Of all the possible improvised weapons to practice using in a self-defense scenario, chairs are a pretty good choice. They are probably one of the most common objects in the civilized world. Take a look around you, there is probably a chair close by if not under you right now.

Many martial arts out there stress the importance of makeshift weaponry. Literally using whatever you can get your hands on is preached in martial different self-defense based martial arts such as krav maga, jeet kune do and in this case, systema.

In this YouTube video, we see systema expert Kevin Secours demonstrating how to use a chair to defend yourself when faced with a knife wielding attacker or in a variety of different self-defense scenarios.

In the video, Secours suggests using the chair more like a shield than a sword so to speak in order to protect yourself and deflect against attacks. He also stresses the importance of maintaining proper distance with the chair. Similar to how a boxer with a reach advantage would stay further away out of his opponent’s range, with the chair you will have a reach advantage and it’s imperative that you use it.

The systema expert also points out that you want to deflect the attacks with the chair opposed to absorbing the energy yourself. This will damage the attackers hands when they bounce off the bars and legs of the chair as well as act like a small parry almost, creating countering opportunities.

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When striking with the chair itself (only in extreme self-defense scenarios, we do not condone violence) think of it more like a thrusting weapon like a spear or trident opposed to just swinging it wildly. It can also be used to pin someone up against a wall if the situation calls for it. All in all a pretty versatile self-defense tool in the right hands but can cause serious physical harm so please do not try this at home.