Action Against Violence

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Not to rag on my class, cause I love them, but I just finished a Self Defense for Women program at a local community college, and once again, for the 14th consecutive program, not one of the women – despite my urging to the contrary – ever uttered one “kai!” when responding to an “attack” during the 4-week course!

Mind you, it’s probably a reflection on my instruction.  I really have to come up with a creative way, in the early stages of the program, to encourage the women to reach down inside and bring out a gutteral yell when fighting, or, shout in a bad guy’s face when he has the nerve to invade their personal space.

But, Hell’s Fire, ladies, think about this:  Who do you think look and acts more like an Ideal Victim to a predator?  A woman who, when approached by a stranger, or grabbed by surprise, says nothing and does nothing for a second or two, and who holds her breath – yeh, that’s another thing, during Red Man drills, unless I yell out, “Breathe, dammitt!” the woman not only say nothing, they rarely breathe – or, a woman, who, immediately upon being touched or approached, yells out in obvious anger at the stranger, takes a step or two to regain her distance, and explodes into some kind of action?

Well, of course, the noisy woman who becomes a blur of sound and movement is the woman who is prepared to Fight Like a Girl—and Win!  The silent one, when “tested” by the stranger stays quiet and still, is your Ideal Victim.

The lesson here is dog crap simple.  Be you a woman, girl, man or boy, learn to break whatever tendency to be meek and silent.  Whoever socialized you to be a “nice girl/boy” did you no favor when it comes to self defense.   Re-socialize yourself and give yourself permission to Mad Dog It (one of the themes of my SD training).  Draw that animal from inside you and BE THE BEAST/BE THE MAD DOG!

Not only will making noise (scream Kai! when you hit) save you during a fight, it may prevent you from being chosen as a victim in the first place.  So, when you think you are facing a possible attack, say something (prepare ahead of time with something to say to make the bad guy reconsider you as a victim (”What do YOU want?”  “Don’t I know your mother?”  “Get back now!”).

If ever grabbed by a stranger, use his First Touch as a Trigger to explode into both sound and action!

Stay safe until next time.

Hammer

According to Lori Hartman Gervasi, in her seminal book, Fight Like a Girl–and Win, EVERY attack against women starts with the element of surprise. Although I might argue that some attacks are highly predictable, mayhap even expected by the victim (consider domestic violence, for one), for the sake of brevity and time, let’s concede the point.  Fact is, the male (and sometimes, female) attacker understands the cogency of the element of surprise in first charming, then disarming, and finally destroying the victim with as little fight as possible.

In my Fighting Arts for Women classes the theme is always this:  Reverse the Predator/Prey Principle. Simply put, I advocate taking the attacker’s mind set and expectations and totally flipping the mentality upside down by invoking the Element of Surprise on our part!

In any “life or death fight” where one side is dramatically overmatched, I say, Surprise is probably the only thing that can change the game in the woman’s (or child or teen facing a predator, bully, etc) favor!  Think of this:  when a woman is attacked, more often than not, her attacker is larger, stronger, faster, armed, in the company of an accomplice, plus, is often prepared with an attack plan.  Not only that, the bad guy has often tracked his prey for minutes, hours, days, sometimes months.  He has given this attack a lot of thought, even to the point of waiting to assault you in an environment with poor lighting, poor footing, and in a space where his victim has little room to escape or fight.

OKAY, ALREADY.  WE GOT THE IDEA:  WE’RE SCREWED!  SO, WHAT THE HECK TO WE DO?

Good question.  A little tempremental, but, still, good question.  What you do – what you must do – is do the unexpected. Believe it or not, you have an edge.  Not a big one, but an edge nevertheless.  And what is that Edge you have?

The Bad Guy’s Expectations.

In 97 to 98% of the attack scenarios, the bad guy expects you to be meek, to surrender without a fight, to beg for your life.  He often gets off on your fear, on the look of terror in your eyes. That look of “recognition” that you are the prey about to be dragged into an isolated corner of the world so the predator can torment and torture you until he finally rapes, robs and murders you.

INVOKE S.N.E.A.K.!

Open up a big can of Whoop-Ass on the monster by using the element of surprise.  Sensei Michael Pace used the acronym “SNEAK” to describe the process.

Surprise is the first and most important element.  Surprise is activated by fulfilling the bad guy’s expectations initially, and, then, suddenly exploding in his face!

Non-Violent is the 2nd element.  Before counter-attacking, you must appear non-violent.

Explode is the 3rd element.  You must “explode” from non-violent to ultra-violent in a split second.  When you explode, go nuts, liberate the beast.  You are all over his ass!

Aggressive:  Incorporate an aggressive attitude.  No longer a nice girl.

Knock the Bad Guy out of the fight.

Okay, you might be saying, that’s nice, but how the hell do I do this? In the next few posts I will be going over a few strategems, but, how about trying this one on for size?

The Bad Guy approaches with that “look” in his eyes.  Despite your protests he steps into your space.  Your gut instincts are screaming at you to get the hell out of there, but when you try to move he blocks your exit.  You know for sure you are about to be attacked in some way.  Put both hands up in front of your face, palms facing the guy’s face – the universal “Compliance Stance” – and you even “beg” him to let you go.

Then, suddenly, you bend your knees for power and drive both hands hard and fast into his head, driving up as if trying to knock his head off of his shoulders.  Before he knows what is happening, his head snaps back and he is off-balance and all his Primary Targets are open for a follow-up strike!  There are no apologies or excuses in self defense:  Show No Mercy and hit those open targets with everything you have until it is safe for you to escape.

Even if the Bad Guy has one of your hands under control.  Use your free hand and go for his head.  No head can withstand the power of your entire body.

This will work.

Until the next post, stay safe.

The Hammer

YES, INDEEDY. I have been preaching this in self defense classes for decades, and, trust me,  it is as true and ageless as time itself.  Deep inside you there is a phenomenon that some wizards of The Fighting Arts call the ki or chi. Your chi (Chinese),or,  ki (Japanese), according to these wizards, these great masters of The Fighting/Martial Arts, are a source of great power and energy. Imagine this chi, or ki, “right in the center of your body, deep within your midsection.  Think two inches below  your belly button, but straight back into the middle of your torso,” according to Lori Hartman Gervasi, in her great book:  Fight Like a Girl—and Win.

But, here’s the dealio.  If ever you face an attacker, before the debilitating element of fear sets in and paralyzes you, first you must get your ass in gear!  You see, this chi or ki is there, but it cannot be released like some ancient genie by simply rubbing in some arcane manner on your center.  It is up to you to have the courage, fortitude and willingness to get yourself  in action ASAP!

Your ki/chi works like the ignition of a car – from nothing to full throttle, according to Gervasi.  Instant power and energy!  Explosion from the inside-out!  But, like the key in the ignition of a powerful automobile, you must first turn it on!

TURNING THAT KEY

So, how do we explode from the inside out?  How do we pull our energy and power source to the surface?   Actually it is dog crap simple.  Release your power and energy right from the get-go.  Get moving and use the sheer power of “fierce and immediate movement from the core of your fighting spirit (which is within every one of us).”  Get moving and turn that ignition key.  In other words, instead of standing there frozen, trying to analyze what the attacker is saying and/or about to do, you need to Do Something Now! When you act definitively and immediately, you do several things that will help you pevail:

• You invoke the Element of Surprise.
• You get the attacker back on his/her feet & weaken his potential attack.
• You transcend the debilitating element of “Fear.”
• You flood your body with Stress Hormones and take advantage of an Adrenale Dump, which empowers you to fight harder and better, to run faster, to endure injuries and pain.
• And, finally, it empowers you to Unleash That Animal – that Beast – Inside!

Deep inside you, in a place where you must go mentally, is a beast.  It has been there for 250,000,000 years.  Give yourself the permission to grab onto it and become it. Yes, BECOME THE BEAST!  Turn that fear into sheer energy and power.

1. When your gut instincts tell you something is wrong, believe it always!
2. Breathe.  Get oxygenated blood flowing to your brain.
3. Move now.  Do something:

• Put some distance between you and him.
• Put a barrier or barricade between you and him.
• Say something.  “Stay back!”  “Nine-one-one!”  “What do you want?”  “I don’t have time for this!erbal SelfDefense (more on that in a later post).”
• Verbalizing also serves the purpose of unlocking that hold fear might have on you, plus, it let’s the goofball who is threatening you know that you are not going to allow him to intimidate or bully you.  Use Verbal Self Defense (more on VSD in a later post).
• Have an idea ahead-of-time, what you will do, if he gets aggressive, and, then, do it!
• By all means, keep moving.  Don’t allow yourself to be cemented to the floor when he attacks!
• If possible, strike first and use the element of suprise!

In the next post:  Using the element of surprise with your first strike!

Until then, stay safe.

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

January 31, 2010

WINOLOGY 101 – KICK THE PERVERT’S ASS USING IMPROVISED WEAPONS!

We talked about using the element of surprise is the last two posts.  Comes the time to talk about using whatever it is that you happen to have handy when the pervert jumps in your face and expects you to fold like a $2 pup tent in a hurricane.

Improvised Weapons are at times better than real weapons per se (guns, knives, impact weapons) simply because when you are the victim of a spontaneous, close quarter surprise attack, your “real” weapon is likely not available, even, at times, if you are a cop (in my Spontaneous Knife Defense classes we assume that an officer will NOT be able to draw his weapon when attacked by a Bad Guy with an edged weapon).

WHATEVER IS IN THY HANDS CEASES TO EXIST

Predators love to attack women and children who have both hands full of items and/or who are first going in or first coming out of a location (that is when they are most distracted).  It is essential that you stay as focused as possible at all times.  If you are ever attacked with articles in your hands, my philosophy is that you must release whatever it is, so your hands are free to defend yourself, to fight!  However, if you have any of the following items in your hand, you are in possession of a deadly Improvised Weapon (IW)!

• Dog leash;
• Camera;
• Cell Phone;
• Wallet;
• Purse;
• Hard Backed Book or Soft Backed Book;
• Newspaper;
• Travel Mug;
• DVD Case;
• I-Pod;
• I-Phone;
• Car Keys;
• Spatula;
• Umbrella;
• Notebook;
• Handful of Coins;
• Pencil or Pen;
• Hatpin;
• Eyeglasses Case;
• Makeup Compact;
• Fix-A-Flat Spray Can (or, any kind of Hairspray Can).
• Icescraper;
• Magicmarker;
• Kubaton, or Another type of wooden or plastic key-holder.

Believe it or not, there are many other types of ordinary, every-day things that can be used as weapons.  I just don’t have the time or space to go into all of them.  I’m sure your imagination will work for you now that you understand the principle.  Damned near anything hard or even soft can be used to hurt an attacker, or, at the very least, distract him so that you can escape.

For instance, you probably carry a cell phone at all times.  Great!  If you have one nearby, take hold of it. Don’t hold it like you would a weapon.  If you do that, the Bad Guy will know what is coming and he can easily block your strike, etc.  Hold it as you normally would , but allow it to slide into the heel of your hand for counterpressure.  It does no good for you to hit the bad guy with it if it is going to fly out of your hand.  Now strike with the hard edge of it against your other hand.  You can feel how powerful that would be as a weapon.  Now, all you have to do, if you are ever confronted is to hold it low and innocuously so he will not even focus on the phone as a weapon.  More likely than not, the Bad Guy will close the distance, and, at the right moment drive that cell phone up through his Blind Spot (the space between his chest and his throat) and drive it into his throat.  Try it on yourself – just a touch, a soft touch at that – and you’ll see it fits perfectly.  The throat is the best target possible because the Bad Guy will likely drop like Toyota stock, but there are other targets, once you gain the edge.

IDEAL CELL PHONE TARGETS

• Jaw
• Forearms
• Hands
• Ears
• Eyes
  
• Side of Neck (Brachial Plexus Nerve Motor Point)
• Clavicles (Shoulder Blades)
• Jaw Bone
• Nose
• Back Of Head
• Groin.

One more thing.  Essential to converting an everyday item into an impact weapon is speed and explosiveness.  You have to explode into the attack with wicked suddenness and evil intentions!  You cannot be reluctant to use it.  Hit hard.  Remember S.N.E.A.K., the formula for success:

Surprise

Non-Violent (the key is to appear non-violent).

Explode (into the target)

Aggressive

Knock the Bad Guy out of the fight!

Stay Safe

Hammer

Sorry about the profanity.  Fact is, though, predators deserve a lot worse language. Matter of fact, in one way or another, directly and indirectly, I have waged a public and private war against these silly bastards.  So, rather than rail against them, rather than stringing together some inane profanity, mayhap you and I can talk about some unique tactics you can use if ever you come up against one or more of these sons of bitches (gees, I am nasty today) in a dark alley somewhere.

In case you did not read my post yesterday – “Load Surprise into your Self Defense Game Plan, Part I” – The Element of Surprise is a staple for any predator’s attack plan.  It may come in the form of a distraction, such as asking you a seemingly harmless question, or dressing like a lawyer or a businessman and/or acting like a child’s uncle or preacher, or teacher until the horrifying second where he turns from a benevolent spirit into an abject minster

Well, how about turning the tables on this jerk by using the same strategy against him?  How do we do this?  By reacting to him the way his – The Predator – psychology expects his victim to respond.  Simply put, the bad guy in many cases is confronting you because he – for whatever reason – sees an opportunity for an easy score.  Therefore, most likely, he has marked you as a victim, and, after testing you by trailing you or asking a few questions, he is now in your face because he expects you to cave.  The way I see it, you have two good options here. Actually, three (it is just that the third, giving up, saying nothing, and begging for your life, while still your choice to make, is unacceptable to this blog post.

1. Immediately, upon recognizing that the Bad Guy is organizing an attack upon you, tell him to “Stay Back (or some other statement of outrage and verbal direction)!”; get into a fighting stance and prepare to defend yourself.
2. Try to keep your distance so he can’t grab or assault you, tell him to lay off you, now! But prepare a survival strategy.  If he grabs you, use a Surprise Counterattack.

THE SURPRISE EQUATION, PART I. BUILD UP THE BAD GUY’S EXPECTATIONS. The best way to Reverse the Predator-Prey Syndrome (where you become the predator and he suddenly becomes the prey) is to build up his confidence that his plan will succeed and allow him to relax his guard (false sense of security).  So, what does the Bad Guy expect?  Simple.  He expects you to “fight like a girl, “ whch, when translated, means he expects you not to fight, or, if you do, to lash out aimlessly and powerlessly.  So, Part I of this “Surprise Equation” means you will initially act as if you are terrified and have no idea what to do after, and only after, he grabs you, strikes you, etc.

THE SURPRISE EQUATION, PART II. PHYSICAL ACTING JOB. This is a key to the whole strategy.  After he grabs you, pulls you closer, or grabs you and attempts tio pull you into an alley, car, or other secluded spot, your initial physical act is orchestrated to influence him to lower his guard and contribute to his own failure.  A few Examples of this:

• The predator grabs you by the wrists or arms and starts dragging you toward an alley.  Your first action is to do what he expects, and that is to pull away and lean back as you do.  This ties in to his expectations and he will – believing that his arm strength is far superior to yours – try to break your foolish resistance by pulling you as hard as he can toward himself.
• The predator grabs you by the throat and/or shirt or hair and pulls you in close to him.  He expects you to melt in fear.  Allow yourself to be pulled in close (as much as this will be frightening) and appear to go limp.  Feign crying and lay your head on his shoulder or neck, which is what he wants you to do.  Chances are this will influence him to relax his guard a bit because this is what his “fantasy scenario” had scripted you to do.
• The predator grabs you by the shirt, neck or hair but does not pull you close.  Instead, he keep you at arm’s length and makes a fist as if about to punch you.  Appear to submit.  Raise both hands in a Beg-For-Mercy Stance, waving both hands, palms outward in front of your face.

THE SURPRISE EQUATION PART III.  THE S.N.E.A.K. ATTACK! The SNEAK Attack is where the surprise explodes in the Bad Guy’s Face.  For instance, in the first scenario above, you have pulled away, knowing that the Bad Guy is stronger.  When he uses his superior power to pull you toward him, use all his power to propel you into his Center-Line Targets (eyes, nose, throat, solar plexus, stomach, groin).  Chances are good that he will not be prepared to block as he will be taken by surprise and he will be set back on his heels.  Deliver as many strikes as fast as possible to open targets using your hands, head (butt), knees and feet.  In the second scenario, once the Bad Guy pulls you close, he has put you in position to be the predator, no longer the prey.  Go limp, maybe whimper, and, now, take the hand closest to his face and place it on his opposite shoulder.  Quickly, and without warning (duhhh), hook your fingers inside his jawbone and drive your thumb hard into his eyes.  If you succeed, he will undoubtably release his hold on you, at which time you need to nail him in the groin with a knee, and, after you gain some space, hit whatever Primary Targets (Groin, Eyes, Throat, Knees, Nose) as often as possible.

The third scenario is a dangerous one, but he has you in a perfect position for a choke or a punch to the face.  The Bad Guy expects you to submit and to beg you not to hit him.  This is why I have asked you to assume the “Compliance Stance (Please Don’t Hit Me).”  From the compliance stance, beg the Bad Guy not to hit you, while slowly taking your strong hand and place it over top of his hand – the one that is holding you.  Now, quickly, tighten your grip and secure his restraining hand to your body while simultaneously driving a Palm Heel Strike to the attacker’s face with the same side hand as the one that is restraining you.  This will work because there is no way that he can block the incoming strike because his blocking hand is tied up.  Keep hold of his hand and, now, drive your shin or knee into his groin or another target.

Part III< Improvised Weapon Surprise.  Until then, 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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