ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

August 31, 2009

FOILING THE EVIL MOTHER FUGGER

It’s been a while since I last posted here, but I’ve been gone. Training out West. And, before I head off to Chicago, Cape May and Ocean City, Maryland, I thought I’d get me a couple posts in, if for no other reason than to keep myself in The Game.

I remember correctly, in my last post I went on a rant against Evil Mother Fuggers because I was in a rage over some Chicken Hawk marking, stalking, and putting an innocent young girl in the bottom of one of our lakes in the Poconos.

These miscreants dedicate and commit countless hours plotting ways to get these young boys and girls and women into their clutches. So, it makes almost too much sense for me to ask you to spend at least a few minutes a day charting out a safety plan for you and your children to help you make it to and from work and school each day. Make it back to your loving families.

If you are the parents of small children and teenagers, I ask, like I have so many times before, you to take the role of your child’s Safety Coach. Talk with him or her regularly and open up a precious dialog to give him/her an avenue to tell you of any situation where an adult has made inappropriate advances of inquiries. Also, give him/her some common sense rules of thumb about whom he/she should trust (only the rare Gold People, like his/her parents and closest, most trustworthy relatives) and some strategies to use to repel those who they shouldn’t trust.

If you are a woman, I ask that you begin thinking and planning ahead. Have a Plan A and a Failure Plan (Plan B) in your mind when you go out, or, for that matter, for when you are at home and someone comes to your door,

Of course, I Am talking in generalities in the limited time and space a blog allows me. If you E-Mail me at harrywigder@rcn.com, I will send you my E Book on Survival Strategies for Women as well as my E Book CAT – Counter Abduction Strategies for Children.

But, in the meantime, here are a few Counter Abduction Techniques/Strategies For Children (in the next post, I will point out a few Counter-Abduction Strategies for Women) that you might consider adopting for your children:

• SUPERVISE YOUR PRECIOUS GIFTS (THE CHILDREN) WHENEVER PRACTICABLE. Countless children have been abducted from inside their homes with the parents in another room or from their front yards with their parents less than 10 yards away.
• SAFETY COACHES SHOULD TEACH THEIR CHILDREN TO MAKE NOISE WHENEVER APPROACHED BY ANYONE NOT ON THEIR “GOLD (NOT TOTALLY TRUSTWORTHY) LIST!” Predators purposely “mark”silent and “good” children as prey. They will almost always avoid noisy and “crazy” kids. Kids who scream out, move around point fingers at them, shout out “Help! This guy is not my daddy!” On the other hand, “good and polite” kids are ideal victims because they usually “freeze.” Stand in one place and say nothing defiant and let themselves be carried off!
• SAFETY COACHES CAN TEACH THEIR CHILD NOT TO ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE TOUCHED. Teach your child to be wary of anyone who touches them on any part of their person without their permission, even a relative, or a teacher, priest or rabbi. Teach the child that, if possible, get away from that person as quickly as possible, especially if that person touches them on any part of their body that would be normally covered by a bathing suit.
• SAFETY COACH CAN TEACH THEIR CHILD TO TRUST THEIR GUT FEELINGS! Ask any child who has been approached and/or grabbed by an adult and I bet that each and every one of them will tell you that they felt a weird sensation just before. Many of them don’t quite understand what is going on, but it usually means the adult is giving the kid The Creeps. Some Safety Coaches have used the kitchen smoke detector as a great teaching point, explaining that The Creeps is their Smoke Alarm and it is their gut instincts warning them that something is about to go terribly wrong unless they disengage from the area PDQ!
• NEVER, EVER LEAVE THE INITIAL CRIME SCENE WITH THE ADULT, TEENAGER OR OTHER CHILD! I AM NOT CONTRADICTING MYSELF. Once your child gets The Creeps about another person who might cause them harm, he or she should get out of Dodge quickly. In doing so, the child should obey some pretty simple rules:

1) If the adult is real close, walk quickly or run, but without turning your back on the adult (Predator Prey Principle).

2) If the adult is close by, move in a serpentine, or zig zag, pattern.

3) Use barricades in the environment to separate you from the adult.

4) Instead of hiding nearby where you can get captured, run toward any “safe” adult – preferably a woman with children.

5) Make plenty of noise.

6) BUT, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, SHOULD THE CHILD LEAVE THE ORIGINAL AREA WITH THE ADULT!

Ø As hard as it might be for the child to do so, teach him/her to stay in the initial crime scene. Injured or not, he will be found there,

Ø But without a doubt, if he or she leaves with the predator, he or she will not be found!

7) THE KEY TO ESCAPING IS TO DELAY THE AMOUNT OF TIME THE PREDATOR MUST SPEND AT THE ORIGINAL CRIME SCENE TO GET YOUR CHILD INTO HIS CAR.

Ø This is where the Drop/Lock and Roll Technique I teach is used by the child to extend the predator’s stay in the crime scene.

Ø The crucial strategy for the abductor is to get the child whisked away quickly!

Until the next post, Stay Safe.

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

July 27, 2009

ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND STALKING

Don’t know if you’ve caught the myriad accounts – in the papers, on TV and radio –  but there’s been an alarming rise in police officers, women, men and even children  killed and maimed as a result of stalking and domestic violence.  I even get personal accounts from law enforcement officers and citizens whom I train in my instructor programs, Management of Workplace Violence courses and Self Defense for Women programs to the point where I am convinced that I need to focus this and the next few posts on  the issues surrounding Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Violence Against Women and Children.

ON STALKING

LEGAL DEFINITIONS vary widely from state to state.  Most states, however, define stalking as the willful, malicious and repeated following and harassing of another person.  Stalking related activities include as lying in wait; surveillance; non-consensual communications; telephone harassment and vandalism.  Most states require at least two or more of acts of the above nature before the actions can be considered harassment.  The action(s) also need to constitute at least an implied/inferred threat. 

AS FAR AS I am concerned, the key is that the victim understands the danger of stalking if it is allowed to continue unchecked.  Domestic Violence is directly connected to stalking and both occur in a continuum that ranges from emotional abuse at one end to homicide on the other.   And the escalation of violence along this catastrophic continuum often follows a predictable pattern.  My goal here is to formulate responses and countermeasures to break what I see as a cycle of violence.

STALKING AND VIOLENCE BY AN INTIMATE

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, as you probably are aware, is all about control, power and domination.  For this reason, when a woman leaves her abuser, he often stalks her in an effort to regain control over her.  Sadly, this control is effected through increasing physical violence.  Thus, when a woman leaves her abusing husband/boyfriend, it is an extremely dangerous time for her (and her children and anyone else who happens to care for her, or attempt to protect her, establish a relationship with her).

STALKING – make no mistake – is an act that terrorizes its victims.  Stalking creates a psychological prison that deprives its victim(s) of basic liberty of movement and security in their homes.  Moreover, stalking is a crime that often occurs in a domestic violence context, and, unfortunately, follows a traceable pattern that, if left unreported and unchecked by the victim, will often (in my experience it will almost always increase in intensity and violence exponentially, but I am being conservative in this post) increase in intensity and violence and all too often end in the death of the woman, plus anyone unfortunate enough to be around her at the moment!

As a matter of fact, just in the past few weeks an emotionally distraught ex-husband stalked and killed his wife, his children, his wife’s boyfriend, and several of his wife’s friends and relatives across three states!

Next Post:  More on Stalking and Domestic Violence, including intervention programs, stalking countermeasures, and self defense suggestions.

Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer

GAMES PREDATORS PLAY

I have been saying this for years, so why not one more time?  The best way to know what the beast is going to do today is to know what the beast did yesterday.  Ok, cool, you may be thinking, but what’s that mean to me?

Simple.  When we talk self defense, especially for women, about 97% of surviving and/or prevailing against a spontaneous, surprise, deadly, close quarters attack comes down to techniques of prevention and avoidance.  In other words, Dudes and Dudettes, avoiding any attack in the first place.

THE SIX LINEAR STAGES OF SELF DEFENSE

1. Techniques of Self Awareness.
2. Threat Recognition Techniques.
3. Preventive Techniques.
4. Techniques of Avoidance.
5. Escape and Evasion Strategies.
6. Close Quarter Fighting Arts, when everything else fails.

Recognizing that, to many predators, the Art of the Attack is a deadly game they love to play, is a big part of Techniques of Avoidance/Prevention goes a long way toward totally avoiding any meaningful contact with a predator.  So, for the purpose of this post, let’s look at some Games (Sexual and) Violent Predators Play:

HELP WANTED ADS.

Many predators are hip to the “Maternal- Help Instincts” of the potential victims whom they have sized up and maybe even stalked for some time.  Thousands of women and children have been sucked in by predators wearing casts and struggling with heavy objects.  The predator is a sly, wily animal who knows how to play the role perfectly until it is time to pounce.  Predators know also how to set their victim up in an ideal location so that when they pounce, their victim is isolated and at a distinct disadvantage.

REFUSAL TO ACCEPT “NO!”

Speaking of “Help Wanted Ads,” the opposite game is even more lethal.  The sexual predator might approach a woman or child who is carrying or maybe struggling with an object and will offer their assistance.  Perhaps the predator will even be dressed nicely and will act with kindness and consideration.  The number one fact that the potential victim must always remember is I don’t even know this guy, which should kick off the natural gut instinct that something is messed up here.  If you are wise, you will always nicely but firmly refuse this person’s offer of help.  The trick is for the “victim” to understand is a normal man/person will always back off and go on his way.  However, the predator will most likely refuse to honor your refusal.  He will insist on helping you and might even follow his target (the potential victim) toward his or her car, house or apartment and insist on helping you.  What he is hoping for is to break down the resistance well enough for her to allow him to help her.  In some actual cases, the woman dropped one of her bags or had trouble picking up one of the objects and the “beast” grabbed it and helped the woman up a flight of stairs, promising all the while to leave the bag outside her door and go on his way.  Turned out to be a fatal lie.

THE GRATITUDE AND GUILT GUN.

You may have already heard tell of this one.  A lone woman in a shopping mall parking lot found that one of her tires was flat.  Along came a man carrying an attaché case.  He was nice looking, articulate and kind, and he gently offered to fix her flat tire.  The woman, who considered herself unable to fix the flat, accepted the man’s offer, and, after laying his attaché on her car roof, removed his suit jacket and proceeded to fix the tire.  The woman thanked the man profusely and offered him money, which he declined.  “However,” he said, “my car is all the way on the other side of the mall and I really would appreciate it if you could drive me over there—“

This Game (I call The Gratitude and Guilt Gun Game) almost always works, based upon the age-old human instincts of gratitude for a service rendered, usually a service that is crucial to the victim, and the pangs of guilt that accompany the potential victim’s gut/survival instincts that raise the hair on the back of the victim’s neck and scream in his or her ears to “Get the Hell Out of Here Now!  In this case, however, the woman obeyed her Gut Instincts, which, by the way, are never wrong!  She apologized to the gentleman but stated that she never goes anywhere with a stranger, especially in a car.

Long story short, turns out that Mall Security drove by at that second and the man walked away leaving his case on her roof.  When security checked the case they found a knife, razors, duct tape, a blindfold and a rope. 

Trust your Gut Instincts and follow some of my Tough Target Rules to defeat these Deadly Predator Games.

Next Post.  More Games and Tough Target Strategies.

Until then.  Stay safe.

Hammer

THE INTERVIEW

Almost every attack begins with The Interview.  Which is when the attacker does three things:

• Makes his or her final decision that you are his or her ideal victim.
• Uses words to distract you.  Maybe a simple question, a request, but the intent is toxic, maybe deadly:  To get you looking away, at something else, to split your mind and body away from the moment.
• To built the ground he needs to propel him into you for the attack/

I say, then, that, since that is the case, we need to prepare ourselves for The Interview, maybe even more than we need to get ourselves ready to fight.  Maybe, if we can survive The Interview, we can evade and escape the inevitable attack. 

Ok, then, how do we do that?

• Step 1: Get Our Heads Straight!  Think like a Tough Target.  Realize that you don’t know this person and that he/she is talking to you like he/she definitely knows you. 
• Step 2:  Refuse or Say “No!”  Make it clear you do not want to be “interviewed.”  Take a step back and get into a ready stance (hold your purse like a weapon; give him/her a Felony Stare, your power foot back).  If you refuse, or say “no!” and she/he refuses to back off or desist, you know you are dealing with an attacker.  Normal people know how to take “no!” for an answer.
• Step 3:  Always Control Your Space.  Sure as I am sitting here in my skivvies, the attacker will follow up The Interview by invading your personal space.  State clearly:  “Stay Back!”
• Step 4:  Nearest Weapon, Nearest Target.  This really is not Step 4.  This should be done as soon as the potential attacker begins The Interview.  Make certain your hands are positioned correspondent to where his or her hands are.  If and when his/her hands move, so do yours.  Remember:  Wherever the other person’s hands are is the Nearest Weapon, which means whatever of your body parts are correspondent to those hands is your Nearest Target.  Protect that target and you will send a subconscious message to the other person that you are ready.
• Step 5:  BE WILLING.  If you’ve been following my blog, you probably know already that it is more important to be willing than it is to be able.  Therefore, make your decision now what you (are willing to) are going to do.

      IF IT IS FIGHTING YOU DECIDE TO DO - 

Ø     Breathe Tactically.

Ø     Take the Fight to the Interviewer First.  Put the element of surprise in your corner; get him or her on the backs of his feet.

Ø     Or. Counterattack early and often.

IF IT IS NOTHING YOU DECIDE TO DO.

Good Luck, and, until next time, Stay Safe!

Hammer

PREDATOR BE GONE, PART III- Principles Of Avoidance

The S.H.A.R.P. (Sexual Harassment Assault and Rape Prevention) Principles of Avoidance chapter is pretty extensive, so I’m going to cut it down a bit.  The key, once again, is to understand that you can avoid sexual predators about 98% of the time by adhering to the simple principles I have detailed in this and the last two posts.  Ninety-eight per cent is pretty sweet, I think you will agree.  And in my fourth post on the subject I will discuss what to do if the other 2% goes down.

There are 3 Principles of Avoidance:  Know Your Limitations; Control the Environment and Control Your Fear. 

1. KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS applies to understanding your personal strengths and weaknesses.  A key issue is Physical Appearance.  Your physical appearance is often the most important factor leading to you being either selected or rejected as a victim.  Fact is, gender, height, weight, apparent strength and fitness, and age play a major role in you being selected or not.  If you read my last post (June 6) and note the segment on recreating yourself into a Tough Target, you can almost guarantee that you will not be selected based on your physical appearance! 

An extension of physical appearance is voice pitch and an ability to maintain a calm, but authoritative tone.  Voice tone and pitch can quickly communicate your confidence (or, of course, anxiety) within seconds of first encountering an assailant.

1. CONTROL THE ENVIRONMENT should not be taken literally, but it means simply that you need to understand how and when to avoid the environment entirely, and how to use the environment, if and when you do enter, as an advantage to help you escape to help you retreat, or, if necessary, prevail.  For the sake of brevity, I’ll sum up the guidelines:

1.  
   • Check Out the Outside of the Environment Before Entering.  Look for unsavory people/person eyeballing you, etc.  Is the establishment you are thinking of entering appear to be isolated, difficult from which to escape?
   • Check Out the Inside of the Establishment Before Going Too Deep.  Stop, look and Listen.  Trust Your Gut Feelings about the place (could be an elevator, also).  Assess the people/person occupying the place.  Is the place going to be difficult from which to retreat?  Do/does the people/person appear to be hostile?
   • Identify Barricades:  If you must enter this questionable environment, identify furniture  and other objects which can be used to place/throw between you and an assailant.  If you have to move tactically or run, certain objects can be thrown at the assailant’s feet to slow him down.

1. CONTROL YOUR FEAR.  You need to understand that the phenomenon of fear is closely associated with how you mentally prepare yourself for the possibility of defending yourself against an assailant.  Yes, the Survival Psyche, or Mental Conditioning, when we come down to the bottom line, often is what will determine your fate.  The world is a circle, and, so, my friends, is the element of survival.  If you followed my posts, you know I believe that 98% of survival is awareness, preparation and avoidance.  Failing those keys elements, though, you are going through life oblivious to people and circumstances surrounding you.

Surprise and Shock, then, will be your dominant mental and physical reaction to a spontaneous, close quarter attack (an attack you would have detected long before it became spontaneous and close-quarter combat) Here’s the thing:  when you become surprised or startled by an unexpected threat perception, fear manifests and activates your Sympathetic Nervous System, which, means, when that happens to your unprepared mind, to put it as succinctly and as bluntly as possible, you are indeed screwed!

Ø        Under SNS you will lose your ability to make life preserving decisions.  More likely than not, you will freeze in place, be unable to move tactically, and whatever moves you do make will be guided by irrational thoughts!

Ø        Under SNS your eyesight and ability to hear will be diminished.

Ø        Your heart rate and respiration will increase greatly and so will the element of panic.

Ø        Your physical actions will be those of a true victim, which is why the predator who is attacking you chose you in the first place.

Ø        ARE YOU GETTING THE IDEA?

Bottom Line:  When you are mentally prepared for anything, surprise is a limited possibility.  But even when “surprise” happens, you are ready for it, and, therefore, you are in control of your fear!

In Part 4, we discuss what to do when the Bad Guy has you cornered.

Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer

PART II.  PREVENTION PSYCHOLOGY AMD PRINCIPLES OF AVOIDANCE (PREDATOR BE GONE).

So, what do you think?  In my last post (Part I. June 5), I asked you to think about how you might avoid the predator altogether, understanding that prevention, preparation, practice and avoidance comprised over 98% of successful self defense, and considering the Predator Profile I discussed.  You might could want to compare your thoughts with mine.

The important thing, though, is you start thinking about the subject.  That in itself is a huge step toward not only avoiding the evil bastard, but even prevailing if or ever you do confront him.

1. Develop A Prevention Mindset.  Albeit obvious and common sense, this is a giant first step. It is important that you always remember that in a real life or death crisis, common sense is the rarest of commodities.  So never minimize a principle because it is one of those Duhh Thingees.

1.  
   • The 4 A’s are the foundation of your Prevention Mindset. 
   • Awareness:  At all times be aware of what and who is around you; be aware of subtle changes in your surroundings, including yourself and others. 
   • Assess:  Assess means that at all times you should assess that what you have observed.  Ask yourself what does that person’s body language tell me?  Why is he eyeballing me?  What are my Gut Instincts telling me?  What barricades, barriers and potential/improvised weapons are in my environment that can help me escape and evade?

1.  
   • Anticipate:  You can Spinal Tune your mind and your body to work as a powerful unit to help you escape, evade, and even overcome an assailant by asking yourself “What would I do, if such and such happened?”  Have a Plan of Action and maybe even a Plan B.

1.  
   • Action.  Trust me, Dudettes, by assessing, being aware, and anticipating, you Spinal Tune yourself to the point you can and will spring into action at your earliest chance once danger appears in the form of your assailant.  Just as important, by adopting this Prevention Psychology, you will most likely become aware there is a Bad Guy lurking like a shark.  Stalking you.

1.  
   • Become a Hard Target.  What I just noted in the above paragraph is no trivial concept.  The great majority of victims never are aware they are being marked (all predators mark, or select, their victims by virtue of how that animal carries itself), stalked, and tested until it is too late!  By making yourself into a Hard Target you will have discouraged almost any and every potential assailant in your zip code.

1.  
   • How Do I Recreate Myself Into A Hard Target?

Pretty simple recreation formula, actually:

Ø        Assess/Anticipate/Awareness.

Ø        Profile the Attacker:  Simply by being aware of a predator and his “games,” you will have “busted the bastard.”  99 + % of assailants will back off once they are busted.

Ø        Look at the assailant when he is sizing you up.  Size him up and look disgusted.  Be a good “witness.”  Take note of what he is wearing, color hair, eyes, etc.

Ø        EXAMINE YOUR CLOTHING FOR ESCAPE OR DEFENSE POSSIBILITIES.

Ø        DO NOT ENTER ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE OBVIOUSLY UNSAFE WHEN POSSIBLE (Future Post:  How to deal with unsafe environments).

Ø        CONSTANTLY BE ALERT FOR ANYONE WHO SEEMS TO BE PAYING “TOO MUCH” ATTENTION AND/OR FOLLOWING YOU.

Ø        STAY IN “HIGH WITNESS AREAS” WHEN POSSIBLE.

Ø        ALWAYS BE AWARE OF POINTS OF ESCAPE.

Ø        ALWAYS MAINTAIN YOUR PERSONAL SAFE ZONE (PSZ).  ALWAYS “CONTROL YOUR SPACE.

Ø        HAVE AN ASSERTIVE/CONFRONTATIONAL VERBAL RESPONSE PREPARED PRIOR TO THE ASSAAILANT INVADING YOUR PSZ.

   HAVE A PHYSICAL PLAN OF ACTION AND DECIDE YOU ARE WILLING TO USE IT!

PART III.  We talk about some Principle of Avoidance and in Part IV we talk about what to do if the assailant has you cornered.  Cool Stuff, I promise.

Until Then, of course.  Stay Safe.

HAMMER

PPCT S.H.A.R.P. PREVENTION PSYCHOLOGY AND

PRINCIPLES OF AVOIDANCE.  PART I.

I was talking with a real estate agent the other day and our discussion got me to thinking about several agents in my area (Northampton, Lehigh, Bucks Counties in Pennsylvania) who were stalked, set up and either raped and/or killed since the 1980’s.  Got me to thinking about some key Principles of Prevention and Avoidance, which are an integral part of my PPCT SHARP (Pressure Point Control Tactics Sexual Harassment Assault and Rape Prevention) Training Seminars.

Heck, since I got myself thinking about it, why not post it?  Problem is, there are so many variegated but cogent segments of the Prevention Psychology and the Principles of Avoidance that we’re going to have to examine the issues in several sequential posts.  I hope you’re game enough to hang in there for them, Dudettes.

FIRST, A BRIEF EXAMINATION OF THE PREDATOR PROFILE.

Might be a good idea to better understand how the predator  operates.  Once you get that, the principles might make more sense.  Leastwise, that’s the Game Plan:

1. The predator will establish ideal hunting grounds and find a casual looking surveillance point.

Ø       If he is in a shopping mall, he may sit close to a store that caters exclusively to women.

Ø       He may also set up in a position that is close to an exit that is rarely used save for store employees.

Ø       More likely than not, the predator will select as his ideal hunting grounds, surveillance points near or make contact with women working in or patronizing:  Laundromats; Child Care Centers; Real Estate Agencies; Hospitals; Convenience Stores; Nurseries, you name it.

Ø       Clever Miscreant Bastards, for sure.  One of the more violent men I supervised on state parole back in the 80’s, would look for real estate ads in the paper, call the agencies and respond to the ad.  When he reached a woman agent, which was almost every time, he would arrange a meet.  If the woman refused to meet alone, which almost never happened, he would not show for the meet.  However, when he did meet with the women, he would appear excited about purchasing the property, but ask for a second meeting in a more isolated situation and then rape the woman.  Or, worse–

1. He will begin following you if you are in a public environment and begin to ascertain if you are  an easy target.

1. The predator will follow you by matching your walking pace.

1. Before the predator makes contact, he will look around for witnesses.

1. He will look for a location in which to ambush you with low witness visibility to avoid unexpected witnesses.

1. Immediately before the attack, he will quickly enter your personal safety zone (PSZ).

And, yes, there are other nuances and details I am omitting, but I hope you get the general idea.  And here is how we are going to proceed from here:

·        Review the predator sequence here.

·        Think about the 6 strategies a bit and give some thought to what strategies you might use to avoid the assailant.

·        Ninety-eight % of successful self defense is prevention and avoidance (and preparation), so, if you can adopt a good prevention strategy, you are home free.

·        Well, almost—-

·        There is that pesky other 2% of situations where you simply are careless, pre-occupied, or, simply taken by surprise.  It happens to armed and highly trained police officers and soldiers.  It can happen to you.

·        Question is:  The predator does stalk you to an isolated environment and does invade your PSZ.  Your final assignment:  What do you do in that scenario?

All Will Be Answered In Due Time.

Until Then.  Stay Safe.

Hammer

PART II:  STOPPING THE ACTIVE SHOOTER BEFORE HE CAN LIGHT YOU UP.

Of course you realize that, even if you follow my tips on how to tell an assailant is carrying a concealed weapon (May 28^th’s Post), you still have a splendid chance of getting shot up pretty good.  And here’s some more terrific news:  Even if you are carrying your own concealed firearm – even if it is already in your hand and your finger is on the trigger – you still can end up on the receiving end of a speeding bullet.

All depends.

All depends on who has the mental edge.  Who has that steely determination in his or her mind – you know, that inexorable Action Plan  - that, no matter what happens, I will unleash Hell at anything or anyone who is stupid enough to stand in my way.

Okay.  Point for the Bad Guy.

All depends on who acts first.  All depends who has the bigger stake on coming out on top.

Two points for the Good Guy.  Why?  I ask you, who has a bigger stake in coming out on top than you, the security specialist, or the worker who has the safety of possibly hundreds of workers in his or her hands? 

So, what it comes down to is who acts first.  It always does.  So, what it comes down to, in order to respond before the Bad Guy is to:

1.      Have a Workplace Plan.  Just like a Fire Drill, managers and workers should at least have a discussion about what they all should do if a shootist should happen in to the job site.  More likely than not, they should actually act out The Plan at least once or twice.  Maybe even act out a realistic scenario.  Sounds far out?  Not really.  I have led such scenarios at one of our area’s schools.  What should everyone do if an Active Shooter has already begun to spray rounds inside the school and he attempts to enter your “locked down” classroom (see one of my next two blogs for my suggestions).

2.      Have your own Action Plan.  In the end it is going to be up to you.  Would be folly of the highest sort to depend upon others to Save the Day.  After all, who knows your environment?  That’s right, Dog.  You. 

DISARMING THE ACTIVE SHOOTER

·         In many cases, do what the shooter tells you to do.  If she/he has not started firing yet, there probably is something he wants from you, others.  The more time that passes, the better your chances are that you can resolve his issues.  Even if not, the more time that passes, the better the chances that help will arrive, or, more likely, adrenaline will do its thing.  Especially after about 2 minutes.

·         Look For Distractionary Windows.  After two minutes the gun will begin to feel heavy in the shooter’s hand, he will experience what I call Shifting Focus.  His eyes will wander, his focus will diffuse.

·         Try To Establish Relative Distance.  Keep talking to the Active Shooter. Ask questions to attempt to learn what it is he wants.  As you talk, attempt to move in within 6 feet, which is the Relative Distance you will require to disarm him/her.

·         ACT NOW!  If you are still alive and you see a Distractionary Window, this is the best time to:

1.       Move the Target and Parry the Weapon.  You are the target.  Step with your left foot and blade your body at the same time while striking the wrist/forearm holding the gun with your left hand.  Action will always be faster than reaction, so trust me when I say you will be able to do this before he can pull the trigger.

2.       Secure the Gun.  Step 1 will move the gun and gun hand away from you, but, believe me, now that the shooter realizes what has happened, the gun is moving back toward you.  Now take your free hand and bring it palm up underneath the muzzle and grab it.  Your left hand is already in position, so bring it down, over the rear sight.  You now have the Catcher’s Mitt Grip solidly latched onto the gun.

3.       STRIP THE GUN OUT OF THE SHOOTER’S GRIP. 

·         Pull the gun and your Catcher’s Mitt Grip in to your center (close to your abdomen).  This is where you are strongest.  If the Bad Guy is so much stronger than you that you cannot pull the gun in to you, step in to the gun.

·         Make sure your strong hand (right in this scenario; left if you are lefthanded). Is under the muzzle.  Now keep the gun close to your center and simply strip it by driving the muzzle across the Bad Guy’s torso – the muzzle should actually face the Bad Guy’s stomach as it turns – until the shooter has to let it go because his trigger finger has broken and the force of your body is too much for his grip to bear.

·         Once you have stripped the gun, I suggest you strike him or her with it in the face. Knock him or her out with the gunbefore he or she can reclaim the weapon.

·         And, if you are thinking, Heck, I couldn’t do this without some training, you are probably right.  A good Disruptive Student Management course would do wonders.

Next Post.  Your Workplace Plan.

Until then.  Stay Safe.

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

May 7, 2009

BULLY BE GONE, PART 3.

This is for those beautiful children and young adults who are prey to bullies, either on school grounds, in their neighborhoods, and even at home when they turn on their computers, check their text messages, answer the phone.  Relentlessly.  Yes, relentlessly, for they are victimized again and again in their dreams and in their racing thoughts as they head to and from school. “Oh, God, will it happen again today?  When?  How?”

And, hopefully, this is also for the few parents – maybe even a lone teacher or two -  who might read this and decide to be their child’s/student’s Safety Coach.  Who will get involved, give support and maybe coach the child on a few Bully-Be-Gone Escape and Evasion Techniques.

BULLY BE GONE ESCAPE AND EVASION TECHNIQUES

Just a little preamble here, folks.  In most situations, when we talk self defense against bullies, we speak more in terms of Escape and Evasion than knocking the bully out of the box.  In most cases, the bully is just another kid on the school grounds, and we simply want to put him in his place and deny him or her the right to make us the victim.  There are situations, though, when the bully is much larger, maybe even an adult, perhaps there are multiple attackers, and the consequences for losing might be catastrophic.  Then we go with pure self defense and I will talk about that in a future post.

1.       PASS THE “TEST.”  Almost every bully precedes the attack with a verbal or non-verbal test.  The Test is nothing more than a Distraction Technique designed to weaken the victim by asking questions, etc. and breaking the victim’s focus.  The test also involves a threat, which almost always precedes an attack.  The Target (the victim) should:

·     Mirror Calm.  This is a practiced art.  Rehearse being cool under pressure.  Basically appear bored, but keep your eyes on him.

·     Use Humor:  Part of the test might be to ridicule how you look, etc.  “Thanks, man, that’s exactly the look I was going for.”

2.       ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN OF ACTION.  The Plan should include movement..  Try to keep at least 5’ distance from the bully.  That means he/she will have to take at least one step before he/she can hit you.  The tendency is to freeze and hold one’s breath, which adds to one’s panic.  Move, breathe and think, baby.  A Plan of Action makes good sense since the “victim” is already fretting about the next time he will get bullied, he or she might as well spend that time thinking positive, proactive thoughts about exactly what he or she will do to escape and evade.

3.       CREATE AUTOMATIC DECISION POINTS.  Since fear and/or panic usually freezes the victim when tested, what about creating some clear points when he or she will act when the bully tests in one or more of the following ways:

Ø       The Bully Threatens the Victim.  The bully is ramping him/herself up for the coming attack.

Ø       The Bully Boldly Enters the Victim’s Personal Safety Zone (PSZ – 3’).  A golden rule of Escape & Evasion is to always control your space.  The Intended Victim must tell the Bully to “Stay Back!”  A “normal” person would stop right then and there and even step back.  But the cocky Bully willkeep on coming.  The “IV (Intended Victim)” knows right then and there that an attack is coming! 

Ø       The Bully Pokes the “IV” in the Chest with a Finger.  This is an “Automatic Decision Point.”  The Bully is “testing the waters,” and, if the “IV” does nothing, he or she is telling the Bully “the water’s fine; c’mon in.”  If the IV does zip, you better believe, Dog,  a punch is coming.

Ø       The Bully Shoves the “IV.”  A shove is followed by a punch 95% of the time.  You do the math.

4.       MOVE AND DISTRACT:  Now that you know the ADP’s (Automatic Decision Points), it is up to you what to do.  You know something evil your way comes; the question is what to do. First thing I would try is to move (Try the J-Step) and distract.  If there are people around, I might say, “Hey, Tommy,” and look in the “invisible Tommy’s” direction, and, when the Bully looks in that direction. “Open His Door” and walk through it, leaving the bully standing there, looking like an idiot.

Ø       About The J-Step:  The J-Step is a simple move where the youngster keeps his lead foot in the same spot and moves his or her rearward foot back and toward the inside, forming an invisible “J.”  This move effectively gains distance and evades any charge by the bully.  Give it a try.

Ø       About Opening the Bully’s Door.  The “IV” places his or her strong hand on the bully’s elbow and quickly pulls that elbow – as if it were a door knob – across his or her (the “IV’s) body.  The elbow is a balance point, and, if it is done quickly, the bully will be swept off balance and will be easily moved away from the IV.

Ø       About “Rocking the Bully’s Door.”  If the bully suspects he is about to be moved when you grab his elbow and widens his stance, making himself harder to move quickly, no problem.  Use the idiot’s own strength against him and “rotate around the pole (use the strong arm as if it were a stationary pole and simply use the pole to propel you past him).”

In the next post we will complete the formula for escaping and evading the bully.  Look for Part 4 of Bully Be Gone.

Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer 

DEFUSE DISRUPTIVE COWORKERS

 PART III

What do we know this far about my “D.E.F.U.S.E.” acronym in relationship to defusing disruptive subjects who are spiraling toward violence?  (See my last several posts for more specifics)

Don’t lose your cool; Depersonalize; Deflect and Depreciate the verbal icon.

Encourage the Subject to vent and Ego suspension.

Now, let’s complete the DEFUSE formula.

Find Out the Facts.  Incorporated within the “F” component are several principles or strategies.  Allow me to amplify.

• Clear your mind of all assumptions and/or prejudices about the subject.  Don’t rush into a confrontation loaded for bear because of what you might assume or think because of your feelings about the worker, or because of his/her past actions.  Make your mind like clear water (mizu no kikoro).  As I said in my last post, when you roil the “waters” with emotions, you can not see to the bottom of the lake.  The flip side of that coin is, of course, clearing yourself of emotions (prejudices, assumptions, etc) allows you to see clear to the bottom of the problem.
• Change the person’s mental focus.  Asking questions is an art, an art that can change the mental channel of the aggressor.  I have seen an artful question actually stop an emotionally disturbed patient dead in his tracks.  In order to answer a question the person must stop, think, maybe even turn inward to try to come up with an answer, even a dishonest answer.  I really don’t care what the answer is when I ask a question in a confrontational skirmish.  I just want the attacker to stop for a second; I just want to cause a chasm between his brain and his body.  By splitting his or her focus, in effect, you are weakening his capability of carrying out an attack.
• To Learn Crucial Facts.  Just that.  Ask questions of not only the worker, but others on the scene.  “What exactly happened?”  Why did it happen?”  Are there any weapons?”

Understand Feelings.  You don’t have to agree with what the worker must be feeling, but it is very important that you demonstrate that you understand.  Show empathy and you cross the aggresive worker’s experiences and feelings and take a big step toward de-escalating him or her.

Slow Everything Down and Suggest Solutions.  I think the crucial principle you should take from this component is not to rush into any confrontation.  By slowing things down you allow yourself time to think, which effectively allows your Neo Cortex, or Intelligent Brain, to help you resolve the crisis.  When we speed things up our brain perceives it hasn’t the time to analyze and evaluate the problem, resulting in our Primitive Brain taking over.  Never a good thing in a sensitive and explosive scenario.  Slow down how you walk, your speech, your movements.  If I could identify one factor that has caused the death or injury of many officers it would be trying to speed up or rush his tactics.

End on a Positive Note. 

Until next time, Stay Safe.

Hammer