It is a hot humid night and you are walking toward your car parked in an underground parking complex. You hear a sound and quickly turn around to catch a glimpse of a large man rushing toward you, intent on causing you severe bodily harm. You are faced with an immediate decision: Do you kick the attacker directly to the thigh and break his leg, or do you strike him on the collarbone and shatter the collarbone, immobilizing his arm? Does it really matter which defense you choose?

The answer is yes, it makes a great difference. Anatomically, to break a man's thigh would take approximately 1,600 pounds of pressure. To break the collarbone of an average size man takes approximately 16 pounds of pressure. That's a big difference when your life depends on the decision you make.

It's not as important how hard you hit or kick an attacker that matters most, it's where you hit or kick him that really counts.

Choosing a target carefully could be the difference between a successful defense of a violent physical attack, or a week in the hospital.

The hollow of the throat is an excellent choice to either strike or apply pressure. By pressing with the index and middle finger against this vital part of the body, a smaller attacker can easily force a stronger attacker to move away or let go of a hold. By pressing in and downward, it can cause the attacker to fall to the floor. By pressing straight into the throat, the assailant will be forced to move back, away from you.

Instead of applying pressure to the hollow of the throat to move an attacker away from you, a defender can thrust his fingers into the hollow of the throat and cause severe damage to the wind pipe.

An effective defense can also be a horizontal chop to the throat itself. As has already been mentioned, the throat is extremely sensitive. A blow such as a chop to the throat can be extremely deadly.

Another excellent target are the knees. You can achieve the best results by attacking the knee from the side, opposed to straight on. Unlike the thigh, which takes 1,600 pounds of pressure to break, the knee takes approximately 15 pounds of pressure to break. Since the knees are used to support the upper portion of the body, by taking out the knees, you can destroy the foundation of the assailants balance. Knee damage can be permanent and devestating.