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A Bronx Tale…Of Street Self Defense

July 22, 2010 | Author: Matthew | Filed under: Martial Arts,Techniques,mindset,modern arts,self defense

This is another story from the IKKF 2010 Annual Training.

One of the guest instructors at our training was a gentleman named Miguel Ibarra. Ibarra Sensei studies and teaches aikijujutsu and has a dojo based out of Bronx, New York. Ibarra Sensei has been a probation officer in The Bronx for decades (now retired) and has what you might call ‘real world experience’. Let’s put it this way, if your interest is in street effective and tested methods, Ibarra Sensei is your guy.

That being the case, I asked him what he thought was more valuable during his time on the New York streets, striking or grappling. His answer was essentially as follows:

For a police or probation officer, grappling is a much much more valuable tool. You have to remember – when a cop strikes someone, the immediate reaction of everyone around (including the suspect) is to cry abuse and try to sue. That is not to downplay the seriousness and reality of police brutality, but perpetrators who are struck tend to believe they are innocent victims.

The recent video of a Seattle Police Officer was of particular interest in the conversation, which you can view here:

This officer was in a dangerous situation, being grabbed at by two irate women and surrounded by individuals who were looming in a threatening manner. it was within the cop’s legal right to strike the woman who accosted him. Yet, as we can see, this video has become an internet hot topic and has sparked controversy. If the officer had been able to handle the situation without striking, there would be no news at all from this arrest.

Ibarra Sensei’s aikijujutsu (known for grappling and joint-locking) is swift, direct, and punishing. It has to be for his purposes. He explained that since law enforcement officers need to avoid striking whenever possible in order to prevent lawsuits and scandal, they need to have an excellent ability to use the force of physics and joint manipulation to gain compliance. He also noted the unreliability of pain compliance when dealing with an adrenaline pumped, drunk, or high assailant who would like nothing better than to stomp your face.

Interestingly, when the conversation shifted to civilian self defense, Ibarra Sensei had a much more accepting view of striking. The continuum of force for civilian-to-civilian is much more even than that of cop-to-civilian. Therefore, for a citizen, a threat of being struck can be responded to with a strike.

To learn more about the various use-of-force continuums, please visit this page for police, and this page for civilian martial artists.

Unfortunately, if you defend yourself at all during violent situations, our litigious society might still come knocking at your door. That’s why it is good to actively de-escalate a situation and make sure bystanders see you trying (if you are lucky enough to get the chance).

Most experienced instructors I have encountered tend toward the mindset of “defend yourself first, worry about the legalities second”. If in the heat of the moment you can stay within the continuum, that’s optimal…but don’t get yourself killed trying to play nice.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 and is filed under Martial Arts, Techniques, mindset, modern arts, self defense. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Recently in Australia we've had problems with drunken idiots hitting people in compromising positions (eg. At the top of a flight of stairs) and accidentally killing them in one punch. I think, because of that, the Australian use of force continuum might even be different… I'll have to look into it…

Jackthestripper wrote on July 23, 2010 - 2:45 am | Visit Link

Yea please do – I'd be interested in seeing what changes they might have made.

Matt__A wrote on July 23, 2010 - 2:51 am | Visit Link

Sorry, but the cop in the vid did not have the right to hit that woman in the face. As any reasonable person can see, the situation was NOT that hostile. If it was, where was his partner and/or backup?

Chris wrote on July 23, 2010 - 12:31 pm | Visit Link

How one acts in a situation of imminent danger is a thornier issue if one is a martial artist. All the comments in the civilian martial artist article although true are a model abstraction. It all boils down to how fast the situation escalates and the actual options of de-escalation or escape. We are taking about seconds. The best defense I suppose would be situational awareness, perceiving potential danger before it ignites. Life threatening situations can be isolated or a link in a chain of future or past events. Avoiding situations, places and persons of an obvious potential risk of violence is an option but violence can erupt anywhere and come from anyone. Solutions? No apparent ones really. Life is as messy as fights. But I'd rather be alive and on the wrong side legally than dead or maimed.

jorge morales-santo domingo wrote on July 24, 2010 - 10:58 am | Visit Link

I tend to agree with you jorge. I wanted to make sure I finished up the article with something along those lines, because too much hypothetical and abstract consideration can be a hindrance.

Thanks for your insights!

Matt__A wrote on July 24, 2010 - 9:58 pm | Visit Link

No reason to punch the girl. However, I'm wondering why he kept trying to cuff the first girl while she was still standing. Once someone starts resisting they need to be put on the ground. Once on the ground most people are easier to control. This cop had more than one bad judgment call.

(Un)Caged Fighter

Donjitsu2 wrote on July 25, 2010 - 6:14 am | Visit Link

I would have thought that whether you use grappling or striking depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you work in law enforcement/security/bouncer etc then your aim may be to restrain and/or arrest the offender, in which case grappling and locking would seem more appropriate. However if you are a civilian being attacked then your aim may be to flee the scene as quickly as possible so a few quick strikes may be a better way to defend yourself before you run off.

Suec wrote on July 28, 2010 - 12:28 pm | Visit Link

I think it's more likely that some of those onlookers wanted to step in and assault the officer.

Matt__A wrote on July 29, 2010 - 8:34 pm | Visit Link

This post only shows that we shouldn't regard self defense or martial arts as a simple art. It also brings about discipline, the need to do the right thing in times of danger or difficult situations just like what it shown in the video. Now I realized hoe important learning self defense is. Thanks for this educational post!

A Bronx Tale…Of Street Self Defense

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