PROTECT YOURSELF: BUILD A BETTER MONSTER
Invariably, when we’re giving instructions on how to protect yourself, we get questions along the lines of: “Okay, I get all that violence stuff — but what if he’s bigger/faster/stronger and has a knife/stick/gun/three guns?” That’s a great question. Or it would be if that were what they really meant. More often than not, people […]
SELF PROTECTION: NATURE OR NURTURE?
I was recently asked how I go about helping the passive and meek develop the intent to cause injury. This opens up an interesting debate about whether self protection is nature or nurture… Is intent innate, or can it be taught and learned? There’s evidence for both sides. The most unlikely people become human demolition […]
SELF DEFENSE MINDSET: WHAT IS YOUR LIFE WORTH?
Think about your self defense mindset. When it comes to fighting to the death or living, what is your life worth to you? Your car? Your cell phone? The contents of your wallet? Twenty bucks? Everybody’s going to have a different answer, and if you don’t already have one you should try to figure out […]
BUT I DON’T WANT TO KILL ANYONE!
I was recently reading an article on personal self defense in which the author was speaking of violence as though you could pick and choose the level of seriousness of the interaction. If he’s a little more serious, then so are you—and if he wants to kill you, well, that’s the only time you’re going […]
MULTIPLE ATTACKERS SELF DEFENSE: PART TWO
The three problems inherent in all multiple attackers self defense situations are seemingly insurmountable. There’s only one of you and a bunch of them. If you go after one guy, the rest just dog-pile you; and you’re stuck in the middle having to pay attention to the 360 degrees around you while they only have […]
THE SELF DEFENSE PARADOX: IF YOU WANT A TRULY PEACEFUL LIFE, THEN TRAIN VIOLENCE.
As an instructor I see myself purely as a technician in possession of certain technical information that may or may not be useful—that’s for the client to decide. I prefer this perspective as it’s simple and straightforward—I just want you to step in and do what you’re afraid he’s going to do to you. To […]
USING VIOLENCE: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES
When we see an act of someone using violence, we feel it in our guts. Our eyes turn to the hapless victim, desperately trying to defend himself, and a part of us is there, suffering with him. This is what sane, socialized people experience when they see violence: Empathy. We can imagine the pain and […]
SELF DEFENSE TECHNIQUE: BUILD YOUR TARGET MAP
Nate R. writes: “I’ve been to multiple TFT self-defense seminars. One aspect of training that wasn’t covered in any of the seminars I attended was darkness. Violence: muggings, rape, murder, etc., often happen in darkness. If the aim of TFT is to ready those who spend money and time on it to learn to be […]
VIOLENCE & KISS (OR KILL IT SIMPLY, STUPID)
Violence is simple. How simple is it? We can answer that with two more questions: How can untrained people prevail? How is it that untrained people can prevail over trained people? Because for all their blissful naïveté, the victorious untrained have a firm grip on the tool of violence. This fact stands because violence is […]
A FIREARM ISN’T EVERYTHING
The handgun is one of the most powerful personal tools for the taking of human life. But it’s not foolproof. It is a tool that can aid in the defense of your life, but that doesn’t mean it will save your life. As an external device, it has several inherent disadvantages, which are magnified […]