Countering The Criminal's Plans

Whenever I've been asked to teach a self defense session for one group or another, I always start with the Rules to Live By. I adapted this from Sanford Strong's book, "Strong on Defense" which has been out of print for several years now. Parts of the book can be seen if you use the Google Book website and do a search for the book.

When criminals commit a crime against us, they need three things: Time, Control, and Isolation. The Four Rules to Live By, according to Strong, all work in direct opposition to all three. If a criminal has these things, than they are more likely to be successful in their task. By utilizing the rules, we directly counter the criminals intent and disrupt their plans.

The Four Rules to Live By

React

Resist

Avoid

Never, Never Give Up

So what do these rules mean to us. The rules are listed in order of importance, but I'm not going to tell you if the most important is at the top or bottom, that I'm going to let you decide.

So the first rule is to REACT.  When I say react, I mean you need to respond to the threat as soon as you are able to. Always remember that your best chance of surviving an encounter is within the first few seconds. Understand that your natural response to being scared is normal, but through training and practice, you can learn to deal with the fear and work with it.

Ok, so you messed up and didn't react right away. You froze, you go scared and the fear took over you, and know those precious few seconds are gone. Your screwed right? No, for whatever reason, you couldn't react immediately to the encounter, so now you must RESIST. Your only other option is to comply with the criminal, which would give them exactly what they want. So once you get over your initial shock, fight back, and make yourself the hardest victim this attacker has ever gone up against.

Alright, so your fear got the best of you, and you got too scared to fight back, but you need to stay focused. AVOID being taken to another location. This is when the criminal will try and move you to a place that is more convenient for them. They are looking to isolate you from others. Don't let this happen. This only gives the attacker the isolation that they need. With this isolation, that attacker can now take more time to do things to you that you don't want. Do everything in your power to stay put. If you're traveling in a vehicle, crash it. If they are carrying you, fight it. Which leads me to the final rule.

NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP! Its never too late to fight back. So someone assaults you and you don't react in time, fine. You messed up and didn't fight back, oops. You mess up and now you're in a place you didn't want to be in. Whatever happens, you must not forget this last rule. You can't ever give up. Don't give them the time that they need to harm you. Don't give then the control they want to manipulate you. Don't let them isolate you so they can have their way with you. Fight back, don't ever give up. Know that you have done everything physically possible to prevent this.

Remember, Time, Control, and Isolation are what the criminals need, React, Resist, Avoid, and Never, Never Give Up is what you do to combat them.

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