Wim Demeere's Blog

Martial Arts and Self-Defense Blog by Wim Demeere | Techniques, Books, Podcasts

Bouncer leg kicks drunk guy

by 1 Comment

UPDATE: The Leg Kick: Your Ultimate Guide to Using The Leg Kick for Mixed Martial Arts is now available! Click the link to get the book or click this picture:

The Leg Kick for MMA
One of the things you hear more and more in combats sports (in particular in MMA) these days is that “leg kicks don’t finish fights.” Somehow, people are under the impression that therefor the leg kick is not a worthwhile technique. Not just in the cage but outside of it as well. I know for a fact this is patently wrong, having use the leg kick both effectively on numerous occasions. As always, it depends on the person throwing that kick, the circumstances, etc.

I’ve written extensively about the leg kick and how to block it so I won’t repeat that here. I’ll post some links in the resources section down below. What I want to show here is the leg kick in a street situation because it can certainly work there to end a fight. There are other videos that demonstrate this, but this one is a great example.

Take a look:

As always, I wasn’t there and neither are you. We also don’t have the entire event on video, nor can we hear clearly what is being said. We can only go by this video and what it looks like. That said, it looks like the bouncer went a bit overboard:

  • The drunk guy is perhaps obnoxious but he doesn’t seem to be aggressive. The bouncer shoves him back and the guy doesn’t seem to respond other than just standing there. His fellow bouncer (I assume) comes in and starts directing the drunk away. Again, no aggressive response.
  • The bouncer announces his intent. You can clearly hear him say “I’m gonna leg kick this guy.” Now I don’t know where this happened or what legal authority bouncers have there, but it seems a bit early in the conflict to go out of your way to make it physical.

Again, I wasn’t there. There might be other factors involved that justify this leg kick, but I don’t see them right now. If you put that aside, let’s look at the technique itself: [Read more…]

Self-defense for the homeowner: the aftermath

by 17 Comments

A few years ago, I posted an article about a homeowner killing two burglars. I brought up some points, both good and bad, regarding the actions Mr. Smith took in self-defense. There were some heated comments and I remember receiving a bunch of nasty emails because some people didn’t appreciate the fact that I gave a nuanced opinion instead of picking a side in the pro-gun/anti-gun issue. We’re two years later now and Mr. Smith has been put on trial and has received his sentence:

Byron Smith has been found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. His sentence is life without parole.

Take some time to watch this video to listen to some of his testimony and audio evidence from the trial. You can also listen to more of the audio evidence here, starting around 4min. WARNING: NSFW, nor for children:

I’ll refer to both of these in a bit. First, I’d like to make a few points:

  • It’s not about morality. I tried to explain this in my original article but noticed a lot of people didn’t get my point; I’m not arguing a moral point. I believe you definitely have a right to defend yourself in your own home. My article was about the specifics, about how Mr. Smith did that; the things he did both right and wrong. The same applies for this article.
  • It’s about the law and its consequences. For decades now, I’ve been teaching self-defense and I’ve met tons of people who have a very skewed perspective on it. They think the self-defense laws give them a blanket permission to use violence in whatever way they want. My point in this article (and in most others here on my blog) is that this is bullshit. That’s not how society works, not for self-defense and neither for most other laws. It isn’t what you think that matters, it’s how the legal system sees it. If you willingly ignore this aspect, then you’re not all that bright…

That said, let’s take a look at the trial. [Read more…]

Stupid prankster gets knocked out.

by 4 Comments

Before we get to the video where this stupid prankster gets knocked out, some background.

A while ago, I was talking to my teenage daughter about how the world is so different now from when I was her age. One of those differences is the internet and how it changed our society. For instance, now, you can make a living off being a “Youtube celebrity”. Just get tons of people to follow you on Youtube, and eventually you’ll attract sponsor, advertisers and so on. I don’t consider it a worthwhile career path, except for the few lucky ones, which is what I wanted to point out to her.

In and of itself, this phenomenon is not a bad thing. In fact, there are many YouTube professionals that offer a lot of valuable information for free in just this way. But there are also people who should be protected against their own stupidity and others who should be put in jail for the nonsense or misinformation they propagate. Case in point, the stupid prankster that gets knocked out.

You can watch the whole thing, but if you want to skip to the knock out, it’s at 2min10.

There’s obviously the stupidity of the prank itself: provoking people like this is a surefire way to get knocked out, or worse. But what’s worse is how he seems all proud of getting knocked out, as if it’s an accomplishment. The prankster probably doesn’t realize that a knock out like that can leave lasting damage or even kill you outright. When blunt trauma to the head happens, that’s always in the cards. The fact that it didn’t happen here doesn’t mean the danger doesn’t exist. Go ask an ER doctor about this if you think I’m exaggerating…

The other guy also might have hit him at an angle so he would have fallen forward, off the grassy slope and onto the concrete. An unconscious face-plant from that height usually means lots of surgery to put your skull back together, at best. But hey, it was all just a prank, right, so it’s OK… [Read more…]

Are you really an expert?

by 26 Comments

This post is another one that is the result of a bunch of factors coming together. It started with the infamous Shane Fazen knife defense video from a while ago. Then there was a conversation about “internet experts” on a private mailing list I’m on. But what brought it all together was an exchange I had on Twitter with Pat Flynn. I’ll explain all of this in a bit and then try to bring it together into the point I want to make.

Let’s get started with the knife video. Take a look at this first:

First of all, I like Shane. I think his intentions are good; he always mentions avoidance and only fighting in self-defense. Second, the basic advice he gives in this video isn’t bad per se. It’s only when he shows that crescent kick that it turns sour. I’m not a big fan of critiquing other people’s videos but this one, I’m willing to step up and call bullshit. There are a number of reasons why I say so: [Read more…]

Bodycam Captures Suicide By Cop

by 21 Comments

Warning: NSFW or kids.

Watch this video and then read the comments on Youtube.

Look at how many people are whining about overkill, five shots is too many, should have shot him in the leg, should have retreated, etc. I understand their emotional response but it is misguided, at best.

Some thoughts:

  • Close quarters against a knife is a horrible place to be. The only advantage the officer has is that his weapon is already drawn and aimed. If his weapon had been holstered, his odds of surviving a sudden attack would have been terrible (and he knows it, LEOs train for this situation.) If you don’t believe that, watch the video in this post.
  • Even with his weapon aimed, there is still no guarantee that he will be able to stop the guy, should he suddenly charge. There just isn’t enough time at that distance. If five shots seem excessive, consider 21 not being enough to do the job. Granted that is at the far end of the scale, but attackers routinely don’t go down when they are shot. Bullets aren’t magic solutions: they don’t make the problem suddenly disappear…
  • As for retreating: if the officer retreats and the guy gets out of the house, the situation become more difficult to control. The guy could start attacking his kid or anybody else who happens to be passing by. Or he could end up killed himself. Don’t believe me? Watch this video: [Read more…]

Popular posts


Recent Posts

Search this blog

Custom Search
Google