Copyright © Geoff Thompson 2004
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'He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.' – Sun Tzu
In the foregoing chapters we have covered a lot of the things that you should and should not do. Here I’d like to list a few of the more important points to bear in mind.
At the forefront of everything is stay coded up.
1) Don’t get too drunk
Alcohol in moderation is fine. If you drink too much, however, you are an easy target for attackers. Alcohol temporarily erodes perceptiveness, balance, distancing, sight, sound – in fact nearly every sense is impaired. You also fail to see danger when drunk and cannot, even if very proficient, expect realistically to see a situation arise or defend yourself whilst under the influence.
2) Don’t underestimate or trust an adversary
Confidence is a great attribute, over-confidence is a very weak link. Never allow yourself to underestimate anyone: it is a sure sign, on your part, of over-confidence, and over-confidence begets defeat. If you start feeling too confident about a situation, remind yourself of the possible dangers you are facing. Better to be a little under-confident than over-confident. If faced by a potential attacker, never trust him. The false promise is one of the most common ‘terror compliance’ techniques used by the attacker.
3) Be basic
If it comes to a physical response, never employ a technique for the sake of dramatic effect. Looking good counts for nothing; many people have lost trying to do so. Use the quickest, most basic and economical technique available to you.
4) Don’t delay
Don’t hang around. If you can escape do so at the earliest opportunity. The longer you leave it the harder it will become. If you’re going to attack a potential attacker, also do so as soon as possible. Any time delay in pre-emptive attack will lessen your chances of success.
5) Be hard
Do not allow sentiment to enter into your mind when dealing with a potential attacker, as he will manipulate and engineer any chink in your mental armour until it is a cavernous opening that he can walk right through. When dealing with bad people you have to be as bad as them if you want to survive, at least for the duration of the attack. Most victims do not even try to defend themselves, believing that any fight-back on their part will only antagonise and thus add to the ferociousness of the attack.
Surveys show that a victim who fights back with vigour usually forces the attacker to abort.
6) Don’t be suckered
As you have read throughout this text, deception is the predator’s greatest ally.
Understand the rituals and look out for deception. The modern attacker is unlikely to look menacing; rather he may be polite until the moment of his attack.
7) Kill your pride
Pride has no place in good self-protection. If you can run away from a situation or talk your way out of a fight, do it. Survival is all that matters.
8) Don’t be squeamish
If sticking your fingers in an adversary’s eyes is what you have to do to survive an attack, do it, don’t be squeamish or you’ll lose.
9) Kill fair play
When an attack on your person is in progress or imminent, there is no such thing as fair play. Do anything and use anything to defend yourself. There is only one rule: there are none.
10) Never do more than is necessary
In defending yourself, it is imperative that you hit and run. Don’t hang around trying to finish the job. As soon as you can, run. It is not unheard of for a stunned adversary, even a felled one, to recover and still beat the victim who is close enough to grab.
