Defend University and the Women’s Self-Defense Institute Newsletter for
Jan. 2001


Inside:
BACK TO BASICS IN 2001
FREE RAPE PREVENTION KIT
NEW CRIMINAL TACTICS DEMAND CHANGES FOR HOMEOWNERS
KIDNAPPED!  YOUR TOP PRIORITY
KEEP YOUR MAGAZINES FULL
DESK RAGE?
SPEAKING OF VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE…


Check the DefendU.com Web site for more information for the Women’s
Self-Defense Institute and Defend University.



BACK TO BASICS IN YEAR 2001

Sometimes as we delve into more information and techniques regarding
self-defense, we forget about the simple things that affect our safety in
general.

Yes, these are often the things that our mothers told us.  Lock your
doors, carry your purse close to your body, don’t talk to strangers, etc.
And, to most of you, nothing bad has ever happened so far and we have a
tendency to get complacent.  A little paranoia is not necessarily a bad
thing when it comes to personal defense.

Professionals in the executive protection business have a saying; “Today
is the day it’s going to happen.”  They use that as a mantra to stay
prepared and alert. The bodyguard’s lot often consists of tedious planning
and hours of constant vigilance.  If the protection agent is truly
professional and does their job well, nothing happens.  After months and
months and years and years of nothing happening, it can be easy to assume
that nothing will happen. 

Yet, people relate their experiences to me all the time where bad things
DO happen.  And many of them could have been avoided by following two of
the most basic security rules:

1. Stay aware of people around you;
2. Use barriers and distance between you and the bad guy.

It is not out of the question for bad guys to hide in your car’s back
seat.  Ask the woman who returned to her car after paying for gas only to
be abducted, raped and her car stolen apparently as part of a gang
initiation.

Bad guys routinely get into your house through unlocked doors.  Two men
and a woman burst into a home through an unlocked door, robbing the
homeowners and slitting the man’s throat before stealing the couple’s
minivan.  Apparently the criminals were cruising in the suburban
neighborhood, spotted an open garage and entered through the garage’s
interior door.

Bad guys often engage you in conversation before attacking.  A citizen
getting gas in an all-night self-serve station is approached by two men
asking for change to get gas.  While engaging the citizen in conversation,
the two split up and walk around each side of the car to surround the man
in order to rob him. 

Lock your doors.  Stay alert.  Review the 6 basic self-defense principles
at http://www.defendu.com/principles.htm

For this year, resolve to get back to the basics of self-defense.
Remember, it’s always easier to STAY out of trouble than to GET out of
trouble.

FREE RAPE PREVENTION KIT
The Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women uses a very
provocative advertising campaign to deliver its message on sexuality and
rape.  You can order a free rape prevention action kit online at
http://www.lacaaw.org/prevention/actionkit.html or go to the group’s Web
site at http://www.lacaaw.org/lacaaw/index.html for more information and
some very brief information on self-defense.  


NEW CRIMINAL TACTICS DEMAND CHANGES FOR HOMEOWNERS

Two new tactics by criminals will give homeowners pause when it comes to
their garage door openers and when advertising cars for sale.

Burglars have been targeting cars left in the long-term parking lots of
various big city airports.  The thieves break into your car and take the
garage door opener and your owner’s registration papers.  Using the
address from the registration, the burglars visit your home, open the
garage with your opener and take their time in cleaning out your house.

Possible solutions you can use: 1. Don’t put your street address on your
registration, use your mail box number or other mailing address (you DO
have a separate mailing address don’t you?); 2.  Hide your garage door
opener and all other valuables from inside your car (clipping it to the
visor might be convenient, but it is very visible that way too); 3.  Get a
ride to the airport so you don’t have to leave your car unattended in a
lot; 4.  Keep your German Shepherd in your garage. 

There is currently a variation being used by home invasion criminals that
targets people who are advertising cars and other household items for
sale.  Criminals call about something (usually a car) for sale.  They show
up pretending to be interested in buying the item and then, when in the
house, incapacitate and rob the homeowners.

Some solutions here could be to sell your items somewhere off-premises,
meet the potential buyers in a public place or to have a strong enough
presence of male occupants in or around the house to discourage any
potential robbers. 

KIDNAPPED!  YOUR TOP PRIORITY

According to noted violence expert Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, your odds of
surviving a kidnapping decrease dramatically if the kidnappers put a hood
over your head.  His theory is that the abductors can depersonalize the
killing if they can’t see your face.  His advice is to try and humanize
yourself as much as possible to your abductors.  This can include saying
or doing whatever you can to keep from being hooded, asking to contact
your family or write a letter to your loved ones and even sharing photos
of your children.

KEEP YOUR MAGAZINES FULL

It’s hard for me to imagine not keeping the magazine of your firearm
filled to capacity, but according to famous self-defense expert and writer
Massad Ayoob, some citizens (and some cops too!) don’t.  It might be out
of carelessness or misguided information (“don’t worry, eight should be
enough”), but apparently those who don’t run serious legal consequences as
well as tactical ones (“let’s see, how many bullets did I put in this
thing?”).  He cites various self-defense cases where a defendant may have
only shot once or twice, but because the magazine was not filled to
capacity, detectives could only conclude that more shots must have been
taken which came back to haunt the defendant’s credibility.  He says it
works like this: you have a pistol that has magazines that can hold 15
shots.  You only put in 10 cartridges for whatever reason.  You are forced
to use that firearm in a self-defense situation and you shoot, say, two
shots.  The detectives who impound and examine your firearm will find
eight cartridges.   They will conclude that you fired seven shots, not two
(15-bullet capacity minus the eight bullets remaining equals seven shots
fired).  Since this is different than what you told them – you took two
shots -- you must be lying.  The only exception is when you can articulate
why you didn’t load the magazine to capacity in the first place.  For
example, many law enforcement agencies and military units will load their
magazines to capacity and then remove one cartridge – for better
reliability.  Some good points here so have your magazines either
completely empty or completely full.  And, please, if you choose to own a
firearm as part of your self-defense plan, be responsible.  Get training,
store your firearms and ammo properly and practice, practice, practice.   

DESK RAGE?

Business Week reports a new phenomenon called “desk rage” which it calls
emotional or violent outbursts caused by “office workers stressed by long
hours, excessive e-mail, unrealistic deadlines, and soulless workplaces”.
The magazine says a survey shows workers have experienced:

42%	Witnessed yelling or other verbal abuse
29%	Yelled at co-workers themselves
23%	Cried over work-related issues
14%	Seen someone purposely damage machines or furniture
10%	Seen physical violence in the workplace
2%	Struck a co-worker
 

SPEAKING OF VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE…

Here’s one that will make you wonder what century we are living in…

I had a student (male) who approached me for self-defense training because
of a problem he was having at work with a co-worker.  

The student was in his late 40s, a Vietnam vet and a lineman for an
electrical utility company.  The problem he had was with an “unwritten”
rule that the company had historically used for handling disagreements in
the field.  Traditionally altercations between men in the field were
settled with wrestling matches. Two men could fight out their differences
as long as neither one punched, kicked or struck the other.  However
throws and chokes seemed to be allowable.  Apparently many of these
“fights” resulted in little more than two men rolling in the dirt becoming
mutually exhausted.  But one worker was developing a reputation as a
fierce fighter who had injured others with particularly brutal throws and
had choked several other workers unconscious.  Our student was reluctant
to talk to anyone at the company because he said the supervisors all
condoned this method of conflict resolution.  Yet, he was sick with fear
that the bully would pick on him next and that he was powerless to keep
from being hurt.

He began training with us, but ended up quitting because the training was
too demanding.  He still professed to be absolutely terrified of his work
situation, but seemed to be quitting the one activity which would probably
offer the most complete solution to he problem.  I contacted the man later
and he informed me that he intended to quit work at the utility as soon as
he could find another job.

The bottom line here is that there are bullies everywhere.  They will
continue to prey on the weak until you, or I, or we stop them.  If you
have self-defense skills, please stand up for someone who doesn't.  If you
don’t have the self-defense skills, please make the move today to begin
acquiring them.

You only have one life, fight for it!  

Let us know if there is a particular subject or topic you want to see in
future issues.  

Brad Parker
www.defendu.com