MY STUDIES show that over 3.2 million children and teens are victimized each year.  Making it more pernicious is the humiliation factor resulting in only 33% of kids eventually telling their sad stories to a teacher, much less than that to a parent.  It is a painful secret that too many carry with them in desperate silence, making them a victim over again and again in their nightmares and almost every waking thought.

BULLYING is timeless, relentless and ubiquitous in our schools and playgrounds.  Hell, it is an integral part of our society.  This is why I have poured myself into training children and parents on how to end bullying, at least in their individual worlds.  I admit, there is no counter-bullying blueprint, but there are easy-to-teach (and learn) techniques that really, really work.

TEACHERS, PARENTS – BECOME SAFETY COACHES

1. Concerned parents and teachers can start a Bully-Be-Gone Program simply by talking with kids.  Show interest in their school life.  There are specific questions you can ask, not only to show interest, but to find out if bullying is happening , and, if so, to what degree.
2. Never tell a child to ignore the bully and never blame the child.  Instead listen, actively listen to the child without criticizing.  Empathize, please.
3. Keep emotions in check.  Advise school authorities of the facts as you (think you) know them.  Let the authorities know you are looking for a resolution.
4. TEACH THE CHILD COUNTER-BULLYING TECHNIQUES AND SKILLS:  These can be taught in a non-threatening, fun and safe way to your child.  In a subsequent post I will go into some fun and interactive ways parents and/or teachers (Safety Coaches) can teach these skills – much like I do – in a way that does not frighten the child while concomitantly motivating him or her to practice these skills at least once a week.
   • BREATHE DON’T FREEZE.  Start off with this one because 9 out of 10 victims, when confronted by a bully or adult predator, for that matter, hold their breath and freeze in place like a deer frozen in the lights of an oncoming car.  Whenever you role play a scenario, make sure that the first thing the child does is breathe tactically.  Does two great things:  One, it pumps oxygenated blood into the kid’s system that empowers him ort her to think and act.  Two, if done right, it can scare the bejezus out of the bully.  In my classes the scenario plays out with the bully confronting the intended victim and the boy or girl makes tight fists (the act of tightening the fist triggers the predator instinct within the child and sends a message to the Central Nervous System that impels blood to flow freely) and then he or she begins to expel air through his/her mouth and making exaggerated “blowing” sounds.
   • Felony Face.  Fear is more contagious than courage, but never forget anger, determination and courage can be communicated non-verbally!  Teach the child to be a good actor/actress.  Make a face that communicates to the bully that he or she is no Free Lunch, no easy victim.
   • Interview Stance.  Teach the child an “interview stance” that communicates readiness.
   • Verbalize.  In this limited post I can’t go into too many specifics, but suffice to say that almost all easy victims say nothing when confronted.  Almost every bullying attack is preceded by an “interview” where the bully sizes up his or her victim and paralyzes him or her in fear.  It makes sense, then, to develop a simple but assertive verbal script. 
   • Happy Feet.  Teach the child not to plant his or her feet “in cement.”  Keep moving.  This allows the child to maintain a Personal Safe Zone and to control his or her space. 

More likely than not, if the child/teenager breathes; looks like he/she is willing to fight, if necessary; maintains a good “Interview Stance” that communicates not only readiness, but is balanced and in a constant state of motion (power stems from a sort of “wave” that flows through the body, enhanced by motion) and is combined with assertive language (“C’mon, Butch, we really don’t have to do this, man.”), it is axiomatic that 9 out of 10 bullies will back off in a hurry.  But, Hammer Fans, as sweet as that sounds, the fact is, despite your child or teen’s best efforts, some bullies will still attack, probably because a crowd has gathered and now they have to act tough for the crowd.  So, what now Safety Coaches?

In the next post I will go into the physical tactics that will send that pesky bully running fast in the other direction.

Until then, Stay Safe.

Hammer

Of course reading the secrets and putting them into action are two different things.  If you have the desire to get real good at GASP, commit yourself to hours of practice a week, then, heck, Tough Girl or Roughneck, whoever you be, we got ourselves a deal.  I can come up with a neat little training agenda – simple stuff, too, that will do the trick.  I can make you good.  Real good.  In the studio or dojo, that is.

Putting everything together in a real dead-bang attack scenario might be another dealio.  Developing the necessary mentality and heart to fight – the willingness to do what is needed at the time it is needed, is, in my mind, the most important thing.  But that is up to you – beyond my control.  What is within mine, in the context of this post are a few tips on what strikes can work for you in a jiffy when your ass is on the line.

GASP STRIKES THAT WILL END THE FIGHT NOW

I must caution you.  The following are all Deadly Force, Lethal techniques that you must only use when you perceive that your attacker is about to cut your wires.  Shut down your computer, for, like good.

BEAK STRIKE TO ADAM’S APPLE:  Grip your index and middle finger tight to your thumb.  Blindfold yourself, hold your breath, go out and get blind-ass drunk. Doesn’t matter. Once you learn this configuration, you will be able to do this under any stressful or dysfunctional circumstance.  If the attacker’s throat area is open, the Beak Strike cannot help but stop him cold!   Not only that, it is easy to do from the “Surrender Stance (both hands up in front of you, palms facing the attacker, fingers spread).  Drive that beak hard into the throat area.  It is possible this strike can cause serious damage, even death, so, once again, use it only if—

WEB STRIKE TO THROAT:  Another semi-lethal strike that works perfectly from a Surrender Stance (which lulls the Bad Guy into dropping his guard).  Stretch your fingers taught, away from the thumb, forming an “L” laying on its side.  Drive the strong web into the throat area.  Should be easy when you place the palm of your hand on the Bad Guy’s chest when he pulls you close and beg him to let you go.  Impossible to stop if the Bad Guy’s chin is even slightly up.  Drive the web up through the Blind Spot that extends from his chest to his nose.

HEAD BUTT:  A good head butt driven into the Bad Guy’s nose or forehead may not stop the fight now, but it will most likely stop him in his tracks.  Once again, simple and easily doable.  Just drop your head using dead weight into the target (or, if the Bad Guy grabs you from the rear, the back of the head driven to the rear works amazingly well.  Your skull is durable, build for survival, so chances of an injury are minimal, much less than the Bad Guy’s chances, if you can pull this off.  Enhance the Head Butt by grabbing both sides of his head and holding it there for counterpressure.  Lots of times when men attack a woman, they hope for a woman reacting in this way; it is part of their fantasy script.  Feign tenderness and go medieval on him!

INVOKING SINGULARITY OF FOCUS:  What the hell is The Hammer talking about? You are probably muttering.  Well, don’t you worry about The Hammer; he knows about what he speaketh.  Singularity Of Focus simply means for you, the Good Guy, to maintain upper body or facial eye contact with the Bad Guy to make him certain that whatever counterstrike you are about to unleash will be coming with your upper body.  In many cases this surprise move comes off of a grapple where the attacker moves in close, grabs you and starts to unleash a flurry of upper body strikes, slaps and grabs.  Surprise the Bad Guy with one of more of the following lower body counterattacks:

• The Front Kick:  Used effectively by the Israeli Army, who dynamically enter an enemy building with their rifles chest high.  When the Bad Guy grabs the rifle *(invoking Singularity Of Focus), the Israeli drives the instep and/or toe of his foot hard into the lower shin of the terrorist, who loosens his grip on the rifle.  This kick shuts down the Central Nervous System for a second or two, opening up other targets.  You can do this much the same way.  Imagine you have just stepped in a muddy puddle with your new  shoes.  Now, imagine shaking the water off your kicks.  That is exactly the motion of the Front Kick delivered to the lower shin, just above the tongue of his shoe (Superficial Nerve Motor Point).
• The Knee Strike:  Drive your knee hard into either the groin or Femoral Nerve Motor Point (inside of the leg, halfway between the groin and the knee).  Follow up with more knee strikes.  Power your knee strike by driving the hips into and through your target.  Don’t bounce off it, stick on it and through it.  Feel like you are sitting in a Barco Lounger.  You know how it feels when you pull the rods and your ass end slides forward.  There you go!

A WORD OR TWO ABOUT THE DEVASTATING EYE GOUGE:  No doubt, the Eye Gouge or Tiget Claw is the number onbe counterattack in my Playbook.  In an attack against a woman a man often pulls her in close.  Take that opportunity by getting even closer and performing one of two tacts:

•            Drive a Palm Heel strike up through his blind spot into his chin.  Drive his head straight back, as if trying to rip his head off his shoulders.  As you are doing this, ehnace the whole shooting match by curling your fingers and dsriving them into his eye(s) This is the Tiger Claw Counter Attack.
•            Surprise the crap out of the a’hole.  When he pulls you in, not only go with it, but get even closer.  Place your head on his shoulder with the back of your head wedged against his (creates great counterpressure.  His head cannot escape).  Now, take your inside hand and at first place it on his opposite shoulder, then, suddenly,slide your thumb just below the earlobe and inside the manbible (jaw bone) for leverage.  With your thumb locked in, simply allow your fingers to locate the Bad Guy’s eye and gouge away!

Enough For Now.  Stay Safe.

Hammer

TRUTHFULLY, how many of you spend any time preparing yourself for avoiding and/or repelling an attack?  How many of you look at another person – be he or she an innocent-looking person or the kind of person you might think would spring an attack – and visualize targets you might hit if they opened up?  Visualized how exactly you would strike, or feint, or maybe what type of distraction move you would use to surprise him or her, to fragment his or her thought process?

WHAT I thought.  Warriors do.  And, for that matter, so do Bad Guys.  That’s how they think at all times.  Warriors and Bad Guys alike train themselves constantly – actually, it is called Spinal Tuning –  so they can be in the Attack Mode in order to gain the Fighter’s Edge over the victim.  And. Let me tell you, Hammer Fans – you can’t ever underestimate the Fighter’s Edge since an advantage of only 1 ½ seconds is all it takes to knock the other guy back on his heels and overwhelm his or her ability to think and act.  Unless your opponent has extraordinary recuperative powers and great determination and courage (a warrior who never gives up, in other words), the fight is over.

SO, WHAT IS GASP?

WHILE there are hundreds of techniques, tactics and/or strategies that I have seen advocated to develop Great Attacker (or, in some cases, Asshole) Stopping Power, I like to keep my Fighting Arts strategies down to a simple few, like:

Generate Power.  The difference between hitting an object with just an extended hand and a real powerful strike using hip rotation and extending through (sticking on) a target is immense.  Try this:  Stand with your feet together and imagine yourself in a complete body cast with only your arms free.  With someone holding a pad, strike that pad.  Now, spread your feet and drop your power foot back slightly and feel how freely you can rotate your hips.  Now, strike the pad and just feel how much more power you have.  Keep your toes pointed toward your target, keep your elbows close to your hips and, as you throw the punch, feel your forearms brush your hips.  Avoid Power Leaks that rob your strikes of power. All joint son the side of the strike should lock upon impact (ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows and wrists are power joints).  When you hit imagine you are punching or kicking into and through that target.

Anticipate.  Mental Conditioning is over 75% of the Fighting Arts.  Your mind and body must be Spinal Tuned together in order to respond immediately and effectively to a serious threat.

Spring into action.  Successful self defense cannot be spastic, as it often is.  By spastic I mean closing your eyes and flailing away.  If for no other reason, a spastic fighting effort burns energy quickly and can leave you standing there defenseless.  Take the fight instead to the attacker.  As soon as you identify that he or she is about to attack, go for it!  I will go into the dead-bang signs that you are under attack in another post.

Pinpoint Power Targets.  Hit targets with high dollar value.  In a boxing match or an MMA competition, kicking a Nerve Motor Point (femoral or Common Peroneal) several times in the course of a competition will eventually exhaust the lactic acid in that leg area and cause an involuntary collapse of that leg.  Fight over.  However, when you are involved in a life or death struggle, you might not have time for three uninterrupted straight or angle kicks to the inside and/or outside of a leg.  The average attack/counterattack self defense episode is over in 20 seconds.  Plus, here’s another tact:  The average person, even above average, can only fight at 100% maximum output for 10 to 15 seconds, tops.

·         Power Targets that have high dollar value include:

1.     Groin, Eyes and Throat.  The immediate startle response to even a superficial strike to these will be for the attacker to quickly move both hands to this area.  This will leave other targets open.  Power hits/gouges to any of these will take the Bad Guy out of the fight.

2.     Ears and Knees.  Although considered secondary targets, a kick to the inside of the knees will often stop the fight and/or open up other targets and I have ended several fights by slapping both ears and grabbing one of the ears and twisting down.

3.     Lower Shins:  Great because a nice Front Kick with the Instep and/or toe of shoe is virtually impossible to stop, if the person using it invokes singularity of focus on the Bad Guy’s part by looking at his face while delivering the strike.  Target acquisition (hitting the Superficial Peroneal Nerve Motor Point located behind and above the tongue of the shoe) is not a problem if you target the Bad Guy’s same-side shoulder.  The Superficial Peroneal is always below that.  A good strike or two will cause the Bad guy to drop his upper body, opening up so many targets.

Next Blog:  Strikes and other moves to make your attacker GASP.

Stay Safe

Hammer

GASP is a simple training acronym.  Easy to remember, and, more importantly, quite east to do.  Simplicity and doability, don’t forget, are not to be taken lightly when it comes to the Fighting Arts.  After all, when you are under attack, especially a spontaneous, surprise attack undertaken by an evildoer at great speed and with malevolent determination, your ability to perform anything more complex than the act of flipping a light switch – no exaggeration – will be damn near impossible to do without literally hundreds of training reps and at least a minute or two mentally mapping out an escape and evasion strategy before the attack.

TRUTHFULLY, how many of you spend any time preparing yourself for avoiding and/or repelling an attack?  How many of you look at another person – be he or she an innocent-looking person or the kind of person you might think would spring an attack – and visualize targets you might hit if they opened up?  Visualized how exactly you would strike, or feint, or maybe what type of distraction move you would use to surprise him or her, to fragment his or her thought process?

WHAT I thought.  Warriors do.  And, for that matter, so do Bad Guys.  That’s how they think at all times.  Warriors and Bad Guys alike train themselves constantly – actually, it is called Spinal Tuning –  so they can be in the Attack Mode in order to gain the Fighter’s Edge over the victim.  And. Let me tell you, Hammer Fans – you can’t ever underestimate the Fighter’s Edge since an advantage of only 1 ½ seconds is all it takes to knock the other guy back on his heels and overwhelm his or her ability to think and act.  Unless your opponent has extraordinary recuperative powers and great determination and courage (a warrior who never gives up, in other words), the fight is over.

SO, WHAT IS GASP?

WHILE there are hundreds of techniques, tactics and/or strategies that I have seen advocated to develop Great Attacker (or, in some cases, Asshole) Stopping Power, I like to keep my Fighting Arts strategies down to a simple few, like:

Generate Power.  The difference between hitting an object with just an extended hand and a real powerful strike using hip rotation and extending through (sticking on) a target is immense.  Try this:  Stand with your feet together and imagine yourself in a complete body cast with only your arms free.  With someone holding a pad, strike that pad.  Now, spread your feet and drop your power foot back slightly and feel how freely you can rotate your hips.  Now, strike the pad and just feel how much more power you have.  Keep your toes pointed toward your target, keep your elbows close to your hips and, as you throw the punch, feel your forearms brush your hips.  Avoid Power Leaks that rob your strikes of power. All joint son the side of the strike should lock upon impact (ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows and wrists are power joints).  When you hit imagine you are punching or kicking into and through that target.

Anticipate.  Mental Conditioning is over 75% of the Fighting Arts.  Your mind and body must be Spinal Tuned together in order to respond immediately and effectively to a serious threat.

Spring into action.  Successful self defense cannot be spastic, as it often is.  By spastic I mean closing your eyes and flailing away.  If for no other reason, a spastic fighting effort burns energy quickly and can leave you standing there defenseless.  Take the fight instead to the attacker.  As soon as you identify that he or she is about to attack, go for it!  I will go into the dead-bang signs that you are under attack in another post.

Pinpoint Power Targets.  Hit targets with high dollar value.  In a boxing match or an MMA competition, kicking a Nerve Motor Point (femoral or Common Peroneal) several times in the course of a competition will eventually exhaust the lactic acid in that leg area and cause an involuntary collapse of that leg.  Fight over.  However, when you are involved in a life or death struggle, you might not have time for three uninterrupted straight or angle kicks to the inside and/or outside of a leg.  The average attack/counterattack self defense episode is over in 20 seconds.  Plus, here’s another tact:  The average person, even above average, can only fight at 100% maximum output for 10 to 15 seconds, tops.

·         Power Targets that have high dollar value include:

1.     Groin, Eyes and Throat.  The immediate startle response to even a superficial strike to these will be for the attacker to quickly move both hands to this area.  This will leave other targets open.  Power hits/gouges to any of these will take the Bad Guy out of the fight.

2.     Ears and Knees.  Although considered secondary targets, a kick to the inside of the knees will often stop the fight and/or open up other targets and I have ended several fights by slapping both ears and grabbing one of the ears and twisting down.

3.     Lower Shins:  Great because a nice Front Kick with the Instep and/or toe of shoe is virtually impossible to stop, if the person using it invokes singularity of focus on the Bad Guy’s part by looking at his face while delivering the strike.  Target acquisition (hitting the Superficial Peroneal Nerve Motor Point located behind and above the tongue of the shoe) is not a problem if you target the Bad Guy’s same-side shoulder.  The Superficial Peroneal is always below that.  A good strike or two will cause the Bad guy to drop his upper body, opening up so many targets.

Next Blog:  Strikes and other moves to make your attacker GASP.

Stay Safe

Hammer

GASP is a simple training acronym.  Easy to remember, and, more importantly, quite east to do.  Simplicity and doability, don’t forget, are not to be taken lightly when it comes to the Fighting Arts.  After all, when you are under attack, especially a spontaneous, surprise attack undertaken by an evildoer at great speed and with malevolent determination, your ability to perform anything more complex than the act of flipping a light switch – no exaggeration – will be damn near impossible to do without literally hundreds of training reps and at least a minute or two mentally mapping out an escape and evasion strategy before the attack.

TRUTHFULLY, how many of you spend any time preparing yourself for avoiding and/or repelling an attack?  How many of you look at another person – be he or she an innocent-looking person or the kind of person you might think would spring an attack – and visualize targets you might hit if they opened up?  Visualized how exactly you would strike, or feint, or maybe what type of distraction move you would use to surprise him or her, to fragment his or her thought process?

WHAT I thought.  Warriors do.  And, for that matter, so do Bad Guys.  That’s how they think at all times.  Warriors and Bad Guys alike train themselves constantly – actually, it is called Spinal Tuning –  so they can be in the Attack Mode in order to gain the Fighter’s Edge over the victim.  And. Let me tell you, Hammer Fans – you can’t ever underestimate the Fighter’s Edge since an advantage of only 1 ½ seconds is all it takes to knock the other guy back on his heels and overwhelm his or her ability to think and act.  Unless your opponent has extraordinary recuperative powers and great determination and courage (a warrior who never gives up, in other words), the fight is over.

SO, WHAT IS GASP?

WHILE there are hundreds of techniques, tactics and/or strategies that I have seen advocated to develop Great Attacker (or, in some cases, Asshole) Stopping Power, I like to keep my Fighting Arts strategies down to a simple few, like:

Generate Power.  The difference between hitting an object with just an extended hand and a real powerful strike using hip rotation and extending through (sticking on) a target is immense.  Try this:  Stand with your feet together and imagine yourself in a complete body cast with only your arms free.  With someone holding a pad, strike that pad.  Now, spread your feet and drop your power foot back slightly and feel how freely you can rotate your hips.  Now, strike the pad and just feel how much more power you have.  Keep your toes pointed toward your target, keep your elbows close to your hips and, as you throw the punch, feel your forearms brush your hips.  Avoid Power Leaks that rob your strikes of power. All joint son the side of the strike should lock upon impact (ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows and wrists are power joints).  When you hit imagine you are punching or kicking into and through that target.

Anticipate.  Mental Conditioning is over 75% of the Fighting Arts.  Your mind and body must be Spinal Tuned together in order to respond immediately and effectively to a serious threat.

Spring into action.  Successful self defense cannot be spastic, as it often is.  By spastic I mean closing your eyes and flailing away.  If for no other reason, a spastic fighting effort burns energy quickly and can leave you standing there defenseless.  Take the fight instead to the attacker.  As soon as you identify that he or she is about to attack, go for it!  I will go into the dead-bang signs that you are under attack in another post.

Pinpoint Power Targets.  Hit targets with high dollar value.  In a boxing match or an MMA competition, kicking a Nerve Motor Point (femoral or Common Peroneal) several times in the course of a competition will eventually exhaust the lactic acid in that leg area and cause an involuntary collapse of that leg.  Fight over.  However, when you are involved in a life or death struggle, you might not have time for three uninterrupted straight or angle kicks to the inside and/or outside of a leg.  The average attack/counterattack self defense episode is over in 20 seconds.  Plus, here’s another tact:  The average person, even above average, can only fight at 100% maximum output for 10 to 15 seconds, tops.

·         Power Targets that have high dollar value include:

1.     Groin, Eyes and Throat.  The immediate startle response to even a superficial strike to these will be for the attacker to quickly move both hands to this area.  This will leave other targets open.  Power hits/gouges to any of these will take the Bad Guy out of the fight.

2.     Ears and Knees.  Although considered secondary targets, a kick to the inside of the knees will often stop the fight and/or open up other targets and I have ended several fights by slapping both ears and grabbing one of the ears and twisting down.

3.     Lower Shins:  Great because a nice Front Kick with the Instep and/or toe of shoe is virtually impossible to stop, if the person using it invokes singularity of focus on the Bad Guy’s part by looking at his face while delivering the strike.  Target acquisition (hitting the Superficial Peroneal Nerve Motor Point located behind and above the tongue of the shoe) is not a problem if you target the Bad Guy’s same-side shoulder.  The Superficial Peroneal is always below that.  A good strike or two will cause the Bad guy to drop his upper body, opening up so many targets.

Next Blog:  Strikes and other moves to make your attacker GASP.

Stay Safe

Hammer

GASP is a simple training acronym.  Easy to remember, and, more importantly, quite east to do.  Simplicity and doability, don’t forget, are not to be taken lightly when it comes to the Fighting Arts.  After all, when you are under attack, especially a spontaneous, surprise attack undertaken by an evildoer at great speed and with malevolent determination, your ability to perform anything more complex than the act of flipping a light switch – no exaggeration – will be damn near impossible to do without literally hundreds of training reps and at least a minute or two mentally mapping out an escape and evasion strategy before the attack.

TRUTHFULLY, how many of you spend any time preparing yourself for avoiding and/or repelling an attack?