Latest Articles

Why martial arts for seniors?

Ted Truscott — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:33:35 -0500

Why martial arts for seniors? Or, to pay lip service to being pc, why should boomers and old folks be interested in a martial art? Simple answer: reversing or slowing the effects of age. Sorry, I can’t help with the grumpiness! Actually, exercise is a great stress reliever and mood elevator so, maybe I can…<grin>.

The Gift of Fear: a précis

Ted Truscott — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:54:25 -0400

The Gift of Fear: summing up the strategies used by criminals and con men…

Con men use social skills to get close to and manipulate their victims. They are better at doing this than most people are at seeing through them.
Gavin de Becker wrote an amazing book called: "The Gift Of Fear." In it he identifies 6 strategies that criminals use which can be identified and used to boomerang back on them, whether they are after you wallet or your life.

Reading this is no substitute to reading the book. I wrote this to encourage folks to get it and read it diligently.

1. Forced Teaming - the false “WE” partnership. De Becker gives many examples of what this looks like but it boils down to phrases and attitude that imply that two strangers (one of which is you) have a lot in common and are sharing a moment, getting closer and trusting each other as it were.

Defence - Don’t buy in; make it clear you are not partners and never will be. Who invited him into your life anyway? Raise your voice, be firm, be rude if you want.

2. Charm and Niceness - Charm is what someone does, not what they are. Sincere charm is one social skill that all con men and a lot of street criminals share, but it is fake. They do not mean it and it is very hard to resist.

Defence - If someone is being nice out of the blue, ask, “Why is he being so nice?” Explicitly rebuff his approach with no ambiguous terms. “Go away! Leave me alone!” You may even be rude. If he really is nice, he will listen.

Criminal use of the Social Graces and the defence

Ted Truscott — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:43:31 -0500

In it he identifies 6 strategies that criminals use which can be identified and used to boomerang back on them, whether they are after you wallet or your life.

Reading this is no substitute to reading the book. I wrote this to encourage folks to get it and read it diligently.

1. Forced Teaming - the false “WE” partnership. De Becker gives many examples of what this looks like but it boils down to phrases and attitude that imply that two strangers (one of which is you) have a lot in common and are sharing a moment, getting closer and trusting each other as it were.

Defence - Don’t buy in; make it clear you are not partners and never will be. Who invited him into your life anyway? Raise your voice, be firm, be rude if you want.

2. Charm and Niceness - Charm is what someone does, not what they are. Sincere charm is one social skill that all con men and a lot of street criminals share, but it is fake. They do not mean it and it is very hard to resist.

Defence - If someone is being nice out of the blue, ask, “Why is he being so nice?” Explicitly rebuff his approach with no ambiguous terms. “Go away! Leave me alone!” You may even be rude. If he really is nice, he will listen.

Yama Neko on TV

Ted Truscott — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:14:17 -0400

ShawTV came out and shot 1.5 hours of video and cut it down to this.

I’ll let it speak for itself though some parts I like and some I don’t.

I wish I could have been involved in the editing… :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ttji_047nPg

Naked senior foils B.C. home invasion

Ted Truscott — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:27:31 -0400

Naked senior foils B.C. home invasion
Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, August 12, 2008

http://tinyurl.com/5flh8k

PORT ALBERNI, B.C. :

A Port Alberni, B.C., senior aborted a home invasion on Sunday by wrestling a 12-gauge shotgun away from a female suspect and fending off her male accomplice, police say.
read more

Fit, Not Frail: Exercise as a Tonic for Aging

Ted Truscott — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:53:54 -0400

A friend, Dianna Gordon of No Nonsense Self Defense, culled this article from the New York Times.

I don’t know how long the link will be active but hey, so far so good.

New York Times
http://tinyurl.com/449qnq

Personal Health

Fit, Not Frail: Exercise as a Tonic for Aging
by Jane E. Brody, published: June 24, 2008

Fact: Every hour of every day, 330 Americans turn
60.

Fact: By 2030, one in five Americans will be older
than 65.

Fact: The number of people over 100 doubles every
decade.

Fact: As they age, people lose muscle mass and
strength, flexibility and bone.

Fact: The resulting frailty leads to a loss of
mobility and independence.

Six-and-a-half minutes:

Ted Truscott — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:04:34 -0400

"I know how they were feeling," he said. "It’s like you wish you could have done more."

Six Minutes of horror as Turlock father beats, kills his son; by Julia Prodis Sulek and Ken McLaughlin Mercury News

Canadians, Firearms and Self Defence

Ted Truscott — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:17:15 -0400

Why are we being treated as irresponsible children who can’t be trusted not to burn the house down if the parents leave for a minute?

I just found the CanadaCarry Forum.

Rex Murphy on the gun registry...

Ted Truscott — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:08:35 -0400

I liked this commentary.

It speaks for itself.

Great-Grandma, 83, Fights off Purse Snatcher

Ted Truscott — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:25:56 -0400

March 15, 2008 4:12 AM EDT

Santa Fe N.M. (AP)
(Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican,
http://www.sfnewmexican.com)

Great-grandmother 1, would-be robber 0.

Bernie Garcia at first thought the young man who approached her asking for money while she gassed up her car seemed like a sweet guy.

One of the Seven Survival Signals that can predict violent behaviour as discussed by Gavin De Becker in The Gift of Fear, is charm or niceness