Hell is for Heroes

I recorded a number of the old war movies that were on during Memorial Day Weekend to watch on the treadmill and while stretching. This morning I finished watching "Hell is for Heroes" during my morning exercise session. This was a 1962 movie starring Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, James Coburn, and Bob Newhart. It was based on an event that actually happened where a small number of men were ordered to hold part of the Siegfried line guarded by a pillbox during WWII. They made the German Army think there were more of them than there were. The story was declassified in 1960 and turned into this movie.

There were two instances in the movie that are relevant to self-defense and attacking back.

The first was when Steve McQueen was fighting hand to hand in the trenches as they were being overrun by German soldiers. McQueen grabbed his steel pot (helmet) that had been knocked off and hurled it into the German soldier's face from a couple feet away and then closed with him to finish him off with his knife. We must always be prepared to use anything and everything at our disposal to fight back with.

The second scene that stood out in the movie was after McQueen's heroic death when he blew up the pillbox. They showed a soldier who witnessed the event puking. This stands out because real violence and the serious consequences of violence often elicit such reactions. This is why being aware and avoiding violence is so important, and why you should only attack back as a last resort. If you fail to avoid something because you were not aware, you have no choice but to attack back. With any physical encounter, you risk being seriously injured or killed. Even if you survive, you may face criminal or civil proceedings in the courtroom and will have to live with what you have done. Avoidance really is the best option, but be prepared in case it is unavoidable.

Attack Back with Head Butts

A head butt is a powerful close-range blow that can cause severe damage to your opponent. If you have to attack back from up close and personal, the head butt can save your life. It does not take much practice to be able to perform this technique. The key is to drive the top of your head, just above the hairline (or where a hair line would be for those that do not have hair) into the face of your attacker. Drive with your body and legs, not by whipping your head by using your neck. You have greater chance of hurting your neck by performing this technique wrong than hurting your head. Be ready to deliver a second head butt if needed.

Practice the head butt and don't forget this devastating technique for close range fighting.

Stamina

If you expect to be able to attack back, you must posess stamina. In fact, stamina in an extremely important attribute required for fighting. If you are in shape and have developed good cardiovascular endurance, they can take you far in a self-defense situation. Add training to that and so much the better.

Stamina is even more important for training. If you want to train for real, you must train hard. To do this, the better conditioned you are, the better you will fare.

In the military we ran, and ran, and ran... Running is great to get in shape, and as long as you have no physical limitations that prevent you from running, I recommend incorporating it into your training program. (Not liking it is not a limitation!) Make sure you don't just do slow jogs, you want to incorporate some sprinting and running workouts that make you out of breath where you feel like your lungs are about to burst. You will get out of it what you put into it.

Do make sure that before you do that kind of training that you are ready for it, and if you have not gotten a checkup from your doctor before your exercise program do so now. We want to train hard, but we want to do so intelegently. Get in shape, get fit, be conditioned. Don't hurt yourself, don't do more than you are ready for, and make sure you are wearing proper footwear, clothing, and adequately warm up beforehand.

Bottom line - improve your fitness levels, conditioning, strength, and stamina and you will be better prepared to attack back and defend yourself.

Train Hard and Train Smart - Alain

The Throat as a Target

The throat is an excellent target when you must attack back in serious situations. It can be struck in a variety of ways and often is fairly accessible. One of the reasons it can be such a good target is that you cannot strengthen your throat to take full force strikes. It does not matter how big and muscular a person is, or how strong a person is, the throat usually has very little protecting it, and a strike can do considerable damage. Strikes to the throat can slow down an attacker and if hard enough can kill an attacker. Obviously throat strikes are not something you want to joke around with.

In a real self-defense situation, throat strikes can be very effective. Remember this and add them into your training.

Attitude

I want to share a passage from The Combative Perspective by Gabe Suarez:

"When it comes to the uncertainties about how you will react or perform in a life-threatening situation and whether you will become a victim or walk away the victor, remember that in case after case, attitude is the overriding factor affecting outcome."

You must have attitude! Do not become a victim. Stay aware and avoid violence, but if something goes wrong and you find yourself in something you can't avoid, you must attack back with attitude. No one has the right to harm you, so do not let them.