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The Ultimate
Guide To
Fighting
and Winning



BOB PIERCE
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The Ultimate
Guide
To Fighting
and Winning




Bob Pierce
President, FightFast.com
Copyright, 2007, Fight Fast Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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The Ultimate Guide
To Fighting and Winning
By Bob Pierce, President, FightFast.com

Part 1


Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that
something else is more important than fear. Amrose Redmoon



Dear Friend:

This course is about to take your raw fighting skills to fearsome
levels and put you ahead of 99% of most other guys on the
streets today even if youve NEVER been in a fight before in
your life.
Im not joking. Not one bit.
Because this guide is Part One of nearly 18-years of research.
And Im talking about the roll-up-your-sleeves and get sweaty
kind of research that included:

1. FBI and CIA personal combat white papers that I spent
YEARS poring over and dissecting with a fine tooth comb
2. Mountains of sensitive police reports, on specific violent
crimes. A couple days with this material and I guarantee that
youd have a different outlook on your fellow citizen. I spent
years studying these often gruesome reports, (so you know
just how warped my mind has become), and the result was a
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highly detailed breakdown of what kinds of personal combat
strategies were actually working
3. One-on-one in-depth interviews with accomplished martial
artists bar-room bouncers hardened street fighters
hot-duty combat soldiers back-alley bare-knuckle cage
brawlers black bag military elimination forces and
ice-cold steely-eyed black operative killers. Most of these
guys live in a different world than you and I, but their hard-
core experience and knowledge was worth getting the hell
scared outta me
4. The breakdown and analysis of hundreds (maybe thousands)
of actual violent streetfights videotaped while they
happened. This research was crucial to my study because it
allowed me to strip away much of the fiction that pops up
after a fight. Wild B.S. stories were suddenly completely
debunked with a couple minutes of video. I cant tell you
how much this has confirmed and enhanced my research.

NOBODY has ever completed this kind of real-world
analysis. I want to assure you that this report isnt just a collection
of Bob Piercess opinions. Nope. Youre getting just raw facts
based on actual data compiled over many years and distilled
down into this book.
Now I want to be clear that I had initially approached this as a
complete rookie -- no martial arts background to cloud my
judgment no axe to grind no favoring one specific fight
system over another. None of that crap.
I was also trained and educated to be highly analytical to use
what worked and to throw out what didnt. And thats exactly what
I did. If it succeeded on the street, I studied it to death and passed it
along to you. If it didnt work, I found out why and told you about
it.
Okay why am I doing this? Well, lets just say I had one hell
of a burning desire to know exactly how to fight and WIN
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without all the bull and baggage. Now Id love to bore you with all
the why I did it details, but I wont. But trust me I had a damn
good reason for doing this. It may have taken me nearly 18-years
to complete the job, but it was worth every minute of my time.
So right now you hold in your hot little hands my blood, sweat
and tears. This is without a doubt some of the most powerful
personal combat information youll ever learn.
And what youll discover will astonish you. Please read on


You can prevent your opponent from defeating you through
defense, but you cannot defeat him without taking the offensive.
Sun Tzu


Fight Myths
First lets start with some entertainment that doubles as
education. Ive listed some fight myths that have been floating
around for years. Youll now be one of the few people on earth
who knows with 100% certainty that these truths are really ugly
rumors, urban myths, and just plain ol damned lies.
Here they are:

1. Martial Artists Win Streetfights: Listen: I don't like to
"knock" the martial arts. They all have something valuable
to offer. We owe them a debt of gratitude for getting us
where we are today, and they're better than nothing.
BUT...unfortunately, many of the arts being widely taught
today are ancient arts, developed for another time and
place in history, for specific conditions and circumstances
that simply do not exist in the world you'll be fighting in
today.
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As one instructor put it: Martial Arts is what you do
with somebody while street fighting is what you do to
somebody. I wish I could take credit for that quote.
Okay. There are really 4 types of martial arts schools
out there:
a. True Martial Arts- This is learning the art for its
own sake. Think of it like learning to sculpt or paint
because you enjoy it as an artistic discipline not
because youre looking to become a highly-paid
advertising mogul
b. MMA Schools Refers to sport fight training
which is NOT the same as studying street fighting.
Remember that the ultimate goal in sports combat is
NOT the same as a real street fight. In street fighting
the goal is to end the threat as quickly as possible
in MMA its to make money as quickly as possible.
Promoters dont want every fight to end in 3 to 6
seconds (as most street fights do), so they strip away
the most effective fight moves.
c. Martial Combat This is type of training (also
known as true street fighting) that I cover in this
report cover. Martial Combat has one goal in mind
to end the threat as quickly as possible. There are NO
rules and every confrontation could end in serious
injury or death.
d. Belt Factory- Im betting this is the kind of training
with which youre most familiar. Which boy hasnt
dreamed of one day emerging from a Dojo wearing a
black belt and kicking ass on anyone who dares cross
him? Which parent hasnt believed that the local dojo
will help their son learn to defend himself? Well thats
just plain false security because belt factories arent
teaching an invincible Martial Combat streetfighting
system. Nope sorry they are teaching Martial
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Arts. Nothing wrong with that, but one has little to do
with the other.

Statistics show that your average store front black belt
does not have a much better chance at winning a street
fight than any other average guy.
Shocked? Well dont be. Most martial arts concentrate on
discipline and complicated fine motor techniques that go
straight out the window when crunch time hits. And
many martial arts techniques are simply no longer useful.
Breaking pine boards in half for example was originally
developed to train warriors how to shatter an opponents
protective wooden chest plate. Cant think of many street
thugs today wearing that. The high flying roundhouse kick
was developed to knock a man off his horse. Might work
for a guy on his Harley

2. The 5-Minute Fist Fight. This is a big one and its
important that you get this Hollywood version of fighting
out of your head. Weve all been exposed to movies where
the hero is endlessly fist-fighting. Yes, one big-gulp and a
large popcorn later, hes still going at it. But heres a
reality check for you. Nearly every actual street fight lasts
for no more than 3 to 8 seconds! Thats right. Its all over
with in less time than it took for you to read this
paragraph. Once you understand this, you can appreciate
just how little time you have to recognize whats going on
and take decisive action to win. The key is what you do in
the time leading up to that 3-8 seconds burst.

3. The One-Touch Death Move. This is a close cousin to
the One Touch Knock Out, both of which are very
misleading. Its time to stop concentrating on specific
fight techniques and begin focusing in on key targets and
strategies.
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For example, itd be tough for someone to sell you a
trademarked death blow that was nothing more than a
simple shove --wouldnt it? Yet this would indeed be a
highly effective death move if your opponent happened
to be standing at the edge of a high cliff.
You see my point. Yes it is possible to kill an opponent
with one punch. In fact, as there are situations where as
little as 5-pounds of pressure can end up in death. But
what Im teaching you here is whats probable and not
possible.
Its why you dont see basketball players taking most of
their shots from half court. Sure, its possible theyll make
it, but a good driving lay-up is far more probable. If you
follow some basic fight principles (which Ill cover in a
little bit) itll be highly probable that youll win.
Oh and by the way there are no trademarked
fight moves only trademarked fight names. And anyone
can trademark a name. In fact, Im considering
trademarking that shove-em-off-the-cliff move as the
Bob Pierce One-Touch Death Move.

4. The Predictable Reaction. I hear this nonsense all the
time and whats scary is that plenty of fight systems on the
market today are based on this myth. It goes something
like this; Hit him here, and hell do this then strike him
here, and hell do that then throw a blow here, and hell
drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes. And thats it
you win. Dont believe it. My research shows that youre
in for a big surprise if you buy into this regimented step-
by-step theory of fighting. People especially those
facing a threatening and volatile situation are wildly
unpredictable.

5. The Man-To-Man Fight. Another grand illusion. Most
guys imagine (and train for) a fight against one man. Well
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you cant depend on that. Stats prove that more times than
not your opponent will have back up friends willing to
help take you down and kick in your head. This is why its
critical that you first make quick and effective decisions
early on to end the as fight quickly as possible and prepare
for more than one adversary.

6. The Convenient Fighting Environment. Dojo training
often lulls one into the sense that youll always have
plenty of fighting room that your opponent will calmly
approach you, bow, and ask if youre ready and that the
ground will always be nicely padded. The reality is
different. Ive found that most fights occur in tight
quarters (a bathroom, between cars, etc), with little or no
room for flying kicks or fancy moves. Theyll be no light,
furniture in the way, and rough concrete floors to strip
meat off your bones. Ouch!

7. The Undefeatable System. This is another good one. A
series of fighting techniques that cant be beat -- yeah
right. Dont believe it. As Ive pointed out, fighting has
more to do with proper target acquisition (i.e., hit him in
the side of the neck where all the blood and nerves to his
brain run), than it has to do with any specific moves and
techniques (i.e., a spinning roundhouse kick). So the idea
that a collection of techniques is undefeatable just isnt
possible.
Heres a question: What happens when two students of
this undefeatable system meet in a fight? Hmmm. Guess
that means theyll be kicking their own asses.

8. The Floating Warrior. More Hollywood cult crap that
you shouldnt buy into. There is simply no internal
meditation or external training method that can defy the
laws of physics. Ive seen companies actually selling
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videos on how to will yourself lighter (or heavier) so
that you can float away, or cant be picked up, or some
such thing. Well heres a shocker theres never been
ANY proof that any of those techniques have ever worked.
But hang on the laws of physics are different than the
laws of the human mind. Because surefooted confidence,
clearly telecast alpha signals, and forcing an opponent
back on his heels can go miles to (1.) persuading an
adversary (especially a Predator) that he shouldnt mess
with you or (2.) ending the fight with YOU on top. Ill talk
more about this in a bit, but for now, forget about floating
through the treetops.

9. Most Fights Go To The Ground. Most guys are
surprised to discover that this is a myth -- but it is. In fact,
most street fights and personal combat situations do NOT
end up on the ground. Yes, someone ends up on the
ground alright, and its the loser with the winner (or
winners) standing over him stomping on his head. So why
is this myth so common? Well, it comes from the study of
police reports. You see, most cops who struggle with an
adversary end up on the ground.
Now hold on doesnt that contradict what I just said?
No, it doesnt. Because the goal of law enforcement is to
contain, control, comply (also known as the 3 Cs)
which, by the way, requires more skill than simply
winning a street fight. In other words a cop cant simply
eye jab, ear slap, then move in for a knock-out head butt
because a dangerous criminal is resisting you. No, an
officers goal is NOT to end a fight in 3 seconds, but
instead to use reasonable and proportionate escalation
of force to control and contain his subject.
This is different than what happens in a real world
street fight and its why the stats on going to the ground
have been skewed. Cops rules of engagement are
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different so, of the 70 DVD titles Ive produced, about
15 of them are designed to help law enforcement address
the more complex and highly effective contain, control,
and comply techniques.
Use these techniques on your drunken brother-in-law
when you want him out of your house but dont want to
hurt him too bad. When he sobers up hell thank you for
not landing him in the hospital.

10. Bullies Are Social Deviants and Cowards: On the
contrary, recent studies suggest that the majority of bullies
are often socially popular and often considered
successful in life. They typically are NOT outcasts, but
in reality are often confident and popular. Over the course
of a year, statistics show that 14% of boys have been a
victim of bully threat or attack. I suspect the true
percentage is much higher since theres a good number
that wont raise their hand and gladly volunteer this
information. Oh yes Ive been humiliated. Thats me.
You get the picture. This 14% represents boys who
admitted being a victim.
Bullies get much satisfaction by hurting and
humiliating people who dont accept their dominance.
They WILL fight when challenged so giving someone
advice to stand up to a bully will almost certainly mean
a physical fight. That doesnt mean you shouldnt stand up
to a bully, but its good to know what youre in for. In
other words never bluff with a bully. If you stand up,
you better be ready to fight. And bullies usually have
some fight experience.

11. Diplomacy Works Best Its a nice thought, but
unfortunately your adversary is rarely a reasonable person.
First let me cover the three types of opponents youll face
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and what motivates them then maybe youll understand
where diplomacy will work and where it wont.
a. The Bully We covered this a bit already, but his
primary motivation is to dominate you and prove that
hes the top-dog. In other words, bullies pick fights to
either protect or improve their perceived social
standing. Submitting to a bullys wishes can get you out
of a fight, but if youre in a position where you need to
demonstrate your own authority (a cop, a firefighter, a
soldier leading men in combat, etc), simply submitting
to a bully may not be a good option for you.
b. The Predator This is someone whos not necessarily
looking for a fight, hes looking for something youve
got. You have money a car a woman
something and he wants it. Or perhaps youre caught
up in the random violence of a gang initiation. Stats
show that once youre targeted by this guy, you wont
be able to reason your way out of a fight. Youve got
two choices: 1.) give him what he wants, or 2.) fight.
If its your wallet, throw it one way and run the other. If
its your wife or girlfriend he wants well I suspect
youll want to fight. And Ill cover some specifics on
that topic in a bit. The predator is the least likely to be
drawn into diplomacy.
c. The Emotionally Hijacked Also known as a
badger. This is the guy who explodes in anger
because you cut him off in traffic dinged his car
slighted him in front of his girlfriend or told him he
couldnt drink your last beer. Its likely that more than
one person has suggested that he take on anger
management counseling (which he got angry about),
as his behavior often runs to extremes. The good news
is that the badger is one character who responds well to
specific reasoning methods. I cover those techniques
in great detail in my book.
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12. Your friends will back you up. Ha! Im sad to say this
is not true. Wed all like to believe our buddies will back
us up, but research shows that theyre more likely to pick
their noses than pick a fight. In fact, crowd behavior
studies show that the more friends and bystanders are
hanging around, the less likely it is that youll get help in a
fight.
The technical term for this is dilution of
responsibility, but I think they should change that name
to something less technical like: I thought someone else
would take care of it.
Now, on the other hand, if you have just ONE friend
and no crowd of bystanders, you actually may get some
help. But the facts have shown over and over that
individuals inside a crowd are less likely to act.
A gang mentality is different. They will back each
other up because its part of their job.

13. Ignore them and theyll go away: This is a common
tactic, especially with women who feel theyre being
followed. They simply put on the blinders and hope for the
best. Oh goodness, I hope that bad man goes away. Bad
tactic. Dont ignore a predator you suspect is scoping
you. Believe it or not, your best bet is to let him know that
you ARE aware of him.
Look at him directly. Watch him. Let him know youre
aware of his presence. Once a predator suspects you know
his real intentions, it strips away much of the motivation to
attack since the element of surprise has been taken away
and surprise is one of the predators most powerful tools.
He knows he cant surprise you, and now youre perceived
as less of an easy mark.
Of course eyeballing a bully will have the opposite
effect and will probably result in the what are YOU
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looking at? response. So this tactic is to be used when
you suspect a predator.

14. Police are there to protect you: Now with all due
respect to law enforcement, they are not your personal
body guards. They cant be. Here are three reasons we
have cops.
a. Deterrence This is their main purpose. They patrol
the streets and convince less-than-stellar citizens that
criminal activity is a bad idea -- not because its wrong,
but because they might get caught. Deterrence depends
on peoples reluctance to take a chance. Its like the
store owner (and this is a true story) who kept getting
robbed and ripped off, so he placed an obvious
cardboard cutout of police officer in a highly visible
part of his store. It completely eliminated the robberies
and dramatically reduced shoplifting. It worked not
because anyone was afraid of a cardboard cutout, but
because it placed a seed of doubt in the mind of the
potential criminal.
b. Mop up Okay this sounds lousy, but much of a
cops time is spent traveling to crime scenes, talking
with victims, writing up reports and mopping up the
blood. Now this has almost nothing to do with
preventing crimes, except for the fact that good police
work can eventually lead to getting specific criminals
off the streets.
c. Apprehension Heres where cops earn their
paycheck. It takes guts to put your ass on the line and
hunt down a dangerous criminal. Most of us avoid this
kind of confrontation, but cops purposely put
themselves into it. In reality the mop-up and
apprehension are both just another form of deterrence.
The idea that a cop will investigate and try to catch
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them is a powerful reason many people dont get
involved in crime.

Most people are shocked to discover that the police do
not have the ability (nor the legal obligation) to protect
individuals. Existing by the simpleton motto of let the
cops handle it is a risky way to live. The harsh reality is
that YOU are responsible for your own protection -- and
for that of your loved ones not the cops.

15. All You Need Is One (Or Two) Fighting Techniques
This is a common theory that has some truth to it. But I
want to dispel the foolish notion that knowing less is better
than knowing more. This just isnt true. Because following
this kind of logic would indicate that, for example, youd
be better off using an uneducated bag-lady as your
investment broker than a guy with a Masters Degree in
Finance. Id put my money on the Masters degree but
thats just me.
Well, the same is true with fighting techniques. Youre
better off knowing more than less, as it gives you the
flexibility of using multiple methods to attack specific
targets. Remember one of the most crucial keys to
fighting and winning is proper target acquisition. In
other words, youll be far more effective with a crudely
executed, but accurate, kick to your opponents nut-sack
than youd be with a really pretty roundhouse kick that
missed the mark.
Okay maybe it sounds like Im contradicting myself,
but Im not. Stay with me here.
Because the reason that many store front martial
artists and dojo educated fighters LOSE against an
experienced street fighter is that, in the heat of battle, they
are trying to use and remember specific MOVES
(typically complex fine motor skill techniques) rather than
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targeting. They should be viewing their opponent as a
group of vulnerable targets, and then take advantage of the
most exposed targets as quickly as possible by any means
necessary (something called Target Awareness).
Many make the huge mistake of thinking about
technique before target. They display their swooning
crane technique and a couple seconds later, the
experienced streetfighter has them demonstrating the
unconscious crane technique.
On the other hand, a completely inexperienced fighter
will typically have 1 or 2 moves. They are:
a. Right hand haymaker
b. Left hand haymaker
Cmon you can do better than that. In fact, Ive got
over 70 titles thatll quickly show you tons of moves and
sneaky dirty trick attacks. Your adversary wont know
what hit him.
Because, after countless interviews with some of the
most dangerous fighters on the planet, I discovered that
ALL these fighters were very quick to see open targets, (or
to make them open), then utilize any one of an arsenal of
techniques to attack those open targets. Having more
fighting tools simply allows a fighter to more quickly
exploit open targets.
So it comes down to this.
a. You must have more than 1-2 techniques. You want
at least a few dozen ways to attack your adversarys
targets
b. You need to have at least a handful of techniques for
each of the four ranges of fighting, including:
a. Long Range pick up on 3 good long kicks. Like
I said, weve got an arsenal of kicks to choose
from use the ones that fits you best.
b. Medium range choose 3 good punches and
short kicks and learn the ear slap, eye jab, and the
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palm in the face. These simple techniques can
(and often do) end the fight in a couple of
seconds, but you should never count on it. For
instance, Ive personally seen a fight where the
guys eyeball was hanging from his head and he
still kept fighting. Drugs, alcohol, and just plain
insanity can mean that youll have to keep going
to end it. (This brings up another important
point you NEVER want to stand back and
evaluate how the fights going).
c. Close Range This is where youll be able to end
it. There are a lot of vicious and devastating
techniques I can show you in this range, including
specialized knees shots, wicked elbow strikes, and
fight-ending headbutts. Experienced fighters
typically use special tactics to get in close, and
then use one of these brutal techniques to end it.
Its lights out, game over.
d. Grappling Yes, I said that research shows that
most fights dont go to the ground unless youre
in a contain, control, comply mode. But it does
happen, so you need to have some aces up your
sleeve. Weve got a number of excellent ground
fighting dvds.

16. All Military Fight Systems Can Be Trusted. Let me
tell you a dirty little secret about some military combat
systems being sold today. Recently theres been a rash of
experts whove trained the military in their secret
system.
Heres the scoop. Theyve offered a few military guys
some free training in their system. Thats it. Free seminars
or workshops to military personnel is almost always a
marketing ploy and a resume building exercise. They
can now turn around and advertise that their system is
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used by military experts. Keep your eyes open for this
nonsense. Just because someone trained military people
does NOT make it special.
Another thing, most soldiers will admit that much of the
hand to hand stuff is absolutely worthless to them because
100% of their job is to fight at a distance using hi-tech
weaponry -- NOT hand-to-hand systems.
This is exactly why Ive personally sought out special
military units that indeed depend heavily on hand-to-
hand fighting.
And believe me, these guys exist. I even got some of
them to talk. They sneak around behind enemy lines
quietly taking care of business without firing weapons
and drawing a bunch of attention to themselves. Real live
bad-asses thatd make Rambo look like a pussy.

17. Sport Fighting Is Just Like Personal Combat. Many
think that a trained boxer, cage fighter, Mixed Martial
Artist, or kickboxer is the same as being a trained street
fighter. Not true. Let me ask who do YOU think would
win a spontaneous street fight -- a champion MMA
fighter or some ex-con street-brawler raised in the
toughest area of east LA?
Id put my money on the ex-con. Because as brutal as it
may appear, an MMA fight really IS different than a street
fight.
First, a pay-per-view cage fight (also called a mixed-
martial-arts or MMA fight) is about making money for the
promoters. They cant allow every fight to be over within
3-8 seconds. Theyd lose their audience -- and advertisers
-- fast. So, in an MMA fight theres no quick fight
ending moves allowed -- which is what a street fight is
ALL about.
Also, promoters have got to take some effort to protect
the fighters. They wouldnt be sanctioned for long with
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a continuous stream of dead bodies being hauled out of the
ring.
So, heres 16 moves that are outlawed in most
sanctioned MMA fights -- but used in most street fights:
a. Eye gouging.
b. Groin strikes (the ever popular sack-attack)
c. Throat strikes (which can easily be lethal).
d. Grabbing the trachea
e. Biting (alright Tyson DID try this once).
f. Clawing, twisting, or pinching the flesh.
g. Stomping, kneeing or kicking a grounded opponent.
h. Strikes to spine or back of head (also easily lethal).
i. Striking downward, using the point of the elbow.
j. Head butt (think of a bowling ball in the face).
k. Hair pulling.
l. Kicking the kidney with the heel.
m. Grabbing the clavicle
n. Small joint manipulations (such as fingers)
o. Weapons and improvised weapons.
p. Multiple attackers (except in WWF).


I dislike death; however there are some things I dislike more than
death. Therefore, there are times when I will not avoid danger.
Mencius



Okay, like I said, maybe there are some exceptions to this
in World Wrestling situations. I mean they DO use folding
chairs and multiple attackers while the ref isnt looking.
But seriously what wins a match-fight is strength,
size, speed, endurance, and skill. In personal combat or
street fighting, its the use of deception, distraction,
disruption and destruction (the four Ds) that wins.
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Think about this. When Mike Tyson went to prison they
separated him from the general prison population for his own
protection. Why? I mean bad-ass Mike Tyson was the most
feared Heavy Weight boxer at the time what did he have to
worry about? Well, even Tyson knew that the fight rules in
prison were different than in the ring. In fact, just like on the
streets, there are NO rules. Anything goes, and youve got to
be resourceful to survive.
Now granted, some skinny little con would have little
chance at beating Tyson in the ring under existing boxing
rules. But a sport fighter who doesnt understand the big
Four Ds is at a serious disadvantage in any street fight.
This is why size, strength, and endurance are not huge
factors in a street fight its about your skills in the Four
Ds.

Sure feels good to get some of that off my chest.

In my next installment -- Part Two of this Ultimate Guide --
Ill get into some real meat and potatoes on what WINS a street
fight.


To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of
preserving peace.
- George Washington

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The Ultimate Guide
To Fighting and Winning

Part 2


You might as well stand and fight because if you run, you will
only die tired.
Vern Jocque (USMC).



This is Part Two of my Ultimate fight guide which indicates
theres a Part One. If you havent read Part One of this guide
I encourage you to read it first before continuing on.
Please, you dont want to take a ready-fire-aim approach to
this. Start at the beginning. Youll initiate a powerful confidence-
building process to discovering the true secrets to fighting and
WINNING a real-world streetfight -- even if youve NEVER
been in a fight before in your life.
Okay lecture over -- lets move onto some fighting statistics.
Now these fight stats, (as well as the fight myths weve already
covered), are a heck of a lot of fun to learn about -- but lets not
forget theres a larger picture here. Sure, entertainment is fine --
but the real reason Im revealing to you the results of my 18 years
of fight research is so that you can start to separate fact from
fantasy strip away the smoke and mirrors and dispel once and
for all the utter B.S. that is preventing you from protecting yourself
and your loved ones.
Dont skip over any of this. Like the six-million-dollar-man,
were in a process of re-building you -- minus all the bionics
(although Id sure like just one of those arms).
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Ultimately Im leading you to an exciting finish where the
clouds of indecision will evaporate and youll know precisely what
to do in a confrontation and EXACTLY how to win any fight
against anyone of any size.
Lets continue on


It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.
George Patton


Street Fighting Stats:
Once again, this is what 18 years of extensive research Im
talking FBI files CIA white papers hardcore police reports
and real street-fights caught on video shows to be true. So I want
to assure you that I havent just made this stuff up.
Anyway, heres just the facts and itll help to start clearing
things up for you.

1.) Hes So Big. Your adversary will most likely be taller and
larger than you. Now again, I want to point out again that
everything here is based on probability. For example,
Shaquille ONeil is probably not going to be confronted
by someone bigger and stronger than him as there are
maybe 3 other people on the planet that fit that
description. But it is possible.
Anyway, statistics show that youre most likely to be
drawn into a confrontation with someone bigger than you -
- and the reasons may be obvious. Your adversary likes
the idea that he will easily be able to harm and control you
with little or no injury to himself. Its rare indeed that an
individual will engage you in a confrontation because he
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wants to be hurt (unless of course hes into it), so its a
safe to bet that anyone seriously threatening you and your
family will be bigger than you.
There is one exception to this rule its something
called Small Mans Syndrome or the Napoleon
Complex. This is when a smaller man attempts to
enhance or maintain his self image by continually
challenging larger men for the most minor of reasons
(even NO reason). His small stature makes him a highly
sensitive person -- a hybrid of a bully and an emotionally
highjacked individual -- who reacts with violence to the
smallest of real or imagined slights.

2.) Hes So High. Thats right, over half of the time your
adversary will be high as a kite on drugs and/or alcohol.
Of course thats a two edged sword. Youve got a better
chance at winning against a high-flyer -- chiefly because
their reflexes are so poor. But on the other hand, if he
wasnt so high, then the fight probably would never have
occurred. But then again uh... jeeze I think I need a
drink

3.) The Haymaker. If you allow him to initiate the fight,
90% of the time your opponent will throw a looping right
hook a haymaker -- to your head. Like I said, most
guys on the street have two moves -- a right haymaker and
a left haymaker. And since most people are right handed
well you get it -- what an arsenal!
This one fact alone can go a long way to being prepared
-- and its why a lot of experienced fighters will
automatically begin to circle toward an opponents left
side before a confrontation even begins. Why? Well its
tough for a right-hander to get a good haymaker shot if
youre on his left side And if he turns to try to get a good
24

shot just continue to circle to your right so that you can
stay on his left side. An old boxing trick thats simple.
So, as you can see, having even a few dirty tricks up
your sleeve can go a long way to winning a fight. Most
guys youll meet are very limited in their number of
options. Use that fact to your advantage.

4.) One, Two, Three Youre Out. The average fight is just 3
to 8 seconds long. I know I already mentioned, but I just
want to continue to impress you with this.
I personally was shocked to discover this as after
watching many John Wayne movies in my youth -- I was
convinced most fist fights raged on for hours. Nope its
more like, wham bam boomfight over. Once you
realize how fast itll be over, youll be far less likely to
politely allow your adversary to hit first which is a bad
strategy my friend.

5.) Ground Fighting. I want to further clarify of one of my
previous fight myths which states that most fights do not
go to the ground. While it is indeed true -- most street
fights do NOT go to the ground thats only true for
fights lasting less than 12 seconds. And most fights last
only 3-8 seconds (remember wham bam boom?). So
my research shows that at second number 13 theres a high
probability the fight will end up on ground.
What does this means for you? Well it couldnt hurt
to have a few ground fighting tricks up your sleeve.

6.) Getting Hurt. The longer the fight, the higher the chances
of serious injury or death. Yep, the longer it takes you to
end it, the better chance of you getting really hurt or
killed.
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Unfortunately many martial artists make the mistake of
displaying their skills. I mean sure they paid good
money to learn those fancy moves. Theyve even got a
pretty belt to prove it. So please, could everyone form a
little circle to watch some cool reverse roundhouse kicking
skills.
Meanwhile, his adversary moves in and lands a couple
simple well placed shots and suddenly this martial artist
is on the ground unconscious. His opponents technique
may not have required a lot of skill, and were not very
pretty, but that doesnt matter. At this point he can only
hope that his adversary and his buddies dont decide to
start stomping on his head. Because lying on the ground
unconscious does not necessarily mean your opponent is
done with you.
So get this idea in your skull end the fight as quickly
as possible for your own good.

7.) The Melon Shot. Most of the time your adversary will be
a head hunter meaning that he will almost exclusively
be targeting your head. Now Im not suggesting that the
head is not a good target, but for Petes sake it isnt the
only target.
Whats more is that the head is often the best defended
target, which means you should look for numerous other
targets around the body (target awareness). The smart
fighter will typically attack open high value targets, like
the groin, inside knee, neck, outside thigh, etc. Ill cover
some more targets later on, but my point is that your
opponent will most likely be head-hunting and that you
should consider many other targets.

8.) The Classic Shove. Important to know this. A shove is
typically an initiation for an attack This is extremely
26

common for the Emotionally Hijacked or the Bully
and its purpose is to build up his confidence and ego to
just before striking.
Its rare that a Predator will use this, as hes very
careful not to announce his intentions (hello Im going
to rob you but Ill start it out with this little shove.).
No. A predators main strategy is surprise.
Anyway, if an adversary shoves you, look out! Statistics
show that it is highly probable his next move will be a
strike -- and typically that strike happens within a second
or two after the shove.
Now a common question that I receive is: so what
should I do if someone shoves me? Okay let me be
clear about this. Youve got some solid info on your side
namely that youre probably about a second or two away
from getting hit. You dont have to be a seasoned cage
fighter to figure out that standing there and doing nothing
is not your best course of action unless of course getting
hit upside the head with a haymaker is your idea of a
viable strategy. Youve got other options -- and believe it
or not, simply running is one of those options.
Regardless of the option you choose, you must use the
shove as a trigger to prompt immediate and decisive
action.

9.) Admiring Your Work. Heres another stunning fight
fact. MOST rookie fighters will suddenly stop their attack
to assess the damage especially if they are winning the
fight.
Bad move.
Its a big-time rookie mistake and it often plays out
something like this: an Emotionally Hijacked person
shoves you. You wisely recognize that youre about to be
27

hit, so you strike first with a forearm shot to the side of the
neck (nice choice) then you stand back and wait for this
bum to crumble into a heap -- calling you master and
begging for mercy.
Dont count on it!... more Hollywood baloney!
Stats prove that, given the chance, an opponent will
often quickly recover from his initial shock and dismay --
then start to return fire. Thats bad news for you because
by stopping and accessing the damage, youve literally
given away a couple of your most important tools for
winning this fight surprise and continual pressure.
So heres a piece of advice. Once the fight is on, do
NOT stop until the threat is removed -- whether that threat
is removed because youve escaped because your
adversary is on the ground writhing in pain or because
hes unconscious. No matter, youll want to get out of
there as quickly as possible. Do Not wait for him to
recover do NOT wait for his buddies to show up and
do NOT wait for emotionally pumped up bystanders to
attack you. Do what you gotta do, then leave the area as
quickly as possible.
Fighters who strike and assess can (and do) end up
hurt or dead.

10.) Beginners Cant Hurt You. As Ive already suggested,
most adversaries youll face will NOT be well-trained
fighters. This is good news, because it means that having
some fundamental fight knowledge (like youre learning
here), will put you one or two steps ahead of your
opponent. And the over 70 DVD training courses Ive got
available will really secure your position.
Of course this doesnt mean you cant be hurt by an
untrained fighter.
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One Fight-Fast instructor -- Mark Hatmaker (also
known as the Professor Of Grappling) -- points out that
hes witnessed complete rookies (with no fight experience
at all), worm their way out of impossible Brazilian
ground fighting holds.
The Professor suggests that even highly experienced
fighters should always avoid trouble if they can even
against an inexperienced fighter as there is simply no
guarantee of the final outcome. Understand that ALL
personal combat is a desperate life-and-death struggle
where anything can happen.
So you have to assume that your opponent will fight for
his life, just as YOU should fight for yours. There is no
such thing as a casual ass-kicking. Its an all out fight or
nothing -- and the end result can mean serious permanent
injury or death.

11.) The Stomp. One of the latest dancing crazes is called the
head-stomp. As youve probably guessed, its a dance
on your head. Because research shows that if you get
knocked down to the ground -- especially against multiple
attackers -- your head is likely to be viewed as a rugby ball
in open field.
Experienced street fighters know to stay off the ground
and on their feet or else!
Of course ground fighting can and does happen, which
means here at Fight-Fast Inc. weve created instructional
material to deal with it. One of the most effective
packages is Street Safe III. It focuses on a number of
ugly techniques designed to get an opponent off of you
quickly so that you can get back onto your feet.
In fact, since being on the ground is so serious, (it often
means getting kicked unconscious in a matter of seconds),
the techniques demonstrated in Street Safe III are some
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of the most vicious and brutal youll learn anywhere. As
a result, I wont release Street Safe III without a signed
waiver. Yeah its that nasty!

12.) The Block-head. If youre busy blocking incoming blows,
youre in a bad position. Because thats the exact opposite
position you want to be in. You want your opponent to
be attempting to block not yourself.
Having a mindset of blocking punches and kicks means
that you are on the defensive reacting rather than
acting pedaling backwards off balance and not able
to effectively counter attack.
Now with all due respect, Ive seen a LOT of martial
artists endlessly practicing parries (which is the
redirection of incoming shots), and blocks. Thats all well
and good but its kinda like a NASCAR driver
concentrating his valuable training on building an extra-
durable roll cage. As he careens 180 mph out of control
off that first turn, it suddenly dawns on him that maybe he
should have practiced driving.
Its the same with fighting. Experienced street fighters
rarely concentrate their efforts on blocks and parries but
instead defend their soft targets with space or the proper
execution of an offensive attack.
Now, Im not suggesting you make no effort to block,
because there IS value in it. But, you wont win a fight
with blocking and parrying alone, and, if you find yourself
doing this, it usually indicates youre in big trouble.

13.) You Will Get Cut. Almost any street fighter worth his
salt will advise you to run like hell in the face of a knife
(with a gun you sometimes want to actually close the
distance).
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Understandably, there are times when you cant simply
run away. Youve got your family, or girlfriend, or other
loved ones with you.
But know this: If youre forced to fight a man armed
with a blade, you WILL be cut. Its that simple.
Street Safe I instructor Paul Vunak, (a world expert
on knife disarming), proved this point by wiping red paint
on a training knife blade. Even with his astonishing
disarming skills, he was rarely able to disarm a determined
fighter without getting red paint on himself.
His advice is this: Dont waste your time trying to
avoid getting cut but rather use it to concentrate on
eliminating the threat. And the threat is NOT the knife
but the person holding it.


Dont hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but
never hit soft.
Theodore Roosevelt


Internal Myths:
Okay its time to get into a very scary place inside your
own mind.
Because thats where the real fight takes place. Its time to clear
away some of the cobwebs hanging around in your cranium and
take a fresh perspective.
Now I dont want to get too technical, but my research
uncovered something extremely important a thing called
cognitive dissonance. This is nothing but a fancy way to say that
a persons actual beliefs dont match up with their actions.
This can cause extreme discomfort and indecision something
you dont want rattling around in your head during a fight. To win,
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you must be clear-headed, know exactly what to do, and then do it
with decisive action. You cant afford to be working things out
inside your head while facing down an adversary.
So, lets begin to change some beliefs that you may be hanging
onto and may ultimately hurt you. Some of these beliefs are
nothing but simplistic myths instilled in us as young boys yet we
still hang onto them as grown men.
Here are four of the most common examples -- although Im
sure as you examine your beliefs, youll come up with plenty
more. Im avoiding the sugar coating here and you should do the
same with yourself. Because hanging onto baggage and childish
notions will result in deadly hesitation in the heat of battle. Lets
take a look:
A. John Wayne Syndrome a real man never backs
down.
Now, there are people who actually live to fight. In my
18-years of research Ive met plenty of them and I can
positively say that spending any kind of time with them
means that theyll be continually looking to you for back-
up. If you want to be friends with this type of guy then
youd better be prepared to take many trips to the hospital
and jail. They will break into their own version of West
Side Story at the slightest indication of insult or reproach.
These guys actually believe that a real man never backs
down -- and his actions match his belief. I may not happen
to agree with his notions, but the man acts on his beliefs.
There is NO internal conflict here.
On the other hand, if youre not one of these fight-at-
the-drop-of-a-hat guys, and yet you still believe that a
real man never backs down then youve got a problem.
You must try to match up your beliefs with your actions.
That doesnt mean Im suggesting you start fighting
more. No. It means Im suggesting that you re-evaluate your
beliefs.
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Heres something that may help. Do mental exercises
of situations in which you would and would not fight. For
example, a freeway driver flips you the bird. Now, if you
subscribe to the John Wayne Syndrome, youd pull your car
off of the road and fight no matter if the guy is twice your
size and wearing a Hells Angels jacket. Youre belief
system demands that you duke it out right there on the side
of the freeway.
If this is what youd really do, then fine, your actions
really do match your beliefs. Like I said, no internal conflict
here. But, if your actions would be different, then you must
be honest with yourself up front before that scene plays
itself out and come to grips that maybe you really dont
believe that a real man never backs down.
The key here is an honest mental evaluation of the
differences in your fantasies versus what youd really do
down here on planet earth. It will save you a lot of mental
torture.
Heres a real life example. I personally received a call
from one Fight-Fast customer who suffered mental anguish
because he backed down from a fight, despite watching
many self-defense Fight-Fast videos and feeling that he was
a well trained fighter.
Now, I personally believe he did the right thing and I
told him that. Nobody went to jail, the hospital, or the
morgue. His opponent was a stranger and there was almost
certainly no chance hed ever see him again. The outcome
of that confrontation turned out better than he could expect.
But, because somewhere in the deep recesses of his
mind he hung onto this foolish notion that real men dont
back down this guy suffered a lot of grief and sleepless
nights. He simply never had done an honest evaluation of
his own personal beliefs.
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Heres another way to think about this. Lets say that
the President of the United States while whizzing by in
his motorcade -- is insulted and challenged by an angry
citizen. Should the president really get out of his car and
fight this guy? Should he feel ashamed for not doing so?
According to the John Wayne Syndrome believer, the
answer should be a resounding yes.
Now this example is obviously ridiculous only to make
a point. Sit down and come to grips with your own beliefs
beforehand itll save you from making a stupid decision
or the agony of dealing with internal conflict.

B. Never Hit First Another notion from childhood because
whats the first thing that your dad or a teacher asked you
after a fight? Wasnt it who hit who first?
Well research proves that hitting first means youve got
a damn good chance to win the fight. Youve initiated
surprise, dismay, got the guy back on his heels, and have an
excellent opportunity to keep up the pressure until you can
end the threat. Everything you want.
Oh but wait thats right you cant hit first.
Teacher said so.
Its time to grow up and get away from this kind of
thinking its just plain dangerous.
Lets forget fist-fighting for a second and think about it
as a gun fight. Would you allow an armed opponent the first
shot? I sure hope not. Same goes with hand-to-hand
combat. Do NOT freely give away your main advantage
because of some misguided idea.

C. Fair Fight This is more common than youd imagine.
Stuff like dont hit a guy with glasses no hair pulling
no biting no eye gouging and so on. If you actually
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believe this, you need to add one more to the list no
fighting.
Its like the British officers who were so disgusted with
the way unchivalrous American colonials fought. Those
savages actually unfairly shot at them from behind trees
and bushes. How uncouth.
Let me be clear in a fight you want an unfair
advantage. You never want to purposely give away
anything that may give your adversary the edge.
In one of the videotaped street fights I researched, there
was a young man who had his face nearly bit off in a
vicious attack. He kept screaming out no fair hes
biting hes biting
I still get shivers thinking about that poor kid.
I only hope you will not be as nave. You must assume
that your adversary will do anything and that he plays by
NO rules. I know its an ugly thought, but you must treat
every fight like its a life or death battle. The idea that you
can somehow remain a gentleman puts you in an
extremely vulnerable position.

D. Fight Your Fear Fear is information; its not to be
controlled or eliminated and is certainly not your enemy.
Acting in spite of your fear is something called courage.
Ive see too many fight systems that talk about getting
rid of fear. Wrong-o. Understand that fear itself is a
healthy emotion thats protecting you.
Youd probably agree that being fearful of walking on
the edge of a cliff is a fairly natural emotion to have
especially knowing that the Bob Pierce One-Touch Death
Move is out there. Its simply your bodys way of
protecting you.
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The idea that you need to get rid of it is foolish, and will
either result in brain freeze or will simply put you in
greater danger. The key is to listen to fear rather than
deny it or attempt to suppress it.
Use fear as a way to trigger external focus the key to
avoiding brain freeze or the deer in headlights
phenomena. You cant afford to stand there drooling while
waiting to snap out of it. Ive got a whole section on this
external focus technique in an upcoming chapter. Its one
of the most powerful ways to taking the fight to your
adversary, and winning.

Okay lets conclude this internal myth stuff for now. Use
what youve learned to do some serious self-analyzing. Discover
gray areas and where your indecision lies. Because with just 3-8
seconds to win a fight, indecision and hesitation can mean the
difference between prevailing (and walking away), or taking that
losers ride to the hospital or worse the morgue.
Hows that for positive ending?
Theres a lot more exciting material coming your way, and itll
start getting increasingly advanced and specific. Youre
experiencing a process of becoming a respected and confident
protector of yourself and your loved ones. Thats a powerful
transformation. And believe me theres no need to shout it from
a mountain top. Everyone around you will begin to notice.


I thoroughly disapprove of duels. I consider them unwise and I
know they are dangerous. Also, sinful. If a man should challenge
me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead
him to a quite place -- and kill him.
Mark Twain

36

The Ultimate Guide
To Fighting and Winning

Part 3


In war there is no substitute for victory.
- General Douglas Macarthur


Youve got the pleasure of getting Part Three of my Ultimate
fight guide.
Things are starting to accelerate now so dont jump ahead of
yourself. If you havent checked out Part One or Part Two,
youll need to read both of them first before youll get a full
understanding of Part Three.
Because Im sure youve gotten away with things like (for
example) putting together a kids bike without even glancing at the
directions, (oh, I see thats the back wheel). But when it
comes to protecting yourself and the lives of your loved ones, the
stakes are simply too high. Do yourself a favor and read the
directions from the beginning.
Okay moving on.
Its time to take a look at types of mental maps that people
use to handle a dangerous confrontation.


We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready
to visit violence on those who would harm us.
George Orwell


37


Handling Danger: Four Mental-Maps.
Now, I dont want to oversimplify human species (you see
kids, the food goes in this end and then it later comes out on that
end), but lets have a little fun and break people down into four
basic groups because the reality is that people handle danger in
roughly four different ways.
These four groups are at the extremes in styles -- and the
average person is rarely at one extreme or the other and will
sometimes even switch maps, depending on their state of mind at
the time. But in general this will help you recognize how your
personality leans and your own specific strengths and weaknesses.
Because one of the biggest secrets to winning a dangerous
confrontation is to simply learn how to overcome indecision and
unreasonable hesitation. The Predator, the Bully, and the
Emotionally Hijacked all depend on stunned victims willing to
stand by helplessly -- like confused spring lambs on their way to
slaughter.
So lets cover four extremes on how people deal with
confrontation so you can begin an honest evaluation of yourself.
They are: 1) the Reasoner 2) the Survivor 3) the Dominator
and 4) the Virtuous Protector.
Lets take a look at each one.

1.) The Reasoner: A person using the Reasoner Mental-
Map tries to negotiate his way out of trouble. His motto
is cant we all just get along?. Lets dig a little deeper
into this particular mental map.
The Reasoner believes that all people are essentially
good and rational -- meaning that they think its possible
to resolve any conflict by simply tapping into their
opponents better angels. He believes that if hes simply
nice to other people, they will be nice to him because (he
believes) nobody really wants conflict. Yes indeed, hes a
38

reasonable person living in a world of reasonable
people.
This is the most dangerous of mental maps.
Why? Because the outlook truly does not reflect reality.
Everyone is NOT your friend. The world really CAN be a
dangerous place with people who will rob, rape, and kill
you for little or no reason, then sit down to a hot meal
without thinking twice about you.
Yes, the world is indeed filled with bad and
dangerously irrational people.
Think about it this way just how far would this
Reasoner mindset work in, say prison. You guessed it
this nice reasonable person will quickly have his Jello
stolen and soon afterward become the jailhouse bitch.
Or, lets say, the Reasoner was hauled in front of the
likes of an Uday Hussein for some infraction of his rules.
(I swear I didnt know she was one of your girlfriends).
Be as reasonable as you want but Im pretty sure youre
in for a very special ending.
Now, these illustrations may seem ridiculous, but Im
making a point. Being the Reasoner can be a good way to
avoid trouble against equally reasonable folks -- but will
NOT work against the tens of thousands of dangerous
psychopaths walking todays streets.
The Reasoner is the most vulnerable of all the mental
maps because, when confronted by true evil, he tends to
crumble into dismay and panic unable to reconcile his
nave nice guy beliefs with the reality that someone
really wants to hurt or kill him.

2.) The Survivor: This mental map is a total commitment
toward self preservation. The motto is dont tread on
me but go ahead and tread on him.
A person running on this particular mental-map
software has a more realistic version of the world and
39

understands that everyone is not his friend that some
people may just hurt him for the thrill of it.
Okay this has advantages because at least the
Survivor will do whatever it takes to survive as an
individual hes willing to lie, cheat, and if necessary, fight
his way out of confrontation. So, yes hes better
equipped to realistically deal with confrontation than the
Reasoner.
But hes a lone wolf.
He believes hes responsible for just one person
himself -- which means you should forget about depending
on him for back-up (hey... whered he go?). Youll be
thrown to the wolves as fast as he can run for cover.
Unfortunately, our modern media and even law
enforcement has reinforced this Survivor stay out of it
mindset.
Weve all heard it dont get involved call the
police or just bend over and let him do whatever he
wants.
I once had a CPR class where the instructor was
actively encouraging students not to get involved in
helping strangers in need as it may result in a law suit
(most states have since passed certain Good Samaritan
laws to protect good citizens trying to help others).
That instructor was certainly a Survivor alright.
Imagine depending on him to save your life!
Its an attitude that has permeated our culture and has
resulted in able bodied men standing by and watching
while innocent people are attacked.
Todays metro-man cant be bothered -- he adjusts
his beret and moves on.
Now dont get me wrong. I understand that theres
always another ridiculous side to this. Like the swimmer
who was hauled from the water by Good Samaritans who
then proceeded to pound on his chest for ten minutes
40

trying to help him breath. Turned out the swimmer was
fine except for the broken sternum and cracked ribs that
resulted from the beating.
In the same vein Im not encouraging you to jump in
on bickering couples. No. That can be a BIG mistake. But
I want you think about this: What if your mother,
daughter, or sister was attacked and you later discovered
that some Survivor guy stood by and did nothing? I
dont know about you, but Id be tempted to do more than
steal his Jello.

3.) The Dominator: This guy looks upon himself as the
universal police. His motto is dont disrespect me or
my friends. He is often a self-absorbed person who is
very sensitive to disrespect and will act on any slight --
real or imagined.
People fear him for the simple reason that hell fight at
the drop of a hat.
The Dominator is not necessarily a bully or a disruptive
rowdy (although he can be) -- he does understand right
from wrong -- but hes ego-driven and will definitely
back up his friends, rarely allowing thugs and bullies to
take advantage of him or loved ones.
On the other hand, the Dominator is somehow always
in continual conflict with others often far too involved in
other peoples business -- which puts him in a position to
be imprisoned, permanently injured, or killed.
For example and this is a true story I had a friend
who perfectly matched this Dominator description. Big
Joe truly believed he was the big brother of all his
friends, relatives, even casual acquaintances. As a result
he was continually in the middle of conflict. One evening
at a restaurant in Memphis, Joe broke up an argument
between two guys and even rousted one of the fighters out
of the restaurant.
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That guy promptly went to his car, got a knife -- and
stabbed Joe to death.
Now, Joe was a friend of mine, so its tough for me to
be objective about this, but I must so lets take a look.
First, Big Joes fighting strategy was poor because he
broke the cardinal rule of not sticking around after a
fight. But, secondly, his Dominator mindset put him in a
position of danger. A couple strangers arguing at a
restaurant was not something he should have gotten
involved in. It really was none of his business.
Dominators who do not change their ways rarely make
it to old age.

4.) The Virtuous Protector: Okay this may sound a bit
corny -- like a knight in shining armor is about to ride
up on a white stallion -- but stay with me here. This is (in
my humble opinion) the highest form of mental maps. His
motto is speak softly and carry a big stick.
Many experienced streetfighters (who survive)
eventually advance from a bully to some form of a
Virtuous Protector. The school of hard knocks has
taught the Virtuous Protector the real dangers of fighting,
so he deeply understands whats important to fight for --
and especially whats not. Hes not overly concerned
about slights or insults and is much more rational in
dealing with confrontation.
He knows from experience that any fight can end in
jail, serious injury or death, but, on the other hand he
doesnt hesitate when a situation requires action. In old
school terms he may be described as a stand up guy or a
code of the west guy.
He WILL help others when hes truly needed.
The Virtuous Protector has a strong sense of right and
wrong and will not brag about his fighting abilities or push
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people around. Like a bag of tea (as the old saying goes)
he doesnt show his strength until hes in hot water.
To become a Virtuous Protector you do not need to be a
recovering bully a streetfighter covered in scars or
even a guy who owns a white horse.
On the contrary, a virtuous protector is driven by deeply
entrenched values, not fleeting emotions or feelings. He is
crystal clear on whats worth fighting for and insults or
slights do not provoke him unless its strategically critical
to do so. He has no problem avoiding (even running from)
a confrontation thats not in his best interest.
This person is acutely aware of the consequences of
personal combat and doesnt allow critical decisions to be
dictated by feelings of fear, anger, or shame.
As humans, its in our nature to be emotional and --
unless youre an android your emotions are NOT
directly under your control.
But, your actions are.
The virtuous protector focuses on managing his
behavior not managing his emotions.

In conclusion, these four groups are artificial constructs,
meant to help guide you in your own self discovery process. These
are NOT psychological profiles meant to define a personality
because, like I said, one man may use all four of these mental maps
at different times. So clearly the mental map is more useful as a
general gauge of future behavior. As you progress in your
fighting abilities, youll hopefully also progress toward a more
virtuous person who uses his skills wisely and justly.

Lets move on to a subject that scares the crap outta most
rookies FEAR.



43

There are no extraordinary men,
just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to
deal with. Admiral William Bull Halsey


Dealing With Fear
Lets talk a little about public speaking. Hold on this is relevant
to fighting.

Because several studies have shown public speaking to be the
average persons #1 fear. Some polls actually show that death
ranks below public speaking in terms of sheer terror (so you can
imagine how death while public speaking ranks).

Anyway, the solution to fear of speaking is to simply PRACTICE
and REPETITION. The more public speaking you do, the more
de-sensitized youll become -- and the less youll fear.

Now onto fear of fighting.

Fear of fighting is more common than youd think even among
experienced fighters. Only a stone-cold sociopath has no fear in a
confrontation. Ive interviewed hundreds of hardcore combat
soldiers and seasoned streetfighters and found that nearly every
one of them admitted to being fearful in every single fight.

Surprised? Well dont be, because these guys understood that they
could easily be killed. So, they felt fear sometimes extreme fear -
- in every confrontation.

For example, Tom Proctor is a cage fighter whos been in over
300 streetfights and illegal pit fights. Jim West has been U.S.
Special Forces combat soldier and has been in over 600 bloody
streetfights. But heres the thing: Both Tom and Jim openly admit
to having fear every time they fought, but it lessened over time.
44


The fear never went away, just lessened.

So heres the good news. All you have to do is survive 600 or so
streetfights and multiple years of lethal combat and your fear will
be lessened.

Okay thats probably not realistic for you or anyone else who
plans on staying alive and out of prison. Unlike the fear of public
speaking, its a lot harder to simply practice your way out of the
fear of fighting.

But there is a recent solution to this practice problem.

Spec Op trainer, John Nottingham has developed specific
aggression drills which are extremely valuable to maintaining a
state of readiness while avoiding brain freeze. His Viper
package demonstrates a live training exercise in which students
(some of whom are experienced martial artists) are subjected to
intensive threats, verbal abuse and insults from a man in a padded
fight suit. Its all for show -- and I suspect the guy in the suit is
really some kind of S&M nut -- but its kinda like flying in a
simulator it sure feels real.

Now the graphic language and the adrenaline dump you experience
while viewing Viper makes it sometimes difficult to watch, but
its extremely useful training.

And the poor victims of the padded-suit guy in this Viper
demonstration group PROVES why this kind of real world
adrenaline dump training actually works. Most of the new
students even the experienced martial artists did not perform
well under the real world pressure. When confronted by a large,
intimidating figure shouting threats and obscenities in their face
45

most students folded like a cheap card table and the later were
unable to describe even simple details of the experience.

In fact, most couldnt answer the question, was the adversary
armed with a knife or gun? They simply didnt know. When the
yelling and threats started, their brain became as impenetrable as a
frozen turkey.

So this adrenaline training is a very effective method to get you
to focus externally, not internally on your inside voice. Okay
so what exactly do I mean by inside voice -- or more technically
-- your internal dialogue?

Well, I kinda like what Jonathan Haidt -- an Associate Professor of
Psychology over at the University of Virginia describes as the
motor-mouth vs the elephant. Haidt compares that voice inside
your head your internal dialogue -- to a little guy sitting on top of
an elephant pretending hes in control. As Haidt puts it: The rider
represents conscious controlled thought. The elephant represents
everything else and includes the gut feelings, visceral reactions,
emotions, and intuitions that comprise much of the automatic
system.

And the working relationship between little man and elephant?
Haidt points out that They dont always work together well.

The little guy ontop loves to talk ramble and bark orders to
create the impression that hes running the show. He gets most of
the attention and can even sometimes convince the elephant to
pick up a log, or move a boulder. But the reality is that its the
elephant who makes the final decision and does the work the
little guy is more of a nuisance along for the ride.

And when the elephant simply ignores the little guy and does what
he wants, the little guy rationalizes it (I actually wanted him to
46

throw that log ontop my house) denying that he is actually NOT
in control of the elephant.

So it is with your internal dialogue.

That voice rambles on and on, but has very little to do with
productive tasks. In fact this internal dialogue can be absolutely
destructive to decisive action. Why? Well let me explain with
another simple example.

Youre standing in long line at the ATM when a guy cuts-in near
the front of the line. You gently point out to him that the line starts
back there. Seems reasonable enough, but unfortunately youre
dealing with an emotionally hijacked fellow who just came from a
drunken brawl with his girlfriend. He quickly turns your way
screaming obscenities and vowing to kick your ass as he starts
toward you.

And heres where that little bastard start babbling off desperate
questions like Did I really insult this guy? Why is this
happening to ME? Who is this guy? Maybe I did
something wrong? What should I say? Should I do
something? I am going to get hurt? I wonder if my life
insurance is paid up and on and on.

It was fine to let the little guy think he was in control while
standing in line, but now that youre in trouble this cats only
confusing the elephant. Hes tying things up and distracting the
elephant from taking immediate action. Its a HUGE disadvantage
that results in hesitation and brain freeze.

Yeah that dreaded deer in the headlights.

Now dont get me wrong, conscious controlled thought (the little
guy) is one of the things that put us on the top of the food chain.
47

Building bridges, writing software, and balancing our check book
all depend on the little guy. Dealing with immediate danger
requires the more primitive elephant. The mistake happens when
we mix the duties up. The elephant shouldnt be involved with
taxes (unless youre fist fighting with an IRS agent), and the little
guy shouldnt deal with a predator (unless hes doing his taxes).

Okay, at the risk of beating a dead horse I want to point out to you,
again, that you have about 1-8 seconds to act. You dont have the
luxury of time. Theres a clear threat coming your way. You cant
even read this warning before itll all be over.

Now unless youre a Zen master, youre never going to shut this
little guy up but you can put him to work. The simple key to
controlling him and this is BIG is to direct your thoughts to
an external focus of potential targets.

You must initiate Target Awareness.

Seeking out and gathering target acquisition info almost instantly
begins to focus and channel your internal dialogue suddenly
forcing the little guy to start talking strategy instead of allowing
him to overwhelm the mind with introspective panic. Now its the
elephant whos in charge with the little guy put to work asking
questions like:

Hes approaching me -- is he in range?
Is there anything in his hands?
What targets are open?
Are there any friends around?
Now what targets are open?
Is anyone behind me?
What targets are open now?
Do I have an escape route
What targets are open now?
48


Hopefully youve noted the need to continually evaluate which
targets are open. A common rookie mistake is to focus in on one
target and then try to wait for it to open up or even strike at it
when its not open. This is called Target Focus and its the wrong
way to choose targets. Youll need every shot to count big, so keep
your target acquisition fluid and in a state of constant flux --
because that is whats happening in real life. Dont bet that one
target will remain open. Instead at the very least -- keep in
mind the high value targets -- the side of the neck, throat, eyes,
inside thigh, outside thigh, groin, and the angle of the chin.

Always, always, maintain target awareness during a fight.

Heres a specific target hint for you. Your opponent even if hes
NEVER been in a fight -- will likely be on guard for a right punch
to the face so its wise to do something hes not expecting.
Also
1.) Do not pay attention to the yelling and verbal threats.
Its easy to allow the verbal side of your brain, (which is
where the little guy lives), to get caught up listening to
(and preparing a response to) insults and verbal abuse.
Ignore this. I know thats often easier said than done but
if you maintain your thoughts and energy on external
targets, it will automatically phase out this interference
and avoid activating your internal dialogue.
2.) Do not look into his eyes. Its the same principle at work
here. Staring him down triggers all kinds of internal
mumbling that only distracts you from your target
awareness. Dont do it. Sure, it looks tough when a couple
of boxers stare each other down face-to-face a couple
weeks before the bout, but thats a bad idea in a street
fight.

49

A good streetfighter wants you to buy into his distractions.
Mad-dog staring... insults yelling the whole works. Its
doubtful he knows the science of internal dialogue, but he does
understand that its easier to win after he gets into your head.

So I cant stress this external target awareness enough. Its a
simple solution to a big problem.

This is why so many martial artists -- even accomplished black
belts -- have their asses handed to them in a real street fight. They
wake up (if they wake up) wondering what the hell happened. Well
in the well-lit dojo theyve trained with plenty of room on padded
floors. They bow politely. Their opponent also bows politely, and
then comes at him in a predictable manner.

But later on, in the tiny dimly-lit bathroom at the local mini-mart,
this same martial artist is suddenly confronted by some big dude
screaming threats, insults and foul language about taking his
parking space. Confusion hits, the internal dialogue goes
berserk, and all that cozy training flushes right down the toilet.
Fade to black.

Now dont get me wrong, studying martial arts is better than
spending your time on the couch watching reruns of Gilligans
Island, but these classes wont teach you how to get around this
internal dialogue or how to use fear to your advantage.

Thats why youre here. Youre getting stuff that really works in
the real world. Im giving you pearls here.

Anyway the actual physiology of fear is a simple sympathetic
system prompting from the brain -- more commonly referred to as
fight or flight.

50

If you learn anything, remember this: fear is part of the
autonomic response system. You have NO direct control over
it. Its like trying to control your digestive system with
willpower. You cant. As the saying goes, xyz@#!! happens --
and it happens automatically.

And so it is with fear. You simply cannot stop the physiological
factors that come with fear. The heart rate immediately increases,
mental focus on the adversary increases, peripheral vision narrows,
and a whole bunch of other physical alarms go off.

Combat soldiers or police officers involved in a fire-fight
laughingly refer to one physical response as the 300cc check
which is simply a nice way of saying pissing your pants.
Really its your bodys way of dumping excess baggage to help
in the fight or flight.

Here are some more, (perhaps less embarrassing) physical
responses that happen automatically when the body feels
threatened.

1.) Increased heart rate
2.) Increase in blood pressure
3.) Face goes white (your blood is rushing from your skin to
your muscles)
4.) Blood is drained from the brains cortex (responsible for
rational thinking), which is why theres a loss of higher
thinking
5.) The brains primitive emotional centers are fired up and
take charge
6.) Flood of endorphins shoots through your body, making you
more resistant to pain.
7.) Your fine motor skills deteriorate, (say goodbye to that cool-
looking spinning back kick), and your gross motor skills
become enhanced. You become stronger. Yes, the
51

inhibitors that normally protect you from straining or
pulling muscles are suppressed so that you can have max use
of your strength.
8.) Your peripheral vision narrows, (tunnel vision) which
helps you focus on your target. Carnivores (tigers for
example) have eyes in the front for better target acquisition
(better depth perception), while prey (a cute little bunny
rabbit) has eyes on the side for improved peripheral vision
and superior predator detection.
9.) Hearing impaired to avoid distraction
10.) Leg and hand tremors (which are actually your nerves getting
ready for action because a lower neural threshold means
quicker reaction time)
11.) Eyes and pupils will widen (for visual acuity)

Now, of course the military is interested in just how all this affects
their soldiers, so lets take a look at the research for sympathetic
response as it relates to heart rate for soldiers in combat:
1.) An adult at rest typically has a heart rate of 60-70 beats
per minute. During a confrontation, the heart rate will
quickly rise to 115 beats per minute. This is where a
person starts to loose his fine motor skills and dexterity.
2.) At 145 bpm higher level thinking begins to disappear.
Taking action, such as running or fighting will
(surprisingly) actually level off this increasing heart rate.
Not acting and allowing your internal dialogue to run
wild will result in a rapidly increasing heart rate.
3.) At 220 bpm you enter into hyper vigilance or the classic
deer in the headlights syndrome. Its where the internal
dialogue has complete dominance over your brain. Its
kinda like that movie Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
as once this hyper vigilance takes hold of your brain, its
tough to overcome it. The trick is to act soon than later --
at around the 115-145 bpm stage -- before the aliens
melt your brain.
52


So use the sympathetic systems physical signals (often called
fear) as clear alarms to begin an EXTERNAL focus on the
potential threat. This is KEY. Its an early warning system and a
powerful ally.

Now theres plenty of DVD programs, books, and combat course
designed to control, manage or eliminate fear. This is nonsense. As
Ive mentioned, human beings are emotional creatures which
makes it (by design) impossible to control your emotions.

If you could control your emotions, wouldnt everyone just choose
a constant state of bliss, (and put the pharmaceutical, alcohol and
illicit drug industries out of business overnight)? The problem is
that todays mamby-pamby feeling based therapies have us all
believing that any sort of uncomfortable or negative feeling must
be eliminated as quickly as possible.

More crap. Its like the king who convinced himself (and a
surprising number of his subjects) that he could eliminate ocean
tide. His delusion became obvious only when the tide ignored his
commands to halt (I said stop right there gurgle, gurgle,
gurgle).

And attempting to control emotions like fear and anger is similar.
Dont waste your time trying to control them. Instead recognize
that these emotions are purposely uncomfortable because theyre
designed to prompt you into taking some kind of action.

So what does all this psycho-babble have to do with fighting? Well
Im getting to that. There are two big mistakes than can cause us
to freeze:
1. Having no plan of action (such as whats my target) and
thus becoming stuck in indecision
53

2. Attempting to manage emotions instead of dealing with the
cause. Because trying to get rid of an emotion (fear for
example), only amplifies it. Using internal dialog to fix
internal dialog, (dont be afraid dont be afraid dont
be afraid), is kinda like bleeding a person whos sick
from blood loss.

Fear can give us vital information; it prepares us for flight or fight,
and motivates us to take action. Instead of wrestling with our fear,
simply acknowledge it, then do what needs to be done. We dont
have to give in to fear, or try to squash it, simply feel it, and move
on. This is how to overcome fear. Youre taking action in spite of
your fear and this is as good as it gets.


Speak softly and carry a big stick.
Theodore Roosevelt


Overcoming Fear
Another voice you should listen to is your intuition. This is not
the same voice telling you to bet your house on the lottery. No.
Ignore that one.

Intuition is your subconscious performing rapid cognition the
processing of mountains of external information to form a quick
conclusion. The study of this is relatively new but researchers are
already discovering the subconsciouss incredible ability to quickly
thin slice a lot of information and form an often accurate and
subtle conclusion that somethings wrong.

Cops often experience this when acting on a hunch. Im sure you
yourself have had the feeling that somethings not quite right
about a situation. Well this is your brain thin slicing everything
54

thats going on around you. If it detects trouble, you may get a gut
feeling as well as some other subtle signs like sweaty palms
jittery stomach and the feeling that somethings not quite
right.

Now unless theres a girl in a mini-skirt nearby, you shouldnt
ignore these signs. It may be your subconscious trying to tell you
theres trouble.

So lets dig a little deeper into this idea of using external focus to
manage fear.
2.) Breathing - concentrate on calming deep breaths to keep
your heart rate down and out of the hyper vigilance
stage. This is highly effective in de-escalation situations
where for instance, a badger is venting. Itll help you keep
your cool, keep you in the game, and its a sure way to
keep your head clear and avoid a panicking internal
dialogue. On the other hand, if a guy shoves you, well,
thats a bad time to be doing breathing exercises.
3.) Look for targets of opportunity. Like I said, this is a
HUGE piece of advice. Its a simple way to avoid
locking up with internal dialogue and instead
concentrating on target acquisition. Heres some specific
examples. Quickly assess these targets, determine whats
open to you right now, and decide how youll attack them:
a. Neck side of the neck is a knock out area. The
good news is that the shoulder and head offer a
natural funnel thatll guide your hand directly into
his neck which means its a high percentage
shot. People rarely protect their neck properly and so
even a poorly executed shot can often mean instant
knock out.
b. Groin believe it or not, research shows that most
guys do NOT protect their groin. They are so
indoctrinated with the idea that theyll be punched
55

in the face that they leave themselves wide open for
one of the most devastating strikes. So forget about
focusing so much on getting in that right hook to the
head, (which hell be expecting), and start looking
for an OPEN target.
c. Inside knee very vulnerable. One good kick to the
inside of the knee can end a fight instantly.
d. Outside thigh a favorite target of Muay Thai
fighters is to kick you in the nerve running down the
outside of your leg. Even a well conditioned fighter
cant stand more than a couple good shin kicks to
this nerve before buckling.

So my point is that you should immediately shift your thoughts to
scanning for targets to get away from the internal dialogue.

Lets just say some guys walking toward you. You feel a threat.
You should immediately check to see if the guys got a weapon in
his hands if anyones with him potential routes of escape
then begin your target acquisition.

Target focus vs Target awareness. You should avoid complete
immersion in missile lock on one specific target (head hunters
do this) as youre typically in a state of flux where you need to be
flexible and able to change your targets. Do a quick once-over of
the neck, groin, inside knee, outside thigh and others targets to
decide which one youll go for. This external focus and target
acquisition really works.

Now its important that you begin learning how to properly
execute specific fighting techniques so that your targets and
strikes are most effective. Thats where the 70 different Fight-Fast
DVD packages come in. Ill get more into that next time.

56

But for now, the four techniques I just talked about will get you out
of a pinch. Youll get scary-good is when you create your very
own tailor-made collection of fool-proof nasty tricks thatll work
for you every time. First youll need to understand the wire
frame on which it all hangs.
And so far, you should be getting a pretty good idea of that wire
frame.


Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror,
victory however long and hard the road may be;
for without victory there is no survival.
Winston Churchill

57

The Ultimate Guide
To Fighting and Winning
Part 4


God grants liberty to those who love it,
and are always ready to guard and defend it.
Daniel Webster



This is Part Four of my Fight Guide. Ive put over 18-years of
research into this 5-part guide, so dont skip ahead to the year
twelve here. Check out Parts 1-3 first itll be one of the smartest
moves youve ever made. Like I said -- read them all first, then
come back here.
But if youve already read Part 1-3 congratulations. Youre
well on your way to understanding how to fight and WIN.
Next I want to discuss some specific tactics that really work on
the street.


Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.
Sun Tzu


The Four Ds Of Personal Combat:
Now were getting into some advanced stuff here. This Four
Ds was one of my own biggest ah-ha experiences because it
explains why some guys -- even little guys (who may look like
theyd have trouble winning a fight at a quilters convention),
58

consistently WON real-world street fights against larger more
aggressive opponents.
It boiled down to this. These guys were consistently good in
four specific skills namely: 1) Deception 2) Distraction 3)
Disruption and 4) Destruction. This is exciting meat and
potatoes stuff about actually winning a streetfight. The best part is
that unlike sport fighting these skills have very little to do
with size, strength, and physical skill. Lets take a look:
2. Deception: Nothing but a fancy word for lying
(although Ill admit deception does sound much nicer).
If you think youll have trouble lying to a guy who
wants to hurt you or your family, then youll have trouble
with this. But for the rest of us, this is an important
element to winning.
Because deception is not some wishy-washy theory it
actually WORKS in the real world. In fact, ask any
military man who understands strategy. Hell tell you that
deception is KEY -- allowing a much smaller force to take
on and defeat a larger, better equipped enemy.
For example, General Eisenhower used deception
(gasp) against the Nazis just before the D-Day Invasion.
You see, Hitler knew an Allied invasion was coming and
that the Allies would have to cross the English Channel
and land on the coast of France. He just didnt know
where that force would land. The most obvious landing
area was a place called Calais which was the shortest
distance across the English Channel and Hitler reckoned
that this was where to concentrate the German forces to
repel the D-Day invasion.
Now ol Eisenhower was pretty smart. He understood
the power of deception and wanted Hitler to think hed
land in Calais. So he placed a huge force of trucks, tanks
and airplanes directly across the Channel from Calais so
the German scout planes could easily spot them. A simple
deception.
59

Hitler was convinced 100% that the Allies really would
land their forces in Calais.
What Hitler didnt know was that this formidable force
of airplanes were made out of balsa wood and canvas the
trucks and tanks merely inflated floats that could have
been in the Macys Day Parade.
But it was such an effective deception that, when the
real Allied invasion hit at Normandy, Hitler insisted that it
was nothing more than a diversion and had his Nazi
reserve forces waiting in vain for the attack at Calais.
So, deception is KEY in most military confrontations
AND in personal combat as well.
Okay you may be rolling your eyes and asking what
does all this military stuff have to do with protecting
yourself. Well just this. Deception plays on simple human
psychology whether were talking about two guys
duking it out in a back alley or two hundred thousand
troops clashing on the battlefield. The idea is to trick your
adversary into thinking one thing, then suddenly turn the
tables on him. The result is confusion, hesitation, and
panic.
Okay back to personal combat. Here are a few classic
deceptions that really work.
a. Verbal Deception: The idea is to deceive your
opponent by verbally expressing the exact
OPPOSITE of your real intentions. A LOT of guys
commit the mistake of announcing their real
intentions. Wrong. Do NOT tell someone youre
about to kick their ass and make threatening
movements if thats what youre really planning to
do.
A better plan is to tell him that youre not
looking for a fight or dont want trouble or
even that youre Im injured and cant fight. Say
anything thatll lull him into the comfortable belief
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that he is indeed master of the universe. The more he
has settled into this mindset, the greater will be his
surprise and panic when HE is suddenly under
attack. So here are a couple of methods of verbal
deception:
Begging: Please, dont hurt me. Like I said,
the more you can get him to believe hes the guy in
control, the more effective this deception stuff is.
Once again, the idea is to set him up for the big
surprise. Then, put him on the defense, and back
on his heels dont let up after that.
Comply: At the very least you should act like
youre complying with his wishes. For example, if
some guy asks you to step outside, you already
know whats up so I ask you, is it really necessary
to step outside and put up your dukes? No. A
better strategy would be to act like youre going
along with it, then launch into an attack or simply
escape.
Sound unfair? Good because thats what youre
trying for. Like we talked about earlier, you are not
living in a boxing ring or a Hollywood movie. You
should be striving for as much advantage as you can
get. Theres no such thing as too much of an
advantage. This is your life use whatever dirty
tricks you can muster to end this thing, before you
end up in the hospital or the morgue. The concept of
total commitment means you are NOT fighting
fair.
Okay theres another useful tip for you that will
actually force your opponent to make his intentions
known. Here it is -- simply hold up your hands.
No not straight up like a train robbery but in
front of you, palms toward your opponent, while
saying nice things like hey man, Im just trying
61

work things out here or some such thing. There are
a couple reasons this works.
i. Even though it looks like a surrender
position, its actually a fight ready position.
Hands are up and ready for action
ii. Your hands become a forward boundary
(which is better than your face) and gives you
time and space. If he touches or crosses that
forward boundary consider it a trigger to
action. You must act immediately. Alright,
lets move onto another of the Four Ds
2.) Distraction: This is the second of the Four Ds and
hinges on another quirk of the human brain -- its inability
to completely focus on more than one thing at a time. Its
one reason why so many husbands find themselves in hot
water during the football season, (hmmm what the
kitchen is on fire? Okay honey great get to that in a
minute).
The good news is that you can take advantage of this
human limitation by redirecting or distracting your
opponents attention away from you so you can act with a
reasonable chance at catching him off-guard. The bad
news is that distractions are often only effective for a split
second or so which means that unless you have an
immediate follow-up plan, the distraction is futile.
Here are some highly effective PROVEN distractions
thatll give you an opening to launch your attack
a. Cigarette. This is the one time in your life when
smoking may actually benefit your health. Tell your
doctor about it. Because flicking a lit cigarette into your
adversarys face will definitely distract him for a
moment. The key phrase here is for a moment.
If you flick the cigarette into your opponents
face, then use the time to enjoy a good snicker while
watching him dance around brushing off the sparks,
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well your sense of humor will get the better of you.
Deception and distraction tricks are to be used only as
simple mechanisms to give you one or (at most) two
seconds to launch your attack or escape. But when a
typical fight only lasts up to 8 seconds, a second or two
is a huge amount of time.
b. Glasses. Reach up with both hands and pretend to
adjust your glasses then throw them in his face. Dont
do this if youre blind as a bat you may just end up
attacking a nearby tree.
c. Throw loose change on the ground. Believe it or not,
reaction to the sound of coins hitting the ground is
practically hardwired into the brain and creates a major
distraction. I expect the more of a tight-wad your
opponent is, the better this works. Now this is mainly
an audible distraction -- so unless youre fighting a
stripper -- tossing dollar bills (even twenties) wont
work. Oh and dont expect to see that 73 cents again.
Consider it money well spent.
d. Spill or throw your drink. This is one Hollywood
trick that actually works. First, theres the shock of ice
cubes and cold liquid hitting the face and second,
theres the instant (and temporary) blinding effect. This
can be the most effective method in giving you a couple
seconds to do what you gotta do.
Okay these are just some suggestions Im sure you
can probably think of a dozen more simple distractions off
the top of your head. But youll need to keep an open
mind and use whats available to you at the time.
Focus your attention on creating a simple distraction
along with target acquisition (which we covered earlier),
and youll minimize the internal dialogue that causes
deadly hesitation and brain freeze. But one thing to keep
in mind, creating the distraction means total
commitment to what youre about to do whether its
63

escaping or attacking. Now, lets move onto the third D
of personal combat Disruption.

3. Disruption Basically this is any tactic or technique that
messes with your opponents plan of attack. Understand
that once again were dealing with simple human
psychology. Whether your opponent is a Predator,
Emotionally Hijacked, or a Bully, one thing is certain.
Hes threatening you because he envisions in his minds
eye that this will all turn out to his benefit. Believe me, the
picture show in his head doesnt show that he will be hurt
or killed. Nope. The movie in his head has a happy ending
for him.
So the point of Disruption is to make it clear to him
that his plans of easy victory are nothing but a fantasy.
You need to screw up his little plans, take away his
options, and convince him as quickly as possible that
this could end very badly for him. The faster you can get
that through his head, shift HIS focus inward and get
him back on his heels -- the better off youll be.
Heres a few ways to disrupt his plans.
a. Surprise The quickest and most effective method
to surprising your adversary is to initiate the attack
ie hit first. As one world-class streetfighter put it
you need to demonstrate, to your adversary, that
you have a total disregard for his well-being. This is
a nice way of saying that you should try to hurt him.
Why? Because the psychological effect is to take the
wind from his sails. To strip away his will to fight,
and get his internal chatter going. Consider, for
example, the football team who has a safety scored
against them.
Its only ONE damn point for goodness sake but
the effect is devastating -- a complete moral buster
caught with your pants down in your own territory
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tackled in your own end zone utter humiliation
and degradation. This is exactly the same effect
youre shooting for with surprise.
Yeah, I know that doesnt sound nice, (and we
covered this earlier), you MUST get over the idea
that a real man never hits first or that you should
never hit a guy with glasses or that you need to
draw a line in the dirt with a stick or some other
nonsense that essentially gives your opponent an
edge.
b. Close the distance-- If theres no escape and youve
determined that a fight is imminent -- you should
move-in. If youre opponent is armed with a knife,
you should RUN.
Studies show that fighting someone with a knife is
a bad idea, no matter what your skill level. Anyway,
in a hand-to-hand situation, moving-in is another
very effective tool to convince him hes made a
terrible mistake and that the happy movie he
envisioned is turning into a horror flick.
This is not some kind of bluff. By moving-in
youre about to take the fight to him and ready to
inflict damage and pain. This is where the rubber
meets the road and when target acquisition becomes
critical. You MUST have a good idea of how and
where youll strike him.
You do NOT want to close-in and then pause and
do nothing. The result will likely be initial surprise
and possibly some back peddling by your
opponent, then (when he sees your essentially
bluffing), a quick recovery and a counterattack. So
dont fake. You should move in with the 100%
intention of attacking.
By closing the gap, you effectively neutralize the
attackers two main weapons, the left and right
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haymaker. This is a major disruption to his strategy
and hes forced to stop and consider a new strategy.
Meanwhile youre busy attacking.
c. Forward pressure I touched on this earlier, but I
want to explain this further its important. My
research has PROVED that the guy who most often
wins is the fighter who uses whatever means
possible to initiate surprise, get his opponent back-
peddling, then continues forward pressure against his
opponent. You do NOT want to let up.
Keep yourself in a fluid state and fire continuous
shots at open targets, never letting up your attack
until hes been removed as a threat or youve had the
chance to escape effectively. Watching raw video of
real streetfights has further proved this point and
demonstrated a certain rhythm to it (its typically a
wham, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam -- fight over). The
incoming shots are like clockwork with little or no
pause to assess the damage.

4. Destruction The fourth and final D in the Four Ds
Of Personal Combat is Destruction. This involves
breaking down your opponent physically to remove him
from the fight using your own personal arsenal of
fighting tricks. Okay, this may sound like a fancy way of
saying kicking his ass, but theres actually more to it.
The better you understand his vulnerable targets and the
specific striking techniques to attack those targets, the
more effective a fighter youll be.
The two most critical elements for effective Destruction
are, 1) target selection and, 2) how youll strike that target.
The key is to attack the targets thatll give you the most
bang for the buck ie targets thatll produce instant results
with high-damage potential.
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Whats surprising is that even an unsuccessful attack on
a high damage target so disrupts your opponents evil
plans (spinning up his internal dialogue) that hes
suddenly putty in your hands.
For example, Fight-Fast instructor Tom Cruse points
out that many times the elbow snap technique (designed
to break your opponents elbow) does not always break the
elbow. But the horrid reality that you attempted to bust his
arm like a twig is so disturbing to your opponent that his
internal dialog can turn him into that deer in the
headlights. This can all but shut down his ability to
vigorously fight back as he unconsciously switches to a
more defensive mode.
This is the value of high-damage targets. If you succeed
(break his elbow for example) in most cases the fights
over (although Ive seen determined fighters battle with a
broken arm flopping in the wind, so dont take that for
granted). On the other hand if you dont succeed, the
Surprise and Shock value is high and triggers his
internal dialogue. In that case you can take advantage of
his hesitation and continue your forward pressure attack.
Now busting up people is serious business that involves
one or more of the following: blood, hospitals, jails and
morgues. So you must ask yourself a couple of questions.
The first is:
Am I willing to hurt this person?
Youd better be damn sure that what youre about to
inflict on this guy will be justifiable in front of a judge.
Ask yourself this before any confrontation as pondering
this question during a confrontation is bad idea. You need
to be clear about what will trigger an all out attack from
you and what youll simply walk away from.
Okay assuming theres a definite threat and youve
answered the first question yes you must act. So the
second question is:
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What is my target?
The next question is.
What is my next target?
And so on. Keep going until the threat has ended or you
have the chance to get the hell outta there.


Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.
Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Sun Tzu


Target Awareness vs. Technique Focus
Understanding the difference between target and tool
(technique) is an important concept that goes to the heart of this
book. Knowing where to strike (the target) is the key. How to
strike that target is simply a matter of which tools youll choose.

Learning flashy martial arts fight moves (tools) to make yourself a
fighter is somewhat like buying a shop full of woodworking tools
to make yourself a carpenter. It doesnt work -- youve first got to
understand the big picture.

Heres what I mean by that and it may help explain why some
experienced martial artists (who may know hundreds of very cool
fight techniques), can and often do, have their asses handed to a
street fight.

Here it is the big picture.

Your focus of attention must be on scanning specific targets rather
than specific techniques. The reality is that you can have sloppy
technique, but still win a fight because you had good target
awareness. Because (like I said), a sloppy punch to the side of the
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neck is far better than a beautifully executed high reverse round-
house kick that misses the target.

Take the time to think about what Im saying for a moment.

You must throw away the idea that a certain punch or kick will
solve your fight problem and instead embrace the concept that
hitting certain high value targets (by ANY means), is what
WINS fights quickly. Youre not trying to win any beauty contests
here -- youre only trying to defeat an adversary whos threatening
you or your family.

Its kinda like the beginning golfer whos worried about what his
golf swing looks like. He practices for months in front of a mirror
to develop a gorgeous swing. Then one day he steps onto the
course to play a real game against real people. Suddenly all that
pretty swing stuff doesnt matter one bit because the winner is
determined by the lowest score NOT the best technique. Ben
Hogan was one of the greatest golfers ever to play the game but
by todays PGA standards he had an ugly swing. To his credit,
Hogan could give a rats ass what anyone said about his swing. He
simply did whatever was necessary pulled out every legal dirty
trick in his bag to get a low score. Because when all was said
and done, thats all that mattered. The officials looked at the score
card and handed the money to the guy with the lowest score.

Its the same with fighting, but instead of a lower score, the
winner is the guy who walks away. You need to do whatever it
takes to end the fight as quickly as you can. If youre busy thinking
about what technique youll use, youre behind the eight ball. The
smart fighter sees his opponent as a collection of targets. He
observes which ones are open and attacks them viscously by any
means at his disposal.

My extensive research has PROVED this over and over again.
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Few real world fights are won with pretty techniques. Thats
Hollywood fantasy. Down here in the real world the fighter who
wins is the guy who quickly and effectively attacks high value
targets.

As one fight expert put it the rookie baseball player is focused
on the bat the professional is focused on the ball.

But dont get me wrong technique is crucial. You want that
bag o nasty tricks in your arsenal. Its actually comforting when
you realize youve got BOTH bases covered that is, youve got a
solid understanding of an opponents most vulnerable targets AND
an arsenal of highly effective techniques to take advantage of
them. Suddenly youre the guy walking the streets in total
confidence knowing you can take care of business if the
situation arises.

The idea is to concentrate on first things first. And the first step is
to choose a target the second is to choose which tool or technique
youll use.

I cant stress this enough. I see too many guys endlessly practicing
some silly move without ever considering the targets they would
use it on. When crunch time hits when theyre facing a real
opponent in the real world their mind races to remember that
special technique. Just like the golfer learning to play in front of
the mirror, this poor guy has never really learned HOW to fight.
Hes simply learned some technique and its given him a false
sense that he understands fighting.

Dont fall into this trap. Instead, be the guy whos instantly
evaluating your opponents weak spots and looking for targets of
opportunity.

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Okay enough of my lecturing. Here are SIX high value targets
(Im giving you pearls on a silver plate here), some of which Ive
already covered earlier. But Ive added a couple more.

Here they are:
1. Eyes The eyes are extremely vulnerable to attack.
The good news is that when it comes to eyes were
all essentially playing on a level field. I mean, a larger
more aggressive opponent doesnt have eyes any more
tough than yours. Take advantage of this equalizer.
Dirt in the eyes or a simple eye jab can be extremely
effective against a larger, more aggressive opponent.
Now when I mention eye jab a lot of guys
immediately flash-back to the 3-Stooges. Forget it
youre not playing Moe here. Theres a specific technique
that involves snapping the tips of your fingers as quickly
as possible across his eyes. Believe me, itll instantly take
the fight outta him.
As Navy SEAL trainer Frank Cucci points out
Theres some guys who can hardcore it through some
pretty brutal punishment but nobody can hardcore it
through an eye jab.
2. Throat Another effective target is the front of the
throat. A hard punch straight to the throat can often
mean game over. On the other hand, throwing a fist
to the throat can be somewhat tricky as youve got to
deliver a fairly accurate punch. The fist simply doesnt
fit very well under the chin. A better solution is to
form your hand into a C and deliver a quick shot
under his chin and into his throat. Hell be instantly on
the ground gagging. Of course youve got to be careful
you can easily crush someones wind pipe and kill
them with a shot like that. So I wouldnt use this
against a rude waiter.
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3. Solar Plexus This is the soft spot just below the
breast bone or sternum. A well placed shot to the
solar plexus can instantly knock the breath outta him
because it sends the diaphragm into spasm. This is best
used when hes not expecting it (like while your
opponents still talking crap), as a tightening of the
stomach muscles will protect the diaphragm.
4. Neck Heres one I gave you earlier, but its a
good one. The side of the neck has a bundle of
wiring running to the brain, which means one good
shot to the side to the neck can mean lights out for
your opponent. The shoulder and head offer a natural
funnel thatll guide your hand directly into his neck
which means its a high percentage shot.
5. Groin Now youd think this would be the
number one protected spot on any mans body
especially since every self-defense class on earth
teaches you to kick for the groin. But amazingly
enough, my research has shown that most guys are so
interested in delivering or protecting themselves from
a haymaker, they rarely pay attention to protecting the
family jewels. Even a poorly executed kick to the
groin one that doesnt connect -- will still often
shock your opponent into an internal dialogue that
freezes him.
6. Inside knee The knees are a favorite (and
illegal) target of kick boxers because they
understand just how delicate the structure of the knee
is. One good shot to the knee means taking his wheels
out which means that even if hes still pissed off and
willing to fight, his knee wont cooperate. Itll
continue to buckle on him like a broken crutch and
that puts him in a bad spot (which is exactly where you
want him by the way).
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7. Outside thigh Another favorite target of Muay
Thai fighters is to kick the nerve running down the
outside of the thigh (lateral femoral cutaneous nerve).
Even a well conditioned fighter cant stand more than
a couple good shin kicks to this nerve before buckling.
Very painful very effective.

Alright, these arent the only high value targets, but, this will
give you a start.

If I had an untrained friend who was five minutes away from a
street fight Id explain that he needed to 100% commit himself to
hitting one after another of those seven high-value targets. I
wouldnt spend that five minutes teaching him techniques... or
explaining some silly stance or anything like that. Id spend that
time showing him exactly where to attack his adversaries softest
targets.

Ask any Golden Gloves boxer and hell tell you that one of his
primary targets is the side of the chin and its NOT because he
wants to break his opponents jaw. Its because he knows that one
good shot to the side of the chin will snap his opponents head
and probably knock him out. He may not understand all the
medical and physical reasons why this happens but he does
understand an unconscious opponent gurgling at his feet means
victory.

So combining a well-selected open target (the side of the chin)
with any number of effective tools (a right cross, an elbow, a rolled
up magazine, etc) is the secret. Its a powerful combination thats
hard to beat.

Now for me to fully cover the range of effective tools, and
targets, available to you would be impossible within the scope of
this book. I couldnt possibly explain it all -- thats where my over
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70 different video packages come in. These quick-learn
packages will teach you targeting AND specific fight techniques
that anyone (of ANY size and strength) can use that same DAY if
necessary. Whats exciting is that those who study the Fight-Fast
packages often become a Black-Belt level fighter within 30-days
without all the fancy belts and years of bowing. Now thats
exciting!

Anyway, heres a mental exercise that will help with your
targeting. Make up a list of high value targets (you can use the
above basic list that Ive just provided you), then start playing your
own visualizing game. Focus on the targets areas of innocent
civilians on the street, at the bank, in the grocery store wherever
(though you may want to avoid focusing on anyones groin for too
long). Consider how youd attack those targets if you were
suddenly forced into a confrontation.

Alright this may sound like borderline paranoid behavior, but
Im not asking that you start attacking innocent people. Just get
yourself used to the idea of roaming through a checklist of any
individuals open targets. The reason is that when and if a
confrontation ever does occur youve become accustomed to
quickly checking available targets. Its become second nature to
you.


All that is necessary for evil to triumph
is for good men to do nothing.
Daniel Webster


Creating Decision Points:

Lets move on to one of the most critical skills to winning a fight
being able to act decisively while under pressure.
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One of the biggest mistakes you can make in a fight is to deny
that youre even in a fight. The confrontation doesnt start with a
punch to the nose, it starts when your intuition tells you
somethings wrong (something called combat awareness). We
already talked about allowing fear and intuition to work for you, so
I wont go into it again.

But heres the problem: When youve got some pissed off 65
drunken rugby player yelling profanities in your face -- its
difficult to make snap decisions. As we discussed in Dealing With
Fear one of your bodys automatic responses during high stress
is to drain blood away from the brains cortex (responsible for
rational thinking), which guarantees a loss of higher thinking
(the reason why many those flashy martial arts moves suddenly fly
out the window).

The solution is to create clear Decision Points -- beforehand.
This will help make decision-making more automated for you
under stressful conditions.

The idea isnt new. Its something that fighter pilots (and private
pilots as well) have been using for years. All pilots are trained to
follow specific procedures when trouble hits. Its a map, or
formula, that guides them through proper decision making under
stress. Why? Because when the wings on fire with hydraulics
failing oil pressure falling rapidly and passengers screaming
in terror -- you want the pilot to be coolly involved in critical
decision-making rather than getting caught up in unproductive
panic. Its the only thing thatll possibly save the plane and
passengers.

To accomplish this, the FAA has developed a simple, specific, and
regimented checklist of step-by-step procedures that must be
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followed when specific kinds of trouble hit. Theres a certain
security in having a procedure all worked out ahead of time.

Whats that? Engine #3 is ablaze. No problem. Let me calmly
finish my coffee, stretch a bit, then grab the Engine On Fire
procedure manual.

Admittedly were not teaching you how to deal with air disasters.
But believe it or not facing a dangerous confrontation on the streets
is very similar. Why? Because once again youre dealing with a
brain under extreme pressure. Youve GOT to have a series of
decision points an automated checklist if you will that reduces
internal chatter, and eliminates the need to figure it out at a time
when your higher thought processes are in lock-down.

The idea is to simplify your decision making process.

Alright, here are a couple of decision points you should set up
beforehand:

1.) Know when the fight is on. This is a big one. Because a lot
of guys choose to put-off making this decision until its too late,
then later (perhaps mumbling from a hospital bed) explain that
they had no idea what that mean guy was up to. In reality, there
are often THREE major signs that trouble is brewing.
a) Body language: These are non-verbal signals. Its
typical for the average guy to ignore these, but learn to
become attuned to them. Its not a coincidence (for
example), that the same handful of poker players keep
making it to the million-dollar play-off matches. Yes,
poker is a game of probability and chance, so
technically everyone should have the same odds of
winning. The question is, why do these guys always
win? What makes them different? Well, theyve simply
become experts at discovering and reading their fellow
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poker players tells i.e. the non-verbal indicators that
reveal their fellow players hand.
Every time you get a good (or bad) hand you may
scratch your nose, raise your eyebrows, or wiggle your
ears. They are watching and taking notes. Later they
take your money.
Same with fighting. Theres a number of tells or
non-verbal body language signals that indicate an
imminent attack on you. These are like gifts from your
opponents telling you youre about a second or two
away from me striking. Some of these we already
talked about.
Heres a few more.
- The Looking Away Just before that right
haymaker is thrown an opponent will commonly
look to one side. Its a sort of distraction
technique. As fighter Jim West says If Im in a
confrontation with someone and they look to the
side, it means theyre about to hit me so I hit
first.
- The Finger Jab Someone poking you in the
chest is also a big red flag. Its a way that your
opponent tests the water but instead of
testing with a toe, hes using a finger. Hes
building up his confidence and resolve, by
violating your personal space. If you stand by
and do nothing, it tells him, the waters fine
go ahead and attack this guy.
A poke in the chest, or any violation of your
personal space at the initial stages of a
confrontation should trigger some kind of
immediate response from you.
- The Shove Yet another classic example of
violating your personal space -- except this move
is almost always immediately followed by a
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punch. You should expect very little time
between the shove and when you can expect the
incoming blow which of course means you
need to act fast in this situation. Decide
beforehand what youll automatically do in this
type of a situation, because youll most likely
have NO time to decide during a confrontation
(which is the whole point of creating these
Decision Points). People typically dont push,
then walk away.
- The Target Gaze -- An opponent will
naturally look at what hes about to strike. Watch
out for an adversary who changes his gaze to
your chin or some other obvious target
- The Chin Drop: Another cue that should
prompt you into a decision is seeing your
opponent drop his chin. This is a fairly
consistent, and subconscious act of protecting the
neck it almost always means trouble.
- Getting Hit: The biggest non-verbal cue is being
struck. This isnt a joke, so hear me out. Many
novice fighters can get blind-sided and are
slow to realize whats going on. They know
somethings wrong, they may even suspect
theyve been hit by that angry looking fellow --
but somehow they just cant bring themselves to
believe it until they get hit again. If you suspect
youve been hit, do NOT stand around trying to
figure it out. Take immediate action, whether its
running away or dropping the guy in front of
you.

b) Verbal This is the second major indicator that
trouble is at your doorstep. Here are two specific verbal
cues that you should look out for:
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- The Threat: Im gonna zyx@%# you up!
Okay this may seem so obvious that its not
worth mentioning. And I wouldnt mention it if
my research didnt show that MOST
inexperienced fighters do nothing in the face of
serious verbal threats. They often stand by and
take NO action. Even if you suspect youre
dealing with an Emotionally Hijacked individual
(as discussed in Part One), and decided to allow
him to simply blow off steam youve still have
analyzed the situation and took decisive action.
But a Bully or Emotionally Hijacked individual
(rarely will you get open verbal threats from a
Predator), often uses the verbal threat as a way to
ramp up his confidence and emotions (much
like the poke in the chest) meaning that things
can escalate fast. Think through various
scenarios and what would trigger you into
decisive action.
- The Sudden Silent Treatment: If your
opponent has been talking, talking, and talking
and then suddenly becomes quiet, it means hes
entered into an internal dialog on what hes about
to do to you. As FightFast instructor Demi
Barbitos says: Fighters dont talk and swing at
the same time.

c) Previous behavior: This is the third indicator of potential
trouble. Judge people by what you see them doing and adjust
yourself according. This is where your powers of observation
come in. Youll want (for example) to avoid loud young men
whove been drinking especially if there are women
accompanying them. Bar bouncer (and cage fighter) Mike
Serr points out that nearly ALL intoxicated men will react
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violently if they are confronted or slighted in front of a
woman.
So a common tactic is to set up a ploy to separate the
guy from his pack before confronting him. It is more likely
hell leave or follow direction as theres no need to save
face. Because even a small guy with very little chance at
winning will fight furiously to avoid being humiliated in
front of friends and women.
Its important to keep in mind that loud behavior with
friends and women present can create a volatile situation.

2.) Decision point #2 is: What will trigger you to action (fight
or flight)? You can define this in a couple ways:
- Space: Youre pumping gas at a 24 hour station when a
hooded man walks toward you. Just how close will you
allow him to get before you take some kind of action?
Surprisingly, under these circumstances, most people
will take NO action whatsoever. In this situation, for
example, when the suspect is 30 feet away or so you
should recognize that this could turn ugly. The hearts
beating a little faster and your intuition is probably telling
you that somethings wrong. Listen to these signals.
Now action doesnt have to mean brutally attacking
an opponent or running for your life. No. Action can mean
simply holding up your hand and shouting Stop right
there. You dont need to come any closer. What do you
want?
Any normal person with good intentions would stop. If
he doesnt, you KNOW theres something wrong. Youve
just gained some critical information and bought some
time and space to plan your next action -- attack or escape.

- Crossing Lines: This does not necessarily refer to a
physical line crossing (what will I do when hes 7 feet
away?), but more about what youd do if (for example) the
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hooded man didnt listen to you and simply kept
approaching. You need to think about that. What would
you do?..Now what? This is not a legal decision, its a
decision to protect yourself. I mean its possible this
apparent thug doesnt stop and so you nail him in the knee
with a well placed kick. Turns out the guys a homeless
deaf mute wholl now be living in YOUR home.
Yes, that is possible. But once again, youve got to
make decisions to protect yourself physically, first, while
being legally defensible.
So the sharper you can define the line, (if he does this,
Ill take that action if he does that, Ill take this action
etc), the more decisive your action and the better equipped
you are. Imagine different scenarios and decide what
line-crossing will automatically trigger specific
actions from you.
There are a couple good reasons to do this:
1.) Good for emotional health especially when
pride is involved. Youll never regret backing
away from a fight if it didnt fit your, earlier
decided, decision point. It completely eliminates the
laying in bed cursing yourself as a weakling (I
should have said this I should have done that).
Self reflection will be easier.
2.) Automatic response -- Theres no longer a need to
think about it. If a certain trigger is tripped you
dont have to ponder long and hard. The decisions
already been made for you.

Like I said, some of your triggers may not hold up in court.
But by defining your triggers, you also can define whats NOT
your trigger. Someone accidentally bumping into me is not a
trigger -- for me. And if he then flips me off and calls me a son
of a #!*! and keeps walking, thats not a trigger for me either.
You see, it allows you to make intelligent decisions under stress
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(and avoid being emotionally hijacked yourself) and never regret
those decisions
The most beautiful thing about a trigger is that it allows you to
FULLY engage when the time comes. No hesitation, no second
guessing because there is no other decision to make other than am
I willing to hurt this guy? and what is my target?. Youre
locked in and ready to rock n roll.


Theyve got us surrounded again,
the poor bastards.
General C. W. Abrams


PRINCIPLES OF A FIGHT
A seasoned streetfighter placed in a ring with an experienced
MMA fighter will lose the match fight because the fight comes
down to conditioning, training, and following the rules. On the
other hand, an experienced streetfighter in his element will often
win because the fight now comes down to:

a. Surprise (deception and distraction) a well placed attack
can easily defeat conditioning and training. A well trained
ground-fighter hasnt trained for a vicious eye-gouge.
b. Overwhelm (disruption) forward blitz that gets him
peddling backwards.
c. Violence of Action (destruction) using high damage
potential strikes at high value targets.

This hasnt changed since fighting was invented. As I mentioned
earlier, once your work is done, youll want to get out of the area
as quickly as possible. Dont wait for him to recover dont wait
for his buddies to show up and dont wait for emotionally
jacked up bystanders to attack you. Do what you gotta do, then
leave the area as quickly as possible.
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Lets further flush out this formula for prevailing in a fight.
Theres six in the formula but just knowing the first two will put
you far ahead of the game.

1. Combat Awareness This is knowing when a fight is
imminent. Its a skill that few beginners seem to possess
as the average guy doesnt get in a lot of fights. Its
common to simply deny the obvious danger and ignore
the flashing red signals your own intuition is sending out
to you. If the fight is imminent this kind of denial can
place you in a bad spot. Avoid this blinding denial so you
can make total commitment to flight or fight. The key to
combat awareness is to recognize (and not suppress) your
own intuition telling you that a fight is imminent. The
most powerful tool in your fight arsenal is your BRAIN
listen to it. Keep your head up, eyes open, and always
aware of whats going on around you.

2. Preemptive Attack (Hit First) -- This is HUGE. As any
military commander will tell you, the element of surprise
can often be the most important tool. It has allowed small
bands of fighters to wipe out entrenched armies
(remember Pearl Harbor or D-day?). Okay what do
armies have to do with you? Well whether youre
fighting in an army or in a back alley one principle is the
same -- the human factor.
The military machines are simply tools the fighting is
between people. Surprising your opponent by attacking
first is the great equalizer for a weaker opponent and can
often mean a quick victory.
You can use deception, distraction, or just immediate
action to get the job done. Decisiveness is the key here as
your objective is to strategically end the threat. Notice I
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didnt say that your goal is to beat someone up. Your
goal is to END the fight not participate in it.
Unfortunately theres often a strong emotional desire to
teach him a lesson, and its a nice thought, but goes
against your primary goal to end the threat. Avoid the
romantic idea that you will endure a long battle to emerge
the victorious gladiator wiping a drop of blood from the
corner of your mouth while swooning women throw roses
at your feet.
Simply remove the threat and get the hell out.

3. Sustained continued attack This means fighting
without pause a forward pressure blitz. Now the word
blitz did not originate from the NFL. No. It comes from
the German word blitzkrieg and it accounts for the wild
success that the Nazis had early on in the war. Essentially
the fighting style consists of concentrating your forces on
a small vulnerable area then attacking all out without
stopping. As a result of the blitz, the Germans were easily
able to punch a hole in the enemys lines, then defeat their
divided forces.
Of course its unlikely youll be fighting armies of men,
but the concept is the same. Concentrate your efforts at
your opponents weakest areas then stay with it. Dont
stop until the job is done.
As Ive already mentioned -- rookies tend to stop and
admire their work they commit the sin of stop and
assess. Big mistake. Keep the pressure on until you END
the fight or escape. Dont stop and let him regain his
composure.

4. Target Awareness Ive already covered this pretty well
but heres some more. This is a way of overcoming (not
reducing, or ignoring, or managing) your fear by
focusing on exposed targets. This gives you the kind of
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positive mental traction to constructively engage your
thoughts.
Bomber pilots flying through heavy flak for example
talk about being able to overcome their fear of death by
simply focusing on the mission and the target. And when
asked about a certain courageous act, combat soldiers
often later recount that they were simply trying to get the
job done, and were not trying to be heroic. This is
external focus.
As I mentioned, if you can simply look at your
opponent as a series of multiple targets, it will keep you
from freezing and losing focus. Ignore the insults and
mad doggin and keep your attention on open targets. If
youre not skilled with an arsenal of fight techniques, then
just use any means necessary to attack the most vulnerable
targets (remember the face is rarely an open target).
In one of the underground fight videos I viewed in
my research a fighter used a simple hammer blow to the
side of the neck to end the fight instantly. His technique
and skill wasnt pretty and I doubt youd see Steven Segal
performing this in his next Hollywood movie but the
fighter was clearly focused on a target and used any means
at his disposal to attack that target and because of this he
won.
After reviewing countless videos, most real street fights
look like a haphazard tangle of flailing arms with
fighters leaving multiple targets exposed. Kicking which
can be one of the most effective techniques is rarely
used (until someone falls to the ground). Im not going to
get into specific techniques thats where the Fight-Fast
instructional packages come in -- but target awareness is
the key. Do not spend your precious seconds trying to
remember that karate chop focus, attempting to manage
your fear, or any other inward focus. You need to place
your focus outward.
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8. Violence of action: As Fight-Fast instructor Tom
Cruse puts it: You want to do something that
demonstrates to your opponent that you have a total
disregard for his well-being.
The object here is to trigger your opponents own
internal dialogue through a display of extreme violence.
Remember that the Bully, the Predator, and the
Emotionally Highjacked all have a movie-like scenario
playing in their head that doesnt include them being hurt.
You need to change the reel in that movie in his head as
quickly as possible so that the ending resembles more of a
Nightmare On Elm Street.
The more you can disrupt this movie and snap the
idea into his head that he may have made a HUGE mistake
that he may actually be hurt or killed by you the more
likely you are to trigger his internal dialogue. This leads to
hesitation, doubt, distraction, and back peddling all
good things for you to take advantage of with continued
forward pressure.
And the more adept you are at choosing an appropriate
tool to strike an open target, the quicker you can
convince your opponent that hes in trouble. So its
important that you choose targets and techniques that can
deliver high damage potential. Youve got to let your
adversary know that you are willing and more than able to
hurt him which means that learning and understanding
specific fight techniques is key. Now, youre in control of
the fight.
Lets cover the two general classes of fight techniques,
or tools.
a. Fine Motor Skills These are typically complex
moves that require a high degree of training to
learn and continual training to maintain. Your
typical martial arts class will teach you these
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skills. By the time youre a black belt (which
may take ten years) youll know all sorts of fine
motor skill techniques, including flying round
house kicks (originally designed to knock a man
off a horse), flying knees, spinning back kicks,
and a lot more.
Now these Hollywood moves look impressive,
and they draw a lot of attention when theyre used in
a real fight. But once again, we are talking about
possibilities vs probability. Sure, its possible to
make a reverse spinning high round-house kick work
in a real street fight but it isnt probable. My
research has exposed me to thousands of
documented street fights, so Im not saying I have
never seen these Hollywood moves work
successfully. I have but theyre the exception.
Its understandable why many fighters want to use
fancy moves. Its the same reason why basketball
players want to swish it through the hoop from half-
court it looks cool. But fighters who actually put
looking cool over winning a street fight often meet
a rather ugly end. Dont risk it use the tools that
consistently win.
Because my research shows that when it comes
to real world street fighting using fine motor skill
techniques are for all practical purposes useless. Its
mainly because (once again) traditional training is all
about technique with little or no concentration on
finding vulnerable targets. Youre left pondering
about how to use your fancy moves instead of
looking for open targets. Pondering is not a good
idea in a street fight.
Another reason fine motor skills are often
ineffective is that when the fight or flight hits,
higher thinking processes begin to degrade and fine
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motor skills deteriorate. Its how the sympathetic
nervous system works. As heart rate goes up, fine
motor skills decrease, theres simply nothing you can
do about it.

b. Gross Motor Skills These do not require a lot
of complex biomechanical skills. Nail down a
few simple kicks, head-butt, elbows, knee work,
and ground moves and youll be on your way.
Now dont get me wrong these skills dont come
to you in your sleep. Youll have to actually learn
them. But they dont require a high level firing
pattern in the brain to work. Theyre based on
natural movements that dont require years to learn
and theyll stick with you in a clutch.
In fact, most fights are won with these simple (but
well executed) skills mainly because youre simply
tapping into your bodys own natural movement
patterns instead of forcing some overly-complex
process that will often fall apart in a real fight.
Okay, some of this may seem to run contrary to
what youve seen in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)
Sport Fighting. After all, you may have seen some
pretty nifty stuff used in these cage fights that
actually worked. Well there are four reasons for this:
1. Ring and Rules The ring is an open area
with plenty of fighting room and there are
plenty of regulations on hand to protect the
fighters. This creates an environment far
more suitable for fancy-dancy moves that
work.
2. Training Time Prevailing in the ring
requires a fighter to be well trained and
highly conditioned. MMA fighters are
incredible athletes who train for 4 to 10 hours
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a day so they are far more capable of
complex moves. But winning a street fight
rarely depends on conditioning (as it only
lasts seconds), and is more about your ability
to use every nasty dirty trick at your disposal
to end the fight as quickly as possible.
3. Risk vs. Reward Scoring a beautiful back-
flip strike in the ring can make you a name in
the MMA world. Guys around the globe will
be watching that move over and over again
for years and crying out your name in awe.
So ring fighters are more willing to take the
chance and shoot for glory. After all missing
that shot in the ring is no big deal. Sure, it
may give your opponent an advantage, but
the ref will stop anything before it gets too
ugly. But failure on the street is different.
You cant depend on mercy from your
adversary, or good citizens stopping the fight,
or the cops showing up in the nick of time.
So youve got to use high-probability moves
that wont open you up to unacceptable risks.
4. Adrenal Stress Accommodation This is
probably the biggest reason why complex
fine motor techniques can be successful in
the ring. Typically MMA fighters (or boxers)
prepare themselves for days, weeks, and
months before a fight. And when the bell
rings, many take the first minutes to
acclimate to the high stress levels theyre
experiencing. All this allows the fighter to
accommodate his own stress reaction and
stay out of hyper vigilance (which I talked
about earlier) and retain much of his cortexs
higher thinking. Of course this is NOT how a
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street fight plays out. Instead of months
you have mere seconds to prepare and
respond. Theres simply no time for fine
motor skills.

9. Total Commitment: Fight-Fast instructor Glen
Boodry calls this laying on the hate. Its a similar
concept to continued pressure, but total
commitment is a mindset or way of thinking and
continual pressure is a specific technique. And it all
starts with the internal question, am I willing to hurt
this guy?
First, its important that you understand that street
fighting is a zero sum game. That means theres no such
thing as a win-win outcome. You either win or you
lose period. And losing can mean hospitalization,
permanent injury or death.
Even friendly fights that start with a couple buddies
wrestling for fun can quickly turn serious and become
lethal. Ive seen the police reports.
The smart fighters even experienced match fighters --
avoid personal combat on the streets when possible as they
know that the rules are different. How? Well, unlike the
ring, there are NO rules. They understand that even a
little guy can use an improvised weapon, or get in a
lucky strike for an instant knock out.
You should never resign yourself to taking a beating
under the assumption that youll take a couple shots then
lick your wounds and go home. My research has shown
that one of the most popular gang-banger moves is
stomping your head once youre down. Theres no
guarantee youll live through something like that, and if
you do, that you wont be drooling from a wheelchair for
the rest of your life.
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Here are some assumptions youve got to keep in mind
for any fight thatll help you stay totally committed in a
confrontation:
a. Zero Sum Game There is NO potential win-
win. There are thousands of lets step outside
kinda fights that end in permanent injury or death
every year.
b. Defeat is not a temporary set back and its
NOT an option. Because keeping the option open
that it may be okay if you get a good ass
beating means that youre also okay with the
possibility of permanent injury or death or that
the people youre supposed to be protecting will
be left to the mercy of your adversary.
Never get comfortable with the idea that if you
simply let this guy beat you up a little itll be better
than really pissing him off by fighting back. This is
why getting the first question right in your head is so
important. am I willing to hurt this person? Not,
am I willing to fight this person? you must be
100% committed to victory.
c. Your adversary has NO rules. Let me tell you
about an underground match fight I witnessed
between a baby-faced tough guy and a
hardened tattooed ex-con.
I touched on this earlier but let me tell you the
rest of the story.
This videotaped fight was supposed to require
bamboo sticks and Baby face said, in private, hed
use his stick to break his opponents fingers.
The ex-con (on the other hand) said, in private, his
goal was to kill the guy. Thats it didnt even
mention the sticks.
Guess what?
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When the fight started and the ex-con simply
threw down the stick, leaped on his opponent, and
tore half his face off with his teeth. In those seconds
of terror, baby-face could only scream hes biting
me hes biting me hes not using the stick
hes not using the stick.
Certainly an ugly brutal and shocking way to
make my point, but unfortunately its all true. A real
fight means NO rules. You cannot expect your
adversary to show mercy or fight honorably.
Its like the fighter pilots in WWI. Both sides used
to use airplanes to spot enemy troop movements.
There was an unwritten code of honor where as
enemy planes passed one another they would
salute the opposing pilot. Nice guys, considering that
they each held critical information about how to
slaughter thousands of opposing troops on the
ground. One day the Germans figured they could
stop the British flyers by simply flying over them
with a brick hanging from a rope. Brick into the
wooden prop and game over.
The British were appalled at such a cowardly and
dishonorable act. My goodness, how nave. Dont
you dare make the same mistake you MUST
assume that your opponent has no rules and will do
anything he can to hurt or kill you.
These principles arent designed to make you a
smug tough guy theyre designed to allow you to
avoid or, if necessary, win a fight.
d. Always leave immediately. Dont stand around
waiting to see what happens because
winning the fight is as good as it gets its all
downhill from there. Get you and your family the
hell out. Hanging around means theres a good
possibility youll be caught up in the next round
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of drama from friends or from citizens who
might perceive you as the bad guy or even
from the police. That doesnt mean youre
necessarily running from the law its just that
you want to talk to the cops on YOUR terms
without the extra drama and confusion. Bottom
line as Navy SEAL trainer Paul Vunak points
out Get out while you can.

Okay weve covered a LOT of ground, but theres still more to
come. Look for the next part in your email soon where well cover
how to actually prevail in a fight. I know youll want this, so keep
your eyes peeled.


I have never advocated war
except as a means to peace.
Ulysses S. Grant

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The Ultimate Guide
To Fighting and Winning
Part 5


All war is deception.
Sun Tzu


This is the fifth section of my Fight Guide. As Ive said all
along, this is a journey so dont sell yourself short and skip
ahead. Youll want to first read Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part
IV.
Now lets get into a section some people like to think of as a
sort of mystical magic non-verbal communication. I assure
you, theres no magic involved with this its all hard science
that is designed to place you in a far stronger position when
dealing with dangerous people. Lets take a look.


Let him who desires peace
prepare for war.
Flavius Vegetius Renatus


Nonverbal Communication

Believe it or not, words and language are actually your
SECONDARY form of communication. Thats right, whether
youre aware of it or not, your main form of communication is not
transmitted verbally, but rather nonverbally.

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Heres some fun facts:

- Studies show that 65 85% of communication between
people is carried out nonverbally which means at least two-
thirds of our total communication occurs nonverbally.

- Over the course of an entire day, the average person is
actually engaged in talking for only about 40 minutes. Yeah
hard to believe, but its true. The rest of the time you are busy
communicating through nonverbal body language. (now that
40 minutes doesnt include you guys who like talking to
yourself).

- The people with whom youre engaged in conversation with
will put more weight on your nonverbal information than
on your actual words. Typically your nonverbal messages are
not controlled consciously -- so it reflects your true feelings,
emotions and moods. The person youre talking with
subconsciously understands this and uses your nonverbal
signals to develop opinions, beliefs and feelings about you
without even knowing how they did it. Your own experience
should reinforce this notion if you consider how you form
almost instant judgments about someones character in the
first minutes of meeting them. Yes the brain is a powerful
and scary thing.

- You will form and solidify an opinion about someone within
the first 4 minutes of knowing them after which point it
will be difficult to change that opinion. People resist
changing their minds about someone, (a process called
selective perception), and we will ignore any information
that is contrary that that initial impression. Not only that,
research shows that well even amplify any information that
reinforces that initial opinion. Its on the television news all
the time. The shocked neighbor expressing something like
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but he is such a nice, quiet man I just had dinner with
him. I cant believe he had all those people in his freezer.
Even in the face of hard facts to the contrary, people will tend
to hang onto their initial judgments.

Okay so what does all this non-verbal stuff have to do with
you protecting yourself and your family? Well actually a lot,
because your adversary -- if hes human -- is quite attuned into
what kind of person he is willing to confront. As we discussed
earlier, he is rarely willing to engage in a confrontation he thinks
may end badly for him so hes essentially looking for a victim.
Its all done by sizing up your non-verbal signals mainly because
he cant ask Can I humiliate, dominate, rob and/or beat you
senseless with little or no danger to myself? Nope, in all my years
of research Ive never come across that.

My point is this: Your opponent will always be actively sizing
you up by your non-verbal signals that is, your body language.
Its why dominant alpha, males no matter what their size -- are
rarely picked on by bullies or targeted by predators. They convey
nonverbal signals that they can and will take care of business if
necessary. Whats surprising is that these non-verbal signals cut
across all barriers and are instinctively understood by all humans
no matter what language they speak verbally.

In the end, your goal should be to use nonverbal communication to
your advantage to take conscious control over them so you can
sell a certain image of yourself. To do this, we need to dig a little
deeper into specific Power Signals.


Tolerance becomes a crime
when applied to evil.
Thomas Mann

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Power Signals
There are three groups of power signals, each group or range
communicates a personality or character quality.
1. Alpha Signals: Leadership, Dominance, Control. An Alpha
will initiate action and take up space.
2. Beta Signals: Competence, Credibility, Intelligence,
Confidence. A person with Beta characteristics interacts and
shares space.
3. Gamma Signals: Friendliness, Likeability, Interpersonal
Attractiveness. A Gamma will respond and give up space.

Now an average person displays varying degrees of each trait
depending on their situation although anyone hovering near one
extreme or another will become an extreme person. In other words,
if you always act as an Alpha then you become a bully act only
as a Beta, you seem cold and uncaring (think of Mr. Spock) act
only Gamma and youll be sickeningly submissive.

So yes, there is a time and a place for each of the three. For
example, most people will veer heavily Gamma when pulled over
by a cop, (yes sir you look very handsome in your blue uniform
this evening, sir). In that scenario, acting too alpha may just land
you in jail or at least a more expensive ticket.

On the other hand a college student speaking to his professor
would most likely act in the Beta range as he exchanges ideas and
opinions. But make no mistake; the student ultimately
acknowledges on some level that the professor is still the bossman.

Now, lets say you are a platoon leader in the heat of combat a
top-cop planning a raid on a heavily armed dope house the top-
ranking fireman on the scene of a 5-alarm blaze or even an
owner of a car dealership leading a group of sales people. In such
situations you must demand complete obedience and respect from
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your subordinates. This isnt some kind of macho game you must
act powerfully, almost larger than life, or the consequences can be
unimaginable. Bankruptcy loss of property people hurt or
killed. There is no room for a Gamma in these positions (cmon
guys, pleeease go attack that machine gun nest. Cmon, pretty
pleeeease).

People who are unable or unwilling to display Alpha signals in
such situations are rarely able to rise to levels of great
responsibility and power. And if they are thrust into that position
they must either adapt to the Alpha role or will not have the respect
they need to lead people effectively.

So when its all boiled down, there are 3 ways you can send
(encode) your nonverbal information.
1. Passive encoding: nonverbal signals that are unconscious.
You are unaware of the non-verbal signals you are sending.
2. Active encoding: nonverbal signals that are consciously sent.
You are aware of your non-verbal body language and that
others are reading it.
3. Goal oriented encoding: This is your goal -- to use
nonverbal signals deliberately and strategically in order to
produce a desired outcome. Goal oriented encoding is also
known as Power Signals.

Now its important to understand that most of us are capable of
portraying any of the three ranges at any point in time. This
knowledge can yield powerful results for you. It means you are,
essentially, like an actor putting on an appropriate display of body
language to achieve a particular reaction from others. There are
four ways of achieving this Physical Presence Expressions
Gestures and Sound. Lets examine all four.



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Decide to be aggressive enough, quickly enough.
motto USMC


The 4 Non-Verbal Channels
There are four areas or channels that you can purposely
manipulate in your nonverbal communication -- Physical
Presence, Expressions, Gestures, and Sound. Now a lot of
people take offense at that word manipulate. Get over it if you
can. Because the benefits derived from effectively controlled non-
verbal signals (Power Signals) are HUGE.

If you still have problems with it, think of it like this. Torn jeans
and a t-shirt may be your favorite outfit, but would you wear that
to a job interview? Probably not. Why? Because you are
attempting to (gasp) manipulate the interviewer by purposely
controlling your non-verbal communication. (What kind of
manipulating creep are you?)

Alright enough said. Lets go over the first of the four non-
verbal channels Physical Presence.

Physical Presence:
This is your appearance, posture, and use of space. Dress may
seem obvious as I just pointed out, but posture is also an element
in communicating your emotional state.

Posture or the way you stand, sit, or carry yourself -- generally
conveys how much interaction you desire, your particular reaction
to an individual, and your current level of self-confidence. There
are two main elements of posture: your physical orientation and
the position you adopt.

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For example, body lean is the best indicator of a persons
involvement in the situation. If you are face to face with the person
you are speaking with and maintain an open body position with a
slight forward lean, youre conveying an interest in that person and
a desire to continue interaction. If, on the other hand, your
orientation is at an angle to the other person and youre
maintaining a closed body position, youre conveying a lack of
self-confidence, or a desire to end the encounter.

Use of space is the last component that conveys your physical
presence. It relates to how space is utilized and occupied,
particularly the distance between people. To increase the
perception of youre alpha-ness, youll want to pay close
attention to your posture and your use of space. Alphas are not all
that concerned about violating anothers personal space because,
the way the Alpha sees it, its all his room anyway.

Here are some more Physical Presence tips to being an
Alpha.
1. Darker color clothing, uniforms, and clothes that emphasize
height will increase the perception of dominance.
2. Portray power and confidence by standing square to the other
person, and maintaining a wider foot stance than normal.
3. Lean forward while speaking and then straighten while
listening.
4. Interact at a closer distance than normal and claim more
personal territory through your posture and sweeping
gestures.
5. When entering an establishment (bar, restaurant, etc), pause
at the door and take a look over the entire place. When
seated, dont be concerned about taking up room (maybe
by slinging your arm across the chair next to you).
6. Alphas are always in motion, rarely sitting absolutely still for
any length of time.

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Expressions:
During a confrontation almost all of your adversarys attention will
be focused on your face so your facial expressions will be their
main source of information. So its important to understand what
youre actually saying with your face and eyes so you can
effectively control your nonverbal communication.

There are a few things you can concentrate on that will give a lot
of control over your nonverbal communication. Here they are:

1. Neutralize your expression. Alphas typically have extremely
controlled facial expressions. Someone who is perceived to be
highly dominant is very good at neutralizing any hint of emotion
from their face.

2. The Eyes: This is huge. Im sure youve heard that the eyes are
the gateway to the soul and in many ways thats true. Research
shows that the eyes are the most effective tell of a persons
emotions, level of interest, arousal, or attentiveness. The eyes also
play an important role in persuading and influencing the attitudes
of others.

Now its tough to try and consciously control everything thats
happening with your eyes and still remain sane so well
concentrate on the big stuff.

Subtle eye movements can communicate enormous amounts of
information to your adversary. Its all going on subconsciously, so
it almost seems like voodoo or something. But believe me,
theres no witchcraft or magic going on here. As Ive said, this is
all based on science and observation and Ill bet youll find it as
fascinating as I did.

Anyway this Visual Dominance Ratio (VDR as its called in
the world of geeks), is a reliable index to the amount of power one
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individual possesses over another. It seems as though nature has
endowed eyes with the ability to encode power and dominance.
Visual dominance can be measured and expressed as a ratio. The
VDR is a measure of the percentage of time looking - while
speaking, relative to the time spent looking - while listening.

As the level of making eye contact while speaking increases, and
the level of making eye contact while listening decreases, your
visual dominance ratio goes up. In fact, communicators who
exhibit a high VDR of 55/45 (55% making eye contact while
speaking to 45% eye contact while listening) are perceived to be
significantly more powerful communicators than those with a
moderate VDR of 25/75.

Okay maybe Im getting a little too technical here, so I want to
you consider this in real world terms for a moment. Think about a
person you personally knew who commanded a great deal of
power and respect. Maybe an old boss. Now, honestly, did he hang
on your every word? Probably not. While you talked he often
looked away, maybe even worked on something else while you
were trying to make an important point. On the other hand when he
spoke to you he practically burned a hole in your head with his
eyeballs. These are Alpha characteristics.

So if you want to send out alpha-signals youll have to start paying
attention to your own eye contact patterns while talking and
listening. Looking away while speaking (gaze aversion/gaze
avoidance) can be disastrous for your Alpha standing especially a
downward averted glance. Looking downward is universally
recognized as a sign of weakness and submission to another.
Individuals who exhibit consistent gaze avoidance or gaze
omission are presumed to be afraid to look at others. These
individuals are judged to have minimal leadership capacity and are
usually relegated to the low-status category.

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To establish a high Alpha ranking (or a high VDR) you must
spend a larger percent of the time making eye contact while
speaking than you do while listening.

As the VDR formula suggests, too much eye contact at the wrong
time can also decrease perceived power and status. Continual eye
contact and attention while being spoken to equates to lower power
and status because it looks like youre hanging on their every
word. Eye contact while listening is showing interest in what is
being said and granting permission to the other communicator
control over the conversation. While this is very beneficial
behavior for increasing the gamma-signal, it enhances the other
persons alpha-signal while diminishing your own. When it comes
to establishing dominance or power, you must remember that its a
zero-sum game. You either win or you lose the Alpha game.

So to send Alpha-signals, you need to:
1. Effectively neutralize emotional expression
2. Eliminate the downcast and shifty eyes
3. Make sure youre making more eye contact while speaking
than when listening
4. Avoid visual attentiveness to individuals who compete with
you for dominance.

Also, when greeting an individual avoid the eyebrow flash
(raising your eyebrows up and down quickly during initial eye
contact, is a gamma signal), an open mouth expression, or winking.
Instead, mutual glances, or a simple smile prove to be successful
greetings that dont yield power.

Gestures:
Unlike postures, gestures are generally confined to a specific part
of the body and are relatively quick motions meant to emphasize a
certain point or to reinforce or de-intensify the perceived strength
of emotions.
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A typical example of an Illustrator gesture would be hand
motions while giving direction, pounding on your desk, or shaking
a fist. A hand or finger in a baton-like motion to emphasize or
accent particular words or phrases during a conversation is another
example.

Even though illustrators are used with your conscious awareness
they can still convey subconscious information about mood, self-
confidence, and power. A decrease in the use of illustrators during
communication can indicate waning interest, non-dominance, a
decrease in self-confidence, or an indication of deception.

On the other hand Adaptors are gestures that are done almost
subconsciously as a reflex action. A typical example is nervously
scratching your face. Adaptors communicate a great deal about an
individuals attitudes, anxiety level, comfort/discomfort, and self-
confidence level. Since communicators who exhibit adaptors arent
using them with the intent to communicate, theyre usually
unaware that theyre using them. As a result, adaptors are an
important source of involuntary information about the
psychological states of individuals who exhibit them. Its
important to be familiar with these signals, become aware of your
usage of them, and begin eliminating them. Lets look at the two
types of adaptors and the signals they convey:

1. Self-Adaptor: A self-adaptor is a gesture that involves the
hands to another part of the body and provides reliable
information about the current level of self-confidence and
self-esteem. A common example of a self-adaptor is any
gesture that involves the hand-to-face. Gestures, such as
covering the mouth, decrease both the beta and alpha-signals
because they signal insecurity about what is being said (or
about to be said) and indicate possible deception. Other self-
adaptors include: picking or scratching, rubbing or massaging
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(typically the forehead or neck regions), covering the eyes, or
the combing of the fingers through hair.

2. Object-adaptors: The object-adaptors involve the use of the
hands to touch, hold, or manipulate an object in the
immediate environment. Object adaptors, while not as
indicative of the psychological state of the person exhibiting
them, do often reflect uncertainty. During police questioning,
suspects frequently play with objects close to them at the
moment of deception.

Lets talk about touching. Now before you get too excited, let
me clarify myself. Im talking about a gesture that involves contact
with another person. Like self-adaptors and object-adaptors, touch
can communicate a great deal about a persons psychological
state. Unlike other gestures, however, touch is much more
conscious and controlled and is an important means of
communicating when up close.
Touching is one of the most powerful means for establishing and
maintaining social contact because it effectively communicates
caring, comfort, affection, and reassurance.

It also serves a major role in communicating power.

In touching exchanges between men and women, men typically
touch women more frequently than women touch men.

But among same sex, touching among men tends to increase the
level of discomfort and anxiety. High status individuals are more
likely to touch and initiate touch with lower status individuals.
This is viewed as a signal of exercising dominance. Therefore,
touching is seen as a reliable indicator of status.

So here are some Gesturing tips to being an Alpha.
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1. Avoid using any adaptors especially touching your face or
playing with objects.
2. Make sure your gestures are very controlled and deliberate.
3. Always initiate the touch (a handshake for example).
4. Simultaneously touch two areas to establish dominance. An
example of this would be shaking his right hand while
grasping his shoulder with the left.

Also, touching outside of the normal regions can show dominance
over a lower status individual. A pat on the back to show approval
is acceptable and clearly demonstrates dominance. A pat on the
head, however, would appear very condescending, and would most
likely be challenged. And well a pat on the rear-end means
youre likely on very thin ice.

Sound:
The fourth channel of nonverbal signals is sound, or vocalic
communication. Simply put, sounds convey meaning. Aside from
facial gestures, the voice is the most powerful channel for
transmitting the emotional state of the communicator. Perceived
personality characteristics and social class are also revealed
through the various attributes and characteristics of the voice. The
voice can be very effective in shaping whether the speaker is
introverted, extroverted, likeable, dominant or submissive.

Here are some Sound tips to being an Alpha:
1. Speak with a loud, strong voice.
2. Pace yourself at a moderately fast rate with full resonance.
3. Articulation and correct pronunciation are very important for
effectively portraying status.
4. Dominance can be displayed in crisp and clear speech, as
though you were issuing commands.
5. Avoid non-fluencies words such as umm, like, or you
know used between sentences or weak expressions such as,
I guess, or ok. These dramatically decrease your alpha-
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level presence. Vocal cues of confidence are vitally
important.
6. Throat clearing and nervous coughing are perceived as non-
Alpha traits.

Lets move onto when (and how) its possible to cool down a
situation before it escalates into physical violence.


If you look like a rabbit, and act like a rabbit, you will be treated
like a rabbit prey for all predators.
Stony Brook


The Art Of De-Escalation
Always avoid getting into a physical altercation if its possible.
When a confrontation does occur, there are times when its
actually possible to de-escalate the situation with some simple
techniques (de-escalation refers to lowering the tension to the
point of avoiding a fight). The bad news is these techniques are
ineffective against anyone but an Emotionally Hijacked
individual (remember him thats the pissed off guy whos been
politely asked to seek out anger management classes).

What makes this even dicier is that using de-escalation
techniques on the wrong type of adversary i.e. a bully or predator
-- may actually burn up the few precious seconds youve got to act
decisively.

So you want to be careful with this. In fact I saved this subject
matter until now because I wanted to make sure you understood
first that one of the biggest hurdles to winning a fight is internal
dialog, hesitation, and wishy-washy indecision. The last thing you
should do when facing a dangerous opponent is to spend time
pondering whether you can negotiate your way out of a fight.
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Youll need to be the judge on this. Like I said, if youre certain
that your opponent is simply some Emotionally Hijacked
individual, then by all means, use the following de-escalation
techniques.

In de-escalation its important that you remain calm. Your
adversary will be yelling, cursing, possibly threatening you, but
again, if youre certain hes simply emotionally hijacked because
he feels he has been wronged by you, then simply remain calm.
Do not buy into this persons emotions and yell back to defend
your point of view no matter how right you may think you are.

Instead, try and understand why this person is so upset THEN try
to be understood. You should follow these 4 steps, in this order:
1. Get them Talking
2. Keep them Talking
3. Summarize with Feeling
4. Acknowledge and Respond

Get them Talking
The Emotionally Hijacked individual is irrational, so putting up a
defensive argument, no matter how logical, will only escalate the
situation. Understand that youre dealing with a kind of person
who handles problems on an emotional level much like a child.
Yes, they may have truly been wronged, but instead of dealing
with it rationally like a normal adult, they will explode in an
emotional tantrum. Dealing with a child inside a full grown mans
body can be scary but it can be done. Heres a procedure to get
them talking.

1. First off, a person who is talking (or yelling) is a person who
hasnt made up their mind about hitting you yet. This is good.
They are simply venting and you should be listening. This
does not mean that you throw out everything youve learned.
No. You should always look for your open targets while
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keeping some distance. Do not let them get into striking
distance, but if they do, remember to go to your trusty
hands-up position (hands up, open, relaxed, and palms
forward gesturing, I dont want any trouble). This acts as
a early trigger, protection from a haymaker, and has your
hands in a fight-ready position.

2. Once you get this person talking you must resist the
temptation to respond to things they say, even if you believe
they are absolutely wrong. Let them say what they gotta say
and remain silent, while showing that you are listening.

3. Remain neutral, dont agree, disagree, interrupt or argue

Keep them Talking
Youll want to keep them talking mainly because a person who
stops talking (or ranting) is most likely engaged in an internal
dialogue about attacking you. So if the talking stops, initiating
more dialogue will allow your opponent to vent, lessening the
chances youll be hit, and ultimately de-escalating the situation.

Theres a number of ways to keep them talking:
1. Encourage the other person to clarify and elaborate. This not
only keeps them talking (which keeps them from fighting),
but shows that you are listening. It may also help your
opponent clarify his own thinking. He just may think man
am I being an idiot. But then again he may not.
2. Directly tell him to keep talking: Tell me more about it,
go on, or really. DO NOT challenge his thinking at this
point, (how could you have thought that?). This will only
get him more angry.
3. Remain non-committal, using, uh-huh, I see, etc.

Summarize with Feeling
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After the person runs out of steam, you should rephrase, in your
own words, your understanding of what this person just told you.
This is a delicate process and so theres some definite rules youll
want to stick to.

1. Summarize, but DO NOT parrot back exactly what they said
this may just irritate them.
2. Reflect their feelings in your summary. This shows that you
understand what they said and recognize how they are feeling
emotionally. Okay youre mad because I scratched your
Harley and youre angry because its your moms, I
understand.
3. Never say: I know how you feel even if you think you do.
This is a bomb phrase, because your adversary is not
interested relating with you he only wants to be understood.

Be sincere or at least act sincere.

Acknowledge and Respond
Once you get verification (verbal or nonverbal) that you
understand their position correctly, then you can respond with your
own message.

I really do understand that you care a lot about your girlfriend and
are protective of her. I also understand that you are angry that I
was looking at her, but I want you to know that I wasnt looking to
challenge you. Youre a lucky man to have a beautiful girlfriend
and I didnt mean any disrespect.

I understand that you thought I cut you off on purpose, and I
would be pissed off too if I thought someone did that to me on
purpose. But, it wasnt on purpose; I just wasnt paying attention,
my apologies.

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Okay so far it seems were bowing down to this jerk and doing
everything we can to look like a wimp. But remember, you are not
submitting to this emotionally hijacked person, you are simply
remaining calm and allowing the emotional outburst to pass. Its a
heck of a lot better than a fight that can wind up with someone in a
hospital, jail, or morgue.

But -- as Ive said -- the predator and the bully have other
motivations for confronting you than the Emotionally Hijacked.
The bully is trying to protect or establish his social rank
(whereas only total submission by you will work), and the predator
has something tangible to gain by attacking you.

Think of it like this: if you were about to be attacked by some punk
looking for initiation rights into a gang could you de-escalate
the situation? Could you talk him out of joining that gang? I doubt
even Montel Williams could do that. In fact, using de-escalation
techniques on this kind of character may actually encourage him
onward as he now sees you as a weakling who wont fight back.

Another not-so-nice thought: Even a flawless execution of these
de-escalation techniques on an Emotionally Hijacked person may
not work. Trust me, you just wont talk your way out of a physical
confrontation if hes made up his mind to fight you. In light of this
you want to always protect yourself in the following manner:
1. Keep your distance. Even if things turn ugly, having space
between you and your adversary at least gives you a little
time to recognize that things are turning ugly. Like the
hands-up technique mentioned earlier, distance is a
forward trigger. If he tries to close the distance after you
establish an appropriate boundary, then you either move in
for the attack or flee.
2. Show confidence, not fear or aggression in your voice and
body language.
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3. You must discern whether or not he is venting or building
up. Its easy to fall into the assumption that okay, hes
venting Ill just give him time to express his emotions,
then Ill continue using my de-escalation techniques. But,
you must determine whether or not he is actually venting. He
may be trying to psych himself up enough to fight you. This
is where keeping your distance helps you. Your adversary
might be angry and yelling and walking toward you. You
maintain distance and tell him to stop right there we can
talk from here. If he stops and yells, then he is blowing off
steam. However, if he ignores your very reasonable request,
then its fight or flight.
4. Always have an escape route. Do not get yourself cornered.
Remember that you are simply trying to avoid a fight. By
getting cornered you have put yourself in a position where if
the de-escalation doesnt work you MUST fight. Always
keep the option open, of simply running away. Sprinting is
great for your cardiovascular system and oh itll keep
you out of jail too.

So thats it for Part 5. Weve covered some major ground here
especially in the range of acting Alpha and avoiding physical
combat before it begins.


Insisting on perfect safety
is for people who dont have the balls to live in the real world.
Mary Shafer, NASA Engineer.

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The Ultimate Guide
To Fighting and Winning
Part 6


Lets Roll!
-- Todd Beamer Sept. 11 2001, Passenger of United Flight 93


Congratulations youve made it all the way to section SIX of
my Fight Guide. If youve read the first five sections excellent
you already have a damn good idea how to fight and win. If you
havent read the first five sections, then youre in the wrong place
you need to get the first five sections HERE.)
Okay you may feel youve got this nailed down but hold
on! You dont know it all yet. Ive got plenty more critical tips and
tricks for you so lets stop wasting time, roll up our sleeves and
get started.


Never do an enemy a small injury.
Machiavelli


Altercation vs. Personal Combat
Now, I havent really discussed this, but its time. The difference
between Personal Combat (a truly life-threatening fight) and a
simple altercation.

An Altercation is where youre life is not necessarily in danger
but you are still in a physical confrontation. Its more of a situation
where you need to control and restrain. An example might be your
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drunken brother-in-law who needs to escorted out of the house
because hes table-dancing with a lampshade on his head or the
neighbor whos upset because your dog unloaded in his yard
or any situation where shattering your opponents nose with a
vicious head-butt would be considered over the top.

And thats the problem.

Spending precious time pondering whether or not youre in an
altercation or a real-to-goodness fight leaves you wide open. Its
all squishy gray area and we dont want gray area. Why?
Because (as I keep pounding home again and again) winning a
fight absolutely depends on instant decisions. Go or no-go. Fight
or flight. Yes or no.

Wishy-washy indecision is your enemy. Black and white decisions
are where its at.

But thankfully theres an answer for this altercation problem and
it allows you to act decisively without fear of killing your
obnoxious buddy. Ive documented (and have produced a number
of detailed DVD packages) that cover very specific fighting styles
and techniques designed to control and restrain. In fact its what
cops, bouncers and security officers often use to subdue or detain
an individual with the least amount of damage.

This is good stuff. Theres few things in life more powerful than
taking charge of a volatile situation without hurting and maiming
people. Think about it cops, bouncers, correctional officers and
the like cannot simply take out their adversary with the kind of
vicious disregard that weve been talking about throughout this
book. Nope no head butts, no brutal kicks to the knee, no bone-
shattering hammer blows. Sorry no can do. Theyre legally
obligated to control the subject with the least amount of damage.

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But before you get too happy about contain-and-control tactics I
want to point out a downside. This type of fighting takes more
training, is more difficult to implement, and puts you at greater risk
for injury. Why? Because its a heck of a lot easier to simply
glance over your opponents open targets then attack them
viciously with complete disregard for his safety.

Now, a good way to tell if youre in an altercation or an actual
personal combat situation is to look to your gut (no, dont look
down at your stomach). Your intuition. If youre experiencing a
huge adrenal dump and all the signals of fight and flight, you
need to trust that and know youre in a situation that requires total
commitment on a level that ultimately could prove lethal.

Irritation and a slightly elevated heart rate on the other hand is
telling you youre in an altercation. Only YOU will know. The
trick here is to listen to what your body is telling you.

Like I said, Ive personally developed a number of excellent cop-
training products designed specifically around the idea of contain,
control, and comply. Correctional officer Tony Walker (who works
in one of this countrys most violent detention facilities) has an
astonishing collection of specific control and pain compliance
techniques that are perfect for altercations. Its called Quiet
Mans Fighting System

Weve also produced a DVD package with police officer Mike
Gillette (who created quite a name for himself busting up huge
meth labs) demonstrating dozens of highly effective control and
comply techniques. And of course Mike Serr (the well-known bar
bouncer) developed and his famous Finger Magic -- designed
to quickly and quietly escort an unruly drunk out of an
establishment without a big scene.

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Heres another way to look at it. If your answer to the question
Am I Willing To Hurt This Person? is No, then youre in an
altercation situation that probably will require control tactics.
Its why you must have your decision points well developed before
you actually find yourself this type of situation.

And speaking of which, lets move onto more questions that will
help you develop your decision points and internal triggers.


Whoever said the pen was mightier than the sword
obviously never encountered automatic weapons.
General Douglas MacArthur


Developing Your Internal Triggers:
Picture this. An electrician is standing on a step-ladder working on
a ceiling light. Theres bare wires exposed and he asks you Is the
light switch turned off?.

Whatd think would be his reaction if your answer was well
kind of? Hed probably get off the ladder and check for
himself. He cant put his safety on the line. The switch is either on
or its off. Theres no gray area about it.

Thats exactly how you need to think about your Internal
Triggers. You set up your switches beforehand and when one of
them is tripped, you automatically take some kind of action. The
point is to be mentally prepared with personal guidelines in place
to deal with a confrontation BEFORE it ever takes place.
Grappling with these questions during a confrontation is like trying
to figure out where the rip-chord is after youve jumped from the
plane (hmmm where is that darn thing) Yeah you got it
splat.

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So Ive developed a list of questions that are a good way for you to
start laying the groundwork for your internal triggers. Take your
time and think through scenarios. Make up your mind about what
would trip your trigger and what youd do then solidify your
decisions and internalize them. Because my own research as well
as my own life experiences -- shows that lack of confidence is
actually a lack of knowing what to do.

Think about that for a moment.

Consider the things in your life that make you feel insecure.
Doesnt it almost always boil down to simply not knowing exactly
what to do? Be honest with yourself. Because its impossible for
this book a video or any form of man or beast to change you
into the kind of confident, decisive man you want to be -- without
your cooperation.

So I developed the following questions and I want you to dig
deep on these. This is where knowing exactly what to do begins.
It transcends fighting because it develops a sense of knowing
exactly what do to that touches every aspect of your life. People
will start noticing something different about you. They cant
quite put their finger on it, but they like what they see.

1. Whats worth fighting for?
We tend to be committed if the reason is bigger than us. Stuff
like protecting a child a woman crying for help a family
member in danger. These are bread-and-butter reasons for which
most guys are willing to fight.

But like I suggested youve got to dig deeper. Itd be nice if
the world was this black and white. Youve got to ferret out those
gray areas and turn them into black and white in your own mind.
Dont leave this to chance. Start the process. Do you fight when
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insulted? How bad does the insult have to be? What about verbal
threats?

Now I personally know enough about taking care of business to
seriously hurt (even kill) someone if absolutely necessary. Ive got
nothing to prove, so I dont fight over embarrassments or slights. If
Im insulted I stay cool perform a quick inventory of his open
targets check for anything in his hands glance around for any
of his buddies escape routes nearby improvised
weapon recheck open targets and so on.

I occasionally smile. He has no idea. I like that.

I dont reveal my cards until its absolutely necessary, and in most
cases its never necessary. There are a lot of idiots that arent
worth my time (or yours). I leave it at that.

On the other hand, if I were in the position of platoon sergeant
ordered to lead men up hamburger hill under heavy fire, then
simply shrugging off a direct insult would most definitely damage
my ability to lead. I would fight (and risk death) against any man
challenging me at that moment only because of the incredibly high
stakes involved.

My point is that fighting for dignity is not something that can
always be dismissed.

Of course that leads to the question

2. When is saving face worth fighting for?
As Ive suggested on more than one occasion, there are times when
maintaining Alpha leadership and control are imperative. Cops,
soldiers, high-level management, and other such situations require
that you can command a place in your subordinates mind. This
standing or authority can be easily shattered by backing down
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when challenged and so sometimes fighting is necessary if you
want to maintain that status. Its called protecting future loss.

Let me give you another example. Dennis (this is a true story) is
a senior fire fighter responsible for managing the response crew
at the scene of 911 emergencies. He and the crew face dangerous
and volatile situations where people can and DO get killed. Fires,
health crises, chemical spills, shootings, car accidents, you name it,
they respond to it. So its imperative that police, paramedics, and
especially his fellow firefighters follow his orders without
question. It isnt some cool macho game this is absolutely
necessary. Without a clear pecking order of decision-makers,
chaos, panic and death can easily rule the day in an emergency.
This isnt theory.

Okay so during a dinner at the firehouse, one young rookie
fireman (a big dumb kid as he was described) made numerous
subtle cutting remarks to Dennis. Hmmm seems innocent
enough. A couple of good natured put-downs to add some light
humor to the firehouse. Much of the crew laughed along with the
jokes and even Dennis chuckled at bit. Problem was that the
rookie continued on and wandered over an invisible line.

Without warning Dennis suddenly slammed him into the lockers
with a choking forearm to his throat. The crew shut-up the
shocked rookie struggled, squirmed, and apologized and a few
awkward moments later order was restored.

But the question still remains was risking an all-out fight with a
larger younger firefighter worth the risk?

Dennis thought so. There was a direct challenge to his authority
and doing nothing would have eroded and damaged his standing
with the crew. He needed to act quickly reestablished who giving
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orders and who was taking them. Dennis was willing to risk death
or permanent injury to protect future loss.

Its important remember that the young rookie could have fought
back fiercely. Even a fight that starts with playful banter can end in
permanent injury or death. With that in mind, go through a list of
scenarios and predetermine situations in which you would fight.
Protecting loved ones is clearly something most guys are willing to
risk fighting for. Protecting future loss is not always as clear.

3. Who will suffer if I do nothing?
Most guys understand that there can be serious consequences to
fighting, but what about doing nothing? First of all, the phrase
doing nothing sounds as if youre an invisible man making no
decision at all allowing the winds of fates to simply roam the
universe freely. Wrong -- dont fall into that quicksand.

As it pertains to fighting doing nothing is an active decision to
not challenge another person. Doing nothing IS a decision not
the absence of one. Youre simply choosing to do nothing.

Sometimes doing nothing is a great decision sometimes not.

Start breaking down certain situations, determining where doing
nothing is wise or when it could get you or loved ones hurt of
killed. What if an adversary is holding a family member hostage?
Doing something -- such as hastily charging the hostage-taker --
may get your loved one (or you) killed. But what if he then
attempts to pull them into a car? Well, few people return alive
from that kind of abduction, so doing nothing is not a great option.

Start breaking down and categorizing those gray areas into on/off
switches or triggers. Black or white. Yes or no. Go or no-go.

4. Who am I responsible for?
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Another thing to consider is who will be affected by you being
permanently injured or killed in a fight. Im trying to give a wake
up call here. I had a friend a big guy who played John Wayne
and broke up a fight between two little guys -- both of whom
wanted to fight. His reward for getting involved? He had the
ligaments of his knee completely torn apart by a kick.

Turns out that one of the little guys was a Muay Thai kickboxer.

In the end my friend had to undergo many painful surgeries and the
loss of his job. If you asked him today if getting involved was
worth it hed answer -- without pause -- no. It was poor decision
because the fight was between two people who wanted to fight. It
wasnt a good choice to get involved.

Remember that your decision will affect your entire family.

5. When is protecting my personal freedom important to me?
Okay Im not talking about fighting Communism here. Let me
give you an example. Youre sitting at a coffee shop with your
family when some punk approaches and says that that table is my
favorite. Youd better move.

I personally know a LOT of guys whod fight in that scenario. But,
lets give a little twist to this. Lets say the same punk approached
you with a GUN in hand while demanding that you move from the
table. Suddenly, retaining that table doesnt seem so important,
does it?

Well, thats the way youve got to start looking at this. How did
you know in the first scenario that the man wasnt armed? You
dont. Now, theres no right or wrong answer here. I only want you
to consider why you wouldnt give up that table in one situation,
but you would in another.

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Now, we are by nature social animals, so saving face and
protecting your personal freedoms may be extremely important at
times. But let me give you another example.

My sons 14-year-old friend Bobby was confronted by a bully on
a number occasions and decided that running and telling the
authorities was the thing to do. It got the bully and some of his
friends suspended from school, which made them very angry. The
result was more harassment and threats -- which led to yet another
suspension from school. That got them even MORE angry
which led them to harass even more Okay, Ill bet youre getting
the idea.

This situation had escalated so far out of control that it soon
became clear to Bobby he could be hurt or killed especially
considering that many of todays young people are willing to use
lethal violence. So, was the initial choice not to fight the right one?
Well, only Bobby can answer that one. Its not always clear cut.
This is another example of protecting future loss.

6. Am I willing to hurt this person?
I dont ask this to create a sense of bravado (youre damn right
Ill hurt him) but to help you with the instant decisions youve got
to make during a confrontation. In a dangerous street
confrontation, if you answer no to this question then your plan
had better be to escape. Because how can you possibly commit
to kind of disregard for his well-being thats required to win a
street fight. You cant. And since this is a dangerous street
confrontation I wouldnt use control and constrain tactics in this
scenario unless you have a damn good reason like youre a cop
making an arrest or something.

On the other hand if your answer yes, then you can move
forward with your plan of attack.

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And finally, if youre answer is I dunno, then is sounds like
youre deciding to do nothing which means youll be unable to
commit to running or fighting. This is the worst of all positions to
be in.

In the end, having clearly defined Internal Triggers allows you to
build pre-determine decision points on what youd do in certain
situations. Have your parachute prepared before you get on the
plane. This is the key to opening the door on a new sense of
confidence.


If you have a strong enough why
you can bear almost any how.
Nietzshe.


The Other Category of Self Defense
Okay so far Ive 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 dont
require explosives. Here are some ideas:

Home:
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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 theres 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.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Sound Occupied. Your answering machine should never
inform a caller that you are out but instead that you cant
take the call right now. Dont give out a bunch of
information that you wouldnt want in the hands of a predator
(Hi this is Tammy. Im alone for the weekend counting a
lot of cash, so I cant get to the phone right now). Okay,
you get the idea. Better to simply say something like Youve
reached (phone number), please leave a message. Avoid
names and details.
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5. No Place To Hide. Keep the shrubs next to your house
trimmed in a way that makes it difficult for someone to hide.
6. Got Light? Keep flash lights in several places throughout
your home. Have one that illuminates well and at least one
that doesnt require batteries (you shake or crank them).
7. Peep Hole: Use a door peep hole or a video security camera
to see whos 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
8. Trust your instincts; do not allow anyone into your home if
you are the least bit suspicious.
9. 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.
10. Lock Up. Its 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
11. 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.
12. Cell Phone: Dont 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.
13. Power Protection: Its 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.
14. 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
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bedroom light. This allows you a place to hide but not the
Predator.
15. Click-Clack. Theres 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 dont have children).
Shotguns are easy to master -- do yourself a favor and take a
class.
16. 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. Dont Get In The Car. Do not allow yourself or a loved one to
be taken into a car by force even if youre threatened with a
gun or knife. Youre 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.
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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 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 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
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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
isnt some kind of experimental weapon anymore
its 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 whats coming and can psyche up for it. On
the other hand, a person who isnt expecting it,
suddenly has his eyes on fire, lips burning and
difficultly to breathing. The emotional shock is
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powerful. Advance warning removes the shock
effect.
3) As weve discussed, the objectives are different for
police as compared to civilians. When dealing with
hostile situations police must contain, control, and
comply (the 3 Cs). 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 dont 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
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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 its 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
its 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 -- thats a wrap for Part 6. Theres more coming your
way so keep your eyes peeled.


We make war that we may live in peace.
Aristole

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The Ultimate Guide
To Fighting and Winning
Part 7


A desire to resist oppression
is implanted in the nature of man.
Tacitus


Youve made it to the final chapter congratulations.

But before you get too excited, you dont know everything yet
theres plenty more. Lets take a look at how you can begin to take
what youve learned so far and develop a fight system that fits you
like a glove. Now heres where begin to suggest specific DVD
packages, but I dont want to confuse you with the dozens and
dozens of packages Ive got available to you (help which one do
I choose) so Ive put together three packages for you to get you
started a silver, gold and platinum package that will get you up to
speed quickly and without a lot of fuss.

Anyway, some of this material youll recognize as weve already
covered it earlier. I did this only because I want you to putting
together the pieces into a cohesive picture.

But before I say anything more, lets first talk more about how you
can build your own personal combat system. Here we go



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Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for
lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.
Benjamin Franklin.


Designing a Personal Combat System
At this point you probably know more about fighting and winning
than MOST guys. But thats not good enough. Ultimately youll
want to end up in a place where youve designed your very own
personal combat system. One custom made just for you. The good
news is that without a lot of trouble you can take it to the next
level essentially becoming a black belt level fighter very
quickly and without much training.

Our extensive DVD instructional library allows you a unique
opportunity to pick and choose from dozens of instructors all of
whom were personally hand-picked by me for their unique
abilities, experience, and ability to teach. I created this library
because up until this point it was virtually impossible for guys like
you to be taught by any one of these instructors. Most are well
respected, fighting men who lead dangerous lives as spec op
black bag soldiers, hardened street brawlers, experienced cage
fighters, or the like.

And lets say you DID manage to get a hold of one of these fight
instructors (and convinced him not to kill you), the cost and time
involved would make little sense.

Theres no need to reinvent the wheel my friend. Everything you
need to build your own personal combat system has already been
created for you.

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The first step in designing your own personal fighting system is to
break up the fight into its component parts. Now a fight is a fluid
state. It simply cannot be artificially dissected into parts and still be
a fight -- so breaking it down into its component parts is a
compromise. Never-the-less we need to do it to clarify some
points.

Fighting Ranges -- A fight can be roughly divided into 4 Fighting
Ranges. Ive got a lot of good DVD packages explaining this in
detail including:
a. Paul Vunaks Street Safe I package
b. Tom Cruises How To Build A Streetfighter In 40
Hours
c. Frank Cuccis Seal Team Unarmed Combat Course
package.

Youll discover dozens of fighting range secrets that would be
impossible for me to fully cover here but heres a quick idea
of some hand-to-hand fighting ranges:
1. Weapons Range: This distance represents the reach of a
club, knife, gun, pepper spray, or improvised weapon.
Obviously theres a LOT you need to consider for anyone
armed with a weapon. For example, police officers consider
anyone armed with a knife is a lethal threat anywhere within
30 feet. Now that may seem like a huge distance, but research
has PROVEN over and over that a determined person armed
with a knife can close a distance of 30 feet and inflict lethal
wounds before an officer can draw his weapon and shoot.

There are some more surprises like when you should
charge an assailant armed with a gun (and when you
shouldnt) how you can easily disarm a weapon when to
run like hell (and when to hold your ground) and tons of
improvised weapons tricks (you gotta see how Bob Taylor
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throws a sticks a simple paperclip in Dead Eye Power
Throwing) that will get you out of most hairy situations.

2. Striking Range: This is the distance you can reach someone
with an arm or a leg and is the fighting range that most
martial arts deal seemed concerned with. There are many
tools and nasty tricks you can use from this range and my
little company has produced many excellent DVD
instructional packages addressing this fighting range
including:
a. Russian super soldier Vladimir Vasilievs Russian
Fighting System
b. Christophe Clugstons Combat JKD
c. Mike Goldbachs 3 Fighting Secrets

3. Close in Range: Sometimes called the trapping range this
is within a foot of your opponent and its where youll be
able to end a fight within seconds using such simple moves
as head butts, knees, and elbows. These are high-damage
moves that can mean hospitalization, permanent injury or
death for your adversary, so use them wisely and be careful
when practicing (Ive seen well-trained fighters get knocked
unconscious while practicing these moves).

Curiously, many martial arts dont have many tactics that
cover this fighting range, but in terms of ending a fight fast,
the Close-In Range is where its at. The problem is the
transition from Striking Range to Close-in Range because its
unlikely your adversary will allow you to simply walk up to
within one foot without striking you. But the good news is
there are dozens of transition tricks to get you into position
for a lights out finishing move. Some of my favorites are:
a. Paul Vunaks Street Safe I package
b. Jim Wests Fight To Win package
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c. James Painters Rock N Roll Prison Fighting
system

4. Ground Range: Often referred to as grappling. Ground
fighting in the real world is NOT the same as what you see in
the high school gymnasium or a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
match. I dont care if you took state championship in
wrestling, there are a couple of things you need to consider
before willfully taking it to the ground. First, most fights do
not take place on padded floors with plenty of open space.
Nope, sorry to say that -- unless youre lucking enough to get
into a real fight inside a dojo youll be rolling around on
tile, concrete or asphalt with plenty of obstacles to run into.
Even if you win youll be scraped and bang-up to a bloody
pulp.

Another thing, ground fighting often means long minutes
tangled together on the ground (anyone whos watched a
wresting or UFC match can attest that its a slow methodical
process). But on the street you must ALWAYS operate under
the assumption that your adversary has various goons and
buddies whod be more than delighted to kick and stomp
your head while youre struggling to get that Full Nelson
applied. So there are good reasons you want to end it fast
on your feet.

Despite all this, I would recommend that you learn a dozen or
so simple but effective ground moves because any fight that
lasts more than 12 seconds almost always goes to the ground.
So youve got no choice but to discover some tricks thatll
get you out of a pinch. Ive got a few recommendations for
you thatll either let you end it on the ground fast, or get him
off of you instantly:
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a. Ultimate Ground Fighting with Sharam
Moosavi. Dozens of solid groundfighting secrets
that work on the street.
b. Escape From Impossible Holds with Mark
Hatmaker. A ton of material that will allow you
to escape quickly from even the most
experienced ground fighting holds.
c. Paul Vunaks Street Safe III Advanced (but
easy to learn) moves designed to get him off you
quickly. This is very ugly material that youll
only want to use in a desperate situation.

Alright I can already hear an uproar from the black-belt crowd
screaming that these four ranges do not cover the multitude of
ranges often taught in martial arts. Thats right some fight
systems teach 5, 6, 7 ranges and more. Theres the Kicking
Range and a Punching Range, a Trapping Range some
utilize a Short Weapons Range and a Long Weapons Range
and on and on.

This is all fine. My only point is that you consider (but not over
think) your use of space in obvious ways. Because I dont care
how well-trained you are in a particular punch it wont work if
your adversary is fifteen feet away. Yes another of my classic
ridiculous examples, but you get my point.

On the other hand Ive seen some fight systems hinge so tightly on
fighting ranges that it becomes a pre-occupation for the fighter
(am I within 2.5 feet?... okay time to retool myself from kicking
range to punching range).

Again you havent got time to think about various tactics,
ranges, and techniques. You simply must keep target awareness
then use the most appropriate tool to strike.

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Fighting Tools Think of this like a carpenter to get the job
done he uses three basic tools a table saw, a planer, and a nail
gun. Yes there are a ton of other tools hell want at his disposal,
but without these essentials he wont even be able to get started. So
in general, there are 3 groups of hand-to-hand Fighting Tools
available to you and within each group there are a bunch of
options available to you. They are:

1. Strikes: These are offensive moves that include kicking,
punching, head butts, elbows and knees. With all the
variations available there are literally thousands of such
moves to choose from which can get confusing. But no
worries, Ive done all the work of sorting through this
material for you. Id recommend the following DVD
packages:
a. Glenn Boodrys Real World Advanced Package
b. Bruce Dragos Hardcore Street Scenerios package
c. Dale Comstocks American Combat Karate package

2. Blocks/Checks: Essentially these are defensive moves. Once
again, there are simply so many parrying, redirection, and
stopping maneuvers available that I couldnt possibly cover
them all here. So again, one of the big problems for guys like
you is sifting through tons of dirt and sand to discover those
valuable golden nuggets. But dont fret, theres no need for
any heavy digging Ive done all that for you. Here are some
packages specifically designed to demonstrated advanced
(but simple to learn) blocks and checks:
a. Ray Ellingsons Untouchables package
b. Larry Wicks Tactical Street Survival package
c. Gabe Garcias Mean Streets package

Okay understanding defensive moves is important, but its
more important to remember that if youre blocking, youre
not attacking. Thats not the position you want to be in. Your
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odds of winning are greatly increased if you are on the
offensive and forcing your opponent to defend himself. All
these packages deal with using defensive moves as a method
to turn the tables and take the attack to your opponent.

3. Manipulations: This includes offensive throws, joint locks,
breaks, choke holds and escapes. There is plenty for you to
choose from here, including:
a. Tony Walkers Street Survival
b. Mike Gillettes Cop Fighting Skills
c. Mark Parras Brutal Headbustin Secrets
A lot of manipulation techniques boil down to pain
compliance and control and contain tactics. This is
extremely popular among anyone who makes their living in
law enforcement and security as their goal is to control
people and not necessarily end the threat. I would
recommend learning these techniques for the kind of
altercations I talked about earlier where you need to
control someone without causing too much damage.

Remember, theres no need to get confused about which package
you should get. You can either customize and build your own
personal combat system from scratch or simply trust me on this
and choose from my
1. Silver Pak
2. Gold Pak
3. Platinum Pak.

Now I touched on this earlier, but what the heck, Ill bring it up
again. You want to have as many tools available to you as
possible. Yes, Im sure you heard certain experts claim that
having multiple fighting tools will overwhelm you in a fight.
Nonsense. The more fighting tools and skill sets you have
available to you, the more target opportunities youll have at your
disposal and the sooner they will appear.
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Think of it like working on a car. Youll want more than an
adjustable wrench and a hammer with you (although I DID once
replace a water pump like that which I dont recommend). The
more tools youve got, the more options youll have to get the job
done. Its that simple.

Because as Ive already mentioned, the typical untrained street
fighter really has just two effective tools -- a right haymaker to the
head and a left haymaker to the head. (Wow what a cornucopia
of moves).

So when it comes to target awareness and fighting ranges this guy
is left asking is my opponents head open now? Am I in range for
a haymaker? Thats a rather limited menu of options. Whoever is
suggesting that this is a good thing doesnt understand the nature
real-world fighting. You want options. Having more options does
not mean more decisions, just more opportunities.

Now I want to talk a little about the dialogue in your head for
choosing your target and the appropriate tool. This has more to do
with knowing and less about carrying on a well-structured
conversation in your head. It leans heavily on intuition, feelings,
flashing words, and images. Your brain should work in a kind of
short hand with decisions made in fractions of a second.

Anyway when it comes down to it there are 3 Fighting Skill
Sets youll need:
1. Initiating Skills Extremely important to practice since your
best chance at winning means initiating a pre-emptive or
counter attack. As weve discussed at length there are
definite skills and triggers youll need to know and you can
discover more in Jesse Lechugas Hwa Rang Sul.
2. Control of Space Skills this includes knowledge about
fighting ranges, what kind of stance youll need, how to use
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concealment and cover (useful if your adversary is armed),
and a variety of fluid movement techniques as demonstrated
in such packages as demonstrated in John Nottinghams
Viper.
3. Entering Skills Entering Skills refer to techniques and
skills that allow you to close into your attacker without
getting hit. This is an important skill since many of the most
devastating tools in street fight are in Close Range. Youll
need to know a variety of dirty tricks, distractions, and feint
strategies like that demonstrated in Bob Taylors Small
Mans Advantage.

Again its important to remember that a fight is a fluid state a
constant state of flux -- that does not translate well into broken-
down and overanalyzed components (hmm lets see, hes 15
inches away at this moment -- which means hes in trapping
range which means I think I can use an ear slap oh wait
darn it hes moved). No way. A fight is more of a wham
bam bam bam-bam and it over. Everythings got to be
automatic. Ive seen too many book taught fighters get lulled
into a false sense of security because they compartmentalize
fighting thinking about it in separate and individuals
components. When a real fight hits their shocked at how fast and
fluid it is.

So Ive set up some tips thatll help. Use them as a guide to
combine real-world fighting tools from all 4 ranges.

1. Make sure you have learned multiple options in each of the
Fighting Skill Sets.
2. Choose fighting tools that are effective (high probability of
success), that feel natural (based on natural body
movements), rely on gross motor skills (which means they
wont deteriorate under stress), and are easy to maintain.
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3. The more tools you are willing to learn and master for each
range, the more options youll have in crunch time.
4. Learn at least 6 to 12 fighting tools for each fighting range. If
you are in a profession that deals continually with violent
confrontations youll want to expand that fighting tool
repertoire.
5. For the striking range its a good idea to learn at least 2 to 4
techniques from each of the three categories of fighting tools
(strikes, blocks, and manipulations). Always put more
emphasis on strikes rather than on blocks or manipulations,
unless you are in a professional law enforcement or security
occupation.
6. Read this book several times and commit it to memory itll
give you the structure and the foundation to build your own
Personal Combat system.
7. When studying our training DVDs, add the techniques and
tactics that fit you best. Every person is built differently, so
you dont want to use anything that seems unnatural or
clumsy for you. All the techniques taught by our team of
instructors pass our rigorous standards of high effectiveness
and consistency. This is stuff that actually works which
means that building your own combat system becomes a
matter of choosing what works best for you. If it seems to
fit you, it will usually be easier to learn.
8. Apply the 80/20 rule. Ive explained all about this concept
below.


A warrior may choose pacifism.
Others are condemned to it.
unknown


The 80/20 Principle
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This principle states that 80% of the consequences stem from 20%
of the causes. Now of course this isnt a hard and fast rule -- its
more like a rule of thumb but it can have powerful consequences.

Let me see if I can clarify this for you with an example.

The Japanese used the 80/20 principle to concentrate 80% of their
efforts on just 20% of the industrial cycle that cycle being
production costs and quality control. By focusing on a small but
important sector and doing a better job than any of their
competitors the Japanese lowered their cost of production while
at the same time raising the quality of their product. The result?
Well nothing too big just one of the worlds most powerful
economies.

Okay, so what does this production and economic talk all have
to do with fighting? Well just this. This 80/20 rule transcends
into more than just industry it permeates everything in life. So
when developing your own personal fighting system, youll want
to look to those techniques that have the absolute highest
probability for success and lowest required maintenance time. This
is what will drive your success.

When turning to DVDs for instruction, Fight-Fast has sought out
teachers that focus their efforts on the fighting side of martial arts -
- not the art side. I have personally run across plenty of
instructors who claim that their training is suitable for the street
when the simple truth is that it is not. At Fight-Fast weve already
done the hard work for you by seeking out instructors based on
their real-world talents, experience and ability to teach -- not
necessarily what level belt rank theyve achieved or the lineage
of instructors theyve studied under.

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Once again, youll be concentrating the vast majority of your
efforts -- 80% -- on the 20% of tactics and techniques that will do
you the most good the ol 80/20 rule working for you!

Four Methods Of Obtaining Your Objective:
Too many guys think that learning how to win a fight means that
your objective must be fighting. Wrong. Your objective is to end
the threat. There are four ways to end the threat. Here they are:

1. Avert or avoid This is all about not putting yourself in a
dangerous environment to begin with. Its about being aware
of your surroundings. My research has shown that people
who frequent violent areas of town often become (for some
mysterious reason) victims of violent crimes. So a crime
victim might say I was in a dark back alley near Skid Row
at 2 in the morning and I was viciously and unexpectedly
attacked by thugs. Now I ask you seriously how much
of a victim is he really? The world is not your own personal
playground. You must take responsibility for the sticky
situations you put yourself in.

Of course people can and DO get into confrontations where
theyd least expect it at ball games outside work at the
gym any number innocent places. But its a game of
calculated chance. Because the odds of running into serious
trouble on a street corner ripe with drugs and prostitution is
greater than on the steps of a Mormon church on Sunday
morning.

Another more subtle form of avoiding a confrontation is how
you carry yourself. Proper body language and an air of self-
esteem can go a long way in broadcasting to criminals that
youre not an easy mark. Knowing some simple ways to
take care of business instantly adds a level of self-
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confidence that people recognize. This also leaks into other
areas of your life and the confidence will be noticed.

2. De-escalate Ive already covered this in excruciating detail
so I wont bother to go through de-escalation techniques
again except to point out that this is one option to obtain your
objection (which is to end the threat remember?)
Lets review again the three types of opponents youll face
and when and where you can possibly de-escalate the fight.
a. Bully Theres little chance at successfully de-
escalating a confrontation with a bully. Hes
interested in dominating you, and at the point of
confrontation he may view anything less that dishing
out a good ass beating as backing down. And
bullies dont typically back down.
b. Predator You have even less of a chance to
successfully de-escalating a confrontation with a
predator as once hes chosen you to be a victim he
will not be talked out of it. A predator must simply
be convinced as quickly as possible that hes made a
mistake by choosing you as a victim.
c. Badger An emotionally volatile individual that
DOES respond well to specific de-escalation
techniques. Of course the trick is to be sure which
type of opponent youre dealing with. If its a
Badger, try to de-escalate if its safe.

3. Escape This is a highly under-rated consideration. If youre
not trying to protect yourself, your loved ones, your dignity,
freedom or future then why bother fighting? Avoid the
fight completely, or run and get the hell out of there. This
should be the FIRST thing you consider.

For example a Muay Thai kickboxing champion had his
car stolen in San Francisco (a true story that made front page
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news). It was ripped off right under his nose as he watched
from the front window of his own dojo. He was humiliated
and quickly took chase on foot and amazingly caught up
with the car thief at a red light (traffic in San Francisco is
very slow indeed). Angry adrenalin pumping and in the
best fighting shape of his life he yanked open the car door
and confronted the car thief

And was immediately shot dead where he stood.

Now, when you analyze the situation, there was NO good
reason this kickboxer needed to do anything but call the cops
and get some paper work filled out. He had insurance, the
danger was already passed (the thief was driving away for
Petes sake), there wasnt a girlfriend, grandmother, or baby
in the car. It was his foolish eagerness to fight and confront a
dangerous criminal that ended his one and only life.

Learn a lesson from this. Do not be too eager to fight.

4. Disable the Adversary This is where all the target
acquisition and fighting techniques come into play. I wont
go over all the specific techniques, but I will repeat this: the
secret is to quickly pick open targets and then using specific
fight techniques to attack those targets never the other way
around.

Now notice that I use the word adversary and not
attacker. Heres why as we talked about earlier, YOU
may be the attacker. Standing around whistling in the wind
until a threatening person has the opportunity to define
himself as an attacker is not a good idea. If you wait until
HE is the attacker, it means youre the defender, which
lessens your chance at winning.

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Youll want keep certain High Probability Tactics in mind.
These are tips designed to give you a great chance of success
in a street fight or personal combat situation.

Eye Contact Good eye contact demonstrates that you
are confident which can be especially important to
convincing an adversary that you will fight back -- not
the easy target they were hoping for. Youll want to
break eye contact when the fight is imminent. Instead,
look to his hands for weapons then to his chest to
determine his movement. The direction of his chest
determines from which side hell be throwing a
haymaker (if he turns to his right, hell be throwing a
right handed shot). You dont want to allow eye contact
to suck you into his emotional state as it often begins
the destructive internal dialogue. Instead check for
weapons, look for movement, the quickly begin your
target acquisition.
Distraction Throwing change on the ground, flipping
a cigarette into his face, or a quick jab to the eye can
allow you to set up for a devastating first strike or a
quick escape. You wont get any more than a 1-2
seconds head start before your adversary snaps back, so
use that time to your advantage either strike or flee.
Larry Wick has a number of quick physical
distractions (really amazing) that instantly strips away
your opponents focus for a second or two.
Deception The purpose is to provide you with an
element of surprise. You cant go wrong with the
submissive-looking hands up and ready forward
trigger position combined with a verbal hey man I
dont want to fight. Good stuff that lulls him into a
false sense of security. When you suddenly lay on the
hate hell be thrown back on his heels panicking and
wondering why he ever messed with you.
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This is the law: The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no
possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the
shield and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is
the brain. All else is supplemental.
-- John Steinbeck


Self Defense and the Law
First of all I want to be clear -- Im no lawyer. I cant give you
specific legal advice and this section is not meant to back you up in
court or anything like that (but Bob Pierce said I could cut his
throat). It is incumbent upon you (and every citizen) to learn
the laws in your state as it pertains to self defense. But I do want
to take this chance to try and clarify some legal aspects. Take it for
what its worth.

First of all, many of the principles that we teach you in this book
have the potential to land you in legal hot water. Im not trying to
back away from one word of what Ive written -- the purpose of
this book is to teach you the principles and tactics thatll give you
the highest probability of surviving a violent confrontation.

But it does not give you the best strategies of winning a potential
legal battle.

Every state in the U.S. has its own specific laws relating to self
defense. This is my own non-professional opinion on what the
general intent is:

Use of force is justified when you reasonably believe that it is
necessary for the defense of yourself or others against the
immediate or imminent use of unlawful force, and there is no
reasonable and apparent avenue of exit. The force used to defend
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yourself must be no more than reasonably required
(proportionate) and necessary to stop the immediate threat.

Individual state laws differ from this, but I think in general its Im
giving you a reasonable opinion. Here are some points thatll
clarify the above statement:

-- Unlawful Force means that the attacker is someone other
than a police officer or anyone who is legally authorized to
give you a beating

-- Reasonably Believe is rather dicey as it leaves you wide
open to the interpretation of the police prosecution and
the jury. What appears to be a no-brainer to you may be
twisted beyond all recognition by ambitious lawyers and
prosecutors looking for fresh notches on their belt.

-- Proportionate means your response should be similar to
the threat. In other words if someone slaps you, you slap
back. Shooting him in the head would be considered to be a
disproportionate use of force.

-- Immediate Threat means that the threat of harm is not
something thatll happen at some future time. This also
means that once the attacker is no longer a threat to you, the
fight should end. Any final kick to the ribs or parting head
stomps will be seen as acting outside the category of
immediate threat.

Ive got a lot of friends who are lawyers and -- speaking off the
record (of course) --theyve given me their own ideas on how best
to avoid a criminal or civil lawsuit from fighting:
1. Never hit first. Allow your attacker to get the first strike
2. Always give clear warning to your attacker before you
defend yourself
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3. Always match your attackers force with less or equal
force
4. Never stand your ground, retreat to safety regardless if
others may be in danger
5. Your attackers life is more important than yours. Show a
greater concern for your attackers safety than your own
6. If your attacker falls to the ground, or is temporarily unable
to continue his assault, do not continue the counter-attack,
stop and assess maybe he will decide to leave or stop the
attack
7. After successfully defending yourself from an attack, do not
leave! Stay in the area and wait for authorities to arrive
8. Use just enough force to do the absolute minimal damage
to your attacker and remain calm and cool so that you can
weigh every action you take with careful deliberation, ( this
is the state of mind the jury will be in when they second
guess your actions).
This is not a joke. Follow these steps as spelled out by legal experts
and you may just stay out of jail although youll lose any fight
and probably wont be able to avoid the hospital or perhaps the
morgue.
You can see why I advise guys like you to take responsibility for
your own protection and that of your family and let the legal chips
fall where they may. Because, despite what anyone says, the legal
system is not set up to protect you. Nope. Its function is to put
people in jail and -- when its your turn on the legal hot seat -- the
prosecutors job is to do everything he can to get you there.
As Ive pointed out numerous times, hitting first give you a huge
advantage. As you remember, the pre-emptive attack is a core
component of winning a fight. If you can, always strike first -- and
if possible 2
nd
, 3
rd
, and, 4
th
.
Yet a pre-emptive attack is the riskiest of all categories in terms of
legal consequences. The more pro-active you become in defending
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yourself or others from harm, the more you expose yourself to
legal action. The earlier you make your personal triggers, the more
vulnerable you become to litigation.
Every state has laws giving individuals the right to defend
themselves and others from the threat of harm, however some give
broader rights than others. And to complicate it more, civil law
(take your money) has a different set of standards than criminal
law (go to jail). And all of them are open to the interpretation of
the local DAs office (do we want to prosecute or not?),
presiding judges, and juries.
Weve all heard horror stories of people reasonably and
successfully defending themselves against hostile attacks only to
be sued later, or having to defend themselves against criminal
charges. There is no winning in these situations. Win or lose you
will be out time, money, and expend a large amount of psychic
energy.
As unfair as that may seem, its the reality of what youre dealing
with.
Reminds me of the story of the armed Good Samaritan who chased
off a man trying to rape his neighbor. As was chased off into the
night, he screamed to the man that next time Ill be back for
YOUR wife! What he didnt anticipate was that the man chasing
him was also an expert marksman who didnt hesitate to shoot him
through the spine. He was permanently paralyzed and a jury
convicted the Good Samaritan of using excessive force. The man
later said he didnt regret shooting the attempted rapist because
hed rather spend time in prison than wonder when and if the rapist
would return for his wife.
Welcome to life on planet earth. So you have to ask yourself, do
you protect yourself from criminals or do you protect yourself
from the legal system? Well when it comes to fighting I have some
suggestions that may just help you have it both ways.
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Now to the average bystander a pre-emptive attack looks like
you are the attacker and your adversary is the victim. A witness
may never see that a suspicious individual approached you that
you firmly requested him to stop and stay back that he simply
ignored your commands and continued toward you anyway and
that you felt threatened. All this may go completely unnoticed and
unreported by a witness.
On the other hand, what the witness does see -- and what he later
reports to the police and testifies to in court -- is you that blew out
your opponents knee with a vicious kick shattered his collar
bone with a very scary hammer blow then knocked him
unconscious with a chop to that poor mans neck. Bystanders
will often not understand how the events unfolded, so you need to
help everyone around you to become good witnesses for you.
Here are some ideas to getting witnesses on your side:
We are all susceptible to false memories because the human
memory is not a video recorder that accurately captures a stream of
event. Nope. Instead we store certain cues in memory nodes
which are associated with other memory nodes of the same
approximate time.
When recalling a past event we simply retrieve cues from the
various nodes and reconstruct or fill in the blanks as best we can.
And there are more blanks than cues so theres an awful lot of
filling in the blanks. Think of it like one of those childrens
follow the dots pictures. You can construct a rather detailed
picture with relatively few dots.
But there are a few problems. First, (as the well respected
professor and psychologist Dr. Lotus points out), this follow-the-
dots kind of memory is extremely prone to error especially under
stressful conditions. Second, the manner in which a person is
questioned after an emotional event can (and does) alter memory
explaining why different witnesses to the same crime can have
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wildly different accounts (police are on the lookout for a tall
blond woman or a short black man). And third, people are
simply not aware that they are filling in blanks meaning that
theyll firmly believe a memory is accurate even when its just
plain wrong. Even suspects who are 100% cleared by police with
irrefutable DNA evidence and a rock-solid alibi are still hauled
into court because someone swears thats the guy.
Anyway, you can use this all to your advantage. Heres how. Many
instructors teach students to use a battle cry when initiating a
pre-emptive or counter attack. This is a good idea since it can
startle your adversary, help focus your attention to the task at hand,
and keep you from holding your breath. But instead of howling out
the rebel-yell, simple yell Get Back or Leave Me Along, as
you initiate an attack.
What this does is immediately announce to bystanders that YOU
are the victim. You are implanting verbal cues suggesting that you
are defending yourself. Keep it going for as long as necessary by
shouting other suggestive comments like Why are you attacking
me I told you I didnt want trouble Why are you making me
defend myself and so on. Youll stand a much better chance of
having friendly witnesses.
Another thing its usually not a good idea to hang around after a
fight, but fleeing the scene can be easily misinterpreted. A good
compromise is to call the authorities (police and or ambulance)
immediately after an attack on a cell phone while exiting the scene
or call from a nearby public phone. Explain that you did not feel
safe staying at the scene but will meet them wherever they request.


The more you sweat in training,
the less you bleed in battle.
Motto of Navy Seals

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TRAINING METHODS:
A complete review of proper training and conditioning methods for
combat is beyond the scope of this book however I do want to
point out that the average guy looking to defend himself on the
street doesnt need to endure a lifetime of training. On the
contrary, the entire purpose of this book and my many DVD
packages is to simplify everything. Ive received emotional letters
from dozens of customers who simply watched a certain program
did NO training and were able to recall and use it correctly when
they needed it. Doesnt get much better than that. But if youre
serious about implanting this information deeply into your body,
youll want to consider training it.

Street fighting does not require the same level or type of
conditioning as sport fighting. Surprisingly, cardiovascular
endurance isnt a significant factor in a street fight, I now this is a
controversial claim but research and 18 years of study and
observation backs it up. Remember, true street fights (as opposed
to mutually agreed combat) rarely last longer than 10 seconds.
Understanding and employing the 4 Ds (Deception
Distraction Disruption Destruction), will trump cardiovascular
conditioning.

So with that in mind, having the ability to initiate and maintain
continuous explosive action for 8 to 10 seconds will give you a
huge advantage in a fight. Design your training accordingly. For
street fighting focus on anaerobic conditioning (strength and power
training). Eight to ten seconds may not seem very long but try
going all out on a heavy bag for that amount of timeits pretty
tough.

The more realistic you train the better. This includes the emotional
component as well. Here are some tips:
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1.) Practice initiating a pre-emptive attack and counter attack
from multiple positions and stances. If you practice the 4
Ds you wont be initiating the attack from a classic
boxers stance. More than likely your hands will be up,
open, and forward in an I dont want any trouble
submissive posture. This is the position you want to
practice launching from.
2.) Practice maintaining a constant barrage. And if training
with a partner, maintain constant forward pressure.
Constant Barrage is more important than Strike
Accuracy. Practice Target awareness. If working on a
heavy bag, imagine different targets being made available,
if working with a partner, make sure he or she offers you a
variety of targets to attack
3.) Practice your verbiage as you initiate an attack as well as
anything you might say during the attack. Make it as real
as possible. If you working with a training partner have
your partner play the part; yelling, threatening, cursing,
etc. His goal should be to drive up the emotional content
as much as possible.
4.) Develop a Strike mentality - Start hitting a heavy bag.
A partner with strike mitts is even better, because it
allows you to get used to movement. Practice striking with
your hands, elbows, shoulders, head, and knees and mix
up Hi-Line shots (at the head and chest) and Lo-Line
shots (at the stomach, ribs, groin and legs).
5.) Get a Battle Cry - As I just discussed, this does a
couple things. First it throws off your adversary for a
couple of crucial seconds at the beginning of your action
sequence. His brain will be burning up valuable seconds
trying to process what all the yelling is about (what the
hell) while your attack is under way. Very effective.
The second function of the battle cry is to prompt your
brain into action. Theres a big difference between
thinking about taking action and actually taking action --
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and its easy for most people to get locked down in
planning . Your brain needs a kick in the butt to transfer
its energy from the thinking and planning mode into the
action mode the battle cry is a verbal go thats
imperative to getting yourself moving forward. Its
nothing new -- soldiers have been using this for thousands
of years as a way to overcome freezing and to strike fear
in their enemies. But youll want to use this verbal battle
cry in training ONLY when you launch into an attack so
that it holds power and is an internal trigger.
6.) Always practice proper execution: Watching countless
videos of actual street fights as they happened has only
cemented what my research has already strongly
suggested -- that real-world fighting is sloppy. It is the rare
exception for a fighter to properly execute a complex
martial arts move. This is why its important to practice
proper execution as youll be more likely to retain a
percentage of it when crunch time hits. As expert
shooter Bennie Cooley points out, if you can group your
shots with 3 inches of each other during practice, you may
just retain a grouping the size of a paper plate in real
combat (which is considered excellent shooting in the real
world). Or as Bruce Lee once pointed out: I do not fear
the man who as practice 1000 kicks one time I fear the
man who has practiced one kick 1000 times.

But Bruce was a little off in his numbers. Studies show
that it takes about 2,000 repetitions of a move before its
actually implanted into your brains neural pathway for
easy recall even under stress. Now 2,000 sounds like a big
number, but its not. The key is to practice a move
correctly.

Here is a proven method for developing your skills.

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1.) Level 1
a. Practice a move in front of a mirror slowly. This
allows you to self correct anything your doing
wrong. Keep practicing until you are satisfied that
your technique is correct.
b. Practice the same move in front of mirror at full
speed. Again this allows you the opportunity to
self correct.
c. Try it again this time in slow motion with your
eyes closed. Youll want to periodically sneak a peek
in the mirror to see if youre still on track with your
technique.
d. When your satisfied with your technique, perform it
at full motion with eyes your eyes closed. This will
start hardwiring the move into your muscle memory.

2.) Level 2 Get your hands on a heavy bag theyre not
expensive and the exercise value alone that youll
receive it is worth every penny.
a. Now practice the same move on heavy bag slowly.
Use a mirror again if you can to periodically check
your technique. If you see that its flawed, go back to
Level 1.
b. Practice the technique on heavy bag at full speed.
Try to visualize how youd use the move on specific
target areas.

3.) Level 3 Practice with a partner. Now I realize not all
of us have someone willing to act as your punching
bag, but for those who are committed to taking their
skills to an expert level, having a live person to practice
on is important. For any specific move you want to:
a. Practice with partner slowly then when youre
both comfortable....
b. Practice with partner at full speed.
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Of course this is only a brief description of how to train
-- the DVDs will take you through specific moves and
techniques in detail. But its important to remember to
always be careful with your partner especially if
youre just getting started. Make sure your partner
understands how to tap-tap-tap on your side
whenever they feel uncomfortable.

Most of the moves youll discover are ones that can be
used straight out of the box. Theyre almost always
simple, easy to learn, and devastating --- so you must
use care during any practice. Avoid showing off your
new moves to unsuspecting friends or family members
as its easy to put them in the hospital or permanently
injure (even kill) them.

Youll discover some powerful information which
requires you to accept some big responsibilities. Use
discretion.


Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear,
not absence of fear.
Mark Twain



REVIEW Prevailing in a Dangerous Confrontation:

Weve come to the end of our journey. I hope youve gotten as
much out of this as you can. I suggest you read this book at least a
few times.

Before I close this show down, Id like to review some of the most
important points about prevailing in a confrontation. Here they are:
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1.) Dont look like easy meat All three type of attackers
the Bully, the Predator, and the Badger will all be less
likely to attack someone they feel will fight back
especially the predator.
2.) Combat awareness trust your gut (rapid cognition or
thin slicing):
Remember that studies PROVE your gut or intuition is
actually emotional intelligence. In my research victim
interviews almost always reveal that the victim felt
something wasnt quite right, but chose to ignore it (I
had this feeling). You dont have to have ESP just
start listening to that little voice thats telling you
something is wrong. Dont fight fear use it to your
advantage. Most guys spend enormous amounts of energy
suppressing these feelings, which can result in runaway
internal dialogue and brain freeze.

Trust your feelings or emotions. If theres a suspicious guy
looking around, walking toward you and reaching in his
pocket you know in your gut somethings not right with
this situation. You must act on this forward trigger.

3.) Controlling Space Remember that controlling space is
one of the most important aspects of maintaining control
over your protection. You dont want to knowingly allow
a potential threat to get too close. Youll need to:
a. Create a forward trigger based on space. If a potential
threat trips that trigger, have some immediate action
planned (Hold it, stop right there!)
b. Look for an escape this is your best option if you have
no family to protect
c. Angle to one side or the other, never backward. Moving
to your right his left as its likely hes right handed
and youll be working on his weak side.
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d. Know the specifics about fighting ranges. Remember
that a determined person can cover six feet within a
fraction of a second so implementing a combat
awareness is necessary not paranoid..

4.) Distance is your friend. As Ive pointed out, youll want
to give yourself space. Dont allow yourself to suddenly
be dealing with an adversary face to face. Weapons expert
Bennie Cooley, for example, points out that a person
armed with a knife can close a distance of 30 feet and
inflict a lethal wound before someone can pull a gun from
a holster and shoot. It was this specific information that
led many police and government forces to implement new
guidelines for when an officer should draw his weapon.

5.) De-escalation If you are certain your adversary is
emotionally highjacked you may attempt to use the
specific de-escalation techniques Ive covered for you. A
bully or a predator does not respond well to these tactics.

6.) Pre-set Triggers Have ready mental decision points
on what will actually trigger an attack by you on your
adversary. Because your odds of winning a fight go up
dramatically if you strike first (yes a preemptive attack),
and preemptive attacks depend on pre-set triggers that
work exactly like a switch. Off off off ON pow,
wham, boom, bang. This is because pre-set triggers
guarantee that youre not trying to figure it out in the
heat of battle. Here are some External triggers that
should prompt action:
- Shove stats show that someone who pushes you is a
couple seconds away from hitting you. This is a HUGE
forward trigger that requires your immediate attention.
Your about to be hit
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- Boundary Violations now Im talking less about
your neighbors dog dumping on your lawn, and more
about your opponent willfully crossing invisible
lines. Stuff like:
i. Stepping in too closely to you
ii. Jabbing you with this finger
iii. Grabbing your shirt
iv. Dropping of his chin

Another common hint that hes about to attack you is
(and I didnt believe this one til I read the stats) he will
remove his coat and/or shirt. So, unless youre in a strip
joint, if an aggressor starts taking off his jacket and
shirt it usually means trouble. If he starts taking off his
pants well Im not sure what that means. But, one
tip is to attack while hes got his jacket half off great
time to strike.
- Non-Compliance Triggers If you give a verbal
command to someone like stay back and they keep
coming, well, that should trigger some kind of action on
your part. Another variation on this is to simply ask an
personal acting aggressively toward you are we
okay? Anything other than an affirmative response
should consider a trigger to be tripped.

7.) Forward Blitz One the physical fighting is on, youll
want to keep the pressure on and maintain a continued and
uninterrupted attack that does not stop until the threat has
ended or you can escape. This is extremely important
since most rookies (and nearly everyones a rookie) want
to stop and assess. That is, they strike, stand back to see
it if worked, maybe try it again, stand back Huge
mistake. Do not stop. You must throw everything you can
at him once youve begun your attack. Use ALL the
weapons in your human arsenal, including hands, knees,
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elbows, feet, head butts the whole works. Keep the
pressure on and do NOT let up.

8.) Total Commitment To prevail in a fight you must
resign yourself to a total commitment toward your
decision. Never launch an attack, then change your mind.
Continue the forward blitz until the job is done.

9.) Leave the Area Now that youve ended the threat,
youll need to get the hell out of the area as quickly as
possible. Hanging around usually means youll be
confronted by his buddies or other angry bystanders who
dont understand whats happening. If youre concerned
about the law, call the police and point out that youre
concerned about your safety.


In war there is no substitute for victory.
-- General Douglas Macarthur



Conclusion
Okay there you have it. All my hard work and research laid out
for you like a red carpet. I know youre walking away with some
valuable info here. Youre on a new footing now take this wire
frame and start filling it out with tactics and techniques.

Before I close I want to tell you one last story.

Shortly after the release of one of my first DVD instructional
packages (Ive got 82 titles so you know this was some time
ago), I started receiving a letters from customers. I still get a little
choked up thinking about these letters because its when I knew
161

for the first time in my life that I was doing some real good in the
world.

Like the letter I received from James Walsh in Pennsylvania:

Last year while on family vacation in Nashville, TN, we were
victims of an armed robbery at our hotel. I was horrified to watch
one of the three gunmen holding my wife Donna and our two small
boys hostage while I gave him all our money. After I did as
ordered we realized that he was going to kill us anyway.
Suddenly! I remembered something my brother Dave taught me
about slapping the gun away from us. He had learned this
technique from one of your self defense videos. Your video saved
our four lives, and I just wanted to say thank you very much for
teaching my brother who in turn taught me how to safe myself and
our children.

Or Shelby Schoonover in California:

Ive only been exposed to your training a short time, yet when
my house burned down and I caught a looter twice my size stealing
stuff, it only took one move to put him down until the cops arrived.
This is so simple and easy to learn, its amazing.

Or how about Ron Allen from Oklahoma who wrote:

I have to serve summons to angry people late at night. Its just
too dangerous in the real world to rely on something that may or
may not work. Your instructional DVDs gave me a definite
advantage in real situations. Its practical, its easy to learn and it
works. Ive used it to deter violent criminals, and to defuse
difficult situations. This is something you can rely on with
confidence.

Or Gregory Westerfield, from New York:
162


I had an incident with another fellow who walked up and shoved
me to the floor. In response, I used the Pop-Up I learned from
your DVD and he went sailing for fifteen feet before he touched
the ground. I only watched the DVD twice before this happened
and never practiced the moves! Im not especially threatening,
only 59 and 124 lbs. Im not fast, I dont have much strength,
and Im not violent. However I ended the incident in less than 3
seconds. I walked away unharmed, while my opponent walked
away with a limp that stayed with him for three days. I believe
your instructional DVD deserves special praise. The moves are so
devastating, that even the defensive moves can end a fight. When I
saw that he was unable to continue the fight, I stopped and walked
away. Thanks for allowing me the privilege of ordering the DVD,
keep up the good work!

Or Vernon Bach from California:

I am a Correctional Officer (prison guard), at a maximum security
prison in Southern California. There are nearly 1,000 male
inmates on the facility that I work at, and most of them have life
sentences and are never coming home. Most of the prisoners
would kill or hurt you if the chance was there. Working long hours
in such an environment does not leave me much time to put time
aside to train in a form of self-defense and make time for my
family too. That was all the more reason to give your product a
try. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Watching your
videos at home at my own pace, in my spare time was just the
answer I was looking for. Since I purchased the DVDs, I have run
into a few serious incidents, where I put to use what TRS taught
me, and my partners and myself had walked away from the
situation basically unharmed. Without the knowledge I obtained
from your DVD packages, the results could have been bad for us.

Or Goude Gordon from Hawaii:
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You really saved me a butt kicking. I am 70 years young and a
security supervisory and just 510 160lbs. It was ambulance
time for them not me (too bad). Thank you. You saved my
behind!

Or Ed Rosenblum from Brooklyn:

I work in a federal prison in New York. We have some of the
toughest prisoners in the world in our custody. Among the groups
represented are the Mafia, Chinese Gangs, Jamaican Posses, the
Russian Mafia, the Latin Kings, the Netas, and Colombian Drug
Lords. I have ordered various DVD packages from TRS to try and
prepare me for any type of situation I might encounter while
working here. Although I possess a martial arts background I am
always willing to try something new if it will help me in a dispute.
I have used some of the techniques taught in your videos and they
definitely work! The last DVD I ordered contained techniques that
I have never seen before -- the most devastating system I have ever
seen. The package was extremely helpful in learning the basic
moves quickly. I walk with a certain confidence on the job now
and youve helped me to achieve this mental state. Keep up the
good work.

And thats just the tip of the iceberg. Ive literally got thousand of
such letters. I save every single one of them too. It PROVES to me
that gathering together the most accomplished fighters in the world
to reveal their most treasured fight secrets is helping people. Its
allowing average guys around the world to protect themselves and
their loved ones.

Now its your turn. Its time to roll up your sleeves and get started.

God bless

164



Bob Pierce
Prez, FightFast, Inc.


War is not about who is right,
it is about who is left.
unknown