Thank you

I will forward these to the groups I own or moderate

Rick


More Kwik Self-Defense Tips Added 06-23-2006
For the Busy Person
http://kirkhamsebooks.com/MartialArts/MartialArtsArticles/KwikTips/index.htm



----- Forwarded Message ----
From: lorraine butcher
To: womeninmartialarts@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2006 4:09:31 AM
Subject: [womeninmartialarts] something else to think about


Eight Simple Rules for Saving Your Life""

Let's put the non-lethal fantasy to rest



1. Never trust your assailant. No matter what they say, no matter
how believable they may sound. If they need a ride some place or
need you to go into a hallway or a room. No matter what- don't move.
The real reason your assailant wants you to move is because he can't
do what he needs to do in your present location. Since he can't do
what he wants to you in your current location he needs to move you.
A more recent example is the BTK killer Dennis Rader, the serial
killer who terrorized Wichita for 31 years, naming himself BTK
for "bind, torture, kill". Rader would convince his victims that he
was only going to rob them and steal their car, but he needed to tie
them up so they wouldn't call the police right away. Once the victim
was tied up, he was able to do as he wished.



2. Your assailant will have a distinct advantage. You will most like
be alone and out numbered. Your assailant already has a plan. So you
better have one too. They pick the time and place. Whether it's a
weapon, accomplices or sheer size; you're picked as a likely target
because your attacker feels he has a great chance of imposing his
will on you. You're not to blame: you're just in the wrong place at
the wrong time. That's it.



3. Simply running away solves a lot of problems. FBI studies show
that would be victims who simply ran from a potentially violent
encounter survived; even when the assailant used a fire arm. Rarely
were the victims even fired upon. An in the small percentage of
victims that were hit, all of the wounds were superficial. Have an
evacuation plan.



4. Empty hand combat is the lowest rung of personal protection. The
idea of dispatching all comers with a flick of a finger is a
romantic fantasy. People that know better, prepare. Even if you look
at how jujutsu practitioners of the 1800's armed themselves. In
Serge Mol's book Classical Fighting Arts of Japan: A Complete Guide
to Koryu Jujutsu you will see that these men carried a variety of
knives, horse stirrups (used as brass knuckles) medal fans (see
black jack), spiked rings and throwing shuriken or spikes. Even
these men knew that hand to hand is and always will be a last resort
or the situation was not life threatening. So you should take
advantage of personal protection devices that will allow you to
escape and survive a situation. It should be noted that the less
lethal your intentions the greater the risk of your failure. Pepper
foam, personal alarms, edged weapons are the next step up from empty
hand methods. As Yonezuka sensei says "If you're really serious
about self defense, buy a gun."



5. The myth that weapons can be taken away and used against you. A
lot of so called "experts" subscribe to this myth. The idea of
opting not to use a weapon and going to hand to hand technique is
insane. People who promote this type of behavior should stick to
movie choreography and romance novels. The use of a knife is the
prime target of this comment. I suppose if you were to spar with the
knife or even threaten with the knife (See West side Story, the
Musical) maybe it could be "used against you". But if you are angry,
and down right pissed off, you grip that thing like you were
strangling it to death and proceed to plunge it into your target
over and over again. I don't think there's a 'Grand Master' out
there that will take it away from you. And in a grappling situation,
as we say in jersey, Fageddaboudit, a knife is your best buddy. By
the time the skel realizes he's being carved up like sushi, it's too
late.



6. You will be in the fight of your life. It will not be clean, look
pretty, poetic or feel good. You will have to scrape, bite, gouge,
kick and claw your way to safety. You will be injured. And you will
be exhausted. Keep in mind, an adrenalin burst lasts about 30
seconds and then you need about 3 minutes to recharge. So make that
30 seconds count. Check out Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's On Combat.



7. Specific Defenses don't work. The idea that you will be able to
recall a specific response to each individual situation is not going
to happen. The idea that if he does this, I do that or when he grabs
my wrist I do one thing, when he grabs my arm, I do another is
another fantasy propagated by my fellow martial artists. You will be
lucky to recall only a handful of behaviors at best, so you better
make them count. And when you're stressed you never really know what
will come out so you better make sure it's the most effective ones.
Any technique must be applicable to a wide variety of situations and
positions and require a minimum amount of skill and effort. The best
advice anyone can give you is to "fight like hell". And just try to
destroy what's in front of you by any means necessary.



8. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. Last night I was
discussing the merits of pepper spray with one of the guys I train
with who is a Port Authority police officer. He was recalling times
were he sprayed targets and the pepper spray had little or no
effect. The common misconception about pepper spray is that it will
end the assault. As you may or may not know, a lot of emotionally
disturbed persons (EDP) will just walk off the pepper spray. Most
times, it only serves to enrage them further. Now what? Should you
throw out your pepper spray? Of course not! Don't expect the pepper
spray to end the fight. DO expect the pepper spray to afford you an
opening to inflict greater damage or escape. Even if the spray
simply causes your target to blink, it's done its job. All it has to
do is create an opening, a little hesitation in your assailant's
plan of attack; just enough to let you seize the opportunity, gain
the advantage or escape.

When you train in close quarters combat/ self defense, always train
with multiple, lethal strikes and have a variety of weapons in your
arsenal. The same goes for empty hand technique. Don't depend on
every technique you throw to hit its intended target or end the
fight. You will miss a lot more than you hit. That's why you train
with OVER KILL. You should go about two or three steps past what you
would normally perceive as the "end" of the fight. Remember, it's
better to be pleasantly surprised that gravely disappointed.

Realistically, hand to hand or empty hand techniques are best served
when working in conjunction with weapons. The strike, kick or hold
will allow you an opening to secure or use a weapon to end the fight
as quickly as possible against any assailant.










Yahoo! Groups Links