Had Enough?

I have been thinking of a man who I spoke to this week. He’s not a really tough guy, doesn’t possess martial arts skills and has no visible “look” about him to let anyone know that he loathes “thugs” and has no problem with the idea of taking out an assailant in a very big way. He is certainly not the type to use personal alarms as a deterrent. That would be a little too tame for his tastes. He is of the persuasion that believe an assailant deserves no special or “humane” treatment.

He called me to discuss which of the many telescopic steel batons would be best suited for carrying in his car and for around the house. Having trained in Escrima for many years, I prefer a smaller baton as used in Serrada Escrima. This is roughly measured by dropping the end of the baton in the “cupped” palm of the hand, and optimally extending to the armpit (or a little less). This is my preference, speed kills remember, and the shorter a baton is, the faster it can move. My first batons were longer and extended from the fingertips to the armpit. These are a smidge slower but well suited to the first style of Escrima I studied “Largo Manos”, a long hand style with more sweeping cuts and strikes suited to a longer baton or blade. He chose the 26″ steel baton since the weight was no issue to him, and having no training, wanted to inflict maximum damage with his strike.

We also discussed affordable and high quality butterfly knives or balisong knives. I carry the Jaguar 9 inch (open) razor sharp 440 stainless butterfly knife. I like it’s lightweight handle design and it’s long, false edge blade design, for maximum thrusting and it’s partially serrated as well. These blades make some very nasty wounds which don’t just close back up neatly or quickly either.

Why don’t you just buy a pistol, I asked him? He explained that he was compromising with his wife who did not want any firearms in the home, due to having 3 young children. He and I both expressed that she would feel much differently if a couple of thugs were in the process of kicking the front door in, but agreed that owning an alternative weapon was better than nothing, and would probably help stop a determined attacker, while at the same time honoring his wife’s wishes.

He is going to be on the lookout for a school that teaches Filipino martial arts and mentioned there was one school about an hour away. He hesitated to drive so far, but after much discussion, realized that this isn’t karate or judo and that Escrima schools aren’t so easily found. He realized the value of being taught how to use the weapons he had chosen by a trained professional, rather than a video tape or a book. Although he will have to drive 2 hrs. “round trip”, it would only be twice a week, and wouldn’t be forever. Heck, I learned the bare bones outline of my first Escrima style in one day’s time. It took 6 hrs. with a highly skilled instructor to go through a 12 strike and 12 defense system, and have it down to memory. That’s only 24 techniques and not really a big deal, just the outline. All of the finesse moves like the cuts or strikes involved after a successful block, traps and disarms, footwork etc., can take many years to perform without thought and with speed and fluidity.

Do I think he’s making the right decision? Heck yes, because short of a firearm, which also requires quite a bit of practice to obtain proficiency, so do the Filipino martial arts. Barring a good firearm, there is no other weapon I would rather have in my hand when the chips are down, than about 20 – 24 inches of rattan or steel and my trusty, rugged old butterfly knife.

Keeping It Real

Let me share my favorite quotation with you, it’s something to ponder:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat….”Teddy Roosevelt”

I was asked to write content for use on several websites in a lame pursuit of the toolbar. At first I was told “just about anything”, others specified a “niche” of crime tailored to target a certain audience, and others simply wanted to use my content “as is” and load words like “widget” every few sentences, thus turning my material into something utterly ridiculous and anything but what is. This material is for those who need it, it is real, it can be ugly – something that many don’t like to think about or read about. They are the victims, the ones who many times in the end, should have read and tried to at least apply some of the awareness that I share freely. Like a famous comedian says “I’m just reporting the news here”.

Now that may be a bit biased, since I do interject my experiences and with that must come some amount of bias, but overwhelmingly I work on keeping it real, as much as possible, while sharing a little tongue in cheek humor. Attempts anyway. It’s hard to put a happy face on crime which is of course, repugnant, and at times unpleasant to dwell on. It’s my hope that when I share information about the uses and lethality of telescopic steel batons, that someone might actually read it – learn how to use a baton, steel or rattan, and be able to take down any assailant (without a gun at the ready) with ease. Yes, I said with ease!

To share a good post with you thoroughly outlining the crime of rape, it’s very difficult NOT to quote Local, State and Federal laws which use such yucky words as penetration, incest, and anal. Yet there are those “anal” types that would rather cut out that sort of language, “my God man, what are you thinking?” – as if to say that will offend the grown readers who have chosen to read the article (very informative and thorough) and think we’re pervs or something over here! I’m not from NY btw. Shall we shortchange the reader and give them cake when the truth is more like sour milk? I’d rather chew gravel. But business is business and I really do understand. We all have to make a living I suppose.

Martial arts have been in my blood since high school boxing, progressing to actually seeing them in their homeland while “touring” with the USMC. I found Asian martial arts to be fascinating and much more lethal than boxing. No rules!! Alright, that sure levels the playing field a lot! I was hooked. So, in that pursuit you tend to meet and interact with people having crisis situations of all sorts and asked to opine constantly, so I have chosen to write about what I’m most familiar with. Makes sense I think? I feel a bit miffed I have to admit sometimes. For example a lady contacted me and we spoke on the phone. She described walking her small pet dog and being attacked by three pit bulls owned by a neighbor down the street, her dog sustained injuries requiring a lot of stitches – she didn’t. She said they got loose occasionally and terrorized the neighborhood. She asked me what deterrent she could use to protect herself and her dog. She asked about dog pepper spray. I told her it was my “opinion” that she needed something a little more potent for three pitbulls coming up to chew on her for kicks. I recommended a more potent mixture of bear pepper spray, rather than the innocuous 5% canine versions. I dare say that a bear’s nose is as sensitive as a pit bull’s beak and we’re only talking about the danger factor when weighing out the %’s of OC pepper contained in the two.

She worried that it might get on her dog, so much so that she wouldn’t agree with my suggestion at all and asked “what else can you think of”? I told her my next choice would be the 300,000 or 500,000 volt stun batons made by Stun Master. I said you’ll have to be nimble but it gives you 16 to 20 inches of reach and up to a whopping 500K volts, which should send any dog yelping away in pain and tail tucked under. In fact after one good shot, just displaying it should stop any future problems without an attack.

That ended our discussion. For my reward she took every word and posted it on a very large doggy forum (doggy portal actually) and boy were the animal lovers enraged. I caught fallout for about 2 weeks until the topic finally washed out of recent posts and into archive. 167 dog owners have been kind enough to let me know they highly disapproved or were interested in her “stolen post” and what I said.

So my rant is finished and my articles (posts) will stay right here – I hope, and I will continue to keep it real.

Keep Unruly Delinquent Kids Home

I have had many parents contact me over the past years. Their issue is this; wanting to keep their Junior High/High School child in bed at night. It seems like these youths will go to almost any length to “fly the coop”. They sneak out the door silently, even if grounded or go so far as climbing out their bedroom windows like we see depicted in old movies on TV occasionally. What can I do to stop them when I’m asleep? I have heard this so many times, most recently today, that I thought I’d post here about it and some of the cheap, easy and almost bulletproof ways to keep your kids in their bedrooms at night.

I ask them if they have windows, and if so, are they low enough to jump out of, or are they positioned in such a way as to gain access to something, useful to climb down if the room is on a higher floor. The door issue is extremely easy and can be solved with a door stop alarm that sounds off if the door is opened (either inward or outward – even if “jiggled”. Trust me these babies have a 125db alarm which will have Mom and Dad sitting straight up in bed if the offending youth tries to sneak out. Another would be a multi-function personal alarm with a door and window trigger accessory. It has a spring loaded clip which is compressed and placed under a door or window. It sounds a 130db alarm if the door or window it’s guarding is opened.

Either of the former two alarms will solve the sneaking out of the door problem immediately. If the child is very adventurous and sees that the door is “wired” will head for the window if it’s a possible means of breaking out. Enter the Mace window alarm, this small unit sticks right on your window and will sound a 95db alarm if the window is broken or if it senses strong vibrations on the pane of glass. It’s always tough to have an unruly child, but so much tougher to face the possibility of them becoming injured, addicted to drugs, raped or jailed. That is a heartbreaking experience I can testify to when I hear the worry and fears that the parents express.

These small alarms run between $10 -$20 and are worth their weight in gold if they stop your child, just one time, from escaping out to the streets and into trouble you may not be ready for. I believe that being looked upon as “mean” or a “jerk” by an immature child is small by comparison to their safety and obedience. Better to embarrass them with a couple of well placed door and/or window alarms blasting away when they try to sneak out of their room, than their humiliation, experienced while sitting in a juvenile facility. Time to fight back Mom and Dad you made the rules, now you have the tools to help you enforce them. Now get some well deserved sleep!

Dream Vacation or Nightmare?

There are a multitude of places to honeymoon and even more activities, depending on where you have chosen to take yours. Many couples take their honeymoons in tropical climates, surrounded by blue water and white sandy beaches. If you lovebirds just want to hit the local beaches and work on your tan, bring a waterproof pouch along to store your valuables. Items such as your keys, cash, credit cards, cell phone, and more can be protected from sand and surf in these stylish pouches. You may be the adventurous type of couple who go to theme parks with water rides, or water parks. You’ll both be glad you had one along.

Will you be doing any snorkeling, scuba or other water sports? Would you like to capture those moments for a lifetime and share them with your loved ones? Would you like the photos to be great and not “washed out” pics from a waterproof disposable camera? If the answer is yes, you’ll want to put your own camera or camcorder in a waterproof camera case and maintain the high quality of photography that only your camera will deliver. You’ll be able to show your family and friends the beautiful sights and fun activities from your honeymoon with pictures of your trip on land, at the beach, or even in the water.

I should mention that American tourists are considered “easy marks” by many of the 3rd world countries we visit on honeymoons and vacations. Talking with some Brazilian jiu jitsu fighters last summer, they told us how not to get robbed or killed if we visit Brazil. You have to be very aware, since just outside the posh hotels and the security these small tourist areas provide are the worst slums with the most grinding poverty and violent criminals you’d meet anywhere. Their culture is more primitive and (same as with a vicious dog), we were told that looking at someone was very rude and a “challenge” leading to your ass being kicked or killed. They love to jump in your taxi or rental car at rush hour and force you to hand over your cash and other valuables, then drive you to the nearest auto-teller (they’re everywhere) and withdraw $200 – $300 at gunpoint.

One told me off to the side, that the Dell laptop PC he purchased on his last visit was becoming a real pain. I asked why and he told me that if he wants to take it anywhere, he has to carry it in an old, crushed up, double brown bag or he would be robbed within minutes! Please enjoy that dream honeymoon, but always be aware of the dangers that might be presented in your itinerary. Adjust your behavior and activities to where you are, what you’re doing and where you’re going each day. In Rio you can get an educated, English speaking interpreter for a few dollars a day – so use one – you don’t have anything to lose but your possessions and your life.

Martial Arts – Which Style Should I Take?

This is the single, most asked question I get asked via email and in person. My answer is always: “what are you trying to achieve and what style interests you”? The answers to that question is what I begin to formulate my response to address. “It’s all good”, is an expression I hear around martial arts training halls, seminars, tournaments and elsewhere. It doesn’t work for me. I have seen too many bastardized styles based on other systems, combinations of systems, and just plain B.S. “home made”, “smoke and mirrors” styles where the Chief Instructor was a Green Belt (in reality) and put his salesman skills, together with his limited understanding of a credible style, and then promptly awards himself a 10th Dan and makes up a laughable name for it. These are always a major hoot but our “good manners” prevent us from laughing, since the unwitting students love and believe in their Grandmaster “O Sensei B.S.er”. They are not to blame.

Quite honestly, the choice of a martial arts system is a daunting task. If you want to hook up with practitioners who will be able to instruct you in techniques, train your body, and speak into your life – you want to be sure. I believe that the student lends himself more readily to certain styles more than others. Stocky, stiff jointed types would probably hate Tae Kwon Do, but a flexible, lanky body type might excel at it. The stocky, less flexible type might do better with Shotokan or an Okinawan martial art, which don’t focus on aerial spinning kicks but rather, deliberate and punishing punches and kicks, on a lower line. I had an old Shorin Ryu (Okinawan karate) teacher who was tough as nails, but couldn’t kick any higher than your waist. He used to mention that he didn’t need to kick higher, to kick you in the face. He’d always laughingly say “I’ll kick you in the stomach and when you bend over, then I’ll kick you in the head”. Strange, but oh how true!

My recommendations are to DO YOUR HOMEWORK, you will want to stay for a few years or maybe longer, so go to several schools. Make these schools a good cross section of martial arts. Check out a few styles of Karate, a few Kung Fu, some grappling schools, and whatever else that may be available in your area. All will let you observe the class and give you access to the Sensei (head instructor) of the school. Most will offer some kind of “sign up” special, like a month free or a few free classes. This gives you a great opportunity to see what you will be doing, meet the teacher, assess the skills of the students attending and help you decide if you want to invest a lot of time and energy (never mind the monthly fees) at this training hall. If you can line up about 6 or more schools of different martial arts styles, with different focuses and faithfully check them all out – WITHOUT JOINING – you will have a pretty solid idea of which one best suits your physical structure, your attitude, and your goals. Choose thoughtfully and carefully because if you aren’t having fun in your martial arts classes, as in anything, you will soon fall by the wayside – frustrated! Better to just go out and buy one of the high power stun batons on the market and crack open a brew, than spend a year in a martial arts style that you are not suited for.

Good luck in your pursuit of the unattainable Grasshoppers – choose well!