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.

A Public Service Announcement: How to Spot a Suicide Bomber

I live in New York City, so a certain amount of paranoia is reasonable. How much is too much? Great question. However, given that the New York City skyline has a relatively recent hole in it, I don't think it's too much to consider that someone, sooner or later, might want to consider rendering more damage to the city.



Over the past few years, I have come to the conclusion that most people—even those with limited knowledge of weapons, tactics, explosives, or anything harmful—can plan a better terrorist attack than some of the “masterminds” currently operating out in the world.



For example, one of the most likely scenarios in any major urban environment is suicide bombing. Load some people with bombs onto the A and the 6 trains in rush hour, or in the midst of time square—then you can start seeing examples of terror.



Suicide bombers are easy to spot. They give out all sorts of signs for the simple reason that they are, by definition, all first timers. Israeli counterintelligence wrote the defensive playbook, using pragmatic observation and psychological insight, and came up with a 12-point checklist, 11 for women—you'll see why. If you want to see the list being applied, I recommend Lee Child's novel “Gone Tomorrow.”



Now, the twelve signs that you might be looking at a suicide bomber.....



1. Inappropriate clothing: bulking clothing helps hide the explosive vest. If someone is wearing a heavy coat in spring or summer, that could be a hint. If you're living in the sections of the planet where you have never seen real snow, that's less of a hint, and more like a neon sign.



2. A robotic walk: Bombers walk like a robot for a very simple reason: they're carrying approximately 40 pounds of additional weight. Also, many suicide bombers tend to be high before they go towards their target—raw opium is standard, usually tucked between the gum and the cheek. So, either take the added weight or being high, or both, a suicide bomber walks funny



3-6. Variations on a theme: irritability, sweating, tics, nervous behavior. These people are in the last moments of their lives: scared of the pain, drugged out of their mind. Motivation doesn't matter, nor does sincerity of one's beliefs—they are about to die, they see it coming, and they haven't exactly had to do this before. The stress becomes visible.



7. Breathing. Breaths come low, and controlled. It's more or less a matter of the bomber trying to control their breath so they don't hyperventilate.



8. Staring. No one is 100% sure why, but suicide bombers stare straight ahead, fixed on a target. Perhaps it's tunnel vision, perhaps it's blocking out everything but the thought of being about to meet ones maker. Every image of bombers before they blow up shows them with the exact same stare.



9. Mumbled prayers. To date, everyone who blows themselves up in a suicide bombing has done so for religious reasons. Surviving eyewitnesses have all seen continuous, formulaic incantations on visibly moving lips, usually before all hell breaks loose.



10. A large bag. Fresh dynamite is a stable explosive that needs to be set off by specially prepared blasting caps. These caps are wired with cord to an electricity supply and a switch. A nine-volt battery will do, or a large square battery—these are too heavy for a pocket, usually, therefore, a bag.



11. The most recent point: You can't see the person's hands. If the person's hands are in the bag consistently, it could be resting on a button. In the earlier days of suicide bombings, a good bearhug would pin the bomber's arms to their sides, preventing them from reaching the button. The bombers learned, leading to....hands in the bag.



12. Male bombers only: Recently shaved beards. Usually, this is done so the bomber can blend in better. However, it has an obvious flaw: when they shave off their beards, they're leaving an obvious tan line where the beard used to be, the lower half of the face is paler, since it had not been exposed to a great deal of sunlight in a while.







What do you do when you see someone who might be a suicide bomber? That's for another blog post. However: I wouldn't recommend taking the nearest large object and smacking them over the head with it—for one thing, if they have their finger on the trigger, that might set it off early. The best thing I can suggest (without writing a new article) is to move away, slowly—put distance, and preferably a building, between you and the suspect, call emergency services and report a suspicious-looking person.