Action Against Violence

A COUPLE postings ago I pointed out that there are three principles of managing aggressive job-site behavior.  I’ve already discussed Know the (Aggressive) Student.  Might as well talk up the other two:  Know the Environment and Know Onesself.

MAKES SENSE, doesn’t it?  These principles go hand-in-hand with the primal safety principles I teach in my self defense and subject control training programs.  Namely the 4 A’s:  Assess (the environment, other people and oneself); Aware (of the environment, subtle and obvious changes, etc.); Anticipate (at every opportunity, ask oneself What If?  What would I do, if this or that went down, and, importantly, formulating a Plan of Action before the dangerous scenario exploded in one’s face), and, finally, Take Action. 

THE important thing about the TAKE ACTION component of this safety paradigm is that Taking Action is only likely if the worker performed the other A’s before the need for it actually arose.  In other words, by being aware, assessing oneself and one’s surrounding, and anticipating what one would do, if and when a worse case scenario occurred, the worker is actually taking the required steps to not only engage his or her Intelligent Brain (the Neo Cortex), but to create the necessary nexus, or connection, of the brain – our most important weapon, by the way – with our Motor Skills Operational Center.

If you have been paying attention to past posts, you probably already know that being un-aware, failing to assess, and giving no thought to what one would do if an un-anticipated, close quarter attack occurred would most likely result in a short-circuiting of the necessary, conventional circuit our brain makes when it perceives a threat to one’s safety, resulting in a teacher relying only on his/her Primitive Brain to resolve a crisis of violence.

KNOW THE ENVIRONMENT.  A few of the elements of the environment that could help resolve a critical incident in the workplace(doesn’t have to be violence, either.  Could be a fire, a medical crisis, anything).

• Possible escape routes to allow a person to escape, and, in some cases, to allow others to evacuate.
• Doors and points of entry that can be blocked or locked down.
• Furniture and other stationary or semi-stationary objects that can be used as barriers or barricades to allow a person to put distance between him/her and an aggressor.
• Movable objects and furniture that can be thrown to stop or delay an attackers advance.
• Things and/or people that can be removed from the environment that can lower the stress level.
• Potential weapons in the environment that can be removed prior to an incident (check out your desk area)., or, as an incident is developing (scissors, paper weights, letter openers, staple guns, et al).  Also, weapons and barricades that the worker can use to delay the advance of an aggressor, or even counter-assault an attacker (umbrella, cell phone, attaché or briefcase, et al.).
• Cell phones or other emergency devices that can be used to seek assistance, police, etc.
• Cut and Herd:  A Verbal Judo term for separating the aggressor(s) from the other workers.  Aggressors often feed off the crowd.  More on Cut and Herd in another post.

KNOW ONESSELF is likely the most important defusing principle of the three.  After all, the worker is the only person or element in a crisis that one can exert real control over.  And, truly, the first and most important task one must perform when things are going south is to Defuse Her or Himself Now! 

And, while defusing oneself is crucial, that endeavor should start long before a critical incident starts.  How can a worker defuse her or himself before a crisis?

·        Identify one’s strengths and weaknesses.  Be honest.  What people do you avoid because you fear you cannot handle?  Work on those weaknesses.

·        Identify your triggers!  What are the buttons that can easily be pushed?  If you aint identifying your buttons, someone else is!  I guarantee it.

·        Put A Trigger Guard On those buttons.  Always.  Tell oneself over and over that if and when (Anticipate) an aggressor tests you, you will Cycle Breathe (last post) and not be bothered.  After a while – trust me – the trigger will be a trigger never more.  Matter of fact – and this has happened to me, ‘cause, Dear Readers, I have me sooooo many triggers – once you really and honestly work with your triggers, you will smile when some nimrod tries to push your button, and you will think to yourself, Hey, Ace, there goes another one of those Triggers.  I can’t believe that used to actually bother me.”

·        Cycle Breathe and Slow It Down.  We talked about the importance of breathing tactically and propelling oxygenated blood into the brain.  The crucial thing is to get your breathing housed in your abdominal area rather than the chest.  Without getting too technical here, chest breathing is always shallow, superficial, and tends to be panic-driven in a bad situation, while abdominally-housed breathing is always deep and rhythmic, and, combined with other actions to defuse oneself, lead to an effective and tactical coordination between the brain (Mental Conditioning) and the body.  Also, it is my belief that “every mistake in self defense and subject control can be traced back, in some way, to the idea of rushing into action.  Of trying to get the job done now, before the element of fear can take over—“  As over-simplistic as it sounds, please, just—

·        Relax, Slow It Down, and Let Your Brain, the Greatest Weapon On Earth, Do Its Job.

Hammer

A COUPLE postings ago I pointed out that there are three principles of managing aggressive job-site behavior.  I’ve already discussed Know the (Aggressive) Student.  Might as well talk up the other two:  Know the Environment and Know Onesself.

MAKES SENSE, doesn’t it?  These principles go hand-in-hand with the primal safety principles I teach in my self defense and subject control training programs.  Namely the 4 A’s:  Assess (the environment, other people and oneself); Aware (of the environment, subtle and obvious changes, etc.); Anticipate (at every opportunity, ask oneself What If?  What would I do, if this or that went down, and, importantly, formulating a Plan of Action before the dangerous scenario exploded in one’s face), and, finally, Take Action. 

THE important thing about the TAKE ACTION component of this safety paradigm is that Taking Action is only likely if the worker performed the other A’s before the need for it actually arose.  In other words, by being aware, assessing oneself and one’s surrounding, and anticipating what one would do, if and when a worse case scenario occurred, the worker is actually taking the required steps to not only engage his or her Intelligent Brain (the Neo Cortex), but to create the necessary nexus, or connection, of the brain – our most important weapon, by the way – with our Motor Skills Operational Center.

If you have been paying attention to past posts, you probably already know that being un-aware, failing to assess, and giving no thought to what one would do if an un-anticipated, close quarter attack occurred would most likely result in a short-circuiting of the necessary, conventional circuit our brain makes when it perceives a threat to one’s safety, resulting in a teacher relying only on his/her Primitive Brain to resolve a crisis of violence.

KNOW THE ENVIRONMENT.  A few of the elements of the environment that could help resolve a critical incident in the workplace(doesn’t have to be violence, either.  Could be a fire, a medical crisis, anything).

• Possible escape routes to allow a person to escape, and, in some cases, to allow others to evacuate.
• Doors and points of entry that can be blocked or locked down.
• Furniture and other stationary or semi-stationary objects that can be used as barriers or barricades to allow a person to put distance between him/her and an aggressor.
• Movable objects and furniture that can be thrown to stop or delay an attackers advance.
• Things and/or people that can be removed from the environment that can lower the stress level.
• Potential weapons in the environment that can be removed prior to an incident (check out your desk area)., or, as an incident is developing (scissors, paper weights, letter openers, staple guns, et al).  Also, weapons and barricades that the worker can use to delay the advance of an aggressor, or even counter-assault an attacker (umbrella, cell phone, attaché or briefcase, et al.).
• Cell phones or other emergency devices that can be used to seek assistance, police, etc.
• Cut and Herd:  A Verbal Judo term for separating the aggressor(s) from the other workers.  Aggressors often feed off the crowd.  More on Cut and Herd in another post.

KNOW ONESSELF is likely the most important defusing principle of the three.  After all, the worker is the only person or element in a crisis that one can exert real control over.  And, truly, the first and most important task one must perform when things are going south is to Defuse Her or Himself Now! 

And, while defusing oneself is crucial, that endeavor should start long before a critical incident starts.  How can a worker defuse her or himself before a crisis?

·        Identify one’s strengths and weaknesses.  Be honest.  What people do you avoid because you fear you cannot handle?  Work on those weaknesses.

·        Identify your triggers!  What are the buttons that can easily be pushed?  If you aint identifying your buttons, someone else is!  I guarantee it.

·        Put A Trigger Guard On those buttons.  Always.  Tell oneself over and over that if and when (Anticipate) an aggressor tests you, you will Cycle Breathe (last post) and not be bothered.  After a while – trust me – the trigger will be a trigger never more.  Matter of fact – and this has happened to me, ‘cause, Dear Readers, I have me sooooo many triggers – once you really and honestly work with your triggers, you will smile when some nimrod tries to push your button, and you will think to yourself, Hey, Ace, there goes another one of those Triggers.  I can’t believe that used to actually bother me.”

·        Cycle Breathe and Slow It Down.  We talked about the importance of breathing tactically and propelling oxygenated blood into the brain.  The crucial thing is to get your breathing housed in your abdominal area rather than the chest.  Without getting too technical here, chest breathing is always shallow, superficial, and tends to be panic-driven in a bad situation, while abdominally-housed breathing is always deep and rhythmic, and, combined with other actions to defuse oneself, lead to an effective and tactical coordination between the brain (Mental Conditioning) and the body.  Also, it is my belief that “every mistake in self defense and subject control can be traced back, in some way, to the idea of rushing into action.  Of trying to get the job done now, before the element of fear can take over—“  As over-simplistic as it sounds, please, just—

·        Relax, Slow It Down, and Let Your Brain, the Greatest Weapon On Earth, Do Its Job.

Hammer

As I talked about in my last post, there are simple ways to stop professional harassment (in and around the work place).  Personal harassment is a little tougher since you don’t have anyone to turn to – like a supervisor in an office setting – to leverage the harasser to cease and desist.  Still, most personal harassment can be neutralized with a change in your personal demeanor and by communicating an attitude of I don’t have time for your crap (makes more sense if you read my last post)!

But, like all things self defense, psychological and social remedies don’t always do the trick.  Some situations require quick, decisive and unarbitrary (is that a word?) solutions.  Not only that, there are many job-related harassment-scenarios which are not in a “safe” setting where a woman can turn to a supervisor to leverage a harasser to stop the insanity.  What about nurses, social workers, and others who regularly make home visits; female probation officers, child welfare officers, etc., also on home visits?  Those and many others often face what I call Passive Assaults, which could be “harmless” sexual harassment gone out of control.  What follows are 3 Types of Passive Assaults along with some suggestions on how to physically Escape and Evade potential danger in each case:

1. Passive Intimidation usually occurs in the workplace and involves a man standing close to a woman with the intent of either forcing her to rub up against him or block her movement, including egress.  This often takes place in an isolated environment and/or an office area where the woman has to bend over to retrieve files, etc.  In this situation, I suggest the woman to ask the man to please move or stand back, etc.  Assuming this tactic fails, the woman should place her hand closest to the moron on his closest shoulder and place her outside hand on his hip.  Gently apply double pressure downward at a 45 degree angle- either causing his hip and shoulder to open up, or pull both joints toward you – and, oila his gate will open up – I guarantee it – and the woman should immediately walk through and gain as much distance as possible.  I suggest the woman should use another verbal command – “C’mon, man, step back!”  Why gently, you may ask.  The technique works best when the Bad Guy is moved before he even knows he is being moved.  Otherwise he can widen his stance to prevent the techniques from working, and, of course, there is always the chance he will escalate into a physical assault.
2. Flirtatious Contact often occurs in and around the work site, but can also take place in many advantageous (to the Bad Guy) personal situations.  Flirtatious Contact may involve unwanted touching or even palming the woman’s lapel, shoulder, thigh, etc.  Obviously, left unchecked, this type of harassment can easily escalate to serious sexual contact, maybe worse.  Resolving this physically is simple, but it is not easy to describe (briefly) in writing.  The Inverted Finger Lock is a modified joint lock that facilitates escaping by hyperextending the fingers.  Using the example of a Bad Guy who reaches toward a woman’s lapel, the technique involves “handshaking” the middle two finger then twisting the fingers so that the idiot’s palm is facing skyward.  Now, elevate the controlled two fingers and hand toward the Bad Guy’s shoulder.  Trust me, we are talking a lot of pain here; add verbal commands to get back, and maybe even aided by a sharp Front Kick with the toe to his lower shin, a safe escape is probable.  The Inverted Finger Lock has been used to escape serious flirtatious contact in movie theaters, barrooms, isolated park benches, et al.
3. Wrist Grabs have the most serious safety implications of all three Passive Assaults.  They can run the continuum from grabbing a wrist simply to delay a friend or lover from walking away to a man grabbing a woman by the wrists in order to drag her into a getaway vehicle or an isolated spot in order to rape her, or worse.  To escape this assault observe in what direction the attacker’s palms are facing.  A palm down grab will feature the “hole” between his thumb and index finger (the weakest area of the bad guy’s hands) will suggest that she blade her hand(s) and simultaneously step back and power her hand(s) up toward her shoulder(s).  To distract and weaken the Bad Guy’s grip, she would be wise to deliver a knee strike or Front Kick (lower shins) just before she blades her wrists and drives her hand(s) toward her shoulder (make your wrists and forearms as narrow as possible by turning both thumbs up, effectively making your wrists as hard as possible to hold).  To escape a palm up Wrist Grab simply widen your stance, step back, blade your hands, and fling your hands toward your knees.  

In each of the above Passive Assaults the intended victim should be prepared to follow-up with strikes and other moves as a countermeasure to the Bad Guy reacting after a successful escape move.  And, finally, a last thought:  For the sake and time and space in this limited venue, I have left out valuable nuances of self defense.  If you are concerned about these and other types of assaults, seek out a good self defense program.  Nothing teaches like direct hands-on instruction.  Contact me if you are interested in taking a PPCT S.H.A.R.P. (Sexual Harassment Assault and Rape Prevention) Instructor Certification training or a good Self Defense For Women program.  I will hook you up, depending upon your location.

Stay Safe.

Hammer

YESTERDAY I polished off two consecutive Sexual Harassment Assault and Rape Prevention Instructor Seminars in Lancaster, Pa., so with that program still humming in my brain, I thought, heck, why not share some tips for any of you who might face the troubling specter of what the SHARP program considers Professional and/or Personal Harassment? 

First things first.  Let me clarify the profile of a victim of  harassment when compared to other victim-types I have written about in past posts. The ideal target of a sexual predator will be what SHARP calls a Passive Personality Type.  She will habitually allow men and women to invade her PSZ (Personal Safety Zone) without protest; she will exhibit a halting, restricted walking style, and she will be woefully unaware of her surroundings, keeping her eyes cast down much of the time.  There are similarities in the victims of Chicken Hawks – adult men who prey on children – and even teenage bullying.  But, when it comes to Professional Harassment, although the passive woman is still the ideal target, often the victim is selected because she appeals to the male (yes, I know women harass, also, but my main concern is almost always Safety and Survival Strategies for Women) harasser.

SHARP describes three other types of woman in relationship to incidences of Personal and Professional Harassment, rapes and assaults.  The Confrontational Type is loud, abrasive, and has no problem with dominating males and females in the workplace.  She is hardly ever chosen as a target for sexual assault or harassment, although she may be assaulted because of her abrasive personality.  The Assertive Personality Type oozes self confidence and self esteem, and although she respects the feelings of others, when it comes to harassment, she responds quickly with an “I don’t have time for the crap.  Get it out of my face now!”  The Defensive Personality is normally non-combative, verbally or physically, by nature.  But, when her back is against the wall, or someone close to her is threatened (children), she will fight back.  Along with the Passive Personality Type, the Defensive Personality may often find herself in the grip of some tedious and stressful situation at work, including, inappropriate and unwanted sexual innuendoes, comments; uninvited comments; lewd and lascivious pictures or posters, and, perhaps most vexing and threatening, uninvited and unwanted touching or flirtatious contact, or maybe even having her movements blocked by a male with the intent of having her touch him, rub up against him, or simply feel intimidated in the workplace.

STOP PROFESSIONAL HARASSMENT NOW!

CORRECTING PROFESSIONAL Harassment should always begin as soon as the harassment starts.  A tactful verbal reprimand immediately following an unwelcome advance will often stop any future behavior.  According to PPCT Management Systems, Inc., the type of verbal reprimand will depend upon where the harassment takes place and from whom the harassment comes.  If this fails, the threat of a complaint to his supervisor may be all that is necessary.  In the event that you must go to the supervisor you may want to make sure that the supervisor understands that he/she must provide a safe and harassment free work environment by law.  Of course, not all (professional) harassment comes in an office setting where there is an obvious chain-of-command to turn to.  I am sure that there are nurses, teachers, airline flight attendants, real estate agents, consultants and anyone who is required to make service call to clients who are seriously harassed yet have no obvious superior to turn to.  For these situations, it is crucial to have an immediate, well thought out response that tactfully put a man in his place without him losing face in the process (a strategy that is almost always overlooked by the Confrontation Personality Type).

PERSONAL HARASSMENT is almost always directed toward a woman who is perceived as a weaker personality and someone who will not defend herself.  This type of male usually takes on the personality of a bully.  Personal harassment is usually directed toward a woman’s personal character and can be much more vexing to deal with.  It comes in the form of verbal needling, belittling in front of others, and usually escalates to verbal and physical threats, which should be handled by law enforcement, by the way.  MANAGING PERSONAL HARASSMENT should begin with a change in a woman’s demeanor.  I know this is hard to do, but, to resolve this, it must be done:

1. Decide you are no longer willing to put up with the abuse.
2. This in effect will change to physical aura to I’ve had enough crap, Dude!
3. Prepare a verbal response which is appropriate for the nature of the verbal assault(s) and the environment in which it occurs.
4. Be aggressive in your response and be prepared not to back down unless you perceive your physical safety is in jeopardy.
5. Remember, the idiot with whom you are dealing is a bully and will not stop the abuse as long as there is resistance.

Next Post:  Physical Safety and Survival (The Fighting Arts) Strategies against Personal and Professional Harassment Gone Too Far (Passive Assaults).  Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer

:

I introduced
the concept of Winology in my opening posting with
true stories about one of my adventures as a state parole agent as well as some
heroism of one of the women from one of my Self Defense For Women classes who
had been violently attacked. Now I thought would be a good time to relate the
stories to the phenomenon of raw violence and what you can
learn about not only surviving it but even prevailing against it.

In other words,
The Basics of Threat Management Skills. Keep in mind, what follows is The
Basics in relationship to the abovementioned stories and illustrations
only. In the next few posts will be a myriad of tips, guidelines, principles,
skills, strategies and techniques designed to arm you, your family, friends
and/or children against violence in almost a hundred various specific areas
of threat (Domestic Terrorism; Domestic Violence; Home Invasions; Counter-Bullying;
Counter Child Abductor Strategies and Techniques; The Fighting Arts For Children;
Teens; Women; Men and/or Seniors, et al.)

Technorati Tags:violence, domestic, bullies, basic, school of winology

Detailed Description
of What we Are all About

IN TODAY’S
MAD and often wicked world along comes Action
Against Violence, your reliable site for articles, essays and free-flowing
discussions, all designed to make you and your family safer. You won’t
find hyperbole here. But you will find key principles and tenets of The
Fighting Arts, a tight cluster of state-of-the-arts threat
management skills and techniques designed for ordinary citizens and
extraordinary law enforcement, military or security personnel who need to avoid
and/or overcome potential or real violence.

Whether you be the concerned
parent of a five year-old child, a senior citizen in a time when crimes against
the elderly are on a sharp incline, or, for that matter, any man or woman in
between, you can find a variety of suggestions on one or more of the following
survival skills:

• KID ESCAPE
  – Escape and Evasion skills against predators and potential abductors
  for boys and girls from aged 5 to 13.
• Self
  Defense For Teenagers.
• The Fighting
  Arts For Women.
• Beyond
  60 – Self Defense For Seniors.
• Managing
  Violence in the Workplace.
• Verbal
  De-Escalation and Defusing Techniques.
• And much,
  much more—