Self Defense

Random Attacks in Denver

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:47:00 +0000

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

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:12:00 +0000

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;

After dark, ANY TIME after dark, walk with a friend for any distance that takes you out of sight and earshot of help.
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.
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.
Walk alert and with a purpose. Attackers don’t want fights, they want victims.
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.
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!

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:04:00 +0000

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

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:32:00 +0000

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.

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 05:04:00 +0000

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....

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:22:00 +0000

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....

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.
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

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:17:00 +0000

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.

Armed robberies in the news

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:09:00 +0000

In the last few weeks there has been alot of coverage of armed robberies in the local news. Whether it's more coverage or more robberies, it warrants a closer look.
Of course there is always the possibility that by cooperating you will get away just loosing property, which is a victory in self defense. The problem comes in the odds. There is also a chance that you will NOT escape injury or death even if you cooperate, it's a roll of the dice. How do you know when to cooperate and when not to? The armed robbery shown in THIS report gives us some clues.
The first thing you should notice is that when the perpetrators enter the ABC Mart, one walks straight to the counter and the other stops dead in his tracks at the door. No one walks in a store with a buddy and stops just inside the door, this should send up a big red flag wrapped in flashing warning lights. According to the clerk, the perp at the counter "lifted his shirt" to show a pistol in his waistband. I'm not offering advice, but it's likely that this guy didn't want to shoot anybody at that moment or he would have had the gun out (if it were even real). Even if he didn't really want to shoot anyone, pointing a gun at someone shows indifference for life and things should change for you right then and there.
Something else indicated by the clerk was how nervous these guys were. This could be a good sign or a bad sign, largely depending on where the gun is pointing! In this case, I think it showed that they just wanted the money and to get out as quick as possible. The clerk chose well as indicated by the fact that he's alive and well, but in my opinion this one was a simple choice.
The truth is there will be dozens or even hundreds of clues leading you to what you think you should do, and still just the opposite could happen. You can make educated guesses but people are unpredictable. Trust your instincts and if needed, trust your training.

Supreme Court

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:25:00 +0000

Just a quick comment on the recent Supreme Court decision on the 2nd amendment.
Officially making me a nerd, I read (most of) both Justice Scalia's majority opinion and Justice Stevens dissent.
Both sides make compelling arguments, but something Justice Stevens said in just his 3rd paragraph of his dissenting opinion chilled me to the bone and makes me wonder about the thought process of those who would guide our country and by extension, our futures.
Regardless of where you might stand on guns, gun rights, crime, and punishment, just this one sentence, first referencing the 2nd amendment but then extending it to the entire Constitution of the Unite States of America, should worry you;
QUOTE: "Specifically, there is no indication that the Framers of the Amendment intended to enshrine the common-law right of self-defense in the Constitution." Justice Stevens (http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-290.ZD.html)

Maybe I'm crazy, but I thought "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..." took care of the enshrining.

Carjacking/ATM robberies

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:57:00 +0000

I've been waiting to write on this subject until more news came around, but i haven't seen any thing further yet so lets start a conversation now. There was a string of carjackings in Denver where women were jacked then forced to drive to ATM's and withdraw money. This isn't a new crime, but it started happening, as far as I can tell, just a week after a prime time news show aired a special on a string of crimes exactly like these in Florida. The difference is that in Florida, most of the women were killed, including a woman and her 7 year old daughter, shot at point blank range in their vehicle after they already gave up the money ($500). Both mother and daughter were bound with duct tape before they were shot. A 7 year old girl. 7 years old...let that sink in.
First, I can't speak for every one and every situation, but I will say this; if you are about to be tied up or bound and moved from the point of contact, that is the time to fight back if you are going to. Once you are bound, you don't have the ability to fight back (why the hell do you think they bind you?) Once you are moved to another location, your chances of survival go down drastically. My opinion is that if you are in danger of being bound, fight for life then and there, at least you have some say in your destiny that way. By the way, it's a good idea to get some training in fighting back prior to ever having to do it for real...I'm just sayin'...the fight for your life is a bad time to begin your training.
Next, I have to say that if you think you can comply, give up the money, and you will go relatively unharmed, then by all means do so! DPD spokesman is right on one thing, no amount of money is worth loosing your life over. Then again in some cases, no amount of money will save your life either.
In Denver, it hasn't gotten to that level of threat yet. But they haven't caught anyone yet either. That gives the perps a bit of an 'invincibility' complex and it's easy to escalate the violence when you think you're too smart to get caught.
OK, so if you have to, what to do? If you know our basic gun defenses and the principles behind them, most of them still apply while in a vehicle. If the seats separate you and the gunman (font seat/back seat) then things become difficult, but in that scenario you are most likely driving and therefor not tied up. If the gunman is in front with you, our standard principles apply including putting weight on the weapon. Counter attacks will be important here, but not at the expense of taking weight off the weapon. Use the environment to help you in a disarm by slamming the gun and gunman's hands into the steering wheel, center console, dash board, anything solid. Headbutts work well here too. If your driving and your seat belt is on, be aware it will limit your movement. Crashing the car is not always a good option with the advent of passenger side airbags. Leaving the car is not an option if your child is in the back. Remember, if it's go time, it's a fight for you life, no half way. Give it everything you got, bite hard and tear, bite the face and around the eyes especially. It's time to fight dirty.

Mass stabbing in Japan

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:22:00 +0000

A man went on a killing spree in Japan today by stabbing at least 19 people (story HERE). The report says that the man said he was 'tired or living', yet it's reported that he dropped the knife when confronted with an officer with a gun pointed at him. This guy might have though he wanted to commit suicide and if that were true, it would have been very hard to stop him, but it's my guess that he saw a bunch of victims that weren't going to pose him much of a threat or offer much resistance. I don't want to turn this into a 'gun rights' argument, but let it suffice to say that you probably won't have a mass public group stabbing in Texas.

The man was allegedly armed with a 'survival' knife and ran around a crowded intersection stabbing people. He succeed in KILLING 7 of them. One officer engaged him with a baton, I don't yet have any more information about how that went.

Oddly enough, this very weekend in Los Angeles I was working with Darren Levine and other Krav Maga Instructors on using a baton against a knife attack and a lot of empty hand knife defenses. So, as usual, I think we should analyze some of what happened.

First of all, the attacker doesn't look like Rambo. By looking at some of the on-scene photos, it appears some were stabbed from behind, meaning they were likely running from this madman when he stabbed them. Sometimes, running is not an option. I would submit this to all of you for thought; had one of the early victims turned and hit this guy as hard as they could right on the jaw or the nose, could this outcome have been different? I say yes, very different. First of all there's crowd, or 'mob' mentality. If everyones running screaming from this guy, he MUST be the boogie man incarnate! However, if people see just ONE person turn and fight this guy, and damage him, it's far more likely other people will get involved in the struggle. He's suddenly human again, and just as nerdy as we though. I mean, who wears a beige suit with black and white Converses?

Secondly, damaging the attacker himself will change the attackers plans as he saw them. It will force him to deal with other problems and change the entire dynamic.

In the News

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:12:00 +0000

A young lady was killed the other day in Fort Collins. The suspect a 29 year old looser named Curl has been arrested. There is not much known about the incident yet, but the suspect was an acquaintance of the victims boyfriend. I'm sure many of you have friends or have dated someone who had a friend that you didn't like. It's OK to not like your friends friends sometimes! You may know a lot about your friend or the person your dating, but that doesn't mean that you automatically know a lot about the other people in their lives.
The victim was sexually assaulted then strangled. Her house was then set on fire apparently to try to cover up the murder. This type of situation always reminds me of some dangerous advice I once heard a so-called expert give to a group of women on TV. This guy actually said, and I'm paraphrasing because it was a while ago, "Don't attempt to fight back, it will only make your attacker angry. Your best option is to comply and then look for an escape".
Look, I think there are obviously times when complying, or pretending to, is a valuable tool in your self defense arsenal. BUT it's downright derelict to tell people to never fight back and to always comply. The data actually supports just the opposite.
We may never know exactly how this horrible crime went down, but let's look at a probable scenario; The victim was forced to the ground and the attacker sexually assaulted the victim and possibly strangled her from the same position. There are 3 basic positions to train from in this scenario, attacker in the guard, attacker kneeling to the side, and attacker straddling on top (mount). From the guard or side position, kicking violently and repeatedly is a great way to keep someone from being able to get on top of you or to be able to apply much force in a choke. However, if the choke is applied, you MUST deal with that danger first in order to get oxygen and blood to the brain. Under this kind of stress and exertion, you will go unconscious quickly so clear the airway FIRST AND QUICKLY. On Tuesday night, we worked a little bit with kicking someone out of our guard. We'll continue to work with these scenarios over the next 2 weeks.

Training Follow Up

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:55:00 +0000

Following up on the baseball bat murder in Loveland, in Leadership Class/Instructor Training on Friday we worked on defending several type of blunt object attacks from various angles.

We constructed a long 'hallway' our of heavy bags and worked on surprise attacks while in that confined space. If in a hallway and faced with an attacker with a bat or similar object, there is really on 2 angles that it might be deployed at. The most likely angle is the overhead swing. Likely to come in a down-and-in type angle. It's also likely to be held shorter due to the restrictive height clearance. The second angle is less dangerous but might be used in an effort to move you to a more open area to continue the attack; that is the 'thrusting' attack with the end of the bat.

In either case, side stepping is not only slow and a large movement, it may not be possible because of the restrictive environment. Both defenses require re-directing the weapon and counter attacking simultaneously (what a surprise). After that, your options are limited because of space and you will likely have to continue the fight trying to drive them back or into a wall (which will allow you to get by possibly escape if the exit was there and you've bought some time) or use the wall as a back-board for their head until they drop the bat!

In the News

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:36:00 +0000

~~In Loveland, CO today: a man serving divorce papers is beaten to death with a baseball bat!
When LCSO responded they found the man choking his 2 young children. Deputies tazed him TWICE before he let go of the now unconscious kids. (I'm not second guessing the dep's, but I might have used a LITTLE more force after seeing that happening, a little). The Deputies obviously saved 2 young lives today, cudo's for LCSO.
Without being privy to all the facts, let's at least break this down and see how this might have been avoided.
1. I don't think it was a great idea to have the estranged wife accompany the Process Server
2. And even more importantly, See #1
Just a reminder folks, always be alert to signs and trust your instincts.
Besides all the ways we can evaluate the situation, once it went south notice it wasn't a gun or even a knife, but a BASEBALL BAT! Out of the 3 weapons listed, when within range the bat is the EASIEST weapon to defend against. Step inside people, and negate the power of the swing and do some swinging of your own!

~~In Arvada, CO today: two unarmed Hispanic men robbed an Arvada convenience store wearing....ready for this....thongs on thier faces for masks. The underwear was definately of the 'string' variety by the looks of it: Whats thong (I mean wrong) with people!

Welcome to the New Blog!

james@coloradokravmaga.com (James Hiromasa) — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:44:00 +0000

This blog will be a running commentary on current events if, and as, they pertain to all things self defense and the inalienable right of all to defend themselves from violent attacks.

In addition, we will post training ideas and other notables from our Self Defense and Fitness experts.