Ugh. I knew this would happen...

Someone finally got raped in the "Occupy Baltimore" camp.

This is probably the only post I'll make about Occupy [YourCityHere]

...Seriously? This has to be fake, right?

Apparently not. This is disgusting.



h/t to MikeW.

You know what makes me sick?

It isn't the fact that "flash mobs" are now organizing to steal things from stores. It's not even the fact that this is happening in Maryland.

No, it's the fact that the police don't care enough to investigate. How, exactly, do they think dismissing this incident is acceptable?

Confidence or Stupidity?

A video that Breda posted with a posed question about firearms raised several other concerns from Weer'd , SaysUncle and Mike about the particular training observed in the video. These concerns specifically addressed how the training is bad advice and ineffective. I'll go farther and say it's stupid, misleading, and will probably get someone seriously hurt or killed.

I've met countless women that tell me they feel more confident after taking a self-defense class or tae-bo class at their local gym. I tend to ask what they learned and why they feel more confident. The most common answer is, "because I feel like I can defend myself." I usually say something to the effect of, "no you can't, but if you'd like to practice the techniques or learn some new ones I'd be happy to work with you." That reply almost always incites RiotGrrl bravado about empowerment or, "I know some stuff now and I don't have time to practice more." Both answers illustrate why this type of training is bad; it gives people confidence in nothing. It takes long hard practice to get proficient at self defense of any kind, much less unarmed self defense. This is usually the part of the conversation where I get uncomfortable. I am torn between feeling like a preachy, lecturing asshole and feeling like if I'm not, this person is not going to realize that what they learned is only going to get them seriously injured or killed. "I know, but wait!" you say, "You were already an asshole with what you said before." I just can't help that initial reaction. Before you judge me, though, let me tell you an interesting story and take from it what you want.

I have a background in martial arts and I've had several instructors, but one in particular was entirely different from the usual sort of instructor. He was in fact a little strange and mysterious. For this story I'll call him Bob. Bob was a very good instructor and teacher and he knew the techniques very well like the other instructors, but after he taught you something he would say, "So how do you think you'd actually use that technique in a self defense situation? Let me show you." He would then start a sparring match with someone in the the class and emphasize the usefulness (or lack) of a particular technique in a real world situation. This truly was odd. Other instructors would show you techniques and how they worked accepting that they were good, but they'd never make you prove it nor point out their weaknesses. This really set Bob apart. He was also mysterious in discussing his past experience outside of class, yet if you ever saw him fight or move through techniques you knew he was good and seemed to have a lot of experience fighting. He really looked like he knew what he was doing.

In our class Bob had a star pupil - I'll call him Dan. Dan was very good: he held 3 black belts in various disciplines and obtained the last one by embarrassing a higher level figher so badly in a tournament that he was promoted on the spot. This guy wanted to be a martial artist. He wanted his own Dojo and did nothing but practice and teach on the side to make extra money. He was fantastic to watch in action. Dan is a very nice guy and was a great assistant instructor, but once in a while - usually after a tournament - he'd get a little cocky. Bob would pick up on this in the following classes and arrange a little match.

While Dan was Bob's star pupil, I was his favorite demonstrator model. This led to me obtaining many aches and pains and bruises but I also learned a lot. I guess it was because I was the biggest guy in class, and hey if you can do it to him it just might work.

So Bob's match would be set up between Dan and I. Bob would say, "I just want to see what you guys can do." I'd like to point out that at this time Dan had 3 black belts and about 8 years of constant experience, and was about 5'10 and weighed about 165 or so. I had no black belts and about 2 yrs experience. I was good, but also nowhere near the level of Dan's technique. I was about 6'4 and 250. So we'd suit up and go not quite full contact. I'd catch a lot of punches and kicks in the face and body usually, but eventually I'd get close to him and we'd lock up. When that happened 7 times out of 10 I'd get Dan into a position where he'd have to give up or risk serious injury. How could I possibly beat this guy? The answer is simple: the size difference gave me the advantage. He was in great shape, had all of the technique and practice, but the leverage and mass of my size with a little bit of knowledge allowed me to win. Not that I didn't pay for it, mind you. As Bob would always say, "No one ever wins a fight, there's only degrees of losing." That was indeed the case after our battles.

After a few matches Dan finally picked up on what Bob was trying to teach him and his after match cockiness went away. We did continue our bouts so we could get better and the more matches we had, the more the outcome would favor Dan. He adapted, he pulled techniques I had never seen and he got smarter about his fighing. He had to practice very hard to even out the size difference and it took a lot of trial and error and time. The initial outcomes were not flukes - it was purely due to the difference in size and weight. Keep in mind that this was a pair of guys who weren't really trying to injure, maim, rape, or kill each other. Think about that when your self defence confidence is high after your hour long class. How well do you think you stack up to a guy with 3 black belts and 8 year experience against an attacker twice your size with real intent to hurt you?

I'm not against training and technique, but make sure you don't kid yourself as to your effectiveness. Please think about this.

Self defense redux.

Back in February, I posted this.  Today, I had a situation reaffirm what I discussed in that post.

This morning was bad shortly after I woke up.  I got up late, had cat mess to clean up, was distracted, left the pepper spray and belt knife upstairs.

By the time I hit the highway, I realized I wouldn't just be late...I would be RIDICULOUSLY late.  Highway was backed up for at least a couple of miles.  Insert groan here.

By the time I neared work, I realized I'd forgotten to pack food...so I stopped at the grocery store nearest my office.  I have done this so many times before it's nearly second nature - pull in, grab food, pay, go.  It usually takes me 5 minutes, tops.

Today, however, something was definitely off.  Someone was following me around the store.  He was a white male, about 6'2" tall, maybe 200 lbs.  He apparently decided I was interesting, and decided to follow me around the store.  The guy didn't look at anything or anyone but me.  By the time I was midway through the store, I was fed up - screamed at him to get the hell away from me.  He took off running, and I completed my shopping.  Turns out, the guy was waiting for me on his scooter outside the door.  He waited until I exited the store to start his scooter.  I screamed at him again and called the police - fortunately, at that point he took off.

So, in summation: idiot decides I'm a tasty morsel of cowflesh.  I prevent him from doing anything.  I'm safe and at work, and he's...who-knows-where.  The police never showed up (which isn't surprising, really, in this town) and no one in the store reacted.  I'm angry with myself for leaving home the two things I own for situations just like this, but I'll be more vigilant tomorrow.  At least I HAVE a tomorrow.  At least I know that if someone tries to sneak up on me, it's like sneaking up on a goose - I'll be noisy and defensive, even when I'm not quite awake.  Hooray for gut reactions actually being appropriate.

At least I'm alright.  If the guy had a gun and decided to use it, however, I wouldn't be...and because the police didn't bother to show, I lack any sort of real record of this incident.  Not that it would be enough to get me a carry permit anyway...

Quote of the day

MikeW shared his opinions of the intolerance the anti-gun crowd shows those with limited/reduced mobility:

If you only have one leg how the hell are you supposed to run away?  If you're wheelchair bound how are you supposed to duke it out with someone ablebodied?  Anti-gunners don't care.  In their world perhaps Americans with physical impediments don't exist or don't matter, but in the real world those people are frequently victimized.

Read the whole thing.

QOTD - self defense for women IS NOT something to be ignored!

Women must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself. - Susan B. Anthony, July 1871

This is something that I found awhile back, and it struck a chord in me.

For some reason, women just aren't taught the basics of self-defense anymore.  We simply expect the police to protect us, and SURELY nothing bad will ever happen to us.  When I was a kid, I was told to carry a whistle and scream fire (because no one responds to "HELP" anymore), and the nice policemen would come to my rescue every time.  I honestly believed this until I was attacked in my own backyard.  No one came to my rescue...and it was a huge slap in the face to everything I believed until that point.  It planted the seed that eventually grew into my ownership of first knives, then a firearm.

It makes me wonder, though, why women are (with occasional exceptions) generally reluctant to protect themselves.  Is it because we're so reliant on the men in our lives?  Every time the discussion of self defense is brought up outside the gun-friendly circles, women usually say "I just want to take a women's self-defense class, and maybe carry pepper spray."  Pepper spray is useless unless one knows how to use it...and even then, there's a good chance pepper spray will only enrage an attacker further, rather than disarm them.  I can say with absolute certainty that basic self-defense classes geared toward women is NOT the best idea.  They show very limited methods of defending oneself - it’s usually a one-day class, and they teach things men have learned to avoid/defend against since childhood.  These classes give no opportunity to practice skills learned, so they’re generally forgotten quickly.  Effective defense techniques develop over time, not in one day.  

Jennifer posted an article this week that reinforces where we've gone wrong.  In Oklahoma City, a woman was attacked IN A PUBLIC HOTEL BATHROOM.  That it happened is horrible, but we discover that she opted not to carry any form of protection on her person.  She relied on someone else hearing her screams to come and save her.  As this proves, relying on other people just plain doesn't work.  He raped her and got away (only to be caught later, though he has not yet been charged…).  If she had at least had proper training on how to get out of that situation, she may have saved herself the trauma and anguish of being raped.

Now, I know the majority of my readers are gun-friendly.  Many of you have the right to carry in your home state and choose to take advantage of that right.  I applaud you for this.  Carrying a knife is another valid option in many areas (but not all...check local laws).  If you can carry some sort of weapon, please do so.  Get proper training, get comfortable with your weapon of choice, and carry it at all times.  It might mean the difference between life and death, and I’d like to see you living, thanks.  

That said, I also recognize there are people reading this blog who are either not friendly toward weapons or live in areas where it's not legal to carry any sort of gun or blade.  I know some of you assume you live in a safe area or that your husband/boyfriend/friends will be there to help you out of a bad situation, but this isn't the right way to look at it.  Personal responsibility is key here - you have to be able to take care of yourself.  When I was attacked, I lived in a great neighborhood.  As I found out firsthand, there can be a criminal element anywhere people choose to live.  You need to be able to rely on yourself to survive if a situation threatens your safety and no one else is around.  Throwing a punch without any real strength behind it, scratching someone in the face, or screaming at the top of your lungs just plain isn’t going to cut it.  Your attacker WILL overpower you, and people WILL ignore your screams.  It’s become commonplace to avoid conflict, even if someone is obviously getting hurt.

Chris started to teach me to Box, and it showed me that most people don't know how to fight.  In just one session I learned the difference between "self protection" and actually knocking an attacker off guard.  It was enlightening, but I only learned a basic punch.  I will need many more lessons to be effective.  It reinforced the ineffectiveness of those “self defense” classes - it’s been a few weeks, and I haven’t really practiced.  I think I remember what Chris showed me.  I need more time in the gloves to really commit what he showed me to memory...and a lot more time for it to become instinctual.  I realized there’s so much more to defending oneself; how to evade a hit, learning balance points and basic body mechanics, and learning how to use one’s body as a tool are all important to the success of defending oneself in an altercation.  Poking someone in the eyes MAY work, but only if the potential victim has the use of her hands AND if the attacker is inept and off his guard.  Throwing a punch PROPERLY - involving the techniques I just listed - gives the victim a far better chance of getting away.

Please, ladies…do this for you.  Protect yourself from harm.  As that article shows, danger doesn’t just stick to the bad parts of town – it will show up where you least expect it, and usually when no one else can or will help you.