Garrote: How to make this flexible weapon As you know from the preceding self-defense tip, most flexible weapons are blunt, but the garrote is a flexible weapon that cuts like an edged weapon. It is easy to make in either the common version, with piano wire and metal handles, or the nonmagnetic version, with synthetic-fiber […]
Self-Defense Tip 85 Using Flexible Weapons: Garrote Read More »
Now a word about flexible weapons. Most flexible weapons are blunt — I know, there are flexible swords and composite weapons consisting of chain and a blade, but the likelihood of encountering one of those is slim. (Then there are piano-wire garrotes, but that’s a topic for another day.) As with nonflexible blunt weapons, flexible
Self-Defense Tip 84 Using Flexible Weapons: Nunchaku Read More »
Blunt weapons in self-defense: How to and how not to use them In this tip I talk about using blunt weapons in self-defense. I will write about other kinds of weapons at another time. Whenever you strike an assailant in self-defense, your strike cannot merely anger the assailant, or worse, amuse him. If you use
Self-Defense Tip 83 Using Blunt Weapons Read More »
When in a confrontation . . . Stay out of assailants’ easy range Don’t be an easy target — don’t get into an easy range. Get out of the way of potential assailants. If you see a bunch of thugs, give them a wide berth. If they move toward you anyway, you will have a
Self-Defense Tip 82 In a Confrontation Don’t, Part III Read More »
When in a confrontation . . . Warning and talking slows down reaction time Don’t warn — it’s stupid, unless you have your gun drawn and trained on the attacker and you are in a good position. Warning involves talking, so besides revealing intentions and capabilities, it slows down the talker’s reaction time. Instead of
Self-Defense Tip 81 In a Confrontation Don’t, Part II Read More »
When in a confrontation . . . Move off the line of attack Don’t just stand there — move! Get off the line of a possible attack, like here: Watch also instruction at 2 min 38 sec (triangle footwork) and at 5 min 22 sec (moving to the outside). See also Self-Defense Tip #5 —
Self-Defense Tip 80 In a Confrontation Don’t, Part I Read More »
Best fighting grip for a knife, push dagger, and pencil If you viewed the video in my Self-Defense Tip #58 — Tactical Pen vs. an Ordinary Pencil, or “Pay More for Less,” you noticed a peculiar grip I used in the demo. That grip turned an ordinary pencil from a mere bloody annoyance into a
Self-Defense Tip 79 Knives, Push Daggers, and Pencils Read More »
A lecture by a law professor and a former defense attorney on why you should not talk to police officers Here I quote one of the many reasons given by the professor why you should not talk to the police (beginning at 20:30 of the video): “Police make mistakes . . . innocently, inadvertently, unintentionally.
Self-Defense Tip 78 Don’t Talk to the Police Read More »
Large crowd gatherings: Pickpockets’ workplaces and terrorists’ targets Avoid large gatherings, especially those that occur on a schedule. They are a pickpocket’s places of work and a terrorist’s targets. Yes, stay away from crowds, and never mind feel-good declarations like those following the bombing at the 2013 Boston Marathon: “The 2014 Boston Marathon will be
Self-Defense Tip 77 Avoid Large Crowd Gatherings Read More »
Observe, Orient, Decide, Act: The OODA Loop Training in an effective self-defense system shortens your OODA loop. OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. In the smallest-scale tactics (i.e., in hand-to-hand combat), the loop boils down to this simple interpretation: Observe: Be alert. See what and who is around you. Orient: As you observe, orient
Self-Defense Tip 76 OODA Loop Read More »
