Wikipedia describes a certain type of person, usually male, that can be extremely difficult to handle, especially if they’ve manipulated themselves into a position of authority. Often times we’re confronted by such individuals in our daily life at work, on the highway, behind our computer’s monitor and in local watering holes.

“Napoleon complex is a term describing an alleged type of inferiority complex which is said to affect some people, especially men, who are short in stature. The term is also used more generally to describe people who are driven by a perceived handicap to overcompensate in other aspects of their lives. This term is also known as Napoleon syndrome, Short Man syndrome, Little Man syndrome and Small Man syndrome.”

These are the guys who generally drink a bottle or 2 of “Joe Louis Beer” and set off to picking a fight with the biggest or toughest guy in the house. Not a rational though process or behavior.

Other examples of men who exhibit this behavior are types who seem to be working overtime, having low self esteem – trying to make up for real or perceived shortcomings in their lives and/or imaginations. They come off as smug, rude and even “catty,” seeking revenge for petty injustices.

We have to deal with real bodies in a street confrontation and it helps us in self defense scenarios to know what it is that “drives” our aggressors, what causes the aberrant behavior that we see displayed.

The best defense to a man with Napoleon or Small Man syndrome, is simply to allow them to spout off and like a vessel filled with compressed gases, they will deflate in time.

Other times, when the threshold of good manners or law has been breached and an attack is launched, a good way to meet it is “head-on,” which plays against the disturbed individual’s innate, self deprecating, mindset. This allows the force of your defense to be magnified greatly and will shut down the majority of verbal, mental, and physical attacks from people exhibiting these symptoms.

A good rule for self defense is to “know your enemy.” This isn’t always possible, but very often it’s easy to spot an opponent’s weakness by their actions.