There are alternatives. The one that was pounded into me, and which I still use every time I am approaching a vast parking garage, heading toward a car-filled parking lot, walking alone as dark descends, or sometimes just in a large crowd, is awareness...We were trained in physical maneuvers, some of the less-refined martial arts moves that could help us fight if necessary before we could flee. Quick kicks or punches to the throat, groin and eyes are what most attackers wouldn't expect.
Yes, awareness is all part of Col. Cooper's basics. But that's not enough.I'm sure all those Ted Bundy victims you mentioned were quite aware of what was happening to them.
You stupid little girl: I know someone very well who is 6'3" and weighs 230 lbs. He has years of martial arts experience as a young man, starting with Korean Tae Kwan Do, heavy involvement with Okinawan Ishin Ryu, including tournament competition, judo, and even a college course in hand-to-hand combat taught by the late Joe Begala, the man who wrote the Marine training manual used in WWII and who was "the winningest wrestling coach" in the nation. Plus he's been in a few real fights and knows what it's like to be struck, kicked, kneed and grappled full force, and to bleed.
He's even the subject of some Herman Munster ribbing from his family, like over the time he yanked up too hard on the parking brake and ripped it out of the car floor, or lifted the end of the van enough so it could be freed from a snow-filled pothole.
He would never call any of this to anyone's attention to make them think how "bad" he was: quite the contrary. Since you brought up the Clint Eastwood quote, let me offer another: "A man's gotta know his limitations."
Not being aware of that is the same as being oblivious.
There are plenty of guys he knows who could mop the floor with him--and many of them little guys, like any of his teachers, or men who have never taken a day of martial arts training in their lives and are simply tougher, faster, stronger... The only chance he'd stand, and he freely admits this, is if he had a weapon to overcome their physical advantage.
So you take a basic intro class, and that's all your 10-week session really was, and think you're now qualified to instruct? You fool. I'm sure you'd like to give everyone your expertise on what you'd do when an enraged animal with twice your upper body strength has you on the ground, which is where most fights end up--it's not like in the movies, where everything is choreographed with perfect form, you know.
This is journalistic malpractice, and proves that a little bit of knowledge truly is a dangerous thing. Anyone who listens to an incompetent such as yourself is liable to get themselves killed.