The
Ultimate Guide
To Fighting and Winning
By Dr. Russ Horine, President, Fight-Fast Direct, Inc.
Part 24
The
“Other” Category of Self Defense
Okay…
so far I’ve yakked quite a bit about three self defense
categories including: 1.) Pre-emptive Attacks (you hit
first)… 2.) Counter Attacks (you hit back)… 3.) Escape
and Evade (you get the hell outta
there). But I have not touched the fourth category of
self defense -- Personal Security.
Personal
Security
We can never be perfectly safe –
even in our own homes – but there are measures we can
take to lessen the odds of being confronted by a dangerous
criminal in our home or car. Sure, you can get those
odds near zero by locking yourself inside a steel cage
with hair-triggered claymore mines planted around you,
but that can lead to a mess. Better to take a few simple
easy steps that don’t require explosives. Here are some
ideas:
Home:
Research shows that people who are
willing to take some simple action rarely have trouble
with their home being robbed or burglarized. Remember
that the typical individual willing to break into your
home is almost always a “Predator” – and a Predator
is far more likely than the “Bully” or the “Emotionally
Highjacked”. And (if you
recall), of the three the Predator is the most likely
to “scope out” his victims and the least likely to get involved if he feels
there’s a chance he will be caught, injured or killed.
This is why the following “Personal Security” steps
work so well – the Predator is simply wary of anything
that will put him in jeopardy.
- Burglar Alarm. Have simple alarm system with a motion detector
alarm and motion detector lights around your home.
The price of a system can be amazingly cheap.
- A Dog. A BIG dog if possible. Research
proves that this is one of the best deterrents – even
better than a burglar alarm – because of the noise
and potential danger of being bitten. But a small
“yapper” is effective
too as it alerts everyone in the house that there
is an intruder. Some apartment dwellers in big cities
even found that using a recorded dog bark hooked to
a motion detector was highly effective in keeping
burglars away.
- Look Occupied. When you leave home,
keep a radio tuned to a 24-hour talk station and keep
a couple lights turned on inside the house. A predator
will rarely want to break into a home he feels is
occupied with awake and alert people.
- Sound Occupied. Your answering machine
should never inform a caller that you are out but
instead that you “can’t take the call right now”.
Don’t give out a bunch of information that you wouldn’t
want in the hands of a predator (“Hi… this is Tammy. I’m alone for the weekend counting a lot of
cash, so I can’t get to the phone right now…”). Okay,
you get the idea. Better to simply say something like
“You’ve reached (phone number), please leave a message.”
Avoid names and details.
- No Place To Hide.
Keep the shrubs next to your house trimmed in a way
that makes it difficult for someone to hide.
- Got Light? Keep flash lights in several
places throughout your home. Have one that illuminates
well and at least one that doesn’t require batteries
(you shake or crank them).
- Peep Hole: Use a door peep hole or
a video security camera to see who’s at your front
door without having to open the door or being seen
or heard. Depending on door chains for your security
is a mistake as they are easily broken by a motivated
intruder
- Trust your instincts; do not allow
anyone into your home if you are the least bit suspicious.
- Hidden Keys: Bad idea to hide house
keys outside your home as Predators can be cunning
creatures. They may see you hiding or retrieving the
key, or may simply “figure out” your hiding spot (which
is why you should forget about the “under the matt”
spot). Give a spare key to a trusted neighbor.
- Lock Up. It’s common for people to
lock their home when they leave… but not when they
stay. Always keep doors locked -- even when you or
your family members are home
- Good Locks. Install good locks in
all your entrances (deadbolts are best) and secure
all windows with locks as rarely will an intruder
break a window for entry. Too much noise and potential
for injury.
- Cell Phone: Don’t depend on a “land
line” phone as the wires can be cut. Always have a
charged cell phone within easy reach next to your
bed.
- Power Protection: It’s a good idea
to lock your breaker box as clever robbers and rapists
like to simply pop off the main breaker before breaking
into your home.
- Light Up The House. Have an electrician
install a master switch in your bedroom so that you
can turn on all the main lights in your house without
having to turn on your bedroom light. This allows
you a place to hide… but not the Predator.
- Click-Clack. There’s nothing that
scares a Predator more than the sound of a shotgun
being locked and loaded. A simple loaded shotgun under
the bed at night, is a great deterrent, it should
be kept in a secure place during the day, out of reach
of children (even if you don’t have children). Shotguns
are easy to master -- do yourself a favor and take
a class.
- Practice. Rehearse drills for yourself
and your family members for fire, home invasion, and
other emergencies.
Automobiles:
1.
Keep It Locked. Always keep doors locked
when driving. This not only keeps you from being flung
onto hard asphalt during an accident, but stops someone
from simply hoping into your car at a stoplight. Whenever
you leave your car unattended –
even for a minute – lock the doors. This avoids
any “surprise” visitors popping up from the back seat.
2.
Ready Position. The highest risk in car
jacking is as you approach or exit your vehicle, so
have your keys ready as you approach your car. Look
around to make sure all is safe and get into your vehicle
quickly. Standing at your car fumbling in your pocket
and distracted by keys is unsafe.
3.
Shed Some Light. Always check the back
seat before getting into the car. Keep a small “LED”
thumb light on your key ring so that you can check through
the window at night.
4.
Shed More Light. Always park your car
in well lit areas.
5.
Don’t Get In The Car. Do not allow yourself
or a loved one to be taken into a car by force – even
if you’re threatened with a gun or knife. You’re far
better off taking your chances NOT getting into the
car as crime statistics clearly show that the survival
rate of car abductions is very small.
6.
When coming to a stop in traffic (signal, stop sign,
or traffic back up) always give yourself “wiggle” room
between you and the car in front of you (at least ¾
of a car length).
7.
Do not let a suspicious car follow you home. There is
a strong urge to get to safety if you believe your
being followed, resist the temptation to head for home
instead go to the nearest police station or fire station.
8.
Consider installing an automatic garage door opener
and motion sensor lights in your drive way. As you pull
up to your drive way make sure there is no one suspicious
near by, and as you pull into your garage check to make
no one is hiding in wait, as you close the garage watch
your rear view mirror (a common trick is to wait in
hiding somewhere close to the garage and then to enter
the garage as its being closed)
9.
Never, ever allow yourself to run out of gas. Consider
a ¼ tank to be an empty tank
Pepper
Spray
I can honestly
say that pepper spray is often overlooked and under-rated
as personal security device. Make no mistake – it is
a powerful weapon that has many benefits without the
kind of legal baggage that of knives,
guns, and stun guns, and kubotans.
If your state and county laws allow the purchase and
carry of pepper spray do yourself a favor and seriously
consider this..
Here
are some advantages of Pepper Spray:
1)
Ease
of use- pepper spray requires minimal training
and maintenance. Its small size makes it
easy to carry and conceal
2)
Less
risk of liability- It is considered non-lethal
and has a low risk of permanent injury.
3)
Quicker
trigger – It encourages less hesitation. Using
lethal force such as a gun, knife, or club requires
a fairly high bar of provocation, which often causes
the defender to hesitate too long. Pepper spray is non-lethal
so you are more likely to use it without hesitation.
It also gives you more flexibility and keeps more options
open for you since it can be used when force is necessary,
but lethal force is not.
4)
Distance-
Pepper spray can be used from a distance -- up to 20
feet with some units -- unlike a knife, a stun gun,
or a kubaton. This can afford
you more time to run or engage.
5)
Highly
effective- The historical data on pepper spray
shows an excellent history of success by law enforcement,
security personnel, and civilians. This isn’t some kind
of experimental weapon anymore – it’s PROVEN to work
and many times save injury to both parties as it eliminates
the need to “duke it out”.
Most of the documented
cases of the use of pepper spray have been overwhelmingly
positive. The success in civilian use seems to show
a higher reported success rate compared to police use,
(although both are high). I suspect there are three
possible reasons for this:
1)
To avoid collateral exposure to bystanders police tend
to use pepper spray that has a stream
or foam delivery system. Although this does keep overspray to a minimum,
the poor atomization of this type of delivery system
lowers its effectiveness.
2)
Police officers are usually required to warn the suspect
before using the spray. This takes the element of surprise
away, the person resisting arrest now knows what’s coming
and can “psyche up” for it. On the other hand, a person
who isn’t expecting it, suddenly
has his eyes on fire, lips burning and difficultly to
breathing. The emotional shock is powerful. Advance
warning removes the shock effect.
3)
As we’ve discussed, the objectives are different for
police as compared to civilians. When dealing with hostile
situations police must contain, control, and comply (the
3 C’s). A highly motivated person can still resist officers’
attempts to restrain them even while in pain and lack
of vision. But your main objective is to simply “end
the threat”. Believe me,
a shot in the face with pepper spray will end the threat.
Now get the heck out of there.
The type of spray you choose is important. Here
are some tips on selecting pepper spray:
1)
Pepper spray can be rated in two different ways; one
is the OC percentage
in relation to the other ingredients. “OC” is oleoresin
capsicum – the stuff that makes pepper spray burn. The
other way to rate the effectiveness is the Scoville
Heat Units or SHU. The SHU
measures the “hotness” while the OC%
measures the concentration. What I want you to remember
is that the SHU is much more important than the OC%.
High OC% tends to be thicker and more difficult to atomize
(disperse) making it less effective in attacking the
mucous membranes and respiratory systems. High SHU with
a lower OC% will be faster acting, and will “feel” much
hotter to the attacker.
Choose a spray with a minimum of 2,000,000 SHU
(some go as high as 5 million SHU). If the SHU is not
listed don’t buy it. Also make sure it has an expiation
date on it, over time pepper spray looses its strength.
2)
The delivery system is almost as important as the SHU.
Pepper sprays come in Stream,
Foam, Fog, and Cone. As mentioned
previously, police and security prefer for to use stream
or foam because there is less risk to bystanders. The
fog has the highest level of overspray, but is the quickest
acting. I personally prefer the cone spray since it’s
as fast acting as the fog, but somewhat limits overspray.
A good compromise.
3)
Pepper spray comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.
If you want it for personal carrying, select a small
container that fits easily in your pocket. Like any
personal weapon it must be immediately available or
it’s of no use. If you keep it in your trunk, the car-jacker
will not wait for you to retrieve it. You can use Velcro
to mount pepper spray for in easy access in your car.
Even
though peeper spray requires minimal training you still
need to learn how to use it for maximum advantage. Take
a course (check with your local police department) or
consider purchasing our training DVD. Purchase a training
spray, it works like a regular
spray except it sprays water.
Alright
-- that’s a wrap for Part 6. There’s more coming your way… so keep your eyes peeled.
Til next time…
Dr. Russ Horine
Prez, Fight-Fast.com
“We make war that we may live in peace.”
– Aristole
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