self defense

When Security isn’t.

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

So a girl gets attacked while 3 security guards look on. That’s right. Look on. They do nothing. Read the appalling story here.

The video clearly shows that all of this is taking place right in front of three security guards. They are well marked with bright yellow jackets that have SECURITY written on the back. While the victim is on the ground getting punched, the guards immediately reach for their radios and call for help, but they do little else.

OK, I stand corrected. They did something. They radioed for help. Big deal.

After the victim is punched, the attack gets worse. The suspect then kicks the girl’s face and stomps on her head six times. The guards make no attempt to get in the middle of the girls or to pull the attacker away. One guard is seen in the distance looking on. He never approaches the scene. Another guard turns his back on the assault. The third stands just inches from the girls, looking on.

And the beating isn’t over. The attacker comes back without anyone trying to restrain her and stomps on the motionless girl’s head one final time.

The attacker and her crew of 10 others – eight boys and young men, and two girls – run up the tunnel escalators.

One of them is clutching the purse he stole from the unconscious teen. Two others have stolen her cell phone and iPod.

A woman who witnessed the entire ordeal from her seat in a bus parked in the tunnel talked to KING 5.

“All of the passengers, we were all up against the side looking, like, who is going to do something? Do something, do something!” said the witness. “Why on earth are there three security guards standing there watching it? And actually allowing her to come back and kick her in the head again!”

When the beating is over, you see on the tape that not one guard bends down to see if the victim is breathing or needs help.

“Really? You’ve got three male security guards and there’s a young girl getting kicked in the head, lying on the ground, motionless? And they couldn’t do anything? Doesn’t seem like security,” said the witness.

Just a reminder folks that the only person you can count on to help you is you. Security guards? I think the only security they were worrying about was keeping their jobs… and the transit authority about being secure in avoiding liablity and lawsuits. That’s the only thing they’re working to secure.

It’s sad this is the way the world can be, but this is how the world can be.

Duct Tape Robber

/ hsoi

So you’re a criminal. You want to rob a liquor store. You don’t have a mask. What do you use?

Duct tape.

MacGyver would be so proud. You must click to see the picture; it’s priceles.

Of course, Duct Tape Man was foiled in his attempt because people didn’t put up with his shenanigans.

Notice, though, that when the public is armed and empowered, that criminals don’t stand a chance. I believe that we as martial artists should be the vanguard of an armed populace ready to defend society.

One can debate if it’s our job and duty to defend society, but as Heinlein wrote, “an armed society is a polite society.”

Multiple attackers? Yes, you could survive!

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

In all the self-defense work I’ve been exposed to, the general feeling is if you’re dealing with more attackers than you have defenders (even as simple as 2 on 1), forget it. You will be overwhlemed, you’ll end up on the ground with them applying their boots to your head. The best defense for multiple attackers is to never get involved in the first place and a heavy dose of Nike-Fu (i.e. run), else you’re fucked. That’s the “common wisdom” of the matter.

Of course, it’s not always as simple as that, because you could have something that affects the force disparity, such as having a weapon like a big stick or a gun. But there’s just not enough groups out there that teach combining empty-hand combatives with firearms. Thankfully there is one such trainer that accepts this, Tony Blauer. His chief trainer, Tony Torres writes an article about dealing with multiple attackers which is well worth the read.

Yes, the reality of the situation is certainly not in your favor, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dead done deal against you as the conventional wisdom asserts. In fact, reading Tony’s article made me realize that we’re inconsistent in how we talk about surviving self-defense encounters. We talk so much about fight mentality and going into the fight with the attitude that you’re not going to lose, that you’re going to come out of this. But what do we do the instant someone talks about multiple attackers? We admit defeat. If our training is always admitting defeat, then that’s all we’ll ever have because we’ll be conditioned from the get-go that we’re screwed and in a no-win situation. Yes we should admit the reality of the situation, but then use that to find the positive and gear towards success.

For instance, I loved this bit in the article:

First Reframe: Addition
This starts as a psychological mobilizer. The additional opponents have now provided you with additional targets to hit!

That’s right, by using the BTS principle of Closest Weapon Closest Target (CWCT), the presence of more than one opponent just adds more targets for your tools to collide with. Capitalizing on this reframe will help you implement the next one.

That’s a great way to look at it! Instead of thinking more opponents means an exponential rise in your chances of demise, instead more opponents means more targets to hit! Win!

Reading this article was an eye-opener for me. It did make me realize that we don’t address the topic of multiple attackers in a proper way. We’re defeatist, we should be aiming for success. Yes the training must accept reality, but give Tony’s article a read because it accepts the reality but frames it in a positive way and provides tools that could lead towards success. Read the article!

Is it worth dying over?

/ hsoi / 8 Comments

Boy, so many things from this past weekend are just coming back. It’s wonderful!

KR Training’s AT-1A class is good because, as I said before, we spend all this time teaching you how to use your gun and use it well, then we throw something at you where using your gun may not be the right thing to do.

tgace’s tactical preschool 45 is titled “What’s Your Hurry?” He goes on to discuss the thought process you must have about “clearing a building”:

Going into a building after an armed and barricaded man or clearing your home in the middle of the night is probably the most dangerous thing you could ever do. You need to seriously consider the necessity of attempting it before you do it. Ask yourself, is there really a need to “go in”? Is someone in danger?

If you know someone is inside a building, armed, alone, and not ready to surrender, what is the hurry? Why would you need to “go dynamic” and risk getting shot? Perhaps there IS a reason, but you really need to figure out what that reason is first and be able to articulate it. If you go in and get yourself or someone else killed, what will your explanation be for your decision? If you and your wife are in your bedroom and you hear someone in the house (you KNOW someone is in the house and there is nobody else living in the house with you), what possible reason is there to go out looking? Arm yourself, call 911 and bunker down. It may even be a good idea to announce what you have done quite loudly. ..the fact that you are armed and have called the cops that is.

Rangemaster February 2010 Newsletter

/ hsoi

The Rangemaster February 2010 newsletter is posted.

Half of the newsletter talks about the upcoming Polite Society conference (wish I could attend this year, but scheduling won’t work out).

The other half of the newsletter contains an excellent article by Tom Givens titled “Intelligence Gathering for Personal Safety”. A snippet:

In this article we will examine some of the facets of personal intelligence gathering and processing, to assist you in a realistic threat assessment of your environment, and to provide forewarning in street encounters with likely threat sources. While this will not be an exhaustive examination of every threat, it will at least expose you to the main elements of some of the more common criminal types with which you will likely deal.

The purpose of this endeavor is to allow you to recognize subtle danger signs that will be present prior to an assault. By recognizing these cues, you can place yourself on alert, and be thinking about a planned response. As we discussed previously, being aware of a threat and having a plan in mind to deal with it greatly decreases reaction time, and helps overcome the mental inertia that slows down our response. When interacting with strangers, these subtle cues, once learned, can assist you in evaluating the proper degree of vigilance and readiness to act.

The article goes on to talk about street gangs, drug abusers, mental cases, and plain old criminals. There’s discussion of behavioral cues to impending aggression as well.

If there’s nothing else you read today, you need to read that article. The information therein could someday save your life.

At Your Doorstep

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

A quip from John Farnam. Seems a couple guys robbed a bank. Police give chase, the 2 robbers split up in a residential neighborhood. One cons his way into a house and even manages to get the homeowner to drive him out, but they are stopped by the police. The other walks into an unlocked house, finds the car keys, steals the car and off he escapes.

Lessons for me:

Keep doors (home and car) locked! Keep your electronic security system turned on when you’re not there. Be armed, even at home. Don’t engage strangers at your doorstep in conversation, and don’t unlock the door! Tell them that you can’t help them, and that you’re calling police.

Be aware that dangerous, criminal suspects are everywhere, including your doorstep!”

People wonder why I carry my gun, even at home.

Because… shit happens. And when shit does happen, it happens in seconds.

It this being paranoid? No. Paranoid would be thinking everyone was out to get me, the boogeyman was around every corner. I don’t think that. The world is full of good people who mostly go about their day and leave me alone. But there are exceptions to the rule… like those two bank robbers.

Rather, it’s about being prepared. Boy Scouts aren’t paranoid, they are prepared. It’s about making preparations beforehand, so we’re ready when needed.

The snub vs. multiple attackers

/ hsoi

Michael de Bethencourt has an excellent article addressing the question if a snub nose revolver (with it’s 5 rounds) is enough to contend with multiple attackers.

What’s interesting about Michael’s response isn’t so much addressing the hardware as addressing the software. That whole “it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog”. It comes down to you and your ability and will to fight and prevail.

I may not be high on things like .380 Auto pocket guns or using a .22 for home defense. But I maintain that something is better than nothing. Everyone’s situation is different and there’s no “one perfect recipe” that suits everyone. I do think Micahel provides a reasonable guideline:

My advice on self-defense handguns comes down to this: Pick out that “minimum” gun you are absolutely certain you will be carrying when it is absolutely impractical and uncomfortable to carry any other make/model/style gun. Train with it like you will be facing three attackers. Learn to draw quickly, hit what you are aiming at quickly, learn to shoot on the move and learn to reload quickly with the spare ammo and the ammo carrier you actually carry. Train hard – its fun to do so it anyway. Then if you have to face one guy followed by one guy followed by one guy all one-after-the-other then you might just pull it off.

Figure out the hardware, then train train train practice practice practice.

Self Defense Maxim? Maximize Beer & TV Time.

/ hsoi / 21 Comments

I was reminded of this one a couple days ago.

I believe it was Greg Hamilton of Insights Training that said your choice in how to behave in a self-defense situation, often involving the question if you should get involved, if you should draw your gun, etc., should be based around your ability to maximize your beer and TV time.

Let’s say you’re at home. You hear a noise outside and see someone breaking into your car to steal your stereo. Even if your local laws would allow you to go out there and use (deadly) force to defend your property, is that the best course of action? Perhaps. According to the maxim, perhaps not. If you ran out there with a baseball bat or with guns blazing, you might stop the theft. You might end up with a lot of bullet holes in your car, which now you have to repair (and explain). You may end up with a mess of a legal situation on your hands (look at Joe Horn). You may end up being arrested. All sorts of things could happen that could be rather a mess to deal with. Or, you could take a picture or video, get a description of the perp, if they’re in a car perhaps describe it and get a license plate number, and report it to the police. You do have insurance on your car for just such an occasion. And then, you can go back to watchin’ the game havin’ a Bud.

Let’s say someone comes up to you and your wife on the street. They ask for a cigarette, you don’t have one. They glance around, then out of nowhere they grab your wife and someone else comes out of the shadows to grab you. Yeah, you probably want to draw your gun… because coming out of this alive instead of being found dead at crime scene #2 is probably what’s going to maximize your future enjoyment of TV and beer.

As you think through scenarios, as you consider yourself in situation and ask “What would I do?” “Would this be the right place to act in such-and-such a way?” consider using the ability to maximize your TV and beer time as a guideline. It may not be appropriate in all cases, but it should help you along the decision-making process.

OK, so a .22 can be used for home defense

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

11 year old boy in Palmview, Texas (right along the border with Mexico) uses a .22 rifle to protect himself and his mother from a home-invasion. Story here.

The homeowner said she and her 11-year-old son were in bed when she heard banging on the front main entrance door.

She got up to check and she saw two Hispanic males men masks and armed with handguns walking towards her.

To leave your safe, defensible area to go investigate? That’s a judgment call. General rule is it’s better to stay where you are, arm yourself, call the police, and hunker down. But sometimes going out is what the situation calls for. And in this case, the situation revealed two Mexican males in masks with guns. There’s nothing in the story that says why these men were or might have been in the house, but for sure that’s a “up to no good” situation.

The masked man kept telling her to open the door and she would not open the door.

DUH! What was she supposed to do? “You didn’t say the magic word!” Geez….. 🙂

Her son had a 22 cal. Rifle and shot back at the alleged robbers.

The woman waited, opened the door, saw that the suspects were no longer there and called 911.

A .22 isn’t my first choice, but something is better than nothing.

Deputies said Border Patrol agents detained two Mexican nationals who were found in the area.

So, they’re illegal aliens. Not surprising, given it’s a border town.

Makes you wonder what the context was for this home invasion, and I’m not going to hazard any sort of a guess. For all I know the woman could be in the wrong as well. I point out this story because:

  • A .22 in the hand beats 3 violent criminals trying to bang down your door in the middle of the night. Sorry, no restraining orders, strongly worded letters, or a little understanding would have been of much use here.
  • A child had access to a readily dischargable firearm, and I guess thank God he did.
  • You have to fight to live.

Knife blarg

/ hsoi / 8 Comments

So since I’m looking for new knives, while I was running some errands this morning I stopped into a Sports Authority to see what they had.

They had a couple CRKT knives. That “Carson Flipper” feature is pretty nifty, mostly because it becomes some degree of a hand guard against slipping. That interests me.

There are many flavors of CRKT knives, but I recall the two I looked at were one flavor of a M21 and another of an M16.

The M21 was much bigger than I expected. It seemed almost too big. The length, the width (of the handle), big! I’m not sure how much it would lend to discrete carry, but it all depends on where you’re wearing it and what clothing you wear it with. That said, I did like having that larger handle in my hands. I’ve got larger hands so having the larger frame in my hand was more substantial. Using the pin to deploy the blade was a little awkward due to the pin being almost flush and touching the frame, but I think with practice that could be overcome.

The flipper feature is kinda nifty, and I can see how, with practice, it can become a fast and quick deployment motion. That said, I’m a little torn on it. It’s a special motion that no other knife has, so if muscle memory kicked in on a different knife that means failed deployment; given the size of this knife I might have to switch to a different knife (e.g. Delica) if I needed to carry something smaller thus keeping the same deployment motion is desired. As well, a few attempts at flipping didn’t extend the blade 100% and engage the lock. Speaking of the lock, I found the mechanism interesting. It’s not just a liner lock but there’s a little pin/bar involved as well to keep the liner lock from collapsing. Interesting thing, but it also feels like more little widgets to break or go wrong. If the liner lock notion has this weakness, might it be better to pick another lock mechanism instead of jury-rigging a problematic one? I’m not sure. I’ve always been partial to lock-backs since I grew up on Buck knives, so old curmudgeon me is just having to expand horizons. Back to the flipper, I can also see how the flipper can bump and snag on external things while the knife is in your pocket and partially deploy the blade… not sure I like that.

That all said, the M21 didn’t seem all that bad. Yes I’d have to learn the knife, from dealing with tip-down carry, to the deployment mechanism (I can see Wife quickly growing tired of me flicking the knife open and closed all day long), to how to disengage the lock and close the knife. It also didn’t have a tanto blade, but that’s not a total deal-breaker. I did like the size, the heft, and the deployed blade with the flipper acting as a guard did seem like it could help with hand slippage (I could only experiment with that so much with the sales guy standing over me and him not wondering what the heck I was doing). I’m not sure I’d get the M21, but it certainly has helped me refine my search.

I wasn’t able to fondle the M16 as it was in a blister pack, but the size seemed comparable to the Spyderco Delica. That was really all I needed to consider there. What I’m getting from my reactions to things is I in fact do want a larger knife. So while that M21 might have come across as “too big” it may actually be just the right amount of big.

The CRKT knives seem to be well-regarded and aren’t too expensive, but I’m thinking they’re not going to fit my bill. Still, checking a couple out in person did help me refine my search criteria a bit. Need to find some folks in town that sell Benchmade knives to do some comparison.