Self Defense For The Rest Of Us

Bash and Dash Training: Self-Defense for the Rest of Us

"Bash and dash" is the concept that when we find ourselves in a bad situation we strike first, then run away. It's imperative that your bash be effective enough to give you time to dash.
Here are eight proven bashes that just about everyone can do.

1. The Eye Jab: The goal here is to get your fingers in their eyes.
The preferred technique is a slight backhand with fingers together. Relax and flick, like shooing a fly away. Remember: You want to get your fingers in their eyes.

2. The Step (oblique) Kick: The goal here is to get the instep of your back leg into the shin or knee of the bad guy. The preferred technique is to step into the bad guy's leg, targeting the shin with your instep. Step hard.

3. The Scoop (groin) Kick: The goal here is to get your foot in their groin. The preferred method is a kick in a scooping motion. In other words, go in with the top of your foot underneath the groin, then kick up hard.

4. The Ear Slap: The goal is to slap the bad guy in the ear with a cupped hand. The preferred method is to do just that: Slap the ear with a cupped hand. This is simple and effective.

5. The Knee Kick: The goal is to drive the tip of your knee into the bad guy's groin or thigh. The preferred method is to thrust your hips forward, not up, when you bring your knee to the target. This generates more power.

6. The Head Butt: The goal is to drive the top of your head into your attacker's face. The preferred method is to bend your knees, tuck in your chin and drive the top of your head into the attacker's face. If you are grabbed from behind, drive the back of your head into your attacker's face by snapping your head back.

7. The Elbow: The goal is to rake the tip of the elbow across your attacker's face. The preferred technique is a raking motion, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally across your attacker's face.

8. The Bite: The goal is to get space by biting any available flesh. The preferred method is the same as the goal. This is especially effective against the headlock.

I numbered these moves for a reason. After you get the basics of each move, start putting them together in combination. For example do the 2-1 combination. Do the step kick and follow it up with the eye jab. You get the idea.

You may have noticed that these moves are meant to be done at a certain range. When people fight or attack, it's usually from a kicking or punching range, or they'll try to grab you from the grappling range.

The eight basic moves are to be used in what's called the trapping range: too close for punching or standard kicking, but still out of grappling range. A guy named Bruce Lee was quite effective from the trapping range. You can be, too.

If you would like to see these moves demonstrated, check out Street Safe. This DVD not only demonstrates these moves, but also shows training techniques and real-life scenarios for their use.

Finally, power comes from the hips in most of these moves. Get your hips turning to generate some extra power. attackmenot.com

Should I be Selling Pizzas?

I want you to go to a mirror and make a mean face. Come on, now: mean face. Growl, snarl, tell me, without using words, that you mean business! Pound your chest, guys. Ladies, do one of those nasty hand gestures. Holler, scream, make me go away. OK, some of you! Great -- some, OK, and some, well, nice try.

My point is that we all have a certain level of aggression we're comfortable displaying or even mustering. No big deal. We're all different. I just read a story in the paper about a pizza delivery guy in Tampa who, when confronted with an armed robber, threw his pizzas at the guy and hauled butt. He was shot at but the guy missed. Wow! That's guts, I thought. How would I have reacted?

I'm sure I'd have coughed up the cash and played it from there. Or would I have? I really think each situation is different and our reaction could also be different in each situation.

I wish there were an easy formula that could fit all of us. Hey, you're this, so you're a pepper spray. You act like this, so here's a stun gun for you. Hmm, soccer mom, must be a Taser.

But that's not how it works.

Here's my take and what my website has to offer: First, the Paul Vunak video will teach you eight simple moves that will absolutely surprise the heck out of anyone threatening you. No weapons, no special training, no muss no fuss. I don't know why more people don't learn these simple moves.

OK, so you're a non-aggressive soul. That's fine but that doesn't mean "victim." Get a personal alarm and after you get it, make sure everyone you know knows exactly what it sounds like and to come running when they hear it. This has worked since the dawn of time.

And all points in between.

Self Defense Products work, but so do hot pizzas hurled in a fury. Pepper sprays, stun guns, Tasers, learning some simple but effective self-defense moves, all work. Being safe starts with an awareness of your surroundings and having a plan when the "boink" hits the fan. Then, choose your weapon or weapons. Get good and practice defending yourself. And hats off to the pizza man.

The Zen Of Pepper Spray

OK, where is it? What did you do with it? Is it in the junk drawer, under the car seat, or maybe it's in laundry-hamper purgatory. I'm talking about your pepper spray. You were serious when you bought it a few months ago, but for some reason you are no longer "on alert."

Wrong!

Pepper Spray is a serious and effective non-lethal self-defense weapon that's easy to carry and use. So, if you have some, go find it and rekindle that relationship. If you don't have any, get some. It's cheap.

I'm going to teach you some Pepper Spray 101. It's not rocket science.

Ever touch a jalepeno pepper and rub your eyes? Multiply that times a zillion and that's pepper spray. Pepper spray is an inflammatory agent. Here's what happens: Eyes clamp shut; dilating capillaries cause temporary blindness; lungs become inflamed, causing uncontrollable coughing, which restricts all but minimal breathing. You get the picture. The stuff works.

Pepper spray is sometimes called OC (oleoresin capsicum) spray. Its strength is measured in Scoville units. For comparison, consider that a Scotch Bonnet pepper is rated at about 300,000 Scoville units. Most pepper sprays are between 1 million and 3 million -- yes, million -- Scoville units. In other words, OUCH!

No matter which size Pepper Spray, or what type spray pattern, one thing is crucial: You need to hit your target in the face. In the face -- in the face -- in the face! Got that?

Pepper Spray does you no good at the bottom of your purse or anywhere you can't get to it quickly -- and I mean quickly. Keychain models are popular for this reason. So, practice getting to your spray quickly, wherever you like to carry it. Yes, I said practice.

When you feel threatened or sense a problem , get ready, but don't "show" the spray too quickly. Your actions should be determined by the threat you feel.

When it's time to shoot, your object is to surprise and STOP your target. Get into a slight crouch, if possible. Put out your non-shooting hand and shout "Stop!" loudly. Bring the spray to eye level, about 10 inches or so in front of your chin, and aim for the face and head. Practice this, too. Yes, again, practice.

Now, get out of there! That's the whole point of Pepper Spray. YOU NEED TO GO! MOVE! NOW! No sympathy is allowed either. They'll be fine. It's not lethal.

That's the textbook version. Practice scenarios in your mind or with a partner. Yes, I said practice. You'll then be competent and confident with Pepper Spray and you'll always want to have it nearby.

So, next time I ask you "Where is it?" show me, quickly. Just please don't spray me.

Police Blotter Tells Us The Story

In my daily paper there is a page called the Police Blotter that lists the crimes in my area.  I read this to give me an idea of what's going on crime-wise in my neighborhood, as in: Are there any trends?  Are home burglaries on the rise? Are purse-snatchings increasing? Are car thieves having a field day?

What always grabs my attention, though, is the number of property crimes with unforced entries.  People who didn't bother to lock their doors or widows in their homes or cars are amazingly plentiful. 

Why give thieves a helping hand?

Ok, I'll cut some of them some slack.  December is free-air-conditioning month in South Florida.  So, yes, I understand a little.  However, I have a hard time understanding people who leave their cars unlocked.  

The feelings you have knowing someone has been in your house or car, going through your stuff and taking your things is extremely traumatic. The easiest way to prevent that experience is to lock your doors and windows.  You say, "duh,"  but I'm telling you, my police blotter has unforced entries daily.

These days, even modest homes have alarms with monitoring services.  If you can afford it, they are worth every penny.  If you can't afford a monitored home alarm or you don't want to bother having one installed there is another option.  

MACE, a trusted  U.S. company, makes a great product called the Mace Wireless Home Security System.  For less than $140 you can protect your house, apartment, condo or place of business reasonably well.

The system does the same as any other professional home alarm, but instead of calling a monitoring company, it will call up to five numbers you program yourself.  It's wireless, so if you can hang a picture , you can install this system.

Still too pricey?  I understand.  Get the stripped-down version of the Mace system called the AUTODIALER.  For $40 you get a motion detector that dials five preset numbers that you choose.

I don't want anyone to experience the trauma of being burglarized.  So, try to remember to lock your doors and windows.  Go that extra step and try the Mace Wireless Home Security System or at least try the Autodialer.  These are small investments for huge peace of mind.

When is a stun gun not a stun gun?

The pedigree of the stun gun is the good old cattle prod.  

But this "touch-to-shock" technology would soon be popular with the military, law enforcement, airlines and even mail carriers.  Ironically, though called a stun gun these devices did not shoot anything,  which is precisely why these institutions were interested: no bullets flying around. 

In the early 1970s, entrepreneurs made the first mass-produced stun guns and marketed them to the public as self-defense weapons.  The technology for stun guns today is still "touch-to-shock."  In other words, for them to work, stun guns must physically contact the subjects.  Stun guns certainly do work, but you must be very close to your target.

Enter,  Thomas A Swift's Electric Rifle, or TASER, whose pedigree is quite different than its stun-gun cousin.  The TASER was named and developed in 1969 by Jack Cover, a NASA researcher. 

The TASER fires two small dart electrodes attached to the gun by wires.  Then, a carefully designed series of electrical pulses brings down the subject long enough for you to flee.  

TASER International is the company that manufactures the TASER today and there are several models.  TASER made the C2 model specifically for Joe and Josephine Q. Public (civilians). It has a range of 15 feet.  

So, when is a stun gun not a stun gun?  Well, when it's a TASER.