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

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

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

TURNING THAT KEY

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until then, stay safe.

Hammer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Part III< Improvised Weapon Surprise.  Until then, Stay Safe

Hammer

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LOAD “SURPRISE” INTO YOUR SELF DEFENSE GAME PLAN, PART I.

This post was originally supposed to be for parents who wish to teach their children skills to stop the bully in his or her tracks. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the following self defense tactics and skills will work for anyone who might be required to defend her or himself against anyone who has arrogantly invaded his or her personal space and is posturing as if he or she is about to attack.

When we talk self defense, the element of surprise is essential. Remember, we are not talking about a competitive contest in a dojo or an arena overseen by a referee or a master instructor. What we are talking about is a spontaneous, close quarter life and death struggle in an environment usually selected by the attacker, who is a pernicious predator who has painstakingly planned out the assault. Likely, your attacker(s) has the following advantages:

v He/she is bigger and stronger.

v He/she has a distinct plan.

v He/she is armed with one or more (deadly) weapons.

v He/she has you *outnumbered (*when the attacker has a plan and the victim does not, the victim is already outnumbered).

v The attacker will choose the time and space of his/her attack so that the lighting is subdued, there are no witnesses, and the victim has little or no ability to move (tactically).

v The predator will almost always(98%)precede his/her attack with a slick distraction designed to get the victim looking in another direction (than at him or her) so that his or her (the prospective victim’s) focus is fractured and his/her ability to defend him or herself (against the predator) is radically weakened.

v In other words, despite all the other advantages he/she already has, the bully, sexual predator, abductor, or violent criminal, still relies mostly on The Element of Surprise to overcome his or her victim!

My point, exactly. I have no reluctance and zero hesitation to say that Surprise (ALONG WITH SPEED) is going to be your key, irrespective of your age, size, or gender to successfully defending yourself against anybody who threatens your safety, maybe even your life. Ergo in two subsequent posts, we’re going to discuss how to manifest this great element in your self defense arsenal. Used properly and with great commitment, surprise will reverse the predator-prey principle and set the bad guy back on his (or, her) heels!

SURPRISE AND SPEED KILLS!

So, what do I mean by surprise? Maybe an example will help. Have you ever been walking in the woods, perhaps your mind is lost in thought about something or someone you care about, are troubled about, and, bam, with a rush of wings flapping and bushes bursting, a covey of pheasants, or a turkey, explodes from the brush around you? It has happened to me, and, let me tell you, your heart feels like it stops, you freeze, and you can hardly breathe. Or, you are coming through a door, once again, your mind on something far away, and, bam, someone else is standing in the doorway. Someone you didn’t expect to see. Once again, you stop breathing, your mouth falls agape, and you may even stumble backwards, off balance.

I have just described exactly what” surprise” does to a person who is unaware and who is suddenly and unexpectedly confronted by a predator.

In the next two posts, though, I will tell you exactly how to Reverse the Predator-Prey Syndrome and make the Bad Guy hold his breath and stumble backwards.

Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer

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PARENTS: BE YOUR CHILD’S BULLY-BE-GONE SAFETY COACH!

Sheesh, Readers, talk about a frigging writer’s block. I wrote Part I of this 2-part post back on December 19. Over a month ago. If you’ve read me before, thanks for hanging in there. If you are a first-time reader, welcome. Enough already. Let’s get on with what I think are some valuable, easy-to-learn, easy-to-maintain, easy-to-perform under stress in real situation Fighting Arts that you can teach your children at home. Teach them these arts and I damn near guarantee your child will be able to:

1. Prevent the bully from selecting him or her as a victim.
2. Delay and discourage even the preliminary stages of a physical attack.
3. But, if the attack comes, repel the assault and easily escape and evade injury

STEP 1. (RE) READ PART I. The 12/19 article suggested some key steps, including taking on the role of your child’s Safety Coach and teaching him or her Tough Target Skills that, if adopted, will create an aura that will not make him an easy target for bullying.

STEP 2. NEGOTIATE A PLEDGE FROM YOUR CHILD that he is willing to do whatever it takes, within reason, of course, to make a bully go away. After all, Bully-Be-Gone Tactics requires, more than even ability, a readiness and WILLINGNESS to do what it takes. Standing up to a bully, after all, takes courage, make no mistake. Taking a pledge from your son or daughter that they will take their training seriously and commit themselves to it, is a very, very big step toward achieving the ultimate goal, which is to make the bully go away, forever (and, oh, how liberating a feeling that will be!)

STEP 3. MAKE THIS TRAINING A FAMILY DEFENSE PLAN. Make standing up for oneself and defending oneself family values.

STEP 4. PARENTS, BE SAFETY COACHES. If you read Step 1, you know this. If you did not, read it now.

STEP 5. DEVELOP AND TEACH FROM A LESSON PLAN OF FIGHTING SKILLS. Make sure the skills you arrive at are simple, easy to learn, based on symmetrical, gross motor skills, are easily doable under stress, and, since many of these might be exercised in the school environment where a zero-violence policy exists, injury-friendly.

HAMMER’S BULLY-BE-GONE COUNTER-BULLY SUCCESS FORMULA

1. BREATHE DON’T FREEZE!. Teach your child that the first thing they need to do when attacked is to fight the natural urge to freeze and hold his or her breath. 98% of victims do this, which is why they are victims. Tactical breathing sends oxygenated blood to the brain.
2. VERBALIZE. Nine out of 10 victims not only freeze but say nothing as the bully invades his or her space. Tell the bully that you intend to stand up for yourself. Ask him to step back; tell him to step back and then warn him to get back before you counter attack.
3. CONTROL YOUR SPACE. Personal space is a fighting issue and the bully will attempt to immediately Depreciate the Victim by stepping in to his or her PSZ (Personal safe Zone). Breathe, Talk, Establish a Balanced Ready Stance, and Move is the correct sequence here.

Ø Breathe

Ø “”George, I told you, get back!”

Ø Balanced posture, strong foot back, knees bent, eye contact and weak hand up near face.

Ø Move diagonally to maintain your distance (5 to 6’).

1. HAVE A GAME PLAN. Teach your child some reasonable escape and evasion tactics. Key here is your child needs to have a number 1 plan of action as well as a back-up plan (failure plan). Once he or she loads the plan in his or her brain, he or she is Spinal Tuned for action. If she/he has no plan, there is a good chance he or she will freeze like a deer in the headlights when an attack comes).
2. LOAD “SURPRISE” INTO THE GAME PLAN. Especially if your child is not well physically equipped for dominating a fight, surprise is a key to victory. A few notes about “surprise” at the end of this article.
3. SET THE BAD GUY BACK ON HIS/HER HEELS. Take the fight to the bully before he can take the first swing! The bully has chosen your kid, most likely because she or he feels your kid is an easy target. Invoke “Surprise” by taking the initiative. Knowing when to “take the fight to the bully” is a key, of course:

Ø AFTER THE BAD GUY THREATENS YOU.

Ø AFTER THE BULLY SHOVES YOU.

IØ AFTER THE BAD GUY POKES YOU WITH HIS OR HER FINGER (IN THE CHEST).

Ø AFTER THE BULLY DISREGARDS YOUR REQUEST TO “STAY BACK.” IF AND WHEN THE BULLY STARTS STRIDING TOWARD YOU WITH MENACING BODY LANGUAGE!

1. USE REALISTIC AND EFFECTIVE ESCAPE & EVASION TACTICS:

Ø KEEP MOVING, HANDS UP.

Ø MIRROR CALM. LOOK FEROCIOUS, THINK FEROCIOUS. DO NOT COMMUNICATE FEAR.

Ø TIE THE BULLY UP (MAKE SURE TO GET YOUR ARMS ABOVE HIS/HERS).

Ø ONCE YOU HAVE HIM TIED UP, DRIVE YOUR TOE HARD SEVERAL TIMES INTO HIS/HER LOWER SHINS.

Ø THIS WILL MAKE HIM LOOSEN OR DROP HIS GRIP ON YOU. “OPEN HIS DOOR” BY PLACING YOUR WEAK HAND ON HIS OPPOSITE SHOULDER AND YOUR STRONG HAND ON THAT HIP AND SHOVE DOWNWARD AND BACK AT A 45 DEGREE ANGLE.

Ø STEP THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR AND GET OUT OF DODGE.

Next Post: The Element of Surprise and Bully-Be-Gone.

Until then, Stay Safe.

HAMMER

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

December 19, 2009

BULLY-BE-GONE!  PART I – WHAT CAN YOU DO AS A PARENT?

Not that I haven’t talked about this issue before, but, Hell’s Bells, readers, bullying is not only not going away, but, doesn’t it seem to you that it’s getting worse and worser?  I mean, a gang of bullies sets a teenager on fire!  And, in my area here, big kids are still beating on weaker kids; and when they get tired of beating on the weak, they recruit more bullies and attack the not-so-weak.

Fact is, bullying is an all too common form of violence in our society.  I’d estimate that over 30% of students are either bullies or victims.  And, parents, I could go into a lot more stats re bullying.  Its pernicious effects on both the victim and the bully. The psychological scars it leaves on the victim, scars that never, ever go away.

But, as a parent of a child who is getting bullied, do you really truly care about statistics?, I think not.  At least I wouldn’t.  “Just tell me what the hell to do, Dickwad,” is what I’d be saying.

So, okay, okay, I’ll tell you.  And I’ll start from the beginning, just in case you suspect something is awry, but you’re not sure what.  First of all, you need to be aware. Staying tuned in to your child is a big first step.  Don’t expect him or her to confide in you what is going on unless your child feels that you are tuned in and simpatico.

1. BE AWARE AND SIMPATICO RE YOUR CHILD.
2. BE AWARE OF CHANGES IN HIS/HER ATTITUDE AND/OR BEHAVIOR. For instance, a child who normally does well in school, maybe even enjoys going to school, suddenly becomes reluctant to go, maybe even gets withdrawn, depressed.  Stops doing homework.
3. ASK COGENT QUESTIONS. Mayhap not straight out “Hey, are you getting bullied? questions, but questions that show an interest in what is really happening at school.  Who is she/he hanging with.  Try not to let the child get away with vague answers.
4. ONCE YOUR SUSPICIONS ARE CONFIRMED (even if your child doesn’t clearly admit he/she is being bullied, but your suspicions are realistic, reasonable and based on an “educated intuition). CONTACT THE SCHOOL AND LET THEM KNOW.
5. TAKE ON THE ROLE OF YOUR CHILD’S SAFETY COACH. Trust me on this, you can teach your kid great counter bullying skills and techniques at home.  I do a great Bully Be Gone class, but, even when I teach that course I let the parents know that my class cannot be truly effective unless they follow-up with some support at home.  Safety Caches can teach their child some really effective skills that have worked for other children, or Would-Be Victims, including:

• TOUGH TARGET ATTITUDES. Attitude is damn near everything when it comes to discouraging a bully from even choosing your child as a victim!  In the case where your child has already been a repetitive victim, this is going to be harder, but it can work.  TTA manifest themselves when you teach your child to:
  • Walk/stride confidently, swinging your arms freely (the freer and more natural the swing the less fearful). Believe me or not, oftentimes, when you can get your child to physically mimic or replicate the attitudes and mannerisms of a Tough Target Kid, it actually inculcates and absorbs into the psyche of the youngster.  Your kid can actually convince him/herself, along with the potential bully, that he IS a Tough target Kid!
  • Scan your environment with your eyes.
  • Stand Up For Yourself. Tell the bully, “Hey, I don’t appreciate what you just said.”
  • LOOK BORED, DISINTERESTED, DEPRECIATE THE VERBAL ICON! Okay, so the bully needs to see fear in your child’s eyes.  Too bad for this numnutz.  Teach your child to Depreciate whatever the bully does or says.  By depreciating his/her words (The Verbal Icon) and/or actions, your child will be empowering him/herself while disempowering the Bully! Oftentimes, the bully will break off any planned attack.  Often, this might piss off the bully, but the child who seems disinterested and uneffected by the bully will put the bully back on his or her heels, and, all that needs too be done, is quickly distract the child, make a quick move, and get out of Dodge (see Part II).
  • SOFT EYE CONTACT. See more in Part II, but Soft Eyes restricts eye contact to an invisible triangle from the upper cheeks to the chin.  This way your child can see any movements by the hands, arms, and torso.
  • Don’t Let the Bully Back You Up. Teach your kid to protect his/her space. Do not allow the bully to invade his or her Personal Safe Zone (3-4’ in).  Teach your child to move diagonally (J-Step) to keep his or her space, but, at some point, it is up to your child to tell the bully to “Stay back!”
  • VERBALIZE. The Bully, like many other predators, is seeking to find fear in your kid’s eyes.  The bully may be posturing for an audience to prop himself, his image, up.  If your child stays silent, the bully is spurred on.  Teach your kid to verbalize in three stages:
  • Ask. “Hey, Andy, c’mon,  How about letting me go to class.  We can do this later, if you still want.”
  • Tell:  “Andy, I don’t appreciate being called that.”
  • Command.  “That’s it.  Get back.  Now!”

• TEACH YOUR CHILD THE FIGHTING ARTS. Tune in for Part II, where I will talk about some reasonable and easily doable (as well as easy-to-teach) skills designed to Stop The Bully In His Tracks.

Until then, Stay Safe

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

November 28, 2009

YOSEMITE NIGHTMARE – Using the Fighting Arts to Stop A Raging Killer.

You might’ve caught my November 25 post  – A Yosemite Nightmare – in which I talked about the park handyman who slaughtered four women (actually, I only detailed three murders; a fourth woman was attacked and decapitated in a separate attack) in maybe the most grisly way possible.  The point of the article was that the women disobeyed their gut instincts and allowed the handyman inside their cabin, then exacerbated their error by believing the psycho when he promised that they would not be harmed if they cooperated.  Went along with The Program. Of course, if you’ve been reading any of my posts regarding Self Defense for Women or Children (one of the victims was only 14), you know what The Program they will be going along with.

Humiliation, Torture Then Death is The Program.

So, I hope you’re wondering, if you were ever in a situation like this – maybe a Home Invasion, maybe a person you had trusted is now in an enclosed environment and he turns out to be a rabid wolf instead of your husband’s Best Friend, or, you and two of your women/girlfriends are coeds at a college and you’ve been invited to a special party, and the Special Party turns out to be just one horny and violent man and, well, you – what exactly do you do?

First and foremost, it is up to you.  The Number One Principle in Self Defense (For Women, Children, especially) is that Being Willing To Fight Back is more important than being able! In the Yosemite Park scenario no one knows if any of the 3 women were able to fight their killer, but we do know for sure that they were not willing. And being unwilling, when the spontaneous close quarter attack explodes in your face, translates into you and your friends freezing like statues (or deer in the headlights)and becoming ideal immovable victims!  Even if you have the ability to fight, once your mind and body is flooded by stress hormones, you are cooked, unless, of course, you—-

v      HAVE A SURVIVAL PLAN. In the business, we call this Spinal Tuning. Think ahead  and commit yourself to a plan of action, if an attack should occur.  In the Yosemite situation, if the women decided they were going to allow the handyman in to their lodge (never should they have selected this option, but let’s say the lodge verified that he was an employee and they let him in, before they might have committed themselves to the plan, if the worse case scenario went down), each needed to simply say, if this happens, I will do that and Be Willing To immediately and unhesitatingly carry out that plan when the shit hits the fan!

v      HIT THE “FIGHTING ARTS NOW” BUTTON IMMEDIATELY AND GO FOR BROKE, BABY!

• Make sure you Breathe Tactically so we can get oxygenated blood to the brain.
• There are 3 of you.  3. Either bunch up for a feeling of unity and safety, or stay in different areas of the room, so the asshole can’t cover you all with his gun (yes, he had a gun).
• Make noise and attack!  The asshole is after compliant, quiet victims.  That is why he chose you in the first place.  Get him back on his heels by attacking from different directions, throwing objects through the windows (Destroy The Environment, Baby!) so the Bad Guy knows that others in the area will know an attack is going down, which is the very last thing he wants.  Make him want to break off the attack, even though now he cannot.
• Make Your Attack Count. Three women, even if none have The Ability to fight, can reek havoc on one man.  Even if he has a gun.  If you work it right, you can make The Counterattack really work.  How?

1. Hit him from different directions.
2. Hit his “High Dollar Targets.” Limit his ability to see, to move, to breathe.  Stop him right now!  Gouge his eyes; kick his knees out; drive something into his throat!  There are 3 of you, so one of you throw something over his head (a sheet or a coat) from behind, so his ability to see anything is gone; then hit the floor behind him and have one of your friends push him over you.  Once on the floor he is yours!
3. Speed, power and multiplicity means do not delay, explode into every strike, gouge, kick.  Shed any age old compunctions you might have about hurting another human being, understanding that now he has shed his disguise and now he is a stone, cold killer and his Program he wants you to go along with calls for humiliation (ties you up and sexually assaults you), torture and death! Power means that what you hit – his Targets – all cause him to stop what he is doing and reflexively grab himself there .  Multiplicity means that you never stop fighting until there is nothing left to fight!  Comprende?

>     BE TARGET AND TASK FOCUSED.  DO NOT ALLOW FEAR TO SLOW YOU DOWN! I always advise my students to focus only on the targets he or she needs to hit.  Be Task Oriented.  This means learning what your best personal weapons are and how to use them against the assailants open targets! I also point out that when the Bad Guy engages you with one or both hands, he has no or limited ability to block incoming strikes or gouges to his vital targets (knees, eyes, throat, groin).

And, finally, what about the handgun the Bad Guy is wielding? Great question.  Since this is the Yosemite situation, let me again point out that there are 3 of you and he can only shoot one, maybe two of you before you get to him.  Sounds bad, I know, but consider this:  In the real scenario, the handyman tied up, tortured and killed all 3.  Plus, the gun was not loaded.  Here are some things to think about:

1. Even if you are shot, chances are better than 60% you will not die from your wound, if help can be retrieved within an hour.
2. Under stress – and the killer is under stress, also – it is not easy to hit a moving target.  Chances are better than 45% that, if you move fast and use barricades (furniture in the room, etc), you will not be hit, or, if hit, may be able to avoid a hit to a vital target.
3. Guns and knives are brandished against victims because they instill great trepidation, fear and usually gain cooperation.  If and when the assailant brandishes a deadly weapon for this reason, he is not always immediately willing and able to use it, meaning a quick counterattack can render that weapon almost inoperable,  In the Yosemite case, the gun was not even loaded!

Stay Safe Until My Next Post.

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

August 31, 2009

FOILING THE EVIL MOTHER FUGGER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5) Make plenty of noise.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until the next post, Stay Safe.

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

August 15, 2009

DEADLY SERIOUS MOTHER FUGGERS

You might or might not know by now that I’ve dedicated my professional life to emulsifying all predators who prey on women and children. Mayhap emulsifying is too esoteric and dramatic a term, but it reads a lot better than ridding the world of or vexing. You be the judge,

Point is, there are those worthless miscreants out there, maybe .less than 1% of the population, who dedicate their existence to marking, stalking, attacking, raping, assaulting, and, if it pleases them, torturing and killing our most vulnerable, our most beautiful among us.

Let’s get together and emulsify these Deadly Serious Mother Fuggers . We can start by understanding that they spend hours a day, while you and I are working and figuring out how to make a safe and secure life for our families, planning and scheming how to distract and seduce their selected prey.  To get them under their control.

DEADLY SERIOUS PLOYS

• Taking advantage of personality characteristics. In way too many cases, predators have used the kindness of women against them. Without a doubt, if children and women offered a cold stare instead of a smile and an open heart, many predators would be out of luck.
• Getting Women out of their Home, Car, Wherever. Some of the ingenious ploys these evil miscreants use to influence women and children into their clutches include:

Ø “MY BABY IS TURNING BLUE!” Panic-stricken men have approached women and stammered that “my baby is in my car and he is dying, turning blue, please help oh my God, please help!” The victim doesn’t have to even approach the car, by the way, just begin to walk with the guy out of a high-witness area and be caught distracted, off-balance.

Ø “MAM, YOU DROPPED THIS.” A woman has entered her car after shopping and walking through a parking lot. Suddenly a “concerned-looking” man rushes over to her waving a $5 or $10 bill. He claims she dropped the bill. Many women will roll the window down at that point without even thinking, at which point the man forces his way into her car, or, in some cases, pulls her out of the car and into his. A key defense is to know your money is secure and be aware of what you have at all points, so you don’t fall for the ploy. Another thought is that your life is worth a lot more than $10. Once in your car, lock it up, seal the windows and go!

Ø CRYING BABY ON YOUR PORCH OR OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR. This heartless ploy plays heavily on a woman’s maternal instincts, just like the “Baby Turning Blue” ruse. This ruse involves a recording of a crying baby and a predator lying in wait for you to open the door. If you open the door, the Bad Guy will explode into your house or drag you out of it!

Ø POST-IT STICKUM NOTE ON YOUR BACK WINDOW. Plays on a woman’s curiosity and concern. When she begins to back out of her spot she will notice the note, and, more often than not, will get out of her car to read it. Bingo! Always remember to get in the car and just go! You can always read the note from a safe public spot.

Ø FIRST IN/FIRST OUT. I have posted about this many times before, but it is worth mentioning once more. Predators prefer to attack when their chosen victim is most distracted. And there are few instances when a child or woman is more distracted than when she or he is first going in or coming out of a house, automobile, or, for that matter, any kind of structure or edifice.

Next Post: Things you can do to foil the Deadly Serious Mother Fuggers of the world. Until then—

Stay Safe.

Hammer

GAMES PREDATORS PLAY

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

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

THE SIX LINEAR STAGES OF SELF DEFENSE

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

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

HELP WANTED ADS.

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

REFUSAL TO ACCEPT “NO!”

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

THE GRATITUDE AND GUILT GUN.

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

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

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

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

Next Post.  More Games and Tough Target Strategies.

Until then.  Stay safe.

Hammer