DANGER; scaremongering tactics!

We talk a lot in the circles I move; services, physical defence systems of the threats we face on a daily basis, and how dangerous the world is today. Having recently had a delightful LinkedIn debate with one of the better-known names in the “#selfdefence” community, commented on by others in the personal security and world I decided to spend a little of my hard-earned “free time”, revisiting some of my 40 years’ worth of study notes, not all kept in my not so neat digital files.

How I wish I had created an archive index so many years ago when the idea of collecting so much data came to me, oh well, another job that’s been put off for far too long!

The simple fact of the matter is, no generation prior to ours, worldwide, that is to say in no country at no time, was safer than we are today. When you study all the data that we have, with the exception of an occasional bad year spike,(two-year rise in the USA, following a 30 decline) it clearly shows that we live in a safer world than any of our forefathers (or foremothers).

I, for example currently live in Spain, travelling back through time I can visit a point when the rates of homicides were slightly more than 70 for 100,000 citizens today it is 0.7, and over the last 30 years, they have not risen above 1.0! And at the height of the ETA terrorist campaigns it only reached 1.3, some 40 years ago. Dropping constantly and consistently from a peak at 70 to today's 0.7 per 100k! A big difference I think you would agree.

The highest homicide rate during the last 30 years, in Europe is in Italy 2.25 per 100,000, and at their height in the year 1375AD, they topped out at 71.7. Less than Colombia 73.5 in the era of Pablo Escobar (1990) by the way, and Colombia too, is safer now than it has previously been.

Yet today everyone lives in fear of the Bogeyman. (Yes, he’s a man, sorry if that’s politically incorrect in today’s society but, the perpetrator of murder is 98% to 2% men to women).

On a side note. In the 90s I studied child abduction, I don’t actually have the data source at hand, and as it is not central to this piece, I am not going to go looking for it now, but I do have my notes from that investigation which say the “norm”, average for child abduction had remained constant at 13 per 100k a year for a hundred years! ?Yet we protect our children in an exaggerated manner based on the “knowledge” that there are dangerous strangers all around waiting to get them? They are in no more danger from strangers than you were or indeed your grandparents were.

When in fact 90+ % of reported child abductions are committed by a parent, who exactly is the bogeyman we are trying to protect our family members against? Less than 1% of missing children are abducted by strangers! But, with 2300 children reported missing in the USA daily that’s still 23 children a day or 8395 a year. If we extrapolate that worldwide it’s on average 80’000, and that’s not nothing. But I digress:

Why are so many people offering self-defence courses or classes, why are so many offering personal protection seminars and why has the demand for Personal Security, Executive Protection, and all the other fancy names for Bodyguards gone through the roof?

Could it be social media? Could it be scaremongering, could it be publicity and gratuitous self-promotion? Could it be the doom and gloom of the rapidly declining “mainstream” media fighting to maintain a client base? Could it be the Illuminati or the super-rich billionaire puppeteers who control governments trying to scare us into letting, for example, the military-industrial complex create, immense and, forever increasing profits for so few, from the blood, sweat, and tears of so many, who now supply their military-grade weapons to police in towns full of civilians, to quell social unrest? ?I really don’t have the answer. Do you?

What I do know is that you are far safer now, from death at the hands of another human being than you have been at almost any other time throughout the whole of the history of humankind. In fact, depending on how you chose to interpret the statistics, which are always subjective, and how you chose to bend and twist them to suit your own personal narrative you can come up with a whole rainbow of conclusions but the general trend will always be declining crime levels over the long run and over the whole world.

I could for example argue that you are safer in your home with only a complete stranger for company, than at home alone! ?As you are at least 3 times more likely to commit suicide than be murdered, 28 times more likely if you live in Slovenia…Just saying!!

I teach people, a hybrid combination of social skills and close-quarter combat skills. Historically divided in number, roughly 25/75 between civilians and govt. (military and police) units.

Obviously, the military units I teach have the necessity to learn how to inflict huge amounts of violence and trauma on their enemies, expending the least amount of time and effort possible, should their close proximity work lead them into such a situation. Statistically it won’t, as very few, military personnel will be reduced to hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. On average only 1 in a hundred enlisted soldiers see combat; that is to say, fire a weapon in the general direction of the enemy. Of those who do 19% have had to use hand-to-hand combat skills against the enemy. So, 10'000 soldiers deploy, 100 see combat, and as many as 19 of those use hand-to-hand skills against the enemy…Statistically, that is a very small overall number, 0.19% (2090 soldiers from the 1.100’000 current US force, for example) but if you are one of those 2090 you will be really glad you were able, (sometimes forced) to take these classes.

Specialized units recorded a higher percentage of close-quarter combat, but only very slightly, and that is only known from the conversations, whilst training with them and their enthusiasm to learn, not from a Govt. Stats.

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The police usually learn something a little different and more specific to their duties. Well, they do if they come and train with me anyway! They should not generally be learning to inflict trauma and violence against the citizens they protect and serve. Their methods are (should be) much more civilized, even if occasionally they have to deal with the worst our societies have to offer.

The police normally learn restraint techniques along with reduction techniques, (they should, perhaps, learn to a higher degree, possibly de-escalation and public relations) and generally speaking, unfortunately, only a very small percentage of them learn to do restraint or reduction well, and, almost none, to the standards the TV shows would have you believe. The reason for this is normally because of finance and scheduling restrictions. ?Bosses and budgets we call it.

On top of that, although it might not seem this way, far too few have seen sufficient violence, of the sort that they would feel the need to engage physically, to dedicate large chunks of their free time and their pay-checks to get to the standards normally imagined by the public. When we talk of the USA, specifically, well, they have guns, so often feel that they don’t need to invest in personal advancement. Just shoot, too often badly, and hope for the best, (3 out 10 is the average hit-to-miss ratio of officer-involved shootings).

Personally, I think ammunition, as well as good quality training, should be free to armed police worldwide when being used in practice sessions. Issuing a firearm without constant, ongoing, and compulsory training is, in my opinion, negligence, pure and simple. And, if you need to justify the cost for budgeting reasons, well, just look at the cost of over-policing public order disturbances when the citizens take to the streets to protest, what they believe to be, excessive force being used that resulted in the death of a civilian! Or in fact, the settlements continuously made by police departments or awarded by judges to families, I think you will find training becomes a much better alternative.

Obviously, there are those who are exceptionally well trained, who inspire their colleagues and help them learn and grow, and I respect and admire them, but they too will tell you that they are few and far between.

I repeat even with the terrorism and the wars of the 21st century, you are still safer today, from homicides, perpetrated by other humans, than at any other historical point in human existence.

Social skills are today marketed as some sort of advanced wisdom, known only to a selected few. That’s bull! It’s just the intricacies of common sense and good manners applied to life’s sometimes more complicated interactions, with the selfish “rights” and egos, that far too many believe they are entitled to, without concern or empathy for the rights and beliefs of others, removed from the equation.

I call it my “Time Travel Training course in Good Manners". Remember them? That which used to be taught in school, and at home, is now just a distant memory for most. In a world where a child’s ambition is no longer to be a fireman, policeman, nurse, or astronaut but instead an “influencer” on social media or reality tv-show star, according to the latest polls!

In a world where you can go to a bar, or restaurant for that matter, and see most people staring into their mobile phones oblivious to their surroundings or even the people they claim to be socializing with! How can you be situationally aware if you are distracted to such an extent that you are completely removed from the situation?

2019: US homicides 13’765; of which 3’476 non, firearms related, that is to say, were physical hands-on violence that ended in the death of one or more of those involved, may have been prevented with realistic physical combat training. How many more may have been avoided by situational awareness, situational control, tactical conversation, or basic good manners applied under stress, we may never know.

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So why do I teach my classes, courses, and seminars if we live in the safest world mankind has ever lived in? Well, quite simply it is because BAD DOES EXIST! Just not in the proportions that it is habitually presented to you. Not to the extent social media, would have you believe. But, yes it does exist. It needs to be addressed and dealt with to the level of consciousness you decide, once you have the facts. The facts supplied to you, without the fearmongering often associated with them, that you will encounter during my introductory course. With the facts in hand you can then chose for yourself which would be the better path for your self protection program

The majority of people do not learn to drive because they are afraid of traffic accidents but to get from A to B (without incident), those who are afraid of accidents don't learn to drive! And people should not learn self-protection skills because they are afraid of attack but to get from A to B without incident.

I believe that the 2060 (US) soldiers that needed to use hand-to-hand combat have the right to practice it, to become proficient in its use. I believe that every policeman or woman has the right to defend themselves against aggression and be confidently competent in their use of force to be able to do their job without using it excessively. I believe that the 400’000, each year who may be murdered by another, deserve the chance to prevent their murder; either by using the personal protection training we teach to avoid the situation that could lead to their murder or by having sufficient knowledge of the physical abilities necessary to aid their defence, should physical violence be presented to them in a way that leaves them devoid of other options.

I believe they need to know the law in relation to their right to defend themselves, and how it may be applied to them in a court of law. The economic cost of legal "self-defence", should charges be brought against them. I believe they need to see what violence looks like in the real world, as opposed to TV and Hollywood. I believe they need to know the reality of the long-term psychological effects; that committing violence against another can have upon them, that loss of a loved one can bring to them, and indeed, the effects that doing nothing can have on them!

I believe they need to see what prison life could be like for them, if they overstep the boundaries, or misinterpret the definition of, justifiable homicide. The effects of immediate, Ill-thought-out participation, in physical, or for that matter verbal, conflict can produce, in no time at all. ?Also, to know that the 'reasonable' men and women of a jury, should they be lucky (wealthy) enough to get a jury trial, are very unlikely to see things, in the cold light of day, in the same way, they did in the heat of the moment. They may not seem reasonable at all!

I encourage all my students to take part in casualty care as well as learning the best practices for communicating with the emergency services, to best aid the casualty, be it a family member or the person who tried to do harm to them. Saving the life of the person you damaged will go a long way toward your “Self-defence” in the eyes of the law!

Self-defence, and personal protection, are not just about hitting pads and punching sacks, but believe me, those, too, must be included in your training, as must the feeling of oppressive violence towards you..

Do not live in fear, the world is a good place and there are many great people waiting out there to meet you, just don't sacrifice your common sense whilst doing so.

If you would like to know more about training programs available to you as civilian members of the society please feel free to PM me here or message me at [email protected]

We provide Governmental, professional, and civilian security services and training in Spain and Latin America. Options are available to those who wish to increase their personal safety, the safety of their loved ones or clients, or who wish to advance their careers in Close Protection with professional no-nonsense skillsets.

I teach private, mainly academic, online classes, and in-person; private, family, and group classes in Cádiz province in Spain.

The subject matter I cover includes but is not limited to: My D.A.D.A. program. Detect, Avoid, Distract, Attack (CQC). Situational awareness and avoiding problematic situations; People profiling for your safety; Situational control and tactical conversation; Physical solutions for violent situations; Security at home and protection solutions.

In-person classes can include in-depth physical combative training. The use of physical violence for your safety and security.

If you would like information on any of the above subjects feel free to DM me and we can have an informal "chat" old school style!

Alternatively contact me at: www.insafehands.net

[email protected]