I had a bumper sticker on my lunch box at work for years that said, “Your gun and knife are only tools, your mind is the weapon.” I totally agree with that statement. And your mind set has to be right for you to win a dangerous encounter.
At first inclining of any danger to you or your family, your first and foremost thought should be escape. Put your thoughts and energy into that first. If a large group of gang members is walking down the sidewalk towards you and your family in the city, there is no shame in crossing the street and getting out of their way. In fact I would suggest it. If that group decides to follow you across the street, get away. Go into a store or down another street towards another group of people. Call 911 and ask for help. Don’t be afraid to tell them you are in danger and need help that a large.
I even suggest that you give up your wallet and car if that is all the attacker(s) want. Then get away. If someone tries to mug you with a knife and you think that is all he wants. Toss him your wallet and run. Your primary goal is to get away. In self defense a fight avoided is a fight won.
If you can’t get away, then you have to fight. Don’t just stand there and think he will just rough you up a little. If the fight is on, it’s on. You have to change your thoughts into winning at all costs. It’s not a boxing match with a ref, you are fighting for your life.
In all my classes I teach a segment on mind set. The bottom line is that, even-though you are good person with kids, friends, and family, and don’t want to hurt or kill anyone, you have to become more vicious, more violent, more aggressive, and just plain meaner then the person attacking you. Most of us can’t fathom the amount of violence and ruthlessness most of these attackers use daily to get what they want. They want what they want and will do anything to get it, including killing you and your family. They will think about killing you and your family like you consider killing a bug in your house. They may or may not think about getting caught. Have no doubt, the only reason they may not kill you for your wallet or car is because they might get caught, not because they care about killing you. They look at you like a roach in the way of what they want.
So how can a normal person beat that? The Marine Corps use to teach the three things you need to win in an urban environment are shock force, speed, and violence of action. How that works when someone is robbing you is that you first give in. Give that person your wallet and car keys and see what happens. If they leave, you’ve won, if they want more one possible way to win is yell really loud, like a war cry on the movie Brave Heart (Shock Force to give you a second while that person is surprised), jump on them and grab the weapon and push it away from you (speed is just moving faster then the other person), and then punch, kick, bite, bang, poke, knee, gouge, choke, spit (violence of action) until that person gives up or stops moving. Then run away and call the police.
I don’t want to kill anyone, but I will if I have to. To protect my family and myself I’ll do whatever it takes. If you carry a weapon at all, dig deep into yourself and ask yourself, can I kill someone if I have to? Come to terms with that demon now. When your life is threatened you will ask yourself if it’s all right to take another life. While you are asking yourself that, the other person will be killing you.
Stay Safe,
Ben