Street Smart Defense Tactics

Administrator’s note: I wrote this earlier, but overlooked including it in the earlier “What would you do” articles.

The facts: you are traveling down the highway and decide to stop at a rest stop. You’re armed with your concealed pistol and have your cell phone with you. You see only one other car at the rest stop. As you are walking to the restroom you hear a woman scream out of the car, “help, I’m being raped.” You see a struggle going on in the car. What you do?

What I would do: first of all when a situation, such as this occurs, you cannot start making assumptions about things that you do not know about. If you draw your gun it may turn out that the man you presume to be the rapist is actually the woman’s husband or boyfriend. You draw your gun, they call the police and you go to jail. By the time the police arrive they change their story about their fighting and blame you saying that you are the bad guy.

This is what I would do. I would walk up close enough to the car so the attacker could see me, but cannot easily get at me. It would be a good idea for me to get find something solid, to get behind, just in case he had a gun and tried to shoot me. Immediately, I would be on my phone calling the police. I would yell out loud enough for him to hear, the police are on the way and will be here any moment. I would use my left hand to hold the phone and keep my right hand on my gun just in case the attacker decided to jump out of the car and attack me. I wouldn’t mind continually reminding the assailant that the police were going to be there any minute.

I believe this is the best course of action that I could do without jeopardizing myself. I sincerely believe no real rapist is going to continue raping a woman while some man is starring at him and the police will be there in a minute.

I would like to hear your comments on what you would do if you encountered a situation such as this one.

I have noticed few people realize the importance of apparel in their overall self defense plans. Everything you wear can contribute to your self-defense. Shirts, pants, shoes, coats – just about everything you can put on you can assist you in self defense.

In the area of shirts I would suggest purchasing what is known as a cube clip. Attach this to your shirt pocket, and carry a very small thin wallet with your most valuable items in it. Then carry a regular size wallet in your pants or purse, with items you don’t care if they are stolen. Then if somebody wants your valuables give them the regular size wallet. These will usually not search the upper area of your body because most people do not carry their valuables in their shirt pocket. Conceal your shirt pocket with a sweater or coat.

If you carry a firearm your pants are very important. The best pants I found for carrying a firearm in the pocket, are pants made by Woolrich Elite. In the video I refer to the best pants is being made by company called Eotac. This is not correct because I have not purchased a pair of Eotac pants. I purchased pants from this a company and then went back and they were only carrying the Eotach brand, which looks very similar to Woolrich pants. Therefore, I thought Woolrich changed their name to Eotac.

If you’re buying a new pair of shoes, consider that the shoes can be used in a self defense situation. If you’re wearing a pair of steel toed shoes you may be able to kick someone in their ankle or leg and thwart an attack against you.

I don’t know how many self defense experts I have heard talk about how you may get shot during an encounter, but they offer no solutions to prevent you from being injured. I would suggest you look into purchasing a bulletproof vest. If you were in such a vest it may offer some defense against a gun or knife attack against you. There are different ratings for vests depending on their ability to stop different types of bullets. I hope you will check into this and decide which vest you believe is best for your particular situation.

Another valuable self defense tool is a flashlight. These are not just ordinary flashlights, but are high-intensity flashlights. There are many different brands, but the brand I use is called Surefire. You can read examples of how people use their high-intensity flashlights for self defense on the Surefire web site. This is how you would use this type of flashlight. Wait until your attacker is close to you and then suddenly flash it in their eyes. They will be temporarily blinded and there may be enough time for you to get away from them.

I want to make another correction to something I mention in the video. In the video I mention having sewn an elastic retainer I received from Lenny Magill into one of my coats. I carried a firearm in this retainer for quite a long period of time and it worked very well. However, one day I was walking in a rural area and I’ve bent over to pick up something. I walked about another mile and felt light where I had the gun. If you ever lose a gun, that you are carrying, you know that is one of the worst feelings you can have. I felt lucky I was out in an area with no one around instead of being in a crowded area of the city. I backtracked and located my firearm. After this incident I would definitely recommend not using this retainer.

I hope I have provided you with some ideas on using apparel in your self defense plans.

I consider your contact with the police to be as equally important as all other aspects of your self-defense. I have read numerous accounts of individuals who successfully defend themselves against thugs only to have the police drum up some kind of charges against the victim. Therefore, it is critically important that you know what to say to the police.

In fact you should say very little to the police. I would make a very limited statement of facts concerning how I was attacked and who attacked me. After this very limited statement I would advise the police that I would be happy to cooperate with any further questions they have only in the presence of my attorney. At this point you should say nothing else to the police.

Some cops may very well ignore your statement that you will say nothing else until your attorney is present. They may continue to try to question you and you will have to continue to remain silent and say nothing else.

Other cops may try to engage you in what would appear to be harmless conversation. They may act like they are honoring your request to not say nothing until your attorney is present, but still try to get you to break your silence. They may ask you how you like the weather; how a particular sports team is doing or where do you work. Be on your guard for any kind of questions they ask you. If you open your mouth about anything, even something that sounds harmless, you have opened yourself up to more questioning. Once you have evoked your right to remain silent keep silent and do not chat about anything whatsoever.

Keep this one thought in mind. The only reason the police are talking to you is to try and get evidence that they can use to prosecute you in court. No matter how nice any police officer is always remember that no cop is your friend. You should assume every cop is trying to gather enough evidence to get a conviction against you.

Just about all of the self defense training I see are a couple of guys throwing themselves around on mats or people blasting away at a paper target. The best training you can do is to use your brain, eyes and ears. Practice thinking what you would do if someone was preparing to attack you.

It is a good idea to mentally consider all the aspects of an attack on you. First, consider how someone would attack you. Are there any areas of your life that you are vulnerable in? For example, when you get off work do you have to walk, in the dark down an isolated street or alley way, to reach your car? Do you leave your children unattended for long periods of time in your front yard? Do you have to carry large amounts of cash to your bank? Think about what you do on a daily basis and decide what areas you are vulnerable. Once you decide where you are vulnerable take steps to make yourself less available to criminals.

Next consider the different ways that someone could attack you. When you walk from your home to your car someone could attack you with their fists, a knife or a gun. Think about the different ways someone could attack you during your daily routine and then think about how you would respond to that attack. Practice what you would do under those circumstances. Could you make it to safety inside of your car or into a nearby business? If you had to use a weapon think about how to practice the steps of using your chosen weapon on your attacker.

Think about and plan everything that could go wrong if you were attacked. It may not be as easy as pulling your gun out and shooting your attacker. What would you do if your attacker knocked you to the ground, got on top of you and you are unable to pull your gun out? Maybe you are lying on top of your gun and cannot draw it. Brainstorm through everything they could go wrong and then plan on alternative tactics to deal with your attacker.

If you’re able to identify high risk areas for crime you can avoid them. By avoiding these areas you will greatly reduce your chance of being attacked. You could be assaulted anywhere, but it is wise to go to the safest areas that you possibly can.

I’ve read about a lot of self defense stories which proclaim how great it was that the victim used a gun to defend themselves. In these stories I often find the victim could have done more to avoid putting himself in harm’s way. I am all for every one carrying the best self defense weapon they possibly can. However, carrying a firearm does not mean that I can go just anywhere, even where I suspect there is a high chance of me being assaulted.

Here is an example of what I’m talking about. This story took place in Tacoma, Washington. I read a story about a man who came out of a bar at 2:00 AM in the morning. Instead of exiting the front door with the rest of the patrons he choose to exit out the backdoor and down a dark alley. Shortly after entering alley he encountered two robbers armed with a knife. He drew his firearm and forced the robbers to flee. This was proclaimed as a great example a self-defense.

I checked into the story and found out this bar was located in a high crime area. He certainly could have selected a bar in a safer neighborhood.

It is my firm belief to never be out drinking while carrying a loaded firearm. This is for a number of reasons. The drinking may affect my judgment and how accurate I would be if I had a number of drinks. Also I am sure the police would make a big deal out of my being intoxicated and shooting someone even if they were a criminal attacking me.

Another factor in the story is that this man was out and about at a time of night when peak crime occurs. Significantly more crime occurs during the nighttime hours that does during the daytime hours.

An additional factor was the man leaving by the back exit through an alley way. His chances of being attacked would probably have been considerably less had he left through the front door with the other patrons.

There are many instances where victims have done everything they possibly can to avoid attacks, but are still attacked. However, there are an incredible amount of instances where individuals, such as this man in Tacoma, who did a number of stupid acts and was then attacked.

I suggest that you read as many of the self-defense encounters as you possibly can and ask yourself did the victim do anything wrong. You can learn a great deal about how you can stop an attack on yourself by reading stories of other individuals who have been attacked.

Your greatest weapon by far is not a firearm, but your powers of observation. I have noticed from reading articles and comments from people in self-defense discussions that many people talk about how they’re going to yank a gun out and blast the bad guy away. Numerous people refer to themselves as sheepdogs. They mean that they are on the prowl to protect the sheep from the wolves. As I have discussed before someone can get in a lot of trouble protecting other people. Therefore, I personally would not risk civil and criminal actions against me to protect strangers.

I am certain everyone can avoid most trouble by being observant of who is around them and what those people are doing. Evaluate everyone near and far to you and rate them as to how much of a threat they may be to you. An elderly person on a walker would be no threat to you and a person who appears to be a thug would be a probable threat to you. Start your evaluation with people close to you and then expand out as far as you can see. If you see people that you feel could be a threat to you then try to avoid them. It is foolhardy to wade into people, who you feel could be a threat to you, just because you’re carrying a firearm.

You can start today using your powers of observation. There are many places that you can practice using your powers. You can practice looking out the window of your home, walking down the street or driving in your car. Look at people around you and say to yourself “how would I rate this person on a scale of 1 to 10 as being a threat to me?” Do not stare at any one during your evaluation. Criminals perceive you to be threatening them if you stare at them. Just take a quick glance or two in their direction for your evaluation.

The next phase in your practice is to practice evading and escaping from someone you believe to be a threat to you. If you’re in your home you just don’t go outside when a perceived threat is hanging around outside of your home. If you’re walking down the street you can practice a variety of escape and evasion techniques. You can go into a business, blend in with a crowd of people as they walk down the street and any other technique that will aid you in getting away from your perceived threat. If you’re in your car think about how you would get away from someone walking up to your car or if someone began following you in their car.

Once you have practiced your powers of observation for a while you will find that you will automatically be using them. Your skills will be second nature for you. You will find that your threat of being attacked has been greatly reduced. You will feel much less threatened that someone is going to attack you. You’ll be in control of your security and not left to the whim of an attack coming out of the blue.

I do not try to leave any stone unturned when it comes to learning all I can about self defense. Therefore, I purchased dozens of videos on self-defense to see if there was anything new I could learn. I also attended courses looking to learn new techniques of self-defense. In everything I saw the instructors showed different ways of shooting a gun. They had you shooting a gun standing up, lying down and just about every different direction your body can turn. Usually they had you standing 50 to 75 feet away from the target. I believe that it is a remote possibility that anyone would attack from such great distances.

The one factor that I found was significantly lacking, in all the training I saw, was there was no training to use your brain, eyes or ears. I believe your senses are far greater assets for you, in self-defense, than your firearm is. Your gun is a tool of last resort if you cannot possibly escape any other way from a criminal attack.

If you’re purchasing a gun for the first time you will find it is common for people to try to sell you a five shot revolver. I do not know how many times a salesman told me only one person would attack me and five shots were plenty of shots. I believe you would be hard pressed to find a salesman who has had any experience with a criminal attack. Keep in mind salesmen are selling a product and they probably know little about the actual use the product. With respect to guns they probably know how to pull a trigger and hit a paper target and just about nothing else.

Many instructors will also tell you to carry a firearm and additional magazines if you are attacked. I’m not going to tell anyone they should carry a precise number of rounds. That is up to you to decide exactly how many rounds of ammunition you have on you. What I will tell you is I believe it is far better to have to two firearms than to try to reload your one gun during an attack.

I have heard many individuals talk of firing 45 or 50 rounds in the direction of the person attacking them. If you are attacked there are far more considerations them pulling a gun and unloading it in the direction of the criminal. One consideration is why you need to shoot 50 rounds at one or two individuals. The reason people shoot 50 rounds at one or two attackers is that they are not hitting the attackers. The rounds are going wild and probably hitting bystanders. If you’re not fairly certain your shot will hit the attacker you should not shoot wildly.

In this video I discuss practice techniques that you can start using today to help you if you have to shoot the attacker with bystanders near the attacker. In some cases you may decide that it would be unsafe to shoot in the direction of an attacker and therefore you cannot take a shot. I hope this video gives you plenty of food for thought.

Many self defense instructors teach a procedure called clearing your house. Clearing your house is used if you believe there are intruders in your house. This procedure involves you going from room to room seeking out the criminals. It is a procedure used by the police. However, I believe it is extremely ill advised for civilians to try this. Even the people teaching this will tell you that it is suicidal to attempt this procedure. In all actuality the criminals will probably shoot you before you are able to shoot them.

My recommendation is to always avoid criminals. This especially applies to armed criminals in your home. If you believe there are people in your home, who would kill you, I suggest you do not go looking for them. I would get behind a locked door, with my gun and telephone, and call the police. I would only shoot the intruders if they broke into the room where I was at. If you come home and believed for intruders are in your home I went back out of the home and called police from a safe distance.

The only situation where I would consider clearing my home is if I was in a disaster situation and the police were unable to come help me. Even then I would not go from room to room looking for intruders. I would take a defensive situation in my home and wait for the intruders to come to me.

If I was able to determine where the intruder was, by his movement in a particular room, then I may slowly and carefully advance to that room. I would definitely not open the door to the room, but would talk to him from a safe distance while pointing my firearm at that door. I would try to persuade the intruder to exit the room so that neither he nor I would be harmed. The only way the criminal would be harmed is if he came out the door at me. I believe it would be very effective to rack a round in the shotgun to help persuade him to leave.

The bottom line is that you never want to take an offensive, attacking position with any criminals. You always want to try to escape and avoid thugs if at all possible. You always want to put yourself into the most protective, defensive position you possibly can. Take some time now to consider how you would handle an intruder if you found someone in your home.