Pushes: How To Defend Against Them & How To Use Them

When it comes to looking at the most common attacks we are likely to face, there really are no reliable statistics to go on. A small UK police force, once collected this data over a short period of time, and presented a list of the top 10 most common “street” attacks, however this was a fairly crude piece of analysis and left many unanswered questions e.g. were the attacks evenly split, or did the top three (for example), account for 90% of the attacks? Was there a regional bias? What about unreported attacks and assaults – would these have skewed the data in a different way? Were there “biases” that could affect the order, such as when the attacker was a stranger, or when it was somebody known? These are some of the issues with presenting data in such a simplistic manner, even when it comes from the “field” and is reliably gathered. In most instances, an instructor’s ideas around common attacks, is based on their experience (if they have any), and the experiences of others they have talked and conferred with etc.

The problem with experience, is that it is by nature limited e.g. I have worked door and bar security, and have seen a lot of fights, but I have seen them in the context, of a bar/pub, when people are crowded together and usually drunk. Whilst my experience is valid in that context, it is not directly applicable in others, such as attacks that occur in the home etc. So, to get an idea of the most common methods of attack, we need to combine anecdotal evidence, our own experiences and whatever research exists, and accept that this may be limited to geography, gender, age, relationship statuses and any number of other demographics etc. When I tell you, that some of the most common attack methods, I and (others who I have worked with) have seen, and which some “statistics” and other pieces of research (including that done by the aforementioned UK police force), possibly confirm, involves pushes and grabs (usually clothing), take it with a pinch of salt, and recognize that these may not represent the most common types of attack that you are likely to experience, and may be restricted to certain contexts and situations.

Pushing – and taking a person’s balance – is an extremely effective way of putting somebody in an extremely disadvantageous position, which sets them up nicely for being punched. This is something that was pretty common, in the pubs and bars I worked in, where the conflict involved two men – it was usually preceded by some argument/verbal altercation, and possibly a couple of “light” (but escalating, in force) two-handed pushes; often used to test the other person’s response. All of this – and this is important to note when training defenses against pushes – happens at close range. A person would generally feel the push, rather than see it. This was partly due to the fact that they’d be looking at the other person’s eyes, which is natural when conversing, and not watching their hands, and partly because they were too close to see their hands come up. The simplest defense to avoid/prevent being pushed, whether it’s one-handed, or two-handed, is to step back, and control range i.e. I’ve never seen anybody run at somebody to make a push, when facing them (I have seen people do this from the rear); it’s just too telegraphed an attack. Stepping back, and putting your hands up, and out, in a placating manner, means that your aggressor needs to either knock your hands away, or find another way to gain access to you. If you miss the opportunity to do this, and somebody goes to push you, it’s likely that the first thing you are aware of is your attacker’s hands on your chest – and if you are training to deal with such attacks, this is where your partner should start their push from.

Most attacks, where social violence is concerned, is going to be initiated at this or a similar range, with you and your attacker being nose-to-nose. Your first job, in such conflict is to step back, put distance between you and them, and begin to control range, and alter your positioning, so you aren’t standing directly in front of them – your movement off-line should be discrete and not so noticeable that your aggressor will feel the need to realign their body with yours; the time they will find/realize that they need to do this, is if they were to make a physical attack, such as a push. Setting yourself up, to be able to control range and body positioning, in the pre-conflict phase of an altercation, is key to making your Krav Maga/Self-Defense effective.  

Just as we should recognize how effective a push against us can be, in terms of disorientating us, and allowing our attacker to control the range/distance between us, we should also understand how pushes can be used to our advantage – when/where appropriate. When I spar, I use pushes quite a lot, especially to set up low roundhouse kicks. It allows me to move somebody back to a range/distance I am comfortable with, it upsets their balance, so they are not able to both recognize the attack, and form a defense against it, and because they normally try to root, as part of their process to regain balance, their leg absorbs all the power of the kick. Does it work well against people who are significantly bigger and heavier than me? Not particularly, and I don’t use it then i.e. different tools for different jobs. Although sparring doesn’t fully represent a real-life fight, there are moments when it does, or can, and we should take those lessons learnt and appropriate them for reality. Pushing an assailant isn’t particularly clever, and may not demonstrate our technical prowess, but it can be extremely effective at putting an attacker in a disadvantageous position that we can exploit – and we shouldn’t think that it is something, which is beneath our dignity to use and employ. What works well for the untrained individual, should work well for the trained individual as well.

Training to defend against pushes, both one and two-handed, may not be the most “exciting” or “sexy” part of our training, but it is necessary. Once your balance is taken, you are extremely vulnerable, and your chances of defending yourself in that moment, is almost impossible. If somebody is able to land a solid punch, as you fall/move backwards, and continue striking you, you may find it extremely difficult to get back in the game; both mentally and physically. Preventing that push, should be one of the priorities of our training.