Category Self Defense

The Sucker Punch!!

Ever seen a person get sucker punched? Have you ever been sucker punched?

A sucker punch is one of the easiest things to avoid if you know what you’re looking at. A sucker punch will come out of the blue in an instant. Always expect the unexpected.

99.9 % of the time a sucker punch will come at you just when you think the confrontation is at its end. That is why it is called a sucker punch. When the aggressor starts to turn away and you just stand there, that is the moment they turn quickly and hammer you on the head and ring your bell. You then are the sucker!

Self-defense is all about timing, distance and speed. Those three things are a lethal combination when backed by the ability to think under stress.

So just for this example we’ll talk about distance. When you have talked your way out of a situation and the aggressor starts to turn and you hope walk away, you should start to walk back a few steps and fortify yourself just in case they go for the sucker punch.

In their mind they have already measured you up and know the distance to make that sucker punch work. But, as you walk back a few steps while keeping your eyes focused on them, they will get a surprise as they turn and see that their mind has mislead them with the distance they thought they had.

Now…you have one more chance to talk this person into leaving you alone or it may be the time to engage.

 Be ready! Be Safe!

Lynn Lane

www.covertstreetwarrior.com

Sometimes it is good to think like a criminal and understand their way of thinking only to give you an edge in the future. A great habit to get into is to think of different scenarios each day that would give you the opportunity to think like a criminal. The next time you’re pumping gas, at the ATM, in line at the convenient store. If you were the criminal what area would you be in to start your attack? What would you use for cover, what door would you enter from or exit. Think of everything example you can. After you do this several times you’ll begin to do it as a habit without forcing the thought and it will give you a great edge and a step ahead and we all know that speed, distance and timing is monumental.

The other time to become criminal like is when the act of violence has been thrust in your direction and against you. You become one of two people, the victim or the criminal. When you attack violence with violence and it is justified and you know how to destroy the human body quickly you are no longer the victim. You must know that violence is always the last response. Evade, Avoid and try to talk your way out of the situation. But, once you flip that switch and cross that line that is the time to explode with surprise, aggression and speed. Train yourself in a martial art that fits you or at least learn 10 ways to deliver pain quickly and practice your skills.

Hardening your house is the first line of
defense against criminals. But what do you do
once criminals are already inside? The most
important thing to do is to have a plan for
every family member so that they will know
what to do if an alarm goes off at 3 o’clock
in the morning, or if you hear the proverbial
bump in the night. You should periodically run
drills with the entire family to be sure they
understand the plan.

Hopefully, you will never have to use your weapon to shoot an intruder in your home.
Hardening the shell of your house and taking other measures to convince a would-be
thief to move on down the block are all preferable options, but sometimes the worst case
scenario does happen.

Now is the time to prepare and Stand Ready and not when it happens.

“If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior’s path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.” – Lt. Col. David Grossman

Covert Street Warrior – Social Unrest Handbook – Get A Copy –>Here<–

Knowing that we need to work on our strengths is a very important part of success but, do you know where that strength originates?

We are not created with all the strengths for success. We are conditioned by challenges we have in our life and we inherited some attitudes from our family and friends.

Here is the martial arts metaphor: In the movie Dragon : The Bruce Lee Story, Bruce’s Sifu (Teacher) Nip Man told Bruce that he must conquer his demons or he would pass them on down to his children.

You will gain strength through facing your own demons. Your demons are the fears we have that we must face and with the warrior attitude defeat, conquer then move above and beyond with renewed strength and confidence.

I remember when I was in school if I had to stand up and give an oral report or take a failing grade I would take the bad grade.

 I faced that Demon later in my life and joined Toastmasters International and started to love being in front of a group of people and sharing the things that can inspire and motivate them to move toward their own success.

Think about of all the areas in your life that you gain strength from. Think about the challenges that made you stronger. What are some of the Demons you had to face?

Better question……What are some of the Demons you need to face, defeat, conquer and move beyond today?

Think about the challenges you have accepted that at the start you didn’t think you could conquer, but as you faced them you grew from it and now you are above and beyond it.

Why should we know where we gain strength from? Because, once you know this you can pay more attention to that area of your life and focus on building that strength.

When you find people, places and things that inspire or motivate you to go for your greatness and to work toward dreams that are hoped for….. you gather strength.

Conquering Your Demons For Success.

Knowing that we need to work on our strengths is a very important part of success but, do you know where that strength originates?

We are not created with all the strengths for success. We are conditioned by challenges we have in our life and we inherited some attitudes from our family and friends.

Here is the martial arts metaphor: In the movie Dragon : The Bruce Lee Story, Bruce’s Sifu (Teacher) Nip Man told Bruce that he must conquer his demons or he would pass them on down to his children.

You will gain strength through facing your own demons. Your demons are the fears we have that we must face and with the warrior attitude defeat, conquer then move above and beyond with renewed strength and confidence.

I remember when I was in school if I had to stand up and give an oral report or take a failing grade I would take the bad grade.

 I faced that Demon later in my life and joined Toastmasters International and started to love being in front of a group of people and sharing the things that can inspire and motivate them to move toward their own success.

Think about of all the areas in your life that you gain strength from. Think about the challenges that made you stronger. What are some of the Demons you had to face?

Better question……What are some of the Demons you need to face, defeat, conquer and move beyond today?

Think about the challenges you have accepted that at the start you didn’t think you could conquer, but as you faced them you grew from it and now you are above and beyond it.

Why should we know where we gain strength from? Because, once you know this you can pay more attention to that area of your life and focus on building that strength.

When you find people, places and things that inspire or motivate you to go for your greatness and to work toward dreams that are hoped for….. you gather strength.

Navy SEAL Inspired Baseline Workout

by Jason Earls

Navy SEALS are the most elite branch of American Special Forces, and most military experts consider their training to be the most difficult to endure in the entire world. A SEAL candidate (“SEAL” stands for Sea, Air, and Land, all elements in which a Navy SEAL operates) must survive BUD/S training, which stands for “Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL” training. BUD/S lasts seven long grueling months and you may be surprised to learn that during that time there are no actual weights or weight-lifting involved. The majority of BUD/S training involves only body weight exercises (calisthenics) such as: pullups, pushups, situps, dips, running, air squats, lunges, etc., (although logs and boats are used regularly, and the boats are usually loaded down with sand, or an instructor, water, or all three). Very few individuals actually complete SEAL training since the Naval Special Warfare Command is looking for a select group of elite men who are highly-motivated and would rather die than quit. Due to the rigorous physical conditioning, the men who pass SEAL training are some of the most physically fit specimens on the planet. Hence, wouldn’t it make sense that if you wanted to get in shape, you could simply adopt some of the training patterns used at BUD/S, perhaps even pretend that you will soon attempt Navy SEAL training yourself, and by default wouldn’t you get in the best shape of your life? Of course you would, so let’s get started.

(Note: the author of this article is NOT a Navy SEAL and has never served in any branch of the military.)

To even enter BUD/S training, a candidate must be in extremely good physical shape just to walk in the door. After studying various Navy SEAL documentaries, SEAL web sites with workout programs listed, plus youtube videos made by legitimate SEALs, the following baseline was discovered which provides a “ground” level of fitness that a person should possess if they want to do well at BUD/S. Here is the baseline:

1. 100 excellent pushups.
2. 15 good dead-hang pullups.
3. 100 strict situps.
4. A four-mile run completed in under 30 minutes.

The four “benchmarks” given above are what one Navy SEAL listed as his baseline level of fitness before entering BUD/S training, and he said that he did extremely well and consistently remained in the top performance percentages of his entire class, and eventually passed to have a 20-year career in the Navy SEAL teams.

So if we take these four basic exercises: running, pushups, pullups, and situps, and construct workouts around them, always keeping in mind the baseline level of fitness above, surely we would get close to fulfilling our maximum potential for physical fitness. Or course it will take loads of will-power and self-motivation to continue training day after day toward this goal, but it’s already assumed you are a highly-motivated, fire-breathing, combat-focused individual since you are reading this article in the first place.

Here is an example of what might be considered an “intermediate” level workout constructed around our four basic exercises:

One circuit:

1. Run a half mile without stopping.
2. One set of 20-30 pushups.
3. One set of 3-8 pullups.
4. One set of 30-40 situps.

Repeat this circuit 2 to 5 times.

Note that we are doing pullups, which are performed with your palms facing away from your body, not chin-ups in which your palms are facing toward your body. (Chin-ups are easier than pullups and thus chin-ups are never performed at BUD/S!)

Many different workouts can be constructed around the four basic exercises given above, limited only by your imagination. But you should always try to keep the original Navy SEAL baseline in mind and aim for those numbers. Giving yourself a “PT test” once every month or two is also a good idea, just to see how you are progressing. As soon as you attain the amount of reps and time given in the original baseline (or even get pretty close), it’s guaranteed you will be in extremely good physical condition!

Another primary thing most Navy Seals agree on is that you will have to be an excellent runner to do well in BUD/S training. Navy SEAL candidates literally run everywhere they go, covering numerous miles per day, which is great thing to keep in mind if you are trying to get in good shape, since the more running you do the less body fat you will have.

Once you have established a good level of fitness by training with the four basic exercises for, say, 2 to 5 months, you could try an advanced workout such as: “cumulative total in one day of all exercises”:

1. One maximum set of pullups.
2. One maximum set of pushups.
3. One maximum set of situps.
4. A maximum effort run for mileage.

Then you would write down your reps and mileage after this circuit, then spend the rest of the day (working on-and-off with as much, or as little, rest between circuits as you wanted), repeating the circuit again and again and recording your results, attempting to accumulate as many reps in each exercise, plus as many miles as possible. After your last circuit of the day you would total up and record whatever you were able to accomplish. Keep in mind that a Navy SEAL would be able to do roughly: 150 pullups, 400 pushups, 400 situps, and run 15 miles (plus swim about 6 miles) all in the course of one day.

Hooyah and good luck reaching your fitness goals!

    -end-

The Language of the Body
Never judge a book by its cover. This is a well-known expression that is spoken about with reference to
first impressions and external appearance. On almost every occasion, it is a true maxim. There is only
one exception to this general rule. When it comes to safety and survival on the street, you must rely on
your first impressions.
Edward Wilson (1975) thought of humans as genetic machines whose primary function is that of
surviving. He believed that our innately programmed responses are selfish and self-serving. But what
has happened in modern times? Our instincts have become dulled by comfort and lulled into a false
sense of security. Armed with mobiles and encased in headphones, we often forget that predators are
out there watching and waiting.
Trusting in your instincts means combining the powers from Medium and Psych. In the popular
tv shows, the female lead of Medium has extrasensory perception (ESP), while the male character in
Psych uses impressive observational abilities to ferret out the truth. When you go out in the street, you
must learn to develop a gut feel for danger merged with keen attentional abilities in order to detect
threats.
First, you have to ask the questions: what do I consciously or unconsciously sense? Do I feel
uncomfortable? Do I have goose bumps? Are the hairs on my skin standing up? Second, survey the
surroundings. Do you see, hear or smell anything out of the ordinary? Are there elements that should
not be there? Are there unknown people lurking around? What are your first impressions about them?
The answers may very well spell the difference between being safe versus being attacked. Do not take
chances. The minute something feels or looks hinky, do not attempt to be Steven Seagal or Jackie Chan.
Avoid, escape or run if you can. More importantly, learn to read the hidden meaning in the body
language of the people loitering about.

Learn all you can about Body Language it will serve you well.

When you have a focused mind, when you know how to analyze a situation and determine the proper strategies, and you can do this better and faster than your opponent, then you have a decided advantage every time. It certainly doesn’t guarantee victory, as physical strength, agility, skill, and the weapons that one possesses do make a difference. But without the proper mindset, without understanding the psychology of what makes a great warrior, then you begin any battle or fight at a clear and decided disadvantage.

There are many different aspects, or facets, to the psychology of the covert street warrior and when you understand each of them, when you know how to use them to your advantage, and then you step out into the wild world with an advantage. These aspects include Fight or Flight, Awareness, Critical Decision Making, Mental Toughness, and Primal Actions. Your body language is also an important ingredient in becoming a strong and effective street fighter.