TACT SELF DEFENSE MEMBERS TRAINING AREA UPDATE

In our last post we indicated that www.tactselfdefense.com was looking into adding a members training area on our site. It's official we will be adding this feature within 3-4 weeks time. Due to our current hosting provider not being able to support the members only program we will be switching to a different hosting provider that can handle this program. TACT Self Defense's site will be offline for 5-7 days & we are sorry for any inconvience to it's members. We will inform our readers of the official date when the site will be offline.

TACT SELF DEFENSE PLANS FOR THE NEW YEAR

TACT Self Defense is looking into tapping into the online training market for the New Year. We are currently looking at ways to open up a members only training area on the website so members can train on their own time frame 24 / 7. We are working with our web designer & Yahoo server provider which we are having problems with setting up some of the programs but hope to fix these issues soon in the near future so we can get started with this area of the website.

Since this is our last post before Christmas TACT Self Defense would like to wish all its members, readers & affiliates a safe & happy holiday. Thank you for all your support & making 2005 a successful year for TACT Self Defense. We look forward to giving you more vital information on self defense in 2006 & keep an eye out for all the upcoming changes at http://www.tactselfdefense.com Merry Christmas!

After the big day comes & Chritmas is gone for another year remember to discard gift boxes properly in the trash. Don't advertise expensive gifts that you received for Christmas by leaving boxes whole outside in the trash. Displaying boxes for surround sound systems, microwaves of other expensive items let criminals know which home has the best items to steal. Always cut up boxes & place them in garbage bags so they do not advertise what you received. Have a Merry Christmas.

CHISTMAS IS A GREAT TIME FOR CRIMINALS

During the holiday season many people tend to let there guard down assuming everyone is in the spirit of giving & helping. Most people are in this frame of mind during this season but the unfortunate part is that criminals know this & will take advantage of this. Here is a tip when you are out at the shopping mall or mall parking lot. A trick for thieves is to offer help to someone pushing a shopping cart who has there purse in it. The criminal will begin pushing the cart ahead of you snatching the purse & running off with it. Avoid having your purse in the cart, this goes for while you are inside shopping as well. Always have your purse strap across your chest area so it can not be easily grabbed. Have the flap facing inwards towards your body so pickpockets can not slip there hand inside.

Once again the holiday season is among us. We will focus our posts on safety tips for the Christmas season. When traveling to friends & families homes do not leave gifts visible in your car as you visit loved ones. Either take all the gifts inside with you or place them in the trunk of the car so they are not visible & you are not targeting your car to be broken into. Remember criminals don't take the Christmas season off.

SELF DEFENSE WRIST GRAB RELEASE TIP

The a common way of having your space violated is some one grabbing your wrist pulling you closer to them. Here is an easy tip using the law of physics to release a wrist grab. Grab the hand of the wrist that is been grabbed with your free hand & pull towards yourself from the weakest point which is the attackers thumb & fingers.
Another technique is the circular motion release which as the same principles as the above but use a circular motion when you are pulling away at the weakest point.

THE BEST SELF DEFENSE IS COMMON SENSE

The other day while channel surfing Oprah's show caught my attention. It was about a bizarre crime in your everyday neighbourhood in the USA. A wealthy older man who had dug a underground room underneath is basement would abduct females, chain there leg to a pole & rape them. Some of his victims were kept prisoner for 2 months & up to 2 years. He would release them out of the blue for no reason stating if they told anyone he knew were they lived & would kill a loved one. Thats not the odd part of the story that got my attention it was the fact of how he got his victims. He would offer his victims a ride home then take them to his cellar instead. Not to be cold hearted but this crime could of easily been avoided through simple common sense self defense prevention tactics. Most crimes could be avoided by knowing good verbal & awareness skills. Your best defense is common sense. For more information on self defense prevention tactics go to www.tactselfdefense.com to order How To Get Out Alive filled with valuable self defense tips, tricks & tactics to keep you & your loved ones safe or to receive our free bi-weekly self defense newsletter. Also visit www.tactselfdefense.com/tips.html for free self defense tips.

GOT A LIGHT?

When it comes to criminals or thugs there are two types. The first is the aggressive in your face type.
The second is the sly, sneaky and cunning type who pretends to be friendly but has bad intentions behind being the nice guy. Here some tips when dealing with their sly tricks. 1) If the individual has his hand in his pocket while speaking with you he will usually have a knife or some type of weapon in that pocket ready to use on you. Focus on his shoulder movement, when his shoulder moves his hand will be coming out of his pocket. Once the shoulder gives movement grab a hold of his elbow and control it. Control of the elbow means you have entire control of the arm, causing him not to be able to pull out his weapon. Follow with a push kick to the side of his knee and stomp on the knee while he's down shattering it against the concrete. 2) Criminals will ask for a light or cigarette keep moving and maintain your distance while answering “no”. If on some bad reasoning on your part you and you decide to stop be aware of whose around the sides and back of you. It's an old trick of one person being a decoy and the second hiding waiting for you to let your guard down while you search your pockets for a light.



REMEMBER KEEP WALKING WHILE YOU'RE RESPONDING

30 DEATH MATCH VICTORIES & COUNTING

The other day I received an email from a online self defense products store & martial arts instructor. The writer was offended at my copy on my web site after reading it stating I was putting down the martial arts, that it was street effective for self defense.The writer was a third degree black belt, sparred in countless grappling matches & won 30 death matches. My automatic reaction was to write him back a long detailed email on how he was full of it, to put it politely. I realized that it would be unproductive but instead to address this in the blog. You see anyone who states they have fought in 30 death matches is full of it. There bodies simply would not survive that long, that's the quick answer. Sparring in grappling matches is not street fighting or self defense they are two different worlds apart. I have never seen any UFC/NHB match where someone has bitten someone's fingers off to win a match or stabbed someone in the eye with an object to be victorious. Remember violence has no rules & anything goes. So if you ever find a self defense instructor who states those things stay away from him.

ANATOMY OF SELF DEFENSE FILM SHOOT UPDATE

Our Anatomy of Self Defense film shoot is half way complete but their have been a few changes in the process. First we have had problems with production & schduling so the organization of TACT Self Defense has decided to produce a CD/Photo format instead of a DVD. With the CD/Photo format we will still be able to teach our viewers with our simple step by step manner & we are including additional information such as a larger section on how to make everyday objects into weapons & a text section on combat mindset & crime prevention tactics which at this moment can only be found on our HOW TO GET OUT ALIVE CD-ROM at http://www.tactselfdefense.com We are shooting for a CD release in the new year & would like to thank everyone for there patience. To all our USA customers Happy Thanksgiving.

DON'T BE THE MIDDLEMAN

A lot of small gangs or teenage groups like to hang around and try to be “want ta be gangster's”. They become tougher because there is power in numbers and they feel brave due to the fact that theirs one of you and five of them. Here are some suggestions when dealing with multiple attackers and swarming

1) Never walk in the middle of a group when their coming towards you, always walk around them, walking in between them makes you an easy target for swarming.

2) If a group does try to pick a fight with you, and you can not get away do not be in the middle of them. Try to move in front of the leader and have his group behind him; move so each time the front person moves you control the alignment of the group so everyone is behind him. This takes a little practice but once you got it down it will stay in your head and become second nature. Practice at home with a few people.

3) Move so an object such as a car/poll can be used as a divider between you and the group.

4) If you fall to the ground due to being attacked go into the fetile position, white knuckle your fists so it covers your face. Make sure you are in a tight ball, arms snug next to your ribs to protect them. Have strikes hit the top part of the skull; this is the hardest part of the head.

NEW STUN GUN PACKED WITH POWER

The new Stun Master 775,000 volt stun gun will leave any sized attacker on the ground contorted in pain for several minutes. Should the attacker be touching you as you stun him the current will not pass to your body. Makes a great Christmas gift for someone you care about.Check it out at http://www.tactselfdefense.com/weapons.html click the Stun Guns, Pepper Sprays, Self Defense Product banner

CALL IF YOU STALL

Do you know what to do if your car stalls in a deserted area? Here are some pointer's to help you out. First always put your hazard lights on and lock your doors. If someone comes along never open your door just roll down your window a little a hand should not be able to fit into the space. State politely that some one is on their way to help. Always have a cell phone on you with either a Tow Company or AAA Company in your cell phonebook directory. If you are in an area that is populated and well lit and you decide to leave your car make sure your visible countless accidents occur each year with people being hit by on coming traffic. Have an emergency kit in your car with items such as flashlight, blanket, and first aid kit, cat litter or salt incase you need traction on ice.

WHO'S REALLY PROTECTED?

Under the Canadian Privacy Act a sex offender such as a child molester could be living next door to you & your children without you knowing it. Canadian privacy laws only allow to disclose the city or area under which a convicted sex offender may be living in. Unlike the U.S where you can simply go on the internet & find the exact street address of where the sex offender lives. The Canadian governments reasoning behind this is to not put the offender at risk of a hate crime such as what has happened in the U.S recently where a man murdered two sex offenders by simply finding there address on the internet, driving to there homes & killing them. Most sex offenders do there time & reoffend. I believe we should stop giving rights to those who harm others & do not want to change.The victims live in fear & pain every day why shouldn't the victimizer. Now that would be real justice.

TIP OF THE WEEK

BITES: lean into bite, use a vibrating motion above upper lip to get jaws open, the viberating motion causes a parasympathic response releasing the jaw.

TACT Self Defense are at the final stages before beginning filming the ANATOMY OF SELF DEFENSE DVD. TACT's founder & creator stated "we are trying to keep the best interest of the viewer in mind, testing different scene shoots to see the most effect & easiest way to teach viewers, we believe we are there" Filming will begin November 5th, 2005.

Dealing With Stalkers


Stalkers are a common problem for men just as much as for women usually stalkers are ex lovers or patients. The first thing to do if you are been stalked is to file a police report. Keep a journal of all the times stalker has tried to have contact with you and have a photo of him/her if you can so you can show police and co-workers who to look out for. Tell your supervisor and people you work with what is going on and remind them to never give out any information about you no matter whom the person states they are. If you do find your home was entered into, do not go inside. If you have entered do not touch anything, so you do not tamper with any fingerprints left by your stalker. Call 911 immediately. If stalker continues calling change your number. Make sure your doors and windows are locked and always have a cell phone on you in case of an emergency. If you live alone have a system were you call a friend every so many hours to check in and let them know you are all right, and if you don't call to have an emergency plan.

CONDITION STIMULUS TRAINING
By training smarter & not harder you will increase your chances of survival because you know how to use violence to your advantage. You take with you in combat all the good and bad habits that you learned in your training routine. If your tactics in your training consist of high fancy kicks or wide movements, which require you to have a lot of room you will instinctively do the same when your adrenaline kicks in, in a violent confrontation. This will seriously hinder you if you are fighting for survival in a confined area with furniture such as a living room or bedroom.
Condition stimulus training is about making your training as realistic as possible so when your instincts take over in adrenaline stressed situations you are ready to know how to use your environment to your advantage and not be hindered by it. Many people become overwhelmed when their environment changes from a dojo setting to a small confined area. Being in a room filled with furniture gives the feeling of being restricted. Make sure your techniques will work for you in tight spaces. The benefit of condition stimulis training is you give yourself more options, weapons and exits when it comes to using violence effectively.

SHADOWS

Dear Friends:


Keeping in check with your shadow tells you a lot about your immediate surroundings and if anyone is around to harm you. Here are some tips to make your walk at night safer.

1) Look at your shadow it will indicate if some one is coming up towards you from behind

2) If you do notice someone coming towards you have an object such as keys or pepper spray in hand ready if needed.

3) All self-defense products/weapon's should be in a pocket were you can grab it in a heartbeat

4) Walk in well lit areas so you can see your shadow.

5) Always walk in the center of the sidewalk or street to give you time to respond if some one jumps out of no where.

Stay Safe

ANTI ABDUCTION TIP: If you are ever abducted & placed inside a truck of a car here is a tip. Push out the tail light & place your hand out of it & begin waving this will get people's attention to call the police. Another tip is to try to leave pieces of identification or a small piece of clothing that you have torn off & leave it as a clue. This will give police & there dogs an idea of were you have been taken or going to & a scent to follow.

HOW YOU TRAIN IS HOW YOU REACT
By Norm Bettencourt

How you train is how you will respond and react in the real deal. Self-defense is about survival and nothing else. It is not about fighting fair, clean or being honorable. It’s about doing what you have to do to go home and see your loved ones once again. You don’t know how a thug is going to react when you connect your first blow to him so make sure you mean it when you attack. He could back off (flight) or become enraged (fight), plane and simple combat is about doing whatever needs to be done so you get out alive. Lie, con, manipulate so you can catch him off guard and administer a tactic. Release the idea from your mind the image of a "DIRTY FIGHTER" there is now such thing only a fighter who survived an attack. Free your mind of that idea could mean the difference between life and death, it will subconsciously hamper your actions. You have the right to protect yourself and kill when your life is in jeopardy. When in combative mode your thoughts and actions should be as vile, vicious and violent as possible. Thoughts of legal or moral consequences of your actions should not even cross or enter your mind. If they do it will subconsciously hold you back in giving 100% in your attack and that could mean your kids or loved ones not seeing you again. The importance of training realistically or condition stimulus training could mean the difference between life and death. Training the mind to be accustomed to stimuli that is violent and vile you mean not freezing in violent situations.
Here are some tips and dirty tricks
HIT FIRST, HIT HARD, KEEP HITTING
Always attack in mid word, phase or sentence i.e." I will do anything you say, please don’t hur" ATTACK NOW. The element of surprise is on your side he is not expecting you to do anything.
Practice saying your trigger sentence, phase or word and cueing yourself to attack when you say it. Make sure your speech is smooth and that you are not telegraphing your words or actions before attacking.
If you are a woman use the power of "sweet talk" get him to believe that you will do as he says, then turn the tables when he least expects it.
When speaking use your hands to help you speak, set them up to deflect or to position them closer to the target area you want to attack.
Use your surroundings, push your attacker into an object so he trips or falls. Giving you time to run off or to follow up with a more devastating tactic to immobilize him.
Gouge, spit, throw dirt or sand in his eyes to temporarily blind him to give you those vital seconds to get away.
Make your training as real as possible have your training partner grab you, swear, yell at you and rehearse what you are going to say before you attack.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON. As reported early TACT Self Defense founder & creator Norm Bettencourt was stricken by a mysterious illness affecting his motor skills in his legs causing to cancel the ANATOMY OF SELF DEFENSE film shoot to a later date."It is unclear on what happened until the test results come in sometime next week.I think it 's a great idea to shoot ANATOMY OF SELF DEFENSE in the condition that I am in. It will show viewer's how simple & easy it is to perform these self defense techniques regardless if you are injured or your athletic ability"stated TACT's founder. TACT Self Defense is now targeting late October to begin shooting.

TACT Self Defense is getting a facelift! In the next few days TACT Self Defense will have a new look & feel. Instead of the red & white text TACT Self Defense has decided to change the colour to a grey. Members of TACT Self Defense who read our blog have commented of the great look & feel of the blog at an amazing rate.So we decided to go with the colour scheme of the blog on our website. Our TACT Self Defense News Feed Blog will also be RSS Feed to our site so you do not have to leave the TACT Self Defense website to stay current with our news. If member's wish they can copy & paste the feed & have TACT Self Defense News Feed straight onto there website.

TACT Self Defense is becoming more & more of an authourity in the self defense & combat mindset coachiing world. Norm Bettencourt's articles have been published in IronLife Magazine for the last five month's with a great response from IronLife reader's. Ezine Articles www.ezinearticles.com has decided to take on & feature Norm Bettencourt's articles & make him an expert author in the area of self defense & combat mindset coaching. Mr Bettencourt has also decided to allow other ezines you use his articles in their publications for informational & educational purposes. All articles can be viewed at http://www.tactselfdefense.com click the ARTICLE button on the menu, all articles are posted there.

ANATOMY OF SELF DEFENSE DVD SHOOT put on hold. The film shoot which was ready to begin filming was postponed due to a mysterious illness affecting TACT Self Defense founder & head instructor Norm Bettencourt. The illness which is affecting motor skills to his legs causing difficultly in walking is unknown at this time. Specialists awaiting results of tests to determine the course of action.

TACT Self Defense began organizing & structuring a film shoot for an instructional combat DVD planned to begin filming in early September 2005. The title of the DVD "ANATOMY OF SELF DEFENSE" will focus on tactical combat techniques that require no athletic skills & can be performed by anyone regardless of there strength & size. The DVD will not be edited so viewers can see & get a sense of how these simple techniques can be performed if your standing, on the ground or if your attacker attacks you from a different angle, the same technique will still apply with the same outcome. Techniques will all be shot in real enviroments such as streets/alleys, parking lots & bedrooms with no studio scenes so the viewer can also get the sense of how to use there enviroment as improvised weapons.

This article was emailed to me, we definitely need more of these people in our justice system.

TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIOHE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFFAND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER.THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY:Sheriff Joe Arpaio (in Arizona) who created the "tent city jail":He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates forthem.He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away theirweights. Cut off all but "G" movies.He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county andcity projects.Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued fordiscrimination.He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court orderthat required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV againonly let in the Disney channel and the weather channel.When asked why the weather channel he replied, so they will know how hotit's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.He cut off coffee since it has zero nutritional value.When the inmates complained, he told them, "This isn't the Ritz/Carlton.If you don't like it, don't come back."He bought Newt Gingrich' lecture series on videotape that he pipes intothe jails.When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, hereplied that a democratic lecture series might explain why a lot of theinmates were in his jails in the first place.More on the Arizona Sheriff:With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degreesjust set a new record), the Associated Press reports: About 2,000inmates living in a barbed-wire-surrounded tent encampment at theMaricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to theirgovernment-issued pink boxer shorts.On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up ontheir bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 degreesinside the week before.Many were also swathed in wet, pink towels as sweat collected on theirchests and dripped down to their pink socks."It feels like we are in a furnace," said James Zanzot, an inmate whohaslived in the tents for 1 1/2 years. "It's inhumane."Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long agostarted making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, isnot one bit sympathetic He said Wednesday that he told all of theinmates: "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tentstoo, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit anycrimes, so shut your damned mouths!"Way to go, Sheriff! Maybe if all prisons were like this one there wouldbe a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should bepunished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for theirparole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back into live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford tohave for themselves.Sheriff Joe was just reelected Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona.

SELF-DEFENSE PROGRAMS FRIEND OR ENEMY?

On May 15th the official online launch of www.tactselfdefense.com. A former thug who converted his life with the help of the martial arts and became a certified Self-Defense Instructor and also is a Bouncer/Bodyguard founded TACT Self Defense. TACT teaches realistic self-defense unlike other self-defense programs that offer techniques that only work in specific situations. TACT Self Defense focuses on a few proven principles based on leverage, momentum and physics that work in any violent situation anytime, anywhere on anyone regardless of a persons size or the attackers size or if a person is standing, flat on there stomach or on there back.
TACT Self-Defense offers training that few self-defense programs specialize in. Programs include Pain Tolerance Conditioning, Tactical Awareness Training and Self Defense Training in Verbal/Spatial Skills. Along side with nutritional information for extreme fighters and supplies self defense weapons and gear to civilians.
Sensei Norm Bettencourt began studying the martial arts two decades ago styles ranging from Karate, Thai Boxing, Ju jutsu and different combat arts from the military. He will be the first person to tell you that 95% of martial arts and self-defense programs do not work in the real world. TACT Self Defense’s system incorporates only a few tactical targeting techniques that are straightforward, decisive and extremely effective. "It’s amazing what is being taught out there in self defense schools, joint locks, cross legged arm bars which require you to go on the ground. I have seen self defense instructors teach students to kick to the head or grapple with an attacker, step here, turn this way, twist his wrist that way. Bottom line to many movements to remember, which are to complicated to work for ANYONE in a high stress situation of a violent street attack".
You are being lied to, ripped off of your hard-earned money and given a false sense of security. What is being taught is to complicated to even work for a seasoned martial artist. It’s like going to cooking school and your instructor has never cooked or even turned on an oven before, how is he supposed to know how to make the meal, let alone teach you. Unfortunately people who have trained in these self-defense programs learn in horror after being assaulted the hard truth. Most self-defense instructors also do not understand the effects of adrenaline and how it affects the mind, or motor skill performance. Top it off most instructors have not even been in a violent street confrontation so how would they know what to do?
Many systems use joint locks and pressure points that require years of training to properly execute. Some techniques even when applied properly to someone who has an unusual amount of joint flexibility or high pain tolerance such as someone high on drugs will not work. A lot of self defense techniques also have to be altered to work if environments change such as being in a small space or if there is snow on the ground causing slippery conditions. Think someone is going to remember all that while they are being attacked. I don’t think so.
Tired of the ignorance, misguided information and seeing people getting hurt. Sensei Bettencourt decided to take matters into his own hands and educate the public himself on what really works on the streets, how attacks happen and how to not target yourself for assaults and crime. "The best parachute folder's are those who jump themselves" perfect slogan for a man who once was a thug turned self-defense instructor.