The most important thing in self defense is your mind set. Last week we talked about the first step, accepting that evil is among us and bad guys don’t think like you and me. You have to know and accept that they are out there, and that it may find you. The next thing you need to get into your mind is that violence may be necessary, an incredible amount of violence may be needed for you to survive.
Now we have to accept that violence may be necessary to survive. You may have to defend yourself physically. These evil people don’t think like you or me. Once they start their deed, they only understand violence. They don’t understand mercy, they don’t care that you have a family, and they don’t understand what they are doing is wrong. The only thing that will get their attention is violence. You are going to have to use violence to defend yourself.
How much violence is necessary is a hard thing to say. Legally you only use that force which is necessary to overcome the other person’s violent act (i.e. stop them from hurting you). These people don’t think like you and me. They are capable of and may use exceptional amounts of violence against you. You are going to have to dig deep and come up swinging and be more violent then they are to win.
You’re a nice person and don’t want to hurt anyone. If you have to defend yourself, you probably have some guilt or remorse for the person you hurt. You will also want to show mercy on them because you don’t really want to hurt them. You just want them to stop. But when they start the violence, they are going to continue until they see fit to stop or you stop them with force.
The amount of violence you use may have to be something that is almost unthinkable. You have to put aside all your feelings of remorse and mercy and stop this person. You have to be more violent then they are. That’s a hard thing since you may be dealing with a murderer or rapist that just got out of prison where he/she fought everyday. You have to be meaner, show less mercy, and more violence than a hardened criminal. It isn’t easy and takes practice, training, and forethought.
Start thinking now what you are willing to do if you have to. Can you kill someone to save your family or yourself? Can you do it with a knife or your own two hands if need be? Can you get over the fact that the person may be screaming or crying once you start hitting back? When you are losing and the other person is going to kill you, can you stick your thumb in that person’s eye and push it back into their brain?
That’s the kind of nasty violence that you may have to use to win. Can you do it?
Stay Safe,
Ben
Very good point. So many hope to end violence through peace. Violence isn’t something easily overcome, you must meetvviolence with equal or greater force to stop it. Maybe one day peace will stop violence, until then we need to meet it with force as it begins.
Zach
You are right Zach. Unfortunately violence is still with us. Maybe some day violence will be gone and peace will win out. Until then, I will fight for peace and to keep violence away from good people.
Excellent article and a much needed subject, especially for those we have decided to be sheep dogs and not sheep. One of the problems is that some people are not going to be capable of extreme violence. How many police officers have we known who passed the qualifications to carry a sidearm but are not psychologically prepared to kill someone if it came down to it? I was at a card game several years ago and an army vet said something that rings true. He told me that he doubts that most CWP holders are capable of kiling someone. He said that the army spent 2 years teaching and programming him and the other infantry on how to kill someone. It is not something that is learned by reading a book. Sure, knowledge is power and it is certainly a good start for waking people up to that possiblity of needing to use extreme violence to overcome an attacker. The question is, will they be able to do it when the time comes?
Thanks for the comment James! I agree, it’s hard to know whether someone will be able to do what is necessary until they are there. It comes down to the mindset of the person and how they have thought through different scenarios. It starts with the will and then takes the education of what it will be like. The fear, shock, the blood, the speed or the entire confrontation can never be fully planned for, it’s the thought of can they do it. Has that person thought it through. It’s hard but a lot of people can and have done it. I can tell you that military, law enforcement, and civilian “programming” has to be different as it’s all different situations. Sometimes people will surprise you.
Jeff Cooper once wrote, “the best personal defense is an explosive counter-attack”.
His fine book on defensive mindset, “Principles of Personal Defense”, was an excellent read, although at only 79 pages long, it was short and to the point.
That was a great book! I love Cooper’s writing. Most of his books were short and to the point. He’s greatly missed.
Thanks for the comment.