Action versus Reaction

The old adage, "action is faster than reaction" is undeniably true in the martial arts world.  Human reaction time is limited by the mechanics of the bodies different systems.  While a dedicated practitioner can remarkably improve their reaction time through diligent training and study, they are still limited by the bodies response to stimulus.

"The average reaction time for humans is 0.25 seconds to a visual stimulus, 0.17 seconds for an audio stimulus, and 0.15 seconds for a touch stimulus. Reaction time is a measure of the quickness an organism responds to some sort of stimulus.  You also have "reflexes" too.  Reflexes and reactions, while seeming similar, are quite different.  Reflexes are involuntary, used to protect the body, and thus are faster than a reaction" (Backyardbrains.com, para. 5).

When in a combat or self defense situation, acting first can make the difference between winning and losing, life and death, or safety and injury.  When faced with a violent encounter, do not wait for the aggressor to strike or move first because you will always be behind the curve.  Even if your reaction time is faster than average, it still takes time once you react to get into a defensible position.

When faced with a violent encounter, subtly move yourself into a defensible position and use verbal and nonverbal clues to distract your opponent from your intentions.  Do not "target glance" or stare at their weapon (hands, knife, gun etc.) and do not stare at your intended target (throat, eyes, groin, etc.)

Once you are in a defensible position, strike like lightening to a vulnerable target and continue your attack until you are no longer in danger.  Do not depend on one or two strikes to be sufficient.  Continue with an onslaught of attacks until you have complete control over the situation or your attacker is unable to hurt you.

From a legal perspective, all of your self defense must be reasonable based on the situation.  The above information is not designed to be legal advice, but self defense advice.  Legally you are allowed to defend yourself using reasonable means based on the situation but you cannot become the aggressor.  We will address this more in a later post.








https://backyardbrains.com/experiments/reactiontime