How to defend yourself at school. Many of these techniques can be used to win a fight, but many are self defense. But never start a fight anyway.

Step 1: Takedowns

Ok, i was a bit harsh before this update, but after using these techniques on some people at my school, i realize the belgian takedown is useless. The Hip throw is wonderful though. and i absolutely LOVE it. Very very very easy to do, and simpler than most throws, and I learned it in just a few minutes by practicing it on my 7 yr old cousin, and testing it out at my school.
And simply, for me actually, i find taking the one who is bothering you to the ground rather than executing strikes is MUCH easier. And if you practice these at home, try not to really slam your partner to the ground, just enough to get the feel for it. And also, sometimes you dont even have to stun your opponent to execute the throw, if you just do it very fast.

Now another there is a video for, the clinch. When in the locker room, most importantly, if there isnt a teacher around, clinch them. Such as if they trying to whip you with a towel, moving very close very quickly and clinching them, then throwing them i find is the best option. And once they are on the ground, you can then take the towel from them, and whip them while they're on the ground.
The video:

I find these are very easy to perform on a very untrained opponent, simply because, they do not know what to do, and since most school's students dont have classes in a martial art, its very very very unlikely they do.

And then i find THE easiest thing to do when they aggravate you in class or so, is a wrist lock. I find this to be the EASIEST thing to do to make someone give something back. I find the supinating wristlock is the easiest to perform. Such as, once at school, someone took my pencil pouch from my book bag. I turned around, grabbed the wrist on the arm that was holding the pencil pouch, and wrist locked him. I had him wanting to give it back within a split second. It is shown in the second picture, and here is the link to the wikipedia article for wrist locks.

You may also wish to look at a list of grappling holds on wikipedia, the ones used in the video are the collar tie and underhook. Here is the link for the list of grappling holds.

I have found some army tactics to help with this. Here is the link, however keep looking at this instructable before you go to the page.Army Tactics
Let's say your opponent strikes you with a right punch, which they usually will, due to many people being right handed. You can then parry to the inside and strike the throat, face, or solar plexus(as in the picture), then you can execute the throw.

And the second throw i dont have a picture for, I have used this when I have a bookbag on and cannot bring my opponent onto my hip or back, the double leg takedown. This one also has a video.

Step 2: Strikes

Even after this update, I have decided to keep the pressure point charts.
There are very many places to strike and i think they need to stay.

So anyway, most of the time you should avoid having to strike, and should instead use a pain compliance technique, such as the wrist lock, which i covered in the first step.

But sometimes you cannot avoid this, and must strike in some way.

The first I recommend still is the elbow strike, it can be applied from close range such as in the clinch, and the knee strike, which can also be applied from the clinch. Kicks and punches will usually get you into trouble, but you should now that other people will strike with them, and that you must know how to counter them, as well as deliver them.

In step 1 i told you about the collar tie, when pulling your opponents head down with this, you can knee them in the face, this is dangerous and lethal, and should be applied only in a real self defense situation.

But first is the fighting stance. This picture is shown in the right handed variation, and for lefties like me, simply put your right hand in front and left hand in back, and left foot in back and right foot in front.

Keep your chin down, a couple of inches from your chest, you would much rather get hit in the forehead than the chin!

Keep your hands in close enough to deliver very fast and strong punches, and far out enough where when you get hit in the forearm, as in blocking a punch, that your fists dont hit you in the face.

Keep elbows close at your sides, and knees slightly bent. You can actually move faster and are more stable when your knees are bent.

I cannot explain in detail how to throw punches in this step, so I recommend learning at how-to-box.com. Its one of the best websites I've found that really explains about boxing.

I also highly recommend that you go to www.expertvillage.com and look at Jason Hall's self-defense series. For defending a punch, I have tried and failed to embed the video here, so here is the link.
Below the video you will find the links to all the videos in his self defense series. I highly recommend watching them.

Knee strikes into the body and legs are extremely effective, I also highly recommend them.Here is the wikipedia article for knee strikes also.

Elbow strikes are extremely effective also, since they can be used and not damage the wrist, which is what happens after executing a poor punch.Here is the link to the wikipedia article on elbow strikes.

Step 3: Joint Locks

Allright, in this update, I have included joint locks I have used at school. (yes, these are tried and tested by me) Most of these I really like to use as pain compliance holds. And also, I included the wrist lock in the takedowns step because you can push on their shoulder and bring them to the ground.

Anyway, the first four aren't really a joint lock, but what I call a "keep-away", they are the quarter, half, three-quarter, and full nelson. I have used these to keep people away from my stuff and friends. The link for their wikipedia article is here.
I've tried these at my school and love them. They are wonderful things to know, as well as knowing how to defend against them. When someone is doing them to you, simply reach back and peel their fingers off, it's really that simple.

Second there are the real joint locks. most of the ones I've seen you have to execute on the ground, but some can be done in a stand-up position. Such as the hammer lock.this can be used as a pain compliance hold also, and even can be used as a keep-away.

Another is the elbow lock. I've used this many times as a pain compliance hold, and it is very effective when done correctly. But it's downside is that it must be executed extremely fast. The one I use alot is the elbow lock against the shoulder. I prefer instead of simply going straight to it, get an elbow lock against your opponent and then move their arm to this position. when done correctly, it is EXTREMELY effective.

Another I like to use is the knee lock. You can do this from the clinch when you can get a hold on his shoulders. I really like this technique. It usually keeps him away for a while while he rests to let the pain subside.

And on the army tactics website, at the top of the page, there are different chapters for you to look at. Pressure points are chapter 4, and takedowns and throws are chapter 3.

And also try youtube for clinch fighting videos, they have very good ones that I have seen, and will go more in depth to very close range fighting.