In today’s lesson, you are going to learn everything you need to know for self-defence in a fight where the attacker is choking you with your back stuck against a wall. Having your back against the wall is never a great situation, especially in a physical fight where the risks to your safety are high.

With the attacker using his body weight against you, there is a high likelihood of you hitting the back of your head against the wall. And with the choke constricting the carotid arteries, you have less than 10 seconds before you are unconscious. Clearly, this is not an ideal situation and you need to get out of it as quickly as possible. So, let’s take a look at an effective way to escape this sticky situation.

First and most importantly, do not PANIC! Get yourself into a proper posture to gain stability and keep your breathing steady. Conserve your energy for the actual fight. Now, to get out of this situation we are going to use his weight against him. Instead of trying to push your attacker off of you, draw him closer. This will take away his vision of his lower body and that's your target area.

Next, strike hard with a swift knee to his groin followed by a double palm chop to the side of his neck, right on the sternocleidomastoid muscle. A sudden blow to this area should disrupt the heart rhythm, momentarily stopping the blood flow to the brain and knocking out your attacker.

If your knee strike to the groin was heavy enough, he should have collapsed or become unconscious with just that. This leaves you enough time to flee the scene and get some help. The moves we just discussed are meant to weaken the assailant and give you enough time to get away. It's not advisable to keep attacking the assailant, as that will reduce your getaway time and attract his companions.

And while I sincerely hope you’ll never have any reason to use these techniques, I do want to remind you that the most important thing to remember here is to not panic and keep your BREATHING steady. And as I have mentioned before, use these techniques at your own risk.

Do practise these moves daily with a willing partner or in front of a mirror, so you don’t panic and/or freeze when this happens in real life. If you enjoyed reading about these techniques in self-defence, do check out our other blogs. You can also share these blogs with friends and family, or with anyone who you think will find the information useful.