In Self Defense, The Eyes Don’t Have It

As an early self defense lesson when I was a kid, I was told to stare somebody right in the eyes to detect their intentions. This is well intended advice but I’ve never been hit with an eyeball. Getting a read on someone requires more of an observation strategy than a “high noon” stare down. What makes an individual physically dangerous is their arms and legs (sometimes even their forehead). Also their access to weapons or distraction devices like throwing a cigarette at your face. Most of the time it is an action that requires arms and / or leg movement.

If you had an aggressor in front of you with no arms what’s your threat level? Certainly he could still kick you, bite you, head butt etc.. but odds are you would feel less threatened. You’re simply in a better position to defend against this guy because he has no arms.

So when talking to a person realize that the body is where the danger is, not the eyes. An eye has never flown out of somebody’s head and hit me. I’m not going to lock onto the eyes as though they’re going to hurt me.
Hands hurt you. Elbows hurt you. Knees hurt you. Head butts hurt you. Weapons hurt you. People blading their body, shifting their weight, bringing their hands above their waist – all these things will hurt you. Until I here of an attack with an eye butt, I’ll focus more on the body than the eyes. I suggest you do too.