| What if you could gain complete control of your | | | | instead, to control the situation and keep our cool. |
| opponent before he even gets a chance to make | | | | Without your thinking skills still present the technique |
| any kind of move on you? What if you could control | | | | will not work because you have to consciously |
| someone in this situation without them even knowing | | | | control whoever is in front of you. |
| it? Well, with The Fence, you can do exactly that. | | | | The basic technique consists of you taking up a small |
| Not only will you be able to control your opponent | | | | and inconspicuous 45 degree stance and putting up |
| with this technique, you will also be in just the right | | | | your fence: you simply place your lead hand in that |
| position to counter any attack that is made against | | | | space between you and your opponent so as to |
| you. | | | | maintain that all important distance between you. |
| It's All about Control | | | | When placed correctly your hands should block any |
| So in basic terms, the fence is all about control of | | | | movement from his arms without even touching him. |
| your opponent, physically and psychologically. This | | | | This means if he goes to attack then you are in |
| what Geoff Thompson, the creator of The Fence | | | | place to instantly block his attack and counter with |
| concept, had in mind when he came up with the | | | | one of your own. You should also try not to touch |
| technique. He worked the doors for a long time and | | | | your attacker unless forced to, for physical contact |
| he wanted a way to completely control a potential | | | | can trigger aggression in him. Don't let them touch |
| attacker and keep himself safe at the same time, | | | | you at any time either. Maintain your fence and |
| and to Geoff's credit, he has succeeded on both | | | | control the distance at all times. |
| these fronts. | | | | The technique takes some practice to get right so |
| I have always advocated escaping potentially violent | | | | that it all feels natural and it doesn't come across too |
| confrontations, by whatever means, first of all. This | | | | much like you are trying to control your antagonist. |
| isn't always possible though. Sometimes, for | | | | You have to stay loose and not grip your |
| whatever reason (not for egotistical reasons I hope) | | | | antagonist's arms too much. It's very simple, yet |
| you have to stay and confront whoever is being | | | | difficult to really master. |
| aggressive towards you. You simply don't have a | | | | Get to Know The Fence |
| choice and this is were The Fence comes in. | | | | If you can master controlling an opponent in that |
| In a street self defense situation you usually have | | | | way then you will have no need to get into drawn |
| someone in your face, shouting and being abusive | | | | out confrontations because you will have controlled |
| towards you, building up to smacking you one. Most | | | | and dominated your opponent even before they |
| people react to this kind of abuse and posturing by | | | | have thrown a single punch. This to me is the |
| being abusive right back and getting involved in a | | | | ultimate self defense tactic and beats all others hands |
| stare off or pushing and shoving contest before the | | | | down without a shadow of a doubt. |
| fists start to fly. | | | | Get to know the fence and its intricacies though. If |
| Reacting to aggression with more aggression is only | | | | any street self defense technique is worth learning |
| adding fuel to the fire. "I just lost it," will not stand up | | | | it's this one. |
| in court when you try to explain how you went from | | | | Trust me, you won't regret the time you spend on it. |
| defending yourself to fighting. So we use the fence | | | | |