How Not to Become a Victim - Mind's Self-Defense Techniques

“Courageous is not the one who lacks fear but the one who can overcome fear and transform it into determination to never give up.”

Gianluca Zanna

PS: In this module, you will find also a Self-Hypnosis Audio program to help you control Fear during a violent confrontation.

Fear can keep you alive or can get you killed. It is okay to have fear but not to let fear take over your body and mind. Fear is a human component. Everybody will face it, the difference is how we control it and transform it into something positive. In the first few seconds of facing a dangerous situation, our body will have a rush of Adrenaline that can be good and bad at the same time.  Adrenaline is a hormone released by the adrenal glands and part of a natural reaction to danger. It was designed to help our body to react more quickly, giving us extra strength, and stimulating the body to make sugar to use for fuel. Adrenaline will also make the heart beat faster and it can create a negative effect by redirecting too much blood toward the muscles, causing a surge in energy or shaking.

If we get to this point, our muscles will feel tense, we may have tremors and our motion capabilities will be limited to gross motor skills.

So, what to do if we are facing a violent confrontation? How can we control fear?
1) Train mentally for the potential event or situation

Try to visualize that potential scenario and your response. Live it into your mind. If something does happen, you will not be surprised. You will be ready to face the situation as you have already visualized it in your mind.

2) Do not think It may happen. Think: It is going to happen

If you think that it will never happen, the first human reaction could be Disbelief. It cannot happen to me! To overcome this potential situation, I found out that using body “anchors” can help. A technique used in NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming), to keep it simple, you need first to visualize a positive state of mind. For example, in this dangerous situation: action, I must act now, danger is here. The action could be, Fight or Flight, but never Freeze. Once you have visualized this state of mind, Action, and Danger here, you find a part of your body to “pinch” to associate this state of mind and positive action with the physical “anchor” of pinching. Then immediately go to action. Flight or Fight! Create an anchoring now, for example: tap the back of your hand with your hand. When you do that, your response will be flight or fight.

3) Time is the essence

The faster your reaction, the more you can use the adrenaline's positive effects. The longer you take to react, the more adrenaline can take over your muscles. Use it as fuel, immediately. But how can we get to this point of self-control and mind clarity when under stress?

4) Breathing

Breathing is essential to control your mind and body under stress. You must control your breathing. Slow the pace of your breath by inhaling deeply, and then exhaling slowly. Now you are sending a message to your brain to calm down. This way you focus on lowering your heart rate.

Now that you are calming down, your next focus is to find a way out and if you cannot run and you must fight, now your next goal is to achieve target awareness. Look for open targets to strike.

Find targets that are exposed or unprotected so you can strike with maximum damage. Target awareness is a continuous process because as an attacker moves closer or further away from you,

the targets available to strike will change. Keep looking for target areas, since your attacker will move, and at the same time do not forget to scan your surroundings since you may face more attackers, and always look for a way to escape and improvised weapons.

2 Exercises to Control Fear
1) Visualization of Victory

The most important organ I need to prepare for the fight and training is the brain. I need to clear any doubt in case I am forced to use violence to protect myself or innocent people. I need to visualize myself winning the fight and never giving up. Sit down, and close your eyes for 60 seconds:

relax and visualize yourself fighting an attacker and winning that fight.

Really imagine the scene in your mind. Now repeat loud:

“I will never give up until I win the fight. I will never give up until I win the fight. I will never give up until I win the fight.”

2) Power of Breathing

Without breathing there is no life. You need to breathe to do everything, especially fight.

Your body and every cell need oxygen. Unfortunately, when we are under stress, especially before or

during a fight, we may hold our breath. If we do not breathe, we get out of breath in a few seconds,

our muscles get rigid and slow. Here is a simple exercise to practice our breathing. Use this technique every time you are under stress.

Breathing Exercise:

breathe in 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, and exhale for 4 seconds. Then relax Relax.

Do this 4 times. While you breathe, relax your neck, your shoulders, your arms, your legs, and your whole body.

While you do this exercise relax your body from stress and “feel” your heartbeat slowing. Focus on the sound of your breathing. Nothing else.

To develop our combat mindset, the power of visualization and mental conditioning is very important. I am a certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, but I am not trying to give you advice on how to self-hypnotize. It is, however, the same principle of self-conditioning your mind. Any time you have 3 minutes of calm and no distractions (mornings and before sleeping are the best times for me), sit down, close your eyes, relax, and visualize a dramatic scene of you fighting a potential attacker or multiple attackers.

Now in this visualization, see a person that you love, watching you while you are fighting. You know if you lose this fight the evil attacker will do terrible things to your loved one. You cannot lose. You will not lose because you will not give up until the fight is over. Repeat after me: I will never give up the fight until the fight is over. I NEVER GIVE UP UNTIL THE FIGHT IS OVER!

The first step is to admit reality; reality is that evil is real, and we are not living in a fairy tale. In this world, we have evil people who will do evil acts when they have the opportunity. Whether you like it or not, if we do not admit this reality, we will find ourselves “shocked” and instead of acting immediately, we will waste precious seconds just thinking “I can't believe it. It cannot happen to me!” Bang! Now you may be too late. To condition your mind to create an immediate response for your body, to FLIGHT or FIGHT, I have created this simple mental exercise that you should do every morning, and it takes only 1 minute of your time.  Just repeat after me:   

“When I face evil or a violent confrontation, I immediately flight, or run away from it. If I cannot flight, I fight with every resource I have, and I keep fighting until the fight is over, that means when my attacker is neutralized.”

Repeat once. Say it out loud. Now close your eyes and say it in your mind and just imagine every word you are saying.

That's it. You will be surprised by how powerful the subconscious mind can be especially when you are conditioning for victory. Even just 1 repetition every morning will make a difference very soon in just a few weeks.

Combat Mindset
Here is how to work on this important skill, called Combat Mindset.
Combat Mindset: In my opinion, this is the most important component of any fighter. Whether a confrontation is with weapons or empty hands, the Combat mindset is the determination to not stop fighting until the threat is neutralized, no matter what. If you can still breathe, it means you can still fight. Never give up. To understand the consequences of surrendering, visualize the potential end result in a real street fight. There are no referees, no rules, and no fairness. You surrender and you could easily die or worse, your loved ones could be the next ones to suffer.
“The combat mindset is the inner primordial instinct to fight back and never give up until the fight is over”.
The combat mindset is what makes the difference between winning and losing. Between coming back home to your family, or possibly being murdered. Criminals do not play fair. There are no reset buttons like in a video game. The moment you go down, you may never be able to get up again. Real life is not a movie.
Now repeat to yourself: I will not stop fighting until the fight is over. The Fight is over only when my opponent is neutralized.

Developing Situational Awareness

Even if the stronger or more skilled fighter cannot see the fight coming, he or she will be taken off guard and will face the first hit. This will put him in reactive mode and will be at a disadvantage.

We always want to be in proactive mode, being able to anticipate the potential attack.

To do so, we must develop an awareness of our surroundings.

The first step to being aware is to admit reality; reality is that evil is real. In this world, we have evil people who will do evil acts when they have the opportunity.

Years ago, the late gun expert Colonel Jeff Cooper came up with the “colors code of mental awareness”.
There are 5 Levels of mental awareness: White, Yellow, Orange, Red and Black.

Condition White
This is what I call the “walking zombie”, the clueless person, unaware of their environment. In Condition White, you are the perfect victim. Criminals love you because they love easy targets. This condition can get you killed, no matter if you are armed or what level of training you have.

Examples of Condition White: You sit in the restaurant with your back toward the entrance, and you do not really care who is coming into the establishment. You do not have any idea where the emergency exit is located, and you keep eating and drinking, ignoring your surroundings.

Another example: you're walking out of the grocery store and talking on the cell phone in the parking lot. Of course, you are not looking around because you are too busy talking. You have your strong hand carrying a bag full of groceries while your support hand is holding the cell phone. Meanwhile, a man comes toward you asking for spare change, and you ignore him, not realizing he is hiding a knife in his hand and two of his friends are creeping behind you. Get the idea? If you are caught by surprise, you will always be in a reactive mode, and you will always be a fraction of a second too late because the bad guy will have the advantage of surprise and he will probably win the fight because of this factor. So let's train ourselves to never get caught in Condition White.

You will be able to survive an attack if caught in Condition White only if your opponent is a complete loser and he/she makes a mistake. Let's never count on that.

Condition Yellow
This is our ideal state of mind. It is not that difficult. Honestly, I find it can be sort of fun. Consider it like a game. Practice it with your spouse, girlfriend or boyfriend, your friends, or just with yourself. This condition can be described as “relaxed and alert.”

We are not in a panic mode, we have no paranoia, but we are aware of our environment.

We are aware of our surroundings. Example: you are walking down the street, your hands are free of objects, you are aware of your surroundings because you don't deafen yourself listening to music with that iPod, and meanwhile you keep your head up straight while you scan your surroundings.

You avoid taking corners too close and walking by dark alleys. You look everybody in the eyes, but without being confrontational. Fear none, but respect all. Now you notice that punk walking toward you asking for money. You do not ignore him, but you keep eye contact and try to keep your distance. If he gets too close, you say loudly to stay away from you. Meanwhile, you notice two more individuals hiding behind a trash can in that dark alley that you will avoid walking close to, and instead, you will cross the street and go to the other side and avoid these “strange” situations.

Normally, if attackers notice that you are aware of them, they will avoid you: they prefer somebody else in Condition White. They need “easy targets.” They are predators, and they want the element of surprise. If you are in Condition Yellow, you show the world that you are not prey.

Condition Orange
Okay, now we have something specific, a potential threat. Since we were already in “Condition Yellow,” and we were aware of our surroundings, we were able to see that something is weird, or just out of the ordinary was going on, so at this point, we are able to escalate to Condition Orange.

In Condition Orange you must do two important things:

1) First thing create an evasive maneuver to force your potential attacker/s to show his/her/their true intention

Example: you are driving and you notice that an SUV is following you with three young men inside. Everything seems normal, but then you notice that one of these guys is pointing his finger at you. You take a left turn, creating an evasive maneuver. Now you notice that the car is still following you. Strange. You take another turn, and the car is still behind you. After 3 turns this is not a coincidence anymore. Now you know something is wrong.

2) Second thing to do in Condition Orange: 

Create a simple but effective plan that you will put into action in case you realize that you have real danger.  That's why the evasive maneuver is so important since it will force our potential adversary to show his/her true intent, and when we know that you are in danger, it is time to create that plan of action. Condition Orange can be a very important tool to prevent you from using deadly force. How? Let's not forget that the average criminal normally is a coward and always wants to have the element of surprise. When he/she realizes that you are aware and you are not a clueless zombie in Condition White, and therefore the element of surprise is gone, most of the time they will try to find some other easier target. There are some exceptions of course: the dedicated criminal will continue his/her plan no matter what. So be ready for the next level. Now let's see an example of a tactical plan in case we realize that there is a potential danger. Remember, do not be ashamed that you are trying to escape. The best fight is the one that we can avoid. Scenario: “You have been followed, and you realize that these three men in this SUV are really after you. Okay, you keep a distance between yourself and their car. You stop at the red light and you keep watching them in your rearview mirror. You keep your distance between yourself and the car in front of you, so you can have enough room to perform an evasive maneuver in case you need to. You have already planned that the moment one of these men gets out of the car, coming toward you with hostile intentions, you will start driving no matter what, and you will also call 911 and give a description of the car and the men following you. Meanwhile, you keep driving, and instead of going back to your office or home, you go directly to the police station. And, you already have your handgun positioned on the passenger seat, maybe hiding under the newspaper. So, can you see the difference between being “Condition White” and being in “Condition Yellow”?

In “Condition Yellow,” you will have the alertness necessary to escalate to “Condition Orange.” In this condition, you will be able to make that evasive maneuver and create and execute your tactical plan.

Condition Red
Now we know for sure that there is a real threat. In Condition Red you must set a mental trigger, or what we can call a “line in the sand.” You must decide exactly what constitutes the particular situation where you will have to act in self-defense. You should say to yourself, "If my opponent does Y, I'm doing X." No more discussion or thinking. End of debate, because at this point there is no more to debate.

Condition Black
This is the point of no return. This is the point where the adversary has crossed that line in the sand. There is no more thinking, no more talking, it is time to fight. Now you are sure that the threat is real. Here the training kicks in, and you are in a full Combat Mindset. The adversary has started the fight, you will be the one to finish it. No matter what. From being the prey, you now become the predator. Unleash your animal survival instinct and unleash your Combat Mindset.

We have already talked about the colors of awareness and the importance of being aware of our surroundings as a condition to avoid potential danger and violent confrontation. I want to get more details here on the 3 fundamentals of Observing, Analyzing, and then Acting. The first condition to be aware of your surroundings is to observe. Observing is a process that involves all our senses, and also our instinct. We see, hear, feel, smell, and touch. After we are able to Observe, our brain must analyze, and process all this data, and the real challenge is to perform this task as quickly as we can, probably under stress. Finally, when we have all the elements analyzed and processed by our brain, our response must be action, which could be Flight or Fight, but never freeze.

Two other aspects of the process of Awareness are Self Awareness and Emphatic awareness. Why are these important components of winning a fight or even better to avoid a fight?

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Self-Awareness

The condition of being aware of myself.

What are my strengths?  What are my weaknesses?

How am I feeling right now? How are my body and state of mind?

Am I relaxed and in control or tense and fearful? How is my breathing? Am I in control of my emotions?

Empathic Awareness
the process of being aware of the emotions, and physical and mental condition of others.

How is my opponent?

Who is he/she?

What are the weaknesses?

What are the strengths? Is he/she under the influence of Drugs?

Put yourself in their shoes, and try to understand what they are thinking or their motivations.

Behavioral Detection

If we can read the body language of our opponent we will be able to be ready for his strikes before he can deliver them. Our potential attackers, unless they are well trained, will show signs that are warnings of an imminent physical attack. Here are some examples.

1) Chin Drop.

This is normally preparation for an attack. From the square position, he/she will blade, position the chin down to protect the throat area, the hands will assume the fists and you may notice tension in the arms.

2) The Look Away.

Just before the attacker is ready to strike, he may not be looking into your eyes, just to distract you from his imminent attack.

3) Too Nice.

They may be nice for no reason. Sometimes it pays to be cynical.

4) Out Flank You.

They will try to go around you to surprise you with a sucker punch from the side. Or he may have one of his friends doing that to you while he is distracting you.

5) Aggressive Stance.

Bent on their knees, with the rear foot heel off the ground.

6) The Finger Jab.

Now they have touched you, probably to test your reaction. The moment they have touched you, you better react or you will be dead meat.

7) The Shove.

Same story as the Finger Jab. This could be the final testing of the water before the real attack. The moment that someone is shoving you or touching you with the intent to provoke you or harm you, the assault already started.

8) Target Gaze.

Normally the human body will focus on a specific target to strike.

If you see that your opponent is focusing on a specific part of your body, it may telegraph his intention.

9) The Verbal Attack.

If somebody is screaming at you that he is going to kill you or harm you, there is a good chance that is going to happen. If you cannot escape, be ready to fight before he strikes.

10) The Sudden Silence.

Before an act of aggression, there can be silence. Normally fighters do not think and fight at the same time.

11) Getting too close.

Especially if you have expressed with your words or body language that you want to keep your distance from that potential aggressor and he keeps coming closer to you, that can be a strong signal that he is ready to attack.

3 Types of Potential Attackers

1) Face front and arms behind

The attacker shows that he is not afraid, looking straight at you, but his arms are behind him like

almost someone is holding them. Good chance this person does not want to fight, but he is there for his ego. Try to de-escalate, keeping your arms up, while asking some questions (see chapter “Pattern Interruption”), while keeping your distance. If you ask questions, like “Are you okay?” you may give him the chance to come back to his rational side and get off the emotional one.

2) Arms up and face behind the arms

This situation is dangerous. The attacker shows his hands up, probably in closed fists, with the head behind them, like in a fighting stance. Escape or fight are the options, but remember to keep your distance, and always keep your arms up with open hands, like you are talking trying to de-escalate.

3) The deceiver attacker

The most dangerous case. Now the attacker is trying to deceive you with distractions or double talk. He wants you to lower your guard and then sucker punch you. Always remember to keep your arms up, keep your distance and look at his shoulders (he will move his shoulder to hit you with his hands), hips (he will move his hips to kick you), and hands (any weapons?). And remember: NEVER TURN YOUR BACK while facing any opponent.

Understanding the 3 distances is fundamental to avoid getting attacked.

There is no way you will be harmed in a physical attack unless the attacker gets close enough to

reach you. The goal is to protect your personal space and understand the 3 distances. You must control the distance and never let your potential attacker have unchecked access to your safe zone.

1) The Breathing Distance
You can smell the breath of your opponent, which means you are now at arm's reach. We must avoid letting this happen in every way. This is the most dangerous distance, and if the potential attacker has already shown his aggressive behavior, we could be entitled to strike to defend ourselves. Imagine if a person is carrying a knife. At this distance, it would be almost impossible to protect yourself. This distance is reserved only for close friends and family.

2) The Talking Distance
At this distance, you can talk with your opponent, but he cannot reach you with his arms or legs. This is our line in the sand. We need to maintain no less than this distance between us and strangers, anytime we can. If the stranger advances in a sneaky way, you need to verbally warn him to stop and keep the distance between you and him. Be careful: a trained aggressor can cover this distance in less than 1 second and be able to reach you.

3) The Yelling Distance
This is where we ideally try to always keep the approaching stranger: at least 21 feet. If somebody is trying to come close to us, and we cannot avoid being in his/her path, especially if the situation could be dangerous (imagine an empty parking lot, late at night), we need to let them know that we do not want them to get close to us. We will use the following technique called “VERBAL AND VISUAL Commands.” This distance of 7 yards can still be closed in less than 2 seconds by an athletic person, but at least we can have enough time to prepare for the attack.

VERBAL AND VISUAL COMMANDS

Using your voice as the first line of defense, as defining your space, can be a powerful tool to avoid a fight. If you do not tell your potential attacker to leave you alone, he/she will feel entitled to approach you. A stranger is approaching you. The situation is potentially dangerous. As an example,

imagine it is late at night, in an empty parking lot, with no people around. Unfortunately, you cannot just get away fast enough, even worse, you are stuck there. Maybe your car does not start, but at least you are able to spot the stranger trying to get close to you, maybe while trying to engage you with some distractions, or even worse, with some threats. It is time to draw your line in the sand. Shout loudly, with the voice coming from your diaphragm, like an opera singer but being stern:

“STOP RIGHT THERE, LEAVE ME ALONE!”   At the same time raise your open hands forward toward the stranger. Practice shouting and raising your hands as a drill now, and do it as though your life may depend on it to embed this as a familiar reaction. You need to train yourself to yell as it's sometimes necessary. You will most likely freeze in a dangerous situation if you don't practice it. Knowing this technique at a mental level is not enough to access it in a moment of danger.

“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”

―Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Here are several elements that can help to avoid a fight. 

Humans are not too different from animals when it comes down to predatory behavior. If you act like a victim, weak, maybe limping, or submissive, you increase the chances of becoming a victim.

Imagine a lion in the forest just spotted a gazelle that is limping, which can be for the predator an easy target. Same way, criminals, always look for easy targets.

HOW DO NOT ACT LIKE A PREY

Here are 3 powerful techniques for avoiding looking like a potential victim

1) Confidence:

when you are in public stay with your body erect, keep scanning your surroundings, and keep eye contact with people around you, even just for a second, but enough to let them know that you are aware of their presence. Never look down. Feel and be confident. If you need some help, a technique that can help you is to just imagine your favorite hero or superhero. Some people may like James Bond some may some superhero... whoever you feel like impersonating, just imagine how your hero would walk and act in public. What level of confidence and body language? You now do the same.

Fake it until you make it. I had several young students who had confidence problems that with this technique had an amazing improvement in their posture and confidence.

2) Awareness:  scan your environment to make people around you notice that you are aware of their presence.

3) Verbal and Visual commands: always control your space using your voice and hand gestures to define your safe place while interacting with strangers.

Here are more vital techniques in how to avoid becoming a target.

ATTITUDE

The first element to consider when avoiding a violent confrontation is Attitude.

Attitude cannot be taught--it must originate inside yourself--but you can learn the benefits and drawbacks of certain attitudes. When you understand the dangerous ramifications of a violent confrontation, you will try to avoid it any way you can, even when you know you are in the right.

Example: You go to a bar with your lady, and a drunk jerk tries to provoke you, calling your lady offensive names. The first instinct is often to engage with words, but that easily can degenerate into a violent physical confrontation. A superior and more self-disciplined attitude is essential if you want to avoid the interaction from getting out of control. Does it mean that you are a coward or weak if you control yourself? No. It means that you are smarter and understand what could happen, like you ending the night at the police station, maybe arrested, or at the hospital, or facing a civil lawsuit and criminal charges - what if you permanently damage or kill the idiot? Is it worth being lured into the provocation? Think about it. What would you remember 10 years from now? Would you remember the stupid insults of your provoker or the time you spent in jail waiting for trial? Your life ruined, your home lost, your divorce? The choice of ignoring or "down-playing" is just referring to a verbal confrontation. If somebody physically attacks you, or with hostile intentions, violates your private danger zone, then the response will be different.

AVOIDING WRONG PLACES AND WRONG PEOPLE

Another simple way to avoid getting into a physical confrontation is simply to avoid the wrong places and/or avoiding the wrong people. If you know that in a particular bar every night there is a fight,

why go there? It is the same story about friends and people you spend time with.

There is an expression: “Tell me your friends, and I'll tell you who you are.”

DISTANCE

There is no way you will be harmed in a physical attack unless the attacker gets close enough to reach you. The goal is to protect your personal space.

VERBAL AND VISUAL COMMANDS

Control your safe space by communicating with your potential attacker using your hands and voice as explained in the chapter before.

AWARENESS

Even the stronger or more skilled fighter if he cannot see the fight coming, will be taken off guard and will face the first hit and be in reactive mode, and definitely will be at a disadvantage.

We want to be always in proactive mode, being able to anticipate the potential attack.

To do so, we must develop an awareness of our surroundings as we have talked about in the chapter before.

BECOME A GREY MAN/WOMAN

Becoming a grey man/woman means that you are blending in with the environment where you operate. If you stick out, you will be noticed first, and that would give the opportunity to the potential aggressor to select you as prey. Don't get me wrong: you should be free to enjoy your life without fears and be able to dress and act the way that makes you happy, but in some specific situations, you should consider how to blend in.

Your clothing, your tattoos, your jewelry, your religious beliefs, political bumper stickers, and the way you talk. There are times that you could avoid communicating with the world about who you really are. Practice how to become a Grey Man/Woman.

POKER FACE

This could be our last attempt to avoid a physical confrontation. The aggressor is facing us. Maybe provoking us or threatening us. Our 2 basic reactions should be:

a) Flee (always good when you can)

b) Fight but never Engage in a verbal attack, fueling his/her rage.

But before we engage, in case we cannot flee, here is another option to avoid the fight: The Poker Face. Our goal is to look like we are emotionless, almost with a smirk on our faces. At this point, the last thing you want is to share with your opponent the idea that you are afraid. Instead, you show him that you are in control. You have something that he/she does not know for sure.

Why are you so confident? Why are you not afraid?

a) You are confident in your ninja skills?

b) Do have friends behind you ready to jump in?

c) Are you armed?

d) Maybe you are just crazy?

Distractions are essential in gaining the advantage to strike our opponent who is focusing on striking you or to regain that tactical advantage to distract him from his main task to hurt you. Normally a person under stress cannot focus on more than one task at the same time, so if you can send a distraction to the opponent's mind before you strike, or even better before you can flight, you may have now an advantage. Here are some examples of distractions. Always try to use them whenever you have the opportunity.

1) Eye Jab Distraction

Even though this is considered a physical strike, I wanted to include in this course, because in some situations this could save your life and it requires no strength and little training. The goal is still to avoid being involved in the fight but sometimes you have to incapacitate the attacker. Nobody will be able to strike if they cannot see. Your opponent is ready to attack. He is in front of you. You need a split second to distract him from his imminent strike so you can strike first or you can flight. From the fighting stance position if you can, with open hands, acting like you are trying to defuse the attack, quickly extend your arm closer to your opponent in front of his eyes and retract it immediately in a defensive stance. Normally you would use the arm that you would use for the Jab or what we call the leading arm. The goal is not to hit the opponent's eyes necessarily, but to make him flinch for a split second, enough to create the time you need to penetrate his defenses and deliver your flow of strikes in case you need to fight and in case you can run, hopefully, this could give you an opening. Start the exercise extremely slowly, until you do it correctly. Then, use explosive speed, being sure you always keep your other hand up to protect your face, with the elbow down to protect your torso. Also, the arm must retract like a spring, back into your fighting stance. IMPORTANT: the eye jab must be followed by an immediate flow of strikes. We do not use it just as an individual strike. Once you deliver the eye jab, you flight or you fight, but never stand still. This eye jab can be amplified if you are holding a rolled newspaper or magazine. It will give you extra reach and more shocking power. Always remember to breathe when you extend your arm striking.

2) Verbal Distraction

Sometimes you do not have the opportunity to create an 'Eye Distraction' with your hand, so learn and practice how to use the 'Verbal Distraction'. The concept is that the average human brain under stress normally can focus on one thing at a time. The attacker's mind now is focused on harming you robbing you or controlling you. The bottom line, you are the main focus/target. Our goal is to distract his brain for a split second with a phrase that could make him think about something else, something completely not logical that is not part of the pattern he expects in this situation. Example: Somebody is approaching you with the intention to rob you. He is screaming at you: ”Give me your money or I punch you”. Suddenly, you answer: “I love you, You look awesome. Yesterday I had pasta for lunch and you?” Be convincing, be natural. You will see that most of the time it works. The aggressor will look at you in disbelief for a moment. “What did you just say?” That moment of hesitation gives you a chance to flight or strike. Practice the verbal distraction from the fighting stance with an open hands position.

3) Objects Distraction

The only rule we have in a street fight is that we have no rules.

Our only goal is to win, so, therefore, you need to use anything that could help us in having an advantage against our attacker. Any object that we have on us, could help us in creating a diversion and keep the eyes of our aggressor off us, even for a split second or so, enough to give us the opening to strike. Important:

the distraction MUST be followed by a strike or multiple strikes until our aggressor is neutralized, or even better, since the focus of this course is to avoid the fight, after your create the distraction always try to FLIGHT first!

Examples of Objects Distractions:

1) Coins or cigarettes. If you have some loose coins or cigarettes, keep them handy, and throw them in the face of the aggressor.

2) Any object you are carrying that could make noise on the impact with the ground or distract his senses (like a coin, wallet, or a keychain). Just drop it on the ground. The attacker most of the time will follow with his eyes the object, allowing you to have the split-second advantage you need to strike or flight.

3) Cup full of liquid. If you have a drink, throw it in your attacker's face and at the same time run or launch forward and fight. Also, you can just get a sip of your cup and spit it into the eyes of your aggressor.

4) Eyeglasses or Sun Glasses. Just throw them in the face of your aggressor, and follow up with multiple strikes.

5) Spit into his eyes. I know it may sound gross, but at a close distance, this can work great.

4) THE SOUND DISTRACTION:: THE WARRIOR YELL

The warrior yell is a powerful yell that you will use at the moment when the attacker is imminent in your “breathing area”. Imagine warriors on the battlefield, waving their swords and shields before the final charge. Yelling was part of the psychological warfare to intimidate their enemy. Our yell must be inspired by a controlled rage, being able to come out on demand, using the Diaphragm technique, almost like an opera singer. Remember: we strike with all our senses. Not with just a strike that will hit the attacker physically, but also with sound, and at the same time. We must attack the mind of our opponent, using aggressive facial expressions, transforming us from the prey to the predator.

We already talked in the previous chapter about the importance of “distractions” while confronting a potential attacker. In this chapter, we will focus specifically on what we call “Pattern interruption” and other verbal techniques used in self-defense, like the "confusion technique". "the end technique"  "become Ice" technique,  "Are you  Ok".

Pattern Interruption
Pattern Interruption is a technique used to disrupt an attacker's momentum and create an opportunity for escape or creating an opening for striking.

It involves surprising or confusing the attacker by breaking their expectations or interrupting their thought process.

In the pattern of interruption, you should communicate a command with the following directions:

1) Sense of Urgency

2) Make zero sense

3) Abrupt sort of command and be short!

Here is an example: Your fire alarm is on and off! Call home!

Confusion for Self-Defense
Sometimes we can utilize our words to confuse the state of mind of the attacker, this is especially helpful if you re not physically able to run away or physically fight back. Also, this technique can be used to distract your opponent to give you the advantage to strike first while is off guard.

Begin by giving the attacker a verbal statement that is logical but it does not fit the circumstances, and it is completely out of the contest.   

For example, say calmly and directly “ I walked my dog today but he did not want to walk but then he started running” after you say this, you immediately follow up by giving a suggestion such as, “Now as you pack up your things and make your way home, look up at the sky and count the birds all the way home”.

The idea is after you startle his mind with your confusing statement, his brain for a split second is in shock and it looks for a resolution, and you are giving immediately that resolution “now as you pack up your things and make your way home, look up at the sky and count the birds all the way home”. 

Attention: this is not to guarantee that your opponent will follow your suggestions, but for sure it will create a moment of distraction to give you the advantage for a first strike or to run.    When you use a confusion technique your attacker has no idea what you’re talking about. And this brings them to a confused state of mind, That makes them lose their control over the situation for a split second, The attacker will experience an adrenaline dump that will leave them useless.  This state of mind will make them highly suggestible. This is when you follow up with a suggestion that has your safety as the priority.  Remember your mind is the most important first line of defense.  Our brain creates chemicals that support confusion techniques giving the potential prey enough time to get away to safety. Use them!

The "And" Technique
Another powerful and simple verbal judo technique you may use to contain the violent behavior of a potential attacker is using the "and" technique.  Start repeating the words of your aggressor and use "and" to continue to a potential resolution that you may wish.  While you are doing this verbal technique, smile with a sense of pleasing his demands if you can.  Example: Your attacker Yells at you: I am going to kill you!   
Your answer: I understand you want to kill me, and now please just talk to me about how I can help you. As you can see we also added a confusion technique, "How can I help you". Normally people do not want to help their attackers to be killed and under physical attack will not respond and act like this.

Become ICE
Before or during a confrontation is normal to feel fear and to follow the emotions of our attacker trying to lure us into a vortex of rage or fear.

Our goal is to become like ice, almost emotionless with the goal to defuse the potential attack, if possible.

Our sense of self-preservation is always elevated, we are not here to be offering our neck in sign of submission. We are here to defuse with safety:

Immediately keep your Arms up and open your hands

Chin Down

Blade your body but look no confrontational and Fundamental: keep the distance while looking for an escape

During this state, your adrenaline will start to flood your body and you must Control your breathing to keep your body calm:  keep breathing slow. Smile, yes, smile, it will give a reaction for your body to Stay calm and at the same time a confusing reaction for your attacker to do small movements, besides keeping the distance from your opponent.  Stay in the present moment and stay focused on the shoulders and hips of your opponent while scanning for weapons. Also, look into the opponent's eyes but do not focus only on the eyes to avoid becoming confrontational keep scanning your surroundings and focus on the shoulders of your opponent so your peripheral view can still look at the rest of the body.

ARE YOU OK?
We already talked about verbal distractions in our previous Chapter, but just to sum it up, shouting, screaming, or verbally engaging the attacker can momentarily startle them and create an opening for action. This can be combined with loud, assertive commands to stop or back off. “Stop right there Leave me alone” and our “warrior yell”.  But sometimes, just simply asking this phrase: "Are you OK?" it can control the rage of your opponent and it may bring it back to reasoning. But remember: Always keep your distance and never let the opponent to a striking distance.  Always keep your arms up and open hands.  Always scan for weapons and a way to strike first or run.

Unexpected response: Instead of reacting predictably, you can respond in a way that the attacker does not anticipate or logically expect. For example, if a violent man grabs your wrist, and you are not able to fight back and you are alone and you may believe that yelling at that moment it will not bring you any immediate help, you can delay the violence, creating an unexpected response doing this instead: For example, the attacker the moment when he grabs you he expects you to fight back and you should be screaming, but you unexpectedly give him a kiss and say “I love you”. That would completely confuse him for a moment, and that moment could give me the chance to escape or fight back.

Learning self-defense is an act of Love, towards yourself and toward the people who depend on you. Nobody deserves to be a victim of an unjustified violence. Learning how to use your mind is your first and most important step in how to defend yourself, but we want to be clear, that just reading a manual like this one is not enough unless you practice the techniques we shared.

We also want to invite you to explore the idea of learning how to use your body to become a weapon in case you cannot avoid the fight. Join us for our next live workshop and until then, stay always in condition Yellow.

Gianluca Zanna and Claudette Lyons