Bujinkan Cotswold Dojo Ninjutsu

and how this is exploited by Ninjutsu to overcome an assailant:

Several studies over the past couple of decades have shown, what many people suspect, that multitasking is a myth.  The mind can only concentrate on one thing at once and when multitasking it switches from one task to the other and back again, a process which is both inefficient and error prone.  

Ninjutsu has for centuries used this inability to concentrate on more than one thing at once to gain an advantage over an assailant, and in so doing it does not require superior strength or fitness.  Indeed, if performed correctly, it allows the assailant to be overpowered without the use of strength.  The schools of Ninjutsu within the Bujinkan grew out of the Gyoku Ryu school.  The Gyoku Ryu style of martial art is said to have been developed by either a princess or a diminutive courtier in order to be able to defeat larger and stronger opponents.  Consequently, Ninjutsu is an excellent form of self defence.

The science behind our inability to multitask is as follows:

When concentrating on something both the left and right sides of the prefrontal cortex of the brain work together.  However, when multitasking they try to work independently with the result that you switch between the two sides of your prefrontal cortex. This only takes a fraction of a second, but the switching adds up and results in it taking significantly longer to perform the tasks than if they are performed independently.  Not only that, but the switching reduces your mental capacity which in turn means you are more prone to making more mistakes.  (This is one reason why driving while talking on the phone, even hands free, increases your risk of having an accident.  Ninjutsu is ultimately about survival, so avoid putting yourself at an unnecessary risk of having an accident and don’t talk on the phone while driving.)

Ninjutsu uses this inability to concentrate on more than one thing at once to gain an advantage over the assailant in several different ways:

Distraction:

This can be a feint strike, punch or kick, a flash of something towards their eyes, an explosive shout.  Anything that momentarily distracts the assailant will, in that instant, result in their attack, or grip, being weakened leaving him vulnerable to a counter attack.  Note that sudden stimulation of any of the 5 senses can be a distraction: sight, sound and touch are the 3 that are most appropriate in a self defence situation.  A nasty taste or smell will cause a distraction in a social context, but are unlikely to be applicable in a self defence situation.

The rule of opposites and diagonals:

If an assailant grabs and holds you forcefully, respond by attacking the opposite side of his body, left and right, high and low, front and back, or better still, diagonally opposite: For example; if the assailant grabs with his left hand, stamp on his right foot. While he is distracted by the counter attack to his foot his mind will be taken off his hand which then becomes vulnerable to a wrist lock.

Defense against a weapon:

Similar to the Rule of opposites and diagonals, when an assailant attacks with a weapon his focus will be on the weapon.  Guard against the weapon, but counterattack elsewhere on his body, anywhere is better than competing to gain control of the weapon which is where his focus, and strength is.

Compound twists:

A compound twist is when a joint is either flexed or extended, and rotated at the same time.  Compound twists of the spine and other joints, such as the wrist, requires the mind to respond simultaneously to use completely different muscle groups to get the body to move in two different directions to correct the balance, or ease the pain of a joint lock.  This, combined with the fact that the effective strength of the muscle groups concerned are at their minimum when joints are extended, flexed or rotated to their limit, means that compound twists are very difficult to resist.

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