DUBOIS - HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF: CANE - FISTS - DIRTY TRICKS

HOW TO

DEFEND

YOURSELF

CANES - FISTS - DIRTY TRICKS

by GEORGES DUBOIS

Master-at-Arms

Translated by M. P. Lynch

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3. The Greatest Danger

9. Daily Dangers

14. THE CANE

27. THE FISTS

38. KICKS

44. Before the Fight: Night

49. Defenses for Women

52. Fire in the Home

57. Smoke

60. Causes of Fire

61. The Father Francis Attack

66. Defense from the ground

70. JIU-JITSU

79. The Chair as a Weapon

82. Runaway Horse!

84. Garden Ambush at Night

85. Hell is for Thieves

87. Danger in the Country

90. Inferno at the Theater

93. The Concealed Knife

95. Matters of Honor: Duelling

106: Conclusion

THE GREATEST DANGER

Of all dangers, the greatest you will face is a lack of level-headedness and courage. There are but few scrapes you cannot get out of if you have these qualities. It is the few moments of bewilderment which engulf the mind of those whose lives are (or seem to be) threatened, which become what we would call the proximal cause of all catastrophes.

A long experience with fighting and sports has taught me the uselessness of a recourse to any elaborate means to combat criminal acts. It is precisely their banal simplicity that makes such attacks so frequent and dangerous. Take a champion of French Boxing who has become famous through the arrogant ease with which he can land a kick to the head of an astonished adversary. When he finds himself in street clothes, he is almost completely disarmed. Here he is constrained by a heavy overcoat the weight of which hinders the motion of his legs and nullifies his virtuosity when some big brute presents himself and locks him up in a bear hug. It is like asking a pianist to play complex piece while wearing boxing gloves.

Further on in this study we shall see how many of the defenses we prescribe are comparatively simple and can be used even by a frail young woman.

Both the goal and the foundation, I would say, upon which these varied chapters shall rest as we walk through all of the scenarios a person might encounter, is a level head. This quality gives rise to courage, whereas one can cultivate skill by practicing with friends and comrades and even family. The blows and tricks we will expose in this book often have a humorous character, and it is precisely because of this that they are so easy to remember.

Nothing in this manual will be difficult to execute.

At times the reader may be surprised at various points upon which we insist and the various movements we ask him to master, but give us some credit and, after having tried some of these techniques, you will understand that the ostensibly small points we insist upon are actually indispensable . This said, never fall into the trap of believing that all such techniques are practical only for professional wrestlers and boxers, and so become discouraged at the notion of making a conscientious effort to master the defenses we have developed.

Life is full of dangers from criminals like the Apache street gang that has become so famous of late. There are many others. They are legion, and here we will say all that can be said regarding a means to successfully resist them. We too have seen the Apache in the streets and we know how such degenerates occupy themselves by terrorizing, for example, the mother of a family in the countryside while she is alone during the day. Against such people we offer advice which may be unexpected and comic, but which is based upon observation.

Not everyone is blessed with herculean strength, and yet even this is not enough at times. For example, I would be curious to know how the most renowned bandit would fare if he went after a young girl in the process of shaving her father, and she were to immediately turn on him and begin delivering cuts high to low and back and forth with her razor. With a little audacity that young lady would advance on the man and force him first to back down and then to flee.

Indeed, many know by experience that a brutal razor cut produces a terrible and often incurable wound reaching down into muscle and tendon. The razor is a formidable weapon that every family owns. Thus it is simple to obtain, and the only obstacle to self defense is thinking of it and daring to use it.

Those adept in the difficult sport called jiu jitsu, rare though they may be, are extremely dangerous.

We know that the art deals in the painful frailty of the joints which are purposefully turned counter to their range of motion. Above and beyond all of these clever manipulations there are strikes delivered with the edge of the hand which can put a man out of the fight for several seconds and which, when applied to certain areas, can even kill.

Now this is all very nice and men who are not innately robust as well as women who tend to have less strength than men would be delighted to acquire such a means of defense.

But it takes an enormous amount of time to obtain absolute mastery of this art. A large space is needed for training and mattresses or very thick mats are essential. In Paris there are perhaps 50 able jiu jitsu practitioners out of 3 million inhabitants. However, if we take the core movements of this sport and bear in mind that in many cases the aggressor will try to grab us from the front with both hands, we have something to work with. Then we can simply allow him to rush at us and, rather than resist and waste effort, concentrate upon taking one of his attacking hands with two of ours and, seizing a finger, bend it back mercilessly. The attacker will release you while letting out a howl of pain, grasp the mangled hand with the good one and, heartbroken at his misfortune, he may even pass out.

This is something that a lad of fifteen can do to an attacker who is prepared to take his life and sometimes his honor.

We could go on with one hundred other examples regarding the sang-froid which must be acquired. But what is the quality itself? That cannot be learned in a book, not even this one. As I understand it, level-headedness is no trick which can be developed like a technique.

Such sang-froid is only acquired by the will to remain unmoved in the presence of things which give rise to strong emotion or which excite our repugnance.

While maintaining a sense of compassion for wee children, the humble, and little animals, we must, when given over to dangerous work or to an audacious act like taming a wild horse, learn to not indulge emotion. Whatever is unfolding before us, we must react and forget discomfort and emotion, gather ourselves, analyze the efforts being made around us and not just dream of getting away thinking: I cant look at that, I feel sick and woozy, Ive always been afraid of being thrown from a horse, etc

Obviously this would be more likely in the case of women, but men are not at all immune from this reaction.

Some will say: I could never do that to someone it would be so painful, etc

Which is a funny way to think, as you are in essence accommodating the person who has decided to kill you because you are a problematic obstacle getting between him and his loot.

In a word each man and woman who cannot for whatever reason take the time to pursue intensive training with a martial arts professor must still look to the possibility of defending themselves and so learn not many strikes, but ONE. One which best suits their physique, strength, and courage.

The strikes we indicate are many. You should try all of them and from this arsenal of defense choose one or two of the best tricks which may someday save your life.

It isnt just the gangs we have in mind, but all of the many and even more formidable dangers which stalk the streets even during the day. With the idea useful reciprocity in mind, let us look to the principles which can get us out of a jam.