Self Defense

Self Defense is NOT taking the law into your own hands

2010-09-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday in Denver, two would-be robbers tried to hit Liquor store #1. The owner shot back at them with his gun. The same two then tried to hit liquor store #2 6-minutes later. That owner shot back at and hit them. This is of course fantastic news. Why do I have a problem? Because although I really enjoy Heidi Hemmats news reporting form KDVR Fox 31 in Denver, she uses the sentence "decided to take the law into his own hands" in her report in reference to the store owners. In no way, shape, or form did these business owners "take the law" into their own hands. They did not ENFORCE any law at all. The simply defended themselves, a Constitutional right. There is no law that says you can defend yourself, it's a RIGHT. The business owners didn't shout out "you are guilty of robbery and attempted assault with a deadly weapon and I will now take you into custody". They didn't play cop, they defended themselves. Let's use the right words when reporting such incidents and maybe more people would understand their rights.

2010-06-10T21:49:00.000-07:00

Drugie: How much for classes?
Me: Pretty affordable, after a background check
Drugie: What kind of class is it?
Me: Obviously a fighting class. And you can't smoke near my door. Move back please.
Drugie: It's only a cigarette
Me: Yah, and you need to be at least 20ft away from my door. Now.
Drugie: OK (backing away with hand in his hoodie...in 90 degree weather)
Me: (metalic sound, sort of like a round being chambered....coming from my backpack)

This one is just for fun....

2010-04-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

Government is like a Computer: A 3rd grade essay by a 40 year old.

At first, when it’s new, it runs fine, only outputting whatever it is you input. Soon enough though, a few extra programs get installed to make life a little easier for you. That’s fine, since you have to input less and you get the same output as before, and you barely notice the hit on resources.
But then something amazing happens, more programs get installed to do more of your input work for you, and output grows exponentially! This seems awesome, but at the heart the core is running rather inefficiently, so you upgrade and make the computer bigger and more powerful, so it can handle all the output more easily. Now, with all the new power, the computer calls for internal maintenance programs to help itself run smoother. You don’t want to upset the output, so you let it put the programs into place. Now things seem to be running better than ever! And then….a virus! There’s tons of output, but none of it is really what you wanted, you install more programs to handle the corrupted sections of the computer. These programs make you feel better about your security, but really they can’t deal with the corrupted parts, they are too well connected to the operating system, and the security program just runs in the background, draining resources, once in a while alerting you but not really effectively dealing with the problems which seem to keep re-appearing.
Finally, you decide to actually look into what’s running and you are amazed at all the start-up services and programs that run in background, most of which you never installed knowingly, nor would you have wanted to. So you uncheck all the boxes for the services and programs that you don’t want, but hold on, those services and programs wont stop running! The computer informs you that these programs and services are already running and can’t be stopped without a restart! So you restart the damn thing, something you should do every few years anyway, and it seems that your choices in the checkboxes have helped somewhat, but those programs are still there, just not running at the moment. As soon as another seemingly unrelated program gets installed, it automatically restarts those programs you unchecked!

So what do you do? You go out and buy a bigger, more powerful one. Maybe instead you should re-format the old one and start from scratch.

2009-10-22T19:39:00.000-07:00

Here is another example of a fine job of parenting...

Both ways the bonehead holds the gun certainly could cause a problem for a clean defense (holding it down and back at his side, and holding it up near his ear...that one perplexes me but what do you expect when all his education is from tv or other boneheads?)
Added to that, he is pushing the intended victim with his non-gun hand. At Colorado Krav Maga, we train on these types of scenarios all the time and as you can see by the video even the other kids instinctive response ended up working well. I think the lessons to take away from this video is timing. When is go time? He could have been shot numerous times before he acted, but perhaps he didn't feel like it was imminent. He may have known his attacker (likely), so there was bound to be some banter or even monologuing going on.
When reading the boneheads body language, I think its apparent that had the intended victim just took off running away (beyond his first move back to his skateboard) the bonehead would likely have just started shooting, like a dog that only chases a cat once it starts running. It's obvious in this video that the boneheads only source of manliness was the gun (and it wasn't very big). They guy was a complete wimpy looser and got beat down by a smaller skater dude, how embarrassing for him.

2009-10-20T23:28:00.000-07:00

Watch this video it's very disturbing. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=164657074696&ref=mf
Forget that some asshole is simply recording the whole thing, but those who try to help have no clue how. This is why we do what we do. Krav Maga Students, let me list the response options for you....
#1-shoot the guy in the head...from 2 inches away.
#2-Fire extinguisher or similar object to the face at full force, swing for the bleachers American frckin Baseball style.
#3-round kick to the face at full force.
#4-third party protection defense vs. knife attacks.
The guy is so focused on killing this lady that all attempts to interact with him are completely ignored. Bystanders appear to be afraid of the knife! His single-mindedness is insane, the only way to stop this safely is to shut him down. I don't know if this lady survived, I hope so. But let's look at the most difficult option listed here, third party protection defense going hands on.
In a knife attack, it's a bad idea to tackle someone. If I even have to explain that to you then you should stop reading this blog now.
IF, and I mean IF, you have to go hands on in this scenario, you will need to control the knife hand quickly since you are putting yourself in range to be stabbed as well. Use the Krav Maga approach to defending against knife 'brandishing' and, from this position, a variation of hand-grenade takedown. You'll need to be ready to deliver some serious counter attacks right away. Forget about trying to "control" the attacker, it's way past that. Do some damage to him right away. His single mindedness should tell you right away that it's not controllable situation.

Panhandlers stab couple

2009-10-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

OK, so Tony just had a run in with a panhandler in Denver on Monday, and on Tuesday a couple is approached on Colfax by a pair of panhandlers. The asked for money, the couple said no, and one of the beggars jumped the male. They went to the ground, when the second looser started stabbing the male victim. The male victims female companion tried to help out, but also got stabbed in the frey. Here's the story: http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=124513&catid=346

I don't have any more facts that what's posted on the story. When I hear more about how it went down I'll update everyone, but at least we can learn a few valuable lessons from this.

Of course there's no way to know for sure, but I'm fairly certain that the fact there were TWO of them working in tandem was a major factor. Every asshole is braver with a 2nd asshole nearby. They feed off of each others violence and aggressiveness. It's safe to say that if you are approached by panhandlers working together, alarm bells need to be ringing like mad.
Going to the ground should be avoided if possible. It may not have been possible in this case, I don't have all the facts, but if you already know there are more than 1 aggressor, your first priority is to stay on your feet and stay mobile.
If you are going to get involved in an altercation from the outside of the original fracas, use an entry tool that's likely to create space or do serious damage. You need to control the situation quickly and violently.

I recently posted a video online created by Daniel Carlini, one of our instructors, that has a little bit of footage of us training to engage as a 3rd party in an altercation. We've been training for several weeks on entering an altercation with a kick to make space against an aggressor and removing either a known or unknown person from the area. Great training, and an invaluable lesson on dealing with multiple problems.
I think that as long as the economy remains bad and the system offers less and less deterrence's, we will see more and more of these kinds of street criminals pairing up or even forming roaming mini street gangs (evidenced on 16th street mall lately).

We hope the two victims recover and the suspects are caught before it gets worse.

Posted from a note from Tony Cummings, KM Instructor

2009-10-09T17:13:00.000-07:00

Monday Night, 2 of our instructors had the opportunity to experience Downtown Denver at it’s best. While stopped at a gas station, out of necessity, they were “confronted” by one of Denver’s finer citizens. While putting air in a tire, this fine citizen began walking across the parking lot toward both the cars. About half way, he began to yell that he wanted some change to get on the bus. Normally we blow this stuff off, but this guy struck them as different. It brought to mind Mike’s post and his suggestion to read The Gift of Fear. Below are some indicators that I noticed which are included in deBecker book:

Forced Teaming – “Do you guys have change,”

Charming/Niceness – “I’m stuck hear and need some change to get on the bus,”

To Many Details – See above and “I’m trying to get on the bus stop across the street,”

Now while these are just a few of the indicators, subconsciously they knew this guy wanted something more. You can account this to many factors, one of which I’m sure was the fact that he saw a young female standing “alone” in a dark corner of a parking lot. As he got closer Tony (Instructor 1) lost sight of Jessica (Instructor 2) although she was standing right next to him (after moving around her car). It was one of a few psychological reactions to a stressor:

Auditory Exclusion – “Although we were about 5 feet from a busy highway with cars flying by, I could not hear anything but the sound of this guy and his loud voice,”

Tunnel Vision – ‘I totally lost sight of Jessica although she was right next to me and all my focus was on this guy; looking at his hands, his body language, his demeanor,’

Automatic Pilot – “My first reaction was to go immediately to the threat, after obviously “taking some precautions.” Now while I don’t advocate getting in a physical confrontation, sometimes you have no choice; it’s merely a by-product of the situation.”

Mike’s post drives home a valid point; you just never now. You can do everything right and still end up in a bad situations through no fault of your own. While this incident is minor compared to his, it still has to make you wonder; do you fight or do you run? While fighting should always be the last option, sometimes it’s the one that can be the difference between life and death. It must be a mindset and you must be pre-programmed to just react if a confrontation is unavoidable. Additionally, it is important to realize how your body will react until real time stress. It still amazes me that although I have been in many bad situations, my body still tells me something is just not right. Never chose to be assaulted while you stand still, the first time you are a victim, the second time you are a volunteer.

Thinking in "Plan Bs"

2009-09-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve looked at different postings on different forums and such. I’ve seen some great accolades from our students. The ones that catch me are those that mention how the instructors really seem to care and how they seem to have a passion for what they are doing. Well, let me tell you. You have no idea how much we care. What we do and what we are preparing you for is real. Let me tell you a story, unfortunately this one is also real.

Last week a 19 year old girl was raped. Sadly, not an uncommon headline but an almost unheard of occurance in this community. 10:00 pm, along a heavily traveled street, in a very safe community. This evening was not unlike any other in her life. She often took a walk in the evening. As she was walking she saw a man ahead of her. Nothing particular or strange about him but an overwhelming feeling inside her told her something was wrong. SIDE NOTE - REQUIRED READING: The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker. She crossed the street to avoid his approaching path of travel. She lost sight of him but still had an uneasy feeling so she decided to walk to the nearest public place. It was closed. So she continued on to the next public place that she knew was open. Moments later she was attacked from behind in a bar arm choke. He pulled her down into a deep drainage ditch that runs along the side walk. She struggled and escaped. He grabbed her in a bear hug and pulled her back. She tries to punch him. He punches her in the mouth. He drags her into some trees and sits on top of her and begins to strangle her. During the assault he whispers in her ear.

Now let me be the first to say that I will never judge someone by how they respond under this type of stress. But count the ways and opportunities there were for her to effectively defend herself and escape. 1. Bar arm choke. 2. Bear hug from behind/arms free. 3. Inside defense. 4. Combatives. 5. Choke from the front while in mount. 6.Guard escape. It makes me crazy mad to think that this assault could have possibly been stopped with any one of six ways.

We all must be thinking in “Plan Bs”. This young woman had a self defense text book “Plan A”. She was aware of her surroundings; she avoided a potentially dangerous encounter; she sought out safety in a public place.

She had no Plan B.

Please come to class. Please have fun. And please, in some part of your brain, remember the seriousness of what we are doing on that floor. We are fiercely and relentlessly preparing “Plan B”.

The physical manifestation of stress and nervousness

2009-09-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

All I can say is "I called it!" When I saw Zazi live on the news saying he has no ties to terrorists, I said to my wife "He's lying!" Not because I'm racist, not because I think all muslims are terrorists, but because he could NOT keep his eyes looking forward when answering those tough questions!
I am no expert on lie detection, but Zasi is no expert on deception. I am, however, an expert on the physical manifestation of stress. In Krav Maga, we purposely and methodically formulate ways to create stress in training every single day of the week. In our own training, we constantly work on creating stress and then finding ways to overcome it or, better yet, train in ways that solve the problems DESPITE the stress.
Now, here's what YOU should know and how I think YOU can help. When you are at large public events, mass transit locations, chemical or ammunition wholesalers, or schools and churches; BE ALERT! More importantly though, you need to know what to look for, and if you're not in uniform or obviously someone who could cause them a problem, then they may not show your their hand. So how do you look for it? Look like you ARE someone who is in charge! Walk with a purpose, be alert of your surroundings, and make eye contact with everyone. Imagine seeing someone talking to a friend. Now imagine that same person talking to a friend, but looking around and making eye contact with everyone walking nearby at the same time, and standing tall and alert. What would you think of that person? Someone who is up to something will be worried about being caught. The will PHYSICALLY MANIFEST that stress and nervousness by way of avoiding eye (and any) contact with authority figures. They will seem overly prepared for casual questions or contact, but may have to think way too hard about questions that they should answer easily....Not questions like "why are you here" but questions like "Oh, I know everyone here, who are you visiting?" And just so you know, any sentance starting with "uhhhhhh" is universal language for "I'm about to lie to you..."

I'm certainly not advocating taking any action, but do report anything you feel out of place to authorities immediately. It's not a crime to be wrong, but what if you're right? Zazi and his cohorts planned on killing hundreds of people, and paralyzing an entire city and mass transit around the country. The FBI did a great job, and we need to thank them all for saving our lives. But they can't be everywhere. There are no less than 9 more known cells in Denver. Do your part by simply walking tall and being a force to reckon with.

Terror in Denver

2009-09-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

Don't think it can't or won't happen in Denver. A New York connection, this guy was on the news last night denying any terrorist ties, and today the FBI finds boxes of bomb making materials in his apartment. I don't know about you, but if I'm a Japanese American living in Denver during WWII, among the list of things I WOULDN'T have in my home is bomb making materials.
But let's get down to it. It doesn't matter that THIS GUY was caught or even if THIS GUY ends up being guilty or not, there are more right here in Denver that are real and guilty. Be aware, be vigilant, be safe. If something doesn't look right, TRUST YOUR GUT! Report it and let the officials sort it out.
It doesn't matter how well trained you are at hand to hand combat, combat shooting, martial arts, knife fighting, stick fighting, MMA, or anything. You can't defend against a car bomb that you don't know is coming. The only way to defend against that is to not be there when it happens, and we can't give in to terrorists and live our lives that way. So how do we defend? Observe and report. Everything at any time and all the time. No one can operate in complete isolation. There are clues.
Educate yourself and get to know your neighbors. Make your block or your floor a group banded together in common interest of self defense and survival.
Enough bomb making material was found today in 2 locations to blow up several homes the news says, but COME ON PEOPLE, who the hell believes they would blow up houses? Schools, churches and malls. These bastards will go after our kids people. Any doubt about my analysis? Google "Beslan". B-E-S-L-A-N.
OK, here is where to go and what to do, thanks to a client of ours, Katherine OConnor:
For citizens who would like to get involved, see http://www.citizencorps.gov/ or contact your local emergency management office and ask about Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training and Creating Vigilant, Prepared Communities (CVPR) training. A few local contacts:Stephanie Hackett shackett@auroragov.org Office of Emergency Management. Carolyn Bluhm carolyn.bluhm@denvergov.org Denver Office of Emergency Management.

Two women successfully fight off knife attack

2009-09-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning while hiking west of Fort Collins, CO, 2 women were attacked by a man with a knife. The women were able to fight off the attacker using a walking stick. One of the women sustained some wounds on her hands and arms (defensive wounds, no doubt).
This story is awesome. Stories of successful defenses against a knife attack are hard to come by. Think about how it transpired and the situation and environment...in the wilderness, no witnesses, not hiding his identity, very willing to use the knife, 2 victims. This would almost certainly have ended badly for these girls had they not fought back! Using the stick was probably instinctive but a great choice nonetheless. The stick gives you reach, which can nullify the advantage of an edged weapon. The only way this could've ended even better than it did is if the 2nd girl had a gun, then the predator would not now likely be able to attack anyone again.
When using a stick to defend your self against an edged weapon, use both hands and strike for whatever is nearest to you to start. Don't 'over commit' in case you miss you don't want your back turned. keep moving laterally as you strike, making yourself a hard, moving target. If you are trained, use the stick in conjunction with your legs to keep distance and do extra damage.
Good guys 2, bad guy 0.

Random Attacks in Denver

2009-09-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

At Colorado Krav Maga, most of our time spent in training drills are to mimic random attacks. Not because they are the most common, but because they are generally the most difficult to deal with.Now comes the really hard part, dealing with the pyschological reality of a truly random attack. Most people will first go through the denial process. It is, after all, difficult to believe that someone we don't know, whom we didn't provoke at all, would simply walk up to us and attack us! However, this has been happening in Denver for a few weeks now.How long will you be in denial and when will your reactions kick in if ever? After the first 'hit'? After you've been grabbed? Or will you wait until you are are actually hurt?We train defending random attacks so that you can react immediately to them, even if your emotions are still in denial. Getting punched before you 'wake up' to the attack is one thing, getting stabbed is another thing entirely.

Boulder has a serial problem

2008-12-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

Boulder has a serial problem

There has been another attack on a woman in Boulder. This makes 6 attacks since Halloween, more than 1 per week.
Self Defense begins long before contact is made. Seems like common sense but let’s just cover some basics here as a reminder;

After dark, ANY TIME after dark, walk with a friend for any distance that takes you out of sight and earshot of help.
If you don’t have a friend to walk with, call the non-emergency number for the local Police and wait for a patrol car. BTW, do you have that number stored in your cell phone? Why not? I have the non-emergency number for every department and jurisdiction where I and my family spend time stored in my phone.
Don’t rely on tools to defend yourself such as pepper spray or whistles. While these tools are valuable, you have to have them at the ready in order to use them effectively, and you may still not be able to deploy them with effectiveness. Just so we’re clear, “at the ready” means in your hand, safety’s disengaged, and ready to use. It doesn’t mean on your keychain and your keychain in your hand.
Walk alert and with a purpose. Attackers don’t want fights, they want victims.
Tell someone when and where you’re going. If you suspect you’re being followed, make sure they know you see them and get on the phone right away. Even if you’re not talking to someone, pretend that you are and that you’re relaying information about your location and the person that you suspect is following you.
Always remember this; a familiar place doesn’t make it a safe place. Too often we get comfortable when we recognize our surroundings. Don’t feel bad, it’s human nature. The problem is that attackers take advantage of our comforts. You can be attacked just the same on your block as on your first visit to a new city. Statistically far more the former than the latter.

Also, trust in your ability and your right to fight. Like I said they are not looking for fights, but for victims. Choose not to be a victim and take control of the situation. Get mad and show it.

As for this latest attack, I’m elated that she was able to fight back and that he ran off. The way it has been reported is very familiar to those of you that train with us, but doesn’t make too much sense. It’s being reported that he knocked her to the ground, got on-top of her and started strangling her. She then kneed him in the groin and he ran off. There isn’t a chance of that happening the way they described, so something must have happened in-between to set up that position for her to knee the groin.

If you ever find yourself in that situation, remember to attempt to clear the choke right away, using large explosive movements at the attackers hands or thumbs. At the same time, buck your hips up EXPLOSIVELY and send him up and then over to the side. It’s important to hold onto his arms so that you go WITH him and end up on your knees in his ‘guard’. Immediately follow up with elbow and hammerfists strikes. Do as much damage as possible and get the heck out of there. Remember, the more physical damage you do the easier it will be for cops to find him later!

2008-11-20T02:04:00.000-08:00

Although it’s difficult to discover, there have been at least 4 assaults on women in Boulder in the last 3 weeks. 3 of the 4 are confirmed sex assaults and doesn't think she was sexually assaulted, but she was unconscious. The assaults took place on the 31st, 3rd, 4th, and 18th.
Although the information is there in the news, you would think that so many sexual assaults in a small town in such a short time span would be big news.
From what I can discover so far, in at least 2 cases the victim was approached from behind and likely struck from behind knocking them unconscious. One may have been put under using some kind of chemical, it’s unclear.
Do your due diligence, don’t walk to your car or anywhere alone at night. It’s just not worth it. Pay close attention to your surroundings at all times and most of all, listen to your gut. If something does not feel right it’s not, plain and simple.
From a self defense standpoint, there’s nothing you can do to defend yourself once you’re unconscious, so awareness is the beginning of good self defense.
Be safe out there….

Student attacked but is safe

2008-09-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

One of our students was attacked last night. He sustained some injuries to his face, but thank god is safe. I spoke to him about it this morning and it sounded like a hell of a fight. I will post some details of his experience when I know more. He did, however, tell me that he instictively used alot of what we've taught him and credited our 'dont quit' attitude to saving him.

2008-09-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

On the subway in Philly, a man was attacked brutally with a hammer. It was in a confined space, and looked eerily like the security camera footage from our winter camp training on the buses.
The victim tries to defend himself by covering and going fetal, both sitting and on the ground, but continues to get pummeled. I'm surprised he survived.
Once the attack leaves the subway car and continues on the platform, you can clearly see the attack proceed to a bear hug from behind, arms caught.
Lets learn: Even if the initial attack was complete surprise and you didn't even see the first stroke, which appears to be the case, by the second stroke you need to re-direct the attack a little and hit the attacker if your not unconscious. It appears that the victim was in a position several times to get some solid defensive kicks in to the mid section and even the face of the attacker. While sitting, you can make an amazingly strong kick since your back is up against something solid and you can push off. The goal here would have been to make enough space to stand while doing damage to your attacker.
The next position the victim was in was on his back with the attacker standing over him swinging. Same thing applies here; make strong attacks with your legs. The attacker appeared to be trying to strike at more vital targets than the legs of his victim (makes sense given the mindlessness of the attack) so I don't think that in that position you have to be as defensive and you should pour alot of energy into your offense.
The last position we have is the bear hug from behind, arms caught. It's hard to tell if he still held the hammer, but I think it was still in his hand, which would have made the hold weak at best. The problem here is this, if you defend against the bear hug and he still has a weapon, you have a continuing and evolving problem still. In your bear hug defense, you should look to turn TOWARDS the weapon arm when rotating in order to try to achieve or maintain some kind of control over that limb while you continue to throw counters. Be sure you don't step away during your turn and create too much space, giving the attacker room to build another attack.

News people say the darndest things....

2008-08-23T20:22:00.001-07:00

A little off topic here, but I thought I'd point this out and maybe you can comment with some stupefying choice of words you've experienced on the news...
In the last 2 hours alone....

On the radio, a reporter from ABC Network News was reporting on 1000 motorcycles that were escorting a steel girder from the World Trade Centers from New York to Pennsylvania. The steel girder, he said was "From the 9/11 airline crash". Lest we forget, it was not an "Airline Crash" it was a TERRORIST ATTACK! I think some groups would benefit from society not calling a spade a spade, so to speak. Call it an airline crash long enough, and our ADDHD society will soon forget all about those little AlQaida nasties.
This one is funny, an art student in Denver commented to a Fox31 reporter about the police presence today around the Pepsi Center doing security sweeps in advance of the DNC. She said, and I quote "it's not even the convention yet and the police are walking around with live ammo..." LOL! Beer actually came out of my nose on that one! Oh God, please, please please please can we switch to cops carrying paint balls :) No seriously, that way they can mark all the bad guys so they can be found and arrested peacefully another day. Ok really seriously, this girl is in COLLEGE.

Feel free to comment with ones that you've heard.

There's some serious stuff going on in Denver too, like a sex assault at gunpoint. I'll post on that when I have more details.

Woman attacked in her sleep

2008-08-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

A woman was attacked in her sleep in Fort Collins on the 12th. This is the 2nd time this has happened on the same block with the same MO. The first one was a 19 year old who sent unconscious and was sexually assaulted. The attacker gains entrance by way of unlocked doors or windows and incapacitates his victim by holding a wet cloth over their face (essentially suffocating them). This time the intended victim fought back and the attacker ran away. In case anyone is keeping track, I'm a big fan of fighting back, but fight back smart.
Let's start by locking our doors and windows OK? I don't care what neighborhood you live in, with the invention of the bicycle and horseless carriage you may be surprised to know that many criminals actually 'travel' to different neighborhoods to commit their crimes...what a surprise huh? While we're on the subject, don't fool yourself into thinking that if you kept a gun in your nightstand that you're OK. How long does it take you to actually wake up from a deep sleep? Once your awake, how long does it take you to decide that, "YES, that strange sound is a potential danger", and then how long does it take you to actually get the gun out and manipulate it into a state of readiness if it's not there already? Both women who were attacked were attacked in their sleep, so they never even woke up before he was on them. You're better off with a knife within your immediate reach than you are with a handgun, it's much easier to manipulate when someones sitting on top of you. Now, if you have security in place or dogs that bark, and you decide to 'clear' your home after being awoken from a sound, then a firearm is a good choice...i suggest a shotgun.
Now, let's look at the attack. From what we know she was asleep and he tried to suffocate her. Regardless of what he used, his hands were basically putting pressure on her face. This is very similar to a choke attack and can be dealt with in the same manner. The difficulty comes in dealing with the sheets or covers of the bed. Your movement is severely restricted and the surface is rather 'slippery' and difficult to get traction with bear feet. In my paranoia, when I'm traveling I never leave the hotel covers tucked in around the bed, or at home for that matter, because i want to be able to get rid of them as quickly as possible to be able to use my legs if needed. You may find yourself simply fighting to roll off the bed so you can get better leverage if you can't find any footing to fight from.

Armed robberies in the news

2008-07-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks there has been alot of coverage of armed robberies in the local news. Whether it's more coverage or more robberies, it warrants a closer look.
Of course there is always the possibility that by cooperating you will get away just loosing property, which is a victory in self defense. The problem comes in the odds. There is also a chance that you will NOT escape injury or death even if you cooperate, it's a roll of the dice. How do you know when to cooperate and when not to? The armed robbery shown in THIS report gives us some clues.
The first thing you should notice is that when the perpetrators enter the ABC Mart, one walks straight to the counter and the other stops dead in his tracks at the door. No one walks in a store with a buddy and stops just inside the door, this should send up a big red flag wrapped in flashing warning lights. According to the clerk, the perp at the counter "lifted his shirt" to show a pistol in his waistband. I'm not offering advice, but it's likely that this guy didn't want to shoot anybody at that moment or he would have had the gun out (if it were even real). Even if he didn't really want to shoot anyone, pointing a gun at someone shows indifference for life and things should change for you right then and there.
Something else indicated by the clerk was how nervous these guys were. This could be a good sign or a bad sign, largely depending on where the gun is pointing! In this case, I think it showed that they just wanted the money and to get out as quick as possible. The clerk chose well as indicated by the fact that he's alive and well, but in my opinion this one was a simple choice.
The truth is there will be dozens or even hundreds of clues leading you to what you think you should do, and still just the opposite could happen. You can make educated guesses but people are unpredictable. Trust your instincts and if needed, trust your training.

Supreme Court

2008-06-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

Just a quick comment on the recent Supreme Court decision on the 2nd amendment.
Officially making me a nerd, I read (most of) both Justice Scalia's majority opinion and Justice Stevens dissent.
Both sides make compelling arguments, but something Justice Stevens said in just his 3rd paragraph of his dissenting opinion chilled me to the bone and makes me wonder about the thought process of those who would guide our country and by extension, our futures.
Regardless of where you might stand on guns, gun rights, crime, and punishment, just this one sentence, first referencing the 2nd amendment but then extending it to the entire Constitution of the Unite States of America, should worry you;
QUOTE: "Specifically, there is no indication that the Framers of the Amendment intended to enshrine the common-law right of self-defense in the Constitution." Justice Stevens (http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-290.ZD.html)

Maybe I'm crazy, but I thought "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..." took care of the enshrining.

Carjacking/ATM robberies

2008-06-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting to write on this subject until more news came around, but i haven't seen any thing further yet so lets start a conversation now. There was a string of carjackings in Denver where women were jacked then forced to drive to ATM's and withdraw money. This isn't a new crime, but it started happening, as far as I can tell, just a week after a prime time news show aired a special on a string of crimes exactly like these in Florida. The difference is that in Florida, most of the women were killed, including a woman and her 7 year old daughter, shot at point blank range in their vehicle after they already gave up the money ($500). Both mother and daughter were bound with duct tape before they were shot. A 7 year old girl. 7 years old...let that sink in.
First, I can't speak for every one and every situation, but I will say this; if you are about to be tied up or bound and moved from the point of contact, that is the time to fight back if you are going to. Once you are bound, you don't have the ability to fight back (why the hell do you think they bind you?) Once you are moved to another location, your chances of survival go down drastically. My opinion is that if you are in danger of being bound, fight for life then and there, at least you have some say in your destiny that way. By the way, it's a good idea to get some training in fighting back prior to ever having to do it for real...I'm just sayin'...the fight for your life is a bad time to begin your training.
Next, I have to say that if you think you can comply, give up the money, and you will go relatively unharmed, then by all means do so! DPD spokesman is right on one thing, no amount of money is worth loosing your life over. Then again in some cases, no amount of money will save your life either.
In Denver, it hasn't gotten to that level of threat yet. But they haven't caught anyone yet either. That gives the perps a bit of an 'invincibility' complex and it's easy to escalate the violence when you think you're too smart to get caught.
OK, so if you have to, what to do? If you know our basic gun defenses and the principles behind them, most of them still apply while in a vehicle. If the seats separate you and the gunman (font seat/back seat) then things become difficult, but in that scenario you are most likely driving and therefor not tied up. If the gunman is in front with you, our standard principles apply including putting weight on the weapon. Counter attacks will be important here, but not at the expense of taking weight off the weapon. Use the environment to help you in a disarm by slamming the gun and gunman's hands into the steering wheel, center console, dash board, anything solid. Headbutts work well here too. If your driving and your seat belt is on, be aware it will limit your movement. Crashing the car is not always a good option with the advent of passenger side airbags. Leaving the car is not an option if your child is in the back. Remember, if it's go time, it's a fight for you life, no half way. Give it everything you got, bite hard and tear, bite the face and around the eyes especially. It's time to fight dirty.

Mass stabbing in Japan

2008-06-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

A man went on a killing spree in Japan today by stabbing at least 19 people (story HERE). The report says that the man said he was 'tired or living', yet it's reported that he dropped the knife when confronted with an officer with a gun pointed at him. This guy might have though he wanted to commit suicide and if that were true, it would have been very hard to stop him, but it's my guess that he saw a bunch of victims that weren't going to pose him much of a threat or offer much resistance. I don't want to turn this into a 'gun rights' argument, but let it suffice to say that you probably won't have a mass public group stabbing in Texas.

The man was allegedly armed with a 'survival' knife and ran around a crowded intersection stabbing people. He succeed in KILLING 7 of them. One officer engaged him with a baton, I don't yet have any more information about how that went.

Oddly enough, this very weekend in Los Angeles I was working with Darren Levine and other Krav Maga Instructors on using a baton against a knife attack and a lot of empty hand knife defenses. So, as usual, I think we should analyze some of what happened.

First of all, the attacker doesn't look like Rambo. By looking at some of the on-scene photos, it appears some were stabbed from behind, meaning they were likely running from this madman when he stabbed them. Sometimes, running is not an option. I would submit this to all of you for thought; had one of the early victims turned and hit this guy as hard as they could right on the jaw or the nose, could this outcome have been different? I say yes, very different. First of all there's crowd, or 'mob' mentality. If everyones running screaming from this guy, he MUST be the boogie man incarnate! However, if people see just ONE person turn and fight this guy, and damage him, it's far more likely other people will get involved in the struggle. He's suddenly human again, and just as nerdy as we though. I mean, who wears a beige suit with black and white Converses?

Secondly, damaging the attacker himself will change the attackers plans as he saw them. It will force him to deal with other problems and change the entire dynamic.

In the News

2008-06-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

A young lady was killed the other day in Fort Collins. The suspect a 29 year old looser named Curl has been arrested. There is not much known about the incident yet, but the suspect was an acquaintance of the victims boyfriend. I'm sure many of you have friends or have dated someone who had a friend that you didn't like. It's OK to not like your friends friends sometimes! You may know a lot about your friend or the person your dating, but that doesn't mean that you automatically know a lot about the other people in their lives.
The victim was sexually assaulted then strangled. Her house was then set on fire apparently to try to cover up the murder. This type of situation always reminds me of some dangerous advice I once heard a so-called expert give to a group of women on TV. This guy actually said, and I'm paraphrasing because it was a while ago, "Don't attempt to fight back, it will only make your attacker angry. Your best option is to comply and then look for an escape".
Look, I think there are obviously times when complying, or pretending to, is a valuable tool in your self defense arsenal. BUT it's downright derelict to tell people to never fight back and to always comply. The data actually supports just the opposite.
We may never know exactly how this horrible crime went down, but let's look at a probable scenario; The victim was forced to the ground and the attacker sexually assaulted the victim and possibly strangled her from the same position. There are 3 basic positions to train from in this scenario, attacker in the guard, attacker kneeling to the side, and attacker straddling on top (mount). From the guard or side position, kicking violently and repeatedly is a great way to keep someone from being able to get on top of you or to be able to apply much force in a choke. However, if the choke is applied, you MUST deal with that danger first in order to get oxygen and blood to the brain. Under this kind of stress and exertion, you will go unconscious quickly so clear the airway FIRST AND QUICKLY. On Tuesday night, we worked a little bit with kicking someone out of our guard. We'll continue to work with these scenarios over the next 2 weeks.

Training Follow Up

2008-06-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

Following up on the baseball bat murder in Loveland, in Leadership Class/Instructor Training on Friday we worked on defending several type of blunt object attacks from various angles.

We constructed a long 'hallway' our of heavy bags and worked on surprise attacks while in that confined space. If in a hallway and faced with an attacker with a bat or similar object, there is really on 2 angles that it might be deployed at. The most likely angle is the overhead swing. Likely to come in a down-and-in type angle. It's also likely to be held shorter due to the restrictive height clearance. The second angle is less dangerous but might be used in an effort to move you to a more open area to continue the attack; that is the 'thrusting' attack with the end of the bat.

In either case, side stepping is not only slow and a large movement, it may not be possible because of the restrictive environment. Both defenses require re-directing the weapon and counter attacking simultaneously (what a surprise). After that, your options are limited because of space and you will likely have to continue the fight trying to drive them back or into a wall (which will allow you to get by possibly escape if the exit was there and you've bought some time) or use the wall as a back-board for their head until they drop the bat!

In the News

2008-05-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

~~In Loveland, CO today: a man serving divorce papers is beaten to death with a baseball bat!
When LCSO responded they found the man choking his 2 young children. Deputies tazed him TWICE before he let go of the now unconscious kids. (I'm not second guessing the dep's, but I might have used a LITTLE more force after seeing that happening, a little). The Deputies obviously saved 2 young lives today, cudo's for LCSO.
Without being privy to all the facts, let's at least break this down and see how this might have been avoided.
1. I don't think it was a great idea to have the estranged wife accompany the Process Server
2. And even more importantly, See #1
Just a reminder folks, always be alert to signs and trust your instincts.
Besides all the ways we can evaluate the situation, once it went south notice it wasn't a gun or even a knife, but a BASEBALL BAT! Out of the 3 weapons listed, when within range the bat is the EASIEST weapon to defend against. Step inside people, and negate the power of the swing and do some swinging of your own!

~~In Arvada, CO today: two unarmed Hispanic men robbed an Arvada convenience store wearing....ready for this....thongs on thier faces for masks. The underwear was definately of the 'string' variety by the looks of it: Whats thong (I mean wrong) with people!

Welcome to the New Blog!

2008-05-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

This blog will be a running commentary on current events if, and as, they pertain to all things self defense and the inalienable right of all to defend themselves from violent attacks.

In addition, we will post training ideas and other notables from our Self Defense and Fitness experts.