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 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

 

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

DEFUSE DISRUPTIVE CO-WORKERS, PART II.

 

In my last post I addressed the “D” of my training acronym D.E.F.U.S.E., which I consider the center piece of my Advanced De-escalation Techniques and Management of Workplace Violence Programs.  Today I thought we could take a look at the E.

 

D.E.F.U.S.E.

 

ENCOURAGE THE subject to Vent and Ego Suspension.

 

Both strategies, I think, go hand-in-hand.  It takes a strong sense of self, or, better put, a strong Ego to, ironically, eliminate one’s Ego in a confrontation with a Disruptive Subject who is cascading toward violence.  When I suggest to allow the person to vent is also to suggest that the worker or manager take a Win/Win approach to the confrontation instead of the conventional Win/Lose Philosophy that many managers who carry their egos with them into the confrontation.  The manager/worker does not have to win at the expense of the disruptive subject.  Whatever is triggering him or her must mean a lot to that person in order for him or her to become disruptive. 

 

So, encourage him or her to vent.  Ask Artful Questions designed to under-stimulate the scene rather than to over-stimulate.  Mirror what you see him or her doing or feeling.  Always remain calm, Cycle Breathe.  Calm is as contagious as anger (Ego) and/or fear.  It is crucial for the worker/manager to listen to what the subject is saying.  I mean really listen.  Not waiting for your opportunity to say something brilliant (Ego and Win/Lose).  Listen reflectively. When you really listen you can paraphrase back  what you believe he or she is saying (content) and/or feeling (emotions).  Even if you are wrong, you can demonstrate you are concerned.

 

You probably know better than I what questions are Artful and which are not, but some of the questions that almost always work for me to encourage venting always begin with:  “Jim (or, whatever the name). Would you mind if I asked you a question?”  I really don’t care if he minds or not, but I do want to get his or her attention, to momentarily stop him from ranting and raving.  “Jim, what’s the matter?” seems better than, “Hey!  What’s the problem here?” 

 

Combining Empathy (see the next post and Understand Feelings), Mirroring Body Language with the Artful Question seems to be another excellent way for encouraging positive venting.  “Jim, check yourself out.  Your muscles are popping out of your shirt and you look tense.  You are obviously amped up What’s the matter?  Is there anything I can say or do to help?”

 

Might not be a bad idea to point out that it is terrific to encourage a person to vent, but the worker/manager must always establish limits early on and enforce those limitations when venting goes too far.  Damaging property and threatening a manager/worker or others is never acceptable.

 

A major tenet of Verbal Judo is that the more Ego you bring into a confrontation the less your safety and power.  I believe that “ego” is one of the most dangerous words in the lexicon of law enforcement as well as the work place.  A manager who carries his or her ego into any and all interactions will almost always depend upon coming out on top (Win/Lose) in any confrontational situational.  Also, in any confrontational scenario, he/she will turn inward, toward the ego, in order to find insults, put downs and other “implements of Win/Lose” to stay “on top.”  I firmly believe, however, when one turns inward, he or she is no longer tactically aware of what is going on around him or her.

 

At the end of the day, it is the manager/worker who believes in the ancient warrior and philosopher Tsun Tse’s axiom of Mizu No Kikoro who will only “win” when the agitated worker or client also is able to win.  To save face. 

 

The ancient words mean:  Mind like clear water.  When one removes ego from the equation, he or she is calm, his “waters” are calm and when they are calm they are clear.  One can see all the way to the bottom.  However, when one brings his ego into the interaction, the waters are roiled, stirred, and all the silt and rocks and mud are stirred and one can never see past the surface.

 

And the answer to the problem is rarely near the surface. 

 

In Part III we complete the D.E.F.U.S.E. equation.  Until then, stay safe.

Hammer

 

 

 

 

 

D.E.F.U.S.E. Workplace Violence Perpetrators.

 

A Truism.  Ninety-seven to ninety-eight percent of all confrontations with disruptive or even violent people can be resolved quickly, safely and effectively with the use of professional communications, or Pro Com, emblematic of the Advanced De-Escalation Techniques Program or paradigm I offer teachers, security staff, Human Services and Health Care Professionals, law enforcement officers and others.

 

Take a peek at the next couple posts and maybe –if you think my Primary Principles of Defusing Others makes sense – consider trying these techniques, principles and skills the next time you are confronted by one or more aggressive workers. patients,students or inmates in seemingly untenable situations, and I believe you will find – like I have in soooo many confrontational and potentially dangerous situations – that they will work just as well for you.

 

THE DEFUSE FORMULA

 

Don’t Lose Your Cool.  Depersonalize.  Deflect instead of Absorb Verbal Attacks.  Depreciate the Verbal Icon.

 

Encourage the person to vent.  Ego Suspension.

 

Find out the Facts.

Understand Feelings.

Slow Everything Down.

End on a Positive Note.

 

THE “D” IN “DEFUSE.”

 

Likely, I could write a book on how adhering to my “D” tenets could aide in any campaign to minimize Workplace Violence.  Let’s take a look at each separate “D.”

 

Don’t Lose Your Cool.  This is so simple and obvious that I can almost hear the “No Duh’s” as I type.  And I can’t really count how many times people have commented to me, “Hammer, this is just Common Sense—“ but, here’s a fact:  The rarest commodity in a crisis is Common Sense.  And, so it is with Keeping Your Cool.  Losing one’s cool in a critical situation is far more common than the crucial skills of staying cool when everyone else is “hot.”  Here are a few salient Tips On Keeping Your Cool:

• Slow Everything Down.  Take the time to consciously think of what is happening.  Rushing triggers the Primitive Brain, which is dominant when we make critical and stupid statements that trigger violence.  Slow everything down and allow your Neo Cortex, or Intelligent Brain. To go to work.  Slow down your speech, the way you walk, your approach.  Everything.
• Breathe.  Try Tactical or Cycle Breathing to slow down your heart rate and eliminate or reduce the (survival) stress hormones flooding your system.  Without oxygenated blood flowing to your brain you can’t possibly think and act in such a way and in such a manner as to de-escalate a out of control subject.

 

• Mirror Calm.  Yep.  I am asking you to fake, or act calm irrespective of how uncalm you might feel.  Your body, Central Nervous System and Heart Rate can be fooled just as easily as the subject to whom your are modeling calm.  Calm, like anger and fear, is communicable. 

 

DEPERSONALIZE.  Simple.  Do not take anything the subject says or does personally.  This principle lies at the very heart of your ability to de-escalate a person and/or a scene.  Keep your ego out of the interaction.  Stay professional at all times.  De-escalation, you see, is more an attitude, maybe even a belief system, than a cluster of esoteric techniques.  Identify and untrigger all those buttons or triggers the subject can push to get you upset.

 

DEFELECT.  Don’t, by all means, absorb (take it personally and allow it to influence how you respond) VAPS (Verbal Attack Patterns).  Instead deflect them.  Think like a power hitter and knock each one of them out of the park.  In order to do that the attitude you need to bring with you into every confrontational scenario is that your are going to absolutely and unemotionally going to—

 

DEPRECIATE THE VERBAL ICON.  Which is an esoteric way of saying simply that you are going to strip the attacker’s words of all power to affect you in any way.  Think of it.  What the attacker wants you to do is to value or “worship” his/her verbal attack. To give each profane and personally insulting word significance or weight.  And to do this, he/she is going to string together a series of personally offensive words in order to elicit a prescribed response on your part (in other words, to influence you to abandon your professionalism, to lose your cool).  Instead, you are going to disempower (another “D”) the (attacking) words and the attacker him or herself through the Art of Depreciation.

 

In the Next Post:  The “E” and “F” of DEFUSE.  Until then, please Stay Safe.

 

 

 

 

THE “STAR FORMATION.”  The Quick, Safe and Effective Countermeasure AGAINST THE EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED PERSON!

 

The next time you and your security team are confronted by an emotionally disturbed or otherwise out of control student, patient, inmate or subject you might want to consider trying my Star Formation Technique.  The STAR is ideal for efficiently and effectively using three or four staff members to control just about any disruptive or violent person in almost any type of environment.  As a matter of fact, the STAR is one of the few CQC (Close Quarter Combat) Countermeasures that works equally well in an environment as narrow as a prison cell and as wide open as a gymnasium.

 

The STAR (Safety Tactics Against Resistance) works off the conventional Triangulation Formation, where the Contact and Cover Officer operate from the strong-hand and off-hand Level 1 positions (they stand at the hypoteneuse of the triangle with the Bad Guy standing at the apex),  The contact officer uses Professional Communications (Pro Com) to attempt to chill the attacker, and, if de-escalation fails, the Cover Officer asks:  “Sir, is there anything I can say to get you to go along with the program today?  We really hope there is.”

 

If and when the violent subject refuses to go along with the program, the above Confirmation Question serves as the Star Signal – in other words, the signal for the security team to immediately for themselves into the Star:

 

1.      The Contact Officer slides one step to his/her left so that he/she is now in the subject’s Inside Position.

2.      Cover Officer 1 slides from the Off-Side 1 to Level 2 and grabs the subject’s hand and arm. 

3.      Cover Officer 2, who had moved onto the scene unobtrusively when the signal went out that a violent subject was being confronted, “appears” at the subject’s opposite hand and arm and also takes control.

4.      Cover Officer 3 appears “out of nowhere” at the subject’s Level 3, which is directly behind the subject.  He/she quickly displaces the subject’s balance by driving his/her shoulder into the Bad Guy’s hips and sliding both hands down the legs until he/she grabs the ankles an quickly lifts the Bad Guy off the ground in concert with Cover 1 and 2 who simultaneously pick the Bad Guy off the ground from their positions.

5.      The Contact Officer controls the subject’s torso by capturing him with both arms around the chest.  At all times, the Contact Officer talks to the subject and attempts to calm him/her.  Even if de-escalation is futile on the Bad Guy, by the way, it sure sounds good to witnesses, and, not unimportantly, sure looks and sounds great on camera.

6.      The Violent Subject is “gently” lifted off the ground and just as “gently” deposited face down on the ground, hopefully without injury.  Staff members should anticipate the subject to react violently to being grounded, but the STAR has an answer for that, also.  The Contact Officer vises the subject’s head with both knees, trapping it.  The Contact Officer gives authoritative verbal directions and augments the direction with Pressure Points (Pain Compliance).  One or both of the Cover Officers on the arms can perform what I call the Invisible Handcuffs (Pain Compliance on the Index Knuckle while sliding toward the Bad Guy’s head).  If necessary, Cover 3 can perform a Modified Figure-Four Leg Lock.

7.      The Violent Student, Inmate, Parolee, Patient, or Subject ain’t going nowhere, Dog.  Emphasis on nowhere.

 

A caveat.  For security staff working for schools, human service agencies, or hospitals, the STAR is only to be used when all else fails.  When the Bad Guy must be stopped now, otherwise not only the security staff will be endangered, but the population inside and outside of that agency!

 

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

 

 

 

A STEP TOWARD REDUCING SCHOOL VIOLENCE, ESPECIALLY BULLYING!

 

Fact.  Eighty-six (plus) percent of all workplace violence, including school violence, could be prevented (OSHA, 2007) if warning signs of same would have been reported and/or acted upon.  This includes bullying, about which I recently posted, violence against teachers, suicides, and even some instances involving outside – seemingly unconnected violence spilling over into the school place. 

 

Bullying,, to me, ranks as a national disgrace.  Studies show that over 65% of children have been relentlessly and systematically bullied.  Physical and psychological violence.  It’s your guess which is worse.  To me, it’s both.  Think of this:  A child is triple victimized when he or she is bullied.

 

1. The child is victimized by the bullies (more often than not, the bully is joined by at least one other friend, plus one or two others cheering from the sidelines and coercing others to do likewise.
2. The child is victimized by his or her friends or fellow students who stand by and do nothing.
3. The child is victimized by the school system who through our educational history have either been incapable of stopping bullying within the school system, or. worse, have been unwilling to develop an effective system of reporting these ugly incidents (of bullying), investigating reports, and taking appropriate action in concert with parents.
4. There is a fourth dimension of betrayal.  This from parents who do not ask their child the right questions; who do not observe subtle and dynamic behavioral and emotional changes indicative of depression, hopelessness, anxiety, etc.  Parents, however, are not the issue in this particular post.

 

Why is this an issue today?  Two adolescents, victims of steady, unrelenting and cruel physical and emotional bullying, could only find the answer to their torture and inexorable anguish at the end of a rope, joining hundreds of other children who have taken similar routes in the past few years.

 

So, what can the schools do?  Your guess is probably as good as mine, but maybe here’s a start:

 

• Design, develop and engineer a reporting system that encourages and rewards students to report acts of bullying, or, for that matter, any other type of behavior that threatens the safety of students, teachers, etc.
• Honestly look into each reported incident without prejudice, presumptions and/or hidden agenda,
• Work in concert with all parents.  Make it easy and painless (anonymity?) to report problems with their children, to inquire about what their child is doing.
• Encourage counselors and teachers to contact parents regarding problematic behavior.
• Security Staff and teachers must be alert for any type of behavioral signs that violence, mischief, bullying, suicidal ideation is active.
• Schools need to develop and enforce a Counter-Bullying Protocol.

 

Next Post:  Bully-Be-Gone.  Realistic and doable steps that can stop the bully in his or her tracks!

 

Until Then.  Stay Safe.

Hammer.

 

 

 

 

 

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

April 21, 2009

 

PROTECTING THE GIFT

 

In a recent post I talked about the abduction and murder of 13 year old Esme Kenney.  Esme was attacked on a public recreation path less than 500 yards from her Cincinnati, Ohio home.  Predictably, though, the child was not killed on the path, which was the initial crime scene.  That grisly act was committed in the nearby woods – the secondary crime scene.

 

The perplexing question has to be, what can a parent do to protect the child?  Of course, the second question must be what can the child do to prevent his or her abduction and/or murder?

 

Ordinarily, I would counsel the parent to constrain the child from going off by herself.  But 13 is about the age when parents begin to loosen the reins, so to speak, plus, the girl was only 200 yards from her house! 

 

Parents need to be aware the children have been taken from inside their own homes, swiped out of their front yards while the parents were inside.  It happens so damn quickly, and, worse, most sexual predators are deadly combination of out of control desires and seeker of thrills, that, often, the only thing that will deter the abductor is both parents to be right there.

 

So, once again I wonder what is the answer?  Truthfully, there is no “answer.”  Only strategies to maximize the survival quotient of your child and minimize the opportunity for the predator to strike.  If you have followed some of my posts, you also know there must be strategies for the child to fall back on if and when she or he is attacked.

 

• Parents who intend to safeguard their child must take the role of Safety Coaches.
• Safety Coaches need to provide full time encouragement, support and survival training for their child.
• Recommended Safety Coach’s Curriculum.

Ø     Play the “What If Game” with the child.  Make it fun and as non-threatening as possible.  The coach feeds the child situations involving other adults and the child comes up with responses as to what he/she would do.

Ø     Talk to the child about adults and which of them the child should trust or not trust.  Come up with categories that indicate those whom the child should trust – a very small group – and those you should not.

Ø     Teach Principles, such as to never leave the scene with any adult who is not on your “always trust” list.  Also, never, ever go anywhere with any adult for any reason.

Ø     Teach the Principle of RAP.  Always Recognize potential danger (I have gone into Signatures of Danger in previous posts); be Alert and Aware of adults who do not “belong” in this environment, who are paying too much attention to you, who are “sharking” the area (driving back and forth), etc. Also, always Assess yourself and others on the scene.  Check out the body language, movement, etc. of the adult on the scene, but even more importantly, Assess your gut feelings.  When you get that creepy feeling, it is your gut-instincts telling you to get the heck out.  Your instincts are hardly ever wrong.  Position Yourself For Safety, an important preventive step which includes:

• Buddy System.  Always have at least one other child with you.  Just having one other child present reduces the chances of being approached by as much as 75%.
• Distance.  Put as much space as possible between you and that strange adult as safely possible.  Don’t try to hide in a secluded spot, though.  If you do, you are playing right into the pervert’s plans.
• Find A Safe-Looking Adult With Children.  Teach your children to never be along in an isolated area.  This is the Ideal Hunting Ground for the predator,  That being said, there should be others around when you suspect you are being sharked.  Run to an adult who you have seen with his or her children in the past and you believe is safe.  Failing that, go to an adult accompanied by his or her children.

Ø     ACT NUTZ.  The abductor is looking for several characteristics in the ideal victim. 

• The child should be isolated.
• The child should be quiet when approached.
• The child should be polite, shy even.
• The child should allow the abductor to approach, grab and carry him/.her off with speed and without alarming witnesses.

        

Ø     Therefore, parents might want to teach their child to be as noisy and as uncooperative as possible.

 

Until the next post, please Stay Safe.

 

Hammer

      

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

April 21, 2009

 

PROTECTING THE GIFT

 

In a recent post I talked about the abduction and murder of 13 year old Esme Kenney.  Esme was attacked on a public recreation path less than 500 yards from her Cincinnati, Ohio home.  Predictably, though, the child was not killed on the path, which was the initial crime scene.  That grisly act was committed in the nearby woods – the secondary crime scene.

 

The perplexing question has to be, what can a parent do to protect the child?  Of course, the second question must be what can the child do to prevent his or her abduction and/or murder?

 

Ordinarily, I would counsel the parent to constrain the child from going off by herself.  Thirteen is about the age when parents begin to loosen the reins, so to speak, plus, the girl was only 200 yards from her house! 

 

Parents need to be aware the children have been taken from inside their own homes, swiped out of their front yards while the parents were inside.  It happens so damn quickly, and, worse, most sexual predators are deadly combination of out of control desires and seeker of thrills, that, often, the only thing that will deter the abductor is both parents to be right there.

 

So, once again I wonder what is the answer?  Truthfully, there is no “answer.”  Only strategies to maximize the survival quotient of your child and minimize the opportunity for the predator to strike.  If you have followed some of my posts, you also know there must be strategies for the child to fall back on if and when she or he is attacked.

 

• Parents who intend to safeguard their child must take the role of Safety Coaches.
• Safety Coaches need to provide full time encouragement, support and survival training for their child.
• Recommended Safety Coach’s Curriculum.

Ø     Play the “What If Game” with the child.  Make it fun and as non-threatening as possible.  The coach feeds the child situations involving other adults and the child comes up with responses as to what he/she would do.

Ø     Talk to the child about adults and which of them the child should trust or not trust.  Come up with categories that indicate those whom the child should trust – a very small group – and those you should not.

Ø     Teach Principles, such as to never leave the scene with any adult who is not on your “always trust” list.  Also, never, ever go anywhere with any adult for any reason.

Ø     Teach the Principle of RAP.  Always Recognize potential danger (I have gone into Signatures of Danger in previous posts); be Alert and Aware of adults who do not “belong” in this environment, who are paying too much attention to you, who are “sharking” the area (driving back and forth), etc. Also, always Assess yourself and others on the scene.  Check out the body language, movement, etc. of the adult on the scene, but even more importantly, Assess your gut feelings.  When you get that creepy feeling, it is your gut-instincts telling you to get the heck out.  Your instincts are hardly ever wrong.  Position Yourself For Safety, an important preventive step which includes:

• Buddy System.  Always have at least one other child with you.  Just having one other child present reduces the chances of being approached by as much as 75%.
• Distance.  Put as much space as possible between you and that strange adult as safely possible.  Don’t try to hide in a secluded spot, though.  If you do, you are playing right into the pervert’s plans.
• Find A Safe-Looking Adult With Children.  Teach your children to never be along in an isolated area.  This is the Ideal Hunting Ground for the predator,  That being said, there should be others around when you suspect you are being sharked.  Run to an adult who you have seen with his or her children in the past and you believe is safe.  Failing that, go to an adult accompanied by his or her children.

Ø     ACT NUTZ.  The abductor is looking for several characteristics in the ideal victim. 

• The child should be isolated.
• The child should be quiet when approached.
• The child should be polite, shy even.
• The child should allow the abductor to approach, grab and carry him/.her off with speed and without alarming witnesses.

        

Ø     Therefore, parents might want to teach their child to be as noisy and as uncooperative as possible.

 

Until the next post, please Stay Safe.

 

Hammer

      

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

April 21, 2009

 

PROTECTING THE GIFT

 

In a recent post I talked about the abduction and murder of 13 year old Esme Kenney.  Esme was attacked on a public recreation path less than 500 yards from her Cincinnati, Ohio home.  Predictably, though, the child was not killed on the path, which was the initial crime scene.  That grisly act was committed in the nearby woods – the secondary crime scene.

 

The perplexing question has to be, what can a parent do to protect the child?  Of course, the second question must be what can the child do to prevent his or her abduction and/or murder?

 

Ordinarily, I would counsel the parent to constrain the child from going off by herself.  Thirteen is about the age when parents begin to loosen the reins, so to speak, plus, the girl was only 200 yards from her house! 

 

Parents need to be aware the children have been taken from inside their own homes, swiped out of their front yards while the parents were inside.  It happens so damn quickly, and, worse, most sexual predators are deadly combination of out of control desires and seeker of thrills, that, often, the only thing that will deter the abductor is both parents to be right there.

 

So, once again I wonder what is the answer?  Truthfully, there is no “answer.”  Only strategies to maximize the survival quotient of your child and minimize the opportunity for the predator to strike.  If you have followed some of my posts, you also know there must be strategies for the child to fall back on if and when she or he is attacked.

 

• Parents who intend to safeguard their child must take the role of Safety Coaches.
• Safety Coaches need to provide full time encouragement, support and survival training for their child.
• Recommended Safety Coach’s Curriculum.

Ø     Play the “What If Game” with the child.  Make it fun and as non-threatening as possible.  The coach feeds the child situations involving other adults and the child comes up with responses as to what he/she would do.

Ø     Talk to the child about adults and which of them the child should trust or not trust.  Come up with categories that indicate those whom the child should trust – a very small group – and those you should not.

Ø     Teach Principles, such as to never leave the scene with any adult who is not on your “always trust” list.  Also, never, ever go anywhere with any adult for any reason.

Ø     Teach the Principle of RAP.  Always Recognize potential danger (I have gone into Signatures of Danger in previous posts); be Alert and Aware of adults who do not “belong” in this environment, who are paying too much attention to you, who are “sharking” the area (driving back and forth), etc. Also, always Assess yourself and others on the scene.  Check out the body language, movement, etc. of the adult on the scene, but even more importantly, Assess your gut feelings.  When you get that creepy feeling, it is your gut-instincts telling you to get the heck out.  Your instincts are hardly ever wrong.  Position Yourself For Safety, an important preventive step which includes:

• Buddy System.  Always have at least one other child with you.  Just having one other child present reduces the chances of being approached by as much as 75%.
• Distance.  Put as much space as possible between you and that strange adult as safely possible.  Don’t try to hide in a secluded spot, though.  If you do, you are playing right into the pervert’s plans.
• Find A Safe-Looking Adult With Children.  Teach your children to never be along in an isolated area.  This is the Ideal Hunting Ground for the predator,  That being said, there should be others around when you suspect you are being sharked.  Run to an adult who you have seen with his or her children in the past and you believe is safe.  Failing that, go to an adult accompanied by his or her children.

Ø     ACT NUTZ.  The abductor is looking for several characteristics in the ideal victim. 

• The child should be isolated.
• The child should be quiet when approached.
• The child should be polite, shy even.
• The child should allow the abductor to approach, grab and carry him/.her off with speed and without alarming witnesses.

        

Ø     Therefore, parents might want to teach their child to be as noisy and as uncooperative as possible.

 

Until the next post, please Stay Safe.

 

Hammer