Self defense in review, February-May, 2012

So far, I hate 2012. I'm behind on blogs and Examiner columns and still working on my Ambit business .... which is itself a long story.

Anyway, these are the self defense columns I've written since February.

The 'how to' columns of self defense in New York. -- a compilation.


How to punch someone -- because otherwise, you can break your wrist, and your fingers. And your hand.

Trayvon Martin, the facts as we know them -- remember this case? As more and more facts come up, we hear less and less about it in the media, but back in February, this was news. Unfortunately, you can twist the facts any way you like.

Trayvon Martin, a self-defense perspective -- looking at the facts one way, Trayvon Martin was the innocent party.

George Zimmerman, a self defense perspective -- looking at it this way, Trayvon Martin's shooter was the innocent party.

Trayvon Martin shooting a showcase of self defense -- either way, it's a train wreck.

Interview with Krav Maga instructor Dariel Williams -- exactly as it says.

A serious look at guns -- when people use one incident to generalize beyond all sense, I get uppity.

Superheroes guide to self defense, part 1: the Batman approach.

Examiner.com wanted me to write articles with superheroes for the Avengers craze. So, I obliged them.

Superheroes guide to self defense, part 2: the Iron Man Approach. Innovative weapons making.

Superheroes guide to self defense, part 3: the Sherlock Approach How to handle gun problems.

Coming soon to A Pius Man, 2012

There are plenty of joys to writing. Not so much to writing a constant blog.  Possibly the biggest mistake thus far was trying to make the blog into a three day a week affair. I've kept up that pace for almost a year now, and I'm actually starting to run out of things to day. Which is odd, considering all of the strange and sundry things running around my head.

Right now, I'm trying to design a few things for the website, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed about several of them.


On the one hand, I'm hoping to make some more videos. If you haven't seen the ones I've made yet, well, I suggest you look to the right -- I had fun making them, perhaps you'll enjoy watching them. One example is right here-- the Scott Murphy trailer.

Since I can't draw, and none of local areas are photogenic enough to look like something in Rome, I need people.  Unfortunately, relying on people to show up when they say they will has never been my strong suit. Possibly because I've usually had to invite anyone three months in advance just to get them anywhere in large numbers.

So, there's that.

Next, I'm working on interviews.  I jumped on the chance to review some novels, and I recently discovered that they come with the option of getting my hands on some of the writers. And trust me, some of these people, I want to get my hands on.  I know some other authors who want to get their hands on these writers as well -- for completely different reasons.

So, that's also up in the air.

Not to mention that I'm also working on my two Examiner.com columns -- in Self Defense and "Catholic."

In short, I've got a lot of various and sundry stuff I have in mind, a lot of it is contingent on the the cooperation of other people, not to mention the stuff I'm actually being paid to write. (Speaking of which, please feel free to frequent those articles. I get paid per reader. Please?)

So .... I've got some strange and wondrous things planned -- now it's time to see who I can get my hands on and make sure it all happens.

Wish me luck.

Be well all.

Coming soon to A Pius Man, 2012

There are plenty of joys to writing. Not so much to writing a constant blog.  Possibly the biggest mistake thus far was trying to make the blog into a three day a week affair. I've kept up that pace for almost a year now, and I'm actually starting to run out of things to day. Which is odd, considering all of the strange and sundry things running around my head.



Right now, I'm trying to design a few things for the website, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed about several of them.





On the one hand, I'm hoping to make some more videos. If you haven't seen the ones I've made yet, well, I suggest you look to the right -- I had fun making them, perhaps you'll enjoy watching them. One example is right here-- the Scott Murphy trailer.



Since I can't draw, and none of local areas are photogenic enough to look like something in Rome, I need people.  Unfortunately, relying on people to show up when they say they will has never been my strong suit. Possibly because I've usually had to invite anyone three months in advance just to get them anywhere in large numbers.



So, there's that.



Next, I'm working on interviews.  I jumped on the chance to review some novels, and I recently discovered that they come with the option of getting my hands on some of the writers. And trust me, some of these people, I want to get my hands on.  I know some other authors who want to get their hands on these writers as well -- for completely different reasons.



So, that's also up in the air.



Not to mention that I'm also working on my two Examiner.com columns -- in Self Defense and "Catholic."



In short, I've got a lot of various and sundry stuff I have in mind, a lot of it is contingent on the the cooperation of other people, not to mention the stuff I'm actually being paid to write. (Speaking of which, please feel free to frequent those articles. I get paid per reader. Please?)



So .... I've got some strange and wondrous things planned -- now it's time to see who I can get my hands on and make sure it all happens.



Wish me luck.



Be well all.

Self Defense in Review: OWS in review, Christmas shopping, & more. A 2011 in review

If you ever wanted to know when I'd simply post an entire year in review, the answer is: the last possible minute.



But, this is close enough, I think.



Let's start with some articles I had yet to post, starting with my Occupy Wall Street Retrospective.



And, because 'tis the season to be hostile, I included Christmas Shopping Safety, in addition to my Black Friday Survivor's Guide.



Now, there were two very interesting pieces on self defense recently: a McDonald's cook was assaulted, and he struck back with force that seemed disproportionate.  However, the verdict may surprise you.  The story is here.   The verdict is here.



Remember when I mentioned Krav Maga on this site?  It's going on tour.



Also, there was a kids test at my Krav Place.



And yes, there was a 2011 Year In Review. Part one: When you need to defend yourself, you do it without reservation ... until you need to stop; because, let's face it, it would be annoying to have to defend yourself, and then be arrested for it. Something you should already have an idea of, and yet probably don't know how to do it well. How to avoid a fight through attitude, and a study in Krav Maga, a review of Krav Defense in Bethpage, NY, how to escape an arm grab, defending against chokes from the front... And Evaluating a self defense class.



Top ten points to attack an aggressor. When you absolutely must attack, this is where you strike. And if you are mugged.



Part two was something else again.



I covered a real life incident that explores the rules of engagement for defending yourself in New York; pens as lethal weapons; the top ten weapons you carry on you every day.  Some people are natural born targets, mainly because they don't pay attention. Meeting people from online in real life, part one and part two;Self defense and Child Obesity; after someone tried to blow up Norway, it was time to focus some attention there for a while; How to Spot a Suicide Bomber in 12 steps. A checklist of behaviors stolen from the Israelis. They know these things.  An analysis of the rape charges filed against a French bureaucrat in New York, and comes up with a conclusion. And that conclusion is that there should be pain.  Also, in New York, a little boy was killed, and dismembered. The real danger would be bringing back an old practice that did no good the first time around.  The week that everyone tried to blow stuff up; dealing with a stalker ex; How to survive a bar fight in five easy steps; hunting in the Urban Wild when you are the prey.



And that covered most of the summer.



Part 3 was a Krav Maga seminar, Women's self defense, and Barbara Sheehan tests the limits of self defense.



Part 4: Rayon McIntosh, Occupy Wall Street, and surviving Christmas.

I think that's it.  The year. Be well, and be safe. I'll be on tomorrow for a surprise topic.

Month in review: November, 2011

Well, another month shot to hell.  :)



Anyway, this has been an interesting little month. This was the month I discovered Stumbleupon.com.... and I posted links to almost every single blog entry, and through in some of Masks as well .... only in that case, I crashed the website for a little bit. Oops.



So, all of that adds up to this month having over 13,255 hits on the blog.  It's been a good month.  Even if I had to rewrite the top ten blog list. I may still yet have to.



Anyway...



There is a Story By Twitter coming up soon on the blog, and probably next Monday.  If you have a twitter account, find join my twitter feed (you can find a link in the right hand side). Otherwise, you may not get it for a while.



I've written characters of mine who take surveys, starting with Egyptian cop Hashim Abasi ... who has a list of enemies on his mouse pad.



And, if you ever missed a video we've done thus far, well, you can't: here are the complete Videos of A Pius Man.  Not to mention that there's also a video going around the net that makes me think I have to seriously up my A-game: a live action recreation of a video game fight from the epic game Arkham city.



Oh yes, and there is a contest going on: I hope someone has notice.



Our music blogs have had: Dragonforce's Heart of a Dragon, Final Fantasy's One Winged Angel, and Mozart. We also had Tom Smith's Cooking for 93 ... a little something for Thanksgiving.  There was also the classic science fiction summary in song Rocket Ride, by Tom Smith, as well as some Dragonforce's Where Dragons Rule.  We also had some Two steps from Hell, and the greatest beer that any bar has ever had for sale: it's Three-oh-seven Ale.



I've also had the most FAQ that any author has ever had to deal with: "Where do you get your ideas from?"  Here's an answer.



There was also some issues with Google.  Feh.



And, finally, there was a self defense review: with kill shots, Occupiers, and ... something else, I'm sure.



See you Monday.

Month in Review: October, 2011

This is the month where everything went very, very strange.  And, that was apparently a good thing.  This is officially the month with the most page views ever. Who knew?

I started out with something that pissed me off: DC Comics turning Starfire and Catwoman, two of their stronger female protagonists, into sluts, to put it charitably.  They were so totally reduced to sex objects, I wanted to throw rocks.

So I threw angry language at them instead.

Ironically, in one month, it has become the most read post on this entire blog, beating out Disasters to Marvel at, which is a year old.

Also, I decided to get back to creative writing, creating more surveys that my characters have filled out.  You know, the older online essays that used to be sort of fun.  I had one for the German spy Manana Shushurin, and another for the Secret Service agent and nerd, Wilhelmina Goldberg, as well as the lethal weapon, Irish Interpol Agent Maureen McGrail.

I didn't have all that many music blogs this month.  I threw up some John Williams marches, and Tom Smith taking his revenge on technology and Rob Granito

A false report on gay marriage in the military made me start an irate blog .... then I wanted a better footnote, discovered that the story I based my indignation on was bogus, and I was stuck with a blog I had to rewrite, very, very fast.

I put in another blog on writing. This time it was a matter of "how to exposition like crazy" -- when you have to dump a graduate paper's worth of information into one novel.

Also, I had a little conversation on how to write for disaster.  It's mostly how to write characters who are supposed to be terrified, when you yourself have never been quite that scared -- and, making certain that your character's fear is appropriate both to the situation, and the person.

And, there was my self-defense review for the month -- with my  my self defense columns for October. It had to do a lot with Occupy Wall Street, self defense for women, and self defense against the zombie apocalypse .... I'm serious about the zombie apocalypse part.

Catholic conspiracies 3.  This was almost a replacement for It was inspired after I saw a lot of idiots try to pin Occupy Wall Street on "crypto-Jewish Jesuit fascists founded by the Illuminati."

I want my Vatican ninjas.

Self defense review: Zombies, Womens self defense, Barbara Sheehan

This has been a really weird month for me, truly. And how is that difference from any other month, you ask?

 To start with, most of my self defense review materials turned out to be comedies.


Taking this month in chronological order will probably make the most sense.

To start with, I discovered a new Women's self defense, every Sunday.in Manhattan.  It's Krav Maga for women -- which is actually more advanced than going for straight, plain-old Krav Maga, believe it or not. It has to be for some of the techniques to be effective.

And then, of course, there was the little incident of Barbara Sheehan, battered women: which is always a problem.  In New York, you can't kill anyone and get away with it. That includes if you kill someone in self defense. Even if a jury let's you go, the New York District Attorney's office will find some way to throw you in jail, without remorse.

But, then again, the odds of that happening are more likely when you consider that Barbara Sheehan shot her husband with his own gun while he was shaving, after she just came back from her next door neighbors. Click the link to read more.
[More articles below the break]

Month in Review: September, 2011

Ah, another month shot to Hell.

So, where are we?  Ah, yes, it's been a very strange little month.  Since I've cut back on the daily ... and weekly ... output, it's been interesting.  I don't even though I've gotten around to posting a music blog in a while.

So start with, we opened the month with a new concept from August: Characters answering Surveys.  In this case, I used Scott Murphy.

Then I looked into how terror can also be a form of communication: sometimes, the most intimidating characters are the ones you least expect. And, sometimes, they're just in your face.

Then there was how to torture characters: with some Masks, some JMS, and some Jim Butcher.  Muwhahahahaha!!!!!

Yes, I've been having too much fun around here.

Can you tell?

Speaking of which, there was also my Impossible Odds blog, focusing on million to one odds, and Talisman.


Anyway, there was also another Self Defense review.  In this case, I covered how I spent my 9-11; mostly it was learning how to save a life.... no, I'm not joking.  How to save someone from chokes, and guns, and knives.  I also covered the latest in bulletproof clothing, and how to spot a concealed weapon, and such ...

Oh, and I also looked back on September 11, 2001.

Also: DC Comics rebooted their universe, and I'm not that happy about it. Though I'm told I'm dead wrong.

I did a review of The Expendables..... The Pain! The Pain!

And, there was Talk like a Pirate Day, where I got to be lazy ... in other words, I had nothing for that day, and I was saved by the realization it was September 19th.

And, finally, we had the return of Karina Fabian, discussing her new book Mind Over Mind. She gave us Ten Reasons to Love Science Fiction, an interview, and my review of the novel.

Anyway, I thought this was a good, fun little month.

And I've already started on the blogs for October.

Enjoy, all.


By the way, before you leave, check out some of our sponsers' ads ... please. We can use the money. :)

How I spent my 9-11: a self defense review.

You all might remember I've had two previous self defense reviews. One, when I first started my job at Examiner.com, and another a little more recently, which covered current events all over the place.

This one may be a little more laid back.

In retrospect, I should have mentioned the Krav Maga seminar, on September 11th, 2011. But, to be honest, I didn't know how many people here would have been interested.

However, never fear: I did a four-part review of it for Examiner.com anyway.

There was one part that reviewed how to use The Stop Kick to nail someone charging a third party, even though they may be armed. Trust me, I got kicked in the chest so often, my teeth rattled, and I had a shield.

You do this to an actual attacker, it's gonna suck to be them.


Then there was the choke... in this case, "the choke" is just a simple matter of t-rex arms.... you'll see what I mean.

And, of course, there is the inevitable gun defense.

And learning how to take down a guy holding someone hostage.

And, there's the latest in fashion: Bulletproof clothing.

When Examiner.com suggested I try something to do with 9-11 .... well, I did my best, and called it, simply, New York ten years after 9/11. Original, no?

Some people like to discuss how they can be perfectly safe ... I mention it here: How can I be perfectly safe? Again, another original title.

I briefly talked about How to spot a concealed weapon, a fun little article.

And ... well, there was a little incident lately in NYC's West Indian Parade, which led me to discuss Surviving a shootout, and an encounter with the NYPD

That one's a long story, I think.

And, that is it.

Although it has occurred to me: if anyone has an actual question about self-defense, feel free to ask in the comments below.  I'll be sure to try and answer you.

Be safe, all.

Month in Review: August, 2011

After 10% of my daily audience gave me feedback that told me that I needed to cut down on the blog posts, I decided to give in.  And, when the posts drop from nine posts a week to four or less, a week in review seems like a waste of time, not to mention padding.

So, I'm going to see how easy it is to do a month in review. In all likelihood, it won't be too overwhelming.  But we'll see.  And, it's easy enough this month, because the first week was already wrapped up and summarized here, in what might be the last week in review.

Everyone probably remembers the four part author review of the works of John Ringo, which included free books for every one of his series.  They were broken down into Thrillers, Epics, rewriting Greek history as scifi, and the warrior ninja for God.

The music blogs this month were heavy on Tom Smith: some songs about video games, smashing faeries and the Blue Oyster Cult, a return to Firefly, and the Wiki Pirates, and blogging like the end of the world.

I also had some writing blogs.  A little bit on editing, and some more about fighting and writing with Krav Maga.

I did a self defense review of my articles on self defense, mainly because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

And, I decided to have some fun this week.  I had a character of mine answer an online survey.  It was amusing. I also think some of my characters may be on drugs.

Well, that was easy.  Let's see how September goes.

Next month, we have the return of author and guest blogger Karina Fabian, and she'll talk to us a bit about her upcoming novel Mind over Mind, starting on September 13.

See you then.


By the way, before you leave, check out some of our sponsers' ads ... please. We can use the money. :)

Self defense Review: DSK, Oslo, Pens as weapons, and Krav Maga.

You might remember a while ago, I posted a list of articles I have written for Examiner.com, about self defense in New York City.

I'm still writing for them, and it's still around.

First things first: there's a self defense seminar in the city on 9-11 this year. You might want to look at it.

Pens as weapons. (EDC Tools) A pen is an Every Day Carry tool.  Do you want to know how it can be used as a weapon?

Top ten "improvised weapons." This article pretty much means what it says.

Are you a target? Situational awareness Some people are natural born targets, mainly because they don't pay attention.  Could this be you?

Meeting people from online in real life, part one and part two  -- the title says it all.  After experiencing one or two dates where women have no problem at all accepting a ride from me, it says two things: on the one hand, I have a nice face, and people think I'm trustworthy. On the other, some people might be a little too trusting.

Self defense in New York. Again. Or: Killing people isn't fun. This covers a real life incident that explores the rules of engagement for defending yourself in New York.

Self defense and Child Obesity -- pretty much what it says.

Can New York City become Oslo? After someone tried to blow up Norway, I decided to focus my attention there for a while.

How to Spot a Suicide Bomber in 12 steps.  If you've been on this site a lot, you know this one already.  If not, enjoy.

DSK and Rape. I analyzed the rape charges against a French bureaucrat in New York, and I came up with a conclusion. And that conclusion is that there should be pain.

Levi Aron, Leiby Kletzky, and "stranger danger."  In New York, a little boy was killed, and dismembered.  The real danger would be bringing back an old practice that did no good the first time around.

Oslo, Abdo, a tale of two terrorists. This was the week that everyone tried to blow stuff up.  And I went nuclear in response.

Dealing with a stalker ex.  After listening to several female friends complain about these incidents, I decided there should be a how-to guide.

How to survive a bar fight in five easy steps Exactly what it says.

Parking lot safety. Hunting in the Urban Wild. You are the prey.

Purse-snatching defenses. They want your bag. You're going to hurt them.

By the way, before you leave, check out some of our sponsers' ads ... please. We can use the money. :)

Week in Review:7-1-2011

This week was sort of busy for me. I'm not entirely certain what happened to encourage all sorts of strange things to happen at the same time, but it did mess with my schedule a little.



Monday



Monday was especially busy. So busy that I ended up missing the daily music blog. Something I hope w



My day started with a three-part examiner.com series on being mugged: how to survive a standard mugging, what to do if you need to defend yourself and the attacker has a gun, or if he has a knife.



And, just because I could, I mentioned the top ten points to pummel someone into a new and better incarnation.

I was having fun.  Which may explain a lot of how I got the job.

Anyway.

When it came time to work on the blog, I had the self defense discussion up and ready to post. I think I had been building it for the entire month. 

And then people started to do something stupid.

For one, New York decided to allow gay marriage.  I don't think that was stupid, though I think it may be ill-advised, because I suspect that there will be lawyers. No, not "there will be blood." There will be lawyers. Which are far, far worse. I hope I'm wrong.

The blog was so good, I got a shoutout on Axes and Allies, and compliments from resident artist/atheist, Matt. 

And, of course, Image comics decided to go all tinfoil hat brigade with "The Big Lie."  Conspiracy theories, meet comic books.  Now, this was seriously stupid.

Tuesday

My fighting and writing blog. Basically, why I use Krav Maga in my fight scenes.  What is it, and where did it come from? Other various and sundry details.



Oh, by the way, if you live in and about Eastern Queens or Brooklyn, you might want to seriously look into trying out Protection Fitness Self Defense.



Trust me on this.



The music blog was E Nomine and Doctor Who ... mainly because they were both sort of awesome.



Wednesday



This was almost a last minute save. I had tripped over the music of the aborted Babylon 5 video game .... and, going by the music, if it had been made, would have been awesome ... and I tripped over it quite by accident.



And I discussed a bit more of Krav Maga, mostly where to find it in New York.



Thursday



Just the music blog.  A bit of a B5 video game, and a bit of Tom Smith.



I will most likely be taking this Fourth of July off. Enjoy everyone.

A self defense discussion

I have a new job.

Over at Examiner.com, they cover a lot of interesting little topics. Religion, celebacy, and, of all things, self-defense.

Guess which job I volunteered for.

As part of the somewhat new direction I'm taking the site for A Pius Man, I thought it might be interesting to do a series of "fighting and writing." And, since I'm going to do a few articles a week for The Examiner, well, I won't be running out of material anytime soon.

Stories posted thus far on Examiner.com have been the following:

Should I take a martial arts class for self defense? Which one?  The answer is something you've probably never heard of.... unless, maybe, you're Israeli military. Ever hear of Krav Maga?

More articles below the break