In this article, I am going to give you a real case study of Defence Lab in real self-defence action…..and the person using it was myself.
I will explain what I did and why I did it, what techniques were used and my options.
Ready?
Let’s do this.
What Happened
I was out walking to my local shop when I came across a man being abusive to a female, this female was his partner, and she was upset asking for him to leave her alone.
They walked past me, literally into my path to which the male got in front of her and cornered her.
Left with only two options, either ignore her in distress or help her, I took the latter.
I won’t break down the situation word for word but will explain that he became extremely aggressive and then postured to fight.
What Did I Do?
The first thing I did was to get into a stance, and I put up a boxers style guard.
This stance and guard had two effects on him; firstly, he backed off and gave me distance, and secondly, it showed him that I was a trained fighter.
At this time he did not rush at me….in fact, he stayed at a distance.
Eventually, he came close enough for me to land a preemptive left hook.
This caused him to immediately back away and walk away (but the incident wasn’t over)
The distance was an issue, firstly because if I had bridged the gap, I would have potentially lost my legal right to rely on self-defence as a reason for me striking him.
And secondly, I wanted distance because I had a strong belief that he had bladed weapon on his presence.
I believed that because he made several motions to his pockets as if he had something inside them.
After walking away, he returned with a house brick in his hand and threatened to cave my face in.
A long story short…he eventually dropped the brick and was arrested by police.
So Where Did DL Come Into It?
Ok, so what I haven’t said is that I only have use of my left hand right now.
I can’t fight with my right due to a severe injury to it.
Now Defence Lab was used in the following ways.
My Stance
This was a boxer’s stance, but it is the same stance used in DL.
This robust and balanced stance allowed me to move quickly and effectively.
The Left Hook: This was a looping corkscrew style left hook, as seen in Defence Lab training. It was not a KO punch, but I wanted it to provoke him to either commit to an attack or back away.
He did back away….and then came back once he realised he was outgunned.
Shape 1
The second he came back with the brick I adopted shape 1 because that was the only way I could have withstood a blow to my head with a brick.
It is my opinion that in doing this I have made attacking me very difficult.
He was presented with me at an angle and covered up on my left side.
My Thought Process
There is no doubt I have had my fair share of scraps, but this was different because I had the use of only one had and in addition, I have just turned 40.
The last time I had hands-on street violence was at least 5 years ago.
At 40 I am very different than I was 5 years ago at 35, I am older heavier, slower, less fit, and someone who is definitely not looking for trouble.
When the male confronted me initially, I wasn’t sure how this would go down.
Should I stop him if he tries to follow her?
Should I try and pin him and call the police?
Should I let him follow her and call the police?
I wasn’t allowed time to think because the second I asked him to leave her alone he was straight in my face.
In many ways, this made things easier because I was now the target of his aggression.
My other concerns were clearly the fact that I had only one hand in use and also that he may have a hidden weapon.
Also, he was non-committal to attacking me…he made all the right threats, but the second I got into a fighting stance he backed off.
I believe this was simply because in his head he didn’t want to take a shot from me…I am 16 stone and built like a gorilla.
When I landed the left hook, it was definitely more of a warning shot than full-bodied attack with weight behind it.
And again my thought processes were simple, I didn’t want to risk breaking my left hand (I still need to earn a living), but he had stepped into an area where he could have thrown a strike, so I needed to land a preemptive blow at that time.
When eventually he came back with the brick, my thoughts were that this could end very badly either for myself or the offender.
I was happy that I could defeat him, and my shape 1 would absorb a great deal of the brick attack if it happened. However, there is always a risk in any situation, and I was certainly concerned for my safety.
And indeed because he had escalated the incident to such a degree, it meant my use of force would also need to escalate.
It didn’t come to this, but even with one hand, I felt able to up my levels of force if I needed to.
What Do I Think Of Defence Lab Now?
If anything, my feelings about DL have strengthened even further.
At no time did I think I wouldn’t be able to handle this situation…no matter what he did. Also, my shapeshifting was vital because I felt I had protection.
I come from an extensive and varied background in martial arts, but when the shit hit the fan, it was the skills from Defence Lab that I used.
Thanks for reading.