Using Elbows in Self-Defense for Women

Video Transcript

" Left. Yeah, good. It hurts. No, no left and rights. Just mix it up; throw a left in there every now and then. Loop it down. Loop it down. Good. And time. These are very, very good weapons that women can use, because no matter how small or weak you are, elbows are very powerful, and the reason why is because they are actually closer to the trunk of the body where your energy comes from. When you are driving your hip forward, because the elbow is a lot closer, you are actually going to be able to utilize a lot of that energy, and it is going to come out right here, a lot shorter and quicker. The energy and the power that you use through your body, and let’s just say for instance, throwing it into a straight punch, because it is going to a longer limb, some of that energy and power is going to disperse a little bit as it goes along. It’s not a whole lot, but from here, now you are using a shorter weapon, so all the energy, most of it you are going to get here, about 95 percent of it right into the elbow. Also, when you make contact with the elbow, it is bone. Bone on whatever part, bone on—bone to the head… so this can be bone crushing. This can also cut skin, cause bleeding, especially if you make contact near a soft tissue, near the eye. If you can do that to an assailant, then you can cause him a little bit of blindness and just give you an opportunity to get away, or maybe deliver more combatives before you get away. So moving on, Marissa is going to come up here. With the elbows, she is driving her hip forward. Notice how when she comes forward her elbow begins the motion, and her body goes behind the elbow before she makes contact. Here. Notice how she drops her elbow down real slow; Marissa, slow, slow slow motion. Notice how when she comes in—make contact, squeeze—and as soon as she is done here she drops her elbow straight down to bring her hands back to guard position. It doesn’t come out forward—let’s do it the wrong way—and then retracts back the same way. It doesn’t do that. You have to go through your target, drop the elbow so you are back in the position there for defense. "