be on the back foot.

40% of violent crime in the UK involving strangers is with multiple opponents. You may not be aware that the criminal has friends who are likely to join in a fight, so it is important to make escape fast, if possible.  Pre-emptive strikes can work with multiple opponents, but need to be trained and obviously the odds are against you. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, pre-emptive strikes serve as a valuable tool for self-defense in situations where one genuinely believes they are about to face violence from a criminal. By delivering a surprise strike with the correct amount of force, individuals can stun and shock their potential attacker, creating a crucial window of opportunity to escape and avoid further confrontation. The element of surprise and effective power generation techniques are essential for the success of a pre-emptive strike. Additionally, action triggers can help overcome the freeze response and initiate the necessary action. While pre-emptive strikes are legal in the UK, it is crucial to assess the situation, gauge the imminent threat, and evaluate the potential for escape before resorting to this defensive measure. Overall, pre-emptive strikes can serve as a means of self-preservation, enabling individuals to protect themselves and minimize the risk of harm in dangerous encounters. 

If you enjoyed this article and wish to learn how to apply pre-emptive strikes in a practical realistic way you are welcome to come and free trial any of our classes. We are located in South London next to Brockwell Park, Click here to book your free trial class and start you martial arts journey today