Nine Rules to Live By

Lawrence A. Kane gives us nine rules to live by in his book Surviving Armed Assaults.

1. Don’t get hit.
   The first person to be forcefully struck is at a severe disadvantage in any fight. If possible, withdraw before the first blow is thrown. Awareness, avoidance, and de-escalation are paramount. If you do have to engage an armed aggressor in combat, end the fight as quickly as possible to increase your chance of survival.
   
2. Pain is your friend.
   Okay, so you’ve blown rule number one. The next most important thing to remember is if it hurts, you are still alive. There’s plenty of time to deal with pain after a battle is concluded. Never stop until you have disabled your opponent and have escaped to a safe location. Then, and only then, can you afford to worry about how much it hurts.
   
3. Weapons are ubiquitous.
   Be prepared for an armed confrontation. Even if a fight initially begins with fist and feet that is no guarantee that someone will not pull a weapon at some point during the confrontation, especially if they feel they are about to lose. Be especially cautious if you face up to someone who leaves the scene then later returns.
   
4. Always assume they are armed.
   Awareness is your first line of defense. Scan everyone that approaches you, especially if his or her hands are not in plain sight or you sense a potential confrontation. Unless you have personally searched an individual or he/she is fully unclothed and you can see every part of his or her anatomy, you must always assume that person has a weapon at his or her disposal. Since almost anything can be used as an improvised tool, be wary of anything within an attacker’s reach as well.
   
5. Bad guys cheat to win; so should you.
   Once someone has assaulted you, never believe anything they say. A bad guy (or gal) is by definition bad. They will lie, cheat, manipulate, prevaricate, confuse, extort, bamboozle, and do anything else they can think of to trick you off guard and ultimately defeat you. There are no rules, pauses, time outs, or do-overs. Street fighting is a no-holds-barred contest for survival, a situation that must be approached seriously.
   
6. Understand how weapons work.
   Just like empty-hand techniques, every weapon has strengths and weaknesses. Understand how they work and use this knowledge to your advantage. A life death struggle is hardly an environment conducive to learning. It is far better to make mistakes within the relatively friendly confines of the training hall.
   
7. Expect the unexpected.
   Anyone who is attacking you has probably ambushed someone successfully before. He or she will use that experience in an attempt to inure or kill you. Actual combat almost never resembles drills in the dojo. Never underestimate an opponent.
   
8. Yell for help.
   The word “help” is overused and often ignored, yet you really do need to get people’s attention if you are attacked by an armed assailant. Yelling “Fire!” is a good strategy, but screaming, something along the lines of, “Oh my god, don’t kill me with that knife” is even better in many cases. Not only may this tactic have a better chance of attracting the attention of a possible rescuer than generally yelling for help, but it also demonstrates for potential witnesses that you are, indeed, in reasonable fear for you life should you end up killing your attacker in self-defense. Attracting attention to your plight not only helps justify your actions in the eyes of the law, but it also helps eliminate the privacy that most lawbreakers desire while they commit their crimes.
   
9. Check for bleeding.
   If a weapon is involved you may be seriously injured without even knowing it. As soon as a fight is concluded, check yourself over and attend to any medical needs before doing anything else. To protect yourself legally it is often a good idea to attend to your attacker’s injuries too.