How to fight like a ballerina

That’s common Nightmare scenario: You may be walking around the house alone at night, but you are waiting to meet someone at the bar. They are bigger than you, and you’ve never (probably) been in a fight before. What is your occupation?

After all, even experienced brawlers are worried about being assaulted. Veteran Hollywood stunt performer Caramari Chouzian often wonders how she reacts. And she knows jiu-jitsu. Kickboxing. And judo. “When I go out, I think about this,” she says. “A, because for my job and B, I want to keep myself safe.”

For her latest film, John Wick’s spinoff ballerinaChojian had to fight like someone trained to kill from childhood: she was Eve’s stunt double ( Anna de Armas), an assassin who is about to revenge his father’s death. The cue scene includes shootouts, hand-to-hand combat, and even flamethrower battles. The film asked for a Delmas and Chosian, both about 5’6″ to go to the toes with John Wick himself, which is played at 6 feet tall. Keanu Reeves.

The choreographic battle between the two proved to be a lively version of what everyone does when faced with a bigger or stronger person. “For the film, what was it that was thinking, ‘How would we win?’,” Tursian said. “We wanted it to be as realistic as possible because if I’m fighting a giant guy, I can’t beat him in the face and win.”

But what about us, those who are not trained in combat? Wired asked Chooljian for some tips on what the average person can do to protect himself in a hand-hand fight that cannot escape.

Drop it on your butt (seriously)

That may sound ridiculous, but if you fall quickly, your attacker can fall off the guard. “If someone is going to fight you, and then suddenly you’re sitting on the ground,” she says, “they’ll be like, ‘What’s fucking?'” she recommends her favorite moves from her jiu-jitsu training: flop down immediately. Hook your hands behind the ankles, sway a little, and use both feet to kick the hip bones and knock them flat. You can also pull the ankle to knock it down. However, if you can kick them, your chances of defeating them will be greatly improved.

It’ll be on top

Hope they hit their heads along the way if you can wipe out your assailant from their feet. Use that moment to climb on them, then get to work and hit them with your elbows. (Your little fist isn’t that effective in fighting someone much bigger than you.)

Death from a thousand cuts (or wounds, etc.)

Ultimately, you are trying to wear your attacker until you can escape or help come – or ideally they will give up. Chooljian says he will use every tactic possible. Gouge them into the eyes, scratch them in the face, and kneels in the gro diameter. “One of my favorites is the fish hook,” she says. “Whatever could really start to beat them.”

Please use your feet

If you fall into the butt and don’t get the results you want, there are other options. If pinned to a high surface like a table, as Eve does ballerinacan use the leverage and proximity of the attacker to its advantage. Get them in what the world of stunts calls “triangles.” You know the movement. You’ve probably seen it in a movie. To do this, lift your hips, wrap one foot around the back of a person’s neck, then wrap the other foot around it, and lock your knee around your ankle. Then squeeze it out. “So his head was between my legs and suffocated him,” Chuljian said.

Anything can become a weapon if you hold it correctly

No matter what your fight, always look for tools that can help you. Curling iron cord? That’s what I do. Candlestick? Why is it not good? I worked at clue. “If I’m at the bar and I don’t trust the situation, then perhaps the first thing I was going to grab was the bottle,” says Choljian.

If everything else fails, go to the gro diameter

That’s the move she asks for when Chozian faces a bigger, stronger man. You kick in the nuts. “That’s a cliché, but what do you know? It works.”