Thugs, drills and the cold truth

Let's get something out of the way (and off my chest). Although this book is about street survival, it is not about street fighting. I do not consider the thuggish beat downs and frat boy scuffles that many IQ deficient, testosterone addled, ego driven "tough guys" engage in worthy of discussion.

A street fight is an Old West wannabe, just-me-and-you affair. Don't get me wrong, these altercations are often quite violent, and if you are on the losing end of one, the tactics in this book will serve you well. But never lose sight of the fact that these confrontations are usually self-selecting and of little surprise to the participants once they go down. I have zero interest in catering to this contingent of humanity. Knock yourself out, boys, and leave everybody else alone.

What we will concern ourselves with in this book is not a street fight, but street survival. I use the term street euphemistically, fully aware that we can be met by criminal violence anywhere — home, car, work and every destination in between including the street. We will not concern ourselves with the guy who said something about your sister, but the serial rapist. Not with the man giving your girlfriend the eye, but with the car jacker. Not with the guy who bumped you as you were coming out of the bathroom, but with the type of animal that will commit a home invasion and rape and kill an entire family.

For those who picked up this book looking for tips on how to jack up some guy at the local bar, please put the book down and grow a neo-cortex. I want this book read by those who really need it. Those of us who simply wish to conduct our lives in a thoughtful, civilized manner. We sometimes need a reminder of just how dark the dark side can be, and that due diligence is not paranoia but wisdom.

It's too late to drill when the house is on fire

It's 2:37 A. M. Your house is engulfed in flames. The main entrance ways are blocked by fire. Thick billowy smoke is chokingly oppressive. Do you remember your secondary and tertiary escape routes? Do the other members of your household know them? Do you recall your plan for the young children in the house? Do you remember to feel doors before opening? Do you remember to stay low and crawl? Have you worked any of this out before this tragedy struck?

Most people do not find fire drills to be unusual practices. Most of us probably participated in them as school-age children, and those of us with children probably nod and think that it's an excellent idea for schools to hold an occasional fire drill. After all, you never know, right? Well, have you held a fire drill in your home? I have asked this question of hundreds of people over the years in the course of presenting the material in this book, and I have had one (and only one) person say yes. So much for mature, intelligent adults being prepared.

How much time would a fire drill take in your home? Maybe 15 minutes at most to discuss exit strategies and assign possible responsibilities, and then perhaps three minutes more for actual execution. After that, revisit the drill once every six months or once a year for another three minutes of your time. What's a few minutes compared with the loss of your life or that of a loved one in a fire?

OK, I'm sure you get it. Drilling escape plans for a fire makes sense, doesn't take much time or energy, and it is far more useful than improvising in the midst of the actual event. I ask you to view the tactics and strategies in this book in the same light as you would a fire drill. Bank a little bit of time against the possibility that you might need an escape plan for something other than a fire one of these days. And yes, get your kids in on the plan, too. We don't need to show them photos of blackened, charred bodies to teach them where to go in a fire drill. We don't need to scare them with horror stories to drill them in the scenarios found in these pages. It's OK to hold back details from children as long as they know what to do.

I hate to crib from vacuous self-help style speak, but there is an aphorism that sums it up nicely — Failure to plan is planning to fail.

The truth as a blunt object

I just said we don't need to scare children with horror stories to get them to drill, and that's true. You, on the other hand, are an adult (I'm assuming) and might need to fix in your mind's eye exactly what you might be up against. Interspersed throughout this volume you will find sidebars labeled Predator Profiles. These profiles are mini-snapshots of actual human depravity that have no CSI-chic nor the vague, watered-down descriptions of criminal acts one finds in the news. They tell what actually occurred. Euphemism does disservice to truth.

I firmly believe that having an understanding of the predator mind-set can better ensure prevention or survival. We are not reveling in the Predator Profile details for lurid fascination's sake — that is mere callow prurience. We need to understand that knowledge is power and that truth is empowering. We need to move beyond the simple insufficient definition of rape as sex without consent or any other dispassionate word used as a metaphor for evil. We use the details of truth to elicit a response — as an emotional plea for outrage — to spur indignation and as a stimulus to respond and react in the seemingly "extreme" manner that I advocate in this book.

If you find any of the advice within to be a bit much, then I recommend that you reread the Predator Profiles and ask yourself if there is such a thing as "reasonable" response in unreasonable circumstances? Propriety, civilization and nuanced decision making goes out the window when real-world violence erupts. Read these profiles and ask yourself if you think these animals could be stopped with negotiation. Or a rape whistle. Or a simple kick to the groin. Or a jab from a fist interlaced with your keys. Or a rap on the knuckles. If that last choice seems a bit facetious, that's because it is. Much of what is proffered in the realm of self-defense instruction is unadulterated bullshit. We seek to shovel away some of that BS with this book, but we have to start by leveling with you about what you are up against.

A...