Damage Control

Protect Other Vital Areas. While curled, try to touch your chest with your chin and your forehead with your knees. This way your legs protect most of your vital organs. The only exposed vital areas are the lower ribs and kidney area on the upper side. If you are hit in one of these areas, you will naturally want to move your arm and hand away from your head to protect that area, but you must keep them in place to keep protecting your head. If one of these areas is injured, roll over to expose the other side. Two ways to protect the exposed side of your body without compromising your head defenses are:

• Tense your abdominal muscles to make your torso more solid.
• Roll onto your back with your arms and legs still in their defensive positions. However, if you roll onto your back, you may be kicked on the side of your head, which is more dangerous than kicks to the front or back of the head.

Bottom line

Therefore, damage control means fall, curl, protect the head, and use your feet to rotate your body so that you do not get hit more than once or twice in the same place. Try to take most of the blows on your legs.

Remember, damage control is a last resort. If you are able to defend yourself or escape, then by all means do so. However, when you are out of other options, curl and protect, ignore the pain, and pray.