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Escape Hoods for Terrorist Attacks

Okay, so you are freaked out about the possibility of a biological attack.  I have found a source for escape hoods which provide protection against numerous biochemical agents including anthrax, smallpox and mustard gas. 

According to the source, these hoods, called The Quick 2000, are ISO 9001 Certified for quality control for all major components and assemblies and has been tested by the SBCCOM (U.S. Army Soldier, Biological, Chemical Command). These easy to use hoods have universal fit mouthpieces and fit neck sizes from 9” to 24”.

Grappling Gloves Available Soon

We’ve always had a problem in coming up with a method for adding reality to our drills that offers enough protection for everyone.  We’ve tried building helmets that are padded enough that you can strike them with bare hands but found that the helmet was too limiting for the wearer, not to mention a real pain to breathe in.  The person wearing the helmet would become progressively less able to perform adequately because they were sucking up too much carbon dioxide, causing them to look almost drunk in their movements. 

We switched to helmets that had a facemask which allowed the wearer to see and breathe, but we had to wear gloves to protect our hands.  Both boxing gloves and the karate style gloves are fine for hitting, but were too cumbersome for grappling.  

The best gloves to train in for us are those which have open fingers and a wrist wrap to keep them from coming off when we transition to grappling.  You might have seen similar gloves worn by the fighters at the UFC or in cage matches. 

I’ve been working with a distributor who is trying to break into the market for NHB-style grappling/striking gloves.  I’ve just received my first order and I’m pretty impressed.  These gloves fit the bill for us and are comparable to the Chuck Norris training glove and the Kickskins NHB gloves, but at about half the price!

I’m going to be putting them up for sale on the Defend University  Web site shortly. 

I’m telling everyone I know to get these introductory ones now before the manufacturer either goes out of business because of the low price or gets a toe-hold in the market and begins to charge more competitive prices. I’ll notify all you subscribers first when they are up on the site. 

Parker Experience Recounted in Magazine 

The national magazine “Guns and Weapons for Law Enforcement” is featuring a story regarding an attack by a dog I encountered while on a Warrants detail recently.  The Nov. 2002 issue is on the newsstands now and the cover titles the story as “A Backup’sNightmare: A Pit Bull’s Got Your Partner, Make the Shot – Miss the Bystander!” 

De La Hoya KO Reminds Us: Keep Your Mouth Shut! 

Oscar De La Hoya’s technical knockout of Fernando Vargas in their fight Sept. 14 illustrates a point that I teach constantly, but might not have mentioned in previous newsletters. 

In the 11^th round, De La Hoya saw that Vargas had his mouth open.  De La Hoya hit Vargas on the jaw with a left punch which sent Vargas to the canvas.  When stood back up, De La Hoya pummeled Vargas against the ropes with more than a dozen blows that Vargas could not stop.  The referee stopped the fight at 1:48 of the round. 

The point is that Vargas was susceptible to a knockout when his mouth was open – the same holds true for all of us.  When your mouth is open, your jaw is unstable and you are asking to be knocked out if you get tagged there.  Considering that you are most likely to face a fighter aiming for face and head with his punches, you are at a serious risk here. 

That is why I recommend you keep your mouth shut before, during and after the fight – both literally and figuratively. 

If you are talking trash to your opponent, your mouth is open and your mind is engaged with language skills (no matter how primitive at this point).  When he attacks, you have to disengage your mind from the “talking” part and then react to the attack.  Smart fighters know this and will set you up to get you talking trash.  Don’t fall for it. (Conversely, you can get the jump on someone by asking a question or issuing a nonsensical statement first, then making your move when they start talking.) 

Remember that it is highly probably that you will have to defend your actions in court (or at least to the police).  Trash talk before and after the fight can be misconstrued to mean some sort of culpability on your part.   Witnesses, investigators and judges can’t always appreciate your attempts at  trying to intimidate your opponent with tough talk (called “woofing” in some circles).  The legal system might see your talk as an indication that you were a willing participant in the fight or that you were malicious if you injured the attacker while defending yourself. 

By keeping your teeth clamped tightly together you are in a better to protect yourself physically and legally. 

Don’t Drop Your Guard After the Fight 

Speaking of after the fight… 

I was reminded of why you don’t turn your back on an opponent, even when the fight is over.  At a recent no-holds-barred tournament, a near riot broke out following a match.  When one fighter submitted his opponent, the referee broke up the match and the winner jumped in the air with glee to celebrate.  With arms raised skyward, the winner triumphantly faced the crowd – only to be attacked from behind by a punch to the head from the “loser”.   

Whether unwilling to give up, upset at the loss, or angered by the energetic nature of the armbar that he received, the loser jumped up from the canvas and pursued the other fighter.  Of course a huge tussle ensued between the corner personnel and the offending fighter was promptly escorted out by one of his smarter cornermen.  However, some choice words were exchanged with the crowd and a brawl broke out with members of the corner and the crowd. 

It reminded me of dozens of examples I’ve heard of the good guy letting down his guard after the fight was “over” only to get clobbered in the parking lot later or have the bad guy turn the tables with a counter attack after he is let up. 

Be wary of letting someone up who claims to be finished, relaxing and turning your back after a fight has been broken up or even going back to the party after the bad guys have been thrown out and have promised to come back and shoot up the place. 

That extends to our female members who might have an encounter with a suspicious male.  Don’t turn your back on him and don’t let your guard down even when you leave.  For example, you successfully disengage yourself from some guy who is “interviewing” you (sizing you up to see if you would be a good victim).  He asks personal questions, he won’t take no for an answer, he is overly helpful.  You set up a boundary and you tell him to leave you alone.  He stands there and just stammers while you leave.

 Don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet.  Make sure you have not been followed out to the parking lot.  And even then, make sure you have not been followed home. 

The Japanese have a name for a concept that might be useful here.  “Zanshin” can be translated to mean “remaining mind” and is often taught as a concept similar to our sports term “follow through”.   Although you follow through with a baseball swing or a throw, zanshin probably best describes the feeling that shooters and archers have when, after releasing the shot, they continue their hold and mentally follow through to the target.    

This is similar to the mental state you should keep after a self-defense encounter.    

Don’t let your guard down and don’t turn your back after you’ve “won”. 

Technique Highlight: Disengaging 

Let’s explore just how you might disengage from an opponent. 

If you are standing, keep your guard up and back away from the opponent (see the related article on using the Hard Challenge on the Defend University page at www.defendu.com).  If he stays where he is, no matter what his is saying to you, the fight is over for now.  Extricate yourself from the area continuing to pay attention to him.  If, however, he moves forward after you’ve stepped back, you are in a fight.   

Okay, you’re in the fight.  Here are your options 

• Intimidate him (so he thinks twice about attacking);
• Evade him;
• Immobilize him;
• Incapacitate him;
• Injure him;
• Kill him.

Normally, you want to avoid the fight, evading him as long as possible.  The good news is that as you ascend the scale in the amount of force you are using, the probability of him continuing gets less and less.  If you have incapacitated him through rendering him unconscious or unable to breathe, (you’ve attacked his nervous, circulatory or respiratory systems) then he cannot continue.  If you have injured him so badly that he is unable to continue (we’re talking heavy musculature or skeletal system damage here) or, obviously, employed lethal force, then he cannot continue. 

The problem is in the lower, more commonly used, levels of force.  He’s not afraid of your looks (your presence), he’s not intimidated by your tough talk (verbal) or he continues to pursue you even when you try to evade him.  Now how do you protect yourself and disengage?  You will at least have to immobilize him to get him to stop.   

Here’s a method that we have found works well. 

1. Get your guard up (you’ve heard me refer to it as the Hard Challenge, some people call it “the shield”, Geoff Thompson calls it “the fence”) and retreat to force him to commit to one attack;
2. When he moves to attack, you close the gap and clinch with him to avoid his punches;
3. You take him down to the ground, controlling the fight;
4. You put him in a position that allows you to either use an immobilization technique (you can hold him there), an incapacitation technique (usually this will be a choke of some sort) or to be able to hit him without him being able to hit you back.

 Once you are in a superior position, then you can decide what course of action you want to take.  Don’t feel compelled to relinquish your superior position too soon.  Let him know that you are still in control and can step up the level of force if needed.   

If you want to disengage, don’t just stand up.  Keep your body weight on the guy as you get in a position allowing you to get your feet under you.  Push off of the guy as you stand up away, creating some distance.  And, of course, don’t let your guard down.

Have a Plan

In the above scenario I described a plan that we have found works well for all sizes of people in real fights. 

You might have a different plan that works well for you.  Great! Don’t lose it and don’t feel that you have to change it just because I use something different.  People get into heavy debates over techniques and strategies.  In fact, many techniques, combinations and strategies will work for you – it depends more on the level of commitment you employ and how effectively YOU can use it.  Peyton Quinn says that he will take perfect intent over perfect technique any day. 

 The important thing is to have a plan before you need it.  Try it with some training partners.  If you are training in a garage, fine, but get a few guys to try it out on.  It can be a eye-opening experience to find out that your cool combination actually sucks when you try it on someone who is not compliant.   

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