Mickey Z. - Self-defense for radicals : A to Z guide for subversive struggle

Lets imagine you step outside to get some air and see one of your friends lying on the ground. Standing above her is a large, menacing man with bad intentions and clearly, he has incapacitated your friend with a surprise blow. Her eyes meet yours and indicate she needs help.

You could pray. You could meditate. You could chalk it up to bad karma. You could ask your friend to recognize that the attacker is a human and tell him that she loves him. You could blame patriarchy, the Republicans, or gangsta rap. You could ask yourself: What would Jesus do? What would the Dalai Lama do? What would Oprah do? You could try to remember that excellent saying about non-violence you got from your Pilates teacher.

You could stomp your foot to draw his attention downward and promptly whip out a finger jab to his eyes. When he brings his hands up (too late) to protect himself, he leaves his midsection exposed. You kick him in the ballsdoubling him overthen grab him by the hair and bring his face down into a powerful knee blow. Then you grab your friend and get the fuck out of there as fast as you can.

Its either that or chanting. The choice is yours.

Learning how to fight and/or defend yourself is not the same as promoting belligerent, anti-social behavior. We live in an exceedingly violent society. Our films, books, TV shows, and video games glorify mayhem and carnage. Our leaders (sic) solve most of their problems through aggression... or the threat thereof. While talk of non-violence is understandable and the struggle for peace has never been more essential, lets face it: the odds are, that sooner or later youre going to end up in a confrontation that may escalate into physical violence. So, why not be prepared?