3 Straight-Forward Self-Defense Tactics That Will Save Your Life.

The Self-Defense Tactics In This Article & Many Others Can Be Found In The Following Books:

The Dirty Dozen: 12 Nasty Fighting Techniques For Any Self-Defense Situation

Self-Defense for Peaceable People: Defend Yourself Regardless of Size, Gender, Age, or Strength

Real World Self-defense: A Guide To Staying Alive In Dangerous Times

Be Sure To Get 'Em.

Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) Lawrence A. Jordan recently completed a 24-year Special Operations career, serving in the U.S. Army Rangers and Special Forces. He is the U.S. Director of the International Close-Combat Instructors Association (ICCIA).

Founder of the Tao-Zen Ryu Shindo system of Taoist-oriented martial arts, Master John Townsend is one of eight senior instructors appointed as direct successors to the legendary martial arts Grandmaster, Hak Tok Yun (10th Dan).

Jerry VanCook has trained thousands of police officers, military personnel and civilians in both armed and unarmed defense over the past 30 years. He spent 14 years in law enforcement with various agencies.

Obey the first rule of street fighting: Get The Hell Outta There!

Running away won't make a coward of you, no matter what others might say or think. It's in facts the smartest thing to do. If you treasure your life and health, avoid getting in fights in the first place. If by misfortune someone picks you up don't give up to your anger and shrug your shoulders at provocations. There are times when fighting is inevitable but peacefulness should be your first resource.

If you're being robbed, give the person what they want - unless they openly seek to take your life of course, or something of great value you don't want to part from - hopefully they will let you go. Better lose a couple of hundreds than take home a cracked rib, or worse.

The reason why you should always look for an escape route is that you never know how much of a proficient fighter your assailant might be. Don't judge a book by its cover, skinny and short people can swing some blows too. The last thing you want to do is to underestimate someone's fighting skills. Sizes can be deceiving.

Secondly, fights are iffy. One wrong movement could cost you a lot and a skilled fighter will always make you pay.

Punch 'em while they're talking.

If you're absolutely positive that the person before you will try to hurt you, attack immediately. A preemptive action is oftentimes a good self-defense technique. Be swift and powerful in your attack though, you want to avoid missing your target or being too slow. That could trigger a chain reaction of events that are not guaranteed to turn in your favor.

When attacking first you must be determined to make your initiative the definitive one. Your attack should preferably be used to buy you some time to run away and avoid further confrontation. If that's not the case, then it should be of such force to put the word "end" on the fight immediately. To do so, direct your strikes to vital points of the body in order to hinder the opponent's ability to respond.

Any normal person's reaction to an attack is to protect oneself. That means that you'll be better off triggering that defense mechanism in your opponent. Intercept or anticipate an opponents attack, chances are they will retreat and try to guard themselves. It's a natural and instinctive response to danger that you can use to suppress your assailant or flee.

A word of advice? Strike unexpectedly, while the assailant is approaching or talking, he won't see it coming if he's not prepared for it.

Enter the deadly assassin mode.

When you decide to fend for yourself you must be willing to injure your opponents severely. Your fist can't be light. Your mind can't be soft. Don't hesitate to inflict serious pain to your assailants. Remember that they wouldn't think twice about doing the same to you. I say this because I'm a quite person and I hate to hurt others. Other people's pain somehow resonates through my body.

Still, keep in mind that, when fighting for your life, everything is permitted. If you attack first and want to conclude a fight quickly, aim at vital parts of the body like throat, groin or head.

Another powerful option is trying to impair your opponent by breaking his arms or legs, gouging his eyes, biting his face, etc. It's rare that a person accusing serious injury and pain will protract a fight. If you're not sure about how to hurt your assailant, just think about what you would never want to be done to your body and then do it to his.

In this scenario you must be relentless as you've decided to stand up and resist. No compassion or pity allowed. Penalty: LOSS... or worse.

Think about your safety first, not your honor. It's common for us men to feel called to show and prove. We hate to have someone testing us and wave the white flag. But don't give up to the anger or the pride. You might carry some uncomfortable remorse for not accepting a challenge but it will go away. Our thoughts can always be buried deep in our minds, but the scars on our body will always remind us of the wrong choices we made.

Wrath won't win you every fight and honor is a relative concept.

Self-defense is the art of staying alive and healthy. Don't let your emotions get in the way.