Defend University Newsletter Dec. 2000

In this issue:

New Structure for Web Site
Going Out to McDonald’s?
Don’t Invite More Trouble
To Serve and Protect? Don’t Count on It
FBI Instructor Information Exchange
International Travel: Should You Register at Your Embassy?
New Low Cost Alternative to Kydex Holsters
U.S. Warns of New Year's Terrorist Attacks

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New Structure for Web Site

The Defendu.com Web site is back up and kicking following the painful
change over to another ISP.  We have a new look and new structure.  You
will notice three basic sections versus the plethora of sections we had in
the past.

The first section is devoted to the new Women’s Self-Defense Institute, a
non-profit group dedicated to educating and training women how to avoid
and defeat a physical attack.  

The  second section is dedicated to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and is the site for
the Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Training Association of Arizona.

The third section is the more comprehensive section of Defend University
dealing with self-defense, security and personally protection. 

As you can imagine, there is tremendous interest by females in how to
REALLY protect themselves.  They’ve read all the articles in “Cosmo” and
seen the programs on “Oprah”, now they want more.  So the Women’s
Self-Defense Institute is dedicated specifically to females.   This is
where the popular “Rape Escape” program resides.

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Going Out to McDonald’s?

According to Orange Co. (Calif.) investigator Al Valdez, a recent U.S.
Department of Justice report concluded that the most likely place for an
adult to be victimized by a violent juvenile is a fast-food restaurant.
He brings this up because many of us let our guard down when we go (or
take our family) out to one of these restaurants.   I would add
convenience stores as another high-risk area.  I’ve answered many calls on
patrol to all sorts of trouble at these convenience stores.  

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Don’t Invite More Trouble

Officer safety instructors tell police officers to think twice about
insulting gang members because of the retaliation that can be visited on
the officer, his home and his family.  We can take the same advice to
heart because part of the twisted gang member’s code is to NEVER let an
insult go unanswered.  I’m not suggesting that you let any criminal walk
over your rights, I’m asking you to reconsider showing how tough you are
to those little punks you run into at the malls.   An “insult” to a gang
member can be as little as prolonged eye contact.  

Ultimately, I feel it is our moral obligation to the rest of society to
defend ourselves all the time.  If the criminals know that every citizen
will always resist, it really cuts down on the victims available.  If I
defend myself when I’m attacked or accosted it makes it safer for you
because the criminal will think twice next time he plans an attack.  And
vice versa – when you defend yourself, you make it safer for the rest of
us.   

But, don’t feel that you have to make yourself a target.  That’s just not
good strategy.  Your goal should be to harden your defenses and to lower
your profile.  As a rule of thumb, ignore any threats to your ego.  Don’t
ignore any threats to your life.

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To Serve and Protect? Don’t Count on It

The 911 system covers approximately 85% of the U.S. population.  Each day
an average of 268,000 calls are received by police on the emergency 911
system.  Unfortunately, Sgt. Mike Burg reports that perhaps 20% of these
calls are not emergency calls.  He says one woman called 911 in her city
to report that she had not received her Sunday paper!  

The burden of these types of non-emergency calls is slowing response times
to a crawl in some cities.  It is not uncommon to wait two hours for an
officer to arrive.  Now some citizens are reporting fictitious bad guys
with guns still at the scene in order to get faster response from the
police.  

What this adds up to is that you cannot count on the local constable to
arrive at your residence in a timely fashion when you have an emergency.
This can be your ex-spouse kicking in your door, your daughter’s drunk
boyfriend pounding on your windows or a prowler trying to force open your
screen door.

Bottom line: develop your self-defense strategy and skills to deal with
emergency situations yourself.

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FBI Instructor Information Exchange

The author recently visited the famous FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia,
to observe new agents training in hand-to-hand tactics and to trade
information and techniques with the instructors there.

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International Travel: Should You Register at Your Embassy?

It is usually standard procedure for executive protection specialists on
international assignments to register their entire party at their embassy
in each particular country on the schedule.  This procedure is often part
of the advance work that professionals do when in a foreign country as
they identify accommodations, transportation, and local crime issues.  By
registering with the embassy, the protection specialist can “introduce”
the VIP to the staff at the embassy and take advantage of any of the
information and resources the embassy officers might have.  In addition,
if the VIP is going to a country with local unrest, a burgeoning kidnap
for profit industry or a reputation for natural disasters (such as
earthquakes), registering at the embassy is a must, so the staff can keep
track of it citizens in case of disappearance or disaster.  Face it, the
cavalry won’t know to come get you if they don’t know you are in the
country.  But what about you as an individual when traveling abroad?  In
keeping with our “be your own bodyguard” philosophy, it is probably a good
precaution if you plan an extended stay in the country.  Remember, though,
to register you have to go to the embassy itself, and I can tell you from
personal experience that it won’t be a quick trip.  Just like any other
governmental office, you should be prepared to take a number and wait in
line.  So you can probably skip registering if your visit is short, you
are on a tour, the threat of crime, terrorism and natural disasters is
low.  For U.S. citizens, you can get excellent information regarding
travel warnings, crime issues, location of embassies, and visa requirments
at the State Department’s Web site at
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html#f.

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U.S. Warns of New Year's Terrorist Attacks.

Terrorism experts at the FBI are warning Americans traveling abroad.
Officials have evidence following the bombing attack on the USS Cole in
Yemen and a resurgence of violence in the Middle East that attacks on
Westerners could occur around the turn of the year. There is also concern
that violence could also be planned to coincide with the Muslim holy month
of Ramadan and the beginning of the actual millenium.

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New Low Cost Alternative to Kydex Holsters

For those of you searching for high-quality handgun holsters, you’ve no
doubt been surprised to see costs reaching into the $50 to $70 range these
days.  The synthetic holsters and magazine pouches (often marketed under
the brand name Kydex) are an increasingly popular alternative to leather.
But they are not inexpensive either.  I found a source of synthetic
holsters from Brigade Quartermasters called FOBUS.   Originally developed
for the Israeli military, these holsters and accessories look to be
comparable to others of synthetic construction, yet are less than half the
cost most of the holsters are about $23.  You can see them at
www.actiongear.com.

Stay safe this holiday season and best wishes for a healthy and happy New
Year.

For more self-defense information, go to www.defendu.com.

Brad Parker
Defend University
www.defendu.com