A major recurring theme of this website is reviewing some real life actions that have helped some people escape the worst of an attack! In this post I will look at attacks from December 2009, in the US, Canada and Uganda to demonstrate what is possible.

These three attacks while very different, have one common thread – The women or girls fought back! The main question running through most women’s minds in an attack is probably how do I get out of this alive?

By the time an attack happens, a woman has exhausted everything she has been taught about how to avoid or get away from an attack and is left with the fact that it is really happening. Let me just say before launching into my review, that the decision to act or not act is a personal decision. You (the victim) will have to live with your decision (assuming you survive) so please consider the possibility that fighting back in some form can work and make an educated decision to SAVE YOUR LIFE!

Here is a related video to set the stage from Erin Weed (Girls Fight Back).

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As a well traveled woman, you feel safe at your beach front resort in one of Mexico’s beach cities. After a while you decide to take a walk to the cantina for some cervesas! The sun warms you in your bikini as you think about that gentleman that said he would meet you at the cantina today.

All of a sudden you notice some unsavory characters in your path through the alley shortcut. Being a worldly woman you realize that the time to act is before you are attacked. You warn them off as you take another path. The guys move quickly to intercept!

In this post I will examine self-defense as a concept in its own right! I mean many enlightened people will take kung fu or karate for the goal of self-defense, but really – how good are the martial arts for self-defense? I will explore one kung fu master, Bruce Lee, with his views about martial arts as they apply to fighting and oh yes – I will finish the story about this soon to be accosted woman in a foreign country.

Here is part of an interview with Bruce Lee to set the stage for this conversation. Martial arts are discussed at about 3:11 of this interview.

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I was reminded on the incredible power of our brain recently as a window in my bathroom fell open. Before I had a chance to think, my body had jumped into a fighting stance as a surge of adrenaline shot through my body and a growl escaped my lips. It was kind of funny but as this was happening I already knew what the affront to my serenity was – the window. But like it or not, I was as ready as my body could possibly be for whatever the external environment might throw at me. This I attribute to my brain’s intervention with my normal thought processes.

The brain at an instinctive level, does not understand the legal definition of self-defense or even care about self-defense, but rather it (the brain) is concerned with self-preservation! This post is not going to cover all facets of brain power like Ki, Chi, or the sixth sense as these concepts are ways of unifying the subconscious mind with the endeavors of the conscious mind. What I will try to cover in part, in this post, is how brain power can help us achieve seemingly superhuman feats! Here is a video I found that sets the stage for this discussion nicely.

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According to a recent Justice Department report on ABC News, “1 million gang members belonging to more than 20,000 gangs were criminally active within all 50 states and the District of Columbia as of September 2008.”

That is a scary statistic that I think means that gangs outnumber our police in many cities. In this post I will try to take on a small slice of a huge problem in America (and probably the world over), is peace or violence a choice? If it is (and more to purview of this blog), how can one structure their lives to live the kind of life they want? If one wants a peaceful life, is there a martial arts solution?

Most people have already seen this shocking video about an honor student being beaten and killed in Chicago but I thought I’d open with a news story about this event to put these questions in the proper context of importance.

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I was happy to hear that Neil Martin of Urban Samurai had created a e-Book entitled, “Street Smart” that dealt with common self-defense issues! I have had to chance to review this book and I will give it a review in this post.

First off the title is aptly named, “Street Smart” because Mr. Martin is trying to make the connection that not all self-defense situations have to happen. Often times the decisions one makes in his or her own life can contribute to one’s safety! For instance how important is it to take the short-cut through a bad part of town? Neil  injects lots of good common sense into this book.

I will go over some of the many points  of this book for your consideration in this post. At the end I will offer my opinion of the usefulness of this work for students of the martial arts.

Cover of Street Smart, displayed under Fair Use

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I suppose that I have one advantage over most law-abiding citizens of nations – I have worked on the fringe as a bouncer! What does working the on the fringe mean? Well that means in any county, city or other form of municipality – the authorities do not want to over budget their resources (read man/woman power – jails – courts) to any one business.

Well in America, if you want to play fast and loose with normal laws – you become a bounty hunter (laws of normal search and seizure do not apply). If you want to have various municipalities tolerate your fights – you become a bouncer!

In this post I will review some of the common issue facing these folk that want to make the easy money (supposedly) by watching an establishment as a bouncer!  I will also relate some true life stories of my life as a bouncer and why you should tell your children not to travel my path. I’ll open with this Danzig song entitled, “Mother” for how I really feel about bouncing and I will then relate some stories and video about the act of balancing called bouncing. Also I will speak about a city’ s role in law enforcement at bars and regarding specifically bouncers! Here is how I really feel about bouncing:

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I have a recurring dream where I am fighting for my life and I come up against this big guy that is running at me. In my dream I think, cool, I’ll just hit him in his bread basket or nose and take him out! You know in real life, if someone is running at you – this is one of the easiest kind of fighters to beat! Just step off and nail the SOB!

Well in my dream I would hit the guy, kick the guy and nothing happens! It got me thinking about real life – what if this really happened!? In this article I will talk a little strategy and how to overcome a seemingly invincible behemoth! I will also look at a video of one guy that was totally impervious to pain as well as relate some stories from my life. Here is a quick into video from Moonraker and how James Bond dealt with this.

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