DEFENSE OR OFFENSE……That is the Question……or is it?

Visualize a training center for suicide bombers located in the Middle East.  Then let us assume that there are at least one thousand (yes, 1,000) students involved.  Let’s further say that the “students” in this training center are individually signing up (being “scripted”) to commit to this short life of commitment to their beliefs and in the process destroying as many “infidels” or innocent people as possible.

Given the above brief scenario we can approach a solution in two distinctly different ways:

1.       Wait until the students complete their training, try to follow each student’s movements, actions, etc., in an attempt to determine when, where and/or if they will in fact initiate their suicide bomber training and kill an indeterminate number of innocent people…..OR….

2.       Determine when the vast majority of students and instructors (trainers) will physically be in the training center, totally destroy the center and eliminate any potential of the pending problem.

To any rational person, option two above is the only realistic solution.  How can anyone track, analyze and/or otherwise control the actions of persons so totally committed to such violence, much less know when, where and how they will act on their commitment to violence.

This being offered as a theoretical example (based absolute fact from someone who was involved in locating a similar facility in this situation in Iraq but with closer to ten thousand ‘scripted’ trainees) one has to wonder why our (and most other) governments shy away from pre emptive strikes.  In the real version of the situation posed here the training center was thankfully “taken out” via high powered air and other strikes and was turned into ashes in a matter of minutes, thus saving untold tens of thousands of lives.

And now, of course, we revert to personal protection and self defense because that is why these blog posts are created.

With the above example as a background or reference point, if or when you are in a conflict it is important to realize that you, as the recipient of the aggression, have a number of choices, including being aware enough of your surroundings and environment (including its ‘inhabitants’) to pick one of those available to you:

1. Recognize whether the situation and physical environment allows you a way to escape or avoid the conflict and if so, calmly and confidently dismiss the situation and walk (or run) away.
2. Do the best you can to verbally diffuse the aggressive banter and ‘temper’ the situation.
3. Develop enough awareness of aggressive banter and/or dialogue to realize when the “conversation” or “negotiation” is over and that the aggressor is about to “make his/her move” or attack.
4. IF you develop the skills and confidence to get to item 3 above, your best move will without question be to initiate a pre emptive strike which is absolutely the last thing your aggressor will be thinking about.  You must absolutely strike first, strike aggressively and continue to advance into your aggressor’s personal space and replace him/her with yourself.  You must not stop (no matter how much the aggressor is resisting or counter attacking) until the aggressor is “down” and in a position or situation where he/she cannot retaliate or chase you.

And…..Here is why this entire concept is so important:

IF you allow the aggressor to make his move or initiate his ‘game plan’ first there is no way you will know for sure what that move or game plan will really be.  Doing this will put you instantly on the defensive and your subconscious mindset will be in a defensive mode, not a ‘win’ or ‘attack’ mode.  Being totally defensive makes you vulnerable since it tends to drag out the situation and the longer it goes on the more chance you have of making a mistake.

IF, on the other hand, you strike first and strike hard, followed up by aggressively advancing on, into and through the aggressor his/her game plan will be totally disrupted, he/she will be on the defensive and will not have a chance to re-set to an alternate offense.

If this all sounds relatively simple, it is.  Having the confidence to enact this under extreme pressure is something developed over time and with much mental and physical training.  Your mental and physical reflexes need to become instincts and not conscious thought processes.
Hal Herndon 2012