Things That The Shooting Schools And Gun Magazines         Don’t Tell You

THIS is just our personal opinion of course: Anyone who wants to learn how to use a handgun plainly and exclusively for self-defense and close combat is a complete FOOL if he spends his time, money, and energy taking one or more of the well-promoted and popularly touted “combat handgun shooting” courses that are given by so-called “name” instructors, and/or name instructor wannabes — which we have everywhere, including a couple here in Washington State. These courses certainly do provide the student with lots and lots of range time (that is, shooting time); but actual combat and wartime experience has proven that learning how to use a handgun in close quarters combat is a technically simple process, and that man-killing accuracy and competence can be acquired (assuming the right method is being taught) within a matter of a few hours, and with an expenditure of a single box of ammunition. This does not produce a competition shooter or a shooting “champion” — but competition shooting is irrelevant for close combat work with a sidearm, and so-called shooting “champions” are not necessarily combat shooters, per se. They are masters of managing totally impractical “race-tuned” pistols, and shooting expertly at unrealistic targets, under unrealistic conditions, at unrealistic distances, with unrealistic tactics, and with an unrealistic mindset.

Laugh or disagree at your own peril. We speak with half a century’s experience culling practical combat knowledge — armed and unarmed — from those who, in wartime, had been and done. If you wish to shrug off that which we have to say, go right ahead. It’s your ass, so to speak; and we do not debate facts.

Remember that gun magazines aim to make a profit by selling issues, attracting advertisers, and garnering subscibers. And the popular shooting schools that run week-long “basic”, “intermediate”, and “advanced” courses in combat shooting make money by enrolling people for extensive, and we’d say in our opinion, needlessly “padded” courses. The person wishing to be able to use a handgun in personal defense can learn how to do it in a few hours, and then practice what he’s learned on his own. Real combat teachers (like Jim Gregg, for example) conduct modest two-day courses, a little more extensive than, but very much along the lines of the courses Fairbairn, Sykes, O’Neill, and Applegate conducted, and along the lines of that which we also conduct, when we occasionally run students through a combat handgun course.

What follows is a synopsis of very significant and important things you really should understand and be guided by when you enter upon the study of handguns for self-defense. We teach these things, among others, to our personal students, and hope that they will benefit you.

1. While certainly the ultimate constant-carry self-defense weapon, the handgun is inferior to the shotgun, carbine, and rifle, and there is no special cartridge, modification, or “new technique of the pistol” that can change this fact. That ridiculous myth (popularized by Jeff Cooper) that by “using his ‘new technique’ you can shoot a handgun like a rifle” is horrendously misleading. You certainly might be able to shoot a handgun at what is in reality ranges appropriate to a shoulder weapon; however, the bullet that hits the target will NOT be as potent as a carbine, rifle, or shotgun round. Thus, the fact that you can “reach” targets at rifle range by using sighted firing means nothing. 1. Because you are reaching the target with a cartridge of greatly reduced power, and  2. Because in practically no handgun encounter is the range greater than about four yards!

A handgun is strictly a combat weapon for close ranges and quick reactions to violence.

2. Shot placement is the single most critical determing factor as far as the likelihood of stopping the individual you shoot, is concerned.

3. While it is always preferable to employ a heavy caliber handgun in combat, the so-called “lesser calibers” (which the competition commandos sneer at) are often excellent choices for many people in many different situations. The .38 Special and the 9mm are, despite popular bullshit, excellent rounds for personal protection. If the shooter does his job, the round will do its job.

4. Both revolvers and automatics are excellent, valuable weapons. And there are times when a revolver serves best. Revolvers are not “antiquated”.

5. The single most important factor that is required in order to be fully prepared to use a handgun in self-defense is that you be ready and completely willing to take a human life when necessary.

6. Quick draw, rapid reloading, weak hand shooting, and weapon retention are all ancillary, secondary skills, and a person can become fully prepared to use a handgun in self-defense without having acquired them. If you’re interested, you can learn these skills on your own.

7. Night shooting is actually easy when the correct, point shooting method of combat firing has been learned.

8. If you are interested, learn how to use your handgun’s sights for deliberate sighted shooting after you’ve mastered point shooting. Use of the sights is almost 100% irrelevant for close combat handgun work.

9. Unarmed and armed combat should be studied together. They compliment each other.

10. One single carry method and one single handgun will rarely be sufficient.

11. Practical carry methods differ greatly from what the competition commandos use. Ankle holsters, crossdraw holsters, shoulder holsters, small of the back holsters, and (some pretty odd!) specially-designed holsters for ladies are all very useful and important.

12. Your finger goes INSIDE THE TRIGGER GUARD as you acquire and ready your weapon. Never mind what’s done in matches or what nonsense you may see on a recent cop show.

13. You are in great danger when you hold a person at gunpoint!

14. When you fire, move! Never stand still or “plant” yourself.

15.  An empy or disabled handgun is an excellent hand-to-han combat weapon.

There is not time or space here to elaborate on those and additional key points. For now our purpose is only to introduce you to them — since commercial interests apparently have no intention of ever doing so, and in some cases see these points as “unprofitable” for their commercial endeavors.

Unless you are a dyed-in-the-wool “gun bug” we’d say, “Stop wasting money on gun magazines, and steer clear of the ‘popular name shooting schools’. Take your money and buy a copy of Kill or Get Killed, Shooting to Live, and Quick or Dead. Take your weapon and practice the methods expounded in those works. And finally, pay attention to what we’ve presented here, and study our article Guidelines  For The Armed Citizen  in the Monthly Instruction Section of this web site.”

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The Face Of Violent Crime In 21st Century Urban America

(Some frightening observations)

WE have been teaching self-defense since the 1960’s. We were a child in the 1950’s when we began studying the arts of individual combat, and over the more than 55 years of our involvement in the study and researching and teaching of fighting arts and personal protection we have observed some very significant — and very alarming — changes in the “face” of violent crime in urban America. (We cannot say from personal observation, but we would guess from much of that which is reported to us by correspondents that the phenomenon is similar in other urban centers throughout the world — like Paris, London, Sydney, Rome, and so on).

The need not merely for “self-defense training”, but for deadly serious, absolutely ruthless, no-nonsense self-defense training and for thorough mental conditioning to cope with physical violence and danger, has never been felt so greatly as it is being felt today — in this 21st century.

Here are the six most conspicuous changes (for the worse) that we have personally seen occur over the preceding half century, in urban America:

1. All violent crime — from school bullying to mugging, to gang-related attacks, and so on — has taken on a senseless cruelty and sadistic flavor that, in the 1950’s and throughout much of the 1960’s, was extremely rare, and for the most part nonexistent.

Just recently the news in New York City reported a seventeen year old throwing a much younger and smaller boy off the roof of a five story tenement building. Miraculously, the poor child who was attacked lived. But as this is being written he is precariously close to death, and may not make it. The monster who committed the crime claims it was all a “mistake” and “unintentional”. This creature — at seventeen years of age — has already accumulated an impressive criminal record for violence and related antisocial conduct.

Recall the absolutely unforgivable and insanely evil attack by those subhuman predators on Brian Stow. Because Mr. Stow was a fan of a different ball team than his assailants, these subhuman beasts beat Mr. Stow into a state of permanent brain damage and disabling physical injury. Mr. Stow almost died.

The foregoing are two examples of the many thousands that could be cited, demonstrating an almost demonic nature to urban violence.

2. Firearms are commonly employed today, and of of course the punk’s old standby, i.e. the knife, is also used by violent types. (It is fascinating to note that when firearms were more freely and generally available to, and often carried and used by decent citizens, punks and street savages rarely dared to carry firearms! Predatory filth does not like it when victims can shoot back!).

Children in grade schools today often use weapons against their contemporaries. The school yard fist fight that we remember occurring with unfortunate regularity in the 1950’s and 60’s, has now been replaced by armed confrontations between botched and deranged youngsters, and the innocent kids that they steal from and physically abuse.

Rarely if ever do we hear of “strong arm” robberies today. Today, armed robberies — and assault for other reasons — is routine news in virtually every major city.

3. Multiple attackers is the norm today. In days gone by even bullies and other garbagy types regarded it as wrong to gang up on someone. Today, the predatory scum considers attacking in pairs and in pack — like feral dogs — to be just good common sense tactics. It’s done all the time.

4. Many attacks today are impersonal, apparently motiveless.

It is understandable — though certainly reprehensible and evil — when impulse-driven scum physically attacks and injures someone because a heated argument got out of hand. Or because one moron passed some inappropriate remark about another’s girlfriend, etc. No justification whatever, by any rational standard, for employing violence in such instances; yet one can perceive (an albeit absurdly irrational) “reason” for its occurrence.

The new urban phenomenon is attacking someone for no apparent reason . . . not even the flimsiest! It is “cool” amongst certain gutter animal types to just attack someone — anyone — simply because it’s “fun” to beat and stomp the person. People are attacked now by complete strangers who have no intention or desire to rob them and who have nothing personal against them; but these assailants just “feel like” attacking. Never before has it been so easy to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and to suffer violence at the hands of persons who do not know you, but who delight in beating or killing you.

5. Attackers of all types today are often highly experienced and completely unafraid of consequences.

The criminal justice system rarely does anything about truly atrocious violent crimes. The police make arrests, and the courts set the garbage free. All you need do to verify this yourself is check the news reports and note the often lengthy and extensive prior arrests and encounters with law enforcement that so many who have finally been charged with mayhem or murder have! Yet, the criminal justice system did nothing to remove these predatory monsters from civilized society when they first began to offend. Murderers rarely if ever are put to death any more. Many of them do not spend more than a few years in prison. A person acting in self-defense needs to be more concerned — and usually is — about legal consequences, than is the animal against whom he acted in self-defense.

Since violent offenders get to reoffend, thanks to a lenient legal system, they get good at it. And since they are so frequently exposed to the lukewarm “penal system” they lose any fear of incarceration that might have deterred them.

6. Home invasions, “wilding”, “flash mobbing”, driveby shootings, and carjacking are relatively recent additions to the repertoire of the predatory scum. Why? Because they have gone unchecked and they have been allowed to survive, and they have concluded that they can get away with anything

So what can we do about this?

The first and foremost thing that you should do is learn how to defend yourself! Nothing can protect you better than being able to physically stop an attacker, and being prepared technically, tactically, and mentally to do so without a moment’s hesitation.

If attending our school is not feasible for you, order our DVD Training Course. In order to prepare yourself mentally, open your eyes to the realities of urban violence, and mentally condition yourself to deal with it, should you ever need to do so. Our self-hypnosis programs can speedily reorient your psyche so that — should trouble come to you — you possess the confidence, non-hesitation, ferocity, and all round mindset to do it well.

Become a strong supporter of every private citizen’s right to keep and bear arms. It is clear and obvious that wherever citizens are free to go armed and to defend themselves, violent crime is minimal. We urge the lawful and responsible ownership and use of firearms. Criminals are never deterred by gun laws, and it is obvious that as gun restrictions become more stringent on the private citizenry violent crime rises and becomes more of a threat than ever.

Support law enforcement efforts in your community. Remember that it is not the police who turn violent offenders back on society, and it is not the police who determine what the laws regarding punishment for violent offenders will be. Police are law enforcers. They can and do go after law breakers, but when the courts neglect to render adequate punishments, there is nothing further that police can do.

Self-reliance is no longer the revered personal attribute that it once was. But self-defense depends upon self-reliance, and the more you expect “something to be done” about violent crime by others, the less anything will be done. You need to learn to rely upon your awareness, precautions, and — ultimately — your READINESS AND WILLINGNESS TO FIGHT BACK AND NOT BE VICTIMIZED — to protect yourself against violence in our society.

It is true that we “should not have to” defend ourselves against human predators in the cities where we live. But we do have to. So we’d better.

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Important Points To Bear In Mind When Culling The WWII

Methods For Help In Personal Training

William Ewart Fairbairn is perhaps the most celebrated of the WWII Teachers. As far as personal experience "being and doing" there has probably been no one in modern history better qualified to teach no-nonsense, get-him-before-he-gets-you close combat. Fairbairn, by actual record, participated in more than 600 armed and unarmed lethal encounters while "Officer In Charge of Musketry" in the Shanghai Municipal Police. The finest of Fairbairn's treatments of close combat include: ALL-IN FIGHTING, HANDS OFF!, and SHOOTING TO LIVE. Fairbairn was mentor to the almost equally well known Pat (Dermot) O'Neill. Rex Applegate — another legend from that era and on through the post-WWII years — began as Fairbairn's assistant and pupil, and later became his opposite number here in the States, when Fairbairn returned to England.

1. The best of the WWII methods —

• The Applegate System

• The Fairbairn System

• The O’Neill System

• The Brown-Begala System

• The U.S.M.C. Raider System

All offer what is a very similar theme. Strive to grasp the general underlying similar theme that runs through each of these methods, rather than looking at each of the different systems as a mere collection of techniques.

2. While having no doubt that the specific techniques presented in the curriculum of each of the WWII systems is excellent and quite reliably serviceable, do not abandon entirely the techniques and tactics of whatever conventional martial art you may be studying, or that you may have studied in the past. When you find a technique that is either not included in, or played down in, a WWII system, that fits you well and in which you possess confidence, incorporate it into your repertoire.

3. Remember that numerous principles which underlie the conventional martial arts are no less valid than those that have been included directly in the WWII methodology. Explore — since you do not have the limitations placed upon you that the teachers and trainees during WWII had placed upon them — all of that which may be of value to you from all sources.

4. Validate skills that you examine and consider for inclusion into your repertoire by testing them rigorously against “The Applegate Touchstone” found in Kill or Get Killed. (“Will this work so that I can use it instinctively in vital combat against an adversary who determined to prevent me from doing so and who is striving to eliminate me by fair means or foul?”)

5. Capitalize on employing one of the most sensible rules that the WWII era teachers all emphasized:

Make no attempt to “master everything”. Find the skills that

best suit you, individually, and work incessantly on those.

With no limits on your time available for training, and the sources to which you may refer for guidance, try to keep building your personalized, individual skills and tactics repertoire. In the long run this will see you in possession of a unique, personalized, individually tailored system of your own — which is exactly what you are after. The classical-traditional “cookie-cutter” process of turning out clones of the system headmaster is one of classicism’s greatest errors!

Rare photo sequence taken from the Athletic Journal (US Navy photographs) showing Wesley Brown demonstrating the edge-of-the-hand blow to various targets. Brown, a wrestler, was a hand-to-hand combat instructor in the Navy during WWII. Along with Joe Begala (who, following the war, became Kent State wrestling coach) he taught Naval Aviation Cadets. Although the Navy program (available in its entirely in the V-5 Physical Education Text of that era, HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT, was perhaps the most extensive of all the WWII systems, it was laced with numerous overly complicated techniques and too much wrestling-based manuevers. Nevetheless, the course was excellent, and stressed a tough, merciless attitude and many excellent, direct, practical actions.

6. Do not fall into the two prevailing “traps” that the recent crop of “WWII era system” fanatics have fallen into:

a) Literally worshipping the WWII systems, and — ironically —

adopting the same nonsense attitude that often had been

responsible for, properly, turning them away from the

classical-traditional systems, in the first place

b) Adopting the “holier-than-thou” attitude of the lunatics who,

having discovered and adopted the WWII methods as

their own, now set themselves apart as The Authorities

on these methods, and — incredibly! — while noting

how “simple”, “easily understood and mastered”, and

rooted in common sense these methods are, proceed

to insist that they and only they are the “authentically

researched purveyors of WWII era combat wisdom”!

Every source of instruction and information that these

misguided individuals utilized to achieve their understanding and    knowledge of the WWII methods may be utilized by YOU.

7. Use these sources to learn about the WWII methods:

• Our web sites: www.americancombato.com and www.seattlecombatives.com

• The Close Combat Files of Rex Applegate

• Kill or Get Killed

• All-In Fighting/Get Tough!/Hands Off!/Shooting to Live

• Hand-to-Hand Combat (V-5)

• Combat Conditioning (Melson)

• Combat Conditioning (Hanley)

• Do or Die

• Combat Without Weapons

• FM 21-150 Combatives (1971 edition) This depicts much of the

O’Neill System

• (Films):

OSS TRAINING GROUP

HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT

USMC FLEET MARINE FORCE FILMS

POINT SHOOTING/BULLSEYES DON’T SHOOT BACK

GUTTERFIGHTING

It is possible that some of these publications (notably the films) may not be readily available. However, a thorough study of the first four books listed will suffice to educate anyone thoroughly in the methods.

World War Two saw giant steps ahead taken, as the then greatest experts in the world  amongst the allied forces, worked hard to provide instruction in what Rex Applegate referred to as the commando style of personal combat.

Virtually all of the post WWII practical systems derive considerably from the great wartime methods of the 1940′s. American Combato incorporates the cream of all of the top WWII Methods.

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“. . .You Don’t Always Want To Kill Somebody!”

IN a recent conversation with a student of self-defense whose orientation is heavily saturated with the “non-injurious” or “non lethal” philosophy of personal protection, we had the following objection to the American Combato philosophy and curriculum raised:

“I don’t agree with how vicious and how damaging your techniques are. Your reaction to an attack is always severe, and after all Brad, you don’t always want to kill somebody!”

Florence Nightingale was a wonderful woman and her philosophy remains exemplary for all in the field of medicine. However, when applied to self-defense "Florence Nightingalism" falls short of providing what is needed to save innocent lives.

The response we gave is well worth repeating here, as it is instructive for anyone who is realistically concerned about the subject of real world personal protection:

“Actually, we certainly don’t want to ‘kill’ anybody. However, when and if we believe that our life or the life of someone dependent upon us for protection is endangered we care only about stopping the assailant. Whether that assailant is effectively stopped without being permanently injured, or whether he is maimed or killed is irrelevant as far as we are concerned. He (the attacker) is the one responsible for whatever injuries he suffers as a result of our acting in lawful self-defense.

“We possess no gift for mind reading, and we are not a mystic. We cannot accurately determine the intentions or the abilities of an attacker, and we are compelled to assume the worst whenever an illegal, violent attack upon us or anyone else is initiated. According to the way that we think and the way that we conduct ourself, the only justification for ever using force against another human being is unavoidable self-defense. Period. We believe this to be a reasonable, civilized standard, and we will not risk injury or death at the hands of anyone who obviously believes otherwise, and who undertakes to initiate a violent attack.”

We disagree 100% with the “non injurious” school of thought(?) now popular in some so-called martial arts circles. The idea of learning and acquiring proficiency in restraint and control measures makes perfect sense for law enforcers, security professionals, and other peace keepers (and we do teach such techniques to them). But for anyone simply wishing to be safe and secure in a dangerous world, and seeking reliable methods of self-defense against violent attack should such an unfortunate thing ever come to him, taking the risk that police officers, etc. must take — due to the responsibility inherent in their profession — is absurd. Anyone can and should assume that a sudden physical attack is potentially lethal, and his only concern should be protection against the immediate danger.

The self-defense student must, if he is to be realistically and practically prepared for the real world of criminal violence, permeate his technical, tactical, and mental training with four key assumptions:

1. Anyone who attacks him is his physical superior

2. Anyone who attacks him intends to inflict grievous harm upon him — up to and including lethal injury

3. Anyone who attacks him is armed — whether or not a weapon is immediately apparent in the assailant’s hand

4. Anyone who attacks him has help and is not alone.

Training with those four “absolutes” in mind will certainly not guarantee victory should the need to defend himself arise (there ARE NO “guarantees”), but it will insure that the defender is prepared for the worst. Obviously, if any given situation is not very severe (something that is impossible to determine ahead of time, or at the outset of the onslaught) then the defender need not continue to go after his attacker. Two indicators that one may desist in one’s self-defensive use of force are: 1. The attacker turns to flee.  2. The attacker is rendered unable to offer any further danger to the defender, and it is safe for the defender himself to flee the scene of the attack.

We advise always allowing an attacker to flee if he tries to do so. Pursuing him is a job for the police. No private citizen has any responsibility to apprehend a violent felon. The citizen’s only responsibility extends to his not being a party to mutual combat (i.e. agreeing to a fight, and being as responsible as the other guy for the situation), not being the attacker, and not continuing to use force once the situation is no longer dangerous to him (or to whoever he is protecting).

Self-defense is no sporting event. Nor is it a situation in which any defender, regardless of his knowledge, skill, experience, or apparent size and strength advantage can be certain of victory. Intelligent and civilized human beings avoid violence whenever possible, and we regard AVOIDANCE as “self-defense technique #1”. However, when avoidance is not possible it is a matter of you or the attacker. You must assume this! Otherwise you are dependent upon a combination of an attacker’s benevolence and/or ineptitude, and your own ability to predict the attacker’s capabilities and intentions. Not smart at all. In fact, not possible.

This is an example of the result of violent criminal attack. An actual police photo of Ron Goldman. Many victims of violent attack have been found in similar positions.

This ridiculous idea that we who train in serious measures for personal defense “always want to kill” anyone who attacks us should be laughed at. It is blatantly untrue. In point of fact we have only one specific objective, and that is to simply stop the attacker and defend ourselves. We are not concerned about how badly the attacker fares; we just do not want to be injured or killed. And that is reasonable and lawful.

We who train in American Combato wish deliberately to injure or to kill NO ONE. In point of fact we just wish to be left alone.

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The Enemy’s Weaknesses

(All Violent Offenders Are Dangerous, But They Have Weaknesses That You Should Understand And Exploit)

INTELLIGENT people avoid violence. Life offers enough unavoidable difficulties without becoming involved in physical combat with members of your own species. However, if you are the victim of an attack you have no choice but to submit to injury or death — or fight back and defend yourself.

Decent human beings who are properly civilized find the thought of injuring or killing others to be abnormal, abhorrent, and unnatural. Assuming a decent human being has been properly raised and educated however, he will, despite such an antipathy toward savaging another person, be quite willing and able to do it, should the need arise. Healthy self-respect and an understanding of right and wrong, and a proper morality that acknowledges the absolute righteousness of self-defense (and, incidentally, the immorality of permitting evil to succeed) will provide the decent person with the psychological foundation upon which to build a solid ability with armed and unarmed combat skills.

There is something that should be understood about violent offenders that will provide a psychological and morale edge for you if the unfortunate situation ever does arise in which you will need to put your combat training into use. It pertains to their weaknesses. And with the rarest of rare exceptions, virtually all criminal offenders who undertake to physically violate others share these weaknesses:

— Violent offenders (whether bullies, “tough guys”, robbers, muggers, rapists, home invaders, thrill killers, or  what-have-you) expect to be successful in their attack upon you. If they did not expect this, then only the most psychotic and bizarre among them would initiate an attack against you in the first place.

— Violent offenders do not want to be injured or killed, themselves. They don’t mind injuring or killing you, but they do not (again, with the possible rare exception of the out-of-their-mind-completely psychotic nutjobs, or the politically motivated terrorist fanatics) want to risk being hurt, crippled, or killed.

— Violent offenders want to escape capture and prosecution for their actions. They are in fact desperate to avoid the consequences of their actions.

Violent filth desperately wants to avoid incarceration. This is something that the decent citizen acting in self-defense need not fear. This is also a tremendous weakness for the offender, and you want to exploit it if you ever need to defend yourself.

Violent offenders have everything to lose if they are unsuccessful; and they do not believe that they will be unsuccessful. Their victims have nothing to lose by fighting back, even if they are unsuccessful; and proper training in quality self-defense techniques drastically shifts the odds of being successful to the intended victim’s side. Here’s why:

— The element of surprise is one of the most important principles for success in any combat situation — from a war between nations, to a hand-to-hand battle between individuals. Since the violent offender expects to be successful you possess an automatic surprise advantage when you fight back. Even if you are not skilled in any particular martial methods the mere fact of encountering sudden resistance surprises the violent offender, since he calculated an “easy mark” when he targetted you. If you are skilled in the kinds of techniques that, for example, we teach in American Combato, your capitalizing on the element of surprise will enable you to effectively implement destructive, damaging actions that speedily neutralize and render harmless your would-be victimizer. The odds are heavily in your favor!

— Quality self-defense techniques — authentic close combat skills — enable anyone to almost instantly injure, maim, or kill any enemy who does not expect that the possessor of those skills can in fact execute devastating techniques. Even if your attacker is not knocked unconscious straight away, the fear of realizing immediately that he is under attack and subject to injury or death, himself, will almost always cause him to freeze or to attempt to flee. In any case, he will not be able to adjust fast enough and shift his focus from attacking you, to dealing with your attack against him. (Remember, as we first wrote decades ago, and have been teaching even before putting it in writing: When you are attacked, attack your attacker!) Once again, the odds are heavily in your favor!

— Integrel to the plan of virtually any violent assailant is that, after achieving his objective of violating you in whatever manner and to whatever extent he intends, he will get away. Because he wants to get away, and not be apprehended by the authorities for his actions, he finds himself desperate immediately when he encounters fierce resistance! He knows — if only in the back of his mind — that time works against not for himself. If he is tied up in battle, or — worse! — if he is injured to the extent that he cannot escape (putting aside for the moment his desire simply not to be hurt or killed) he knows that he is in big trouble. You have all the time you require. Go get him! Smash him to pieces! Beat him senseless! Keep on attacking him without mercy or forebearance until you are absolutely certain that you are safe and that he is harmless. You have that perfect right, and you have nothing to fear from the authorities; in fact their arrival on the scene will be a help and a relief for you!

In American Combato (Jen•Do•Tao) we teach that AVOIDANCE is self-defense technique #1. But technique #2 (i.e. preemptive attack) or #3 (i.e. ferocious counterattack) may be necessary when avoidance is not feasible. So develop your skills, condition and build your body, and train your mindset. If you do, and if you understand just how your enemy’s weaknesses will inevitably help your effective defense actions, you should rest fairly easily assured that if, God forbid, dangerous violence ever intrudes into your life from some atrocious felon’s onslaught, you will be equal to the task of handling it.

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The Violent Offender’s Advantages

(and how to overcome them)

Garbage like this has certain advantages — advantages stemming from the fact that it is indeed garbage — but with the right mental conditioning, tactical readiness, and war-proven combat skills (with and without weapons) YOU CAN OVERCOME HIS ADVANTAGES AND DEFEAT HIM IF YOU EVER FIND THAT YOU MUST DO SO!

WHETHER the particular variant of scum who starts trouble with you is a bully, a mugger, a gangster, a holdup man, a car jacker, a rapist, a home invader, a kidnapper, a terrorist, or just some random sewer-rat troublemaker, it behooves us all who are concerned to prepare to eradicate this virulent bacteria when he threatens to infect us, to recognize that the violent bastard moves on us with certain undeniable advantages. These are:

1. He does not mind in the least seriously injuring — even killing — you. He requires no “reason” beyond the impulse or desire he may feel at the moment, however irrational or downright insane that impulse or desire may be. (Violent offenders are closer to wild animals than they are to truly human beings; and one of the reasons why civilized societies have continuing problems with violent predators is because they refuse to accept this fact.)

2. He, in his own mind, is the only one who knows his true intentions and objectives, and the degree to which he desires to harm you. (It is virtually impossible for anyone to tell with certainty either the capabilities or the intentions of any attacker. Miscalculate and you easily could end up dead.)

3. You are, even when you are well aware of his approach, to some degree startled by his attack. It is, after all, surprising, to be set upon without that which is understandable to you as a valid reason. (And if you are a decent human being you don’t give anyone, ever, a reason to physically attack you).

4. Even when, ideally, you are able to preempt his attack, he (the attacker) gets to initially decide that there will be violence, and thus he is inevitably the one who is fully “psyched” and ready-to-go, as it were. (One huge difference between any sort of  “contest” or sporting match and real combat. The victim of an attack is an unwilling participant in the encounter.)

5. Usually if not always the attacker is an experienced savage — a violent predator who has done this before — successfully — to others, and has garnered a confidence in himself  that has convinced him that he will succeed in doing whatever he wishes to do to you. (Confidence is an asset, and confidence inevitably grows out of successful past experience).

The foregoing five points are, we remain convinced, the tactical advantages that just about any physical assailant has when moving on an intended victim. Parenthetically we remind our students and visitors that they must always assume the following physical advantages — either when preparing in training, or when reacting to an emergency:

• The attacker is physically superior in every way to yourself

• The attacker possesses at least one weapon, even if he is not holding one in his hand at the outset of the attack

• The attacker is deadly serious — meaning, of course, that he is fully prepared to maim or to kill you

• The attacker is not alone — even if you are not immediately cognizant of a second or third assailant at the moment; you act on the assumption that he is not alone

You train incessantly with the above in mind. Your techniques must reflect an assumption of those factors, and you relent only if and when you terminate hostilities and realize that you and anyone dependent upon you for protection is now safe.

We can ready ourselves for the real world only by acknowledging what it offers us, and by recognizing that which it obliges us to contend with. This means becoming mentally conditioned insofar as self-defense is concerned. Only by this setting of the mind will it be certain that the techniques which you train hard on will be there reflexively and will be rendered without a moment ‘s hesitation or a tremor of delay.

While hard training in serious, proven techniques like those which comprise the American Combato curriculum is extremely important in training to overcome an attacker, mental conditioning — i.e. readying your mind — for that awful moment when you have no choice but to "bash or be bashed" — is at least as important. You can overcome the inevitable advantages that street scum and other assorted violent filth has if you will follow the guidelines we present i this article.

So . . . overcome each of the advantages that any predatory garbage could have, who might harm you and yours, by cultivating a proper mindset that destroys each of the bastard’s five advantages:

1. Overcome his ruthless indifference toward injuring or killing you by becoming more ruthless, vicious, merciless, and ferocious than he might be, and determining to go after him like an insane, wild beast, yourself – who is intent upon ripping him limb from limb, the very second you are aware that you are in danger.

2. Overcome his unpredictability by assuming the worst. It is your attacker’s choice to injure or to kill you. You are an unwilling participant in this encounter. Your enemy has unilaterally decided to savage you, so REACT TO HIM LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS UPON WHAT YOU DO . . . it probably does. Then you’ll be ready for the unpredictable — i.e. for anything.

3. Overcome being startled into any excessive delay or hesitation by cultivating anticipation. This does not mean that you are always anticipating an attack; it means that you are ever mindful that, no matter where you are and no matter what you are doing, an attack is possible; and you are not going to be frozen in astonishment if it comes. YOU WILL BE READY!

4. Overcome your attacker’s preliminary advantage in being psyched up and “pumped” by convincing yourself — deep down — in your heart of hearts, that it REALLY CAN HAPPEN TO YOU, so that if and when it does happen to you, you SHIFT INSTANTLY into a war footing, and explode with the most savage and ruthlessly brutal actions you are capable of — relentlessly attacking your assailant until he is helpless.

5. Overcome the confidence and morale advantage that any violent lout might possess by being solidly confident in your own right! Train only on good, war-proven skills; cultivate your strength and fitness and attack mindedness, and know that you are not only ready, but that YOUR WOULD-BE ATTACKER CANNOT KNOW HOW READY YOU ARE; and when you explode like a murderous maniac and go after him, he will never be able to adjust to your reaction in time, and his confidence will be destroyed no less than his physical body!

Fighting spirit is important. And it has been said that “When you sincerely believe that you are right, you have the strength of ten!” The victim of any physical attack is always “in the right”, and a violent offender is always wrong. KNOW this. FEEL this. CULTIVATE this certainty. Never, ever allow yourself to relinquish it. React with righteous rage and fury.

If you will train hard and train on good, proven combat techniques, and in addition cultivate the philosophy and doctrine we espouse you will not necessarily eliminate the initial advantages that your assailant may possess; but you WILL be able to overcome them!

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Don’t Get Into A “Fighting Stance”!

WE have cautioned many people over the years about the hazards of utilizing formalistic fighting stances and squaring off with an enemy in close combat or self-defense. Combat is not sport! The last thing in the world you want to do is combine wasting time with warning your opponent when you must handle an aggressor.

Fighting stances are fine – even necessary – in competitive matches. This is because opponents are not engaged in combat, but are sportsmen; and sportsmen strive to equalize matters so that a clear victory can be ascertained based upon whatever body of skills has been agreed upon as the competitive medium. Not so in combat.

COMPETITIVE MATCHES, NO MATTER WHAT CLAIMS ARE MADE FOR THEM AND REGARDLESS OF WHICH TYPE OF METHODS ARE USED TO COMPETE, ARE UNLIKE ACTUAL ENGAGEMENTS WITH REAL ENEMIES IN COMBAT. SQUARING OFF IN A STANCE MAKES PERFECT SENSE IN A SPORT IT WASTES TIME AND TELEGRAPHS YOUR INTENTIONS IN THE REAL WORLD.

A self-defense emergency is a fight for survival. No rules. No fair play. No effort to be sporting or even decent. Just win! The cost of losing is too high.

Since an attacker can be, literally, anyone, it behooves the student of practical combatives to master the habit of always assuming what we call a “Relaxed-Ready Stance” upon the approach of any unknown person — or any person known to be a troublemaker. While maintaining a distance outside arm’s reach, off-angle yourself so that you are not facing the other person head on. Have hands relaxed, held comfortably and non-menacingly at your sternum level. You should never be below mental condition yellow, and you must always be in orange if you so much as have a suspicion of impending trouble.

Now you are ready to attack. You need no other stance or position. You are on the launching pad, and all systems are “Go!”; but whoever is facing you does not know that. Thus you enjoy the element of surprise. (No one is “surprised” when his intended victim assumes a fighting stance. Instead, he is warned).

Should your opponent now initiate violence you are fully prepared to beat him to the draw and slam home your own preemptive attack. Ditto if your opponent assumes a fighting stance! Remember: taking a fighting stance is tantamount to starting an attack, so . . . attack the very second you observe your man getting into a stance! Attack him AS he is assuming his stance.

All who hail from a background of any of the karate systems (Chinese, Korean, Thai, Okinawan, Japanese, etc.) have been conditioned to learn, develop, work incessantly on, and always strive to utilize, quite elaborate stances. A complete waste for practical self-defense.

FORMALIZED KARATE STANCES LOOK DRAMATIC AND IMPRESSIVE. WHILE OKAY FOR ART'S SAKE, THEY ARE NOT ADVISABLE IN HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT.

Get a stop watch. Ask a friend who is a longtime student of any martial art (classical/traditional or sporting/competitive) to get into his favorite or pet fighting stance. Time him. How long did it take? One second? Two? Something between? Longer? Then have him time your full force untelegraphed front kick, side kick, handaxe chop, or chinjab smash, delivered from your relaxed but ready off-angled preliminary position. It will be obvious to you that you can easily launch a powerful and destructive blow in less time than it takes to merely assume (let alone attack from) a formalized “fighting stance”.

With serious, hard practice of several months duration you should be able to blast through your opponent with an attack combination in which two or more devastating blows are delivered, in less time than it takes for him to assume a formal “fighting stance”.

Anyone training for sport or classical/traditional art’s sake need pay no attention to our admonitions here. We are not trying to stop classicists from being classical or sportsmen from being sporting; we are simply trying to describe how a dangerous adversary in an actual combat situation may best be dealt with.

IN CLASSICAL TRAINING, WHERE THE OPPONENT ALSO AGREES TO USE RIGID STANCE POSITIONS, AND "ATTACK" IN A FORMALIZED (BUT UTTERLY UNREALISTIC) MANNER, TRADITIONAL STANCES ARE FINE. JUST DON'T TRY THEM IN COMBAT!

Consider what we say here, we speak from more than half a century’s experience, training, research, and studies.

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You Need More Than The Police

“CALL the police.” Whenever a situation gets out of hand to the extent that it appears violence is about to erupt, or whenever a situation arises in which violence already has erupted, and calling 911 is feasible, then calling the police is certainly the correct and wise thing to do.

Let’s be realistic, however. There are times when the eruption of violence occurs so dangerously fast, and when the threat to human life and limb is so immediate, that calling the police is only feasible after the catastrophic event has concluded. It is not that the police are indifferent, it is just that they can often only get there — because you are only able to contact them — after the fact. The police often do a splendid job of apprehending dangerous felons; but sadly they rarely if ever manage to interdict the felony. Thus even when the police do their job perfectly it does not mean that the victims of egregious violence will be saved from their initial victimization.

Only the victim is right there when violence strikes. And if violence is to be defeated, then it is the intended victim who will defeat it.. One can be knocked senseless, stabbed to death, shot, or snatched off the street into a vehicle in far less time than it takes to press 9-1-1 on a cell phone pad. Only when violent offenders collide unexpectedly with furious counterforce are they thwarted.

We need the police. But we also need something more than the police. We need the knowledge, skills, and tools with which to defend ourselves. We need to be able to meet and defeat unlawful aggression decisively, in order to avoid death or other serious injury when an attack comes.

No one who has ever been the victim of a physical attack or who has had the even worse experience of having had a loved one suffer such an attack will deny that the experience is horrific. It is never forgotten. It leaves scars which remain for life, and which blemish all areas of one’s life — permanently. Trusting others, relating benevolently to others, respecting others, believing in one’s own general security and safety when amongst one’s fellows, and so on, are almost never the same for anyone following an encounter with serious violent crime.

With these facts understood it is downright amazing that learning self-defense and acquiring weapons with which to protect oneself is not a key concern of every decent citizen on earth. But it isn’t. For every individual who does something to make himself ready to handle a dangerous emeregency there are thousands who behave as though it couldn’t possibly happen to them. These people might respond to the individual who undertakes to ready himself and who perhaps suggests that they do the same, by saying simply that if trouble ever comes they’ll call the police.

Right. Good luck.

Today, being able to effectively defend yourself has become — for those who are realists — a virtually indispensable ability. Violent crime is increasing everywhere, and the possibility that at some time in your life you and yours will be confronted directly by dangerous aggression is hardly remote. It is wise to prepare.

Certainly it is essential that you be able to use your hands and feet effectively, and that if you are confronted by a troublemaker, mugger, or physical bully, you be able to handle the situation. It is also highly desirable that you become proficient with a stick, with a knife, and with miscellaneous objects-at-hand as weapons with which to insure your survival in a dangerous situation. Firearms are of course the ultimate means of personal, family, and home defense, and no one can be fully prepared to defend against armed assault, intrusion, or home invasion unless he has recourse to a handgun or shotgun, and unless he possesses the requisite skill with which to use his firearm effectively. Gun laws vary from state to state, and for some it may be more difficult to acquire the necessary permits and arms; but we urge all decent people to go to whatever trouble is necessary to legally obtain, keep, and learn to employ effectively, quality firearms. Criminals will always be armed, regardless of any gun laws or prohibitions — and this is true even in countries that attempt to literally ban firearms completely from ownership and use by citizens.

If absurd popaganda has made you doubt the wisdom of being lawfully armed and trained to use firearms, because, as one fool said recently in a news broadcast when commenting on recent murders that had occurred in a major city, “the problem is guns”, and you have come to accept such bullshit, consider this: Blaming guns for the violence that criminals commit with firearms is like blaming automobiles for those who commit the crime of hit-and-run. What utter illogical nonsense.

Be a lawful, responsible, well-trained and totally prepared armed citizen.

In addition to taking steps to insure that you have physical defense skills and weapons with which to defend yourself and your family, you must also acquire the all-important mindset; the attitude of decision and readiness, so that you not only “know how” to employ necessary violence in legitmate defense, but are in fact able to employ it, with and without weapons. Without proper mindset — i.e. mental conditioning — mere physical skill and knowledge will not be enough to save you.

How is proper mindset acquired?

There are some few people who come to the study of close combat and self-defense who already possess the right mindset. Some of these people are military or law enforcement veterans of combat. Some are people whose early lives were lived in an exceedingly violent and dangerous environment. Still others are actual victims of violent crime who, after surviving the ordeal which they went through, have vowed to themselves “Never again!” Once people in these categories acquire the right methods and tools they are a violent offender’s worst nightmare!

But most people who come to train in self-defense must be taught correct mindset, and they need to be guided and conditioned, over time, so that their psyches develop along with their skills. Our book on CD, Mental Conditioning For Close Combat And Self-Defense has enabled many to self-teach this critical aspect of combat readiness. In our classes and lessons we hammer this phase of combat conditioning so thoroughly home that many students have reported after only a few months that they are, while not desirous of ever having to deal with violence, 100% ready to “give hell” to any extralegal scumbag(s) who invades the sanctity of their lives! You can achieve this, too. And you must!

Read news reports of violent crime. Speak to law enforcement officers. Speak to victims. Read about criminal violence and the lifestyles and mindsets of the scum who look at the citizenry of their city as providing them an abundance of “game”. Do not be ashamed to hate these swine. Detest their existence. Resent the fact that they breath. Saturate your mind with this when and while you prepare physically and technically, and the result will soon be impressive. Eradicate forever from your mind the notion that violent human predators are “human, too”. They are not. By their own choice and action they have resigned from the human race.

Get enraged. And get ready.

Our Nation’s law enforcement professionals deserve our respect and our support. But they must not be regarded as our only — or even as our primary — bulwark against violent crime. We must be our own protectors. You must realize this responsibility and accept it enthusiastically. Then you will be one of those who is not helpless when violence comes to him. You will be prepared. You will be ready. And while no one can guarantee that you will always prevail, you certainly will have shifted the odds tremendously in your favor. Remember: The living garbage want victims, not enraged, tough, trained and aggressive enemies who fight back mercilessly and at once.

A prepared, angry, armed, trained, and indignantly outraged citizenry is the most powerful antidote to the scourge of violent crime. Yes, we need the police. But we also need more than the police.

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The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife

(WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTARY ON KNIFEWORK)

THE FAIRBAIRN-SYKES COMMANDO KNIFE is well known to anyone who is professionally involved in the field of close combat. It has been around since world war two, and despite the plethora of other fighting knives — all excellent — like the Randalls, the Eks, and others that were contemporary with the “F&S”, and/or that have been manufactured and become popular subsequent to the F&S, the Fairbairn-Sykes still manages to hold its own. It is an in-demand, highly valued, and deservedly respected individual close combat weapon. Military and intelligence services still issue this knife, today.

An original Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife. Note the rounded and checkered drip, which the author prefers. However, the later version ribbed grip is no less serviceable.

Many cheap and, in our opinion, unworthy versions of the F&S have made their appearance on the market in an attempt to cash in on this infamous blade’s reputation. However, in our opinion anyone wanting the genuine article should spend the few extra dollars that it costs (the knife is not expensive) and purchase an F&S made by Sheffield (England), Linder (Germany), or MacDonald (Scotland). So-called “F & S Commando Daggers” that sell for a quarter or even a fifth of what those manufactured by these three outstanding outfits are not in our opinion worth a fiftieth of the real McCoy, which may be obtained from those three sources.

The marvelous Ek Commando Knife Company produces its own unique variation of the original F&S design. Their terrific knife is certainly combat worthy, and is perhaps even a bit more rugged and durable than the original weapon; but we need to clarify that if you are after an original design then the Ek version might not be what you’re after. (If you want a first-rate combat knife to take into battle with you, however, you can never go wrong with an Ek! Their products are, as they always have been in the past, superb.)

The latest design F&S is with the ribbed handgrip. While this is serviceable, we frankly prefer the older rounded and checkered grip. MacDonald makes their version this way, and we are grateful for that.

A modern "ribbed grip" Fairbairn-Sykes. These knives are still available and are as excellent for close combat today as they were in the 1940's. This version was issued to Special Forces during the Vietnam War.

Unlike many other military or combat knives, the F&S is a fighting knife and only a fighting knife. Original versions will not serve double duty as camp or hunting knives, since their thin stiletto design precludes their use for the usual utilitarian purposes to which such other knives may be routinely put. The F&S is a knife intended for hand-to-hand combat and silent killing. It is most emphatically not an “all purpose” knife, like Randall’s beautiful Model #1, for example.

Cost of a good Fairbairn-Sykes is negligable. This of course makes it very attractive. But it is the fact that the weapon continues to serve its intended purpose well that makes it a “good deal” at the cost of a quality, modern version. (Note: Collector F&S knives — i.e. WWII era originals — can go for $1,000. or more; but for practical use as a battlefield or self-defense weapon today, a recently manufactured one one can be purchased for under $100. in most cases.)

For those who appreciate the good sense that it makes to keep one’s home prepared just in case, the idea of obtaining half a dozen or more F&S knives and concealing them about the house for instant access in an emergency will definitely be an attractive idea. Most people cannot afford to conceal quality handguns around the house, but the one or two handguns that one does have can be supplemented nicely in a home defense plan by having these excellent commando knives readily available. Half a dozen will likely cost less than one additional quality handgun. It takes but a fraction of a second to grab a knife from its place of concealment and drive it into a home invader, rapist, or other intruder. Knowing that that capability is in your and your loved ones’ hands can be comforting in these troubled times.

Unfortunately, the law generally forbids private citizens carrying knives of a fixed blade configuration or of anything but the most limited blade length. (For carry we recommend a utility knife!). However, keeping even professionally configured fighting knives in the home is legal almost everywhere in the United States. We of course suggest that you check with local law enforcement before going ahead with any plan to arm yourself or your family in any way; but our understanding at present is that having fighting knives in the home is legal in most places in the USA.

The “Fairbarin Technique”

THE F&S fighting knife was presented to the British Commandos and to the secret servants of both England and the United States with an excellent technique for using it. Developed by one of the knife’s originators, the celebrated William E. Fairbairn, the method was, appropriately, called The Fairbairn Technique of Knife Fighting. Then Captain Rex Applegate, American protégé of Fairbairn and Sykes, did some minor modifying of the pure Fairbairn technique, but essentially emphasized the same core method. It was simple, deadly, and reliable. You can read a description of it in Applegate’s Classic Kill Or Get Killed.

Rex Applegate demonstrates how to hold the F&S on the attack. This photo taken during WWII when then Captain Applegate was assigned to the OSS. Note lead hand used to parry — perhaps strike a blow or throw dirt, while the knife is held back in the rear hand ready for a lethal thrust.

It must be noted that the Fairbairn Technique was ideally suited in its (and in Applegate’s) pure form to the F&S knife, per se. This constituted no shortcoming for those issued the F&S knife. However, this technique does not lend itself completely and perfectly to the employment of, say the Ka-Bar or other Bowie-type (as opposed to stiletto type) combat knives. For this reason, our own approach to knifework, while including the Fairbairn technique, goes a bit further. We employ methods that enable the user to manage any knife — F&S, Randall, Ek, Ka-Bar, etc., even a folding or kitchen knife, in an emergency — in combat. Our own (American Combato) method, the basics of which are presented in our DVD #11 – Knifework, synthesizes the Fairbairn method with the Biddle-Styers Method, and adds a couple of innovative touches found in neither approach. In briefest essence our fundamental idea is that:

• For offensive combat, and/or when confronting an enemy armed with anything but a knife, himself, the Fairbairn/Sykes/Applegate technique is perfect.

• For self-defense use of the knife — perhaps against multiple adversaries — the Biddle Styers approach (i.e. knife in the lead hand) makes the most sense. And it should be noted that this method can easily be utilized with the F&S.

• When confronting an enemy who is armed with a knife (just about never likely) the Biddle-Styers approach is best.

Knife vs. knife encounters occur in martial arts classes and in seminars, and on DVDs produced by people who know little or nothing at all about close combat. Who the hell is going to give an enemy time to draw his knife in a real situation? If you ever do that you are a fool. And do not expect any enemy who comes after you with a knife to give you sufficient opportunity to draw yours! Such a thing as knife vs. knife could happen; and so you should, in a comprehensive course, be taught how to handle such an encounter. But the likelihood of it happening perhaps approximates your chances of being hit by lightning — twice.

A photo taken at the Commando Training Center, Achnacarry, Scotland. In war this is a much more likely use of the fighting knife than "knife vs. knife fighting" per se. In fact, Rex Applegate told us that he NEVER HEARD OF ONE INSTANCE of knife vs. knife combat occurring in all of WWII! Sentry elimination skills are not needed for self-defense with the knife, but it is well to be reminded of the ultimate purpose of a fighting knife, on any account!

THE stiletto design is unquestionably the best for a knife which has as its sole purpose killing. And, however unpleasant or “politically incorrect” it may be to say it, efficient killing capability is the measure of a fighting knife’s worth. The venerable Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife proved itself in this venue during a world war. Those who are wise do not quarrel with success!

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The Element Of Surprise

ONE of the most critical principles in defeating an enemy in combat is to employ the element of surprise. And while this is hardly any kind of secret or mystery — just about everyone knows about it — the truth is that in the majority of martial arts or self-defense training programs the principle is neither utilized nor fully appreciated.

For example, no assailant in the street is taken by surprise when his intended victim assumes a fighting stance. Assuming such a stance is tantamount to announcing that you  a) Know how to fight, and  b) Fully intend to fight back when you are attacked. Congratulations. You just blew one of the finest opportunities to take that attacker 100% by surprise; and you did it by utilizing your “training”!

People who enroll for self-defense instruction feel themselves, correctly, to be in serious danger when they are attacked. Many have already been attacked, and the trauma of that experience has led them, wisely, to learn what to do so as to make sure such an event never befalls them again. But something crucial — and it is potentially an enormous confidence-builder when explained — that few if any “instructors” consider, explain, and then emphasize to their students is this:

“The low lives who prey upon others are, when they take action, virtually certain that they will be successful. This is obvious, since they have made the decision to attack. They would not attack if they believed that they were to encounter fierce opposition and serious danger to themselves when they moved on their target. Therefore, the intended victim of any attack enjoys the tremendous advantage of having the element of surprise working for him SIMPLY BY OFFERING FIERCE RESISTANCE AND BY ATTACKING HIS WOULD-BE TORMENTOR!

The above is true and easily understood, once explained. It is logical, obvious, and tends, when a student grasps it, to empower him immediately with a realization that YES, he really can defend himself, and YES, proper mindset and training will give him a huge advantage over any assailant.

This photo, from Fairbairn's SCIENTIFIC SELF-DEFENCE illustrates a classic Fairbairn strategy — taking full advantage of the critical element of surprise. When you realize that two troublemakers are following you and closing in behind you, TURN SUDDENLY and preempt their attack by smashing each one simultaneously with a powerful chinjab! Followup. The two will be in no condition to prevent you!

One of the first and foremost rules that any neophyte must be indoctrinated with when he begins his training in self-defense is that there is only one rule he need bother with when defending himself. That rule is: win. No technique is too savage, no attitude too ruthless, no action is too destructive, and no measure, tactic, deception, or ploy “too unethical” or “too extreme” so long as the outcome is victory and the attacker (or attackers) is defeated.

Anyone who does not understand this simple principle does not understand the gravity of such situations as do occur with sickening regularity in otherwise semi-civilized societies when violent offenders decide to brutalize some hapless victim. Such creatures are the bacteria of our species and deserve no more consideration than a physician would give infectious bacilli. THAT is the proper attitude that a decent, worthwhile member of the human community should cultivate in regard to violent  troublemakers.

Seizing the element of surprise so as to properly defend himself is what the intended victim of any attack must learn to do. How he ought to do it is another matter.

First off, whenever possible, misleading signals should be given to any troublemaker. Feign great fear, feign illness, pretend complete submission and passivity, claim to be sick or to have just been released from the hospital, assure — by words and gestures — that you will do whatever he/they wants you to do “Just please don’t hurt me!”, etc. When interaction between yourself and your victimizer(s) enables you the time and opportunity to do so, use deceit and deception to lull the scum into a false sense of security, and convince him/them that mugging, robbing, beating, stomping, killing, or kidnapping you will be a piece of cake. No problem. They hardly will need to exert themselves. They’ve got a perfect victim!

Realize that the fear you feel during this interactive stage is LIFESAVING. Don’t be worried that you won’t be able to do anything. The more scared you feel the GREATER WILL BE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND POWER OF YOUR OWN AGGRESSION! Just hold back a moment. Let the fear reaction assist you in rendering a convincing performance of submission, inadequacy, and terror. Then . . .

When you see that your performance has “taken” (usually, the attacker will laugh at you, shout or say some offensive garbage, and then proceed with his intended action) ATTACK LIKE A MURDEROUS, WILD, INSANE ANIMAL WHO IS BENT UPON KILLING ANYTHING IN ITS PATH!

Ram your fingers into the eyes! Kick the testicles! Chop at the neck or throat! Break the knee with a vicious kick! Go! Go! GO! And keep on attacking like a madman, ignoring any injuries you sustain, and remaining fanatically driven in your determination to DESTROY YOUR ATTACKER.

There  are some excellent ways to increase the effectiveness of your surprise attack. GROWL, YELL, GRIMACE, AND EMIT FIERCE ANIMAL NOISES AS YOU GO AFTER YOUR ATTACKER! The louder and the wilder, and the more contorted your face, the better!

Throw something (anything that cannot be employed destructively as an improvised weapon, but that is in your hand at the time) into your attacker’s face. USE anything that can be employed against your attacker, to inflict injury upon him.

Always project yourself forward and advance into your enemy when you attack! The momentum you generate increases the power of your action and facilitates followup. The act of advancing provides a morale edge — increasing the psychological shock that your attacker will feel as he realizes that it is now himself that is under attack.

In any dangerous emergency you will have ONE AND ONLY ONE chance to utilize the element of surprise to defend yourself or to protect loved ones. Make the most of it. Waste no mercy, sympathy, compassion, or humanity on any predator. Do whatever it takes, do it right away, and do it with every ounce of savagery, strength, skill, and intensity of HATRED and DETERMINATION that you can muster.

No one can guarantee you success in defending yourself, and only a charlatan “guarantees” that the techniques which he teaches are 100% certain to drop an enemy every time, right away. However, those principles that have won for fighting men in actual war and in dangerous combat are known. One of them is, certainly, the use of the element of surprise. So, if serious physical danger ever comes to you and yours, make full use of this crucial principle to destroy the garbage that has chosen to attack you. Combined with ferocity, merciless brutality, solid war-proven physical combat skills, and relentless, determined followup, use of the element of surprise will indeed make you hard to beat and will stack the odds heavily in your favor.

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