by Jim Kerrigan

Created on: May 09, 2010

Self-defense boils down into two main issues: One, avoiding the necessity of self-defense; two, responding to an unforeseen attack.

The first issue is a case of judgment. No weapon or course of training can replace making good decisions and practicing the concept that avoiding a confrontation or even running away isn’t cowardly but is in fact exercising good value judgment. Even military pilots are taught to escape and evade the enemy when shot down behind enemy lines. Avoiding places where violence is likely to happen is the best self defense on the planet. It is also the choice which leads to the highest survival rate. Nothing can take the place of listening to that inner voice that tells you if an idea is good or right for you. If that inner voice is saying something like,” what the hell are you doing?” Listen to it and stop what you are doing or about to do and err on the safe side.

The second issue is much more likely to happen if violence should come your way. Cleanly any violent act that we can foresee we would avoid or nothing written here can help you. Most violence in our world is either domestic or perpetrated by someone we know. Strangers can commit violent acts but unfortunately most violence is committed by someone the victim knows.

Obviously if the attack comes from someone we know and didn’t suspect was violent or would be violent toward us then we are going to be attacked unforeseen. Here we need to practice two simple rules. When attacked by animals don’t move. When attacked by humans go for their command and control.

Now what is command and control? Command and control is what allows anything large or small to be effective. The head on a human being contains all our command and control equipment, our eyes for sight, our ears for sound and our nose for breathing. All sensory that input which allows us to determine our future actions without which the strongest among us is helpless.  The brain itself is housed within the head and this is true of everyone regardless of gender or size.

Thumbs can pull out eyes, Hands can pull off ears, foreheads can smash noses and any hit from a hand gun on the face will incapacitate a green beret never mind a civilian. Even if you cannot reach their eyes, nose or ears falling short of these will put you into the throat which will pull their chin down every time.

The mere act of striking even ineffectually the general area of the face will disrupt their command and control. Continuing to strike this area puts the odds in your favor that they will either lift their head to avoid the blows (in which case you strike the throat) or they will bend forward at the waist to avoid your fists (In which case you start to drive your knees into their face). Either way the target is the face because this is where the see, hear and breathe from.

Shooting for the face with a firearm is best because even a miss puts the crack of the gunshot past their ears which will at least make them wince which makes it hard to gather information and continue to chose actions.

I know a kayaker who was in a fast moving stream in Alaska. While moving through a heavily wooded area he was attacked by a brown bear. The water was thankfully deep so the bear had to swim. As the bear approached the kayak, my friend pulled out a 22 magnum pistol and shot the bear in the forehead. The bear died instantly. Go for the command and control attack the face and do not stop attacking the face until they flee or they are injured or blinded enough for you to get away.

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