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C.O.B.R.A. Self-Defense Newsletter
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COBRA NEWS & EVENTS
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AUGUST 2011
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YouTube
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 | | C.O.B.R.A. Self Defense in Dallas / Mesquite |
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Greetings!
I hope that you are finding these emails useful and informative. For full information on any of our COBRA Self-Defense Training Events, just click on the events links to the left.
I know I keep hammering away at this self-defense stuff and you keep receiving these newsletters and invitations to our Self-Defense programs, and it is because I truly believe that everyone needs knowledge of self-defense.
Back at Christmas, 2010, my wife Rhonda and I adopted a dog for our grandson, who we raise. Our little dog, "Hardy" is truly a joyful addition to our family. He is a great dog in every sense, doesn't destroy anything, doesn't potty in the house, etc. However, when walking him in the neighborhood, if he sees someone riding a bicycle or motorcycle, or hears another dog barking from behind a fence, he goes nuts and begins barking like he wants to kill someone.
Not being a previous dog owner, I really had no idea how to train him not to do this. It was only recently that we began watching "The Dog Whisperer" with Cesar Millan. We've been implementing his teachings and they work beautifully.
What does this dog thing have to do with self-defense? During one episode he said something that truly caught my attention. "By the time a problem needs to be controlled, you can't control it."
In other words, you need to address the precursors which will lead to the problems. Recognize the warning signs. If a dog is growling, or even snarls his lip, it will lead to more aggressive actions down the road if not corrected. When that dog is latched onto a child with his teeth, it is too late to solve the problem. For that child, anyway.
By the time a person is "wishing they knew self-defense" it is too late. They are wishing this because they need it right now. It is much wiser to see the warning signs that can lead to you being attacked and do something about it before it happens. Where do you see the warning signs? The 10:00 news!
Sincerely,
Keith Gorham
972-222-2880 |
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Save $50.00
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10-WEEK SELF-DEFENSE ACADEMY
Register for the the COBRA 10-Week Self-Defense Academy by August 31st and get $50.00 off. Academy begins September 7th. The academy is for Adults & Teens (ages 11 & up).
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Offer Expires: August 31, 2011
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Child Abductions
Would You Help?
This story on NBC's "Today" shows a very interesting study on Child Abductions. This is an experiment to see if onlookers would stop to help as a man is abducting a child in broad daylight among witnesses. The results are shocking. Most people take a look at the screaming child, but walk right on by.
 | | CHILD ABDUCTIONS : Would Anyone Help Your Child When Being Abducted? |
There is a psychology that goes along with witnessing events such as these. Mass Hysteria is a term that we usually associate with a lot of people getting into a panic. But the same principles apply to situations that need help or intervention.
If you were walking into the mall and you see a person running out of the mall screaming, you'd likely be thinking, "What is his problem?" and continue walking into the mall. However, if you were walking into the mall and dozens of people were running out screaming, you'd likely turn and run with them, even though you have no idea why they are running. This is the essence of mass hysteria.
It is generally the same with this child abduction study. It isn't really that people just don't want to get involved in saving a child, it is more that this event is out of the ordinary and out of the onlooker's train of thought as they proceed down the street. Nobody else is taking action, so they tend to follow the masses and do nothing also. After all, this could be an unruly child with who's father is having a hard time getting under control. "Surely this man would not be abducting a screaming child right here on the street in broad daylight." It defies logic, so the onlooker's mind attempts to place the incident in a logical state, or "file" in the mind. The fact that no one else seems alarmed or is stepping in, seems to feed into the logic that it is the father/daughter squabble. So they do nothing. They think about it, but nobody else is jumping in, so they just let it go.
However, when one person steps in to help, others will follow. Even those same people who were overlooking it earlier. And that is because now, since others are taking action, they realize that it must be a real threat.
This scene just points to the facts of articles in our previous newsletters which state that YOU are your first line of defense. And, YOUR CHILD is the first line of their own defense. Even as this video shows the child screaming for help and shouting, "This is not my daddy!" still she is left to deal with this predator by herself.
Yes, step in when you see this type of an event. If it turns out to be a father/child argument, no harm done. But then again, you may have just saved a child's life.
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Save $20.00
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COBRA FOR KIDS MINI-ACADEMY
Register your child for the COBRA for Kids Mini-Academy by September 10th and get $20.00 off! Mini-Academy is Saturday, September 17th. This camp is for children ages 6 - 10. | | Offer Expires: September 10th, 2011 |
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Black Belt Gunned Down at ATM
Last week, one of my top black belt students was standing at an ATM getting cash. A man approached him, obviously very angry, and pointed a gun right at his face and began screaming and yelling. He was screaming that my student had cut him off back on the road a bit. Witnesses say that my student was surprised by this maniac and was unsure of what to do and appeared to be confused by the extreme and violent temper of the aggressor. The attacker yelled at him to get on his knees, which he did. With the attacker continuing to yell at him, apparently my student felt he had to take action so he lunged at the crazed gunman. The attacker immediately fired a shot into his face and continued to fire several more shots to his head even after he fell helplessly to the ground.
Thank God this was but a training exercise during our COBRA Reality Self-Defense Academy and not the real thing. After the ATM scenario training exercise, the entire class discussed the events that had unfolded, just as we do with each of the students' scenario exercises. The student explained to the group what he felt during the scenario and why he made the decision to lunge at the gunman. We, as a group,discussed the options that the target (victim) had during the attack so that we could come up with better measures to survive such a situation. Obviously, lunging in to utilize his martial arts skills (and they are great) did not work, and is the very thing that got him killed.
While the COBRA Self-Defense program teaches self-defense techniques, it is much more about the tactics of survival, rather than beating up the bad guy. We learn practical, simple and effective techniques for all different types of attacks, but the scenario training and the discussions that follow them are truly the biggest life-saving benefits of the program.
Though every student participates as the victim in the ATM scenario, every set-up is different. It is never the same twice. This allows everyone in the class to experience the intensity of many different situations and the quick decision making that can save their lives. Even as on-looking bystanders, the students are participating in the exercise by watching and analyzing the scenario and participating in the discussion of the event.
Only an exercise? Well it may be only a training exercise but it simulates the adrenal response and stress of the real deal. This is how police cadets train for the real-world experiences of their upcoming job, it is how the military trains their personnel for battle, how the fire department trains their firefighters and it is how COBRA trains civilians for the real-world threats that happen daily in our society.
 | | Black Belt Gunned Down at ATM |
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IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
Back in my early adulthood, about 18 years of age, I worked at 7-11. The store in which I worked was in a pretty rough neighborhood in Lubbock, TX. It was the 2nd worst store in the city in regards to crime, robberies and theft. The 1st worst actually closed down for the late shift, something that is very rare for a 7-11. I worked the graveyard shift, 11:00pm - 7:00am and in those days there was only one clerk on each shift. So, it was always a recipe for disaster.
The first time, out of 3, that I was robbed was about 3:00am. Two men came into the store, purchased a few items and chatted with me for a few minutes. They then asked to purchase some cigarettes which were kept under the counter. I bent down to get them and when I stood up, one of them had made his way behind the counter and had a knife to my back. He told me that he had a knife (I could feel the point) and told me to lay face down on the floor, which I did immediately. He opened the register and began taking the money. His partner kept telling me that he had a gun and would shoot me if I moved. I didn't move.
About that time the front door opened and I heard a familiar voice. It was a man that almost always came in at that time of night after getting off work, to play pinball in the game room. I couldn't see him as I was face down behind the counter. I just heard him say, "Hey, how's it going?" to the robber who was still extracting money from the register. The robber replied, "Pretty good, how bout you?" And the guy proceeded to the game room. When the robbers were finished, they quickly ran out, which caught the pinball guy's attention. I stood up from behind the counter and he looked at me funny as if he couldn't process what he was seeing. Then he asked me, "Were those guys robbing you?" Then he ran out, jumped on his motorcycle and tried to catch them, but they were gone.
Even though this happened in the depths of night and not in broad daylight, my point is this: The pinball guy, even though he saw something that was out of the ordinary as he entered the store, processed the visual information, as well as the interaction between him and the robber, as just a normal and logical event. The robber played his part perfectly because he was calm, didn't raise his voice and did not include the bystander in his crime. In fact he exchanged casual conversation with him. And when the pinhead, er, I mean pinball guy realized what had happened, his mind still had a difficult time processing and accepting the information as something different than what it had already filed away as fact.
With this in mind, it stands to reason that some crimes will happen in broad daylight, or right under people's noses. These criminals hide in plain sight. Their cover is not darkness and obscurity, but normalcy and complacency. This is why you must be aware and concerned even when you feel you shouldn't be. The criminal bets that your comfort will give him a better chance at success. And he's probably right.
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