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This popped up on my facebook. My apologies if you have read it, but I thought it was pretty insightful to look at things this way. We always talk about being ready for a worst case scenario, and this is one way to think on it. I didn't write this Todd presents an interesting way to look at where to fill your own voids, or what you need to train up on to be able to successfully confront. Todd By belisarius That long thread about Aikido got me thinking about the assumptions that we make about our potential opponents when we enter into any kind of "self-defense" training. I suppose that virtually any martial art or fighting system will work if your opponent is a moron, but how does it fare when you have to go up against the rare "black swan" event---the perfect storm opponent situation? Since you cannot control who you will run into, maybe it is prudent to create a template for a worst case opponent and assume that is who you will have to face in a fight for your life? Let's call him "Todd." Physical fitness? Discipline? Motivation? Todd is a former Division I-level athlete. He benches over 350 and runs an all-out quarter-mile in just over 50 seconds. Todd spends his mornings pounding out miles of hard roadwork, pumps iron like a maniac in lieu of eating lunch, and spends his evenings dry-firing his EDC handgun, studying ways to hurt people, and beating the hell out of his Spar-Pro and heavy bag. He maintains an extensive library of books and videos on combat and survival-related topics. He goes to bed tired but satisfied every night, satisfied because he has no other hobbies and because he looks at training as money in the bank---he will cash in his full paycheck on the fateful day that he faces you in a fight. Todd spends his weekends doing strenuous physical activities and competing in IPSC Limited or IDPA matches. He spends his vacations going to places like Crucible, the Rogers Academy, and BSR. Todd has no other hobbies and he is not really concerned with being a "weird, paranoid freak" in the eyes of many normal people. Todd does not really hang out with "normal" people, anyway---he prefers to hang out with people like himself. Warning of an attack? Deception? Good luck trying any Jedi mind tricks on Todd: he studies NLP and evolutionary psychology. Todd does not dress like some kind of thug, either: he knows that a clean-cut appearance increases his time/distance window of opportunity to ambush his prey. Pay very close attention to Todd's choice of boots, belt, and watch---they may be the only warnings that you get. Todd knows that anonymity is the most important weapon in his formidable arsenal. He does not threaten, he does not warn, he does not talk #### or insult---those things take time and telegraph intentions. Todd just makes a binary decision and then acts. Training? Background? Todd trains in the most effective fighting and survival techniques that he can. He is open-minded and non-judgmental, caring only that techniques fit within an overarching framework of logic and ruthless pragmatism. He lives his whole life this way---it is his structure, his discipline, his religion. Todd may have a black belt from Rickson Gracie, may have been a Golden Gloves boxer or a freestyle wrestler or a linebacker, may have trained in the famous Muay Thai gyms of Holland, may be a student of WWII Combatives or battlefield jiu-jitsu methods. Maybe---and now the plot gets chilling (as Marcus Wynne describes in his books)---Todd has been the recipient of millions of dollars in government-sponsored training...money that was specifically spent to turn him into some kind of professional shadow-warrior badass, like John Macejunas or Kelly McCann. Maybe Todd is all of the above: operator, martial artist, fighter, contact-sport athlete. It does not really matter where he got his start, because he has synthesized his approach into a combination of very destructive, attack-oriented techniques that he can perform with maximal effort without much fear of hurting himself in the process. He can strike and he can grapple, and most importantly he always tries to hit first. Weapons? Equipment? This is the best part: trying to beat Todd in an unarmed fight is largely an academic exercise, because you will never, ever catch Todd unarmed. He carries a Glock or 1911, Fox OC spray, and a fixed-blade with him CCW every single day of his life. Todd is not interested in hitting you with his hands or feet---given even the slightest provocation, his opening gambit will be to present his handgun from the holster and to demand that you remain very still and quiet. If you then try to disarm Todd, strike Todd, or reach for your own weapon to attack Todd, Todd will not hesitate to shoot until slide lock. Todd also trains in ways to use his knife to great effect---maybe pikal, maybe more of a Kni-Com technique, maybe both. Names like James Keating and the Dog Brothers are very familiar to Todd. Todd will run you over with his SUV if you give him reason to. If you are more of a distant problem, he keeps an M4 or a DSA FAL in a Pelican case in the trunk, next to his trauma med kit and bugout ruck. Forget trying to get to Todd at home: his place is like a fortress, complete with crazy locks (Todd studies B&E, too), a large dog, and the ubiquitous Scattergun Technologies 12-gauge with Sure-Fire light. Remember that Todd likes to move first---his first move is to draw a weapon on you. Todd is not stupid. This isn't Bloodsport or a Sho Kosugi film. Todd wants to win...period. Todd sounds like a nightmare, doesn't he? Well, let's all take heart---while we cannot control whether or not we will ever have to face a Todd, we CAN control our own training and preparation. We can become "Todds" (!). Many of you probably consciously found similarities between your own lifestyles and habits and the ones that were described above. I think the idea is to imagine the most ferocious and skilled opponent that you could face in a nightmare, then try to become that person (within whatever constraints that you face). If you are not willing to become a Todd, then you need to ask yourself who it is that you believe you are training to face. We can become the "worst-case scenario" for someone else to have to deal with. I believe that these forums are about this...the mindset, the techniques, the equipment. There has been a lot of heated debate lately on various subtopics beneath the mantle of self-defense, but we are all students (no one has all the answers) and we are share far more similarities than we do differences. I don't believe that anyone here is interested in promulgating some kind of massive mind-meld---dissenting opinions are what fuels progress and interesting debate.

That is definitely something to keep in mind. Have a friend who went down on the interstate in a low side slide and got a nasty bruise on his hip from his Glock 19 at 4:00. Sent from behind the anvil

I carry a Glock 17 in a shoulder rig. It's the only thing I've found comfortable and accessible. Sent from behind the anvil

Thanks for attending Gentleman. I hope you gained something valuable from it. It was a pleasure to have you guys. I'll be doing it again soon and it will be an over night with camping. I'll send you a PM when we set it uo Sent from behind the anvil

You have a PM Sent from behind the anvil

That's actually the first requirement to begin class lol. It'll happen again. Probably in the next couple of months. I will make sure to send you a PM for the next one Sent from behind the anvil

I was just discussing with peejman that there will be another one down th road Sent from behind the anvil

Last call. If you wanna tend tomorrow send me a pm before midnight tonight. Sent from behind the anvil

When I was a teenager I always found the intimidation tactics somewhat funny and mostly annoying. I wasn't scared, mainly because I was cocky. I was fairly confident I could stomp most of the girls Dad's who I meet in a fight. Of course I was also raised by a dad who I was afraid of and who I knew not only could I not handle in a fight of any kind, but he would have taken a club to me if he found out I was being a disrespectful little #### about someone's daughter so it wasn't a real concern anyway. And I was raised to be a respectful man, and never had a run in with any girls parents. I followed their rules, respected their daughter, them and my parents and I never had an issue. I will say the guy in the picture looks like a little rooster. I probably wouldn't be afraid of that, gun or no gun. Sent from behind the anvil

I'm all for separating art and artist most of the time. That said, I hope Hanoi Jane gets cooked to death in a flaming car accident and it takes her hours to die. They could crucifie that woman and I would cheer while she died. Despicable bitch Sent from behind the anvil

No point arguing with you. Your just like 98% of cops. You believe police can do no wrong and will vouch and cover for any officer and any action he takes in the name of "justice". And cops wonder why so many citizens hate them. Sent from behind the anvil

I'm a patched member. Does that make me a criminal? All kinds of clubs, independents and motorcycle ministries were present at that COC. Try read or watching something other than the MSM narrative some time. Several of those hurt or killed were veterans. Many of the 176 arrested had done absolutely nothing wrong except show up to a meeting. And I could care less if some bully wearing a badge gets his brains blown out violating people's rights. One more dead thug from Americas largest criminal gang. See how that works? We all have different definetions of thugs, so you can kiss my ass. http://insanethrottle.com/2016/02/12/waco-pd-caused-deadly-fight-in-hopes-of-rico-charges/ Sent from behind the anvil

It has already happened again. A huge police presence opened fire on a crowd of bikers in Waco last summer, over a fist fight, then arrested every rider at the COC meeting, 173 total. Slapped them with million dollar bonds each and smeared them in the media to make it seem like they arrested a bunch of gang members. Those were men and women a lot like the rest of us. But for the most part nobody cares because they were biker scum. Sent from behind the anvil

History is written by the winner. When the ATF either kills or gags everyone involved how can anyone know the truth? Sadly history is repeating itself in Waco with the biker shootings. Everything is smoke and mirrors and half truths. Sent from behind the anvil

Two years ago I had two people order knives. One sent a check, one sent a USPS money order. Neither envelope made it. Took months to get that shit straightened out. If I ship USPS it gets tracking and insured, and I will raise holy hell if it gets lost or damaged. They hate me at my local PO but my mail gets delivered correctly Sent from behind the anvil

I carry a firearm, but just keep it in mind, even police officers practice under the 21 ft rule. Sent from behind the anvil

Within 21 feet a man that knows how to use that knife and has the aggressiveness to move quickly and put it in to action is faster and probably more lethal than a gun. A big well trained guy getting into arms reach is hell on earth if he has a knife in his hand and murder on his mind Sent from behind the anvil

I'd like to expand if I may. Steel that is cooled slowly is made up entirely of auestinte. This is acehvived by heating the steel to critical temperature, for most simple carbon steels this is 1475 degrees. You then stick it in ashes, sand, etc so it will cool at a slow rate. This makes it soft and easy to grind, and relieves stress if you are forging. After shaping you do heat treat, which for a simple steel like 1084 means you heat it to 1475, checking with a magbet. When it goes non-magnetic it is at critical temperature, you pull it out of the fire and quickly quench it in oil, or brine. This hardens the steel by transforming it to marstenite. It is super hard, but also very brittle. It would hold an edge forever, but it will shatter if you tap it on an anvil. So to get the brittleness out of it, you heat it in an over to 400 degrees or you use a forge. An oven makes it all the same temper. Using a forge, I can make the back soft by heating it hotter, taking out more brittleness. This makes a tougher knife with good edge retention. Sorry if I sounded long winded, and I hope I didn't step on your toes Sybo. Sent from behind the anvil

Yep. If you know the place chances are we have met a time or two in the last twenty years. Sent from behind the anvil

If it started life as a pistol grip and is at least 26" long then it's a firearm, regardless of barrel length. That's why you can buy a 14" barreled Moss berg 500 with a birdshead grip with no tax stamp. Sent from behind the anvil

That lady has had 4 strokes in the last five years. No use of her left arm or leg. But she is a fighter. She never quits and would die first. We also have a lady who is 90% blind and the wrong gal to mess with if your looking for an easy target. Martial arts is world wide and a good instructor can work around disabilities and use martial arts to improve their quality of life Sent from behind the anvil

So I recently got a new job that is day shift and has weekends off. I'm putting that time to good use by taking up martial arts again. These are from my first night back yesterday. We train taekwondo, Hapkido and judo. I'd also like to brag on my Dad. This weekend he was honored with his 7th degree belt. This is a red and white masters belt, as opposed to a black belt. He has been training and teaching for 30+ years and I can't think of a more deserving individual. Here are some pictures I just had to share Sent from behind the anvil

One example I like to uze. Anything I can do with a tomahawk I can do with a 28 oz Estwing framing hammer and it will cause equally devastating trauma. I I need to practice throwing some more, it's been awhile Sent from behind the anvil

GjohnsonIV on this forum can. Sent from behind the anvil

Anyone else interested? Unarmed techniques will include joint manipulations, strikes using hands, feet, knees and elbows. We will also cover a few throws, and basic groundwork. Knife and tomahawk techniques will cover angles of attack, carry postions, how to chose a knife, footwork and other things. Approiate clothing would be tshirt and bdu pants. There will be ground fighting involved so make sure to wear things that can get dirty or torn. If this class goes well there will be an advanced covering two days that is much more physical. Sent from behind the anvil