UNLESS YOUR PETER PAN, STAY OUT OF NEVER-NEVER LAND!
I’VE BEEN OUT OF TOWN to beach towns in Jersey and Maryland the last 10 days or so.. Since it was Bike Week in both towns, I ran into several cops I have both trained and worked with and we shot the bull over more than a few beers in more than a few bars. After a while the discussions usually turned to law enforcement, asshole-bad guys and training, in that order.
INVARIABLY, however, whenever I talked about self defense training I was confronted by what I call the Never-Never Land of Self Defense Training. What I mean by that is the conventional attitude of many, if not most, of the trainers I have worked with, even studied. That being when I discuss some of the surprise and unconventional Attack Countermeasures (Fighting Arts) I teach, what I always get is Man, I would never, ever teach a student, especially a woman or kid, to do that!
JUST TO BE CLEAR, this is not an isolated phenomenon. It happens all the time, even with well respected use of force instructors. And, not only that, more often than not, these misguided souls with scary, closed-in minds not only go directly to Never-Never Land, but look at me as if I suggested improving students’ footwork by teaching the Electric Slide.
ERR, HOLD THE PHONE. Now that I think about it, I did put a coed self defense class of college students through a rendition of the Electric Slide to teach the concept of perpetual movement, or at least not cementing oneself to the ground during a fight. So, mayhap I am a nut boy. Personally, I don’t think so, but you can be the judge. The important thing you probably are asking yourself right now, though, is exactly why is this important to me? What can I take from this Never Land Principle that may help me survive a violent attack?
THE NEVER LAND PRINCIPLE, simply put, teaches this: There is no such things as NEVER (or, for that matter, ALWAYS) in the world of self defense! Trust me on this. There are an infinite number of methods, techniques and/or moves that will work for you against even the strongest and most determined attacker. And many of these moves are on the Never Land List of way too many trainers, meaning these instructors will adamantly tell you never, ever—-
· Get too close to the attacker, or allow him to get too close to you.
· Purposely go to the ground or allow the Bad Guy to take you to the ground.
· Appear weak, beg for your life or mercy..
· Be caught in a situation where one or both hands are holding one or more objects.
· Comply with a aggressor’s sexual advances.
SCREW THE CONVENTIONAL, I say. After all there is no blueprint for winning a fight for your life. Even if there were, the attacker has his own blueprint or strategy, so any dogmatic script you may be working off of will be worthless anyway. There are just too many variables in an attack scenario. Conventional Wisdom says Expect the Unexpected; I say, Ok, but let’s go another step further and Do the Unexpected. Doing the unexpected can be anything that comes to your innovative brain, which is capable of coming up with some great moves in order to escape and evade danger, including:
· When the Bad Guy grabs you and starts pulling you toward him and he is obviously stronger than you, use his superior strength to propel you into his Center Line (vulnerable) targets. Obeying the conventional wisdom to maintain maximum distance can and usually will get you hurt pretty damned bad.
· When the attacker is pulling you with both hands toward him and his Center of Gravity is leaning toward you, drop all your weight to the ground suddenly, making certain to keep hold of his hands. Oftentimes this move will cause the Bad Guy to flip forward off balance. Conventional wisdom says always maintain a standing position; and I usually agree. It’s just that sometimes going to the ground is your best move. There is a good chance you will be assaulted while on the ground, but here all you are trying to do is buy some time and maybe disrupt the Bad Guy’s strategy. Break up his Fantasy Script. Besides, as I have said so many times: Self Defense is not an injury free activity.
· There are many escapes from the ground, many of which I have talked about in previous posts, but one that drives every “expert” I know totally nuts is the Drop, Lock and Roll. This move is based on the understanding that predators who attack women, children and even senior citizens want more than anything to hit quick, disable the victim with blinding speed and get him or her out of that initial crime scene quickly. The Drop, Lock and Roll, then, is designed to delay the Bad Guy and frustrate him until he breaks off the attack. Here the intended victim drops quickly to the ground and attains a basic Ground Defense Position (feet poised to strike, hands up, head off the deck). When the Bad Guy approaches, the intended victim can strike the attacker with his or her feet, or, can hook his or her feet around one of the Bad Guy’s shins and then can roll on his or her back until he or she can wrap both hands around the opposite leg, making certain to keep the head down and close to the legs to minimize the Bad Guy’s ability to pummel. This move is based on an instinctive (untrained) tactic a woman who was being abducted used to save herself. She had been beaten badly, was close to unconsciousness, and had nearly lost hope. But the predator loosened his grip on her as he was unlocking the van door and she was able to reach out and grab a nearby telephone pole. As the predator screamed at her and beat her she hugged the pole even tighter and then slid down the pole until she could lock into it with both legs. The attacker beat the woman and pulled her hair but she refused to let go. Finally, the miscreant, fearful of police or a witness coming by, drove off, leaving the woman hugging the pole, injured and bleeding, but alive,.
· I’ve rambled on too much here; and for that I apologize. There are many more ways to do the unexpected, but I have overstayed my welcome, I’m afraid. To be brief, though, let me flash a few more innovative countermeasures here, including: an intended victim who finds him or herself in a jam doing the following:
Ø Pretend to beg for mercy with his/her hands in the “surrender position (hands face high, palms facing out, shaking them),” and when the Bad Guy moves in, Wham. The Surrender Stance is the perfect surprise stance for a series of hard palm heel strikes to the face.
Ø Caught with your cell phone in your hand by a nasty attacker? The cell phone is the perfect improvised weapon for a quick strike up through the Blind Spot (from the Bad Guy’s chest to his nose) into the throat. Be sure to hold the cell phone in low profile to enhance the surprise.
Ø The guy is drunk and nasty; he is threatening your life and he won’t take “no” for an answer. Instead of trying to fight your way free of the nimrod, allow him to pull you close. Lay your inside hand on his opposite shoulder, and, when he least expects it, lock your fingers inside his jaw bone to prevent him from escaping, and drive your thumb into his eye. Caution: An Eye Gouge has several degrees – from a slight eye scratch to blinding the victim. Either way, refrain from using this serious move unless you are fairly sure the Bad Guy means you harm.
Stay Safe.
Hammer