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“One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards”-Oscar Wilde
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People often ask me for the best way to “protect” them in some imagined criminal assault.
They want me to respond by giving some perfect technique that handles their particular imagined scenario.
They’re often disappointed at first when I don’t respond the way they want me to answer their question. They don’t like to hear the truth — that violence is random and thinking only in terms of “techniques” to use against a random act is a good way to get you killed.
The problem with practically everyone’s approach to dealing with violence is not that they’re incapable of learning techniques.
It’s that they don’t understand this way of responding to violence — real asocial, maim, cripple, or “kill you now” violence — is seriously flawed.
That’s because when it comes to violence, we (meaning you and me, the productive, law-abiding members of society) live lives of ASSUMED CONSTRAINTS.
We are taught early on by parents, teachers, and our legal system that if we want the benefits of living in a society like ours then we need to constrain our violent impulses when things don’t go our way.
And obviously, this is a very good thing.
It’s the reason you don’t kill the obnoxious jerk that steals your parking place, you wait patiently for the light to turn green at an intersection, and you don’t shoot the neighbors Labrador for digging up your rose garden.
When it comes to the subject of violence, we are controlled by society much like circus elephants are controlled by their handlers.
These trainers know the most reliable way to handle an elephant is to “condition” it when it is very young.
They put a shackle on the baby elephant’s leg with a short chain that is held in the ground by a very long spike. The baby elephant tugs at the chain attempting to break free.
After a short while the elephant breaks the skin around the shackled leg and gives up. But the pain of attempting to break free is never forgotten.
Later on, that same method is used to control the now fully-grown elephant, even though the adult beast could pull the spike free with no more effort than you and I use to remove a thumbtack from a corkboard.
And the same approach is taken with all productive members of society regarding the tool of violence.
We are “shackled” at a very young age — first at home, later in ours schools, and finally at our workplaces.
When faced with violence, most of us respond SOCIALLY.
We attempt to communicate with our attacker in hopes of avoiding the use of violence. We may threaten to use this tool but we really don’t want to since that shackle is still firmly attached.
The sad part of ASSUMED CONSTRAINTS is that most martial arts, combat sports, and, yes, even most “reality fighting systems” teach you to respond — WHILE STILL SHACKLED!
It doesn’t work.
I learned long ago the first order of business is to teach my clients how easy it is to break those ASSUMED CONSTRAINTS when the threat warrants such an approach.
Because the real threat to society is when we run up against some “rogue elephant” that has never been “shackled” and has no problem using violence to get what he wants. And imagine how easy it is to fight someone if they have their leg shackled.
Remember first and foremost — violence is rarely the answer to most situations, but when it is the answer, it’s the ONLY answer.
Once you understood that (and as a reader of this newsletter you have heard me say it numerous times) you then must be able to rip off those ASSUMED CONSTRAINTS and free yourself so you can utilize the tool of violence when required.
I can assure you the methods and principles taught in TFT Live Seminars and our various other products do EXACTLY that, allowing you your best chance to survive an asocial, violent threat.
Take some time to digest this message, read through it again — then look within to see if you can truly break free from your “shackle” if the need arises.
If you’re not sure — really sure — then get some help to do this because you don’t want to discover those shackles are intact with a 9mm pressed against your ribcage.
Until next time,
Tim Larkin
Master Close-Combat Instructor,
Creator of Target Focus(TM) Training
PPS. Our live training seminars “Surviving The Most Critical 5 Seconds Of Your Life” show you how to rip off the shackles that leave you unable to act in a life-threatening situation. Imagine living your life without fear. That’s what this class gives you. The next one is in New York City, July 22-24. This is the ONLY session on the east coast this year so you want to register for this event now. It’s a terrific time to see the city with some good rates on hotels and airfares. Be sure to take advantage of attending with a guest — the second person gets in for only $450, a super deal. But only two of these guest packages remain for this training so click on this link now: http://targetfocustraining.com/livetraining.
