Spartan Performance

Nutrition Quest

By George Demetriou

"Never discuss politics, religion and nutrition", my father told me long ago.

Well...maybe he didn't mention nutrition, but he should have. 

There are three basic problems with discussing the subject of nutrition:

Problem 1:  EVERYBODY knows about nutrition.  They've "heard" stuff.  Read stuff.  The muscle guy at the gym told them things.  They watch Oprah and they've stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.  What a person knows is etched in stone somewhere and is therefore not subject to change under any circumstances. 

A woman "asked" me for nutritional guidance.  She is in her fifties, overweight and in poor shape.  I advised her that I am not a nutritionist, but can certainly point her in the right direction or so I thought.  I asked her about her current diet.  She went on to explain how old she is, how she doesn't have time, how long she spends at work and how she doesn't cook.  She wasn't looking for advice as it turned out.  She was looking for permission.  Permission and justification to continue popping frozen dinners in the microwave and keep that as her steady diet.  I told her the only honest thing I could at that point, "You're apparently not ready, at this time, to improve your health from a nutritional standpoint because you really don't want to."  The discussion ended right there.

Problem 2:  The emotional attachment to a particular food which may not be particularly good for you.  Upon his request, I offered some advice to an overweight friend.  I suggested he cut down or eliminate bagel consumption.  He actually turned red and angrily stated, "I'm going to have my bagels no matter what."  I told him I understood.  A year later his doctor told him no more bagels--ever.  He was diagnosed with diabetes.  The possibility of death often helps overcome emotional attachment to things we should not eat.

Problem 3: There is a lot of information about nutrition out there, much of it bad.  The idea that athletes need a ton of carbohydrates is still floating around.  Many people in America consume way too much pasta and bread without understanding the affects.  There's a lack of understanding about how much protein one should consume and what the difference between"healthy" fat and "unhealthy" fat is.

I've read several Zone Diet books, The Paleo Diet, The Warrior Diet, The Abs Diet and more that I can't remember right now.  They're all good and all have something to offer, some more than others depending on your goals.  After reading these and experimenting I have found that I have barely scratched the surface of having applied nutrition knowledge.  I do recommend that CrossFitters, any athletes and people who just want to understand nutrition read the Zone Diet, the Paleo Diet and the Warrior Diet.  These will give you an excellent understanding of what we should eat, why we should eat what we eat and when we should eat.  They will provide a base for understanding how to eat.  A base that everyone should have.  The Abs Diet is an excellent resource for learning about the dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup and Trans Fat.  If you follow the first three books listed you'll be in no danger of consuming these substances. 

Once you've become familiar with the concepts and terms in these books I suggest you visit www.robbwolf.com  Wolf is a CrossFitter, a bio-chemist and has a ton of work and educational experience in the field of nutrition.  He offers great advice to the CrossFit community and has a deep understanding of "tinkering" the Zone Diet.  Wolf is an asset to the CrossFit community.

I also recommend visiting Arthur DeVany's website, www.ArthurDeVany.com.   DeVany recommends what is known as IF (Intermittent Fasting).  Before you dismiss the topic you should know that DeVany has 8% body fat, has a lean muscular body and is in his seventies....yes, 70s. 

The Zone Diet is the "preferred" diet of the CrossFit community.  It's been around a while, it's not a fad and it's used, with great success by high level athletes.  There are numerous reports of CrossFitters who have improved their performance  after adopting the Zone way of eating.

So...what to do?

Educate yourself.  Regardless of what style of eating you'll eventually use you'll have to find what works for you.  This will have to do with what your goals are as well as your uniqueness.  In the meantime, while reading the recommended books and visiting the above listed, most interesting blogs you can improve your diet by drastically reducing or eliminating the following from your diet:

Bread- If you need to wean yourself try Weight Watchers Multi-Grain.  It's half the size, carbohydrates and calories of most other breads.  It contains no High Fructose Corn Syrup unlike most other store bought bread.

Pasta- Dr. Barry Sears(Zone) recommends treating carbs such as pasta like a condiment.  The days of the whole plate of spaghetti should be over.

Bagels- Yes it's bread, but I give it it's own category because the bagel is recommended by so many "experts" as a healthy choice.

Cereal- Read the labels of most breakfast cereals....the amount of carbs and sugar is staggering and not conducive to weight management or performance.

Instant oatmeal- Loaded with sugar.  The best oatmeal to use are the ones that take the longest to prepare and have little or no taste.

Sugar- Any sugar.  Any "foods" with sugar.  The closest you can come to not consuming sugar at all the better.  Honey is NOT a healthy alternative as some would like you to believe.  It' still sugar.

Processed Food-  If you can "prepare" a meal by removing it from a package and heating it up for a couple of minutes chances are good that it's heavily processed and therefore unhealthy.  Almost all processed food contains High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Fast Food- Chicken and fish are the better ways to go, but you should be suspect about anything that comes from a fast food "restaurant".

Soda and Juices- Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Cake, Cookies, Candy-  Sugar and High fructose Corn Syrup.

Fat cuts of red meat and organ meat:   Cut sausage and meat with a high fat content.

Consume the following:

For protein: Chicken, Turkey, Fish including Tuna fish, lean cuts of meat, eggs(specifically from free range chickens)  For protein, the more you can consume organic, free range or "wild caught", the better.  Typical "farmed" cows, chicken and fish are fed the one thing we have an over abundance of in this country: corn.  Corn fed anything means a reduction in the healthy fat content.

Whey protein- An excellent form of protein that one can easily supplement with.  You can mix a scoop of whey in water to get a quick and easy 18-25 grams of protein.

For Carbs:

Fruit and vegetables-  Most people do not consume enough.  No excuse, preparation is minimal. Minimize raisins, dates and bananas.

For Fat:  Olive Oil, Avocado, Macadamia nuts, fish oil 

Hydration:  Drink water.  Drink water.  Drink water.  If you're not consuming about a gallon a day you're probably dehydrated to some extent.  Proper hydration is necessary for all the body's systems to operate at optimum capacity.  Dehydration interferes with the body's ability to"burn" fat.

Supplements: A Multi-vitamin and Fish Oil.

A Very Brief Outline of the Principles, Concepts and Philosophies of the Above Mentioned Diets:

*Caloric Restriction research shows that it is healthy and people live longer. (All of the cited diets)

*What you eat should facilitate balancing the hormonal systems.  (Zone)

*Our genes have not changed since the times of early man therefore you should eat as close to what man ate over 10,000 years ago as much as possible.  (Lean meat, fish, poultry, fruit and vegetables)[Paleo]

*"The real cause of our growing epidemic of obesity is excess production of the hormone insulin.  It is excess insulin that makes you fat and keeps you fat."  (Dr. Barry Sears, A Week In the Zone, 2000)

*"Our genes are from the Stone Age and they encode both behaviors and human physiology for a Hunter-Gatherer body and mind. Many modern diseases are diseases of metabolism: Syndrome X, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and countless other diseases didn't exist among our ancient ancestors.  These diseases are produced by clash of Stone Age genes and a modern life of chronic stress, routine patterns, little activity that's challenging and food that was never part of the long 3.5 million years of human existence." (Arthur DeVany, interview for T-nation.com, May/05)

Specifics:  Putting meals together, the amount of meals per day and portion sizes are too individual specific to write about here.  These will have to be determined by you after you become familiar with the diets listed.  Coach Glassman of CrossFit recommends getting a scale and weighing your food, at least for a couple of weeks, so you will not be guessing.  After a couple of weeks you'll know the weight just by looking at the food.  If you are only going to have one big meal a day the portion size is not as important. 

This is not a prescription or diet plan.  This article was written to increase awareness and provoke introspection as well as encourage readers to educate themselves.  Individuals may have to consult a doctor and/or a nutritionist.  There is no one perfect plan for everybody.  The above recommendations are a good way to begin if you're diet is not optimal right now.  To optimize performance more research is needed and then each plan has to be experimented with, "tweaked" and "tinkered" with depending on individual goals, your body and your level of activity. 

The bottom line is your diet is your responsibility.  Seek out the information used by those who are getting excellent results.  Seek out evidence.  Find what works universally and what works for you.

  

WHAT IT TAKES

CrossFit is definitely a different type of workout.  It offers so much to its trainers and its athletes.  This brings me to the point of this article.

As an athlete it's important to take make good decisions outside the training facility to help your trainers make you a better you.  As trainers we are truly interested and dedicated to you.  However dedicated and interested we are we cannot be at home with you and we cannot follow you around all day. 

Make no mistake, you are not off the hook when you leave the facility.  Not at all.  You have an obligation to yourself to take care of you, to eat properly, to train, to play and to put the work in.  What you decide to ingest is going to make a difference in your performance and your energy level.  It will reflect in your workouts.  When you choose to train at a CrossFit facility with a CrossFit trainer there is a mutual, two-way commitment.  But there is also the personal commitment an athlete makes to himself/herself.  That commitment is about choices that will take you closer to your goals or further from them.  This becomes crucial when you are away from the coaches, the trainers and even the other athletes.  It's your responsibility to help your trainers and coaches guide you into improved performances.  Consider this: there are 168 hours in a week.  If you are fortunate enough to spend 6 hours a week with a trainer you still need to facilitate your growth and performance by making good decisions in the remaining 162 hours.  If you are only with a coach/trainer for an hour or two a week then what you do in the remaining 166-167 hours is that much more important.  Besides making the aforementioned good choices you will also have to work out on your own.  Once it's gone you cannot get time back.  Might as well make the most of it.  If you are using the other 166-167 hours to NOT workout, NOT sleep enough and NOT eat properly do not blame anyone or anything else for lack of motivation, lack of improved performance or lack of results.

Part of what a good trainer/coach will do is motivate you....help push you out of your comfort zone.  While being motivational is something trainers should aspire to be, the more an athlete is self-motivated the better.  I have spoken with Top-tier CrossFitters who have performed absolutely awe-inspiring feats.  Most of them stepped up their own training, on their own, to a higher level with a deep desire to not only improve, but to be excellent.  Sure they may have trainers or training partners in many cases, but what makes them improve is that they want to and they take steps toward improving.  They are coach-able.  They will entertain ideas from other sources.  They seek answers.  They experiment.  They fail, but don't quit.  They come back and keep trying.  They find what works for them and they improve despite what else is going on around them.  They are almost never really completely satisfied with how they performed.  They always think they could have done something better even when they were fantastic.

Leaving your comfort zone is the opposite of quitting.  You will need to push yourself.  There will be times when you don't think you'll be able to continue.  THAT IS WHEN IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT YOU DO CONTINUE.   Not giving in to the internal voice that says "I'm too tired" is the very thing that will exercise and grow your mental toughness.  Conquer the urge to stop.  "Breathe later" as I heard one trainer say. 

Sometimes leaving your comfort zone means doing the things you are not very good at.  Avoiding the things that you feel are a "weakness" is the ugly sister of quitting.  Weakness should be ruthlessly exorcised, and exercised, from the body and mind.  Vanquish all power or energy "leaks" to the best of your ability.  Trainers aren't looking for miracles and they can't perform miracles.  They are looking to help you to kick it up a notch. 

If you're reading this chances are good that you are CrossFitting or have decided to.  Your will power has been exercised.  You don't need "discipline", as some like to say, if this is something you want to do.  You need discipline to do the things you don't want to do.  If you are CrossFitting you have a desire to do so.   The hardest part is getting to your workout location whether that's a section of your bedroom or a huge facility.

Congratulations on a wise choice!

Trainers are usually athletes who besides having the desire to improve athletic performance also have the desire to help others do so.  As a trainer it's incumbent upon you to know your athletes.  Your relationship starts from the very first conversation including phone conversations.  Ask questions.  Find out what brought them to their interest in CrossFit. 

Once you meet them explain what they'll be doing.  Explain what you're looking for.  Look for weaknesses, but also look for strengths.  Make notes of what needs more work.  Push, but not "off the cliff".

Make corrections, but don't harp on the same negative aspect over and over again.  To do so will cause the athlete to hear "blah, blah, blah" whenever you speak.  Sometimes it's better to leave something alone for a while then come back to it later.  Some athletes will "wrap their mind around a concept" after they have left the training environment. 

Celebrate the small victories.  Celebrate the Personal Records.  Congratulate a job well done!

Think about, plan and be able to execute:  Workouts, modified workouts, scaled workouts.  Do-able, but challenging.  Challenging, but do-able.  Ask questions, observe everything, make an assessment on what would be challenging without sending the athlete to the emergency room, yet do-able beyond having them walk away thinking, "you mean that's it?"  Consider their level of conditioning, the experience, the "crossfit" experience, health history, and current health/injury issues.

Trainers need to be courteous to the athletes and other trainers.  Arguing between trainers in front of the athletes is poor form.

CrossFit athletes are an observant bunch.  They watch everything that goes on around them in the training environment.  Likewise, the trainers need to be that way while they are working with the athletes.  If there is a team of trainers present it's good to have athletes observed from many angles.  One trainer will likely pick up on something the other trainers did not or could not see.  When a team is available training others as a team is beneficial.  The team effort should begin as soon as the athlete walks through the door.

Like it or not, as a trainer you're a role model.  Be a positive role model.  Be someone the athletes want to be like.  Speak and behave like you're being watched at every moment.  YOU ARE!

Continue to seek a better way to explain, a better way to articulate what you're coaching and a better way to get the athlete to do the exercises.  Those who can do and teach are extremely valuable!!

Go make great things happen!

--------Lee--

 

CHOKED TO DEATH

By George Demetriou

It truly saddens me to report that a Suffolk County Corrections Officer was killed last week when he was choked to death.  No, the incident did not occur at the jail, but at the location of the officer's second job, a club in South Hampton.  The officer, Andrew Reister, was employed as a bouncer.

The incident began when, according to the news, Reister told an unruly patron to stop dancing on the table.  The patron, Anthony Oddone, apparently took offense to the request and a fight ensued.  The incident ended with Oddone choking Reister, according to the news, for a minute.  Other bouncers and Oddone's friends tried to pull Oddone off, but were unable to do so in time.

We don't know further details regarding the incident such as what type of choke was used exactly.  We do attempt to learn from these incidents however.

Places that serve alcohol are mostly occupied by decent, law abiding people.  Unfortunately they also attract individuals looking for release from their deep seated emotional issues.  Some are very angry and occasionally they "erupt".  We don't try to play psycho-analyst, but we do recognize that people with "issues" are out there walking around amongst us and that is reason enough to stay in good "fighting" shape as well as learn to protect ourselves.

It takes little skill to choke someone.  One just need the will to fight and the will to do serious damage.  It does not require special training or great strength.  On the other hand, it takes a trained response to defend against a choke by a committed attacker.

A few years back a former Marine, vacationing in Costa Rica, was being robbed by an armed gunman fifty years his junior.  The 71 year old man grabbed the robber in a choke hold and killed him.  Of course, this was completely justified, but it does speak to the effectiveness of the choke.

Chokes are usually applied after initial contact.  There is often scuffling, punching or some sort of grappling that occurs before the choke.  This is where conditioning comes in.  Real fights are relatively very short in duration.  Between the exertion that takes place and the "hormonal" elevation of the heart rate caused by fear, the demands placed on the body and mind are intense.  Not being in superb shape will cause one to to fatigue very quickly.  Try to imagine being fatigued while trying to prevent some madman from crushing your throat or stopping the flow of blood to your brain.  The very best way to defend against a choke is to not be in a fight.  The next best way, if you have to be in a fight, is not to be in a choke.  Easier said than done.  Having strength, power, speed, stamina and endurance will always facilitate survival.  Workouts that are intense and require mental toughness are most beneficial.  Workouts that are steady paced and long in duration do little to prepare you for a self-defense event.

To be skilled at defending against the choke requires training.  Training, besides providing physical responses, also enables one to recognize the danger of a situation right away.  Reister and the people trying to help probably did not think the initial scuffle with Oddone was any different than other altercation that ends with little or no injury.  Once a person has an arm around your neck or a hold of your throat all bets are off.  The situation, as we learned in this case, becomes lethal very quickly, too quickly for the unexperienced to realize.

An assailant's arm or a hand in the vicinity of your throat/neck must be dealt with immediately.  Responses should focus on preventing a choke from being applied in the first place.  It is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to stop a choke once that choke is "sunk in"--applied deeply with pressure against the trachea or sides of the neck.  Before the choker is able to squeeze, the defender must get his hands/arms up around the neck area and prevent the choker from getting a good hold.  A rear choke is one of those techniques that does not take formal training in order to execute.  Anyone who is physically able to place their arm around another human being's neck and has the will to do harm can do so without much practice.  Most Mixed Martial Arts fans probably know how to apply a rear naked choke just from watching it on TV.

Those wishing to know how to defend against any choke are advised to seek the training of a qualified instructor who understands the choke and its many variations and, most important of all, can teach you to perform it as well as defend against it in a safe manner.  Brazilian juijitsu and judo practitioners use chokes as a main part of their arsenal.  For law enforcers there are also versions of the rear naked choke that are referred to as restraints as opposed to "chokes".  The application may be a bit different, but the results are the same.  We are of the opinion that a properly applied choke is a "safe" way of controlling a violent person.  It should be noted that chokes are frequently used in Brazilian Juijitsu and Judo tournaments, as well as mixed martial arts events, all over the world and have never resulted in a death.

The truly dangerous chokes are done by the unskilled or the untrained person who is short on emotional control.

As one learns to do the technique it should be done to you as well.  Have the choke applied in a safe manner by a qualified person who you trust.  It should be introduced slowly as in any "dosage" of stress inoculation.  One of the first goals should be to remain calm as you feel the affects of the choke.  Panic will bring on the negative affects sooner.  Once you become comfortable with applying the choke and having it applied the next progressive step is to grapple with a partner and try to (1) apply the choke as your partner offers resistance and (2) prevent the choke from being applied on you.  Of course, this needs to be done within guidelines and with safety rules in place.  Tapping on the ground, yourself or your partner("tapping out") is the safety feature that means stop applying the choke.

One must be able to defend against the choke while standing and while "rolling" on the ground with someone.  If an assailant can get a choke on you they can also pull you to the ground.

A person interested in self protection must learn how to defend against all the common attacks: wild punches, sucker punches, grabs, tackles, knees, etc. as this will facilitate not getting to the position of being choked.  Self-protection should begin with awareness, avoidance and de-escalation.  The physical part of self-protection is for the occasion when you cannot avoid or talk your way out.

By all accounts, Andrew Reister was a good man.  He was liked and respected by co-workers and even by prisoners.  He leaves behind a wife and two young children.  If you need a reason to stay in shape and to train for self-protection I can't think of a better one than to be around for your family.

"I'm In Decent Shape"

                                            By George Demetriou

We just learned of a police officer's encounter with a violent offender where the offender not only assaulted the officer, but was able to get the officer's firearm from his holster.  Fortunately, the offender ran off instead of shooting the officer, even as a crowd urged the bad guy to "kill the cop".

The officer survived the vehicle pursuit, foot pursuit, assault and gun disarming so in our book he did enough things right to fight another day and we're glad for his well being and his service.

Good trainers will look to these situations to gather what lessons can be learned from them.  Obviously things could have gone better for the officer, but they also could have been worse.

Of the lessons learned what stood out most was the statement the officer made about his level of physical conditioning.  The officer stated he was "in decent shape".  It stood out because I have made the same assessment of myself many times during my law enforcement career.  The problem, or what could have been a problem, was we found out what being in good shape really is well into our career.

We have to define what being in "decent shape" really means.  For most people it means being in better shape than the person who never trains and isn't particular about what or how much they eat.  For many people the standard of being in shape is just so low.  Everyone has their own version of what "decent shape" is, but it's rare that the obvious question is ever asked.

  "Decent" enough for what?

Law enforcement officers rarely ever get to pick the time, location, environmental conditions or choice of bad guys.  The bad guys make most of those decisions.  Law enforcement officers never know when a low risk contact with someone is going to turn into a deadly struggle.  Being in "decent" as opposed to "excellent" shape does not cut it on the street when the officer is rolling around with a larger, motivated, violent offender.

We respectfully submit that if the workouts you are doing do NOT involve varied exercises consisting of explosive strength, lifts with maximum weight, workouts of high intensity at short durations, and workouts that involve the whole body within the same session then you are not in decent shape for winning the life and death fight.  More specifically, law enforcers need to be in the shape that reflects the real life of the profession.  Not on the typical day, but on the day you come across the person who is willing and able to stomp you to death.

Workouts that are hours long in duration have absolutely nothing to do with a 100 meter sprint to catch the bad guy then engage in an unarmed fight.  Obviously, if you are training this way currently this message is not for you personally.  This message is intended for the uninitiated.  Spread the word to as many law enforcers as you can.

To the best of my knowledge, there has never been an incident where an officer was killed during a close proximity struggle, that lasted more than 30 seconds.  That's usually 30 seconds of the body working at full capacity.  If, as a law enforcement officer, your workouts do not reflect this intensity for several minutes, at least occasionally, you cannot possibly be physically prepared for such an event.  If you've never completed a workout that left you feeling like your heart was going to tear from your chest or if you've never come close to puking then your workouts are not conducive to winning the life and death fight.  The workouts that do the most to prepare one for the rigors of a close combat event are the ones that you'd like to quit, but don't.  They are the workouts that cause your lungs to burn and your muscles to feel as if they're about to seize, but your mind continues to force you to work.

Law enforcement officers ONLY have control over their own mental, emotional and physical preparedness as well as their equipment.  All other factors are unknown and are often dictated by the bad guys.

All law enforcers understand that they need to be in "good" shape.  On the agency training level, varied and intense workouts have not gained wide acceptance yet.  There are many out there making the effort, but change is extremely slow.  In the meantime we need to draw clear distinctions and ask pointed questions when the subject of being in "decent" shape comes up.  We need to educate law enforcers as to what is truly functional training, what's going to help them go home after every shift, and what training is better left by the wayside.

Stay safe, Train with intensity.

The Real Superheroes

 By George Demetriou

 
     We have great admiration and respect for the United States Marine Corps especially in light of how some former Marines performed during violent confrontations.  Not only battles in some far off land, but violent confrontations right here in these United States.  Ok, one was in Costa Rica.

     There are nine incidents listed below where former Marines have confronted violent humans and one who confronted a large wild animal and have not only survived the encounter, but "won" the encounter.   "Winning"  in this case means stopping a violent act in progress and being able to walk away when it's over.

     Consider the following:

*  May/06, Atlanta, Georgia-Former Marine, Thomas Autry,  was walking home work when he was chased, menaced and assaulted by a gang of teenage armed robbers.  The robbery team was wanted before they had chosen Autry as their next victim.  The robbers were armed with a shotgun, a pistol and brass knuckles.  Autry could not outrun his attackers so he pulled out a pocket knife and fought for his life.  Autry actually pulled off a technique no self-respecting martial arts instructor would ever recommend--he kicked the shotgun out of the hand of one gunmen.  Two attackers, including a female, grabbed and struck Autry.  Autry stabbed them.  The girl died of her wound at the hospital.  Autry's actions caused the gang to flee. 

*  August/06, Sandy, Utah-Former Marine Hand to hand combat instructor James Sjostrum stopped a man who stole a carton of cigarettes from a convenience store.  The thief was confronted outside the store by a female clerk.  The thief punched the woman in the face knocking her down then stood over her and continued to punch her.  Sjostrum was in the store and witnessed the entire event.  The thief tried assaulting Sjostrum when Sjostrum intervened.  Sjostrum slammed the man to the ground and held him for the police.  Sjostrum is a kettlebell instructor.   Hand to hand combat instructor and kettlebell user...talk about the wrong guy to disturb!

*  February/07, Limon, Costa Rica-Former unidentified, 70 year old Marine is on a bus in Costa Rica with other tourists when three robbers, one with a gun and one with a knife begin ordering passengers off the bus.  One passenger had a gun put to her head.  While the tourists were exiting the bus, witnesses reported, the former Marine grabbed the gunman in a headlock.   The "headlock" must have been applied a bit south of the head, in our opinion, because the gunman suffered a broken collar bone and died of asphyxiation. 

*  May/07, Franconia, New Hampshire-Former Marine, Gregory W. Floyd, witnessed the shooting and murder of a police officer.  Floyd, 49, drove his SUV between the shooter and the downed officer, grabbed the officer's firearm, approached the murderer and commanded him to drop his weapon.  Floyd shot and killed the officer's murderer when his commands were ignored.

*  June/07, a banner month and year for former Marines, with three incidents:

   Helen, Georgia, former Marine, Chris Everhart, was camping with his family when a black bear entered his camp area and approached his young son.  Everhart grabbed the closest hard object, a piece of fire wood, a hurled it at the bear.  The fire wood struck the bear in the head and killed it.

  Grand Rapids, Michigan, former Marine, Bill Barnes, was scratching off a lottery ticket when he felt a hand in his pocket.  The 72 year old former Golden Gloves boxer pummeled the pick pocket and held him for the police.

  Plantation, FL, former Marine, John Lovell, 71, was eating inside a Subway Restaurant when two armed thugs entered the establishment and announced a holdup.  The two robbers attempted to shove Lovell into the bathroom when Lovell drew a licensed, concealed pistol and shot them.  One was killed and the other was found wounded and arrested.

*  July/07, Decatur, GA, former Marine, Timothy Armstead, was in in his bank attempting to resolve a problem with his account when a man walked up to a teller and announced a robbery.  The bank robber yelled about having a bomb.   Armstead ran up to the robber, tackled him and held him for the police.

*  March/08-An 84 year old, unidentified former Marine was approached by a teenage boy armed with a knife.  The teen robber told the former Marine to give up his wallet.  The former Marine told the boy that he was a veteran of two wars and he should get away.  The teen robber failed to take the good advice offered by the old vet.  The former Marine set his groceries down, kicked the robber in the groin, picked up his groceries, went home and called the police.

    All nine incidents had common details.  In every incident the former Marines made decisions early enough to take control of the situation.  When a decision had to be made there was no dithering, no hesitation.  When the decision was made, whether it was forced by the offenders or whether the former Marine voluntarily got involved, there was immediate action with the proper amount of force used to stop the criminal act or bear attack.  Whether they were in their twenties or eighties all nine men were physically fit enough to fight.   Fear was a motivating factor not a cause for panic.

  We realize this is anecdotal and not a scientific study, yet we can't help but think that the training and the experience these Marines had gone through in their military service had served them long after they left the military.  Two of the Marines had empty handed fighting skills beyond the basic training, but there was nothing to indicate the others did.  When it came time to fight every individual Marine fought with what was available whether it was a firearm, knife, firewood or bare hands.

  There's a ton of advice and information from the self-defense experts yet the above incidents defy much of the logic that is bandied about.  Thomas Autry was not only out numbered he was out gunned. He brought a knife to a multiple assailant gunfight-and won.  The 70 year old man in Costa Rica was out gunned by a man 50 years his junior and he won barehanded.  Gregory Floyd, having witnessed the murder of a police officer, absolutely knew the danger he was facing and yet he placed himself, initially unarmed, before an armed murderer.   Everhart's firewood throw was "pure luck" Sometimes we create our luck.  Everhart's hurling of the firewood was a manifestation of imposing his will, an act of mind, body and spirit working in perfect harmony for a split second. There's constant debate among self-defense experts and defensive tactics trainers pertaining to "the better technique" or the "better system".  These men demonstrated that techniques and systems are not as important as possessing courage, the ability to make a quick decision under stress, the ability to impose one's will, defiance, and strength-physical, mental and emotional.   We often hear that performance will break down under the stress of combat yet these men performed exceptionally well.

  Self-defense training is a worthwhile endeavor and there are techniques and systems that are technically better than others, but regardless of which techniques one uses having the courage, will, mindset and strength to fight back should never be taken for granted.  Good training should foster these traits.

  What is the one factor that all these former Marines, regardless of age, have in common?

  Marine Corp training.

  Having worked with numerous former Marines that are now police officers and federal agents we notice the same qualities as in the gentlemen described in the above incidents--courage, focused aggression, quick decision making under stress, and taking action without hesitation. 

  What are the take home lessons?

  1)  The overall lesson: To perform well under the stress of life and death situations requires training that is done with stressful conditions.  If the training is conceptually simple and, most important, is intense it will stay with the trainee for as long time.  The training may not cover every single situation,  but the concepts should be adaptable enough to cover a wide range of situations.

2)  Thomas Autry tried running from the gang of armed thugs and when that didn't work he was forced to make a choice: fight or risk serious injury/death.  Autry apparently never assumed he should lose the fight because he was outnumbered and out-weaponed.  Autry didn't cover up and go into the fetal position.  He was surrounded and he did what every Marine inspired by Lt. General Chesty Puller would do--he took the fight to the violent criminal actors!  The gang members stopped their assault in order to take their own to the hospital.  Had Autry decided he was in an impossible situation he would have been the one going to the hospital or morgue, his subconscious mind would have stopped searching for a solution to the problem before him.  When forced to fight multiple assailants, move and attack with unbridled ferocity, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  Always keep a winning mind-set and your subconscious will yield solutions.  The better your training the better the solutions will come from the files of the subconscious mind.  Kicking weapons out of an attacker's hand is extremely difficult to do, but this is the third real life case we know of this being done successfully.  Fortune favors the brave.

3) James Sjostrom's incident contained little detail and was over quickly.  Sounds like it wasn't a big deal and to Sjostrom it probably wasn't.  This is probably because Sjostrom was skilled in hand to hand combat and in great shape from using kettlebells.  Fighting skill combined with the type of workouts that condition the whole body as a single unit as well as increase grip strength comes in handy when having to smash violent criminals.

4) The 70 year old former Marine vacationing in Costa Rica didn't let the fact that the robbers were younger and had weapons stop him from fighting.   Defending  one's self is not math.   We cannot quantify the combination of human spirit, courage and decisive action in a scientific formula.  This former Marine took action to stop a robbery and probably, in his mind, further violence.   The end result was one dead robber and two that ran when their "prey" became "predator" .  This former Marine, most likely, used a version of the straight choke or "air" choke, restricting breathing, and not the "blood" choke or "rear naked choke" used in combat sports.  When a 70 year old can kill a 20 year old, armed violent offender with a choke you know that's a technique to have in your bag of tricks.

5) Gregory Floyd was unarmed and knew he was confronting an armed man who seconds before committed murder.  Floyd had the presence of mind to grab the fallen officer's sidearm and the courage to stop the murderer.  Floyd did not spend time wondering if he should get involved.  He spent no time considering he didn't have a weapon.  He spent no time debating with himself if the use of deadly force to stop the murderer of a police officer would be acceptable with the rest of society.  Floyd saw a murderer about to flee the scene of the crime and he took immediate, decisive action.  Fortune favors the brave.

6) Chris Everhart did what any father would want to do in order to protect a child from serious injury or death.  Everhart took immediate, decisive action arming himself with the closest object that would damage or at least distract the bear approaching his son.  The firewood thrown by Everhart was thrown with "bad intentions" and precision born of completely focusing on that one act, blocking out all other thoughts and distractions.  We are not suggesting man should hunt bear with firewood. We are suggesting that taking action and not dithering may make luck go your way when you're in a tough spot.

7) Bill Barnes proved that even at 72 years old a life that included golden glove boxing and being an iron worker makes for a tough mind and body.  Being in good physical condition while young and staying active all through life keeps the body and mind sharp enough to defend one's self against young punks who aren't brave enough to work for a living.

8)  John Lovell, at 71, had the presence of mind to remain calm while the restaurant he was eating in was being robbed.  Lovell was out-gunned and outnumbered, but he didn't let those facts stop him from drawing his concealed firearm and shooting his attackers when he was forced.  Lovell didn't assume he was supposed to lose because he was outnumbered by younger attackers who had their weapons in their hands from the onset. Lovell's attackers probably underestimated him-a recurring theme in former Marine incidents.  Never underestimate anyone.  Decisive action, proper mindset, having  a concealed firearm and the skill to use it won the day.

9) The 84 year old former Marine from Santa Rosa, California remained calm while facing the blade of a teenage robber.  Probably calmness gained from experience in real dangerous situations.  A simple and direct kick to the groin will work every time against someone who doesn't believe you will fight back.  If this young robber was hoping for a fight he would have held up someone coming out of the local boxing  or mixed martial arts gym.  Instead, he picked an 84 year old man because there was no way a man of this age would fight back.  This wrong thinking blinds the coward from the kick to the groin.  The shock alone, that the man would fight back, probably devastated the young thug.  Once again we see decisive action, courage, calmness in the face of danger winning the day.  A kick that an 84 year old man can use successfully against a teenage robber needs to be a in your bag of tricks.

10)  Always be prepared.  In the moments before every incident described above, life was "normal", "routine" and "calm" for the former Marines.  Conditions change in the blink of an eye.  As former Marine and one of the greatest firearm and tactics instructors in the world, John Farnam says, "When you least expect it you're elected".

   Plenty of former military personnel and civilians have successfully fought off violent criminals.  The difference with the above incidents is that in most cases the odds were very stacked against the former Marines.  The odds were against them because of the age difference, the weapon difference and/or being outnumbered.  The odds being against the former Marines never prevented them from accomplishing the mission--saving their own or someone else's life. 

   In cartoons, comics and movies we have superheroes that help defend the city streets.  In real life the superheroes walking among us are active and former United States Marines!

 

7 Minutes of Life and Death

By George Demetriou

My deepest sympathy goes out to the family of New Orleans Police Department Officer Nicola Cotton.  Officer Cotton, 24 years old, was shot and killed with her firearm last Monday.  Nicola was working alone and responding to a possible wanted rape suspect.  Officer Cotton approached the suspect, attempted to handcuff him and a fight ensued.  News reports have the fight going on for 7 minutes.

Turns out that Officer Cotton was 2 months pregnant, the suspect was not the person wanted for the rape, but was an emotionally disturbed person who was brought to a mental facility two weeks before he killed Officer Cotton.  The man was taken to a mental facility because he was "a danger to the public".

Officer Cotton was able to call for backup during the struggle.  I will not get into the topic of procedure and I will not Monday morning quarterback.  I don't know enough about the NOPD, Officer Cotton or the circumstances.  I will say officer Cotton must have been quite brave and if the fight lasted 7 minutes she must have fought hard.  Her attacker was twice her size and nearly twice her age.

This incident is a raw reminder of what kind of conditioning is required of cops.  There is more information available regarding fitness now then at any other time in history.  There are more facilities to train in as well.  I don't know the level of Officer Cotton's physical conditioning and won't speculate.  Officer Cotton's death should be a wake up call for those who are not training and those who are training, but not for the rigors of a life and death struggle.

Cops need sound tactics which are trained for under the stressful conditions that simulate real fights, the proper mind-set for combat and physical conditioning that is ideal for a fight with a duration of 10 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute, 7 minutes or an event the length of the infamous North Hollywood shooting with 2 heavily armed bank robbers.

Cops who do no physical training once they leave the academy are doing themselves, their partners and the community they serve a disservice.  Cops who train like body builders or marathon runners have good intentions, but are not preparing themselves for a life and death fight.  ANY subject control situation can turn into a life and death fight.

If police work involves getting out of a car, chasing someone(sprinting), catching them(grip strength),pulling, pushing, striking, grappling, taking the person to the ground, having to get up off the ground and having to retain the tools of a duty belt(explosive movements, core strength and body control) including a firearm which, during a fight, is as close to the bad guy as it is to the officer,  then cops need to train using the exercises and equipment that most resemble the movements and function of real life.  Real fights have nothing to do with long, slow runs and little to do with body building training.

I've watched video of two officers, in separate incidents,  being murdered.  Murdered by an individual or individuals who were smaller and not in the shape of the officers they killed.  In each incident the actual violence lasted less than 20 seconds.  In those seconds the motion by all individuals involved were explosive, intense and utilized whole body movement.  Absent were motions that are slow, evenly paced or body-part isolated. Between the two incidents one could see pushing, pulling, punching, kicking, squatting, and a get-up.  The functional real life movements that are supported by CrossFit workouts.

The North Hollywood incident lasted in the vicinity of 30 minutes.  That wasn't 30 minutes of slow, steady paced running.  That was 30 minutes of brief intervals of extremely intense work combined with intervals of rest.  The work consisted of sprinting from cover to cover or from cover to assisting a wounded person, shooting, reloading, holstering, moving, pulling a person to safety, more sprinting and trying to keep an eye on the bad guys who had the officers out-gunned.  Once again, we observed action that didn't resemble the typical jog or gym workout.  We did see action that is supported by the CrossFit methodology.

A friend once commented that being in a life and death struggle is similar to being in a world class athletic event.  It stands to reason that those in the noble profession of law enforcement should train like they will be involved in a world class athletic event.  Cops need intense workouts that require physical and mental toughness.  Cops don't get to pick the time, place or circumstances of the life and death fight.  The bad guys make that determination.  There are many things officers have no control over.  One of the things police officers always have control of is their level of fitness.  Police officers should strive not for fitness, but for elite fitness.

Stay Safe.

Posted by George.

Child Protection Options

CHILD PROTECTION OPTIONS

By George and Lisa Demetriou
Copyright © 1999 and 2003
Reprinted from the AWSDA journal, The Fisted Rose™, with permission of the authors

A young Long Island mother of 4 month old twins returns home after a visit to the pediatrician. Before she can remove the infants from her sport utility vehicle she is confronted by a man who tries to throw a towel over her head. She swipes the towel away not even sure if this is a prank or not. It is not. The man who had the towel also has a knife.

The woman watches the knife go up, as if it were in slow motion, and then plunge into her shoulder. She falls to the ground and fights from her back. As she attempts to get back to her feet she feels a second knife stab into her back.

She didn't realize there were two attackers! The woman continues to fight with both assailants, while doing so she locks the truck doors with the remote switch, then rolls under her truck. By now this has apparently taken too long and been too much work for her assailants so they leave. They walked away, laughing. The woman suffered 7 stab wounds, a punctured lung and a broken jaw from this assault. More importantly she protected her children, herself and even her property. The emotion during the attack was anger- "These guys are trying to kill me in front of my kids!"

A Brooklyn woman out with a friend and the boys nephew were enjoying the park when a man walked up to the five year old nephew and placed a knife to the boy's face. "Give up your money or I cut him", the assailant demanded. Naturally the adults complied, but the woman saw anger in the man's face and noticed the robber was not leaving even though he got what he wanted. Suddenly the woman snatched the assailants hand, not wanting any harm to come to the boy. The robber was so startled he dropped the knife and ran. No one was hurt.

A woman seated in the back of her parked car feeds her infant child. While tending to the baby and waiting for a friend a man slides into the driver seat and proceeds to drive away. The car jacker ignored all the woman's pleas to stop and let them go. The woman was terrified and felt the carjacker was probably armed. The woman remembered her cellular phone was in the baby bag and dialed 911 without removing the phone completely. She spoke to the assailant, asking where he was taking them all the while giving directions to the police dispatcher. 18 minutes later the police stopped the vehicle and placed the man under arrest. No one was harmed.

All the above-described incidents are true. As a concerned parent or a person interested in controlling one's own destiny these incidents contain valuable lessons:

1. These women had the "warrior spirit" to fight against criminals, even armed criminals
2. Action is better than inaction when defending others or yourself
3. It is possible to remain calm and strategize under extreme duress
4. Your destiny and your children's destiny should not be left up to some thief or predator.

What are you prepared to do in similar situations? Have you a plan in case some thug picks your family as the victims of the day for a robbery, carjacking or worse? I hear you yelling out there. This kind of thing does not occur often or doesn't occur where you live. Well we don't have the stats for this for two reasons. The first, if it happened once it could happen again. To this day the perpetrators from incident one and incident two are still at large. But even if they were caught these assailants did not invent this sort of thing. Carjackings and robberies are not uncommon. The other reason is these type of incidents can occur wherever there are human beings, you do not have to be in a so called "bad neighborhood".

Do not mistake the message here. This is not about trying to cause unnecessary fear or panic. In fact the message is a positive one. This is basically about awareness. The real life incidents described above all have one thing in common-they all have happy endings.

While preparing for violent confrontations while we are with our children we organized three main principles: Awareness, Strategy and Tactics. Everything done in Child Protection Options can be modified, added to or deleted, but it will fall under these three principles. It is easier to remember concepts, especially under stress, than having to remember every single thing you learned in some specific order. But everyone can remember to be aware (once they know what to be aware of) strategy (once the awareness is raised) and tactics (simple physical principles for self-defense and defending others).

AWARENESS

Criminals, whether they are petty thieves or vicious predators, look for the "weakest gazelle in the herd". They look for the "easy" target. The people who commit robberies are not looking for a challenge. The first line of defense is not looking like the weakest gazelle in the herd. When you are truly aware of yourself and what is going on around you the bad guys will know. To a bad guy an alert person means potential struggle which is time consuming and noisy. The two great enemies of criminals everywhere are time and noise. Bad guys know that a struggle, especially a long, noisy one, could lead to police response or the involvement of Good Samaritans. Bad guys will go to great lengths to avoid capture. Criminals understand that a person who is not paying attention, the person thinking about bills, the children's health, the argument they had with a relative, is vulnerable to a sudden attack. Yes, they can look at you and see you have other things on your mind other than the present moment.

The first way to make yourself a "hard" target is to be aware constantly. The time for pondering is not when you are out driving or walking with your children. Walk with your head up scanning the area. Scan while you are driving or more importantly, while you are waiting at a light or parked somewhere. Be aware of who is by your home or your car. Avoid activities that impede on awareness-driving while on the phone(unless it's an emergency),running or walking with a walkman on, playing the car stereo loud, reading in the car (yes, we often see this one in the morning). Most of defending yourself and protecting loved ones is common sense. Yet we find that in many self- defense situations common sense is uncommon. Children have been abducted right out from underneath their parents. This could only happen when awareness goes astray. A heightened awareness may be the factor that sends the bad guys looking for another target. If being aware is not enough and there is an attack it is important to have a clear mind as opposed to one that is "cluttered" or fixated on one thing in particular.

TRUSTING YOUR INSTINCTS

Everybody is born with a tiny voice inside their head that let's you know when something is very wrong or there is danger approaching. As we get older we rely more on rational thought and don't trust the tiny voice, the instincts as much. Those instincts are there for a reason and will always serve you, but you have to listen and trust. Instincts or intuition has nothing to do with rational thought which is why people often ignore the signals sent. We may dismiss that "bad feeling" by trying to rationalize-"Why would he do that?" or " Nah, it can't be." In her book Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, Dr. Christine Northrop defines intuition as "the direct perception of the truth or fact independent of any reasoning." To truly understand trusting your intuition read the book, The Gift Of Fear, by Gavin de Becker. As soon as you're done read de Becker's second book, Protecting the Gift, which addresses vital information for protecting your children. Read these books and in the meantime when you have a bad feeling about a particular person or situation act on it. Trust the feeling. Do not try to understand "why?".

STRATEGY

Pre-confrontation strategy is basically "hardening" your family as a target and mentally preparing to avoid or escape an assault, robbery, abduction or worse. In order to strategize at this stage we must place ourselves in the shoes of a potential assailant and recognize our vulnerabilities. It is human nature to relax (read: be in a state of dulled awareness) when we are entering or leaving our homes. This is an Area of Vulnerability (AOV). Who expects to get attacked on their own driveway? Not too many people. Yet it happens and not infrequently. Consider entering or leaving your vehicle. It's been done thousands of times without a problem. Then one day while taking your child out of her car seat a stranger approaches and begins punching you. This is an AOV too. The fact that you are engaged in a routine, predictable action while remaining almost stationary makes certain places AOV. Realizing when one is vulnerable is the first step toward mapping out Pre-confrontation strategy.

PRE-CONFRONTATION STRATEGY CHECK LIST

• When possible observe the area you are about to enter before leaving the building you are in.
• Practice getting your key in the car door lock and house door as quickly as possible without having to focus on the locks.
• Practice getting children in your car and in your home as quickly as possible.
• Encourage children as young as possible to enter your vehicle on their own-under parent supervision. In case you have to fend off an attack as you are entering your car.
• Instruct children on use of an alert word or phrase to communicate possible danger. Yelling, &quo;tGet down" to my children while in a car will cause them to IMMEDIATELY drop to the floor without asking, "Why?". This takes practice, so make it a game.
• Look into your car before getting in or placing a child in. Bad guys have been known to enter cars and wait until an unsuspecting person gets in.
• Whenever practical walk around the entire car and look before getting in. Some criminals have caused damage that is not meant to disable a car immediately, but down the road, away from a busy area. Others have actually attacked women while hiding underneath the car. This is one reason why it is important to think about vulnerabilities. Who looks under their car before getting in?
• Make sure your car is well maintained and gassed up at all times. Carry spare key.
• Get a cell phone. Even if you have it just to call 911.
• Never pull up to the bumper of the car in front of you. Leave enough space to escape without having to backup.
• Scan while driving and while parked.
• In extreme emergencies be prepared to violate traffic rules to escape danger. If you feel something is wrong do not wait at the red light.
• Be prepared to place small children or infants on the floor of the car in order to make a quick getaway from approaching bad guys. As soon as it is safe pull over and make the proper adjustments.
• Do not get out of a vehicle solely because a person bumped you with their car or because someone told you there was something wrong with your car. If the accident was legitimate you can exchange information where there are more people around or you can tell the other motorist to call the police while you wait in your car with the windows up and the doors locked. If there is truly something wrong with your car you will see, hear, feel or smell it before another motorist does.
• When shopping put your children in the car before you put the packages in. This places them in a position of relative safety as opposed to being in a parking lot while you're concentrating on what you just purchased. Some have said that this strategy is poor because a car jacker could take off with your child. Maybe. I know a car jacker wants my keys. Armed with this fact and knowing that the assailant expects compliance creates opportunities. More on that later.
• Consider this: It is very difficult for a bad guy to take you, your property or your loved ones if your car is moving. The less time being idle the better.
• Do not drive home if you believe you are being followed. A good way to tell if you are being followed is to make 3 consecutive right or left turns. It is highly unlikely that another motorist will do the exact same thing unless you are being followed. If you are being followed go to a well lighted, populated area.
• Visualize attacks and how you would successfully deal with them.

There is more to Pre-confrontation strategy but this is a good starting point. The idea is to think about things pertaining to family safety you may not have thought about before. Just visualizing problems and their solutions will give you more of an edge than you had. When you have heightened your awareness, trust your intuition, have your pre-confrontation strategy in order and things are going bad anyway it is time for Confrontation Tactics.

This is the "hands on" portion of the lesson. It is important to remember what was mentioned previously in this article Bad guys want to avoid capture therefore they want to avoid noise, time consumption and injury. As a chosen target you always have one thing going for you the bad guy thinks he has you beat already. A target is chosen based on the assailant's perception that he (they) think they can get away with the crime with relative ease. If criminals enjoyed challenges they would probably have legitimate careers! A criminal may expect token resistance, but they will not expect a sudden, vicious onslaught by the intended "prey". Especially when you appear to be going along with the script that they mentally rehearse. There is a saying from where the authors train-"If I control your body I'll beat you half the time, but If I control your mind for even a split second I'll beat you every time. I will have taken too much of an edge." You can control an assailant's mind for at least a split second by cooperating then going on the offensive just when the assailant seems to think things are going according to his plan.

If you have no self-defense experience you will want to find someone who can specifically help with this particular topic. Being a martial artist is not good enough. You want to seek out a person who trains for the reality of a dynamic, violent confrontation not the instructor who has the most tournament trophies in the window of his school. This should be well researched. Protecting your family and yourself has nothing to do with protocol, ranking, belts, rituals or sport. Parents are to their children what the secret service is to various dignitaries with one major exception-YOU ARE NOT EXPENDABLE! You have to survive in order to protect your loved ones. The following should be included when training specifically to protect yourself and your children at the same time:

1. Where to position the children should I have to fight.
2. Tactics if one or both hands are occupied.
3. Tactics if my hands are occupied by a child.
4. What can I show my kids to help themselves not get taken away by a bad guy?
5. Tactics if the assailant is in the car with me.
6. What if there is multiple assailants?
7. What if a person is demanding my car and my children are already inside it?
8. What if I'm grabbed as I'm walking into my house or getting into my car?
9. What if the assailant has a weapon?
10. What can I do if I'm grabbed from behind while I'm holding my infant child?
11. Should the children run for help?
12. What should the function of both parents or 2 adults be during an assault while in the company of children?
13. What to do if an assailant reaches into the car while the car is parked?
14. Discussing bad guys with the children.
15. Tactics while walking with a baby carriage, shopping cart or stroller.

Gaining insight and increasing awareness regarding child protection can be done in a few hours. Training for a real situation will take time and practice. The training should include confrontational simulations (instructors with full protective gear "attacking" trainees in various scenarios) and a realistic environment (a bus, train, car, an elevator, a narrow hallway). Remember the actual incidents from the beginning of this article. Those women used their fear and anger for action. They kept their cool and employed the greatest weapon of all - the mind.

The chances of being attacked while with your children are slim. If it is something that concerns you then it's worth looking into. Just questioning yourself about "what you would do if?" is a good start. Increasing overall awareness, trusting your intuition, and getting proper training is the winning formula. The goal is to have options should the bad man and your family cross paths.