One of the first things students to the martial arts discover when they first try and use their new skills in sparring situations is it takes more than mechanics to make them work correctly. If the moves are not used at the right time in comparison to the moves of the attacker they are not nearly as effective making combat self defense skills less effective at neutralizing the situation in order to get away from the bad guy and avoid becoming a victim of a crime. Timing and skills need to come together perfectly and a good instructor for self defense will teach their students what they need to know to protect themselves.

When a stranger attacks you there are many things you should evaluate instantly before you attempt to use self defense for a counterattack. While this may sound intimidating, if you are trained in combat self defense correctly this will happen almost automatically and make your strike back more effective. Why distance is important to your strike is important since it will play a part in how effect the kick or punch will be. If the target is too far away it gives the attacker more time to see it coming and try and block your attack in return. Close targets whether protected or not are always the best for a quick strike the attacker cannot defend themselves from.