​February 23rd, 2026

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Written by Richard Block

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In the days following the horrific attack at Bondi, several friends reached out to me for my thoughts on the videos that circulated online. Like always after a public act of violence, everyone seemed to have an opinion — but what struck me most was the confidence some people had in how they would have “handled” the attackers.

 

The truth is, we can never be sure how we will react in the same circumstances.

 

Most of us would like to believe we’d act heroically, but real violence is not a movie scene. Dozens of factors influence decision-making in the moment: shock, fear, confusion, crowd movement, injury, being caught off guard or the presence of loved ones.

 

And it’s worth saying clearly: the first goal in any self-defence situation is not to fight — it is to escape and survive. Engaging an attacker is always a last resort — something you do only when there is no safer option.

 

But if the circumstances are truly unavoidable, and you are forced to act, these are the four rules I taught my students.

 

1. An “Unarmed” Attacker Isn’t Unarmed

 

Even if you manage to remove or separate an attacker from a weapon, you cannot assume the danger is over. A person can still attack with their hands, legs, head — and you must always assume they may have another weapon concealed on their body: a knife, a firearm, or something improvised. In self-defence, it’s a big mistake to believe that one small success means safety has returned.

 

2. The Threat Is Only Over When You Can Safely Disengage

 

An attacker is no longer a threat only when they are no longer able to immediately harm others — either because they are physically restrained, incapacitated, or because you have created enough distance to escape. Even if you manage to drive someone off, they may be retreating only to retrieve another weapon or return with others. The goal is simple: create safety, then get away.

 

3. You Cannot Pre-Plan Violence

 

People love to imagine they have “a move” for a situation like this. But real attacks contain too many variables: movement, panic, obstacles, adrenaline, multiple attackers, and the sheer unpredictability of human behaviour under stress.

 

Under adrenaline, even trained people experience: tunnel vision, shaking hands, loss of fine motor control, delayed reaction time. A simple step backward by an opponent can foil even a well-aimed strike, leaving a carefully planned response swinging through empty air. Self-defence is not choreography. It is adaptation.

 

4. Any Response Should Maximise Safety and Limit the Attacker’s Options

 

If you are forced to engage, your response must prioritise your safety above all else. That means limiting the attacker’s ability to strike, reach, or escalate. Sometimes that can be as simple as: approaching from behind, pinning or controlling a limb, using barriers and distance, using the environment (chairs, tables, walls) to reduce their options. Your surroundings can often provide your greatest tool.

 

What We Practised

 

In the class I held after Bondi, I ran my students through a number of simulations involving an armed assailant. We didn’t practise flashy techniques. We practised fundamentals: controlling space, limiting options and escaping safely.

 

Many of them were surprised by how simple the responses could be — not because violence is easy, but because good self-defence is built on reliable, pressure-tested basics, not complicated moves and at its heart, that is what real self-defence should be.

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