Self Defence -The Importance of Timing

I’ve had some really good feedback from people reading my articles and again I’ve been asked for my thoughts on real self defence so with this in mind I found myself thinking about an incident which happened to me outside the very club I worked at.

In the dojo we practice our techniques with a large amount of space between us and one of the reasons for this is “Timing” take the Front Strike First Control for example when we strike we raise our hands in front of the body together then boom!!! we “STRIKE” this gives you the chance to see and feel the timing in a technique.

Well let’s get back to the incident in question, I was out with one of my friends also a doorman/bouncer, we had a great night full of fun and I was ready for home and a good night’s sleep, we walked back past the club as my friend wanted a ciggie and didn’t have any, as usual.

I waited outside for him while he went in and got his fix (a cigarette) as I waited this guy caught my eye, the reason was just the fact he didn’t look right to me, as he walks toward me I know something isn’t right so I move out of his way to save any confrontation, as I move he turns back and comes toward me again, I thought any minute now he’s gonna say something.

I didn’t know who he was but for some reason I got the feeling he knew me, as he comes toward me for the third time he stops and said “You kicked me out the other week not so hard now are you” then came the name calling I thought “big deal” you’re not the first and you won’t be the last to call me names but then he starts to get very aggressive telling me how much its gonna hurt when he drives his fist in my face. With that he dipped his head backwards I quickly employed a Metsubishi (eye smash) as he came forward to head butt me BANG!!! He was clean out for the count, he had just head butted my fist, I didn’t feel a thing and I do mean nothing it was as if I had just punched thin air the timing was spot on, a second before or a second after the outcome might have been different, it was then and there I realised the importance of good timing, especially in self defence.