It seems an odd question; ‘Would you bite an ear off’?
But it is a good question to ask because few people rarely consider what they would be prepared to do in a fight.
In this article, we are going to take a look at the dark side of self-defence.
The world of disfiguring attacks.
Acid Attacks Are On The Rise, But Why?
In the UK Acid attacks have doubled since 2012
“Dr Simon Harding, a criminologist and expert on gangs at Middlesex University, says acid is becoming “a weapon of first choice”.
“Acid throwing is a way of showing dominance, power and control, building enormous fear among gang peer groups,” he says.”
I am not a criminologist, but I have spent the best part of my life surrounded by criminals, so I know how devious and nasty they are and how they think.
Disfiguration style attacks have been around for a long time, acid just makes carrying them out a whole lot faster, less personal and more painful.
And if a criminal can find a short cut and gain faster results they will.
The use of acid attacks is a premeditated assault, and I hope that the use of acid reduces and you never have to undergo such attack.
However, I think we also need to examine the type of person who would use attacks that disfigure another because they often go for that default option in self-defence.
Ears The Size Of Bats Wings
He looked at me and immediately his face said ‘victim’.
This guy had ears, but we are not talking about any standard size ears.
These ears were the size of bats wings and not only were they large but they stuck out.
I mention this not to make fun of this man, but I need to explain this before I talk about the next part.
Each ear was missing a huge section, each ear had a large bite taken out, and you knew it was a human bite because you could visibly see the grooves.
I need you to picture this in your mind.
A man with enormous ears had substantial parts missing because of a human being that had bitten those parts out.
I later found out that while heavily intoxicated he had got into a fight where the attacker had beaten him up and while he was in a ‘clinch’ the attacker bit the chunks out of his ears, first one then the other.
If you think this incident is rare, think again.
Over the years I have seen people with slashes on their faces, lips bitten and of course (I carry the scar of one bite attack) bites to the arms.
The people in these type of incidents do not care about rules; they do not even care about winning the fight.
No, their objective is different.
They desire to inflict lasting change on their victims because lasting and visible change sends a message for a long time to come!
Dealing With This Type Of Attacker
You spent you Martial Arts life dealing with people that throw strikes or use knives.
There seems almost an invisible rule set that exists.
That we will only deal with attacks if they come in certain ways.
As we know, there is a type of person who has a goal to disfigure you, and this changes the game.
They might use a knife to slash your face (knowing it won’t kill you). They might bite your ears, nose, lips or cheek. They might even use acid.
I have also known even more vile scum, those with an infectious disease that try and spit at you. One I saw tried to spit blood knowing he was HIV positive.
I also have seen drug addicts try and stab others with used needles.
None of these methods are designed to kill. They are intended to inflict permanent damage to another.
The question remains; how do you deal with these types?
I know of a few self defence and Martial arts systems that teach their students to ‘become these types’ of people.
They teach you to create permanent damage to the opponent either via biting or ripping the eyes out.
The problem with this is that when faced with that ‘reality’ you have to decide if you are that type of person.
I am not, but that is a personal choice.
The way you deal with these types is simple.
You need to hit them with such force they drop their plans and think ‘oh crap.’
You hit them with such power that in their mind they weep like a fountain.
You want them to think defeat. You want them to plead in seconds ‘stop hitting me’, you want to have such power that you can turn their ‘lights off’ in an instant.
Could You Fight Through The Pain?
You can’t fight through an acid attack, but you can fight through a slash to your face, fight through your flesh being ripped or bitten off.
The question is ‘will you?’
As Martial Artists we never ask these questions of ourselves until the moment is upon us.
But that it too late.
We need to craft the determination to wreak havoc on those that seek to attack us, no matter what they do to us.
You can’t train in the dojo to deal with the man who rips your flesh with his teeth.
But you can craft your determination and will to survive.
When you learn to push yourself and cultivate the will to win then nothing is impossible.
So this articles the question:
“What are you prepared to do to another human being and what are you prepared to fight through?”
Thanks for reading