Understanding Fear & Adrenaline

Combat is 90% mental and only 10% physical when people experience a threat one of two things happen to them. They either experience the “flight/freeze response” (I place the freeze response into the flight category to simplify things) or they experience the “fight response”. Most people forget this vital concept when it comes to personal protection.

People usually focus on practicing physical techniques and fail to realize that if you cannot control your thoughts flight (fear) will set in and you will freeze up and not be able to do anything to protect yourself. It’s just like what a deer does when it see’s a car’s headlights coming straight for it, it just stands there looking at the vehicle headlights and bam it gets hit by the vehicle. This is exactly what you will experience when you are experiencing a threat if you don’t train your mind to go into the “fight response”.

“Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.”

                                                                                                       Karl A. Menninger

We as humans are born with only two fears the first is the fear of loud noises (startle reflex) and the second is the fear of falling (avoidance reaction) every other fear is learned, so we can reprogram our brains to not be afraid of violence, pain or of being hit or struck.

Understanding fear, adrenaline and the effects it has on you physically, mentally and emotionally will put you in a better position to understanding and controlling fear.

There are two types of fear:

1) Recreational Fear: This has an element of control such as a mixed martial arts match due to the fact that there are rules to abide by and there is a referee in the cage. The athletes/fighter's know that the violence is controlled due to these factors and that they will not be seriously injured.

2) Fear: This occurs when things are out of your control such as a violent street attack which could end in death. You can control your fear of a violent altercation by being tactically prepared (physical, psychological and emotional training builds confidence).

Adrenaline Symptoms During & After Violence (Autonomic Nervous System)

Physical:

Upset stomach: butterflies/nausea

Increased blood pressure

Increased perspiration

Sweaty palms or sweaty

Bowel/Bladder Urgency: Defecating or urinating oneself, everyone hates admitting to this but it is very common with the manliest men

Diarrhea

Chills

Chest pain

Tremors/shakes

Muscle tightness

Dizziness

Thirty

Jumpiness

Hyperventilation

Dry mouth/throat: Cotton mouth

Fatigue

Restlessness

Visual/audio changes: Sometimes these changes are beneficial such as having visual enhancement and being able to see the bullets in the cylinder of a revolver. Sometimes it can be detrimental to the person such as tunnel vision which excludes your peripheral vision making you more vulnerable to an ambush because you ca not see the stimuli coming around you.

Outer Body Experience: This is when you feel like your watching the violence you are experiencing from outside your body.

Increased Heart Rate: Beats per minute (bpm)

60-80 bpm (code white) normal resting heart rate

80-115 bpm (code yellow) alert to your surroundings.

115-145 bpm (code red) optimal survival and combat performance level for complex motor skill, visual reaction time, and cognitive reaction time

145-175 bpm (code grey) complex or fine motor skill deteriorates,  loss of depth perception, auditory exclusion

Note: Using gross motor skills is paramount when performing street survival tactics. If you are focusing on fine motor skill tactics you better be training long and hard as a Navy Seal and most people do not have the time or dedication to train this way.

175-220 bpm (code black) loss of near vision (tunnel vision), reduced bleeding from wounds, flight/freeze response, submissive behavior, bladder /bowels loosen

Mental:

Concentration problems: After the violence the person may not remember what even happened during the violent altercation due to memory loss, this usually comes back a couple of days later.

Memory distortion: This is when you think you see a loved one get hit, shot or stabbed but in reality they were not even touched.

Word finding problems

Dazed

Time Delay: Everything happens in slow motion, you see the bullet coming straight for you just like you were in a Matrix movie. This can also be confused with "freezing" because paralysis sometimes takes over your body such as not being able to feel like you can move your legs. Instead this is just time delay you are experiencing because you are moving your legs very slowly.

Emotional:

Decreased emotional control

Playing the event over and over in your mind

Second guessing yourself

Irritable

Anxious

Scared

Numb

Overwhelmed

Happy you survived

Note: It usually takes three or four days for the body to get to normal after experiencing a major adrenaline dump.

 "The key is to understand and manage arousal, not attempt to prevent or eradicate it."

                                                                 Michael J. Asken, Ph.D

Do not get down on yourself for feeling this way instead accept the fact that you will feel fear and these sensations for fear is actually your friend because it prepares you for combat. The majority of law enforcement, military personnel & security professionals experience these signs of stress when confronted with violence. Remember you want to control and manage your fear by understanding it. Your job is not to try to be fearless or fear will control you.

To find out more visit  http://tactselfdefense.com/fearmanagement/

Tactical Muscle Training For Grip & Hand Strength

Here is a video to increase your grip and hand strength for tactical combat purposes.

Tactical Muscle Training

There's no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one.

Norm Bettencourt

 BELT BUCKLE KNIFE

This video will show you how to get the element of surprise behind you using the belt buckle knife so you can quickly and effectively take out your enemy.




There's no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one

Norm Bettencourt

How To Successfully Get In Your Pre-emptive Strike Without Your Enemy Realizing It

Check out this latest video post from Tactical Self Defense at



http://youtu.be/3zJs5p8zvwI Secrets To A Sucessful Pre-emptive Strike



There's No Such Thing As A Dirty Fighter Only An Educated One

Norm Bettencourt

The Six S's of Combat

In the Tactical Self Defense System there are six important concepts or principles to combat which all start with the letter “S” that should be applied to every violent situation. By following these concepts and principles which have been taken from systems that the military, FBI, CIA use as well as what convicts and street fighters use will put momentum on your side to help take out your enemy.


The First “S” = Situational Awareness

By having situational awareness, you are never caught off guard so you can either avoid or deal with whatever situation comes your way all due to having time to respond because you are alert to your surroundings because you are in a “code yellow” condition. Most people walk around being in “code white” not paying attention to their environment, thinking about what they have to do throughout their day, such as picking up the dry cleaning, doing groceries and so on.

So how do you have situational awareness and be in “code yellow”? Here are some suggestions.


Use Reflections: Be in the present moment and while going about your day use reflections from windows of buildings and cars to see what is happening around you, this will give you a complete 360 degree view of your surroundings making it harder for you to be caught of guard.

Keep Your Distance: Take corners wide. This way if someone is waiting for you around the bend, you will have time to respond to the stimuli and not be caught off guard. When walking, keep your distance from people walking next to you or while walking near people seated at side walk cafes. As well when walking next to bushes and other objects you want to give yourself some distance away from these objects incase someone is hiding near them.


Shadows: Notice shadows that are coming up on you while walking. This gives you an indication that someone may be making their move. While walking to your car or doorway observe to see if there are shadows around.


Senses: Use your senses such as sight which we have already gone into but smells as well. Do you smell cigarette smoke, body odor, alcohol? What do you hear - foot steps, a group of people coming your way from behind or a car speeding up towards you? These are all things that can help you either to avoid a situation from happening or to prepare yourself to deal with that situation so you can catch your enemy off guard and take him out. Always trust your gut instinct if something doesn’t feel right. Listen to what your gut is telling you.


The Second “S” = Stance & Spacing

Whenever dealing with anyone, you want to keep at least five to ten feet away from your enemy this way you have more time to respond to the stimuli that comes your way. You want to stand at a 45 degree angle with your knees slightly bent, hands up chest level while always talking with your hands. Have your chin slightly tucked in, so you’re protected if your enemy tries sucker punching you, you won’t get knocked out. This stance as well makes you less of a target then standing directly in front of your enemy and allows you to move away from your enemy’s attack quickly. Keep in mind to never back yourself into a corner. Always have your back towards a door, and if you need to back up, take one step back then turn so your back is always facing an exit this way you always have a way out.

Note: There are situations where having your back towards a wall can be helpful such as using it as a support so you don’t fall to the ground or having your back against a wall so you don’t have to worry about someone coming up from behind you.



The Third “S”= Scanning

While using situational awareness, you want to scan your surroundings. By scanning you prevent tunnel vision which is a major problem for people in a confrontation because then you exclude stimuli that could be coming their way such as the friends of your enemy coming into the picture while in the heat of the moment, or afterwards when the fight is over. Note what you can use in your environment to take out your attacker, items such as garbage bins, bus stop benches while fighting out on the street. While fighting indoors items such as vases, pots, pans, chairs and tables are all things that will make your life easier and safer for you to take out your enemy, more on this in a later chapter. So begin making it a habit whenever you walk into a room or in any environment to scan and see what you can use as a weapon if crap hits the fan and you need to take someone out.

You want to scan your enemy’s body language for cues that will indicate that he may become violent. Most people usually don’t have a clue on what to look for when it comes to the enemy’s body language to tell what his true intentions are when both of you are at a stand off before the first strike is thrown. Body language says more than verbal communication and is 60% of how a message is communicated. So what are some of these body language cues to look out for that tells you that a person will attack?

- Is he making a fist?
- Tight lips or jaw line
- Clinching his teeth
- Exaggerated motions such as swinging his arms
- Red face (angry/drunk)
- Staring at you (more than 70% of the time)
- While looking into his eyes his stare changes or he quickly goes off some where in his mind (he has triggered himself)
- Trying to invade your personal space
- Sweat dripping of his face (possible drug use)
- Aggressive tone
- What do you smell on him (alcohol/drugs)
- Changes from being in your face to being nice to catch you off guard
- Ignores you when your speaking to them
- Suddenly holds his breath (is getting ready to strike)
- Has his hand in his pocket while being verbally threatening (usually has a weapon in his pocket ready to pull it out and use it on you)
- Is quiet (watch out for the quiet ones)

Whenever dealing with anyone you want to keep at least five to ten feet away from your enemy this way you have more time to respond to the stimuli that comes your way. As well when dealing with someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs there behavior will be unpredictable so stay alert. Always focus on your enemy’s’ shoulders for this will give away there movement before actually attacking.


The Fourth “S”= Surprise

By having and using the element of surprise you now place momentum on your side. Remember what I have stated earlier “There’s no such thing as a dirty fighter…only an educated one” So if someone calls you out and begins taking off his jacket as he is taking off his jacket–attack him then¬–and keep attacking till you know he won’t be getting up. Also if someone calls you outside to fight when he turns around to walk out the door, hit him with a chair while his back is towards you, or strike him using your favorite tactic. There’s no such thing as a dirty fighter and if people want to call you that, then they have no idea what street fighting is about.


If you are in a situation where you are minding your own business and someone approaches you in a threatening manner, play timid but in your mind you are tapping into your “killer instinct mindset” and getting ready to execute your “specialized sucker punch”. What is a specialized sucker punch? It is any tactic that you do to catch your enemy of guard without telegraphing your intentions, surprising him and overwhelming him with your assault.

It could be bringing your hands in surrender mode and talking with your hands while stating “I don’t want any tro…” before you finish your phrase, you attack in mid sentence catching him off guard with either a finger jab to the eyes or a palm upwards to your enemies chin, and continue your assault till your attacker can’t get up off the ground..

Another way of doing this would be if you have a drink in your hand. Play timid. State your phrase, and before finishing it, throw that drink in your enemies face. This tactic can also be done with dirt being thrown into your enemy’s eyes. This then puts momentum on your side and all your enemy can do is go into a defensive state.

The Fifth “S”= Speed

By using the element of surprise, you also put speed on your side because your enemy doesn’t see your attack coming until it’s too late. When you attack, it must be done quickly, violently and in a committed manner. There should be no mercy. Once you have thrown that first strike, you continue striking your enemy as fast as you can without stopping. Do not throw one blow and then stop, for you are allowing your enemy to respond and shift the momentum onto their side. You want keep the momentum on your side at all times and that’s where speed comes in.






The Sixth “S” = Slaughter

This is what we call “code black” when you attack, you must have no reservations and be fully committed in your ambush. You should not be thinking of legal consequences of your actions or thinking that you don’t want to hurt your enemy that you just want to control him. Like I stated in a previous chapter, it would be like going to a gun fight with a knife. You’re going to lose because your enemy has a more powerful weapon than you do. Remember your most powerful weapon in self defense situations is your mindset.



Remember there’s no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one.


Norm Bettencourt

The Best Self Defense Training Knives

I am always looking for ways to make my self defense training as realistic as possible. I find that sometimes some of the training tools that I use sometimes will either help or hinder my training. Take for example self defense training knives that are out on the market today.

There is the traditional rubber knife which has been used for years. Regardless that this knife is made from rubber it still can injure someone during training sessions.I have suffered a few minor cuts from it's pointed tip when my training partner goes full speed trying to slash or stab me. What happens next is that my training partner slows down on his attack due to his concern in injuring me. My knife training scenario's now becomes extremely controlled and unrealistic.

Then there is the Shock Knife which is a great training tool. This knife sends off an electric shock to the person being cut during a training session. It gets practitioners adrenaline and blood pumping which is what you want happening in your training sessions. This then mimics the affects adrenaline plays on your body during a real life violent encounter while your training. You also are more hesitant in executing your knife disarming tactics compared to being up against a rubber knife when using a Shock Knife. This is exactly how you will be feeling when dealing with a real knife which is a good thing. There are a few of downfalls to the Shock Knife the first only law enforcement or military personnel can get there hands on it. Second is it's cost, a bit pricey. The third is that your training partner will still hold back on his attack because the Shock Knife can injure the practitioner due to it's hard surface.

Then there are foam knives that regardless of how fast and hard you go at your training partner the foam knife is extremely safe and your training partner will have no hesitations of going full speed on you. You can also place lipstick on these knives as well so you can see if you have been stabbed or slashed. This then shows you what you need to adjust in your knife disarming tactics so your better able to handle a real life knife attack.

All in all I like the Shock Knife for it's special characteristics but also like foam knives better. Foam knives make your training more realistic because your training partner is actually trying to slash ans stab you from every angle and at fast speeds. Foam knives are also dirt cheap or you can make them yourself as well. My vote goes to foam knives.

There's No Such Thing As A Dirty Fighter Only An Educated One.



Norm Bettencourt

BEWARE OF THIS KNIFE DEFENSE TACTIC


Hi everyone,

In today’s post I would like to discuss a common tactic that is taught when dealing with knife attacks which in my books is one of the top no no’s when it comes to knife defense techniques and I will explain why.

The common tactic that I am referring to is the front kick or the push kick when someone comes at you wielding a knife. The basic idea is that the leg is longer then the arm which supposedly allows you to maintain distance between you and your enemy so your enemy cannot close the distance entering the kill zone and be able to slash or stab you.

So when executing the front kick the goal is to kick the knife out of your enemies’ hand which seldom works or when using the push kick tactic you want to push your enemy back increasing the distance between your enemy so he/she cannot stab or slash you.

Now try this test stand face to face across from someone extend your leg out in front of you as you are going to do a push or front kick and as you do have the person across from you hold a rubber knife and see how far up they can reach and touch your leg with the blade of the knife.

When doing this test the majority of people can reach the knee area. Now guess what is located near the inner portion of the knee about an inch upwards towards the thigh area?



The femoral artery:


This area is a general term comprising a few large arteries in the thigh. They begin at the inguinal ligament femoral head and end just above the knee at adductor canal or Hunter's canal traversing the extent of the femur bone.


This is as wordy as I am going to get because I hate self defense instructors who try overcompensating by sounding smart because they use medical terminology but yet they have no clue on what violence is actually about. If you want more information on the femoral artery you can just Google the term.


When this artery is severed you will only have minutes to survive before you bleed out. When you’re going up against a knife exposing your leg is one of those last things you want to do because of this very reason. Why would you want to expose a major artery when someone is trying to kill you you’re just helping him/her out? All the attacker has to do is grab your leg and stab this area or slash it as he/her tries blocking your kick

The bottom line in a knife attack is to protect your major arteries and to be offensive but that’s another topic for a different post. By protecting your arteries your survival rate increases dramatically. Through the countless people that I interviewed that had survived knife attacks and/or witnessed friends die from knife attacks most individuals stated that they didn’t even know that they were stabbed until after the altercation was over and their adrenal rush had diminished. They continued to fight even after being stabbed because there injuries were not life threatening.


The ones that did know that they were stabbed or didn’t survive the stabbings were due to this one reason and this one reason alone when they were stabbed they dropped like dead weight because they had an artery punctured and it took the fight right out of them or worse yet the life right out of them. So protect your arteries not expose them for you will survive a knife attack, you will be able to continue fighting even after getting stabbed and your injuries won’t be life threatening.


There’s no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one.

Norm Bettencourt

Protecting Yourself and What’s Yours

Hi everyone here is a guest post by Brian Robson

Did you know that every year more than 2,000,000 home burglaries are reported in the United States, alone? That’s a home being invaded almost every 13 seconds. And to make matters worse, about 85% of these break-ins are being committed by non-professionals. Why is that worse? Think about it. A professional thief has a plan and they aim to get in and get out as quickly as possible – they aren’t looking for a fight. Unfortunately, most of the break-ins happening in this country are being committed by desperate individuals with nothing to lose and, as we all know, there’s nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose.


In this particularly turbulent economy, where the gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” is constantly growing, it has never been a better time to learn how to protect both yourself and what is yours, and there are a number of ways you can do this. You could invest in some new locks if you feel like the old ones aren’t up to task or do some research on Home Security Systems if that would make you feel safer. If that doesn’t do the trick you could invest in a good dog or go to your local department store to take a look at some anti-theft locks and other deterrents. These are all good ideas for defending yourself and your home, but what do you do if an intruder actually does make it into your home? Well, we have a few thoughts on that too.

You could purchase a firearm, although it would be unwise to do such a thing without first knowing how to use the weapon or having some experience firing it. Plus, if you have children, you run the added risk of them discovering where it is if you don’t properly put it away, and that could lead to tragedy. Another thing you could do is designate a safe area or panic room where you can barricade yourself and your family safely from danger. You would obviously want to make sure that you can call the outside world in the event having to use said room, but at least it would be a place where you and your loved ones could seek refuge during a home invasion. If you are looking for a more proactive approach to dealing with a home invader, you could look into some self-defense courses. However, as we stated before, you should never underestimate the resolve of a man with nothing to lose, and a full-on confrontation should not be taken lightly no matter how confident you are in your abilities.


And no matter how much you rehearse how you will act, nothing you do can account for the invader’s motives. Your best bet at protecting yourself, your home and your family is to take measures to prevent an invasion before it even has a chance to start. Lock your doors and windows, draw the blinds, don’t advertise your opulence and as far as guns, self-defense and home security go – that’s your call. Use your discretion.

HOW TO MAKE TACTICAL DECISIONS DURING VIOLENCE



As many of you know when adrenaline hits making a simple decision can be a difficult thing to do. You’re at an altered state unable to think clear and at times even have a hard time remembering something as simple as your name when it comes to an all out violent attack. Everything is a blur and is absolute chaos.

So unless you constantly train yourself to make tactical decisions during an adrenalized state will you be able to succeed at tactical thinking. So how do you become a skilled tactical thinker?


One way of going about it is the next time your training and going through adrenal stress training (this is mock fighting scenarios with a training partner but without knowing how the scenario will play out so your forced to improvise while fighting at full speed as your wearing protective body armor).


Have someone ask you a series of questions while you are fighting your training partner. Questions like “When is your wife’s birthday?” or “What does 7x7 + 16 =?” What this does is get you to problem solve when you’re under extreme stress as you are fighting and disarming your training partner.




This in turn teaches you how to think through and make critical decisions during an adrenalized state. You will then be able to think tactically when using violence and things won’t seem to be a blur or haze and you will feel in control of the situation. You will be better off on picking and choosing targets when you see openings and be able to see and use objects around you to help you take out your enemy. The bottom line is by training this way you avoid making haphazard decisions on the street which could cost you your life or worse yet the life of someone you love.


Remember your mind is your most powerful weapon and you must train your brain just as much as you train your body so you can use violence effectively and to your advantage.


There’s no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one.

Norm Bettencourt