Defend Yourself and Make People Afraid of You

Unfortunately, there are people out there who will try to intimidate, bully, abuse, or attack others. Figuring out the best way to deal with these types of people can be hard, especially if you find yourself as the victim. Fortunately, there are successful ways to handle these tough situations, and ways to prevent people from victimizing you.

Steps

Being Confident and Aware

1. Be confident. Bullies are much less likely to attack you if they see you are confident. By walking, talking, and carrying yourself with poise, you will show others that you are not one to be messed with.
2. Practice strong body language to intimidate those around you. When you stand tall, with your shoulders back and chin up, it shows that you are confident and won't let anyone bother you. Keep your arms loose by your side, uncrossed, and in front of you.
   • Don't fidget with your hands or face because it translates as nervousness to others. Keep your hands and arms calm, and by your side, to look confident and in control.
   • Do not slouch when you sit or stand.
3. Stare someone down by not breaking eye contact. When you meet eyes with someone, do not be the first person to look away because it shows weakness. Continue to look into their eyes until they either pass by you, or look away first. This will let people know that you are strong and confident, and it will leave them intimidated.
   • When meeting eyes with someone, do not smile. Instead, keep a straight face to show you are not trying to be friendly or welcoming.
   • To exhibit a threatening look, try scowling at someone by squinting your eyes and scrunching your eyebrows.
4. Show you are in control. Stay calm and do not let anyone tell you what to do. If a bully is trying to make you do something, or get you angry, don't follow order and don't show face. Instead, stay calm and speak up for yourself. This will make the bully feel ineffective and weak because you are excerpting your self-control and confidence.
5. Be assertive with a confident voice. If you are in a potential bullying situation, speak up with a strong voice and be assertive to show that you are going to stand up for yourself. When bullies see you are not going to stand weakly and take any nonsense, they will go search for someone who is weak to mess with.
   • You will eventually gain a reputation that lets people know that you are too strong to be targeted.
6. Be alert. As with anything, prevention is better than a solution. You can prevent a lot of conflict by being aware of your surroundings. Bullies often target people who seem to be unaware of their surrounds. If you walk around looking down, or distracted, a bully will see you as a good target. Always keep your head up, and scan your surroundings.
7. Stay in a group of friends. It is harder for bullies to threaten or intimidate you when you put yourself in a group. When you are in the halls, or out on the playground, don't stand alone. The less vulnerable you are, the less likely it is somewhere will target you.
   • If you don't have a group of friends to stand by, stay in an area where there are a lot of people playing or hanging out.

Practicing Self-Defense

1. Join a self-defense class. Self-defense classes can teach you how to defend yourself against an attacker, and give you confidence to stand up for yourself. The skills you learn in these classes are not meant for initiating a fight with someone, but purely for defense if you are attacked. The goal is that you will never have to actually use these skills, but if you are pursued in an attack, you will be able to defend yourself.
   • There are many types of martial arts classes such as Judo, Jiu Jitsu, and kick boxing.
   • Do not use self-defense unless you have to. Things will not get better if you answer them with a fist. Always try non-physical methods to solve a problem first.
   • Use self-defense methods. In a self-defense class, you can learn how to block a punch that is thrown at you. Also, there are techniques that show you how to break free from someone who is restraining you or holding you down.
2. Jab up on the nose. The nose is very sensitive and when hit hard enough, in an upwards motion, it can stun a bully. Nose jabs cause a lot of pain, possibly break the nose, and make the eyes water which will blur vision. This will give you enough time to get away from your bully.
3. Stomp the toes. Administering a fast and hard stomp to your bully's toes and feet will cause a lot of pain and temporarily halt their attacks. This is good move to help set you up for punches to the gut or knees to the groin.
4. Punch the gut. One sure fire way to knock the wind out of a bully is to give a powerful blow to the abdomen area. If you do it fast enough, your bully won't see it coming and will not be ready for your punch. This will bring your bully down to the ground and show your ability to defend yourself.
5. Knee the groin. A strong kick or fast knee raise to the groin will cause a ton of pain and bring a bully to the ground. Just be sure to be quick, and aim accurately for the genital area.
6. Hit the throat. Do this with a short jab to their Adam's apple. Make sure you hit with your index and ring finger knuckles. A wrong punch could break your hand.

Tips

• Show that you don't care and never let your guard down.
• Ignore others and have your attention on something else at all times. This will make the person who is insulting you and bothering you annoyed since they are not getting any attention from you.
• Show and act that you don't care about them,what they are doing to you, or what other people think of you. Always be happy, positive, and confident. Show them that you don't need them in your life.

Related Articles

• Defend Yourself when Threatened by School Bullies
• Defend Yourself and Create the Illusion of Being Strong

Sources and Citations

See also

• Get Away from an Attacker
• Respond to a Road Raged Driver
• Deal With a Crazy Cab Driver
• Stay Safe in a Parking Garage (for Women)
• Win Fights at School
• Throw a Knife Without It Spinning
• Stand up for Yourself
• Emotionally and Physically Protect Yourself
• Defend Yourself
• Avoid Being Shot

Read more ...

What links here

• Defend Yourself if Attacked
• Defend Yourself in an Extreme Street Fight
• Defend Yourself when Threatened by School Bullies