Psychological warfare in self defense

Psychological warfare is defined as the use of psychology to evoke a psychological response in an enemy to influence his/her behavior, thoughts, attitudes, emotions, and beliefs. Psychological warfare has been used in warfare for centuries to demoralize the enemy. While many techniques and methods have been used at a national level, some are applicable to the individual. I will give you some tips and techniques used in psychological warfare that you could use in the face of overwhelming odds such as multiple attackers.


* Use intimidating body language - People mistakenly believe a battle starts as soon as the first hit is thrown. In reality, it starts beforehand with body language. A potential attacker is assessing whether you pose a huge threat or are just a victim. If you project confidence in the face of potential danger, you communicate to your potential attackers that you aren't weak and submissive. You don't want to be too intimidating or you may be perceived as a threat. Even in a potentially violent confrontation, show no emotion or weakness. This will hopefully cause your enemy to back away.

* Use camouflage or a menacing appearance - In ancient times, warriors would use facepaint and masks evoking supernatural beings to intimidate their enemies. Modern soldiers use camouflage to make themselves invisible to the enemy. This is a form of psychological warfare as enemy targets cannot see their attackers but their attackers can see them. In some situations, you will be able to camouflage yourself and put on an intimidating appearance.    

* Shock and awe - The shock and awe military strategy involves the use of overwhelming power or display of forces to destroy it's will to fight. If you destroy your enemy's confidence to win a fight then you weaken his or her morale and thus he or she will flee. This is why in some cases where armed robbers invaded a home, the owners came charging with swords and yelling to create fear. What was the psychological effect? The robbers were confident in the use of guns but when they saw someone wielding a melee weapon and putting on a great display of strength, that confidence was shattered. You can create shock and awe by roaring like an animal, snarls, growls, laughter, causing as much damage to your opponents, or other means of intimidation (1).  

* Demoralization - This is the systematic method of breaking your enemy's will to fight. When you are faced with multiple attackers, always take out the most powerful ones first. Once the leaders of the pack are injured or dead, the rest will become demoralized. This method was used by the U.S media published a photo of Osama Bin Laden's corpse to demoralize the will of Islamic terrorists to fight. Another way you can demoralize your enemies is through grappling holds or knocking the wind out of them.

* Instill fear and doubt - In order to instill fear and doubt in the minds of your enemies, you must have strong mental fortitude. Show nothing but pure strength. Don't show a hint of weakness regardless of what your enemies use against you. If you get hit with the most devastating attacks, shrug them off as if nothing happened. Channel pain into anger and motivation to attack with more force. If you are being haunted down against men intending on killing you, become the hunter and leave each one half-dead. Vlad the Impaler left his enemies impaled on poles as they suffered a slow death to send a strong psychological message. Make them feel like prey rather than predators.

* Use your enemy's values and beliefs to your advantage - This involves using what your enemy values be it religion, people, money, etc. and using them as shields as you attack. For example, Cambyses 2 knew that the Egyptians revered cats especially their goddess so he had his men paint her face on their shields. He also lined up cats and more revered animals in the front lines. The Egyptians fled in terror and were massacred in the process (2).

* Fight dirty - Fighting dirty is an effective means of intimidating your opponents. Using headbutts, biting, and doing whatever it takes to survive even if you damage yourself in the process shows that you are dangerous.

* "Borrow a corpse to resurrect the soul" - According to the 36 Chinese stratagems, you should take an institution, a technology, a method, an ideology lost in ancient history and modify it for application in modern combat. For example, the Aztecs liked to use death whistles which mimicked the sound of a thousand corpses. Anyone who heard them entered in a trance-like state and would be terrified (3). If you could somehow use a similar device from the past such as the death whistle for a specific purpose (ex. a distraction) then it will give you the upperhand.

* Use deception - In ancient warfare, people would often deceptively make their armies appear bigger than they actually were. These kinds of psychological operations still exist today. If you know how to use the environment to your advantage, you might be able to trick your enemy into believing you are more powerful than you truly are.

* Destroy a group from the inside out - When you are captured or faced with overwhelming odds, disrupt the organization from within. Divert your enemy's hate and anger on a new target, namely the leader of your multiple attackers (4). This method of psychological method was used effectively by the U.S military as depicted in this documentary. Suppose you are captured and notice a leader mistreat one of his men. You need to get his goon to channel hate and anger towards the leader, turning your attackers against each other.

* Be unpredictable - If you establish a pattern that is too predictable, your enemy will see through it and ruin your plans. Appear strong when you are weak and weak when you are strong.

* Pretend you know something your enemy doesn't - You can do this through body language such as smiling when you are fighting. This may cause your enemy to be uneasy as you give off the impression you found a weakness in his or her defenses.  

* Use threats - When you are fighting multiple opponents or one who is prone to being intimidated by threats, threaten them. Make sure that you already established credibility in order to make your threats effective. If your threats aren't credible enough, your opponents will call you out on your bluff. When you proved you can walk the walk and not just talk the talk then you will cause discomfort. Some attackers may flee to avoid getting hurt.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_and_awe

2. http://www.ancient.eu/article/43/

3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviatemin/2017/01/02/ancient-wisdom-for-the-new-year-the-36-chinese-stratagems-for-psychological-warfare-in-business-politics-war/#6826b262779e

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demoralization_(warfare)#Diverting_frustrations_and_hatred_to_a_new_target

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Self defense against a hostage situation

This self defense guide will teach you what to do in a hostage situation. Let's suppose that your in a bank or store when suddenly, an armed attacker or attackers take you hostage. It's very important that you have an idea of what to do in those scenarios as many things could go wrong.

* Disarm - If you are the only one taken hostage then you apply the same principles as you would if you were disarming a gunman or knifeman (see "how to disarm a gunman" http://everythingselfdefense.blogspot.com/2016/11/self-defense-against-gunman.html and "self defense against a knifeman" http://everythingselfdefense.blogspot.com/2016/11/self-defense-against-knife.html). If you and your attacker are surrounded by police then you have the advantage. Distract him or her before you attack. If possible, try to get the attacker to direct the weapon away from you. As soon as you sense an opportunity then strike with explosive speed. Control the weapon, redirect the line of attack, take your attacker down, and disarm. This video explains which techniques don't work and which one is more effective in a hostage scenario.

* Comply - If you and other people are taken hostage by multiple attackers then comply. Do whatever the armed attackers ask of you and get into a non-threatening posture. Doesn't matter how much self defense you know, it's safer to comply in these situations. You don't want to risk any innocent people getting hurt or killed. You and others also face the risk of getting accidentally shot by the police.

* Gather and leak information - As you comply, gather as much information as you can on your attackers. Are they mentally ill? Are they committing an armed robbery? Are they terrorists with a political agenda? What demands are they making? Who are they making the demands to? Do they intend on killing the hostages eventually? Where are they located? Where are the hostages located? Is there only one attacker or multiple? What kind of environment are you in? When you've gathered enough information on who your hostage takers are then you ought to find a way to leak it to the police. You could leave a door unlocked, a window open, create an opening in an area of the building, messages, etc. so the police can gather intelligence. If you can't then don't worry about it. Your safety should be your first priority. The information you get also lets you know what the proper response is.

* Escape - If you have an opportunity to escape without your attackers noticing then do so. Give other hostages the opportunity to escape undetected if possible. Otherwise, lay low and comply with your hostage takers.

* Empathize with your hostage takers - Try to get them to see you and others as human beings. Figure out why they are taking you hostage and what they want. This allows you to get a glimpse of the kind of people they are.

* Plan your moves - Complying isn't enough, you should already have a plan A and plan B then a plan C. Plan A should be comply. Plan B should be to leak info. or escape. Your last plan should be to fight. Don't just lay or sit there waiting for the police to rescue you. Hoping that they'll come in and save you while you remain completely unharmed is unrealistic. By the time they come in, you might already be dead. In the meantime, you need to be proactive and use your time wisely.

* Have a plan of attack - As soon as the hostage takers intend on killing or torturing their hostages and the police haven't arrived yet then you need to act quickly. You should've collaborated with the other hostages in taking out the hostage takers at some point. Use the environment to your advantage. Use whatever weapons and methods of distraction are available. Remember when faced with multiple hostage takers, the best way to deal with them is dealing with one at a time. You will need to take out at least one armed hostage taker as quickly and as silently as possible then disarm him or her without alerting the others. Even if it's not possible, you just need enough time to get the weapon and attack. In these types of situations, the use of deadlier force might be necessary than in a normal self defense situation. You might need to kill as many as you can with your bare hands or the weapon. As soon as the police enter or the hostage takers are eliminated, you need to comply with the police. Get down on the ground with your hands above your head and drop your weapons to communicate the police that you are not a threat.

In this particular situation, notice how the gunman pointed his gun at a man and the man responded by attempting a disarm. Immediately, the others rushed in to tackle the gunman and disarmed him. If you are trained in dealing with weapons and these types of situations then you have to take the initiative. By taking the initiative, you inspire others to take action.

Practice these tips with multiple sparring partners in various scenarios. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

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Self defense against a grenade attack

While you probably think self defense against grenades is ridiculous or useless, explosives have been used by school shooters such as in the Columbine massacre. They had the knowledge and materials needed to make explosive devices. Let's say that you are in a situation and you get attacked by an active shooter or terrorists, how would you respond to a grenade landing near you? This guide will help you.

1) Recognize the threat - Keep a watchful eye on what goes on. Do you see someone carrying a grenade? Do you see suspicious activity? Keeping track of the suspicious people who walk in or around buildings will give you cues of a potential danger.

2) Attack and/or take cover - If by chance, you are at close range to an attacker who pulls out a grenade and is about to detonate it, attack. Trap the hand and take your enemy down. Do an immobilizing strike (strike to the throat, side of neck, temple, and other pressure points) if possible Secure the weapon as you prevent the pin from being pulled and carefully perform a disarm as you secure the arm. I don't recommend punching your attacker in case the grenade falls or the pin is removed as shown in this video because there's so little time. I do however recommend using your enemy as a shield. That being said, reposition your enemy over the grenade if possible and take cover.

If you are at a long distance and a grenade is thrown, sprint then take cover. If you can use a wall or another obstacle to shield you from the blast then do so. If not then your best bet is to get down and tuck your arms in as you close your legs with your feet pointing at the grenade. Why do this? Because even if you avoid the explosion, you can still die from the shrapnel and debris caused by it. By protecting all of your vital areas, you minimize that risk. You should also yell "grenade!" to warn those in the military or those who've been trained to respond to explosives.

3) Escape - Right after the grenade has detonated, you need to escape as quickly as you can to avoid the possibility of gunfire.

Spend time practicing these tips with an object mimicking a grenade.If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my blog for updates, more advice, and exclusive content in the near future. I'm proud and excited to offer a FREE sample chapter of my E-book "Jeet Kune Do: How to build your own fighting system for self defense!" It's essentially a step-by-step guide on how to make your own self defense system suited to fit your own needs using Jeet Kune Do. If you would love to receive your FREE chapter of my e-book, click on the link below and share a post via. social media then it's yours for FREE! Be sure to also fill out the survey on the right and provide feedback on my blog. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.

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