punch defence

In any confrontation your first priority should be to de-escalate and disengage from your antagonist. There are many aspects to a confrontation. It maybe begin as a verbal exchange and then escalate into closing down distance followed by physical contact (pushing, grabbing etc). From here it may escalate further into an exchange of punches and/or kicks.

Remember that a fight can have many dimensions. It may start with the two combatants on their feet and then go to ground. From here a knife or other weapon may be introduced. Therefore the confrontation continues to escalate until one of the combatants either refuses to continue or is in some way incapacitated.

Therefore the priority must always be to de-escalate.

However, it is not always possible to do this. Your attacker may be intent on a physical confrontation. In this case you need to take control and finish the confrontation as quickly as possible since the longer you fight the greater the chance of the confrontation entering another dimension (going to ground, weapon being pulled etc.,).

If you know the confrontation is going to kick off at any second and can't be de-escalated effectively a pre-emptive strike should be used. Whether this is the appropriate course of action will depend upon each individual circumstance.

You should always be aware of your surroundings - determine whether there is anything you can use to gain an advantage (for example, a folding chair makes a useful shield against an attacker who pulls a knife - the chair can also be used to make counter attacks and is particularly effective when used to strike the attacker under the nose).