Art Of Self Defence

Tom Hill

Description

This book gives the reader a whole host of tools - both practical and psychological - which will help them achieve the status of a self-defence master. With thirty-two chapters covering a range of subjects from fitness to body language to eye contact, this book is not your run-of-the-mill martial arts manual. It is written by self-defence expert and 6th Dan Tom Hill, and those with an interest in the mental techniques of attack and defence will no doubt enjoy it greatly.

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 12 mars 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781849892513
• Langue: English

Extrait

Title Page
The Art of Self Defence


by
Tom Hill



Publisher Information
The Art of Self Defence published in 2014 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
The right of Tom Hill to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
Copyright © 2014 Tom Hill
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.



Introduction
The purpose of this book is not to try and teach you self defence moves - for this you should join a good Martial Arts Club. Although this article may help you choose one.
Over the past 41 years I have trained and taught in the Martial Arts from the age of 21 and have specialised in self defence and fitness. Training for about 8 to 10 hours per week during that time, pretty much non-stop. My club has about 20 to 30 members of all adult ages and a few of my students have been with me for over 30 years. My main experience is Goju (hard soft) Karate but have incorporated anything that I think works into this system - much was already there. I have been lucky enough to have trained with many world famous Masters of Martial Arts from the East and from this Country.
Over the years I have trained Door Security Personnel, Soldiers, Detectives, Policemen, Boxers, Wrestlers, Ju Jitsu Practitioners, Barristers, Businessmen, all manner of sports people and fitness fanatics, other Karate styles, other Instructors and other Martial Arts practitioners too numerous to mention.
This articles purpose is to pass on to you some of the things I have learned or considered during this time. I hope it helps you to think about the subject in general and how it could improve the safety of your life and increase your personal security and bolster your self confidence and perhaps give you a little motivation to progress.
To learn Self Defence techniques you will need to join a good club that specialises in the subject, but hopefully by reading this article you will have a better idea what to look for and precisely what you are interested in.
If you are a Martial Arts instructor it may help you formulate some new thinking, strategies and syllabus for teaching self defence in your class. Or may just help crystallise your thinking on self defence and fill in a few gaps.
If you are a student of self defence it may help you formulate what is good or lacking in your current training regime and hopefully give you a few new areas to consider and a few questions to ask your teacher or incorporate into your training regime.
If you are a person who likes the idea but has never taken it any further - it may help you decide how you wish to progress, what to look for in a Martial Arts Club and help you decide what you wish to achieve.
Even after reading this book and even after years of training you could still fall victim to an assault and may even come off much worse than your assailant. The plus side is that by training and trying to improve your self defence you are stacking the odds in your favour - perhaps considerably, depending on your effort and ability. If you fail once, at least you tried. If you succeed then you succeed every day - because what you learn should stay with you each day and enrich your life.
If nothing else I hope it makes you think about the subject in more detail than perhaps you have before - it could even save your life.



A Sensible Task In Life
the search for wisdom
Your first task in improving your life by learning self defense is to decide what your goal is.
Unfortunately, this first task is the most difficult, but without it you have no firm purpose in this pursuit. Your goal should be the “goal of perfection” the person you wish to become. Only you can decide this.
Let us call this goal our “definite purpose”.
Only after deciding on a “definite purpose” can you achieve a “calmness of mind” that will assist you in your task.
Only after achieving a “calmness of mind” can you discover “rest and peace”.
Only after discovering “rest and peace” can you begin to really “think”.
Only after you have learned to “think” can you achieve knowledge and wisdom.
There is a formula, a sequence of events in the acquiring of wisdom. It has a beginning, middle and an end. To understand first of all, the proper formula and sequence of events is the beginning of wisdom.
(Adapted from Confucius)



My thanks as always to
Tony Christian 7 th Dan Goju, Who first taught me Goju Karate.
My friend and Instructor, the late Paul Perry 10 th Dan Black Belt Hall of Fame, Jin Sei Kai Shotokan Karate who greatly improved what I had learned.
The students of Goju.co.uk Club - who are my friends and constant educators. To Ian OHara 5 th Dan and Alan Keegan 6 th Dan who were my faithful students and assistants for over 35 years.
Special thanks in this article to:
Mike Saunders 5 th Dan, Police Sergeant and Gulf War Veteran who helped with the legal issues. Martial Arts student.
Paul Charman , Murder Squad Detective. Martial Arts student.
David Winfield LLM LLB (hons) Barrister. Martial Arts student. Composed the Section on the Law
YOU CAN CONTACT ME AT:
[e-mail]
THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND I WOULD WELCOME CONSTRUCTIVE HELP



Chapter 1
Why is LEARNING self defence so important?
What do you appreciate about life? Your self respect, your confidence, your family, your job, your health, your money, your happiness, your car, your girlfriend, your wife, your children, your general wealth?
All this could be destroyed partially or completely by some angry or mentally ill person who chooses you as their victim.
Think about it, even if this possible attack leaves you physically uninjured it could have a profound affect on your well being, your dignity, your sense of safety and security, your confidence, certainly on your stress levels. You could lose your job and your financial security - perhaps due to the injuries or perhaps due to the severe mental effects of a beating. It could leave you with mild or serious flash backs and sleepless nights, mild or serious post traumatic stress disorder, unresolved anger and guilt issues, fear of the future.
This is not a scenario to leave to chance.
Perhaps it could leave you injured, a lifelong ugly scar - this may improve or destroy your love life, your job prospects, your self esteem, your self image.
A broken arm, leg or even finger would seriously affect your job for the next three months. Your ability to drive your car, plus many other unpleasant results.
More serious injuries could leave you in Hospital, disabled, in a coma, mentally ill or even paralysed. These are just a few of the consequences of violent attack.
Self defence is about much more than the obvious prevention or avoidance of violent attack.
It can have serious consequences on your health, wealth and happiness.



Chapter 2
Your most valuable asset?
Have you ever considered what your most valuable asset is? When asked the question most of my students and friends respond with: My house, my car, my family, my friends etc.
Well the answer is:
‘YOU!’ ARE YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET!
If something serious happens to you - then all the other assets are worthless or severely diminished. If you appreciate this fact then your thinking should start to address the problem:
‘How can I protect my most valuable asset’? Learn self defence. Get fit. Learn to swim. Stop smoking. Drink alcohol moderately. Eat healthy - live healthy. Check your personal security, work, family, home and car. Avoid needlessly dangerous situations. Drive sensibly. Learn first aid. Educate yourself on your self protection. Take precautions. Avoid illegal drugs and drug culture. Improve your environmental security. Take appropriate precautions.



Chapter 3
What is self defence?
Many people who practice a Martial Art confuse fighting with self defence. They spend a lot of time learning and practicing fighting and while this may be useful in many ways, consider this:
‘If you are fighting your self defence has not worked’.
Good self defence avoids having to fight. However, it may be true that if your self defence does not work, then you will need to fight, in order to defend yourself further.
Learning to fight may well improve your self defence, but fighting is not self defence and self defence is not fighting. Even though they may well compliment each other.
It is necessary to learn to fight in order to have a complete self defence system. You cannot rely on talking your way out, avoidance or even clever self defence. It is a very real possibility - that if you are attacked, you may have to fight. Just hope your self defence works first instead. Otherwise you will learn quickly what all the old masters of the Martial Arts already know.
‘NO ONE WINS IN A FIGHT’.
Even if by all accounts you were the victor of this possible fight - then you have lost in terms of your self defence did not work. You may well have other problems of loss such as ‘loss of self control’. You could have a vendetta on your hands, all manner of revenge and threats f