ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

July 27, 2009

 

ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND STALKING

 

Don’t know if you’ve caught the myriad accounts – in the papers, on TV and radio –  but there’s been an alarming rise in police officers, women, men and even children  killed and maimed as a result of stalking and domestic violence.  I even get personal accounts from law enforcement officers and citizens whom I train in my instructor programs, Management of Workplace Violence courses and Self Defense for Women programs to the point where I am convinced that I need to focus this and the next few posts on  the issues surrounding Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Violence Against Women and Children.

 

ON STALKING

 

LEGAL DEFINITIONS vary widely from state to state.  Most states, however, define stalking as the willful, malicious and repeated following and harassing of another person.  Stalking related activities include as lying in wait; surveillance; non-consensual communications; telephone harassment and vandalism.  Most states require at least two or more of acts of the above nature before the actions can be considered harassment.  The action(s) also need to constitute at least an implied/inferred threat. 

 

AS FAR AS I am concerned, the key is that the victim understands the danger of stalking if it is allowed to continue unchecked.  Domestic Violence is directly connected to stalking and both occur in a continuum that ranges from emotional abuse at one end to homicide on the other.   And the escalation of violence along this catastrophic continuum often follows a predictable pattern.  My goal here is to formulate responses and countermeasures to break what I see as a cycle of violence.

 

STALKING AND VIOLENCE BY AN INTIMATE

 

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, as you probably are aware, is all about control, power and domination.  For this reason, when a woman leaves her abuser, he often stalks her in an effort to regain control over her.  Sadly, this control is effected through increasing physical violence.  Thus, when a woman leaves her abusing husband/boyfriend, it is an extremely dangerous time for her (and her children and anyone else who happens to care for her, or attempt to protect her, establish a relationship with her).

 

STALKING – make no mistake – is an act that terrorizes its victims.  Stalking creates a psychological prison that deprives its victim(s) of basic liberty of movement and security in their homes.  Moreover, stalking is a crime that often occurs in a domestic violence context, and, unfortunately, follows a traceable pattern that, if left unreported and unchecked by the victim, will often (in my experience it will almost always increase in intensity and violence exponentially, but I am being conservative in this post) increase in intensity and violence and all too often end in the death of the woman, plus anyone unfortunate enough to be around her at the moment!

 

As a matter of fact, just in the past few weeks an emotionally distraught ex-husband stalked and killed his wife, his children, his wife’s boyfriend, and several of his wife’s friends and relatives across three states!

 

Next Post:  More on Stalking and Domestic Violence, including intervention programs, stalking countermeasures, and self defense suggestions.

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

 

TECHNIQUES VS PRINCIPLES

 

I played in a golf tournament the other day, and, afterwards, over a few beers, talked self defense with a woman with whom I had just been golfing.  I hope I can do a better job explaining the difference between techniques and principles today than I did with her over a few beers.

 

The woman spoke about her brief experience with martial arts.  She spoke of the various techniques she had been taught in order to react to this attack from this angle and another technique she had been taught (Note:  I am not saying she learned the technique.  Just that she had been taught it.  There’s a difference.) as a reaction to another type of attack from that direction.  And so on.

 

This I believe is unreliable, invalid and, doubtless, ineffective training.  Need I repeat my oft-repeated axiom that “nothing, or at least as close to “nothing” as possible, ever happens on the street in the same way, same angle and same intensity as it does in training.?”

 

I believe in teaching principles, not techniques.  Not that long ago I was attacked from behind and driven to the ground.  I must admit that my first reaction was to use a technique I had hard wired against a tackle from behind.  I threw the bad guy off with a Donkey Kick Escape, but immediately after that I relied on key principles of survival and the correct procedures and techniques simply followed.  Naturally, without thinking about it.

 

What principles did I rely on?  “Look For Open Targets and hit them hard and quick.  Other targets will automatically open up and hit the most vulnerable and the ones (Primary Targets)with the “Highest Dollar Value.”

 

When you rely on principles you are task oriented.  Being task oriented removes a lot of the survival stress because you are not trying to think under high survival stress. 

 

So, all I had to do was to follow what I have been teaching for years.  Rely on the following principles, which, by the way, will work no matter if you are on the ground, standing, tackled by surprise, or see the punch coming from a mile away:

 

• Breathe In and Exhale.
• Hit his most vulnerable, open targets with my nearest personal weapon(s).

Ø     I drove my middle two fingers hard into the attacker’s Jugular Notch underneath his Adam’s Apple.

• Once you Attain the Expected Physical Reaction, Follow Up with Strikes to Other targets as They Open Up!

 

Ø     The Bad Guy recoiled backward (on the ground), so I attained the top position (Guard Position).  Drove my forearm into his face and broke his nose.

• Don’t Stop Until the Bad Guy Is Done!

 

Ø     Followed up with a Descending Knee Strike to his inner thigh (and groin).

Ø     As the injured attacker tried to roll away I established a Shoulder Pin Neck Restraint until he went limp, unconscious.

 

  One final point.  I believe if I had been trained repetitiously on techniques against staged attacks I would have been hard pressed to have reacted the way I did to being tackled from behind.  My face hit the cement, and, for a second, I thought I would pass out.  But, then, my training and self-conditioned Survival Psyche kicked in.  Just the like the other principles above, the Survival mentality is Principle-Driven.

 

Never, ever allow yourself to give up.  Ever!

 

Until the next post, Stay Safe.

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

 

TECHNIQUES VS PRINCIPLES

 

I played in a golf tournament the other day, and, afterwards, over a few beers, talked self defense with a woman with whom I had just been golfing.  I hope I can do a better job explaining the difference between techniques and principles today than I did with her over a few beers.

 

The woman spoke about here brief experience with martial arts.  She spoke of the various techniques she had been taught in order to react to this attack from this angle and another technique she had been taught (Note:  I am not saying she learned the technique.  Just that she had been taught it.  There’s a difference.) as a reaction to another type of attack from that direction.  And so on.

 

This I believe is unreliable, invalid and, doubtless, ineffective training.  Need I repeat my oft-repeated axiom that “nothing, or at least as close to “nothing” as possible, ever happens on the street in the same way, same angle and same intensity as it does in training.?”

 

I believe in teaching principles, not techniques.  Not that long ago I was attacked from behind and driven to the ground.  I must admit that my first reaction was to use a technique I had hard wired against a tackle from behind.  I threw the bad guy off with a Donkey Kick Escape, but immediately after that I relied on key principles of survival and the correct procedures and techniques simply followed.  Naturally, without thinking about it.

 

What principles did I rely on?  “Look For Open Targets and hit them hard and quick.  Other targets will automatically open up and hit the most vulnerable and the ones (Primary Targets)with the “Highest Dollar Value.”

 

When you rely on principles you are task oriented.  Being task oriented removes a lot of the survival stress because you are not trying to think under high survival stress. 

 

So, all I had to do was to follow what I have been teaching for years.  Rely on the following principles, which, by the way, will work no matter if you are on the ground, standing, tackled by surprise, or see the punch coming from a mile away:

 

• Breathe In and Exhale.
• Hit his most vulnerable, open targets with my nearest personal weapon(s).

Ø     I drove my middle two fingers hard into the attacker’s Jugular Notch underneath his Adam’s Apple.

• Once you Attain the Expected Physical Reaction, Follow Up with Strikes to Other targets as They Open Up!

 

Ø     The Bad Guy recoiled backward (on the ground), so I attained the top position (Guard Position).  Drove my forearm into his face and broke his nose.

• Don’t Stop Until the Bad Guy Is Done!

 

Ø     Followed up with a Descending Knee Strike to his inner thigh (and groin).

Ø     As the injured attacker tried to roll away I established a Shoulder Pin Neck Restraint until he went limp, unconscious.

 

  One final point.  I believe if I had been trained repetitiously on techniques against staged attacks I would have been hard pressed to have reacted the way I did to being tackled from behind.  My face hit the cement, and, for a second, I thought I would pass out.  But, then, my training and self-conditioned Survival Psyche kicked in.  Just the like the other principles above, the Survival mentality is Principle-Driven.

 

Never, ever allow yourself to give up.  Ever!

 

Until the next post, Stay Safe.

Hammer

ACTION AGAINST VIOLENCE

 

TECHNIQUES VS PRINCIPLES

 

I played in a golf tournament the other day, and, afterwards, over a few beers, talked self defense with a woman with whom I had just been golfing.  I hope I can do a better job explaining the difference between techniques and principles today than I did with her over a few beers.

 

The woman spoke about here brief experience with martial arts.  She spoke of the various techniques she had been taught in order to react to this attack from this angle and another technique she had been taught (Note:  I am not saying she learned the technique.  Just that she had been taught it.  There’s a difference.) as a reaction to another type of attack from that direction.  And so on.

 

This I believe is unreliable, invalid and, doubtless, ineffective training.  Need I repeat my oft-repeated axiom that “nothing, or at least as close to “nothing” as possible, ever happens on the street in the same way, same angle and same intensity as it does in training.?”

 

I believe in teaching principles, not techniques.  Not that long ago I was attacked from behind and driven to the ground.  I must admit that my first reaction was to use a technique I had hard wired against a tackle from behind.  I threw the bad guy off with a Donkey Kick Escape, but immediately after that I relied on key principles of survival and the correct procedures and techniques simply followed.  Naturally, without thinking about it.

 

What principles did I rely on?  “Look For Open Targets and hit them hard and quick.  Other targets will automatically open up and hit the most vulnerable and the ones (Primary Targets)with the “Highest Dollar Value.”

 

When you rely on principles you are task oriented.  Being task oriented removes a lot of the survival stress because you are not trying to think under high survival stress. 

 

So, all I had to do was to follow what I have been teaching for years.  Rely on the following principles, which, by the way, will work no matter if you are on the ground, standing, tackled by surprise, or see the punch coming from a mile away:

 

• Breathe In and Exhale.
• Hit his most vulnerable, open targets with my nearest personal weapon(s).

Ø     I drove my middle two fingers hard into the attacker’s Jugular Notch underneath his Adam’s Apple.

• Once you Attain the Expected Physical Reaction, Follow Up with Strikes to Other targets as They Open Up!

 

Ø     The Bad Guy recoiled backward (on the ground), so I attained the top position (Guard Position).  Drove my forearm into his face and broke his nose.

• Don’t Stop Until the Bad Guy Is Done!

 

Ø     Followed up with a Descending Knee Strike to his inner thigh (and groin).

Ø     As the injured attacker tried to roll away I established a Shoulder Pin Neck Restraint until he went limp, unconscious.

 

  One final point.  I believe if I had been trained repetitiously on techniques against staged attacks I would have been hard pressed to have reacted the way I did to being tackled from behind.  My face hit the cement, and, for a second, I thought I would pass out.  But, then, my training and self-conditioned Survival Psyche kicked in.  Just the like the other principles above, the Survival mentality is Principle-Driven.

 

Never, ever allow yourself to give up.  Ever!

 

Until the 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

 

 

 

 

Ok.  You’ve made yourself into a Tough Target, followed the Principles of Avoidance, but, crap, the guy has entered your PSZ (Personal Safe Zone) and looks like he’s about to do some damage.  How could this happen?

 

There could be any number of reasons why a super-focused predator would attack, so, fact is, crap happens, so we have no choice but to deal with it. 

 

So, question is, what do you do?

 

And the answer will always be, it’s totally up to you.

 

In the mere millisecond or so you are going to have to act, it is you who must be willing to act decisively.  Probably a disappointing answer if you are looking for a blueprint for self defense.

 

If you beg for your life and you survive, that was the best strategy.

If you run and scream for help and help comes, that was the right strategy.

If you fight and live to tell about it, that was the right strategy.

 

However, I will say this.

 

• The chances for survival goes up exponentially if you

Ø     Have a friend with you (a 75% better chance, as a matter of fact).

Ø     Have taken a good self defense course (and actually practiced the moves).

Ø     Immediately go into a fighting stance and shout with authority a confident “No,” or “Get back!”

Ø     If you have to use force, your chances of surviving go up exponentially when you use the element of surprise (which I have detailed many times in past posts), and

Ø     Hit open targets and continue hitting targets as they open up until the threat is over!

   

• I know all this is over simplistic, but, believe me, what I say is true.  The decision to beg or fight is up to you entirely.  Perhaps you will do both.  Yes, that is what I said.  I teach this in my Self Defense for Women classes.  Tactical Begging actually works because it cues into the predator’s expectations, influences him to lower his guard, which is when you can lash out and:

• Gouge his eyes with your thumb and/or fingers.
• Crush his throat with a Web Strike; Beak Strike or Ridge Hand Strike (see past posts).
• Impale your knee into his groin, and, when his hands and head drops, grab him by the back of the head and drive your knee into his face.
• Drive your temple directly onto his nose and follow that with a knee strike to the groin.
• If he grabs you  and pulls you in like he is going to hug you, pretend to go with it, lay your head on his shoulder while you reach around with your dominant hand, hook the fingers inside his jaw bone and drive your thumb into his eye.  Follow that baby up with whatever you want to, then, go home.
• Or, when he gets in too close and threatens to light you up, go into a Tactical Begging Stance, forming both hands into a prayerful appearance, then, when he least expects it, drive a horizontal elbow strike into his face and follow it up with a reverse elbow strike to the same face.

 

You got the idea,

Stay safe.

Hammer