tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27755700131294841122023-11-16T14:51:31.674+00:00Core RealityA tactical self-defence blog...Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-26837634875186013592012-12-04T17:30:00.001+00:002012-12-04T17:30:31.469+00:00 How Society Protects Rapists<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So here we are to
share some truth. It may be a long one so grab some gin and vermouth. I'll try
to throw in some controversy because I know you have a sweet tooth. Now that I
have your attention I want to talk with you about a serious subject. Our society
protects rapists with a blanket of its own ignorance. You see the dynamics of
sexual assault have changed over the last 30 years or so. The majority of the
public and even some police officers and district attorneys and especially
potential jurors have no idea what a "real rape" even looks like in
the 21st century. Because of this it affects behaviour, arrests, and
convictions. It affects every facet of the legal system. We can't fix a problem
we don't understand. Before I continue I want you to read this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Where a vigorous
woman alleges ravishment it is to be expected that signs of violence such as
wounds, bruises and scratches will be present and their absence should induce a
moderate degree of scepticism unless the girl avers that she fainted from fear,
became panic stricken or was otherwise rendered incapable of physical
resistance. The acts and demeanour of the female immediately after the alleged
commission should be subjected to very critical investigation in these cases.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
-Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation 1970<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Generally, the
actions and the appearance of a legitimate rape victim leave little doubt that
a crime has been committed. Under such circumstances, the victim is highly
agitated, emotionally distraught, often in a state of hysteria and may have
sustained injuries, cuts, bruises or wounds. The victim’s clothing is often
ripped or torn off as evidence that it was forcibly removed and if the rape
occurred outdoors, the victim is generally thrown to the ground and her outer
garments stained or soiled. Questions may reasonably be raised concerning the
validity of rape charges in which none or only a few of the above
manifestations exist.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> -International Association for Chiefs of
Police 1995<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Notice in 25 years
almost nothing changed if anything at all. Most today will still read those
statements and think that it looks about right. Today this is the common
stereotypical view of rape and sexual assault. Unfortunately in the above
statements there is almost no ounce of truth to any of it. Those two statements
above are completely false and I can prove it. I will take this article and use
statistical fact to absolutely DESTROY the above statements. As I said before
almost nothing in those statements are true in any way, shape, or form. Now for
the proof:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To summarize here is
what we are going to show you:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most rapes are done
by strangers - False<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A weapon is normally
used - False<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There's a lot of
physical force and violence - False<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Victim reports rape
immediately - False<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Victim is hysterical
- False<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Victims remember
everything correctly and never fabricate - False<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Takes place on bad
side of town or dim area - False<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Committed by
minorities - False<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's right almost
none of those things happen the majority of the time. Now that isn't saying
those things don't happen sometimes because they do. What we are saying is
those cases are the minority as compared to all cases. This misconception is so
bad that often even rape crisis centers give out misguided advice like always
walk in well lit areas or take a self defense course. Now those things will
help some but will be useless to most. It won't hurt anything to walk in a well
lit area or take a self defense course. I even teach women's self defense
courses from time to time. It goes back to the old axiom it's better to have it
and not need it than to need it and not have it. I think it's great to take a
great self defense course my point is don't let it give you a false sense of
security or that it is going to fix everything because it definitely won't.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In reality, most sexual
assaults are perpetrated by someone known to the victim, without a weapon,
physical violence, or signs of physical injury. Very few victims report the
sexual assault to the police, but if they do, it is often after a delay of
days, weeks, months, or even years. Many victims have a number of factors that
limit their perceived credibility: they are often young, homeless, runaways, or
transients, have a mental or physical impairment, are belligerent, and/or
abusing alcohol or controlled substances. Victims often omit, exaggerate or
fabricate parts of their account, and they may even recant altogether. They are
not typically hysterical when interviewed by medical professionals, law
enforcement investigators, prosecutors, or others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So why do people
believe this crap?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because the sexual
assaults that were reported to law enforcement in the past (e.g., 1970’s)
tended to look a lot more like this stereotype than they do now; because the
media tends to portray sexual assaults that fit the stereotype; because we prefer
to keep the issues simple and not re-examine our assumptions and because we
want to feel safe from threat of sexual assault.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From 1972 to 1976 71%
of all sexual assaults reported to the San Diego Police Department were by strangers.
But from 1992 to 1996 76% of all sexual assaults reported were committed by
someone the victim knew. That number has stayed around 75% give or take a few
points every year since then. Did you know that 32 % of all women who are
sexually assaulted maintain a relationship with the rapist afterwards? It's
true. Did you know that 25% of all women who are raped will have consensual sex
with the rapist at a later time? That's jacked up isn't it? You see the reason
making sure your walking in a well lit area doesn't help most of the time is
because you will know the attacker and let them get close they don't have to
sneak up on you. The numbers in Tucson are a little lower but still comparable
in 1999 the number was 66% and has stayed pretty much the same since then. You
see most of the advice given today about rape prevention is still geared more
towards stranger danger which is very outdated and as the statistics show isn't
very accurate. This is why we need to get the word out. We have to change this
misconception. When studies these things I read about a woman who was raped and
murdered by a co-worker. This happened at the University of Illinois. The
primary response from the college was to install better lighting. This does
absolutely no good at all since this woman was attacked by someone known to
her. Once again it can save some because yes women do still get raped by
strangers but it doesn't address the overall problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even the news media
can be a problem with the misconception not on purpose of course but it
happens. Here is the problem with that. There are so many rapes that take place
in large cities in a given day that they can't report them all in a 30 minute
newscast; so the only ones that tend to make the cut are the particularly
violent ones that fit the stereotype thereby passing the misconception onto the
public without realizing it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">People believe what
they want to believe. They want to believe people they trust aren't capable of
this stuff. They want to believe this only happens to other people or people
that engage in certain behaviors. None of this is true it can happen to anyone
anywhere even in your home by people you trust. The truth is 1 out of every 6
women will be raped in their lifetime. For that matter 1 out of every 33 men
will be raped. Statistics can be higher in certain populations. Now this is
very shocking but here are the actual statistics:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">36% of all women in
the US Navy are raped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">34% of all Native
American women are raped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">27% of all girls in
college are raped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's pretty jacked
up and some of you are probably saying where is he getting all this info and
how do I know its real numbers. The numbers are real I'll cover the source at
the end of the article. For now let's get back on track.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's look at the
next issue. How often is a weapon used in rape cases? How often is physical
violence used?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That can differ a
little based on if it's a stranger or not. Get ready for the bullet points.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Percent of Weapon
Use: Non Stranger 3% Stranger 16%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Choking and
Beating: Non Stranger 7% Stranger 16%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hitting or Slapping: Non Stranger 13% Stranger 28%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twisting and
Holding: Non Stranger 68%
Stranger 72%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Threatening: Non Stranger 33%
Stranger 54%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you can see actual
violence during a rape is very low percentage. The reason I point this out is
because of the 2 statements at the beginning of the article. Just to refresh
your memory I'll post the first one<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where a vigorous
woman alleges ravishment it is to be expected that signs of violence such as
wounds, bruises and scratches will be present and their absence should induce a
moderate degree of scepticism unless the girl avers that she fainted from fear,
became panic stricken or was otherwise rendered incapable of physical
resistance. The acts and demeanor of the female immediately after the alleged
commission should be subjected to very critical investigation in these cases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The second one is
even worse scroll up and read that one. So you see most of the time weapons
aren't used. Choking, beating, hitting, and slapping is in the minority as
well. Threatening doesn't leave marks. Twisting and holding may or may not
leave a bruise. The 2 statements law enforcement uses to judge rape are false.
Society also shares this same view and we've shown you several reasons why. Do
beatings happen? Of course they do. Are weapons used? Yeah sometimes they are
used. Our point is the absence of these things shouldn't cause scepticism when
a woman says she's raped because that absence is actually the norm. Our view of
rape needs to change in this society. For God sakes at Fort Collins Police
Department in Colorado in 1998 100% of all rapes reported when the attacker was
known to the victim a weapon was NEVER used. That's right for an entire
calendar in reported cases it didn't happen. That is very important info. So
why don't these women fight back? Well here are some reasons<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The rape is committed
by someone the victim knows (rather than a stranger)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The perpetrator does
not use physical force or violence to commit the rape<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The victim is
concerned about preserving the relationship with the offender<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The victim is
concerned about the offender’s judgment/opinions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The victim has been
sexually assaulted in the past<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How do they resist
when they do resist?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">11.2% Run<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">11.2% Scream<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">45.7% Cry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">69.6% Struggle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">76.6% Turn Cold<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">83.3% Reason and
Plead<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You see the picture
start to take shape and only 1 of those could possibly leave signs of injury
thereby ripping the original statements apart which is the point of the
article. I also want to add that 1/3 to 2/3 of all rape involve alcohol or some
other drug. There is a huge double standard with that in our society. When guys
drink society expects them to be out of control but if women do it they are
considered slutty. That just ain't right. Our entire culture is geared the
wrong way. When it comes to sex men are seen as the aggressors and the women
the gatekeepers. These men believe women are supposed to say no at first but
not because they mean it. They just say it because it's expected and they are
supposed to push to "see how far they can get."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They get to see it as
a game of cat and mouse. This is also seriously messed up. This doesn't mean
all men are rapists of course but it gives way to a culture that perceives
aggressive men as normal which compounds the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do victims usually
report the rape immediately?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since we talked about
sources earlier the 2 main sources for this article were the National Violence Against
Women Survey and the National Women's Survey. Within a few points they all
converge on these statistics and this next one is no different. Only 16 to 19%
of women who are raped reported it at all. Out of that percentage less that 25%
of that number reported it immediately. That means less than 5% of all women
who are raped report it immediately. Remember that number because I'm building
to something. There is also a misconception that the rapist will be a minority
and I want you to know that most rapes are intra-racial. That means they rape
within their own ethnic groups. If you’re a white girl you’re more likely to be
raped by a white guy just so you know. Getting back to why women don't report
rape let's look at it:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">22% cited fear of the
perpetrator as the reason for not reporting<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">18% stated that they
were too ashamed or embarrassed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">18% felt that the
incident was minor, and not a crime or a police matter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">13% believed that the
law enforcement agency could not do anything<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">12% were concerned
that officers would not believe or blame them<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That really sucks
because the fact is that men who rape and get away with it are more likely to
do it again. Dr. Davis Lisak and Dr. Paul Miller surveyed 1,882 men with an
average age of 28 who attended college part time (the college wasn't named). Of
these 1,882 men 120 of them had committed 483 sexual assaults of women they
knew. None of those assaults were ever reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is a real
disconnect between what society believes is "legitimate" rape and the
truth. If the policy we showed you at the very beginning of the article
continues to be believed then many more women will be raped and many more
rapists will continue raping with impunity. When crap like that is believed
then rape victims do not get believed when they come forward and arrests are
not made and rapes continue when they could have been stopped. That untrue
statement is very damaging in many ways. I want to give you a scenario.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A woman has been
raped by a neighbor she's friends with and has known awhile. Police come to the
scene and interview her and they follow through and arrest the neighbor. Then
they start to collect evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They collect
fingerprints, hair samples, fiber samples, semen, saliva, footprints, maybe
tire marks and other things of the like. They can absolutely prove he was there
and that a sexual act took place and they go to trial with it. So what happens?
Well it's an easy not guilty verdict and the victim gets victimized again. The
rapist walks free. Why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well you see since
it's a given they knew each other already the identification of the suspect
should not have been the primary issue. You see a good defense attorney will
use the consent defense. It will be her word against his and she doesn't have
any bruises, cuts or marks on her body, no clothes torn. She probably didn't call
the police right after either. Remember those misconceptions that are
prevalent? They will be prevalent in a jury too. So let's back up and try that
again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A woman has been
raped by a neighbor she's friends with and has known awhile. Police come to the
scene and interview her and they follow through and arrest the neighbor. Then
they start to collect evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They collect all the
identification evidence mentioned in the previous scenario but this time they
also:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Photographs of any
genital and non genital injuries<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Documented complaints
of pain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Evidence of prior
similar acts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suspect statements
made in a monitored phone call to victim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Any crime scene
evidence that could support a struggle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Records of
communication with dispatch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Interview with first
person victim told of assault<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Detailed information from the victim,
describing thoughts and feelings during the sexual assault, as well as any
sensory and peripheral details that can be recalled<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Detailed information
from others, to describe the victim’s behavior after the sexual assault, and
contrast it with the victim’s typical behavior before the sexual assault<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Any number of these
can help beat a consent defense. On top of that a prosecutor having statistics
like these to change jury perception of what is normal and what is abnormal
their case will be stronger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In closing this
ignorance helps rapists and hopefully we've helped in some small way to help
you understand just how much damage has been done to our society and even our
justice system due to lack of understanding of the real issues. If you found
this article informative I can tell you that it's just the tip of the iceberg.
This info came from a course I took called What Does Rape Really Look Like that
is offered by End The Violence Against Women International. There is much more
info there than I can put in this article. You can look into those online
courses at www.evawintl.org. We've got to work together to change this
perception and make real help available. Thank you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</span></div>
Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-42760113455024069242012-10-30T15:36:00.000+00:002012-10-30T15:36:30.916+00:00Do you really need more tools for your toolbox?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
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<a href="http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt19/nc2385/toolbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt19/nc2385/toolbox.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">How many times have you heard the phrase it's always good to get more
tools for your toolbox? Honestly, in martial arts I hear it all the time but is
it actually true? Well, the honest answer is it depends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Before I get into all this I want to talk to you about context first. If
you’re getting into martial arts to study a martial art then more tools doesn't
hurt. Some people are basically technique collectors and that's what they like
to do. If that's what you like to do then more power to you I hope you find a
bunch of stuff. I'm also not talking about groups of arts. For the purposes of
this article and historical fact, unarmed fighting is its own art. Knife
fighting is its own separate art. The same will hold true for sword fighting
and the like as well. For the purposes of this article we will be focusing on
this phrase applied to a single art. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">So to get to the point quickly do you need to always be adding more
tools to your toolbox? The correct answer is an emphatic no! You simply need
the right tools for that box.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Let's look at a little science here. In another article we talked about
Occam's Razor, also known as the Law of Economy. When it's correctly translated
it means that when two answers solve a problem a third one is irrelevant. Try
taking that and applying it to martial arts. You’re gonna piss off a lot of
people, as I'm probably about to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Have you ever been in a class where you had to learn 5 or 6 escapes for
something and it was obvious some of them would never work for you but they
made you learn it anyway for a belt rank? That doesn't make a lot of sense does
it? Wouldn't it be better to learn a concept that everyone could apply that
worked for all? If so then why are you forced to learn a bunch of crap? Well
the most common answer you'll get is that it's tradition and it's always been
done that way. But is that even true? The answer is no. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Let's look at the Toda samurai family in the 17th century. How many
techniques did their low level soldiers learn for combat as far as unarmed self
defense? A hundred? A thousand? Try 8...yeah that's right 8. They were taught 3
strikes, 1 throw, 2 armbars, and 2 wristlocks. They would also learn a short
kata that taught body mechanics but that was it. They won a lot of battles too
because they could take 8 techniques and modify them for any situation they
would find themselves in. They would master those 8 techniques and could adapt
under pressure easily because they weren't trying to pick between a hundred
techniques and figure out what in the hell they needed to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">On top of that look at all the old Karate masters. They didn't learn a
bunch of kata they spent their whole lives dedicated to one kata because it
gave them everything they needed to defend themselves. So, was it always done
that way? Umm… no sorry that argument isn't true or valid in any way; you see
in the modern age a lot of traditional systems put all this stuff in there to
preserve their history and culture and there is nothing wrong with that
whatsoever. The thing is they were very honest about it and respectable. It's
the western world that has gotten it so twisted around. It had nothing to do
with teaching you an ounce of self defense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Does that mean these guys that teach all this stuff can't fight? No it
doesn't mean that at all some can and some can't. What it means is that if you’re
going to them for self defense you’re learning in a way that is inefficient and
unnecessary for your immediate goal. Sure if they are a good teacher in time
you can get really good but what are you going to do until then? If you get
attacked ask the guy to come back in a couple years when your skill set is
better developed? Yeah I don't see that happening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">On a darker side of the issue you also have instructors that are only in
this for the money. They are always adding techniques and requirements for you
so you will have to stay there longer and pay them more money. They will tell
you pretty much anything to keep you subservient. The most common trick these
days is to get you to sign a huge long term contract and pay them a lot of non refundable
money up front. That way if you catch on and leave then they have your money
and couldn't care less. There is a lot of that but thankfully that isn't always
the case. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Martial arts are fun as they should be. More often than not (hopefully)
what you actually have is someone confusing need with want. They want to do
more things because its fun and they enjoy it but want and need isn’t actually
the same thing now is it? Unfortunately even though they are well meaning they
confuse their own want with what you need and this can get you hurt. I know
instructors all over the world that teach 1 and 2 day courses where people can
learn to defend themselves against basic attacks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Ironically enough, if applied correctly courses like these could be of
great benefit to "traditional" schools. They can actually co-exist
together. It only requires 1 thing...innovation. The first thing that needs to
happen is a change in the curriculum. Take all the basics for the types of
techniques you teach and put them all at beginner levels. Do stress drills
early on and troubleshoot and work fail scenarios. Make everything flow
together and have continuity. When that
foundation is firm and the fundamentals are sound you can actually add things
to it without damaging your students. Then you could actually add tools to your
toolbox and they would know where every tool went and which tools didn't work
for them. You gotta stop making them learn techniques they can never use on
belt promotions. If it's useless they shouldn't have to learn it. There's
nothing wrong with upgrading a curriculum and making it more efficient and
conducive to learning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">If you’re part of some money hungry organization that requires you and
your students to learn things that aren't in their best interest then leave
that organization. Your loyalty should always be to your students they are the
ones that put faith in you. Your goal should be to strive to prove that you
earned that faith. If you’re just teaching a bunch of stuff and you know some of
it won't work for a student but you make them waste their time and yours
learning it anyway then you’re unethical and immoral. As an educator you should
always hold yourself to a higher standard or risk becoming a hypocrite as well
as other things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I love martial arts and want them to always be relevant. When old
outdated logic isn't thrown out then a martial art can become a museum piece
and lose its relevance. I don't want to see that happen. If you don't want to
update then I have some news for you. The public is getting smarter and your
days are numbered. You’re slowly turning into a dinosaur as we speak. People
run from dinosaurs not towards them because they are smart enough to know
dinosaurs can hurt you. Your dinosaur logic can do the same to the very people you’re
trying to help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I've been around this a long time. Time is precious to me and I hate to
see people waste it. I certainly don't want to bash anyone; I would just like
to tell you… Put your students first. You may not know the science behind the
things you say or even know you’re doing something wrong. You could have the
best of intentions. I would ask that you look at your curriculum and go to your
libraries or even on the internet and research what you are doing. If you find
something isn't right change it. Life is too short and your students deserve
the best you can give them. So be the person that deserves the faith you
receive. Don't confuse need and what. That's all I have to say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a></div>
Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-31295058111120097712012-09-01T17:13:00.000+01:002012-09-01T17:13:00.219+01:00 The Basics of Verbal De-escalation<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So there I was trying to stop WWIII in the parking lot trying to protect
some jerk that didn't really deserve it. I barely even knew the guy had just
met him that night, it was Halloween. I was sitting at bar a little way away
from there when he and his girlfriend walked in. They were with this other guy
that I actually knew fairly well. They were trying to talk me into going to
this club that I hated but there would be a lot of girls there. They offered to
drive and all that and they eventually talked me into it.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">So we got to the club and everything went well we shut it down and were
talking about getting a room at the hotel across the highway. I was right
outside the door talking to a girl when I saw new friend number one(NFN1)
talking to some guy he knew, apparently. It didn't seem like anything stood out
I was just kind of checking it with my peripheral vision because I heard
something about somebody pulling a gun on someone's dad which was odd. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Then I notice a third party come into that conversation and get a little
too close to NFN1. His head is moving like a woodpecker or some kind of hen
pecking at something and he looked at NFN1 and said," You pulled a gun on
his dad? Man, that's messed up" then was saying something inaudible so I
turned quickly to intervene but not in time. The next thing I heard was the
familiar clacking noise of a forearm hitting a jaw cleaning and third party man
dropped like a ton of bricks and not moving on the sidewalk. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">First people rushed to check him then most turned on NFN1. Even worse
NFN1 was talking smack to everyone pissing them off even more. I jumped in
front of NFN1 with my arms out at my sides (like a hira no kamae posture for
those in the know). Basically I was using my body to move him backwards towards
the car and my arms to monitor his movements and keep him behind my without
looking at him because I had to have my eyes on the crowd. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The bouncer on duty wasn't helping; he was acting like a punk because he
was scared of the crowd. After I got NFN1 behind me to shut the hell up I
started to use verbal de-escalation to keep the crowd from attacking giving
time for the police to get there and make a report. In that example the crowd
wasn't mad at me they were mad at someone else which helped but the only thing
that saved a parking lot melee that night was verbal de-escalation. It is an
incredible tool to have and NFN1 obviously didn't possess it so I had to do
something myself. Had he possessed those skills my night would have been a lot
less stressful. The following are some simple basics for verbal de-escalation:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The first thing is to know when you are being threatened. In all honesty
you will feel it. If something doesn't feel right then it probably isn't. We
are sometimes taught in our lives to ignore our instincts but we have them for
a reason. They are there to help protect us and you should listen to them. If
you feel threatened then it's real to you therefore it's a threat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Verbal De-escalation isn't about self defence; it's more about self
protection. Self defence for our definition is when you have to use physical
force against an imminent attack. This is more about self protection which is
not making the 10 mistakes you probably made before violence ensued. If you
look at the example I gave up above and think,"well I don't go to places
like that or hang out with people like that so I don't need this stuff,"
then I think you need to rethink that. It comes in handy anywhere there could
be a conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A teacher disciplining a student;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A parent with a problem child;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A stewardess with an angry passenger;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A manager with a disgruntled employee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">That list could go on forever, workplace violence is on the rise. Years
ago before I was able to run Stonewall Tactical full time I worked as a team
leader in a factory that made DVDs to pay the bills and did private security on
weekends. At the factory management was horrible and stress was at an all time
high. When employees would get pushed to the edge I'd call them over and take
them for a walk. I'd let them vent for a bit then use verbal de-escalation to
calm them down so they basically didn't attack me and get fired. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">You never know some people or what they are capable of doing so it has
to be taken seriously. I remember there was this one guy that flipped out a
couple times and I'd have to walk him around the complex and calm him down.
Other than that he was always smiling and making jokes, a real jovial guy. He
was the kind of guy you think wouldn't hurt a fly. A few months later after he
left the company he brutally murdered his girlfriend and stuffed her body in
his closet. He got caught when the neighbours complained about the smell; he's
currently still in prison. So this is a skill you should really take very
seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">To me this is always better than physical force. Physical force should
always be your last resort when everything else breaks down. You don't want to
risk hurting someone or getting injured if you don't have to do so. Not to
mention all the fallout that could ensue such as civil suits or angry friends.
So let's take a look at some tactics: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The first one is a big one…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Listen</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> - If you take a pissed off person and try to talk over them they are
only going to become more angry. You aren't going to accomplish anything by
being dismissive of someone else's feelings. You have to empathize and try
putting yourself in their shoes. When I worked in that factory this was the
main tactic that I used once they got it out of their system then it was much
easier to calm them down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Distraction</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> - If they are hell-bent on flipping out over something and focused then
break that concentration just doing it in a challenging way. I once used this
tactic by asking about a guy's pit bull and getting him to talk about that.
It's a way of establishing a rapport with them and establishing a commonality.
Another time I offered a guy a beer. It's kind of hard to flip out on a guy
that just gave you a beer. That's just a couple of examples but its tactic that
can work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Humor </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">- This is a great tool to put someone at ease but use it sparingly. I
mean if you’re not funny normally you’re not going to become funny under
stress. I once had two friends arguing and I stood up and farted. Cleared the
whole room and they were so wrapped up in that they forgot about being mad. You
could also say that's a distraction but trust me it was funny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Empathy</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> - I mentioned this once already but it's very important. How can you
calm someone down when you don't even understand why they are angry? Put
yourself in their shoes, they aren't mad for nothing. This goes back to
listening; if you challenge them by basically invalidating why they are angry
then you are not going to be successful.
Don't be judgmental, try to understand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Motivation </span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">- If you’re a teacher try to refocus them on something positive and
motivate them and help build them up. Angry emotions tend to come from someone
who is hurt or feels disrespected in some way. You need to know this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">These are some good tactics to use and I've used most of them. If you
really think about it all you’re really doing for the most part is not being an
ass. Don't prejudge someone with the whole, "Oh good Lord here they come
with that same old crap again." People are the center of their universe.
Maybe it's something else or maybe if you’re the focus of the crap find out why
the same crap keeps happening. I can't stress this enough. Listen! Don't try to
be domineering and order them or threaten them in some way. Don't make it a
competition and start arguing; put your ego aside. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Getting into a power struggle isn't going to de-escalate anything.
Definitely don't criticize someone who is always angry. Don't start name
calling and don't try to invalidate their anger. These things are barriers that
you put up and can make the situation much worse. I've seen it a million times,
"You did this!"..."Oh well you did that other thing".... It
just goes on and on and gets worse and worse. Don't put up those barriers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Try using calming statements like:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I want to help you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">What can I do to make this right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Tell me more so I can understand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I understand what you’re saying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Let's see what we can do to make it better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Note: Try to understand how they feel but don't actually say out loud to
them the phrase - I understand how you feel. If they thought you could possibly
understand how they felt there's a good chance they wouldn't be angry in the
first place, you don't want to open that can of worms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">These are a few of the statements that aren't challenging or insulting
but I think you get where I'm coming from on that. Also make sure you’re being
attentive. You need to actually be listening not just hearing. Don't be
thinking about what you’re going to be doing next week or somewhere else you
wish you were because people can tell when they are just being pacified. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Make sure you use eye contact and neutral gestures such as nodding or
asking neutral questions from time to time without interrupting them or
stepping over what they are saying. You can do things like take something they
are saying and repeating it back to them but wording it differently. This way
they know your listening to them and trying to understand them. When you’re
doing this don't be fiddling with a pen or playing a video game or watching
television; don't multi-task give them your full attention. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Remember 80% of all communication is nonverbal so don't communicate the
wrong message. People are more observant that you think and angry people don't
always listen to what is being said so your body language could be doing the
real talking so watch that message!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Here are a few body movements that send the wrong message as well as a
few helpful hints:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Finger pointing can escalate something quickly so don't do it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Shoulder shrugging makes it look like you don't give a damn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Clenching your teeth makes it look like your mad and maybe you want to
fight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A fake smile would honestly make me want to hit you more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Quick movements could surprise or scare someone making them feel
threatened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Raising one eyebrow like can appear condescending or stern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Both eyebrows raised could spur them on so keep those eyebrows in check.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A hard stare can appear threatening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Closing your eyes longer than normal will do the same as a shoulder
shrug.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Keep your hands visible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Don't invade their personal space and keep a distance from them far
enough way they can't grab or kick you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Keep your hands to yourself don't touch them that could really set them
off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Don't raise or lower your voice talk slowly in a soothing nature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Don't do anything that is disrespectful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Another thing that helps is try to talk with them somewhere away from
other people. Onlookers can try to instigate things and be real jerks. People
love seeing others go at it especially in this day and age. If at all possible
bring another trusted person to talk with them usually when two people are
talking with someone there's less change of violence. Not always....but
usually. Also the same tips listed for body language as far as staying neutral
you should watch for those same cues in the other person as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In closing what it all boils down to is listening and actually giving a
damn. Sincerity goes a long way. Don't be dismissive or try to insult someone's
intelligence by pacifying them and thinking they won't notice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Listen...Listen...and Listen. These skills are not difficult to master
and frankly a lot of people do these things naturally and if you don't now you
have some skills to work on. Be Safe! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.htmlMartial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-71221029266141806082012-07-31T15:21:00.000+01:002012-07-31T15:21:01.469+01:00Managing Avoidance and Awareness<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBcvpkbdm70aDgPKpn-osmhF3CuYAZ_DfuKh0VXfyacPXGmXoovqt_K3l5bJSZo-CmCFDTCdApjTBuu7pmYR-KdIFyEoN3Yx9wXmys_Kxz9hH2noWt1IjeUSQRBY4qtiPeeEppf4Z10k/s1600/MP900430553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBcvpkbdm70aDgPKpn-osmhF3CuYAZ_DfuKh0VXfyacPXGmXoovqt_K3l5bJSZo-CmCFDTCdApjTBuu7pmYR-KdIFyEoN3Yx9wXmys_Kxz9hH2noWt1IjeUSQRBY4qtiPeeEppf4Z10k/s200/MP900430553.JPG" width="146" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As you are reading this I'm sure most of you have either attended a self
defence seminar or taught one. We spend a lot of time on techniques and how to
bash the bad guy and so forth. We mention awareness and avoidance but do we
emphasize it as much as we should? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The fact is if you’re in a street fight you’ve probably missed at least
10 things that got you there. No matter how big the next Super Datu Ninja
Commando Killer Fighting System it still isn't as effective as plain old
awareness and avoidance. No matter what, the best way to survive any violent
conflict is to never be in it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">However there are a lot of well meaning and inadvertent fear-mongers out
there that make this seem unmanageable and overwhelming when they cover it. It
can be very confusing to someone new. They can make it sound like you need to
be afraid every time you leave the house. This of course is wrong. The changes
you need to make are actually pretty small. I've put together a few exercises
and tips in this article that I have picked up along the way that will help you
get a reign on this subject in a proactive way. I didn't invent any of this and
I'm not the first to write it down but I hope this will help you feel a little
less overwhelmed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Let's look at an exercise. To my knowledge it doesn't have a name but
that's ok you can make up your own name for it. If you sit down and actually
think about it you don't really go to as many places as you probably think you
do on a regular basis. I'm guessing you probably really only go about 7 or 8 places.
Now in this we aren't talking about vacations or anything like that this is
about your normal daily routine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">For me I go to the track, grocery store, the gas station, etc. Just
normal places like that. I want you to get a piece of paper and write down all
the normal places you go routinely. Once you've done that I want you to ask
yourself some questions. Ask yourself in any one of these places - What, How,
Who, Where, and When would I be attacked? Do it for every location you wrote
down. You'll come up with things you never thought about and you'll already be
finding solutions. Still a little confused? I'll do one with you as a sample
and we'll use a grocery store. It's some place we all pretty much have to go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Who would attack you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This is a question only you can answer. It could be a random mugger
sure. Does someone have a reason to be mad at you? For example do you owe
someone money or going through a nasty divorce where child custody is involved.
This can vary from person to person and depending on time and location. Take
some time and think about it. Put some real thought into it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">How would they attack you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Would they just bum rush you? It's possible but probably not. The large
majority of these assaults or attacks start with some type of verbal exchange.
In self defence circles it's often referred to as the interview phase of the
attack where you are being sized up. Let me give you a few tips on how to tell
if something doesn't fit. I'm sure others could add to this all day but these
are some good ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">1. Looking around as they approach - Someone says, Sir or Ma’am do you
have a moment? Then they look around for no apparent reason as they approach
you. This is very odd, they could be looking to make sure there are no
witnesses; they could be looking to see if there is a security camera up that
could identify them. Either way, this is out of the ordinary and you should be
leery of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">2. The arms don't move as they approach - In anthropology humans are
what are known as diagonal walkers. That means when the right foot moves
forward the left arm sways a little bit. It's normal for people's arms to move.
In the animal kingdom when animals lumber around on all fours it's perceived as
a sign of anger and aggression by other animals. It should be perceived that
way by you as well. This should also be a trigger for you to look at the hands.
Are they clenched? This could also be a <i>tell</i>
that they are concealing a weapon in one hand or the other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">3. Watch for the weight shift - When a person shifts weight and begins
to blade their stance an assault could very well be imminent. This isn't always
noticeable and definitely isn't noticeable if you aren't paying attention. This
could very well be a chance for a pre-emptive strike on your part to escape.
They could also be using this to attempt to conceal a weapon draw from a pocket
or waistband. A good idea in this case is to look at the elbow. Look in the
mirror and try to take something from your waistband without bending your elbow
outward. Probably can't do it can you? That's a good thing to know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">4. Protect your space - Of course the best thing to do in these
circumstances, when possible, is to get the hell out of there. Barring that, if
you see any of these triggers don't let them get near you if possible. Get loud
and draw attention to yourself, curse if you have you. You don't have to let
them into your space. If something doesn't feel right it probably isn't. Do not
ignore your intuition. Intuition is a great tool and you should listen to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">With what would they attack you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">So let’s say you blow all of that stuff. Are they going to be empty
handed? Is it just a plain old assault? Would they have a gun? Would they have
a knife? Do you have training to deal with these things? If not maybe you need
to find some. Honestly it could be any of those things. As a general rule your
money isn't worth your life. If that's what it's about just give it to them.
Even if you have some training there's no guarantee that you won't be stabbed
or shot. However if they are attempting to move you to another location you
probably need to fight. They could very well be moving you somewhere else to
kill you there or do something else to you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The Where and the When.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">These two may be separate but for this example of the exercise they are
related. I picked the example of the grocery store. As far as the <i>where</i> it probably isn't going to be in
the produce section. I just can't see someone flying up out of the lettuce
bringing the Black Death. In a public place like this the usual culprit will
strike when you are on your way into the business or on your way out of it
headed back to the car. To deal with this only requires common sense. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This could also be true of a parking garage. Don't talk on the phone on
the way to your car or text. If your car isn't a keyless entry then get your
keys out before you walk outside. Be aware and confident; don't look like
someone who isn't paying attention. Just simple things like this make a huge
difference. The <i>when</i> of this
situation is basically going to be when it's most opportune for the attacker. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I know there are grocery stores and super-markets that stay open all
night. Some people like to shop there late at night because there is less of a
crowd and it's more convenient for them. Remember safety in numbers? It's more
convenient but also more dangerous. If you’re going to do this, try parking as
close to the entrance as possible, where it's better lit. Take someone with you
when you go shopping. If you’re not comfortable, ask someone in the store to
walk you to your car and in most cases they will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In closing, take a night when you aren't doing anything and sit down and
write this out and do this exercise. Be proactive about awareness and
avoidance. If you do this you'll be surprised at how much you teach yourself. A
lot of the places you go the techniques will overlap. You’re going to find out
this is easier and more manageable than you ever thought. You don't have to be
afraid to go out and live your life. Just be smart and change simple things. Do
this exercise and you'll be surprised at just how much more aware you become
without really even being conscious of it. Most of all don't be afraid to do
the things you do and don't let anyone tell you that you should be. Just simply
be cautious and use good judgement. Be aware and be safe! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-55924472368190618892012-07-18T15:33:00.000+01:002012-08-08T11:31:26.645+01:00How to stop a time bomb.....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I
wanted to talk with you all today about something that's been rolling in my
head for a little while. There's been a lot of anger and emotion floating
around as of late and it seems to be getting worse. I see a lot more cop
bashing than what I used to see. I also see a lot more cops losing it. Things
seem to be building towards something ominous if we don't get a handle on it.
We all seem to be losing a little perspective and with emotions at an all time
high something is bound to explode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
First of all I want to talk about anger. Anger is a natural emotion and anyone
that says otherwise is delusional, there is nothing wrong with being angry
about something. It's very common to want to hurt someone badly. We all have
those thoughts no matter if we admit them or not. We all have that tipping
point in my experience, it usually seems to be caused in some form or other by
a lack of respect or perceived lack of respect but that's another article.
Sometimes it can get pretty deep and you'll shock yourself but I promise you
that you aren't the only one who has had those thoughts; it’s just in our
society we seem to be so repressed about everything and deny everything that
doesn't conform to some social protocol.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Years ago I was struggling and decided to get a roommate so I could have cheap
rent. It seemed like a pretty good idea at the time and the guy seemed easy to
get along with so I didn't see a problem. Well after this dude moved in and I
got to know this person better...there was a problem. He was one of these
wannabe "hustlas" that thought he could bullshit his way out of
anything and rip people off. He was incredibly immature and irresponsible for
his age. My main beef is that the bills didn't get paid on time but he always
had money to party and buy video games. There was always a bullshit excuse that
was obviously crap and I was insulted that someone thought I'd believe it. I'd
always paid my stuff on time I wasn't going to let this jerk mess up my credit
simply because he was an idiot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Over
time I found myself getting angrier and angrier and I was always an even
tempered person. Even when I worked in the strip clubs bouncing and had to toss
a guy out I wasn't angry when I did it. It was just another fun part of the
job. But I was pissed. I was tired of the excuses. At the same time I was
starting a business and beating this guy senseless and putting him in ICU was a
charge I didn't need especially if I was going to be training police I had to
hold myself to a higher standard. I would sit around sometimes and just think
about where and how I was going to take him out. I even picked out a spot in
the hall where his body would fall. I thought often about would I just break a
finger or his entire arm?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For
a short time I even thought about after he was beaten so bad he couldn't move
I'd cut off part of his tongue so I'd never have to hear him talk again. I even
thought about taking pictures of his bruised and battered body and posting it
on FaceBook so others could see him being humiliated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Sounds pretty messed up doesn't it? It is but you've probably thought something
similar. In the end I realized how crazy that was because this was a worthless
insignificant person and I had a future. I always say, "Don't let someone
who has nothing to lose take away everything you have to gain." What I
decided to do was tell a mutual friend my plan to break his legs knowing he'd
go blab it. I told several people actually. They told the guy and scared the
hell outta him and he started paying everything on time until I broke the lease
and had him kicked out on his ass. Sure it was manipulation but he deserved it
and I didn't break a law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
The point is everyone gets pissed and thinks messed up stuff but there's a big
difference between thinking about it and actually doing it. When you’re a
police officer dealing with the public the first trick is you can't personalize
anything. You represent a department and you wear a badge you are not the
badge. People are going to provoke you all the time and they'll probably be
ignorant when they do it. Screaming about a constitution they've never read.
Yelling about how they pay your salary. How they know their rights when it's
obvious they don't. There's a special place in hell for the ones that do know
there rights but don't think anyone else has them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You
see some disgusting things that bother you and they should. If you go to a
domestic violence call and see a woman beaten half to death by some jerk that
doesn't care and you aren't upset about it then you need to take a vacation or
find another line of work. At the same time you have to have control of your
emotions because in the end it isn't about you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When
you've lost your humanity you've lost something far more than a job. Being an
officer is a hard job very few will ever understand. We see the worst the world
has to offer every day. It's hard to shake it when you clock out which is why
police have a very high divorce and suicide rate. Sometimes it's like you’re a
time bomb just waiting to explode. Some people just don't get it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I
was on a police site awhile back and was watching a video about an incident in
Oakland where it appeared an officer shot a cameraman with a beanbag for the
hell of it. Now from my understanding since then there may have been some
editing done on that video similar to what was done in the UC Davis incident
where protestors attempted to kidnap police and threaten them then edited a
video to make it look like police were pepper spraying
"peaceful" protestors for no reason. However you couldn't tell that
from the Oakland video at the time. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Some of the officers posting on the thread
about it didn't sound much different than the protestors that were bashing
them. They were saying things like," Those protestors are scumbags they
deserve whatever they get kill them all." A friend of mine that retired
from the FBI always used to tell me, " Be careful in your pursuit of the
monsters lest you become one." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">These
officers posting on that board were well on their way, you could tell it was
beyond thinking about. If you allow those dorks to provoke you into becoming
just like them then they win. Remember you have to uphold a higher standard.
But we all get angry and that isn't as easy as it sounds is it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Remember you can't personalize or politicize things. When someone provokes you
they aren't provoking <i>you,</i> they are
trying to provoke an ideal or displace responsibility for something that
they've done; maybe they are just really ignorant and immature. Do you really
want to let a childish idiot beat you? Take your job and damage your
department's credibility? That doesn't just hurt you it hurts all good cops
because at that moment you are the face of police everywhere and how you behave
affects them as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Being a cop may be who you are but it isn't all that you are, it isn't the sum
of every part of you. You need to find unrelated things to do to keep
perspective. If you’re on all the time it'll drive you nuts. I've already
mentioned divorce and suicide rates. If the occupational stress becomes a problem
get help don't let it mess up your family as well. Remember when a bomb goes
off that bomb is also destroyed and a big enough bomb not only destroys its
target but everything around it. I encourage you to find other things to focus
on. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Personally I write short stories as well as music. There are times when I'm
calling departments to try to get a course set up and it's like they are
delusional or just don't give a damn about officer safety. Usually after about
3 calls I have to take a break and I pick up the guitar by the bed and play a
few songs until I feel better then go back at it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Remember
these things I've said and remember you’re not the only one going through them.
Continue to be a solution to the problems don't become a part of them</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #444444;">To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a></span><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-24038291471081608522012-05-04T17:21:00.000+01:002012-05-04T17:21:02.288+01:00The Foundation and Structure of Learning<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Years ago I sat in the audience at a brown belt test for a friend's
dojo. It was towards the end and the guy going up for his brown belt had done
all of his kata and one step sparring and all that stuff. Now it was time for
the actual sparring. As they bowed and began to spar it became painfully clear
this kid had no idea what he was doing. A much lower belt rank was just picking
him off at will and he seemed to be just looking for a spinning backfist
because he couldn't think of anything else. He had done all of his kata
correctly and his one step spars and demonstrations went fine. So what
happened?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This is something that is all too common that we will revisit later in
the article. For those that haven't read my other articles I've been involved in
martial arts since I was 4 years old back in 1977. For the last several years
I've developed programs for Law Enforcement here in the United States. This
gave me a greatly different perspective as a teacher and really changed the way
I look at curriculums and structure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">You see with law enforcement I don't get the luxury of giving long term
training. I have to teach in a way that they can learn and retain in a very
short time span. If I can't break things down to a strong foundation within a
couple days then I've honestly wasted their time. I think being forced into
doing this made me a much better teacher and gave me so much more of an
understanding of what I need to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As I’ve visited departments over the years and seen other programs out
there I've noticed some striking similarities between defensive tactics
training and martial arts that was both disturbing and enlightening at the same
time. The problems I found in the short two day programs seemed to be a
microcosm for the problems that plague martial arts programs everywhere. I was
asked to develop a specific outline for a department that wanted to fully adopt
our program and had difficulty doing it. It was at this time that I figured out
the problem and I want to share with you all what I’ve learned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">You see, in these courses a lot of time there's a lot of material to get
through. So the instructors come in with an outline and work straight down it
like a checklist. If they get behind they may even speed up a little to make
sure all the material gets covered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This causes a very specific problem. The students memorize the
techniques but they never learn them and that's a big difference. This is what
happened to our brown belt at the beginning of the article. He got in a hurry
and he memorized the belt requirements but never actually learned how to apply
them under real conditions. This is a bad curriculum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I'm not going to get into certain techniques being better or worse than
others long term that isn't the point of the article. The point is that the student lacked a proper
foundation and the curriculum didn't have a structure that was conducive to
learning. When the minimum time in grade came around the instructor was too
worried about the student's feelings and wanted to give him a sense of
accomplishment so he rushed the test. However it goes much deeper than that.
This student had been let down by this instructor the whole time. These errors
didn't just start with this belt test it had been ongoing since white belt and
it was obvious. Now the type of martial art being practiced doesn't matter in
this case because with a proper foundation and structure you can produce high
quality students in any art form so it isn't really about tossing or bashing an
art so let's look at some solutions to these problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The first thing is concepts over techniques. For the purpose of this
article a concept is basically a general principle such as breaking balance
that anyone can perform in one way or another. A technique is a specific task
that must be performed a specific way. Now we all come in all shapes and sizes.
The simple fact is that not every technique is going to work for everyone. When
dealing with a beginner you should never force them to perform techniques that
you know are going to be problematic. They often get frustrated and leave then
never come back and it reflects badly on you and your dojo because now these
people are going to go around and tell people your stuff doesn't work or even
worse blame themselves and damage their own self confidence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In the beginning concepts should be the part that matters most. Not
everyone can do the exact same technique but they can execute the same concept.
I'll give you an example. Let's say you want the student to begin learning how
to break a person's balance. Now a big guy might be able to grab someone's head
and control it breaking the balance that way. A smaller person may not be able
to reach the head but they can attack the legs with knees, kicks, etc. Both
break the balance by upsetting the person's structure. Both are correct in the
big scheme of things. Later on in their development, because of this, the
student will be able to adapt new techniques easier and make them work for
themselves at a faster rate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Now of course a technique is the execution of the concepts so of course there
are techniques but the concepts must be fully understood before learning a
bunch of techniques. There's a program here in the U.S. where police officers
learn 165 techniques in 5 days. Under stress very few of them work and they can't
even remember most of them when they leave. There will be plenty of time for
teaching your student techniques but they will be understood much better when
they are taught as an extension of a concept. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">People retain things better when they can relate to them. Sure you may
want them to try different techniques to find out which ones work for them and
which ones don't. After that however don't force a technique on someone when
it's useless to them it will only bog them down and confuse them as well as hurt
their development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I'm going to skip over the techniques in the middle for now and go to
strategy. Strategy is a part of a good foundation and is what keeps you from
basically being hung out on an island like our poor brown belt. Direction would
be another way of saying it. There's nothing worse than being in the middle of
something and having no idea what you’re supposed to be doing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This goes right into learning instead of memorizing. It's about being
goal focused. If you’re a judo guy your goal is to put that attacker on the
ground. If someone is choking you then you don't just grab their thumbs and
jerk their hands away and stop. You follow up and put them on the ground. This
is an idea that needs to be established from the beginning. If your just
memorizing techniques you will stop after you've gotten the hands pulled away
and that is bad training and bad structure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">When you’re working on executing a strategy from the beginning it
teaches the student how to think and adapt. It also teaches efficiency. It
teaches you how to deal with problems instead of just symptoms and is a great
metaphor for leadership in daily life. In the beginning you never want to teach
a technique that isn't moving towards executing your ultimate goal. An example
of this in law enforcement courses would be that the ultimate goal is to get
the guy in cuffs and in the car. Well if you have to do a takedown and don't
have some control over the guy beforehand then you lose contact. Now you have
to get on the ground and fight with his hands to get control, but if you hand
an arm control and maintained it then it would be much easier to get them in
cuffs. When you’re dealing with your beginners they will appreciate this. It instils
confidence in them because they are able to accomplish something that's real
and substantial right away instead of something hollow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">When you do this it establishes a great foundation and your students are
already learning something useful. Now you can plug in techniques. Since your
students have a full understand of what they are ultimately trying to
accomplish and good sound concepts to always fall back on they can now adapt
and deal with random changes. They understand the purpose of the techniques
they are learning and they learn them faster. You never have students that
don't know what to do. I've seen students invent techniques out of nowhere and
make them work because when something failed they understood the concept so
they made something else work. It's a great thing to see. They can take techniques
and modify them to their needs. At this point it starts to become a real art
because they are now expressing themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">My only caution would be when teaching new techniques you must protect
the foundation. People have a tendency when learning something new of tossing
out the old and you can't let them crack the foundation. Even if they are going
up for black belt make sure they focus on the core techniques that they learned
in the beginning. Everyone likes the new cool thing just make sure their
foundation doesn't crack while they are playing with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In developing these ideas about structure we also developed a new
program for the public called KONBATTO (Stonewall Tactical Jujutsu). In this
program you not only learn some very simple, direct, and vicious combatives you
will also learn how to implement this structure into your curriculum at your
school that we discussed in this article as part of that two day course. We are
happily launching this program in England and Ireland this summer. If you like
these ideas and find them useful I'd be more than happy to show each of you how
to apply them to your martial art in person. I thank you for your time and
remember. Learn don't memorize.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-56107106241453043652012-03-16T15:08:00.001+00:002012-03-28T15:02:54.554+01:00A lesson from the past...<a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/listen/chiemaclin/SukexTsuki/SukexTsuki-4.png?o=7" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n494/chiemaclin/SukexTsuki/SukexTsuki-4.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was thinking the other day about the importance of feedback and listening to it if nothing more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sometimes feedback can be crap and sometimes it's legitimate and can help your programs. Sometimes we get tunnel vision on something and an outside eye can bring new light. A good program is always developing and adapting. Being humble and dropping the ego will help a lot too. This led to a lot of other things to think about as well. It got me thinking about incident years ago that I want to recount with you.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Several years ago I was the Special Projects Director for the International Combatives Self Defense Association. I worked with the board and mainly the Director of Operations. I was teaching at a conference in Chicago, I can't remember if it was Tinley Park or Oak Forest (yeah I'm having a senior moment). A lot of the board and State reps were there as well, a lot of them heavy hitters in their field. Hell we even had guys from Spain there. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My friend, Fernan Vargas, who was the Director of Operations told me to hang around at lunch as there was this guy that wanted to test to be an instructor with the organization, he had this system he wanted to demonstrate. I'd actually met the guy the night before and he was really cocky but he seemed like he knew what he was talking about. We all sat down at lunch and watched him do his thing. He was so sure of himself he basically phoned it in and thought we would be dazzled. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">When it came to the interview portion he found out otherwise. His program was basically someone attacks and you move in penetrating then cause injury. A lot of it depended on pressure points which he referred to as an <i>electrical knockout</i>. He was VERY arrogant and dismissive and disrespectful during the interview. He actually thought his ideas were innovative.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">First of all, when asked to explain an electric knockout, it was obvious he didn't really know what he was talking about it. For those that don't completely understand a pressure point is where at least two nerves intersect in the body and striking them sends the stimulus to the brain along more than one nerve channel, hence it's more painful. How they are hit affects the outcome, it has to be a specific way. Some have to be at a certain time of day and if on drugs, some people never feel them and some never feel them regardless or only in certain areas. In other words a successful outcome is marginal at best and it takes a lot of training to pull it off therefore it isn't a good fit for combatives.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Second of all it was one of those systems that are overly simplistic. You move and do something to a guy and he reacts in a specific way, the way that he's told to react to your attack so it works every time. Ummm. No……. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Different people react differently to different stimuli. You have to be able to adapt, this is why overly simplistic courses don't work. Just because you kicked a guy in the nuts doesn't mean he's always going to bend forward. I've seen people fall backwards. I've seen people fall down. I've even seen some become even more pissed off and fight harder. This guy saw a video of a silly system then went and trained in it and thought he could be an instructor and we were just a bunch of goobers. You need experience to do this - you need to know how to put together an adaptive system and to do that you need research. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Even experience, though you need to have it, isn't enough because you can't experience something for someone else. So this guy got brutalized by us and if he wasn't so arrogant I’d have felt bad about it. This guy wrote something later, acting as if we didn't get it. Oh we got it! Then he GOT it! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My point is this guy's system will never improve it will always suck. He was too arrogant to think he could actually be wrong about something. If you’re training under someone and they don't listen to you, my advice is to get the hell out of there because if their system isn't outdated then it will be shortly. You've got to listen to your people and drop the ego or pay the price for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-83846449357889174072012-01-30T12:35:00.000+00:002012-08-08T11:33:13.826+01:00Beware of the fallout!<a href="http://s179.photobucket.com/albums/w289/leejoyce_2007/?action=view&current=L.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="L.A. Bar Brawl" border="0" height="320" src="http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w289/leejoyce_2007/L.jpg" width="264" /></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I want to tell you a true story today from my own personal life that happened 18 years ago. Generally, a lot of the things I've been through I keep to myself but I feel this may help someone else down the road so I'll tell it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now since this involves real people I'm going to give you the disclaimer now and tell you that I'm going to change names and use generic names for places because even though I'm ok with telling this story other people involved may want to keep their private incidents private so it's out of respect that I do so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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This happened at the ripe old age of 19, for me a couple years before I got into private security and even further down the road - personal protection work. I'd been doing martial arts since aged 4 but the physical training involved in that wasn't going to help me tonight...it was all mental.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I was with a cousin who was a couple years older and he had to sneak me into a bar. It was an old trick that I won't disclose because I don't want kids reading this and using it....because it would still totally work. We both had more dollars than sense and went right for the harder drinks - White Russians, screamin' blue mutha f$%kers; you get the picture. If I remember right we even broke out the bar book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Well it got to be close to 1:30am and they were doing last call. We were feeling 10 feet tall and bulletproof and decided that we weren't done partying. We asked a couple of the guys around us and they told us about an all night place and how to get there. Since technically it was a club not a business it could stay open all night and all you had to do to be a member was sign in at the door. I'd never heard of the place but my cousin had and said it was pretty rough there. Well if you tell a tough 19 year old guy that, it’s just gonna make him want to go more and that's exactly what I did. So off we went as fast as we could get there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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When we got there it was just like those guys told us. It was a big place and they asked no questions, just had us sign in at the door. We got a couple drinks but didn't want to stick out too much because I was technically underage so we noticed a pool table in the back and went over there to play a few games. It was only 2 am and the bars were just closing so there were very few people in there, we'd beaten the crowd. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As we played our game of pool there was a commotion up towards the front. There were these two guys sitting at a high top table right in the middle of the place and apparently there was an argument and one guy punched the other. Well of course the staff jumped the guy that threw the punch and broke it up then threw him out and told him he needed to cool down. The other guy got up, sat back down and just kept on drinking. We kinda shrugged it off at the time because this was a lesson we had yet to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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By then the crowd was coming in and the place got packed. It was like every bar in town emptied into this bottleneck after hours. There was even a band that started at 3 am. Well we kept drinking, the band kept playing, the girls kept dancing, and the men kept chasing the girls that were dancing. In other words, everything was normal. We started to get to know the staff and talking about different drinks. Other than the two guys fighting earlier it was a pretty nice time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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About 4 am or maybe a little later we moved over to the other side of the bar by the door talking to some other bartender. I remember seeing him look at the door and get real serious. So I turned and looked and I recognized the guy. It was the guy from earlier that had been thrown out for punching that other guy. I heard him tell the doorman," Hey I was sittin' at home and got to thinkin'...I feel real bad about what happened earlier, I never should've punched him I should've let it ride. I'm not staying or anything I just wanted to apologize to him if he's still here." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now a real doorman would've said I can't let you in, but this was the good ol' boy club in the Deep South where everyone thinks they know everyone. For the future, if you’re a newbie doorman reading this...that guy should never be allowed back in. I don't give a damn what he says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anyway back to the story. At the time everyone once again shrugged it off and I turned back around and took another drink. Then I heard the shot. All hell broke loose and the guy ran outside. The shot was right behind my head and it was loud....VERY LOUD! I was disoriented stumbling off the stool holding my ears. I looked to my left and saw a guy running for the door holding the side off his head with blood gushing down his arm screaming, “Call the cops!" I looked to my right and on the floor I saw it. It was his ear blown right from the side of his head just laying there between my cousin and me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some other guy ran up to the door and threw a chair outside and broke out running then I heard at least two more gunshots. Now bear in mind all of this was probably happening in less than 10 seconds. For some ungodly reason my cousin ran for the door too but he was going to run out right in the line of fire. I tried to tackle him but he fought it and we banged against the wall. I got his feet off the ground but another chair had been knocked over behind me so we fell over it and hit the back of my head on the floor but I couldn't feel anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I remember looking up and seeing the bartender come flying over the bar and over us as I tried to keep my cousin on the ground but I could see out the door. The original shooter either ran out of bullets or his gun jammed I can't remember but for whatever reason the gun wouldn't fire. He charged the bartender and the bartender popped him in the back of the head with the butt of his pistol and he went down. Some people grabbed him but I never saw where they went. I was talking to my cousin and making sure he wasn't running out there and getting up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The bartender walked back up to the entrance and turned his back to us looking back into the parking lot. Then my genius of a cousin decides to dive for the gun. Well that went over like a turd in a punch bowl. To this day I don't know what got into him and when I ask him he doesn't remember. The bartender yanks his hand back then puts it towards my cousin. To this day I don't know why I did what I did but I’m glad if did it. I stepped in front of the gun. I looked at the bartender he was furious his hand was shaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I remember the conversation going something like this:<br />
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Me:”Dude, he's just drunk man we ain't gotta do this!”<br />
Bartender: “What the hell is wrong with him I could kill you man?”<br />
Me: “I know man, I know he's just drunk man, we don't even know them people!”<br />
Me: “Come on man just let it ride let this one ride let's just chill. Let's all just chill”<br />
Bartender: “That was really stupid!”<br />
Me: “I know man it was just a mistake let's just calm down.”<br />
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I breathed a sigh of relief when he finally put the gun down. Actually, he bought us two drinks on the house. It's a good night when you have free alcohol and don't get shot to death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some woman came out and told the bartender the police were on their way and apparently he already had some type of warrant for something so he hauled ass out of there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Then it hit me that once again, I was under age and she’d just said the cops were on their way. They quarantined the building and put us all on lockdown. They had a guy taking pictures of the ceiling. I was playing darts and trying to play it cool. They were investigating a shootout so they didn't ask for ID or anything like that. They finally let us go around 7 am. We were all dumb and lucky. We were lucky to be alive and had literally dodged a bullet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A great lesson was learned on many notes that would help me in my profession for years to come and I still use this story to teach people. I alluded to this very same lesson in an article called <a href="http://stonewalltactical.blogspot.com/2011/06/are-you-in-sport-art-and-dont-know-it.html">Are You In A Sport Art And Don't Know It?</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you get in a fight win, lose, or draw, leave immediately, don't hang around. The fallout is usually worse than the fight. In this instance a guy got his ear blown off, another got pistol whipped, I got a knot on my head and a gun pointed towards it. In the years after this when I worked as a bouncer it was always a rule: if you have to fight a guy and put him out then you get your payout for the night and get sent home. He may come back looking for you with more people or better weapons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">These days they can use the wands to detect weapons that they didn't use back then but if the guy had left after he got hit before 2 am none of this would've happened. At least it wouldn't have happened in that bar and put those people in danger. We were all innocent bystanders; we shouldn't have been brought into some freaky redneck drama. This shooter went home, sat there and plotted this attempted murder. He came back and had every intention to do it. This could happen in any club on any given night when some idiot makes a bad decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are a lot of lessons that can be learned from this story but this one is the main one to focus on: After a violent event no matter how small it seems don't hang around doing a victory dance or whatever the hell you do. This isn't UFC or some other sport. This isn't WWE this is real life and people get murdered over things like this every day. If you’re involved in some kind of bar fight or any other kind of fight do yourself a favour, for your safety and the safety of the people around you.....GO HOME!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;">To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a></span>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-66692974583138342022011-12-20T18:36:00.000+00:002011-12-20T18:36:40.096+00:00Don't Look At The Floor or You'll Soon Be On It<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I used to train in boxing quite bit years ago. Like everyone else I wasn't very good when I started, it took a lot of effort to get there. Sometimes you had to take a hit to give one. Sometimes you just had to let your hands go. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">One of the lessons I learned early on was keep your head up don't stare at the floor coming in swinging. My coach would always say:"If you look at the floor you'll soon be on it." When you’re moving in to throw those blows you can't just do it blindly because you’re afraid. You gotta keep that head up so you'll see those counter punches coming or you'll probably get dropped with an uppercut.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
I often think about boxing, as many have, as a great metaphor for life, especially the statement "Don't look down at the floor or you'll soon be on it." I think it has many true connotations. So often in life people go off half cocked. I have written several articles talking about this. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Very recently I did an article called <i><a href="http://stonewalltactical.blogspot.com/2011/07/as-world-implodes-when-people-put-their.html">As the World Implodes: When People Put Their Agendas Ahead of the Truth.</a> </i> Basically a guy was running from Police Officers then shot at them. When they shot back he was hit and died. An entire neighborhood held protests accusing the police of shooting an unarmed man. They went in swinging without looking. They didn't have all the facts. Now, after the gun has been recovered it appears as though he actually shot himself to keep from going to jail. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It happens all the time. Just because someone is boisterous and passionate about what they are saying doesn't mean they have a clue what they are talking about. You can go after someone but your facts need to be straight. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I saw an interview on YouTube very recently. It was Bill O'Reilly interviewing Bill Mahar about religion. Bill Mahar is a famous comedian who also happens to be an atheist. He was basically trying to say that religion is bad and a lot of the stuff in the Bible isn't true. Now, I'm a spiritual person myself, I believe in God but I'm not big on organized religion. To prove the Bible preached violence he quoted a saying from the Book of Deuteronomy. It was basically the part where it says you should kill your neighbor if you catch them working on a Sunday. Bill Mahar went in swinging with his head down. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As many of you know, in the Christian religion the Old Testament is basically used for parables only and life lessons, it isn't literal. The laws governing the religion are found in the New Testament only. If he had taken the time to research that and know the subject he was speaking on he wouldn't have made a bogus uneducated point. If you’re going to use aggressive speech you better know what you’re saying. It's like police kicking in a door before checking to make sure they are at the right house (trust me it happens).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
Before you attack a problem you need to understand the problem. When guys try to modernize martial arts more often than not they go into it with preconceived notions of what will work and what will not. They believe their traditional art to be superior to others so they invent ingenious solutions to nonexistent problems. So they have great defenses against the wrong attacks. They never really understand the problem because they never make the attempt. You can't teach a person who already knows everything. They go in without having all the facts about real attacks then invent a crappy unrealistic system so they can sell it to you as the newest stuff when it is just someone swinging with their head down.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
We've all heard sports metaphors before. We know there's a much bigger reason to keep your head up. As time goes on it seems the world becomes more and more violent and people care less and less. With so many things going on to make you feel bad, keeping your head up can be harder than it sounds. The fight we are in is both metaphorical and literal at the same time. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Sometimes I hear folks talk about the innate good in all people; the people who say that need to lift their heads because there is no such thing as innate good in all people. Some people are good and some aren't. Some have had their heads down for so long they are disgusting.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I'm gonna date this article by mentioning some current events. Recently there was a terrorist attack in Norway. It was a horrible tragedy and our hearts go out to them. The people there will pull together the same way we did during the 911 tragedy. They will be uplifted because of it. People will help because it is a big thing. We are there for the big things but it's the small things we falter. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In July singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment. She had a long history with drugs and public aggression. The belief, true or not, was that she wasn't a very nice person. When the story was posted on the internet the replies varied. Most talked about it being such a waste which is true in the context it was said but better words could've been used. A lot however went out of their way to say she was a junkie and who cares and that they hoped Lindsay Lohan was next. These are the people that you have to worry about. They have their heads down and can't see the truth. These are the ones that will drag you down to their level and make you suck as bad as they do. They have their heads down so that is precisely why you need to keep yours up. Makes it easier to knock them out.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
Now I know this is getting off subject a bit but its bothering me and I want to address it. I want to answer the question posted by a lot of these jerks today. The question of who cares? I would venture to say a lot of people care. I'll continue to use Amy Winehouse as an example. She had to have parents right? I know she was married at one point. She had family and friends who are devastated right now as I write this commentary. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">You see I want to share a truth to all you people with your heads down. All death is tragic. Death is a lost opportunity for the dead as well as the world around them. For people who have had a bad life it means they have no more chances to make it better or improve. Personally I always pull for the underdogs. It's my way of saying f@#k you to the powers that be. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When someone dies like that their future actions can no longer inspire us. Good, bad, or indifferent we can't learn anything from them anymore. We only have that short span to inspire us in one way or another. They are gone and those opportunities are gone with them. What if she finally kicked drugs? She was very talented. Would she have inspired others to get off drugs? Would her newer music inspire someone else to be a singer? We'll never know that because she's gone. That's what I mean by lost opportunity. When someone dies we all lose a chance at something because none of us know the future. How many of you have lost someone you wish were here right now? I would venture to say all of you. That's the answer to the question, who cares? So lift your heads up for once and see it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
As I talked in other articles about <i><a href="http://stonewalltactical.blogspot.com/2011/06/personal-empowerment-and-you.html">Personal Empowerment and You</a></i> and <i><a href="http://stonewalltactical.blogspot.com/2011/07/do-you-have-dreams-to-remember.html">Do You Have Dreams To Remember?</a></i> Self confidence is important especially when there are so many people who want to take it from you; it should show you the value of it. In this life it's full of people that want to tear you down. We must educate ourselves to these basic truths to defend against them. When the ignorant come in swinging to take us out you have to know your stuff and be confident. Do be like those people. Don't look at the floor or you'll soon be on it.<br />
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</span>To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-29335573960322714632011-11-11T14:52:00.001+00:002012-08-08T12:30:35.439+01:00The Startle Reflex: In Defense of the Truth<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/scare/chlarkfan/Scare.jpg?o=101" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa302/chlarkfan/Scare.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A few years ago a friend and mentor of mine, W. Hock Hocheim, wrote an article called, <i><a href="http://stonewalltactical.blogspot.com/2011/06/startling-study-in-startle-reflex-by-w.html">A Startling Study In The Startle Reflex.</a></i> Hocheim used nothing but facts in the article. There were no opinions just true scientific data. This was done to counteract lies that were being told to the public for marketing reasons. There was a lot of bogus information out there about the startle reflex and a lot of people lying about it on purpose to sell courses even though they knew that it wasn't true. To this day people are still lying about the startle reflex to try to get people to take their course and disparage instructors who tell them the truth about it. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now, Hock tries to have some dipl</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">omacy in his articles, he teaches the public and it's smart not to step on anyone's sensitive toes and burn bridges, I think anyone should be able to understand that. However I teach mainly police and don't care who I p**s off so I'm gonna tell you like it's gonna be and to those that don't like it you can just go in a corner and cry like the sissy’s that you have become.</span></span></div>
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I'm not going to regurgitate all the data that Hock has already published, you can read all about it in his post. I am however going to shed a little more light on it for you…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Back in the 1930's tests were done to activate the ‘startle reflex’ when the subject was spooked by an audible stimulus. Now, to put that in basic terms I'll give you an example. Let's say you have to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. You know how in the winter furniture creeks sometimes due to the cold? So you’re walking down that hall half asleep and you hear that popping sound… It scares you and you drop down and your arms shoot out. We've all done that, me included. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">All that this test proved in the 1930's was that you did what you were already going to do when you heard that noise. That was it. It had nothing to do with combat or seeing punches coming at you or anything of the sort. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fast forward to the 80's: You’ve got some guy going around telling people that his system is better than that of others because he teaches defences from natural reflexes – <i>the ones that you would do anyway</i>. Yup! you’ve guessed it, shooting the arms straight out and diving for it. He did this knowing that data had been disproved in the 70's and that it had nothing to do with visual stimulus but he just lied and taught it anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If someone starts bashing on you, you’re gonna stick your arms out anyway so let's go with it. Now today people claim he never said that and he tries to backtrack on it but he's said it many times and many people including myself have heard him say it.<br />
Now I'm not saying that you won't stick your arms straight out and dive for it. You very well may do that. You may also squat and dump in your pants. You may clutch your chest. You may break out running. You may not do anything at all. You may cover in some way. I've even seen some stiffen up like a board and just fall down. If it's heading towards your head you may swat at it. If it's on the ground you may jump or lift a foot and stomp it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The simple fact is, and the point of Hock's article, is that nobody and I mean nobody knows exactly what every single individual person will do when startled under every single random condition the almighty God could possibly invent. Nobody has that knowledge. Not me, you, or anyone else for that matter. So for any person to stand in front of a crowd and tell them all exactly what they will do when scared is a joke and a farce. If someone tries to tell you that then run because they are either a liar or they are ignorant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It doesn't have to be the arm thing it can be any startle reflex. I don't want to just bash a certain group. If someone tries to tell you there's only one possible startle reflex, regardless of what they say that reflex is, they are wrong. If they tell you everyone will always jump....they don't. If they say everyone will punch...they won't. I could go on with this all day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The fact is people; there is no perfect technique because attacks are so random. This is why concepts are more important than techniques because concepts can adapt to us. You have to conform to techniques and try to make them work and they may not be right for your size, shape, or whatever. However, a concept will conform to you and your needs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In my 34 years in martial arts I've seen a lot. I've seen people demonstrate a kick to the groin and a follow up when the guy bent over forward from it. I've kicked a couple of people in the nuts and they never bent forward, they actually fell straight backward. I've seen people tell others - I can enter a certain way and slam a forearm to the brachial plexus and it'll knock them out. Then I've seen people take 5 or 6 hard shots to the brachial plexus and never even acknowledge it and fight harder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">People are different and they react differently. There is simply no way to predict it. All these techniques you see against a startle in martial arts classes are learned techniques built into muscle memory. They aren't necessarily natural for everyone, they may be natural for some and unnatural for others it just depends on the person. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My advice for instructors is to pick something simple that makes the most sense based upon the type of system you teach. You have to have a starting point to work from. In what I do we use a cover and level change because it sets up what we do on the entry very well. To some it feels very natural and to others it feels odd for whatever reason. We work it hard and they get it built in then they love it and it works incredibly well for what we do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If I was you I'd stop worrying about what the big names do and just pressure test everything and find out what works best for what you do there is no magic technique that is going to work for everything, we all just do the best we can to the best of our ability to try and help people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What works for me may not feel right for you and vice versa but at least that's honest. We didn't get into this to follow someone else's dogma we got into it to be leaders in our community. So put together something great and get it out there and help some people. As far as Hock's article is concerned, it's a great article with a lot of great data. Keep your eyes on the prize and don't take things out of context. Have a good day.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #444444;">To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a></span>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-1052696028359564072011-11-01T11:32:00.000+00:002012-08-08T12:31:20.133+01:00Nothing works all the time, Everything works sometimes...<br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>"Nothing works all
the time, Everything works sometimes"</i> </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 13.5pt;">- W.Hock Hocheim</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It's a
very profound statement if you think about it. It's simple....but profound.
It's the way a good technique should be if you really think about it. It has
depth and can be used for more than one purpose and mean many things. I
remember the first time I ever heard it in Decatur, AL a couple years ago at a
clinic taught by Hock Hocheim, a mentor of mine. He says it at the start of all
his seminars. Now I'm one of these guys that think a lot, probably too much. If
I come up with a tactic I then try to come up with a counter; then a counter to
that until I can't even think of a counter anymore. This statement means a
couple different things to me and I think everyone should learn it and
understand it. Below I'm going to list a few ways that I apply this statement
in my career and hopefully enlighten some to the value of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1. It’s
just flat out true</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> - You take the craziest most unrealistic
technique you ever saw and you can find someone on YouTube being knocked out by
it. However, just because it works for one person doesn't mean it will work for
everyone. As a police trainer I see this stuff all the time. I see some of the
worst courses you could think of with the craziest things. However, you can go
on the websites for these courses and there will be all kinds of testimonials
from officers that used that system and it worked for them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As
trainers and coaches if we are striving for the safety of those we teach it's
best to use tactics or concepts that are most likely to work for everyone
consistently. That's our job. When people use these high risk low reward
systems and they work it can keep bad systems around and make it harder to
convince departments to upgrade to a better system even if that bad system is
failing for everyone else. In a way for them it's about perspective. I had a
meeting with a police chief locally a few months back. He had done one of these
big national courses that in all honestly most departments are abandoning
because of its low success rate in the field. However he loved the course
because he'd used a couple of tactics from it that had saved his life in his
career. He's spent 40 hours in that class and learned 4 or 5 really good
techniques. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now to
my ears that's evidence of a bad course not a good one to spend that much time
in a class and 4 or 5 useful things is all you got but he was convinced. He was
convinced because nothing works all the time, everything works sometimes and
those times it worked for him. You may run into people sometimes that think
they see a flaw in your system because of something in their background. If
that happens and it will; remember that statement and don't blow it off. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Maybe
what they are saying is unfounded but maybe since they came from a different
background they see something that you missed. It could be a chance for your
system to grow and have more depth so when someone else thinks they see the
same flaw you'll have an answer for them. Then again they may be full of crap
but you should at least think about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">2.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <b>It’s
a warning to the arrogant</b> - The reality based self defense
community can be filled with the most egotistical arrogant people in the world.
They know the real truth about everything, but they are the only ones that
know....yeah right. It would take 100 RBSD instructors to change a light bulb.
1 to actually do it and 99 to say they could've done it better and they'll have
scientific studies to back it up too. They could go on for hours about how you
should've tilted your hand more or applied more force when you pushed up and
they'll make sure to unknowingly be as condescending as humanly possible when
they do it. They just seem to have conveniently forgotten to never say never. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
technique everyone seems to jump on is high kicks. Now I personally am not a
fan of high kicks and I don't teach them. With my background being Jujutsu when
I see that leg in the air I'm thinking their balance is mine. In the
confrontations I've been in I make sure I stay too close however so I'm not in
kicking range. That's my perspective but it doesn't mean they could never work.
I think for the average person it's too high risk of a technique because of the
position it puts you in. However someone like Bill Wallace could kick you in
the head all day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I've
grown to hate threads on boards and face book groups. I rarely post in them
anymore just for the simple fact that people love to take things out of context
so they can jump on them and make themselves look more intelligent than others
that are trying to do the same thing. It's transparent and it makes me angry.
Throw a discussion about high kicking into one of those threads and it's like
dumping blood in a shark tank. I would caution them to remember this statement.
It'll keep you honest before you open your mouth. We preach all the time that
attacks are random and we don't know who the attacker will be. If you preach it
then you should apply it to all your logic. Once again high kicks have a very
very low success rate but that doesn't mean that someone couldn't kick your
beak around like Daffy Duck. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">To
think that it could never happen is ignorant and could someday be your
downfall. Not because someone might kick you in the head but that dismissive
attitude will affect how you build your courses and how you apply your concepts
as well as how you prepare others. Before you get on your lectern to
pontificate remember the statement. Then remember that you’re not as smart as
you think you are..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">3</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">. <b>It's a
disarming and diplomatic tool for trainers </b>- I teach people from all
kinds of backgrounds. Sure when I was younger I had a short sighted view of
things like a lot of these other guys around. However I always tried to be
honest with myself and put the people I'm teaching first. When I go to teach a
seminar I don't know the background of everyone that's in there. If I go in
there with a dismissive attitude about certain martial arts bashing them and
silly things like that and how this and that is BS then I'm blowing an
opportunity. If someone from that style is there they are just going to shut
down and tune me out. I'll never get through to them. You can't just go in
there and talk to people that way and tell them something they've worked their
butts off in is crap. If someone had done that to me the first thing I'd think
is this guy doesn't have much teaching experience he's too immature. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You
open your seminar with the statement it's diplomatic. You allow them to clutch
the thing they hold onto and by not taking everything away from them you get
their ear. If you have a better way and you’re a good teacher they'll find it
on their own you don't have to say that stuff. Be diplomatic when they ask
questions about how it fits in with the thing they do. Always be positive and
helpful. Build....don't tear down. This gets back to the negativity and
dismissive attitude sinking you. If you still want to be negative and are
thinking well I don't want those idiots in my class... then you’re the idiot.
You shouldn't be teaching because you don't care about the people you only care
about your dogma. Remember the statement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I want
to thank Hock for making that statement and I hope this short article even
though I probably went to deep and over thought it will enlighten some of you
in a small way. Thank you for your time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #444444;">To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a></span>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-5971559606764719612011-10-15T09:43:00.000+01:002011-10-15T09:43:14.211+01:00Martial Artist v Black Belt<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This is something that has been on my mind for a long time. I've wrote similar articles in the past but it's been awhile. I'm talking about the dumbing down of martial arts in this country until they are no longer martial. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">There are too many dishonest people involved in what we do who are being dishonest with themselves if they don't believe that they are dishonest with the people around them. The divide between martial artists and black belts has gotten wider and wider as time has gone on and I feel the need to stand up and speak on it once again because I believe in what I do. Most of all I believe in the truth and I hate to see people being lied to and ripped off.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">To get to the point right off let's look at the definition of the word Martial. Merriam-Webster defines martial as: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">1: Of, relating to, or suited for war or a warrior; <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">2: Relating to an army or to military life; <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">3: Experienced in or inclined to war: warlike.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This is the meaning of the word martial. The word itself is Latin meaning from Mars (not the planet, the God of War). Yes people, that's right - it's not Asian and no, martial arts absolutely did not originate in Asia. Actually there is some evidence that there were no canonized arts in Asia at all until after the campaigns of Alexander the Great. That of course is up for debate and not relevant to this article. So we now know the word itself implies that the person is either in the military or they are basically a fighter in some form or at the very least prepared to fight.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I like to sit around sometimes and listen to the old timers talk about how martial arts used to be. They talk about how back in the old days people would spar bare knuckle and you had to be able to fight to get your ranks. Everyone earned everything they got. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I know on my way to my Judo black belt I won a heavyweight championship on a State level, got a shoulder dislocation and one good concussion to go with it. You bet I earned my rank. I didn't have it easy but if everyone could have something then it wouldn't be worth anything would it? I think you see where this is going.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As technical director for an international organization I’ve visited a lot of schools and seen a lot of programs. I don't visit a lot of those schools anymore because frankly I'm just disgusted. I saw schools doing techniques on the same level at black belt that weren't much better than the white belts were doing. I saw an instructor in Madison, AL once change an attack because the wrist lock he wanted to use wasn't working against a real attack. So instead of using the technique correctly or trying it a different way he changed the attack to something unrealistic. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I was helping another guy in the area once. I'd go in and show these techniques and better ways of training to produce better students. They'd all nod and talk about how great the techniques were and I'd feel like I got through somewhere. I'd go back the next week and they weren't implemented. I'd give them more time then bring it up. I'd hear something like umm yeah I remember we talked about that last week. Well you know talking doesn't fix anything. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I gave him a link to my articles and he read a few. This guy actually sent me an email back saying he agreed with what I was saying but he was just trying to teach these students how to defend themselves he wasn't trying to develop Navy SEALS. He couldn't understand that he wasn't really teaching his students anything and what I was telling him was the basic information they'd need to defend themselves at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">You know I once went to a Jujitsu school that didn't teach <i>nage waza</i> because they were afraid it would scare potential students and run them off. Yes I'm serious that actually happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Most use the excuse that they are just trying to empower people and build good character. This is a load of crap and a complete insult to anyone's intelligence. They actually want us to believe that you have to lower the bar on quality to make someone feel better. Well you know, the US Military has made a lot of men out of boys, do you think they shy away from rough training? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The fact is they are lying to people. It's all about money plain and simple. Martial arts aren’t for everyone and should not be for everyone. Martial arts are for warriors. Teaching someone crap to make it easier to fill your schools is not about character it's about money so you need to stop lying to yourself and others.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">What you are teaching is not martial arts and you are not a warrior; you’re just a fabric salesman. Yes that's right; there is a huge difference between a black belt and a martial artist. If you spend more time going to marketing seminars than you do working on your program to make it better then you are not a real martial artist. You’re just a low rent con artist that takes advantage of people and fills them with a false sense of security. You are not helping anyone but yourself and you are disgusting.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">These jerks have people so brainwashed it's mind boggling. You go in and try to help them out and they just looking at you like you dropped a load of dung on their circle jerk. Some people just don't want the truth; they only want the perception of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">They'll come after you too if you stand up and fight it. I've had them go to the Hanshi of the organization before and say bad things about me and they even held up my 6th dan promotion for a year in Jujutsu but I finally got it anyway. You know I'd rather actually be somebody than just look like somebody any day. People, use your common sense. If you do not have to work hard for something then you’re not getting anything. Now, building character is important, don't get me wrong, but that can be instilled with any program. I recently wrote an article called <i>Don't Look at the Floor or You'll Soon Be On </i>it which used boxing as a great metaphor for positive life lessons. Can you imagine the looks someone would get if they claimed they studied boxing but never sparred? That doesn't even sound right.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Some others use the excuse that they are standing by tradition. This is also wrong. These arts were originally developed in ancient times for military use. The fact is, like any military, if those techniques weren't working they'd change them. They aren't going to die on the battlefield for loyalty to some technique, but apparently some instructors think it's alright for their students to die for them now. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">If martial arts doesn't deal with modern problems and modify and change over time then they become a stagnant museum piece. They are no longer a living art. No art deserves that fate. I'm not saying go in there and bash skulls every night but you have train people to develop the attributes of the art that can work in a very real way. You should always pressure test your techniques. Your loyalty should only be to the people that walk through your doors and put the faith in you that you can teach them how to reasonably defend themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It's a sad development of our society. Teaching people that the bar will be lowered for them and they don't have to work for what they get is not a good lesson. We are living in tough times and need realism more than ever. We need warriors not pretenders.<span> </span>A black belt is not necessarily a martial artist anymore. There are a lot of good instructors out there; it isn't just about money with everyone. Some of us are still out here living and breathing this stuff. My name is Paul Green and I'm proud to be a martial artist.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-76677755788468493342011-09-14T15:24:00.000+01:002012-08-08T12:32:15.409+01:00More on the Bystander Effect...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">LAST month I presented an article called <i>Kitty Genovese and Me. </i>It detailed the study of a murder in New York in 1964 where a young lady was stabbed to death in front of a bunch of people and it was believed no one did anything. Some studies were done about it and it was named Genovese Syndrome after the murder. These days it's more commonly known as The Bystander Effect. </span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A while back I noticed the FBI had done a recent study on it and put it on several sights. Recently in my peer group there has been a lot of discussion about it and people wondering what they needed to do and when to act. Some still don't understand the psychology and what it really means to act and what it says when you’re just a bystander. Even though we covered pretty much the whole thing in the original article I feel a follow up is needed. Watch the below videos before we continue.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">These are some of the more well known incidents as of late. I want to draw your attention to the top video. This is a great video to accompany the first article. It breaks down exactly what we talked about towards the end of that article though some of the terms may have been slightly different. Everyone wants to pass the buck and conform to the crowd. Everyone thinks someone else will act (diffusion of responsibility) but if one person acts it breaks "The Effect" and others help as well. It is my belief that you need to be that one person that helps. This is a blog for martial artists. We didn't spend all those years of training to do nothing with it. If you have the ability to make a difference then you should be compelled to make a difference. The biggest enemy of the bystander effect is the knowledge of it. If you know about it then you should not fall victim to it. You should know that others won't act and that you should act<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">On another note in that video you can see that when people think that person is a member of their peer group they feel compelled to act. I think it took someone six seconds. In the first article we called this Biker Mentality because that article dealt more with violent attacks and the idea that if you fight one biker you have to fight them all. If a person is in their group they will help. However it isn't always a violent event as we've seen. Someone could be sick or injured and need help. The bystander effect applies just as much if not more to these situations. Many states have followed suit of countries like Canada and Australia and adopted Good Samaritan Laws. These are laws that protect people from being sued if they help someone in good faith and something goes wrong with it. Other states are even going further and looking at passage of Duty to Rescue Laws which make it a misdemeanour to not intervene when you see someone needing assistance and do nothing. States realise they have to do this because they realise that people today are morally bankrupt and it must be done<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem – Malcolm X<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I believe the above statement to be true. I can understand fear. Fear is something we all deal with and there are a lot of things that can go wrong. However, courage is not the absence of fear it is the overcoming of fear. Giving into fear is called being a coward. I would rather die like a warrior than live like a coward any day. If you witness someone in the process of being killed and you do nothing then in my eyes you’re just as responsible as the murderer. If someone is injured and lying on the ground begging for help in a public place and you don't know first aid then call a 911<i>[999 in UK]</i> and stay with them until help arrives. I believe being a bystander is one of the worst things you can be, especially if you have the ability to help them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Are we talking about two people arguing and just jumping up into someone's business? Of course not, let's get a little more specific now and put this in the right context:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">If you witness a mugging you need to understand that money and belongings can be replaced. This may not be a life or death situation. If you feel that you have to do something then draw attention to the mugging keep a safe distance and call them out. These guys just want to get the money and run quickly. If you’re pointing out the mugging and yelling they may just run off. You don't want to just run in on someone with a weapon. Unfortunately in one of the videos above a man found that out the hard way. Then, when he was lying there and dying the Bystander Effect took effect in a disgusting display. As I said before, people are morally bankrupt and you cannot depend on them. That video made me sick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">You see a married couple arguing. Don't just get into that as they will more than likely turn on you. If anything, if they are getting loud tell them to quieten down then maybe they'll actually stop arguing. There are laws about public disturbances you know. However, if one puts their hands on the other I believe you should intervene to stop an assault. Just don't personalise it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Two drunks get in a fight at a bar. They usually have bouncers that break that stuff up. However if they don't and the fight gets out of hand with one getting the upper hand in a big way where a serious injury may take place then yes intervene. As we have learned in the above videos if you break the cycle you'll most likely have help once you do intervene in that type of a situation. Unfortunately not always, but in a more social setting like that I'd bet on that help if it was me (I was a bouncer for years I've seen hundreds of those situations).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Now those of you on your game will know I picked this specific scenario on purpose. In an above paragraph I talked about assisting someone who was injured in a public place like the one demonstrated in the first video. As some of us know serial killer Ted Bundy used this exact scenario to lure women into the hallway to attack them. In a private closed off area like that you should just ask them to be calm while you go and get help, then get help quickly. Not everyone who falls in a hallway is a serial killer faking it. If you’re a guy you can save face by saying you have a bad back or some crap like that later on, just don't go into that hallway alone. Since there wasn't a crowd this isn't really the Bystander Effect but some critics will try to take it out of context and make it that way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The point is that in these situations there are things that you can do. Maybe you’d handle it slightly differently but at least you’d have helped resolve the situation in a reasonable way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">There was an incident not too long ago on Facebook where a girl posted that she was going to kill herself. Her friends posted back but no one went over there to stop her and she committed suicide shortly after. It's a myth by the way that when people are vocal about suicide that it means they just want attention and won't do it. Once again, that is a myth. In that situation just someone going over there to talk to her may have saved her life. This is what I'm talking about. This is the more common form of the bystander effect. We talk about more violent events because that is the subject matter of the blog but this is the more common form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It is something anyone can help with. Don't stand by while someone dies. To do so says negative things about our society and you. If you stand by while someone dies you'll stand by during anything. We can be better than this and our society can be better. Asking an entire society to change overnight is not realistic. However asking an individual to make a difference is not and a society is made up of individuals. People who stand up for those that need us shouldn't be the exception they should be the rule. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Some say the police tell you not to get involved. The ones that tell you that only say that for liability reasons it has nothing to do with it being the right or wrong thing to do. If it was wrong to do it then states wouldn't be looking at passing duty to rescue laws making it a misdemeanour not to do it. We can make a difference and you can make a difference if you are reading this. I'd also recommend reading the original article if you have not done so. As you may have read in other articles like <i><a href="http://stonewalltactical.blogspot.com/2011/06/beware-of-fallout.html">Beware of the Fallout</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://stonewalltactical.blogspot.com/2011/06/double-edged-sword-of-empathy.html">The Double Edged Sword of Empathy</a>,</i> I'm not a bystander and I don't think you should be one either. Links for the mentioned articles will be provided at the bottom of this one. As I said in the first article you now know about the bystander effect. There is no excuse<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">To find out more about Stonewall Tactical Defense Systems visit <a href="http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html">http://www.stonewalltactical.com/index.html</a></span>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2775570013129484112.post-55096047121345953002011-08-14T19:12:00.000+01:002012-08-08T12:33:11.169+01:00Kitty and the Bystander Effect<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX_fs-A_yukKzfL3OQzrqIFQL6S5UPUWo3at0m0kwgTxQWFNvSYwjcUc76KyYl_fbVdQzH01CnsR77cBLc0hgK3HEOaooUYn0pTj63Q_0yAlmGmp8kUtehF2qrN4oq0qh722LgfqcTeDE/s1600/Kitty2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX_fs-A_yukKzfL3OQzrqIFQL6S5UPUWo3at0m0kwgTxQWFNvSYwjcUc76KyYl_fbVdQzH01CnsR77cBLc0hgK3HEOaooUYn0pTj63Q_0yAlmGmp8kUtehF2qrN4oq0qh722LgfqcTeDE/s200/Kitty2.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitty</td></tr>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hi! My name is Catherine Genovese but my friends call me "Kitty". I'm 28 years old and the oldest of five children I worked at Ev's Eleventh Hour Sports Bar in Hollis,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Queens,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New York. My parents moved away when I was 19 to</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Connecticut</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but I stayed. Do you like my dress? I had to wait a lot of tables to buy it. I used to be pretty but now I'm gone. I was murdered on March 13, 1964 I was walking home from work a little after 3 am when this man named Winston Moseley stabbed me. I screamed, "Oh my God he stabbed me!" No one came to help. Thirty-eight people watched me die and no one ever tried to help. One man even turned up his radio to cover up the sound of me screaming. My killer actually left me alive but was so surprised that no one called the police or came to help that he came back 10 minutes later and finished me off. He's in prison now but he's still alive, but I'm gone forever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-size: small;">Winston Moseley</span></td></tr>
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Do I have your attention now? A lone individual will generally step in if someone needs help it's called a bystander intervention but that isn't the point of this article. This real murder case kicked off a lot of research where scientists couldn't believe this could actually happen, but it did. It's called the <b>Bystander Effect.</b> It basically means that the larger the group is that witnesses a violent event the less likely it is that anyone will do anything to help even if the person obviously means it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-ASfLHZD2whJeKAqqh6xqklAu49XtttAhex32jPp9YbkwiGCWu16D89QoegYn2ICwygawTqAZYi1Z0xAfa6zEtkPEIy8ccbv-7PoTDwW10MxnF1q5L5cBWNdNJRWuyYquYQOWMwDAv0/s1600/JamesBulger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-ASfLHZD2whJeKAqqh6xqklAu49XtttAhex32jPp9YbkwiGCWu16D89QoegYn2ICwygawTqAZYi1Z0xAfa6zEtkPEIy8ccbv-7PoTDwW10MxnF1q5L5cBWNdNJRWuyYquYQOWMwDAv0/s200/JamesBulger.jpg" width="139" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-size: small;">James Bulger</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's look at a few more examples of this psychological phenomenon. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Left, we have a picture of James Bulger not quite 2 years old. He was kidnapped on February 12 1993 in</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Merseyside,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">England, and his body was found murdered and mutilated on February 14th. Witnesses say he was kicking and screaming at the kidnapping afterwards. He was kidnapped in a shopping centre in full view of the public and no one did anything. By the way the photo on the right is an actual photograph of James Bulger being led away after he got too tired to fight anymore. Notice all the people walking by but they aren't even looking? The 10 year old on the right is one of his murderers and the photo is from a security camera. Did no one think his screaming for help was odd? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white; font-size: small;">James with killer</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are many examples of this phenomenon. In 1972 Dr Wolfgang Friedmann, who was a law professor at</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Columbia</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">University</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">was shot to death in broad daylight and bled to death on the sidewalk and no one did anything. On June 23 last year in</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wichita,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">KS</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lashanda Calloway was stabbed to death in a convenience store. Five witnesses just stepped over the body and one even took a picture of Lashanda's body with her mobile phone to show her friends. The police were livid and I don't blame them. Lashanda was only 27 she died later that night at the hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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So what in God's name is wrong with these people? The fact is it's all too common. The first lab experiments done on this phenomenon were done in 1968 by John Darley and Bibb Latane. A participant was placed alone in a room with an intercom. They are told they can talk to the other participants in the other rooms from the intercom. They were actually listening to an audio recording and told their microphone would be turned off until their turn to speak. During the recording a participant suddenly pretends to have a seizure. The study found that how long the person waits before alerting the experimenter directly related to the perceived number of participants and in some cases nobody said anything they just ignored it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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There's a lot excuses used for this behaviour. Basically with a lot of people around people tend to assume that someone else will step in and individually fall prey to the same assumption. This is called the <b>diffusion of responsibility</b>. Another example of this is a firing squad where one of the shooters is issued blanks but no one knows which one. This allows each one of the shooters to believe that someone else fired the fatal shot. Some electric chairs have more than one switch but only one of them is connected. This allows executioners to believe they flipped a non-functioning switch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a violent attack witnessed by a group the number of people allows each person to believe somebody else should've done something so they don't feel any responsibility for not doing a damn thing. Some may falsely assume that someone else is more qualified to help such as a doctor or police officer. They may fear being a little humiliated by being superseded by a superior helper. They may possibly be afraid of doing a bad job assisting or making it worse and getting sued. Bystanders tend to monitor the reactions of people around them and if they don't' see them helping then they think that maybe they don't need to do anything either. This is called <b>pluralistic ignorance</b>. It basically means that even if someone has a dissenting opinion from a group they don't do anything because they think the groups behaviour is a unanimous belief. Either way it's all a complete mess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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So how do you combat this phenomenon? Think about it this way. If you’re a martial artist or combative instructor and you have the training and ability to help then it's your responsibility to help. We have too many paper tigers in this industry already. Police, military, etc are all great examples of warriors in our society today. However you don't have to be either one to be a warrior. I bet there's something each one of us can do every day to make a difference in our society. We can be educators. We can train people, and by God if you see somebody getting attacked take responsibility and help them! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the other hand what if you’re getting attacked? Don't assume anyone is going to help you. You can break the diffusion of responsibility by assigning it to someone. Instead of yelling, "Help!" Point someone out and scream for help making it personal. Scream their name if you know it. If I had started this article out by just saying Kitty Genovese and James Bulger got murdered sure people would've thought it was bad but when you see the actual face and know something about them it has a little more impact doesn't it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This also is the counter to pluralistic ignorance. When one person steps in then it provides social proof that the others may be looking for before stepping in and gets the help flowing. When you scream to this person, give them a task such as call the police. It's the best way to break this horrible cycle. There have been studies to suggest that if you’re part of a group or a group of people perceive you as part of their group, then they will help. A good example is bikers. If you fight one you’re probably going to have to fight them all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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It's my hope that the people reading this article will take this to heart. If you see someone that needs help then help them. If you’re being attacked in such a violent way maybe you know a little more now about what to do. When I first read about the Kitty Genovese Case I was deeply offended. That offense quickly turned to concern as I compiled data for this article. The fact that a group of people could just watch someone die was mind numbing but it probably happens on a daily basis which is sickening. I never knew Kitty Genovese, I wasn't born until 1973, but I'll never forget that case or that of James Bulger. I'll never just stand there and watch someone get violated and neither should you, because after reading this article and having the knowledge you should know......................................<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Martial Newshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15274585631070671003noreply@blogger.com2