A Guided Chaos Student's Close Call...
THE SETUP:
"It was a normal Tuesday commute to work. I got off the bus and was walking
along Lexington Avenue when a man in his late 20's, about 5'5" and about 150
lbs. caught me off guard and stopped me for directions. As many of you may
know, I'm 5'0" and weigh about 108. He told me he couldn't speak English and
he needed help looking for an address.
In his hand, he had a piece of paper with an address on it. I looked at the
paper and noticed the building he was looking for was right in front of us.
I pointed to the building and told him, "It's right here". He looked blankly
at me. At that point, I felt a warning in my gut and bladed myself from him.
I began to walk away when he grabbed me by the arm and started screaming
over and over, "Come with me! Come with me!" He pulled me into him and I
loosely went with his pull. I then Dropped into him with my elbow and he
fell flat on the ground. While he was on the ground, both he and I were
stunned. I stood over him (not proud to say) waiting for him to get up so I
could gouge his eyes out. What was I thinking? He could have had a knife or
a gun!
Adrenaline is a crazy thing! He ran away and I still stood in the middle of
23rd and Lexington wondering what the hell just happened. I got to work and
I had such mixed feelings. Maybe he really couldn't speak English and needed
directions and I dropped the poor guy to the ground! I felt horrible. Then I
remembered the feeling I got in my gut while I unconsciously bladed myself
from him. Never ignore your gut or the potential of what you can do under
duress with the applications of this art. Thank you Master Perkins, the
Masters, and all of the the other wonderful, skilled men and women I train
with in the art." --Jeanine
LESSONS LEARNED:
Many brutal rapes and murders start out the same way: A classic "interview'
question to get your attention, followed by forcible abduction to Crime
Scene #2 where the horror begins and escape is impossible. You need to fight
back RIGHT NOW without a moment of second guessing.
Jeanine's GC training kicked in because instead of pulling against her
larger attacker (Jeanine is 5'0") she flowed with his energy and drove her
elbow into him (classic yin/yang sensitivity). This maneuver dropped him
instantly. That's the good part, and thank heavens he ran off. But we need
to examine what happened because Jeanine encountered additional risks that
could have been avoided. These are all from Guided Chaos Combatives:
1) Always maintain a Personal Comfort Zone that no stranger (or hostile
relation) is allowed to enter. You need to train yourself to break the
hypnotic tunnel vision that occurs when your regular attention is hijacked
by a criminal. This may consist of subtle psychological subterfuge
(the"Interview") or overt shock. GCC Scenario Training covers this in depth.
The instant Jeanine was addressed by the stranger, it would've been safer if
she had moved off-line sideways, quickly scanned for accomplices, and either
blown him off completely or maintained a 5 foot PCZ. The point of
establishing the PCZ immediately is so that he must actually take a step
towards you to close the gap to hit or grab you. It's probably lucky for the
stranger because if Jeanine had done this and he suddenly entered her PCZ
she would've ripped his eyes out at the get-go (we know her well!).
2) You fight to escape and survive, not to win a duel or fight for some
contrived notion of retribution. This is the most important part. You never,
ever know what the enemy is capable of. Any of you who've read Attack Proof
know the story of "The Battered Kickboxer" who knocked her attacker to the
ground but bent near him, only to be stabbed with a knife. You fight to
escape, not to win or seek retribution. You can lay somebody out, only to
have them turn over and pop you with a semi-automatic or be gang-attacked by
their buddies. This point goes double for women who on average have a higher
empathy factor than men. They may want to help their attacker after
incapacitating him. As GM Perkins emphasizes: "Ladies, get over it! Hit and
RUN!"
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