Tag: self defense

Guns in Restaurants and Bars

Posted by Mostly Genius – June 5, 2009

Rustmeister has a clever business card to be dropped off at restaurants in Tennessee sporting the “No Guns” signs. I think this is a great idea. Going one step further: make several designs with or without links to firearms organizations. If a business owner gets ten identical cards he will assume he is being spammed by a small number of people. If he gets ten different cards it might make him realize the amount of business he is missing out on.

I live in a state where you are allowed to carry your concealed firearm into restaurants that serve alcohol and you are allowed to drink. You are prohibited from carrying a firearm into any areas of the restaurant (such as the bar) that are off limits to people under 21. Strangely this doesn’t seem to generate any sort of “wild-west” behavior. The nightclub shootings seem to center around areas of high gang and drug activity (to include “underage” dance clubs.)

Self Defense Scams

Posted by Mostly Genius – June 2, 2009

I stumbled across another bad self defense article: “Women’s Self Defense Against Men” (which I am not going to link to, but I will quote from below) that is clearly written by some sort of marketing flack. I see this sort of thing published on a lot of self defense oriented spam blogs that are hawking pepper spray and stun guns. Frequently I see the same content or copy on several different sites.

When looking at the increasing numbers of reports about violence against women, it is clear that women’s self-defense against men is becoming an important issue in today’s society. There are many products and techniques designed for women’s self-defense against men, from mace guns to judo and assertiveness training. Unfortunately, these things are becoming increasingly necessary, and it is essential to stay informed of the most effective strategies for women’s self-defense against men.

I guess they are repeating the title over and over again to try and improve the search rank of the article. Otherwise there really is no content in the opening paragraph other than a vague reference to “increasing numbers of reports about violence against women.”

Since more and more women are working overtime and at late hours, extra attention should be given to women’s self-defense against men. Dark parking lots are among the most dangerous places, and it is good idea to walk into a parking lot with a special device, such as a small alarm, whistle or light, or where it is legal, a mace gun or stun gun. The mace or stun guns should not be shaped like actual guns, but should be disguised as cell phones, pens or key chains which can be carried by hand without attracting undue attention.

So having a weapon that looks like a weapon would cause undue attention, and women should have a James Bond-esque cell phone that shoots electricity or pepper-spray? Clearly a concealed firearm isn’t even considered by the author.

It is important to principle of women’s self defense against men always to look straight ahead and always to appear alert. Potential attackers are always on the lookout for women who seem unaware of their surroundings, so give an impression of confidence.

I guess that in the authors opinion nothing projects confidence like locking your gaze on the horizon and marching in a straight line.

Women’s self-defense against men is not always focused on strangers, but, more often than not, an attacker is someone the woman knows. Before making the attack, the person usually stalks the woman to find out her habits and where she is the most vulnerable.

It is therefore a good idea to change your route frequently if you jog or walk for exercise. Be on the lookout for people who are watching your activities and make sure that you are aware of potential dangers. Like fire drills, women’s self-defense calls for identifying potential danger spots, so, as you go through your day, look for those places where a person can easily intrude.

Actually, the non-stranger attacker doesn’t do a multiple day reconnaissance and surveillance, but rather becomes “familiar” and exploits a convenient vulnerability. This isn’t a guy hiding in the bushes with a spotting scope and a notebook. This is the guy she lets carry her groceries because he lives across the street.

Many strategies for women’s self-defense against men include some kind of martial arts training. Although many critics complain that techniques learned in classes can not be adapted well to the street, martial arts give women strength and confidence to be able to ward off an attacker.

The rest of the article goes on to try and sell a number of different martial arts without an real knowledge or analysis. The whole article is just a little bit of fear-based marketing copy designed to pad someones website and sell pepper spray disguised as lipstick or a block of Tae Kwon Do classes.

So why am I bothering to call this out? Because there are a lot of people who have a scary experience, throw a few keywords at google, and end up buying a stun gun (that doesn’t work) or enroll in some less than reputable martial arts class for a couple of weeks.

Paranoia

Posted by Mostly Genius – May 29, 2009

The people who do not recognize an urgency for self-defense preparation like to throw around the word, without really knowing what it means:

Suspicion and mistrust of people or their actions without evidence or justification.

Truthfully, everyone accepts that a certain level of preparation is relevant and necessary, but people disagree on where the line is to be drawn. Ironically it is the under prepared that think they have all the answers because they don’t understand the scope of the problem. I see a lot of people try to use statistical arguments for their lack of preparedness:

“Getting attacked by a serial killer has pretty low statistical probability, therefore no preparation is required.”

The corollary to this reasoning is that if you are unlucky enough to be attacked by a serial killer then you are just dead. It ignores the fact that the skills and equipment necessary to thwart the serial killer are useful in situations at occur more frequently. It also ignores that situations evolve and escalate. The application of single finger salute in a parking dispute can transform an irritation into a deadly force encounter.

The position of the defender is always reactionary. To my way of thinking we don’t really get to make a lot of choices because the actions of the aggressor dictates what our responses will be. If the assailant poses an immediate deadly threat, we don’t have a lot of options: run, fight, or die. My suspicion and mistrust of people is based upon the simple fact that many people in our society do not have our best interests at heart, are willing to do us harm to further their own ends, and people really do get killed. Having the will to succeed, a plan to do so, and the training and equipment to ensure success is not paranoia, it’s prudence.

Mental Conditioning for Self Defense

Posted by Mostly Genius – April 27, 2009

The term ‘Mindset’ gets thrown around a lot in the self-defense and training community, and a lot of people don’t really understand it or articulate it well. Many of the “Survivor Mindset” and “Warrior Mindset” proponents talk about mental attributes as if they were bolt-on parts and once fully kitted out you will be ready. I would argue that it is a little more complicated than that.

Disregard the irrelevant. Mindset is less about adding attributes than it is about stripping away the irrelevant. Most of our daily lives are spent focusing on things that don’t really matter. Paying the rent seems really important, unless you put it up against something like breathing. Embarrassment, fear, and other emotions are just that – emotions. Get back to thinking about the mechanics of the situation.

Make a decision and execute. The earlier you begin to take action the better.

There aren’t any rules. People are hampered in real self defense scenarios by the rules we normally live by. They don’t realize that all doors marked ‘employees only’ are now available for their use. They don’t see the sidewalk as drivable terrain, or that stoplights are simply suggestions in an emergency. They are conditioned by the rules that we live under to a point of mental paralysis.

Take action. Many victims reach a point in the encounter where they quit. As soon as they are emotionally and mentally overwhelmed they curl up on the ground in an instinctive surrender posture. This leaves all of the decision making up to the assailant. Make a decision and execute. The earlier you begin to take action the better.

Discard and run. Unless it would mean abandoning someone you care about, focus your efforts on getting out. If that means breaking things then do so. If that means leaving behind stuff, then that stuff can be replaced later. Make sure that anything you need for your escape is on your person (car keys, cellphone, etc.) because you might not have the luxury of rummaging for it.

Make the assailant fear for his safety. If you are fixed in a location because running didn’t work or wasn’t viable then fight. Fight dirty. Use whatever is a hand. Environmental weapons are not only things you can hit the attacker with, but things you can hit with the attacker. Shove him into traffic, slam him in a door, throw a chair. Improvised weapons aren’t a very good substitute for real weapons, but can be better than nothing.

Spend no time thinking about losing. Losing is what was happening before you started doing something. Even if the assailant is tough enough to beat you, he might not be committed enough to continue after he his hurt. Statistically people who fight back have better outcomes than the people who quit.