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Newsletter for August 2003 Welcome to the new members of Defend University, thanks for subscribing. Inside this issue: When is YOUR Next Fight? Anti-Americanism Still High Abroad: How to Reduce Your Profile Americans Rate Illegal Immigration a Top Problem,
Washington Snoozes New Self-Defense Question Stalker Phone Call Tips DT Quacks Attack Iceman is our kind of guy
"The necessary consequence of a man's right to life is his right to self-defense. In a civilized society, force may be used only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use. All the reasons which make the initiation of physical force an evil, make the retaliatory use of physical force a moral imperative." AYN RAND
When is YOUR Next Fight?
In the circles in which I circulate, I know of several people who are in the process of training for an upcoming competition, contest or event. These include sport competitions, cage matches, SWAT team qualification courses, police academies and even martial arts belt ranking exams.
These people have a goal in mind and a program which is designed to build their attributes and skills to a high state for their own respective event.
Unfortunately, you and I on the street don't have a schedule of our upcoming fights. Our next fight could be at any time. And, if your luck is anything like mine, it will be at the exact time and place that you are most unprepared for it. Go to the new article on what you can do to prepare.
"After movements have been learned, free fighting bouts of less than thirty seconds duration should be held frequently to develop aggressiveness and combat timing. By practicing against one another, minor bruises and lacerations, mostly on hands are common. But developed in this way are fighting poise, alertness, speed and combat timing far surpassing that which could be developed in training with a passive dummy.
"Movements will be repeated until they become automatic. No attempt will be made to build up sequences of movements or fixed patterns of attack. Speed, flexibility and balance will be continuously stressed. The basic attack movement will be the parry, hand cut and throat slash, with usually a quick thrust to the neck or body as follow-up. No preliminary feinting or maneuvering will be tolerated. If the enemy is waiting, attack instantly. Movements and tactics will be repeated until fighting responses become instantaneous and automatic."
Bayonet Fighting Marine Corps Individual Combat Course, 1944
Anti-Americanism Still High Abroad: How to Reduce Your Profile
For those of you traveling -- or have clients traveling -- abroad, be aware that anti-Americanism is still running high.
A recent poll of Germans found that fully 20% feel that the U.S. government was responsible for inflicting the 9-11 attacks to develop a pretext for invading Iraq. Amazing.
Even before the war there was plenty of anti-Americanism simmering in Germany. I was with two German security drivers in a Hannover cafe two years ago when it became apparent that I was not going to be served. A brief and spirited argument broke out between the two drivers and the waiter. They finally stood up and we left. They told me that the waiter said if I could not order by myself in German, then he would not serve me. Interestingly enough, the cafe overlooked a plaza that was built by Hitler.
As you can imagine, in France there is still a stiff backlash against Americans. One tourist was approached by a man on a street in Paris who asked if the tourist was American. When he answered affirmatively, the Frenchman punched him in the face and walked off. In my own travels to both northern and southern France over the past decade, I've continually been snubbed, overcharged, misdirected or deliberately served incorrect meals. I chalked most of that up to the general attitude of the French.
It is highly unusual that people in the tourism and hospitality demonstrate their hatred of Americans right to your face since tourism all over the world is big business. However, it's not unusual for the second-tier people like boyfriends of the maids, criminal partners of taxi drivers and the like to rip you off or sell you out.
At the very least, you might be overcharged or spat on like a friend of Jane Kelly, 20, who was studying in Spain. At the worst you could become a victim of robbery, kidnapping or of political extremists or terrorists.
According to Robert Kagan of the Washington Post, the anti-American view is not from either the far right or far left fringe, it's the mainstream view.
"The 'European Street' is more anti-American than ever before," he says.
Victor Fic, a Canadian who lived in Europe, echos Kagan.
“Then we must add the abuse and insults that Americans in Europe
experience personally. One American girl in Belgium was almost raped and
feared she had aids because she bit the hand of the rapist, who then
bled into her mouth. Her host dad called her an 'American bitch' when
she used the family phone allegedly for too long when calling her mum,
even though she was using her own calling card. Whenever I was mistaken
for an American in Europe, I was surprised by the abuse directed my way
-- even in brotherly Britain. Several American friends, pro-American
Europeans and I have often commented that there is a level of crass,
ugly anti-Americanism in Europe that would be condemned if it happened in
America, directed at Europeans. One German man who knew that I am a
Canadian told me in Tokyo that he was once in a bar in Belgium that
refused to even serve Americans. He had studied at Stanford, and I
called him a hypocrite for defending a we vs. them mentality, and a poor
student who had failed to learn what is best about America; he had only
come to scalp it for a degree. He was embarrassed, and said to me that as
a Canadian, he assumed I would enjoy his anecdote, and I am different
from the Canadians he knew in Europe who hated America, and he just
assumed, you know, that Europeans and Canadians sort of team up ...”
Lower your Profile, Lower Your Risk Okay, so you don't want to be a target for either a terrorist or just your garden-variety cheese-eating surrender monkey... I've found the absolute best way to lower your profile is to wear local clothes. I found this out by accident when British Airways lost my luggage. But when forced to buy business clothes in London and casual clothes near Nice, my every day experience changed dramatically. Tourists in London were coming up to me asking for directions. And in France, shop owners and cashiers did not know whether to address me in French, Italian or English. I duplicated the same experience in Rio de Janeiro. I bought some clothes at a local mall and had the local Brazilians asking me if I was Russian, German, Dutch or British.
Contrast this with my "old" M.O. of packing clothes from the States. I practiced a phrase in French the night before to be able to buy train tickets in Le Bourget. But as I walk up to the window and before I can even draw in a breath to speak, the female cashier immediately addresses me in English. The clothes were a dead giveaway.
So leave your Nikes, khakis, and polo shirts at home. Spend a couple of bucks at the local mall for clothes and dramatically lower your profile.
Here are some other tips for reducing your risk:
Americans Rate Illegal Immigration a Top Problem, Washington Snoozes
The U.S. shares a border almost 2,000 miles long with Mexico. And along that border almost 3 million attempts will be made to cross illegally this year.
It is estimated that between 9 and 11 million illegal aliens reside in the U.S. -- 250,000 of these are illegals from Islamic nations.
Interestingly, a recent poll shows that you and I are far more concerned about the problem than our government officials.
The Center for Immigration Studies says that 60 percent of the public think immigration today is a "critical threat to the vital interests of the United States." Sadly, only 14 percent of government leaders think it is. The public feels that illegal immigration ranks sixth on their list of top concerns. Officials rank the problem as 26th.
Both of those represent a huge gap in perception.
Cops Say Fitness and DT Their Weakest Links According to a Calibre Press survey of 309 police officers representing agencies from across the nation, their department’s biggest weakness is the area of:
Personally, the lack of Defensive Tactics training has been my biggest beef for a long time. As a police cadet you may receive 62 hours of firearms training, but only 12 hours of "arrest tactics". Since you fight like you train, guess what most new cops rely on when things get hinky. That's right, their firearm. And why not? You've been trained to a high level of proficiency (notice that hardly any cops say the firearms component is the weak point of their training). And the defensive tactics component may have been too short with not enough time for the repetitions needed to build competence and confidence. Some agencies will give you an additional 4 hours of baton, 4 hours of OC Spray, 4 hours of weapons retention and 4 hours of mechanical restraints (handcuffing). Some enlightened agencies (like LAPD) have continual -- and mandatory -- training in "combatives" that allow officers to continue their training. Some are offering additional time for "open mat" training so officers can meet and enhance their DT training. I'm a firm believer that more -- and more modern -- DT training will give the good guys and gals the advantages they need to work the street and will result in less use of force law suits against agencies and municipalities. New Self-Defense Question
We've been asked, " When someone throws a punch, should I duck and then do a takedown, or just do a take down?"
The question also came with a series of sub-questions about takedowns. Click here if you'd like to see the Defend University response or you can go to the "Self-Defense Questions Answered" link on the left border of each page.
Stalker Phone Call Tips
When Caller ID first became available, it certainly added to the arsenal of those who are being stalked or harassed by telephone.
Personally, I was surprised to find out who was actually responsible for a series of "hang-up" phone calls that I endured over a two-year time period.
Get the feature on your phone. You can see (and often keep a list) of who has called your phone. It is a valuable tool that can be used in prosecuting offenders.
If you cannot afford Caller ID, you can try a bit of a poor man's option by dialing *69 to immediately redial the party that called you. However, this service is not always available in some areas and it's not readily apparent who owns the number. You might get into a non-productive verbal tug-of-war:
"Hey, who is this!"
"Well, who is this?"
"I asked first!"
"Get lost..."
People in the private investigation business often use pretext calls as a way to get information out of people. They might call and pretend they are conducting a survey or pretend that the party has just won a prize. Sometimes they might pose as a popular pizza delivery service which is calling back to confirm the order of three large anchovy pizzas.
But the pretext callers I've seen are pros (the best ones are often older women). It's difficult to maintain your pretext when you are personally involved. Most often your or your significant other will dial back the number and scream threats and insults into the phone.
So what if the stalker uses a payphone? You're often out of luck here. However, investigators might find out that the location of the phone is at the stalker's apartment or their place of work.
If you have a serious phone stalker, one thing that I would recommend is to visit all of the payphones located within easy walking or driving distance of your home. Write down the numbers and either write down the corresponding address of each or note their location on a map. First of all, now you have a tool that you can use when you see a number on your Caller ID to notify authorities who might be able to catch the person. Plus, you give yourself an early warning system if you know that the person IS CLOSE!
Psycho stalkers have been known "set" the location of their victims before they attack. If you know that the person is literally around the corner when they are calling, then you can prepare accordingly.
If they are calling from a cell phone, you are going to have a more difficult time with the person's location, but chances are you'll readily be able to ID their number.
DT Quacks Attack
Here's another example of what's being taught out there:
This is no joke. It's said within the context of serious self-defense and legal information and instruction. It's also not from one of those inane Internet message boards (for a great example of that, go to www.mallninja.com). The instructor is affiliated with some well-recognized names in the self-defense and law enforcement training circles.
Hmmm. I wonder how one would train to master this technique?
Iceman is our kind of guy
Forensic scientists now say the 5,300-year-old Iceman
discovered in 1991 in the Italian Alps was killed by one or more assailants in a
fight that lasted at least two days.
In 2001, an Italian radiologist found an
arrowhead embedded in Otzi's shoulder. He had been shot from behind. Otzi
managed to pull out only the shaft, leaving the arrowhead. That discovery led
chief medical examiner and curator of Otzi's body, to look for more evidence of
a fight. He examined the hand and found a deep gash that had been missed
in previous examinations. He then found another cut on the left hand and bruises
on the torso. Presumably Otzi dispatched at least two of the attackers since he was able to retrieve the same arrow from two different bodies. How the museum curators deduced that the fight lasted two days is beyond me, but I'll give props to Otzi for taking some of the bad guys down with him during the running battle.
Remember Otzi -- never, never, never give up.
Go here if you want to access the newsletter archives.
Brad Parker
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