A practitioner of Gun Fu should be able to defend him or herself in any situation. To develop this skill in a safe practice environment, we have categorized the most common self defense problems which you might expect to encounter in real world situations. By developing confidence in responding to these attacks, you learn to defend yourself against the unknown attacker.

For testing purposes, students are required to produce a minimum of three immediate responses to each category of attack.  In actual testing, the self defense criteria would be met only when the sequence is run to completion, and the attacker is unable to continue.

Several years ago, we inserted a number of video clips demonstrating the unique nature of Ironcrane Gun Fu responses to attacks.   For purposes of illustration, we included clips demonstrating preliminary response moves. These clips were located in the Gun Fu Manual section of the site, and required a bit of exploration to be discovered. 

Well, at the suggestion of several visitors, we have created this page, with the self defense clips labeled and easily accessed.  These video files are in the *.wmv format.  You will need Version 7 (or higher) of Windows Media Player to view the *.wmv files.  The videos should be played in a reduced view for clarity.  You will lose detail if you enlarge them on your screen.  Bearing with this inconvenience helps us to co-exist with our server and bandwidth limitations. Hopefully, they'll prove to be enjoyable, and informative.

These clips are for informational purposes only.  Actual self defense should be practiced in a controlled environment emphasizing safety, and only under the direct supervision of a Black Belt instructor, and only after you have been cleared by your personal physician.

Grabs From the Front:

1. Grab to the wrist/sleeve:

2. Grab to the elbow/sleeve:

3. Grab to the side at rib cage:

4. Grab to either front shoulder:

5. Grab to the chest:

6. Grab to the waist:

7. Grab to the hair:

8. Grab with both hands to the chest:

9. Two handed front choke:

10. Front head lock:

11. Hip throw defenses:

12. Shoulder throw defenses:

13. Grab to both arms:

One Hand Grabs From the Rear:

14. Grab to the hair:

15. Grab to the collar:

16. Grab to either shoulder:

17. Grab at belt level:

18. Head lock:

Two Hands Grab From the Rear:

19. Two hands grab rear shoulders:

20. Full Nelson:

21. Choke from the rear:

22. Bear hug (over defender's arms):

23. Arms locked around upper torso (under defender's arms):

24. Arms locked around waist (under defender's arms):

Open Attack Defenses:

25. React and defend against hand attacks:

• lunge punch
• opposite hand punch
• backfist attack
• multiple punch attack

26. React and defend against attacks with weapons: 

• stick attacks
• knife attacks
• bo attacks
• sword attacks
• pistol defenses


27. React and defend against foot attacks:  

• front kick
• side kick
• face kick
• hook kick
• round kick

28. Multiple hand and foot attacks

29. Ground defenses:

30. Ground control techniques: