MIDDLESEX SCHOOL OF COMMANDO KRAV MAGA

The following will eventually form part of a larger work covering, self defence techniques, self-defence and the law and personal safety strategies.  The following is inculded in this website to provide some useful pointers to personal safety.

AVOIDANCE

Obviously avoid being alone late at night in dangerous areas, even if in a group of people you can still get trouble in some places during daytime as well as night;  It can happen in good areas too, so the statement of the obvious isn't that useful in these circumstances.  Sometimes there's some stuff worth seeing and doing in dodgy areas so you have to go there, the following provides some tips re: avoiding trouble beyond the obvious.

1. Look Confident

This can be tough but human predators are just like their counterparts, in the animal world: they'll pick on a target they believe to be easy prey.  You look confident by,

• walking purposefully with your head held high, observing that which is happening around you
• having smart and tidy clothes and an all-round neat appearnace, these make you appear more powerful and less victim-like to a potential attacker.
• wearing black or very dark clothes: in our culture people associate black with power, confidence and a litlle bit of danger: this goes for predators too and can help put them off.

If you're not a naturally confident person - and many of you reading this are not - the above can be very difficult.  I get annoyed with self-defence manuals that  recite and talk of the mantras about string, self-confident bearing without giving any indication as to how you can achieve a convincing imitation of this whilst being actually pretty scared.

some suggestions follow;

• Get to a good self-defence school where you can pick up some tips early on about defending yourself.
• Look for a good suportive instructor who encourages rather then gets off by telling the class they're not very good.
• When you're out, think about successes you've had in the class, how you knocked that big guy holding the pad back on his heels with a single punch, how the perfectly executed groin-kick would have put the other guy down if you hadn't pulled it at the last minute, how you got up off the ground when they were trying to keep you there.
• Before you take up any challenge, whether it be doing an exam, a presentation or walking down the street unmolested, think about anything that makes you feel good about yourself, either good things that you have done and are proud of, or of these people that love you and value you as a person.  Every decent person has a very important value to every other decent person; you are one of those people so be aware of it, feel it show it, and you wil greatly reduce the chance of your being a victim.

2. Street Positioning and Strategy

Walk on the outside of the pavement, less chance of opportunist attacker grabbing you and pinning you to a wall.  Also re flight from this position, the road offers an option albeit a dangerous one.  Run along the side of the trafic, first rather than, straight into it, shout and try to attract motorists' attention, when you see the chance, try to cross the road.  An attacker is unlikely to pursue in these circumstances.

Give corners a wide berth, whether you are on the street or in a multi-storey car park, walk around corners as far away from them as you can.

On public transport, either stand or get an aisle seat near the exit; if trouble, walks onto your carriage in any form change carriages as soon as you can.  On a bus move away as best you can this is easier if you stand near an exit or sit by the aisle.

3. Don't Give them an Excuse

Be aware and be observant but avoid eye-contact with the people passing you, some young guys - particularly those with drink inside them - can take eye-contact as a challenge.  If you walk past a crowd and some of them give you lip or jostle you slightly, don't stop to give them your best one-liner riposte or jostle them back.  Keep on walking briskly forward in an untroubled fashion.  It can be very had to do this, particularly for men, but what is the point of having to go back?  You run far more chance this way of ending up in a phisical confrontation, you'll probably be outnumbered and fighting of any type is dangerous-only do it if you have to!  So what if some low-life thinks he's put one over you?  He has nothing on his life - don't endanger your safety for his sake.  (I'm assuming all potential attackers are male here, I realise that this is not 100% true but the vast majorit of them are, so for ease of expression I will continue with this.)

4. Develop your Verbal Skills

There's normally some verbal preamble to most confromtations so practice accordingly - for example,  handle a knife attacker shouting at you pratice a self-defence style like Commando Krav Maga which teaches this specifically.  In general it's good to have some phrases in the arsenal which break the assailant's script

Attackers often have a certain verbal scenario in their head such as:

"you looking at me you ****?"

"you want a ******* photo?"

"I'm going to ******* do you ....!"

You can break the script by askng something absurd such as  "what's your favourite form of sherry, dry or sweet?"  in the split second that gives you can hit them with a pre-emptive strike and run away or begin to make good escape straight away.  (Re pre-emptive strikes, this document is not about techniques but one doing so will follow soon.)  Have replies ready to questions such as "what you looking at?" which won't escalate the situation.  Something like "I'm sorry I thought I was staring into space, apologies if I caught your eye" delivered with a firm confident voice can help.  If the guy still wants to fight he'll carry on, here you need to get into the "fence" stance which I will talk about in the next document and is not quite part of what I teach.

5. Don't be left Incommunicado or Isolated.

The following points are very important:

• Carry spare mobile and/or a working phone card, next to your skin if possible (not in a handbag if your a lady)
• Memorise the number of your local trusted cab firm and if you're away form home, make sure you pick up the local firm's number and keep it close to your skin (not in a handbag if your a lady)
• Male sure at least one contactable person knows where you are going and knows when to raise the alarm if you're not back by a certain time.  In the real world not all of us are wholly honest with people around us re what we are doing - this can be dangerous, make sure at least one trusted person knows where you are and when you're supposed to be back.

People often get in real trouble if they become isolated for any reason and vunerable to all kinds of dangerous people - make sure you have an escape route.  This applies particularly to women who have had their handbag stolen, hence the emphasis above on keeping spare communication devices next to your skin.  Buy a travellers money belt and store spare cash and communication devices in there.

6. Have a Password

Sounds dramtic but if you're in an extreme position and are not able to speak freely if somebody contacts you, have a password or phrase such as "my knee still hurts" which allerts that person that something is wrong.  May sound a bit like the movies but no harm in having one as grim things do happen and not just to ther people.

7. Cash Points

Take your cash out during the day when it's nice and busy around the cash point.  Try and avoid using cash points in dangerous areas, pay for your round by card if you need to.  If you must use them, check the surrounding area before you go to them, have your everyday weapon ready (see below) and get in and out very quickly.  Best to have spare cash always available next to your skin (see below).

This is not a manual for fighting skills or techniques so the following just gives advice in how to get out without getting hurt or damaged.

1. Hand something over then run.

Many schools recommend a good loud  scream in the mugger's face once you know you're under threat and then hit them and run or just hit them.  This might work for some people but not for eveyone nor does it work in all circumstances.  I much prefer the following: carry readily available, a purse or wallet with some coins in, some notes, preferably foreign, and an old mbile phone.  Throw this to one side of the attacker, and say "there, have it" and run hard the other direction, scream lodly then by all means, hopefully he'll pick up the purse and then run off away form you.  Some people recommend full co-operation with street robbers but bear in mind that more and more attacks these days are accompanied by violence even after a successful theft: it's a judgment call given the circumstances but I would recommend that, unless wholly impossible, get away from the situation as soon as possible

2. If taken down or grabbed, struggle like hell.

Various figures are quoted, but in general it is believed that about 70% of women who struggle violently against potential rapists avoid that hideous assault.  Most of these ladies have had no formal training, they've just gone for it, made a lot of noise, bit, scratched etc.  Obviously it's good if you have a self-defence background to fall back on in these circumstances but even it you haven't, fight back to give yourself a chance.

3. Finally, learn to use everyday objects as weapons.

Minimal training is necessary to make the following effective.  Carry readily available - maybe in the emergency purse or wallet described above - a string biro which has run out so you can expose the nib, putting this thorugh someone's eyeball will ensure that they do not chase you for a while.  A credit card in two with a serrated edge is a very useful weapon if applied with a hooking strike to the carotid artery on the side of the neck (but only if you live in a jurisdiction in which you are allowed to carry something like this.) a set of keys is OK to use but nothing like as traumatic to an agressor as the pen nib and credit card.