Stay Away! 4 Reasons to Maintain Distance from an Aggressor

During every self defense class we emphasize that our primary goal is not to teach you how "win a fight" but to get you home safe.  One way to preserve your safety is to maintain distance from your assailant.

Why do we want distance?  There are many reasons an assailant is more dangerous in close quarters:

1. Less reaction time: If he is close he can reach you more quickly, perhaps before you can react or even know he attacking. 
2. Limited visibility: The closer he is the less visible his various weapons.  Imagine someone standing directly in front of you, his face 8 inches away. Can you see is hands, elbows, knees, him reaching in his pocket for a.....?
3. Spatial Awareness: It is more difficult to find exits, scan for other threats etc... when you have to focus on someone who is very near, perhaps touching...
4. More ways to hurt you:  From a certain distance, for example, the attacker must kick or use an object such as a baseball bat to reach you.  As he approaches, however, he can use knees, fists, sharp objects, elbows, head butts, biting...  In short, has more tools/options at his disposal.

Of course, it is not always possible to maintain distance.  The attacker might be very aggressive, he might surprise you, or you might be in a small space - e.g elevator.

There are times, therefore, when you have to create distance.  This is the topic of a "soon to released" blog.


Stay safe,

Christopher Gagne
Lead Instructor and Owner
International Krav Maga Federation(IKMF), Toronto
416-657-1028

Ikmftoronto.com