YOU CAN HEAR A PUNCH COMING A MILE AWAY

Ever been punched?  Not a great feeling, is it? I’ve been punched, probably too many times, and, no, it did not feel very good, if you’re wondering.  Thinking back on it, though, what was worse was the debilitating hesitation as my attacker threatened me, poked me with his finger as he bobbed in and out of my personal space.  I should have known better, but I was paralyzed by persistent thoughts that I could wait him out, maybe even catch him off guard then rush him.

It’s that internal dialogue that opens us up to punches, kicks, strikes and worse.  I don’t blame others for weighing the consequences of cold-cocking someone who is just harassing you.  The consequences for punching someone’s lights out are always a consideration; and anyone thinking of the possibility of being charged with assault or being sued can’t really be blamed – as I already mentioned – for hesitating until he or she is positive that the fight is on.

Which is swell.  Really it is.  Unless your up against an asshole who doesn’t live by your rules, or, for that matter, anyone else’s.  He is going to attack you when he is damned good and ready and there isn’t a goddamn thing you can do about it.  That’s what he’s there for. 

Tim Larkin’s Target Focused Training has a great philosophy when it comes to asocial violence.  Violence itself is the only thing that can work against violence when the rules do not apply.  Incidental to that thought process is a concept known as Creating Automatic Decision Points.  These ADP’s are created so that intended victims will be able to know by a few distinct Signatures of Danger when you are about to be attacked.  Once you encounter one or more of these signatures, you have reached that ADP and you can respond accordingly (counterattack or disengage).

AUTOMATIC DECISION POINTS

• Non-Verbal Decision Points. 

•  
  1. Invading Your Personal Space.  Despite your protestations, the thug has invaded your PSZ (Personal Safety Zone).  It is imperative that you make it clear to him that he must get the hell out of your face, like now, just like you must make it clear before he enters the space that he must not come any closer.  It is important to understand that any normal person who lives by the rules would probably apologize and back up.  What you do and how you do it is up to you, but do something.  Me, I’m moving somewhere unless I am trapped.  If that’s the case, then, me, I’m hitting an open target.  Hit the sumbitch between strides.
  2. Going From Maniacal to Silently Calm, to Hiatus, to Target Stare to Bingo.  Your harasser goes from maniacal rage and the movement patterns of a Tasmanian Devil, then suddenly he calms and goes silent.  The attacker has resolved what he is going to do and how he aims to do it.  There is a short hiatus when he turns away from you for a second or two, but, as surely as a frog will bump his ass when he tries to fly, he will return his  attention to you and he will Target Stare at the spot he intends to punch, kick, stab or grab you.  The attack is on.  You?  You do what you want when he goes into the hiatus.  Me, I just ain’t gonna be there for the Target Stare.  If I cannot move for environmental reasons, I got something for him.
  3. Silence.  Long time ago, someone pretty wise told me a truism.  Despite what happens in movies, fighters never throw a punch when they are talking.  When your harasser goes silent, as in the ADP above, he, more likely than not, is having an internal dialogue about what he is going to do to you.  Once again, this is the time to do something.

• VERBAL AUTOMATIC DECISION POINTS.

•  
  1. THE THREAT.   The Attacker is trying to ramp up his courage and confidence.  A threat is not always followed by a punch, but you need to take it seriously.  The key is to break up his confidence with verbal de-escalation.  Change his Channel from his mental channel – the Fight Channel – to any other channel.  De-escalation tactics like distraction techniques, humor, redirection.  I will talk about those in future posts and have discussed them in past blogs.

• PRE-ATTACK ACTION ADP.

•  
  1. THE FINGER JAB.  This is always dangerous.  The thug is testing the waters.  If you do nothing here, you are telling him, “C’mon in, the water’s fine.”
  2. THE SHOVE.  The shove is an ADP that is always followed with some sort of attack.  He’s setting up the punch, getting you off balance and preparing to stride in an nail you like roofing slate.  Once again, trust me, this jerk either finger jabs or shoves you, this is exactly when you prepare to block and/or duck the incoming bomb and deliver one of your own.
  3. THE PUNCH.  If you are hit, no matter how light, you are likely going to get hit again, this time pretty damned hard.

So, they you are.  Do what you can to de-escalate the individual who threatens you, but when you reach one or more of these ADT’s, you are about to be attacked.  It is up to you what you want to do about it, but, if you elect to do nothing, I suggest you have a great hospitilization plan, Dog.

Stay Safe.

Hammer

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

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

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

THE MOST COMMON STREET ATTACKS

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

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

Stay Safe.

Hammer

SSSS (SUPER-SECRET SELF DEFENSE SHIT) – AGAINST ANY ATTACKER!

I don’t care who the attacker is, if he or she attaches his or her hand to any part of your upper body, man, do I have the SSSS move for you!  Ok.  Let’s say you are a woman and a man accosts you.  You ask him nicely to back off and leave you alone, but, predictably, he declines your offer.  His right hand has purchase on your shirt right about where your heart is,  and he twists and squeezes the material.  Time to make your Super Secret Self Defense Shit (SSSS) right now.

Remember to breathe so you can think and act. Now, take your same-side hand (left) and dart it straight into the stupid asshole’s eyes and gouge.  The attacker will not be able to stop your attack because he has already committed that side’s arm to grabbing you.  Beautiful.

This SSSS move can be used against Bullies, also.  Since we are talking about a bully, though, let’s take it down a notch and bypass the deadly eye gouge.    If you are the intended victim of a bully and the creep grabs your shirt and starts twisting, simply Fake Compliance by holding your hands out in front of you, palms facing the bully as if pleading for mercy.  More likely than not, when you plead for him to let you go and wave your hands, he will start to pull you in.

Too bad for the bully.  As he is pulling you in – or, if he just stands there and continues to taunt you and refuses to heed your requests for “mercy” – drive one or both of your hands into his face and strike him as hard as you can with the heels of your palms.  Now that he is stunned, either escape the bully, or, if that is not possible, move in and attack his Center-Line Targets.

Center Line Targets include his nose, mouth, chin, chest, stomach, thighs, shins and feet.  

Until Next Time, Stay Safe.

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

March 8, 2009

Now You See It.  Now You Don’t – Distractions.

I was watching Casino Royale, a recent James Bond flick.  Bond was in a life-or-death stalemate with the knife-wielding villain.  Each had equal strength and it was going to come down to who could find the strength to sink the gleaming blade into his foe.  Suddenly. Bond jerked his face up and to his right – as if seeing something awesome or terrible – and, oila, the bad guy involuntarily looked in that direction. Taking his mind off the struggle for a millisecond.  End of story.  Bond swaggers off with a saucy brunette with a wheelbarrow full of cleavage and the villain—Well, you get the picture.

Point is and will always be, your mind is your most powerful weapon.  Never forget that.  Please.  Also, never forget that the mind, if not used well, can be your most awesome enemy.  To use your brain well, train it to be and then continuously allow it to be a crucial connection or nexus with your body.  The body can only be powerful when you need it most when it works harmoniously with the mind!

As I have pointed out in past posts, the bad guy will almost always attack you after a distraction technique.  He knows instinctively that you are weakest when you are the most distracted!  Which is why he will ask you questions to influence you to look away or down and to sink into your own mind (for answers to the questions) before he will attack. 

I say, then, that we must Reverse the Distraction to separate his body from his mind.  If you recall, I have often proposed that the attacker of women almost always has his own Fantasy Script and that the further he is allowed to carry out that script the more confident and dangerous he will become.  Well, I say let’s shatter that script right away!

When I train law enforcement officers I always include Distraction Techniques, or Distraction Reversals.  Always get the Bad Guy’s mind spinning to weaken any thoughts or actions toward resistance.  For instance, here are a few great distraction reversals that we have used with great success:

ORAL DISTRACTIONS

“Artie, lookie, man, you just pissed your pants!”  (Used versus very bad people who we knew were armed.  He had just given a urine sample, so when the officer made the statement, Artie did look down at his groin area, and we arrested him without him ever thinking of pulling the gun.)

“Wiggle your fingers, sir!”  (I teach this during prone handcuffing.  I have the Bad Guy look away from me and look at his hand.  When he wiggles his fingers he takes his mind off resistance, and he is cuffed without resistance).

“Sir, what’s your birth date?”  (I train officers to say this just before they cuff the first hand.  Same effect.  The Bad Guy tries to answer, but before he can, he is cuffed.)

DISTRACTION REVERSALS

You can come up with your own Distraction Reversals, but here are a few that women have used with success and one or two you might think about using:

• “Hey!  Don’t I know your mother?”  A woman used this on a bad guy who “had that attack look in his eyes.”  Stopped him in his tracks.
• “Hey!  911!  Almost anything coherent you shout spontaneously can reverse the distraction.  Bad Guys do not choose victims who not only see them coming, but are bold enough to shout at them!
• Object Distraction.  Throw a hat, a pencil, a book, at their face when they get close.  It should induce a nice little startle response.  Trick is, you’d better be ready to attack, or, if safe, disengage.
• Surprise is a great distraction.  Lull the Bad Guy into thinking he has you where he wants you and then attack suddenly.

Ø      He grabs your hand and expects you to pull away.  Okay.  Pull away, but, just as he relaxes and starts pulling you in to him with his superior strength, spring in to his center-line targets using his momentum, and attack him!

Ø      He has entered your personal space.  Do what he expects by putting both hands up, palms out, and beg him not to hurt you.  When he smiles and takes that step in, Bam Baby!

Can you think of some Distraction Reversals?

Until Next Time.  Stay Safe.

Hammer

            HIGH-LILLY HIGH-LOW AND OTHER WINOLOGY PRINCIPLES

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

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

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

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

GREAT WINOLOGY PRINCIPLES OF SELF DEFENSE.

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

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

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

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

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

Stay Safe.

Hammer

THE PREDATOR PREY PRINCIPLE

EYE CONTACT is not an incidental element of the Fighting Arts.  Often, eye contact can be the difference between being attacked and being passed over as a victim.  Interview the potential predator who doesn’t select you as a victim, he will likely not be able to cite why he graded you as a Hard Target, but he might admit that deep down in his miscreant soul his instincts indeed were disquieted, 

And this is the feeling you want to engender in any person who is thinking about attacking you.  An uneasy feeling about you.  Who cares if he or she can’t quite put their finger on the reason.  Long as he goes on his way, seeking out an Easy Target.

Read Lt. Colonel David Grossman’s On Killing and you can read this combat expert’s treatise on eye contact.  Soldiers in WWI and II were often want to fire their weapons when their enemy were charging directly at them.  More likely than not, they would fire only when their enemy turned their back and tried to flee. 

For my part, I have been teaching what I call the Predator-Prey-Principle for several decades to law enforcement officers.  Relentless but Indirect Eye Contact, I insist, is a key to keeping one’s enemy at bay.  I direct surgical training drills that encourage officers to maintain indirect eye contact down range until the threat is known to be over by virtue of overwhelming evidence!

Relentless, Indirect Eye Contact means that the officer never looks at his or her firearm or Intermediate Weapon when he/she draws or holsters it. Never looks away from down range until he knows for sure his foe has either been vanquished or disappeared.

WHY RELENTLESS AND INDIRECT?

If you have the guts, I challenge you to prove the Predator Prey Principle in real life.  I have done this and it has worked every time.  When I am running and I see a person walking his/her dog, I will run to within about 50-yards of the dog (as I am running toward the dog, there is no noticeable change in the dog’s pace).  Suddenly I will turn my back on the dog and begin to run the other way – without changing my pace at all.  Inevitable, without exception, the dog will begin chasing me despite the verbal admonitions of its owner, and will chase me until I turn around to face it again. 

Best I can figure, Hammer Fans, is, by averting your eyes and/or showing your back to the dog you are actually triggering the Predator-Instinct in the dog!  Same thing happens to the type of man who would physically and/or sexually assault you.  When he is sizing you up, he is scanning for signs that you are an easy target.  Among other victim-characteristics, he is looking for a man, woman, boy or girl who averts his or her eyes before or during the Testing Stage of the assault.

I say Relentless and Indirect Eye Contact because you don’t necessarily want to challenge the prospective attacker.  Direct eye contact will often work to back a predator away.  However, the same type of eye contact may also trigger an attack when one might not have happened.  I advocate drawing an imaginary triangle from the bottom of the potential attacker’s eyes (the top point of an Isosceles Triangle) to the bottom of his mouth.  I think that is the perfect area to concentrate on for ideal results.

HARD TARGET CHARACTERISTICS

1. Contralateral Walking Stride – Swing your arms confidently in tandem with your legs.
2. Alert Attitude – Keep your head up and scan the area as you walk.  Inculcate the attitude of a king or queen who proudly scans his or her crowd of adorers as he or she strides through the crowd.  Nobody attacks a king or queen!
3. Relentless/Indirect Eye Contact.
4. Make Noise.  If an attacker is bold enough to bother you when you are obviously a Hard Target, never allow him or her to invade your personal space quietly.  Make noise.  Protest.  Say something clever:  “Hey, don’t I know your mother?” has been known to stop a knife wielding attacker in his tracks!

Until The Next Post.  Stay Safe.

Hammer.

SET THE P.A.C.E.  – A Guide For Managing Critical Threat in the Workplace.

I’ve been examining some protocols and procedures for managing critical incidents (my terminology, not theirs), and, while they are commendable, I believe in Verbal Judo’s paradigm (I am a former Advanced verbal Judo Instructor) for managing potential catastrophic (critical) incidents.  P.A.C.E. is a flexible and enduring set of principles for handling the critical incident in a school place or other type of workplace that can be effective in resolving almost any crises I have come across.

A Critical Incident, by the way, is a term I use to describe a situation or scenario where a worker, administrator, student, client or patron, or the perpetrator himself has been killed, or, more likely, the threat of death or serious injury exists.  Three examples that come immediately to mind are a hostage situation, an enraged intruder with a gun and/or a worker threatening to take his or her life, and, by definition one or two others down with him.  What follows is a procedure that has saved lives in these and other critical incidents.

P.A.C.E.

PROBLEM.  The responding person (security, Resource Officer, employee, or responding law enforcement) needs to ask him/herself and/or the agitated person exactly what is the problem here?  Determine not only what is the problem from your perspective, but that of the perpetrator, also.

AUDIENCE.  What role is the audience playing in the severity of this problem?  Moreover, what danger is the audience in if they are allowed to remain on the scene?  And, of course, what, if anything can be done to remove or at least neutralize the audience?

CONSTRAINTS.  Now ask yourself primarily what is or are the constraint(s) that is or are blocking you from resolving this problem?  Is there anything you can do to use this constraint to resolve this issue?  What can be done to work around this constraint(s)?  I will point out how I suggest you can use constrainst to resolve a situation in a future post.

ETHICAL CONCERN.  What do you, the responder, have to do to create the needed empathic or ethical perception to affect the agitated person?  One needs to adopt a compassionate, caring and genuine ethical presence, yet remain in control of the situation.

SPECIFIC WORKPLACE STRATEGIES TO MANAGE AN INSTRUDER OR WORKER WITH A GUN.

(As an Example)

1. Assess the Situation.
2. Notify Police.  Provide as much cogent information as possible.  Be prepared to act as a liaison.

a)       Who is the gunman?

b)       Where is he located?

c)       Description of the weapon(s).

d)       Evidence that the gun is loaded?  Has he discharged the weapon?  What has his actual threats been?

e)       Are there any injured/dead victims?

f)        Is there a targeted victim on the scene?

g)       Any pertinent background information on the perpetrator?

h)       Quoted reasons or speculated reasons why person is carrying the weapon or plans to shoot?

1. Isolate the individual or suspect.   Cut and Herd the Audience.
2. Confer with police once they arrive.  Allow them t  o instruct you and others on how you should proceed and how they intend to proceed.
3. Independent of the police, if interaction with the perpetrator is imminent, do not use force or touch the person or weapon.
4. Avoid sudden moves or gestures (I always say, “Slow It Down!”).
5. Remain Calm.  Keep voice void of fear or panic.  Your tone and/or demeanor will strongly influence the outcome.
6. Allow one other administrator know about the situation. But limit information to staff and workers on a need-to-know basis.
7. Use pre-designed emergency signals to 0notify staff of the situation.  Deside whether to Lock Down or Evacuate.

QUICK GUIDELINES FOR HANDLING A WEAPON-WIELDING WORKER.

• EVACUATE THE AREA.
• EVALUATE THE PERP.
• ISOLATE THE PERP.
• NEGOTIATE.
• REMAIN CALM.
• GET HELP.
• AVOID HEROICS.
• DO NOT THREATEN.
• KEEP A SAFE, NON-INTIMIDATING DISTANCE.
• SLOW IT DOWN.  AVOID ABRUPT, SPORADIC MOVEMENTS.
• USE BARRICADES IN THE ENVIRONMENT FOR COVER.
• REPORT INCIDENTS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.

Until the next post, Stay Safe.

HAMMER

The Fighting Arts for Women – Target-Focused Survival.

You might not know much about survival stress, but, for the sake of brevity, let me just say that once you are attacked from close quarters – especially a spontaneous, surprise attack – your SNS (Sympathetic Nervous System) will flood your entire system with stress hormones, which, again to keep it brief, will pretty much shut down your ability to think exactly when you need to think and act as well and as quickly as possible.

Assuming you are not preparing yourself to respond quickly (fight) every time you answer your door; every time you turn a blind corner; every time you get into or go out of your car; every time you walk down a darkened street where escape routes and barricades are few and far between you need to rely on Principles of the Fighting Arts. Principles are great because they are designed to serve you well no matter what the circumstance.

TIME PROVEN AND RELIABLE PRINCIPLES.

1. Breathe Tactically Upon First Touch (understand that 9 out of 10 victims freeze when first touched and understand that you require oxygenated blood flowing to your brain to act).
2. Use First Touch as a Trigger to Explode Into Action.
3. Always Look For Open Targets and Hit Them Hard and Hit Them Often.
· There are other key principles, but let’s focus on this principle.
· Assuming you are not training hard in the Fighting Arts, you must rely on your eyes Many victims close their eyes and just flail away in a slapping motion. Please resist this urge. Keep your eyes open, keep breathing, and become—
· Task Oriented. You can do this. You must do this. Seeking out Primary and Secondary Targets is within your power, no matter how much stress you are under. If the Bad Guy has both your arms under control, ask yourself If he’s using both hands, well, heck, what targets can he be blocking? The answer: Zero! A Bad Guy can only block two or three possible targets at any one time.
· STAY FOCUSED. There may be times when the Bad Guy has your striking levers tied up, but, if you stay focused and take your punishment for a while, one or more of the following targets will open up. Wait, keep breathing,.

TARGETS.

Ø Eyes.
Ø Throat.
Ø Groin.
Ø Knees.
Ø Nose.
Ø Ears.
Ø Temple.
Ø Back of Head.
Ø Chin (at the hinge).
Ø Sides of Neck (Brachial Plexus Nerve Motor Point).
Ø Jugular Notch (just below Adam’s Apple).
Ø Clavicles (easily assesses and easily broken).
Ø Forearms.
Ø Wrists.
Ø Top of Hands.
Ø Fingers (twisted/broken).
Ø Stomach.
Ø Obliques (Pinch the “love handles” when the Bad Guy grabs you from behind).
Ø Kidneys.
Ø Insides and outsides of thighs (Femoral Nerve Motor Point and Common Peroneal Nerve Motor Point).
Ø Back of Legs (Tibial Nerve Motor Point).
Ø Upper, middle and lower shins (Superficial Peroneal Nerve Motor Point).
Ø Top of feet.

I might have missed one or two. Fact is, as you can see, there are a bajillion targets you can hit. Hit a target well and other will open up.

Good Luck. Stay Safe. Until Next Time.

Hammer
Peroneal Nerve Motor Point).
Ø Top of feet.

I might have missed one or two. Fact is, as you can see, there are a bajillion targets you can hit. Hit a target well and other will open up.

Good Luck. Stay Safe. Until Next Time.

Hammer

KNOW YOUR ENEMY and you shall own him, a great warrior once said and I’m here to tell you that Tsun Tse’s words are true.  So, let’s take a sec and look at the Psychology of the Stalker when he’s on the street.

• He depends on victim compliance.
• He almost always has a pre-planned strategy, or even a fantasy script.  He spends an amazing amount of time planning the attack.  The thrill of the kill plays a big role in the entire “game” he plays. 
• When he approaches his target, the longer this script is allowed to play out, the more confident and powerful he feels.  The bolder he will become.
• The stalker is often stunned and confused by any quick, decisive action (counter-measure) that violates his “script.”
• Many stalkers lose interest during the initial “testing” stage when his victim refuses to act like the victim in his script.
• Real-Time Stalkers always have a Victim-Profile in mind.

The Mindset that Shatters the Stalker’s Script.

• She refuses to be tested.
• She always controls her space.  No one gets in unless she wants him or her to, and that never includes a stalker!
• Establishes a defiant “combat stance” when the stalker invades her space.  Not only that, she is willing and able to act rude, arrogant and profane.
• She always has a plan.  She anticipates (If “A” happens, I will do “B.”  If “B” does not work, I will never give up and I will do “C.”
• She verbally confronts harassment as soon as it begins (“testing” begins as harassment).
• Even though she is feeling fear, she gives the appearance of defiance and confrontation.
• She is willing to do anything it takes to survive.

PROCEDURES OF PROTECTION AGAINST STALKING.

1. If you believe you’re being stalked, break off your route (he has already marked you as an ideal victim and is following you to see if you enter a low-witness area, which is what his scripted victim would do.  Change directions, cross the street, or enter a public building.  Watch the stalker from the safety of the building (unless he follows you into the building.  If so, seek security).
2. After a time, if you do not see the stalker, you can exit the building, making sure he is no longer there (chances are, he won’t be.  You have screwed up his “fantasy script.”). 
3. If he is still around, establish eye contact and look defiant.  Make him aware you know what he is up to!
4. When possible, stay in a high-witness area.  If he returns and is tracking you, he will match your pace.
5. This is the time you have to tell yourself that this is it.  Prepare yourself.  And the best way to prepare yourself for the coming stalker-testing, invasion of your personal space, and eventual attack is:
   • Prepare a pithy, dismissive verbal response now.
   • Prepare a flexible physical fighting plan now (Note:  I did not say Counter Attack Plan.  You might want to attack him before he can strike or grab you).
   • You will require 110% Commitment To Survival.  Giving up when your first plan of action does not dispatch him.

Until Nest Time, Stay Safe.

Hammer.

ONE CRUCIAL CONCEPT that all too often escapes many martial arts and self defense instructors is exactly how and when do you know that all the bull crap – the pre-attack posturing, intimidation, testing and what not – has ended and the bad ass is about to throw the first punch?

THOUGHT I would share with you, then, some of my sure-fire signs that a fist or foot is about to be introduced to your face or ass.  What do you think?

HAMMER’S SURE-FIRE SIGNS A FIST OR FOOT IS ABOUT OPEN UP A CAN OF WHUP-ASS!

“HIT HIM NOW” SIGNS.  When the following phenomenon occur, these are Decision Points!  Stop Thinking and Hit Him Square and Hit Him Fast!

·        3 MAJOR SIGNS THE FIGHT IS ON.”

1.     Body Language. 

Ø       The Hiatus:  The Bad Guy goes quiet, looks away for a second, then turns back to you, followed by a

Ø    Target Stare.  The Bad Guy will look at wherever he is going to strike you a second or so before he does it.

Ø    The Finger Jab.  The Bad Guy is “testing the waters.”  If you do nothing, you are telling him “c’mon in.  The waters fine.”  Like I said in the lead in to these factors, hit him now!

Ø    The Shove.  According to Jacov Bresler, an Israeli self defense guru, “a shove is always followed by a punch.”

Ø    The Chin Drop.  Jacov Bresler also propounds that the Chin Drop is the Bad Guy’s instinctive act of protecting his or her neck and that a Chin Drop always means trouble.

Ø    The Initial Strike.  Never allow the Bad Guy to strike you – even when the hit appears to be semi-harmless – without you counter punching immediately!  If he strikes you once, there is little doubt that he will hit you again, this time harder.

                             2.  The Threat.

Ø       A threat is always a Signature of danger.  A Red Flag you must heed.

Ø    Many novices do nothing when faced with an obvious threat.

Ø    A distinctive threat (as opposed to one you think is one implicitly) is a sign the Bad Guy is ramping up his courage, confidence and emotions to give him the wherewithal to carry out an attack.

Ø    Things will escalate fast following a threat!

2.       Sudden Silence.

Ø       Sudden Silence is a reliable Signature Of Danger because—

Ø    The Bad Guy is holding an internal dialog about what he is about to do to you.

Ø    Fighting Arts Rule:  Fighters do not talk and fight.

BANG HIM UP WITH AN AUTOMATIC RESPONSE.

·        Key Elements That Create An Automatic Decision Point, at which point you need not to think about it.  Just Bang Away>

Ø       The Combination of Bad Body Language, A Verbal Threat and Sudden Silence, plus—

Ø    SPACE.  When the Bad Guy moves inside your PSZ (Personal Safety Zone), especially after you warned him:  “Hey, man, stop.  You don’t need to come any closer!”  Any “normal” dude will stop right then and there.  If he keeps on coming, nail him right there!  Thing is, though, even though I am advocating lashing out when he penetrates your PSZ, you must mentally prepare (Spinal Tune) yourself as he begins to step in.

Ø    INTUITION.  Your gut-instincts are going hay wire.  Danger!  Danger!).

Ø    CROSSING THE LINE.  The key here is to define a “Line” that the Bad Guy has to cross for you to automatically respond.  On one side of that line, the person is just an annoying jerk; but, when he crosses that “line,” he becomes a Bad Guy.

Not only does this knowledge prepare you with an Automatic Response that will help to ameliorate any indecision (indecisiveness gives the appearance of weakness to a Bully), it will also alleviate the fear that you can be arrested and charged with assault.  This fear is justifiable; and it is a fear most criminals and bullies do not share.  In my mid, they are A-social animals who rarely share your concerns and values.  But, think of it, if you follow The Hammer’s rationale, you have observed his body language, have asked him and warned him nicely not to come any closer, and, in contrast, he, the attacker, has ignored your warning, has threatened you, has moved closer, has jabbed his finger into your chest and maybe even struck you before your righteously retaliated.

Until next time, Stay Safe.

Hammer