Random Attacks in Denver

At Colorado Krav Maga, most of our time spent in training drills are to mimic random attacks. Not because they are the most common, but because they are generally the most difficult to deal with.Now comes the really hard part, dealing with the pyschological reality of a truly random attack. Most people will first go through the denial process. It is, after all, difficult to believe that someone we don't know, whom we didn't provoke at all, would simply walk up to us and attack us! However, this has been happening in Denver for a few weeks now.How long will you be in denial and when will your reactions kick in if ever? After the first 'hit'? After you've been grabbed? Or will you wait until you are are actually hurt?We train defending random attacks so that you can react immediately to them, even if your emotions are still in denial. Getting punched before you 'wake up' to the attack is one thing, getting stabbed is another thing entirely.

 

Boulder has a serial problem

Boulder has a serial problem

There has been another attack on a woman in Boulder. This makes 6 attacks since Halloween, more than 1 per week.
Self Defense begins long before contact is made. Seems like common sense but let’s just cover some basics here as a reminder;

1. After dark, ANY TIME after dark, walk with a friend for any distance that takes you out of sight and earshot of help.
2. If you don’t have a friend to walk with, call the non-emergency number for the local Police and wait for a patrol car. BTW, do you have that number stored in your cell phone? Why not? I have the non-emergency number for every department and jurisdiction where I and my family spend time stored in my phone.
3. Don’t rely on tools to defend yourself such as pepper spray or whistles. While these tools are valuable, you have to have them at the ready in order to use them effectively, and you may still not be able to deploy them with effectiveness. Just so we’re clear, “at the ready” means in your hand, safety’s disengaged, and ready to use. It doesn’t mean on your keychain and your keychain in your hand.
4. Walk alert and with a purpose. Attackers don’t want fights, they want victims.
5. Tell someone when and where you’re going. If you suspect you’re being followed, make sure they know you see them and get on the phone right away. Even if you’re not talking to someone, pretend that you are and that you’re relaying information about your location and the person that you suspect is following you.
6. Always remember this; a familiar place doesn’t make it a safe place. Too often we get comfortable when we recognize our surroundings. Don’t feel bad, it’s human nature. The problem is that attackers take advantage of our comforts. You can be attacked just the same on your block as on your first visit to a new city. Statistically far more the former than the latter.

Also, trust in your ability and your right to fight. Like I said they are not looking for fights, but for victims. Choose not to be a victim and take control of the situation. Get mad and show it.

As for this latest attack, I’m elated that she was able to fight back and that he ran off. The way it has been reported is very familiar to those of you that train with us, but doesn’t make too much sense. It’s being reported that he knocked her to the ground, got on-top of her and started strangling her. She then kneed him in the groin and he ran off. There isn’t a chance of that happening the way they described, so something must have happened in-between to set up that position for her to knee the groin.

If you ever find yourself in that situation, remember to attempt to clear the choke right away, using large explosive movements at the attackers hands or thumbs. At the same time, buck your hips up EXPLOSIVELY and send him up and then over to the side. It’s important to hold onto his arms so that you go WITH him and end up on your knees in his ‘guard’. Immediately follow up with elbow and hammerfists strikes. Do as much damage as possible and get the heck out of there. Remember, the more physical damage you do the easier it will be for cops to find him later!

Although it’s difficult to discover, there have been at least 4 assaults on women in Boulder in the last 3 weeks. 3 of the 4 are confirmed sex assaults and doesn't think she was sexually assaulted, but she was unconscious. The assaults took place on the 31st, 3rd, 4th, and 18th.
Although the information is there in the news, you would think that so many sexual assaults in a small town in such a short time span would be big news.
From what I can discover so far, in at least 2 cases the victim was approached from behind and likely struck from behind knocking them unconscious. One may have been put under using some kind of chemical, it’s unclear.
Do your due diligence, don’t walk to your car or anywhere alone at night. It’s just not worth it. Pay close attention to your surroundings at all times and most of all, listen to your gut. If something does not feel right it’s not, plain and simple.
From a self defense standpoint, there’s nothing you can do to defend yourself once you’re unconscious, so awareness is the beginning of good self defense.
Be safe out there….

Student attacked but is safe

One of our students was attacked last night. He sustained some injuries to his face, but thank god is safe. I spoke to him about it this morning and it sounded like a hell of a fight. I will post some details of his experience when I know more. He did, however, tell me that he instictively used alot of what we've taught him and credited our 'dont quit' attitude to saving him.

On the subway in Philly, a man was attacked brutally with a hammer. It was in a confined space, and looked eerily like the security camera footage from our winter camp training on the buses.
The victim tries to defend himself by covering and going fetal, both sitting and on the ground, but continues to get pummeled. I'm surprised he survived.
Once the attack leaves the subway car and continues on the platform, you can clearly see the attack proceed to a bear hug from behind, arms caught.
Lets learn: Even if the initial attack was complete surprise and you didn't even see the first stroke, which appears to be the case, by the second stroke you need to re-direct the attack a little and hit the attacker if your not unconscious. It appears that the victim was in a position several times to get some solid defensive kicks in to the mid section and even the face of the attacker. While sitting, you can make an amazingly strong kick since your back is up against something solid and you can push off. The goal here would have been to make enough space to stand while doing damage to your attacker.
The next position the victim was in was on his back with the attacker standing over him swinging. Same thing applies here; make strong attacks with your legs. The attacker appeared to be trying to strike at more vital targets than the legs of his victim (makes sense given the mindlessness of the attack) so I don't think that in that position you have to be as defensive and you should pour alot of energy into your offense.
The last position we have is the bear hug from behind, arms caught. It's hard to tell if he still held the hammer, but I think it was still in his hand, which would have made the hold weak at best. The problem here is this, if you defend against the bear hug and he still has a weapon, you have a continuing and evolving problem still. In your bear hug defense, you should look to turn TOWARDS the weapon arm when rotating in order to try to achieve or maintain some kind of control over that limb while you continue to throw counters. Be sure you don't step away during your turn and create too much space, giving the attacker room to build another attack.

News people say the darndest things....

A little off topic here, but I thought I'd point this out and maybe you can comment with some stupefying choice of words you've experienced on the news...
In the last 2 hours alone....

1. On the radio, a reporter from ABC Network News was reporting on 1000 motorcycles that were escorting a steel girder from the World Trade Centers from New York to Pennsylvania. The steel girder, he said was "From the 9/11 airline crash". Lest we forget, it was not an "Airline Crash" it was a TERRORIST ATTACK! I think some groups would benefit from society not calling a spade a spade, so to speak. Call it an airline crash long enough, and our ADDHD society will soon forget all about those little AlQaida nasties.
2. This one is funny, an art student in Denver commented to a Fox31 reporter about the police presence today around the Pepsi Center doing security sweeps in advance of the DNC. She said, and I quote "it's not even the convention yet and the police are walking around with live ammo..." LOL! Beer actually came out of my nose on that one! Oh God, please, please please please can we switch to cops carrying paint balls :) No seriously, that way they can mark all the bad guys so they can be found and arrested peacefully another day. Ok really seriously, this girl is in COLLEGE.

Feel free to comment with ones that you've heard.

There's some serious stuff going on in Denver too, like a sex assault at gunpoint. I'll post on that when I have more details.

Woman attacked in her sleep

A woman was attacked in her sleep in Fort Collins on the 12th. This is the 2nd time this has happened on the same block with the same MO. The first one was a 19 year old who sent unconscious and was sexually assaulted. The attacker gains entrance by way of unlocked doors or windows and incapacitates his victim by holding a wet cloth over their face (essentially suffocating them). This time the intended victim fought back and the attacker ran away. In case anyone is keeping track, I'm a big fan of fighting back, but fight back smart.
Let's start by locking our doors and windows OK? I don't care what neighborhood you live in, with the invention of the bicycle and horseless carriage you may be surprised to know that many criminals actually 'travel' to different neighborhoods to commit their crimes...what a surprise huh? While we're on the subject, don't fool yourself into thinking that if you kept a gun in your nightstand that you're OK. How long does it take you to actually wake up from a deep sleep? Once your awake, how long does it take you to decide that, "YES, that strange sound is a potential danger", and then how long does it take you to actually get the gun out and manipulate it into a state of readiness if it's not there already? Both women who were attacked were attacked in their sleep, so they never even woke up before he was on them. You're better off with a knife within your immediate reach than you are with a handgun, it's much easier to manipulate when someones sitting on top of you. Now, if you have security in place or dogs that bark, and you decide to 'clear' your home after being awoken from a sound, then a firearm is a good choice...i suggest a shotgun.
Now, let's look at the attack. From what we know she was asleep and he tried to suffocate her. Regardless of what he used, his hands were basically putting pressure on her face. This is very similar to a choke attack and can be dealt with in the same manner. The difficulty comes in dealing with the sheets or covers of the bed. Your movement is severely restricted and the surface is rather 'slippery' and difficult to get traction with bear feet. In my paranoia, when I'm traveling I never leave the hotel covers tucked in around the bed, or at home for that matter, because i want to be able to get rid of them as quickly as possible to be able to use my legs if needed. You may find yourself simply fighting to roll off the bed so you can get better leverage if you can't find any footing to fight from.