Defense to the Street Game, Knockout I recently saw a Facebook posting of the latest fad for attacking the unsuspecting and vulnerable. It’s called “Knockout” and involves a group of people walking up to strangers innocently walking down the street and sucker punching them. Several have died from these unprovoked attacks. The online responses expressed anger and vengeance, but I saw no real remedy to fend off that type of attack and come out safe. First off, a sucker punch is hard to defend because the attackers target selection is made on victims who are unaware of the potential attack. So the very first thing you need to do is to be aware of your surroundings (situational awareness); do not walk around day dreaming when you are in a potential danger area, (yes, the sidewalk and parking lot are danger areas.) Second, minimize the threat. Do not look like a victim. Walk with your head up, the whole time scanning and looking around. Avoid close contact with strangers; keep them out of your space. Remember, distance is your friend. Stay several feet away from them so if they move toward you, you can detect their movement and have time to react. They are looking for a soft target; dont give them one. Watch your blind spots. If you are with someone, they can watch your back, but if you are alone use other “things” to cover your blind spots. You can keep your back to a wall or parked car as a tempory safe place. Know where a safe place is located. When you notice the potential threat, move to a safe or temporary safe place. It helps to know your area, but if you don’t you must look around quickly and try to determine what building or other place might be better than where you are. When that safe place is determined, quickly move to it. Remember to be deliberate and take action; do not hesitate and do whatever it takes to survive. All these techniques give you distance, which gives you time. Now you must quickly decide what you are going to do in this time. You instincts will be fight or flight. You need to use whichever will serve you best. In the case of a sucker punch, you have hopefully moved out of range and can now defend yourself by more conventional methods, such as blocking the blows or striking the attacker’s groin and eyes. Sadly, the attacker will look for another victim because you are out of his range. And although the nature of the “Knockout” attack does not involve the use of a weapon, if a group is trying to kill you by whatever means and you are armed, deadly force is justified. If someone says that deadly force against a group of animals trying to tear you apart is not justified, then it is better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6. I used these techniques to escape a mob in Africa who tried to capture and kill me. I did not have a gun with me but I was not unarmed because I still had my wits and my training to help me survive. My situational awareness was working because I saw and heard them coming in my direction. They were in a pack like wolves looking for an injured lamb. I quickly avoided them before they got too close to me. I ducked into a store with other people so the mob could not single me out. I located a safe place. I knew that my hotel was my safe place and I had to get there. I picked out a doorway I could run to as an intermediate safe point. From there I could run to the door of the hotel. I waited for the mob to pass, then took off to the first safe point. Then I moved to the second safe point, being the hotel. The mob chased me into the lobby but the hotel security officers killed one of them and stopped the others as I ran through the door. The technique I used saved me. I hope you will start using these situational awareness drills every day to protect yourself and your family. I failed to mention the quick prayer I said as I was assessing the situation and as I ran to the hotel and out of danger. Stay safe
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 23:13:08 +0000
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