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.

Thanksgiving blog: Cool stuff. Cooking for 93.

The odds that anyone is going to read the blog today are so slender, it's improbably ridiculous.



However, for those of you who have tripped over my website today, you will not go away empty handed.  



First up: have you ever had to cook for relatives?  On Thanksgiving?  Without any help from the vast army you're feeding?



If the answer is yes: enjoy.













Next up, you've seen my videos -- and if you haven't, look in the right hand margin, and you'll find them soon enough.



However, now that I've seen this awesome group, I think I should hire them before I try doing another one.

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