TARGETS AND HOW TO HIT THEM

A week or so ago I talked about the various Primary and Secondary Targets that a potential victim can strike, kick, gouge or leverage, as well as our personal weapons we can use to win a life or death fight, or just to escape a scrape with your body intact.  It occurred to me that maybe I should briefly elaborate one or two ways to most effectively do this.  Here are a few examples of how you can put an attacker down, if not out your own personal body parts.

EYES       Hook fingers inside mandible and gouge either or both eyes using your thumbs.  Will

                   Result in the attacker immediately letting go of any body part he is holding and grabbing at his eyes.  This is a primary target, so, if you can follow up with another strike, you are almost always home free.  Another method is the Tiger Claw, which consists of crashing the heel of your palm into the subject’s chin and driving the head “off” his neck, following up by driving the fingers into his eyes.

NOSE    Drive a Hammer Fist strike down onto the nose or drive a Palm Heel Strike up through the Blind Spot that extends from his solar plexus to his nose into the nose.  Will cause great pain, an immediate debilitating watering of the eyes, and, usually, instant cessation of fighting.  Always follow up with a flurry of other strikes and kicks as his head drops.

CHIN    A strong Palm Heel Strike or Horizontal Elbow Strike will often stun an attacker.  If you can drive the chin and jaw up toward the nose, you can do significant damage.  Once again, always follow up with other strikes. 

THROAT  This is a Primary Target because a solid strike with even a glancing blow can put the Bad Guy quickly out of action.  Hit the throat with a Beak Strike, Web Strike, or with the Ridge hand.  Peruse past posts for more details and descriptions of these strikes.  A strike to the throat will prevent the Bad Guy from breathing and must be followed up with other merciless strikes.  Also, any Improvised Weapon, such as a cell phone, paperback book, car keys, whatever, will work wonders if driven hard into the throat!

JUGULAR NOTCH  is a fantastic Pressure Point located directly beneath the Bad Guy’s Adam’s Apple.  Just hook your middle two fingers in the “notch,” and drive the fingers in and down—hard!   Done right, the Bad Guy will grab his neck, choke, and start backing away.

EARS  are secondary targets, but don’t minimize their impact value.  Slap the palms of both hands hard against the ears and the subject may suffer disorientation and pain.  Now, as he reels, hit him again in one of the many open targets.

BACK OF HEAD AND NECK.  There may be times when the attacker is pulling you in to him and he exposes the back of his head and/or the top of his spine.  The harder you can drop a personal weapon or two onto that target the more stunned will the Bad Guy become.  When he is stunned is the time to follow-up with another blow, most likely an Ascending Knee Strike into the Descending Head!  Your best bets to hit the back of head target would be a Double Descending hammer Fist Strike (clasp both hands together, raise them up and drop them as a unit hard onto the target), or a Descending Elbow Drop.

CLAVICLE.  A Descending Elbow Drop onto one of the clavicles can do considerable damage.  Make sure you drive the Tip of the Elbow as hard and direct as possible into this target.  You can also use a Single Descending Hammer Strike.  Best to follow up with an Ascending Knee Strike into the groin.

FOREARMS, WRISTS AND HANDS.  If the Bad Guy has grabbed you, it’s a simple matter of dropping  the bony parts of your forearm as hard and as often as you can onto his forearms, wrists and hands.  Doesn’t sound like much in this venue, but, if you try it and make sure you aim your impact point through the target instead of bouncing off of it, I am sure you will see how effective it can be.  

GROIN.  Another Primary Target.  If it is open, it can easily be hit, if you don’t telegraph the incoming strike.  Ascending Knee Strike; Ascending Shin Kick; Universal Strike; or dropping your fist hard into the groin as the Bad Guy pulls you in, all can work.  Tips include not looking at the target (telegraphing)m before you strike.  Even a fake knee strike will always cause the Bad Guy to immediately bring both hands toward his crotch – an instinctive move – which will also open up other targets.

Next Post:  More Targets.  More Methods.

Until then.  Stay Safe.  Hammer

July 7, 2009

Saving The Little Girl At the Bottom of the Lake

This is Part III of a four-part post following police discovering the weighted-down body of a little girl at the bottom of Lake Wallenpaupak in a Northeast Pennsylvania resort area.  Part I was a plea to schools and/or parents to take the role of Safety Coaches for their children; II looked at some strategies Safety Coaches can teach their children on evading and escaping the Chicken Hawk if and when the predator layed hands on the child, and, so here we are.  Part III.

Part III:  Worse Case Scenario – The Predator Drags the Child to His Car!

A primal principle of surviving a confrontation with a predator:  Never Go With Him.  Always Stay in the First Place (Initial Crime Scene)!  Why?  The predator wants more than anything to remove the child as fast as possible from where that child is found.  The constant and inexorable intent is to abduct the child and take him or her to an isolated Secondary Crime Scene where the abductor has all the time and privacy he needs to torture, molest and kill the child.

Fact is, I would be – and so would any responsible Safety Coach – a fool if I didn’t prepare my child students for the possibility when they would be taken, despite their best efforts, away from the initial (crime) scene. 

What, then, do you teach your children to do in this situation?*

Obviously, it is up to you.  You may come up with a batter strategy.  You may.  But I doubt that you will conjure up a better set of principles thank I.  The principles should guide all of your strategies and techniques.

NEVER, EVER GIVE UP.

BREATHE, DON’T FREEZE.

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A SECOND OR TWO WHERE YOU CAN ESCAPE.  TAKE IT!

Teach the child that, even though the situation seems hopeless, there will always be an opportunity to fight and escape if he or she keeps alert and does not panic.  For instance, if the abductor passes anything the child can grab onto and hug, Do It!

If the predator(s) pauses at his getaway car to open the door, wait until he frees one of his hands to squirm, kick and bite and to drop toward the predator’s feet.  Hook onto his legs, ankles.

If the predator does get the door open, here may be a chance to escape!  The Bad Guy will be in a hurry, so this is the time where he may, in his haste, make a mistake.  The child needs to be alert for anything he or she can use.  Like placing his or her feet against the passenger seat and pushing against it.  Like grabbing the seat belt fastener and pulling on that.

If the child is placed in the seat, he or she can throw the male portion of the seatbelt into the doorway to make it tough to close.  He can disobey the Bad Guy’s instructions to belt him/herself in and when the Bad Guy reaches to belt him in, the child can rake the guy’s eyes, strike him in the throat, whatever needs to be done in order to escape.

Remember:  The key here is to delay the Bad Guy at the crime scene, to draw attention to the child’s plight.  A desperation tactic could also be to reach out one’s hands to the Bad Guy, as if to hug.  If the Bad Guy falls for it, the child can slide over toward the Bad Guy – which is always what the Bad Guy wants – and, suddenly, leap face first against the Bad Guy and hook onto him – face-to-face.  As counter-intuitive as it sounds, the child is now in position to bite, gouge, head butt and just hold on to the predator.

Not only can the predator not drive, more likely than not, he would not want to drive with a child who is not his own hooked on to him face-to-face.  Think about it.  Would you?  Looks a little suspicious, huh?

The child can also grab the keys and toss them into the back seat.

*The success or failure of these esoteric strategies depends on your trainings as a Safety Coach.  My suggestion:  Use fun Role Play Games to teach your kids how to do what I have suggested in this and previous posts.  Without making the games terrifying, teach your child how to avoid being placed in a car by using the Drop, Lock and Roll technique; teach them how to open the passenger door from the inside (when it is locked); maybe teach them how to escape from the inside of a trunk, or, at the least, break one of the tail lights and stick a hand or object through the hole to attract attention.

If you want more specifics on how to be a good Safety Coach, or on any of the escape techniques, including the Drop, Lock and Roll, contact me through www.ActionFightingArts.com, or, contact me through harrywigder@rcn.com.  There is no charge for any assistance.

These strategies can save your child from the bottom of the lake.

Stay Safe.

Hammer

TEACH THE CHILD TO EVADE AND ESCAPE THE EVIL CHICKEN HAWK!

In law enforcement we call child predators Chicken Hawks.  The nickname’s a slur.  As in evil, cowardly, skulking, opportunistic.  Also, if not avoided or stopped quick, very deadly.  If you read my last post, you know I am referring to the cowardly Chicken Hawk who abducted, molested and drowned a young girl in a lake not far from where I live.  Tied the girl to a weight and dropped her in the water, he did.

In my last post, then, I elaborated – with a pretty heavy heart – on how parents and schools can help prevent this by being their child’s Safety Coach.  As promised, in this one I’m going to elaborate on what the child can do if ever they are in the grasp of a sexual predator.

For starters, one thing is clear (to me):  Without a Safety Coach to teach them, the child will react naturally, which means he or she will do nothing and freeze, 98+% of the time.  Reacting to a potential or real attack with action, speed, and fury is an Unnatural Act!  It must be instilled in the child through training.  So, if you cannot or will not inculcate the following skills, find a training system that will!

KID ESCAPE TECHNIQUES WHEN EVASION FAILS

• HAVE A PLAN:  Encourage your child to think ahead of time of an escape route, etc.  This is tough for a child to do, so, when you are coaching your child, play the What If Game to encourage them to think in scenarios.
• BREATHE, DON’T FREEZE!  Get oxygenated blood going to your brain and always do something!  Never freeze.  That is what the predator wants most.  Over 98% of victims freeze upon First Touch.  Teach your child to use First Touch (by the predator) as a Mental Trigger for action!
• TURN THE PREDATOR’S PSYCHOLOGY AGAINST HIM.  Teach the child that time and movement are the Chicken Hawk’s enemy.  Therefore, do things that will expand the amount of time he has to spend at the scene:

Ø      Run In A Serpentine Motion.

Ø      Destroy the Environment.  Throw objects in his path as you run.

Ø      Put Out The Fire.  Roll on the ground as if you are trying to put out a fire with your shirt.  Roll away from him.

Ø      Crab Walk Away From Him.

Ø      Make Noise and Act Crazy.  Arouse witnesses.  Scare the Bad Guy into thinking that soon witnesses will descend on the scene.

Ø      “Help Me!  He is not my father!”

Ø      Use Natural Barricades in the Environment To Buy You Time.

• IF AND WHEN HE GRABS THE CHILD, MAKE IT HARD FOR HIM TO HOLD ON!  This is a key escape move.  Teach the child how to be like an unwilling pet who wiggles, kicks, scratches, etc. so that it can escape. 

Ø      Grab on to anything and hug it!  Wrap your hands around a tree, a pole, a bed post, the handlebars of your bike.  Anything that can buy you precious time.

Ø      Play dead in his arms as if you are the perfect victim, and, then, when he least expects it, squirm, wiggle, kick, bite and escape.

• DROP. LOCK AND ROLL!  Teach the child to play “Twister.”  Quickly drop and lock on to his waist or legs.  Drop head first, if possible.  The end goal is to hook on to his ankles and or shins with your hands and feet.  Yes, the predator might pummel the child and try to break him/her loose, but, please remember “Self Defense is not an injury free activity!”  The key here is that the Bad Guy cannot walk quickly and will not be able to carry the child from the Initial Crime Scene with the speed required. 
• CHANCES ARE, IF HIS TIME AND “INVISIBILITY” IS COMPROMISED, THE CHICKEN HAWK WILL GIVE UP THE HUNT AND DISENGAGE WITHOUT HIS PREY.  WILL MOVE ON TO ANOTHER VICTIM!

In the next post:  Your Child’s Escape and Evasion Strategy if Dragged To the Getaway Car!

Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer.

YOUNG GIRL FOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF LOCAL LAKE

I had planned on posting about something entirely different, until I got the bad news yesterday.  A young girl, who had been abducted from her neighborhood a few days ago was found by police searchers at the bottom of Lake Wallenpaupak, a resort area located in the Poconos not far from where I live.  The poor girl was tied to a weight, so, once again, I find myself pitted against the inexorable, relentless and totally unmovable force of the Chicken Hawk.  The child hunter.

I have dedicated myself and much of my training to the safety of young people.  Children, teenagers. In school and out of school.  During the school year and, now, during Summer break. 

Problem is, teachers, security, administrators, parents and students, so does the predator dedicate and commit himself to getting these children and teenagers into his clutches.

Obviously, he’s better at what he does than I.

So, what can parents and children do to protect against this miscreant?  The remedy sounds simple.  But, obviously, it is not.  If it was, there would be no girl at the bottom of the lake.

Parents must be their child’s Safety Coach.  Must always be attentive, supportive.  Safety Coaches in that they must train their children constantly to:

·        Always be aware of men in their environment who are paying too much attention to them.

·        Always report to them whenever they are approached.

·        Never, Ever leave the original scene with anyone!

·        Always trust their gut instincts when someone gives them the creeps.

·        Have their permission to treat adults rudely and abruptly when an adult attempts to invade their PSZ (Personal Safety Zone) without their (the child’s) permission.

·        Have their permission to “Act Crazy” when approached by a person who might be trying to abduct them.  Teach the child that all predators are looking for a meek, mild, and especially a quiet child.  The child should be a “barrel of noise and movement.”  Never freeze, or stand still. Do something!

·        Never, ever allow any adult or teenager to touch them anywhere on their person, especially their “special zones (teach your child that their “Special Zones” is anywhere that would be covered by their bathing suit)!

·        Never talk to any adult.  If the adult asks for help with anything, understand that any “normal” adult would probably never ask a child for help.

·        Leave the area as soon as the child realizes that an adult is stalking him/her in a car or on foot.  Go to another “safer-looking adult,” preferably a woman with children.

·        If trapped in an area with an adult, yell and move and make eye contact.  Make it clear you will not be an easy target.  Run in a zig-zag motion, using barricades in the environment to buy you time.  Throw object at the Bad Guy’s feet.

• Whenever possible, go outside with at least one friend. Try not to ever be alone outside of the home.

In the next post, “What Your Child Must Do If Grabbed.”

Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer

YOU GOTTA KNOW THE TARGETS

My last post spoke of the efficacy of learning principles over techniques.  This post, I thought I could talk about one of the key principles of my many self defense training programs (Kid Escape/Counter Abduction Techniques/Comet Kids/Advanced Fighting Arts For Women/Sixty and Beyond for Seniors, etc.):

Primary Principle:  There will always be Open Targets.  Concentrate on hitting the most valuable (Primary Targets) Targets.  If Primary Targets are not immediately open, always hit Secondary Targets to force the Primaries to open.

Elaborating on this principle:  If a Bad Guy grabs you with both hands, every conceivable target is open!  As long as his hands are on you, he/she can not use them with which to strike you and he cannot use them to block.  Granted, if he or she is stronger than you and he has your arms and hands tied up, you will have difficulty using them to strike.  But, need I remind you that your hands are not your only striking levers?

PERSONAL WEAPONS

Your personal weapons include anything on your body with which you can hit the attacker.  They include the:  Front and Back of your head.  The Head Butt has been known to shock, stun and even knock an attacker unconscious.  Other Personal Weapons include your:

• Teeth.
• Shoulders.
• Buttocks ( a nicely timed butt-strike can knock a rearward attacker back a step or two).
• Elbows.
• Forearms.
• Hands/Heel of palms/Fingers/Fingernails/Backs of Hands.
• Knees.
• Shins.
• Feet.

There are other personal and Improvised Weapons I could go into, but, suffice to say that virtually anything can work to free you from a jam.  But, since Personal Targets are the theme here, let’s delve into that area for a minute or two:

SECONDARY TARGETS

Secondary Targets are body zones you can hit with very little difficulty.  However, striking a ST will rarely end a fight in your favor.  Hitting ST’s, however, will open up the Primary Targets:

• Top of the Feet,
• Toes of the Feet.
• Ankles.
• Shins.
• Knees (Knees can also be a Primary Target.  I say, if the knees are open, always go for them.  Striking a knee with a good kick can drop a Bad Guy instantly!).
• Inner and Outer Thighs.  The Femoral Nerve Motor Point is halfway between the groin and the knee.  Common Personeal is on the outside.  Hitting either or both can stun an attacker.
• Bladder.
• Stomach.
• Solar Plexis.
• Floating Ribs.
• Ears.
• Nose.
• Forearms and Wrists.
• Fingers.
• Chin.

PRIMARY TARGETS

Once again, the key is to hit one or more of the many Secondary Targets, many of which should be easyto hit.  Follow up immediately as other targets inevitably open up.  Train yourself to concern yourself with these targets, even if you are also being hit at the time.  Targets are the key!

• GROIN.
• EYES.
• THROAT
• *NOSE
• *KNEES.

Kneeing the groin, gouging an eye, and/or driving the ridge of your hand or your fingers into the throat will cause an immediate sensory breakdown.  The once confident attacker will now have problems seeing you, will be hard pressed to breathe, and/or will start to fold toward the ground.  Whether hitting the attacker’s nose or knees, however, may not have the immediate affects of the first three targets, but the Bad Guy will experience great not only great pain, but will experience watering of the eyes and disorientation (nose) and will fold quickly to the ground (knees).

During my self defense trainings, one scenario is a realistic one where the attacker grabs the woman or teen (SD For Women and/or COMET Kids) with one hand and starts to pull the “victim” toward him (the attacker).  The response I always hope for and every once in a while actually see is the “victim” grabbing the Bad Guy’s hand and holding it to his or her (the “Victim’s) body with the opposite hand (so the Bad Guy can not use that hand to block or strike) and then shooting the same side hand into the attacker’s face several times since the attacker lost the ability to block any incoming strikes once he/she elected to grab his/her intended victim.

Until My Next Post, Stay Safe.

Hammer

THE INTERVIEW

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

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

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

Ok, then, how do we do that?

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

      IF IT IS FIGHTING YOU DECIDE TO DO - 

Ø     Breathe Tactically.

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

Ø     Or. Counterattack early and often.

IF IT IS NOTHING YOU DECIDE TO DO.

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

Hammer

PREDATOR BE GONE, PART III- Principles Of Avoidance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ø        ARE YOU GETTING THE IDEA?

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

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

Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer

BULLY BE GONE, PART IV.

This is the final segment of a four-part series on neutralizing the male and/or female bully.  Let’s quickly review the last blog wherein I discussed a physical plan that, if followed, should maximize the intended victim’s chances of stopping the bully, not only where he/she stands, but also to discourage future attacks.

QUICK REVIEW OF PART 3.

1. Act Like A Hard Target and Defuse the Bully During Testing.  All (98%)  attacks begin with a verbal lead-in, or, as some experts call it, The Interview.  I call it “Testing.”  Tell the bully by your strong response, verbally and non-verbally, that, if he/she wants to take you on, he/she better be ready for a tough fight.  In other words, if the prospective victim acts as if he/she is a Hard Target, he/she will pass the test and the Bully will go on to test another victim!
2. Have a Plan of Action.  Spinal Tune Yourself To Escape, Evade, Fight if you must.
3. Create “Automatic Decision Points” that initiate the Victim to Immediately Move Into Action.
4. TACTICAL MOVEMENT.  Don’t cement yourself to the ground.

THE REST OF THE BULLY BE GONE EQUATION.

1.  
   • By this point, the bully most likely has either left, or you have distracted him/her and have evaded the attack.  However, if he or she is still in your face, there is one great reason.  The Bully has made his or her play in front of an audience and can not possibly back down.  I suggest that you accept the fact that some sort of showdown is inevitable, so now is the time to put into play the Plan of Action that hopefully you mentally plugged in previous to the attack. 
   • The Action Fighting Arts Counter-Bully System:

1.      Action is always faster than reaction.  Take the fight to the bully.  If you read the last post, you know the bully has already invaded your PSZ (Personal Safe Zone) against your wishes.  Turtle Up and move in to his Center Line Targets.  Hands up near your face and move in and grapple with the bully /Tie him up.

2.      Drive the hard toe of your shoe into his lower shins The Israeli Army and PPCT Front Kick), which will surprise the Bully, who is expecting  either no counterattack or an attack high, not low.  Strike as often as you have to to initiate a motor reaction by the bully, which is almost always for him to drop his upper body toward the ground.

3.      If the consequences for losing are severe (being attacked by more than one bully in an isolated area outside of the school), grab the back of his head as he drops and drive your knee as hard as you can into his stomach, groin, or, if need be, face!  End of fight.

4.      If the fight is in the school environment with plenty of people to stop the fight if and when it goes too far, grab the back of the bully’s head with both hands and drive his or her nose toward his or her toes with as much strength as you have.  The Front Kick I advocate will act as a Distraction Technique designed to weaken the bully’s motor actions, and it is likely that he will be driven off balance as his nose dips toward his or her toes.

5.      You have now dispatched the bully without having to throw a single punch.  Moreover, very few of your witnesses will ever have even seen you deliver the Front Kick.

6.      As the Bully drops toward the ground, get the heck out of Dodge.  Disengage, or, if necessary, square off in a fighting stance and face any others of the Bully’s friends who might be standing around.

Until the next post, Stay Safe

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

May 7, 2009

BULLY BE GONE, PART 3.

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

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

BULLY BE GONE ESCAPE AND EVASION TECHNIQUES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer 

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

May 5, 2009

BULLY BE GONE

In a recent post I appealed to damned near everybody to do their part in shutting down the Bully Train.  Parents, teachers, school administrators, bullies, victims and even those kids who stand by and not only watch their buddies get bullied, but sometimes even jeer the victim from the sidelines.  Over 65% of us have been bullied, but, in my estimation, well over 80% have been victims of bullying when you count the bully her or himself in the ranks of the victim, simply because, in the long run, even the bully ends up being scarred by his or her own actions.

Over 56% of bullies eventually end up in our prison and/or probation/parole rosters.  Bullies, just like their victims, get caught up on an endless mental and emotional treadmill; and, like their victims,  lead themselves by virtue of their own pathology into an emotional swamp filled with sleepless nights, drug and alcohol addiction and reliance on violence as a solution to many of life’s common dilemmas.

This post, then, is another likely unheeded plea to parents, teachers, police and kids themselves to take this issue seriously and to consciously act against its proliferation.

PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN

Parents might start with two main strategies.  (1) Talk with your child.  Ask germane questions and observe for signs of depression, sadness, a change in behavior and hygiene, etc. that might indicate he/she is trying to deal with the anguish and shame of being bullied.  Always be supportive.  Of course, if you do learn that your child is a victim (of either physical bullying in the school environment, or cyber or telephonic bullying, take action by talking with the school, perhaps the bully’s parents, etc.  (2)  Be a Safety Coach to your child.  Teach him or her how to stop a bully in his or her tracks.  Stop the bully the first time, you can stop the bully forever.  Not only that, bullies have a Grapevine.  If Bully #1 tests your child and he or she gets a “Free Lunch,” or an easy target, he will tell other bullies, and your child’s life will be miserable.  Not only that, your child will have etched a life pattern in steel and the chances are he or she will be a victim forever!

IN the next post I will present some effective counter-bully strategies that will work.  At least they have worked over 90% of the time in the past.  Until then, please Stay Safe.

Hammer