Easier said than done,  I’m sure, but “Hell no, I won’t go!” is my mantra for today’s post because that’s the attitude you have to adopt if you ever find yourself in a situation where an attacker – especially a sexual predator – is trying to physically force you to go with him from where he found you – what we call the Initial Crime Scene - to where he will have all the time to do with you what he wants to without the possibility of being interrupted by police or witnesses – what we in the business call the (isolated) Secondary Crime Scene.

You have to find a way to stay in the initial crime scene, dudettes.  That’s all there is to it.

Okay, dude, I can almost hear you asking, I got it.  I’m tracking you.  Really.  But how do I do that?  I mean, I say, “Hell, no, pervert, I aint going. I’m staying right here where you jumped me, ” but he’s twice my size, as strong as the economy in ‘92, and, on top of that, he’s hitting me and choking me and I got nothing left—-?

THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS!

I still insist you try everything you can to stop him from dragging you off to his car or van or into whatever ally or woods he has in mind.  Simply put, if you go, chances are you aint coming back.

Unless you Go With a Plan.  But that’s a subject for my next post.

The choice is always up to you.  If you believe you will only stay alive as long as you allow yourself to be moved toward the bad guy’s secondary scene, then allow yourself to be moved (once again, see the next exciting post), but there is no choice about this – never, ever give up; always look for an opening and escape route, a vulnerable target!

INITIAL CRIME SCENE TACTICS

Do whatever it takes to keep you butt where you are.  Accept the fact that you will be injured, maybe even seriously.  Self Defense is not an injury-free activity!  Even severely injured, if you stay where you want to be (and away from where he wants you to be), there is a good chance someone, including police and emergency medical help, will find you.

• BE OBSERVANT.  If you see a suspicious looking person eyeing you up and/or walking toward you more intently than you would prefer (trust your gut instincts), run or move away, using barricades in the environment to separate you from him.  Move toward other crowds, other safe-looking people.
• BE LOUD, A “JUMPING BEAN OF TROUBLE.”   Predators are not looking for a fight.  They are on the hunt for ”victims” only.  And victims are pretty damn easy to spot because they don’t move, don’t hardly say anything.  Victims can be moved easily and quickly and, even when there are other people close by, nodody notices ’cause the abduction is performed so quickly.  What the predator wants more than anything is to Strike and Fly.  Hit their target – you – paralyze that target with fear & indecision – and get the hell out of Dodge City as quickly as possible before a witness can interfere or take down a license number, before noise and screams can draw police intervention.   Acting like fricking Lady Gaga on stage – loud, obscene, profane, gaudy, full of unstoppable energy, attention grabbing – is a big step toward influencing the miscreant to break off his attack and seek out another victim.
• FIND SOMETHING TO GRAB ONTO.  You can turn a calamity into salvation by finding something in the environment to hold on to.  Women have save themselves by wrapping both arms and legs around a telephone pole as abductors were trying to drag her into a van.  The men beat on her for a while, but, after only a few minutes drove off in fear that the woman’s screams would somehow alert police or others on the scene.  Trees, bicylcles, bed posts, large garbage cans and other stationary or near-stationary objects can keep you from being dragged off for several minutes, perhaps buying you enough time to cause the attacker to give up the hunt.
• DROP, LOCK AND ROLL – GRAB ON TO THE ATTACKER.  By quickly and suddenly turning toward a (startled) attacker and diving toward his legs, head down, you can often force a bad guy to lose his grip on you.  Quickly latch on to his legs and ankles, wrap yourself tightly around him and hold on for dear life.  This is a last ditch tactic, for sure, but it can also cause precious seconds, maybe minutes to tick off the Bad Guy’s “internal clock,” cause panic because you not only are delaying the abduction – and delay can be fatal to him - but you are making it difficult for him to move you to that waiting isolated and secluded spot he has in mind.
• DROP & ROLL.  Another last ditch tactic – when all else fails, or, more likely, when you can think of nothing that works in your “conventional self defense arsenal,” try this unique surprise tactic.  As he has hold of your wrist or arms and is pulling you forcefully toward his car or another target area, go with the pull and allow the bad guy to build momentum and speed until you think the time is right then drop, quickly and suddenly and go straight down, creating a powerful shift in balance.  In some cases the bad guy has fallen and in some cases the sudden shift and fall has caused the bad guy injury.  If he is still standing and still has hold of you, drive a foot as hard as possible into his groin or into his knee.  Roll away as soon as he relinquishes his grip as if your shirt is on fire and you are trying to extinguish it.
• PULL AWAY AND DRIVE FORWARD.  There are literally hundreds of surprise moves you can make when the bad guy is trying to pull you into a car, bedroom, alley, but one I particularly like is to “feed into his expectations and then force him to throw them back up.”  What I mean by that is the bad guy is pulling you and he expects you to try to pull away, even though he knows there is no way you can win that battle.  Your first move, then, is to feed in to his expectations by pulling away, against his strength.  Then, now that he is overconfident that you are his, allow him to pull you violently toward him – which he will every time – and, then, relax your body and flow rapidly into his Center-Line Targets, and, before the surprised predator can do anything to defend himself you are kneeing or twisting his groin, driving a forehead into his nose, palm-heel striking his face, and you are mauling him and not stopping until the threat is oover!
• UP TO YOU.  I exaggerate not when I say there are hundreds of other ways you can stay in the Initial Crime Scene.  Your homework assignment:  Think about it & write as many Initial Crime Scene Strategies as you can think of.  Get your brain working on it so your body will do the rest, if the time ever comes.

Until the next post, stay safe.

Hammer

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LOAD “SURPRISE” INTO YOUR SELF DEFENSE GAME PLAN, PART I.

This post was originally supposed to be for parents who wish to teach their children skills to stop the bully in his or her tracks. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the following self defense tactics and skills will work for anyone who might be required to defend her or himself against anyone who has arrogantly invaded his or her personal space and is posturing as if he or she is about to attack.

When we talk self defense, the element of surprise is essential. Remember, we are not talking about a competitive contest in a dojo or an arena overseen by a referee or a master instructor. What we are talking about is a spontaneous, close quarter life and death struggle in an environment usually selected by the attacker, who is a pernicious predator who has painstakingly planned out the assault. Likely, your attacker(s) has the following advantages:

v He/she is bigger and stronger.

v He/she has a distinct plan.

v He/she is armed with one or more (deadly) weapons.

v He/she has you *outnumbered (*when the attacker has a plan and the victim does not, the victim is already outnumbered).

v The attacker will choose the time and space of his/her attack so that the lighting is subdued, there are no witnesses, and the victim has little or no ability to move (tactically).

v The predator will almost always(98%)precede his/her attack with a slick distraction designed to get the victim looking in another direction (than at him or her) so that his or her (the prospective victim’s) focus is fractured and his/her ability to defend him or herself (against the predator) is radically weakened.

v In other words, despite all the other advantages he/she already has, the bully, sexual predator, abductor, or violent criminal, still relies mostly on The Element of Surprise to overcome his or her victim!

My point, exactly. I have no reluctance and zero hesitation to say that Surprise (ALONG WITH SPEED) is going to be your key, irrespective of your age, size, or gender to successfully defending yourself against anybody who threatens your safety, maybe even your life. Ergo in two subsequent posts, we’re going to discuss how to manifest this great element in your self defense arsenal. Used properly and with great commitment, surprise will reverse the predator-prey principle and set the bad guy back on his (or, her) heels!

SURPRISE AND SPEED KILLS!

So, what do I mean by surprise? Maybe an example will help. Have you ever been walking in the woods, perhaps your mind is lost in thought about something or someone you care about, are troubled about, and, bam, with a rush of wings flapping and bushes bursting, a covey of pheasants, or a turkey, explodes from the brush around you? It has happened to me, and, let me tell you, your heart feels like it stops, you freeze, and you can hardly breathe. Or, you are coming through a door, once again, your mind on something far away, and, bam, someone else is standing in the doorway. Someone you didn’t expect to see. Once again, you stop breathing, your mouth falls agape, and you may even stumble backwards, off balance.

I have just described exactly what” surprise” does to a person who is unaware and who is suddenly and unexpectedly confronted by a predator.

In the next two posts, though, I will tell you exactly how to Reverse the Predator-Prey Syndrome and make the Bad Guy hold his breath and stumble backwards.

Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer

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The theme here is that – as bad as things may look – it aint over ‘til it’s over. The bedroom attacker may make a mistake – many of them do – caused by overconfidence, or you might – if you keep your mind clear (not an easy thing to do) – find an opening that can set you free.

BEDROOM SURPRISE, PART II

September 27, 2009

In my last post I talked of a situation where the Bad Guy is sitting atop his victim’s chest, his knees painfully pinning her arms, then, apparently seizing the moment when she stops struggling, he pauses to unzip his trousers anticipating oral sex. When the attacker does this – and this is something I hope you remember – he is compromising his balance and is most vulnerable to any kind of rapid balance displacement move on your part.

Roll the Bad Guy off using the following steps:

1) TRAP the foot on the side you intend to throw the attacker by placing your weakside foot on the outside of his foot (Posting or Trapping).

2) Slide your opposite foot inward until it is just below the attacker’s buttocks, Your thigh should be touching his rear end and the sole of that foot should be flat on the deck.

3) Reach up with the hand on the opposite side as the Bad Guy’s trapped foot and grab him by the shirt.

4) Simultaneously and powerfully as you can, drive your butt in the air (bridge) and push hard with the leg and foot that you had slid close to his buttocks (heel flat on the ground) in order to propel the Bad Guy off of you. At the same time, pull the hand that has hold of his shirt in the direction you wish him to roll.

5) Imagine that your butt is lifting up and driving your navel or belt buckle directly into the mattress.

6) Never give up. Use all your power. You can do it.

7) Once the attacker is off of you, strike him with whatever personal weapon (bite, gouge, knee him, kick him, drive the heel of your foot into his face) you have and get out of Dodge.

One note: As always, it is up to you if and how you do this. You can wait until he is distracted by un-zippering, or you can play into his plans by acting like you are giving up and will do what he wants. Women /girls have waited until the attacker actually had his member out and was starting to move it toward the victim’s mouth when they made their move. It was the last thing the Bad Guy expected!

Another escape I often teach features the attacker crawling up and attempting to get inside the woman’s legs. I actually advocate the woman spreading her legs – which is what the Bad Guy wants. Once he is inside and puts her in a choke hold, I teach women to latch onto both hands and not let go, while, simultaneously kicking the attacker in the ribs and back of the head with her legs and feet. I then teach the intended victim to “shrimp up” to gain distance from the attacker so she can drive both of her heels into his hips. Now, simultaneously hold onto the hands and drive the feet into the subject, and, then, while still holding onto his hands drive both feet hard into his face. Escape.

Stay safe.

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

May 9, 2009

THE IRREPRESSIBLE WEB STRIKE

HEY, HAMMER FANS, here’s the counterstrike I recommend to anyone – be you elderly, a man, boy, woman or girl – facing a high-risk close quarter attack.  The Web Strike is a Deadly Force Counterstrike, meaning, if delivered successfully – and, frankly, I don’t know how it could not be delivered, not only successfully, but with devastating power, the results of the strike could be serious injury or possibly death to the attacker.

The Web Strike has so many positive attributes that it’s a wonder more people don’t know about it. 

• It is based on Gross Motor Skills, which work best under high stress situations.  In a close quarter, surprise attack, the potential victim’s heart rate will accelerate to well over 200 BPM.
• Gross Motor Skills are simple, doable for the least athletic and strong student in any of my Self Defense classes.
• The Web Strike requires no significant power.  The target is the Adam’s Apple, or the Throat.  A mere 6 pounds of pressure delivered to the throat will cause not only pain, a major stun and a Startle Response.  The Bad Guy will reflexively reach for his throat, even if the pain is minor.  It is a natural, instinctive response.  And, of course, by grabbing for his throat, the Bad Guy opens up all his Secondary and Primary Targets (covered in a previous post).  And, as in all high-risk self defense scenarios, the putative victim must follow-up immediately and often with strikes to those open targets.  Maybe it needs not be said, but it is a deadly force struggle.  If you stick around and allow the Bad Guy a chance to recover, the Bad Guy will attack again, and, this time, it will be anything but pretty.  Put him away.  Please.
• But, if the Web Strike is driven into the throat with full power and with the violence such a life or death counterstrike calls for, the Bad Guy will immediately end his attack.  And I mean now!
• The Web Strike should be delivered using the element of surprise.  It also should be delivered up through the Blind Spot that resides on every Bad Guy extending from his/her solar plexus to just below his nose.

Here is how to use this great strike.  The Bad Guy has boldly strutted into your intimate zone (PSZ) and has latched onto you.  He pulls you in even closer, predictably expected you – like 9 out of 10 victims – to freeze on his First Touch.  Instead, place your hand, palm down, your fingers pointed toward your right and your thumb straight up.  When you look at your hand it forms an “L.”  Now, stretch out those fingers and extend your thumb.  Notice how the web between your thumb and index finger grows taut?

All you have to do is slide that hard web straight up, sliding along the chest until it drives into the throat.  If you were a defensive back in football, you would be performing what we call a Clothesline Technique.

Ever watch a Clothesline in football?  Ever notice how the runner always drops like AIG stock when hit?

That’s why it’s illegal in football.  But, this aint football.  This is life or death.

Stay Safe.

Hammer

DESTROYING THE MOST COMMON

ATTACK AGAINST WOMEN.

The Wrist or Arm Grab is easily the most common move used against women.  Figures, too.  This move almost always follows “testing,” where the attacker uses distraction techniques to get the woman to look at her watch, to look anywhere but at the attacker.  Testing is part of “The Interview,” where the attacker sizes up his prey, testing the waters.  I have written more than 6 posts on how to avoid an attack by acing “The Interview,” or, put more technically, becoming a Hard Target, so let’s move on from there.

When the attacker senses he has himself an Easy Target, his logical next move is to attach the prospective victim to himself.  The predator knows what too many women do not:  Nine out of ten women will freeze upon First Touch, and. just as bad, will hold their breath.  This is one of the major reasons the wrist/arm grab is so frequent.  Because it works!

THE WRIST GRAB ESCAPE, PART I.  If the Bad Guy grabs you with his palm down, bend your knees, turn your wrist so you present a bladed bone instead of a flat surface.  Much harder for him to hold.  Now, pull your hand straight up, as if you are slapping yourself in your ear and step back.

THE WRIST GRAB ESCAPE, PART II.  Once you escape do your best to gain as much distance as possible. Be prepared to strike when the Bad Guy moves in.  However, there is a chance the predator will Re-Grab Your Wrist.  If he re-grabs, this usually means he intends to seriously harm you and the grab is simply the first step.  Here is what I recommend to do:

1.      You escaped against a palm down grab by driving your hands straight up.  Most likely, he will grab your wrists palm up this time.  Escape by blading your wrist and driving your hand straight down.  As you step in to empower the move, however, your hands will be low.  Step in and drive that hand hard into his groin.  He will drop his head instinctively here, so drive your knee straight up into his head, using your free hand to help drive his head downward.

2.      It is not important that you follow my blueprint here.  The key is to escape from the grab and immediately strike whatever target is open with whatever personal weapon you can use the best.

3.      But, here is another option.  In my book, a better option, but, as always, it is up to you.  Do not even try to escape the second wrist grab.  Why should you?  Heck, both of the Bad Guy’s hands are tied up, or, at the very least, one, so he has nothing to block with, nothing to strike with. 

Ø Allow him to hold on to your wrists and step forward quickly.

Ø Drive your foot into his shin, or, if you can reach it, kick him in the groin as hard as you can.

Ø Be prepared to follow up.  If you kick him in the groin, he will let go of your wrists and bring his hands toward his groin.  Now, your hands are both free.  As his hands are moving down, yours should drive as hard and as often as possible into his face:

·        Repeated Palm Heel Strikes to the chin and nose.

·        Stretch out and harden your fingers and gouge the eyes.

·        Create an “L” with your hand and drive the hardened Web (Web Strike) into his throat (use the convenient “Blind Spot” that exists from his solar plexus up to his nose).

·        Follow Up or start the whole cascade of strikes with a powerful Head Butt using your forehead into his nose.

Make the bastard sorry he ever tried the most common and simplest of male attacks on women.  Destroy the Wrist and Arm Grab and never stop striking until it is safe to disengage.

Until the Next Post, Stay Safe.

Hammer

THE HAMMER FIST STRIKE – VERSATILE, EASY-TO-DO, AND DEVASTATING.

This month I am conducting another 4-week Self Defense for Women program.  I have 18 beautiful and energetic women, all of whom are committed to protecting themselves so they can enjoy the adventures and joys life has to offer.  The thought of some miscreant attacking, dragging off and killing any of them energizes me into giving them the best self protection techniques I know.

The problem in any class such as this, though, is to teach as many skills as possible in the short time I have them without teaching so many that they forget almost all of them when the time comes to use the skills.  It is a fact that the human mind can only absorb so much, and, worse, under stress, when the resting heart rate spikes from 70 BPM to about 250 BPM, it is only possible to retrieve a survival skill when the student has repeated the skill at least 25 times during training in correlation with the actual threat (The Condition/Stimulus Response Training Principle).

Thus, the Hammer Fist Strike.  Second only, in my opinion, to the extremely versatile Palm Heel Strike (which I have extolled in past posts), the Hammer Fist is a terrific strike for any woman to employ against any attacker who attempts to drag her away from the Initial Crime Scene (where she is found) to the deadly Secondary Crime Scene (where she is raped, injured, tortured and/or killed in an isolated, secluded environment)

WHY THE HAMMER FIST?

1. It is easy to use.  Easy to do.  Just make a strong fist, which anybody can do.  Strike with the bottom of the Hammer Fist on the opposite side where the thumb resides.  This creates a hard, unforgiving surface, much like the peen of a hammer.
2. It is very powerful because it is delivered in a downward motion, from shoulder height.  Imagine you are going to deliver the Hammer Fist through the target to the other side of the target.  If the woman/girl hits and sticks on the target – as opposed to bouncing off – the effect will be much more devastating.
3. It is also a relatively versatile strike.  Not only can it be delivered downward into the target, it can be driven backward into the genitals as the man attempts to grab the woman.
4. The Very, Very Vulnerable and Effective Targets include the :
   • NOSE.  The nose, in my opinion is one of the five Primary Targets (Groin/Eyes/Nose/(K)Nees/Throat).  Driving the Hammer Fist straight down on the nose will temporarily stop the attack because it will cause instant tearing, an inability to see, and, very likely, will break the nose.  The nose is always a great target because, no matter the size and strength of the attacker, he can not develop any resistance to the punch in his nose!  More than that, a good strike to the nose will result in overwhelming pain.  Think of this:  If you have ever been holding a baby and that child dropped his or her forehead onto your nose, you know how disorienting a strike to the nose can be, even when delivered by a baby (In a future post I will discuss the wonderful Head Butt To teh Nose.  A devsatating technique, by the way.
   • GROIN.  The groin is also a great Primary Target.  Striking the groin with even a deflected strike will still startle and distract the Bad Guy at the very least, giving the woman time and opportunity to deliver another strike.  A solid strike to the groin, however, will stop the attacker in his tracks!  How to do this?  Form the same Hammer Fist and imagine the Bad Guy is very close to you and standing behind you at a slight angle.  Simply drive the Hammer Fist  straight back (imagine you are facing away from a door and you wish to knock on that door with your fist.)
   • FLOATING RIBS.  Can’t get at the groin with the first strike?  No problem, deliver the same backward strike into his ribs.  The ribs are a Secondary Target, but the affect will be to open up other targets.

Remember.  One strike will hardly ever stop him!  Never stop hitting him until you are safe.

Until next time, stay safe.

Hammer

MOST COMMON STREET ATTACKS AND BEST BETS TO ESCAPE, PART I.

I thought it would be cool to go over some of the most common types of street attacks and suggestions on how best to escape them (in Part II). 

OF course, I have repeated this mantra so often in past posts that I’m sure you are tired of reading it, but your best escape move is never to have to make the move.  By that I mean that nothing – and I mean nothing – beats prevention and avoidance.  And topping the chart of prevention and avoidance has to be the 4 A’s of Assessing yourself and your surrounding; Awareness of obvious and not so obvious changes in the other person and the environment; Anticipation, meaning, always have a plan of action, or at least a mind set that asked “what would I do if the worst case scenario goes down?”and, finally take Action exactly when action is required!

THE MOST COMMON STREET ATTACKS

1. Wrist/Arm Grabs.
2. Lapel or collar grab.
3. Lapel Grab and Sucker Punch.
4. Front Choke.
5. Rear Choke.
6. Roundhouse Punch.
7. Front Bear Hug.
8. Rear Bear Hug.
9. Side Headlock and Punch.
10. Hair Pull.
11. Charge and Tackle.
12. Front Headlock.
13. Rear Strangle Hold.
14. Overhead Strike with Weapon.
15. Bad Guy In Mount (straddling the chest), Victim’s (Woman) Hands Pinned To Ground.
16. Ground and Pound from the Mount Position.
17. Choke From Mount Position.
18. Choke From Guard Position (Man in between woman’s legs, on the ground).
19. First In-First Out (attacks when victim is first going in or first coming out of a car, garage, house, etc.).
20. Bear Hug From Rear/Objective is to pick woman up and carry her off.

Next Post:  How To Escape.  In the meantime, give some thought to what you would do?  How you might prevent this from happening?  How you might defeat this attack before it even begins?

Stay Safe.

Hammer

            HIGH-LILLY HIGH-LOW AND OTHER WINOLOGY PRINCIPLES

                IT IS DAMN near impossible to engineer a foolproof Fighting Arts System of self defense that will work every time against every imaginable attacker in every imaginable attack scenario.  Mater of fact, even if I could design such a system, I doubt seriously if I could or even would attempt to train it since the attack format can not be predicted.  I know I cannot predict it, but, more importantly, I know the predator himself cannot predict it. 

              SURE, the attacker, much like any predator, has a hunting plan – how to spot his victim, track and stalk his victim, and, just to make certain his prey is not going to be able to fight or run,  how to test his victim.  When and how to attack may mutate with how the intended prey reacts during any one of these stages.  Once the attack starts, everything goes at a ferocious pace, and, if you – the victim – isn’t prepared to stay in the fight regardless of the pace and ferocity of the attack, simply put, you are screwed Big Time.

              ONE THING for sure:  If you have not trained and practiced assiduously – meaning hundreds of repetitions in dozens if different scenarios, the techniques you learned and rehearsed (Martial Arts Kadas) against the myriad of attack possibilities are likely going to fail you.  What always works, though, are what I call Timeless Principles. 

             Timeless Principles (of the Fighting Arts) cross all the variegated situation you might be confronted with in an all out fight for your life.  I can’t guarantee success, but these Winology (the art science of winning in combat situations) Principles, each of which is simple, easy to do, and are always heavy with time-proven truth.

GREAT WINOLOGY PRINCIPLES OF SELF DEFENSE.

• THE PRINCIPLE OF HIGH-LOW AND VICE VERSA.  Or as I call it in my SD For Women classes:  High-Lilly, High-Low.  This timeless Winology Principle simply suggests that when the Bad Guy attacks you high, all his targets will be open low.  Therefore, the attacker wades in striking at your face; block and counter-attack him low.
• HIT SECONDARY TARGETS TO OPEN UP PRIMARY TARGETS.  Winology suggests that the Bad Guy can only possible block 3 of his targets at any one time, meaning, if you stay focused, you must find easy-to-hit targets.  Hit secondary targets to open up the High-value Primary Targets that will stop him from seeing (eyes). Breathing (throat). Moving (groin).  Targets that will take away his fighting spirit (stomach, nose) and his ability to stand (knees).
• IGNORE THE EMOTIONAL STATE OF MIND AND CONCENTRATE ON THE TASK AT HAND.  Accept that you are scared.  It is natural.  Focus instead on the task of hitting open targets, moving, breathing and thinking.
• THANK YOU FOR GRABBING ME THERE.  This principle actually celebrates the occasion of the Bad Grab grabbing his victim.  Dave Guglielmi, one of my self defense co=trainers, would actually say “Thank you” before destroying the attacker who had just grabbed him.  Why?  Once you are grabbed, several good things happen. 

Ø     If the attacker grabs you with two-hands, you now are aware that he can no longer block or strike with either hand.  All of his targets are open.

Ø     If he grabs you with one hand, you know that he cannot both block and strike with his free hand.  Almost all of his targets are open.

Ø     When he grabs you, you now are free to trap the Bad Guy’s hand to you.  You can strike various vulnerable parts of the hands, fingers, wrist and forearm, and/or move that hand and arm in a direction it was not meant to be moved.

• EXPECT TO BE HIT, CUT, OR SHOT.  The Bad Guy knows how to dispirit and defeat you almost before the fight begins.  He knows most easy victims have a plan until they are hit.  Worse, many attackers are triggered into escalated violence when their victim cries, begs for mercy or just freezes in place after First Touch.  Remember that Self Defense Is not an Injury-Free Activity.  When you are trying to fight off an attacker, expect to be hit, maybe even cut or shot.  Shake it off, if you can.  Most likely, if you realize you have been punched, cut, or even shot, you can and will survive it.  Tell yourself, Hey, look at me, I’ve been punched and I’m still in the fight.”  Now, go out and win the damn fight!

Stay Safe.

Hammer