She pulled hard against his grip, Jill then began to panic. “This guy is way too strong, and in order to break free I’ll need to VARY my defense, and do something else.” The large attacker was either drunk, or strung out, but following her into the restroom was not normal even for this club. A coupe of women hurried out, and yet neither one appeared interested in helping her. At least that’s how it seemed. “Maybe they think he’s with me,” Jill thought. “Either way this was not going well.”
Jill’s voice got suddenly commanding and very loud, “Let go of me. Now!” His hands went for her throat, and as he pushed her up against the wall she brought her hands up to her head, releasing his grip by using the hard part of her head against the inside of his wrist. His violent forward leaning push, and the sudden release of his hands off her throat made him stumble forward into her eagerly awaiting strikes and knee dropping him to the tiled floor.
Within the hour cops were escorting Mr. Not-So-Very-Nice-Guy out the door. What worked was Jill’s ability to VARY from one technique to the next. When her pulling away was ignored, and her strength was insufficient, she released his hands, and neutralized his unwelcome advances perhaps saving her own life in the process.
In self-defense scenarios we practice VARIED techniques over and over again. A common complaint of a novice student is, “This technique doesn’t work. I tried it like three times!” The predictable response form a master instructor is to apply another technique, or the same one again, in a different way, or to a different target, until something does work.
Everything makes a difference! VARYING, attacks, speed, size difference, angles and strength require VARIANCE with every situation. Some techniques work better for some people, and others work better for others. Period.
Conflict VARIANCE parallels life. In LIFE DEFENSE we see that in everyday life. The tendency is at the first sight of failure, we get stuck. “My teen just did ABC and you told me to just do XYZ, and it didn’t work! See, now I’m stuck, I suck at parenting, and my teen is for sure going to end up strung out on drugs, pregnant, and on the streets. I told you so!”
Once again the experienced master parent who’s raised several children to adulthood might say, “Apply another technique, or the same one again in a different way.” The calming voice of the experienced mentor assures you, and you VARY, and VARY again until something works.
The lesson is, to never give up. Because failure only comes when we give up….VARY!
Allen Hughes
Warrior Way Life Defense
#lifedefense #vary #allenhughes.
