A girl that attended one of my self defense classes has an issue with man that lives in the same building as her. He always attempts to interact with her and ask questions almost like he is fishing for information as she comes and goes; she is usually alone when this happens and it makes her uncomfortable.  He’s not exactly a stranger; he is kind of an acquaintance-stranger.

The other day when she was on her way back to her apartment he said, “Ah, coming back from class?”

So she asked, what can I do about this guy?  He gives her a creepy vibe but has never said anything vulgar, crossed any physical boundaries, threatened or attacked her, so it becomes a bit tricky, because until and unless he does something requiring an assertive response, she’s in a situation where she has a proximity issue with a man who has a right to there, since he lives in the same complex.

I explained to her that this can be somewhat different than the normal scope of the 3E’s of being Elusive: Empathy Excuse Exit, which I taught her for dealing with strangers approaching, though it can be modified to fit the situation. Quick re-cap of 3E's:
Empathy  hands addressing the person, “Sorry man…
Excuse: “…I can’t”
Exit  keep moving if you have mobility

The difference is that he is someone who does not believe he is a stranger to you because you have something in common, therefore his attempts and questions could be different from the norm and drawn out over time, particularly if he is asking about personal information.

Action points: Avoidance and variation of your movement patterns would be preferred.  Does the building have multiple entrances and exits where security cameras, other tenants, or a concierge will be present?

If contact is inevitable any conversation with this person should be engage-to-disengage with the intent of projecting that you are not an interesting person to talk to, you do not engage in small talk, and you don’t divulge personal information.   

*Please note- I am not advocating to be unfriendly to your neighbors, having good neighbors that you communicate with is a great thing and can be beneficial for the safety of the whole community; however, this scenario is different in that she feels particularly uncomfortable about this individual

Back to her example, “Ah, coming back from class?"  Though he can deduce patterns from when he sees you, do NOT say anything that would divulge information about your occupation or schedule.  He does not need to know when you will be home, away, or what floor and room you live in (if he does not already know).

We role-played an example response to this where she got to be the creepy man, and I role-played as her:

Her:  “Ah, coming back from class?”
Me:  “Nah same old shit,” spoken in a disgruntled manner with a disinterested look on my face, as put one hand up like a half-shrug as I walked by her. 
Her: “Whoa, okay.” 

It was odd to her what I said and how I said it.  In this example, what I set forth with my word-choice, tone, and body language that I am not big on small-talk and not interested in talking (concerns me how natural that was for me).  My response also was not a yes or no to the fishing-for-information question.

What you say and how you say it are important.  How you speak to this person should be something that flows naturally with your language pattern so that it is interpreted as authentic.  If you have trouble with this, practice it with a friend.
​
The feedback and response you get after this type of encounter can illuminate whether this person picks up on social cues and personal space, this is important since you will likely see him again.

If seemly creepy guy downgrades from an attempted conversation or fishing for information to an awkward “Hi” or a hand-wave, that’s great, we’re moving in the right direction!  If he continues pressing for information, you have still learned information about this person, maybe that he does not pick up on social cues or does not care.  You still might have to address things more directly or more assertively to make sure it is clear that you are not interested in talking to him.  Regardless, priority would be avoidance, not divulging information, and not hanging around for small talk with the person you do not want to talk to.

Train smart, stay safe, and manage the weird, socially-awkward gray-areas with confidence,
 
Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense

We strongly advocate learning in a hands-on environment where you can get exposure to improve your awareness, mindset, and confidence in handling situations that occur in the real-world.  Not every situation is an outright physical assault, so in addition to having the physical skills to defend yourself, having the skills and confidence to manage the social situations can go a long way to improve your confidence and quality of life.  If you are near the DC or Northern Virginia area, come train with us!

Sign up for one of our introductory self defense courses here

For corporate self-defense training or customized violence prevention training email [email protected]

Girlfriend: “Hey, what do you do when you’re at a stoplight and someone approaches your car?”

Me: (sigh, preparing to enter lecture mode) “What happened?”

Girlfriend: “A guy came up and started knocking on my window, pointing at his wrist like he was asking for the time when I was at a stoplight.”

Me: “OK… what’d you do?”

Girlfriend: “I shrugged my shoulders & shook my head like I didn’t know what he was talking about.  He wanted me to roll down the window but I didn’t.  He stayed there & kept knocking but I just kept acting confused until the light turned green and I could go, even though I was wearing a watch & my phone was in plain sight.”

Me:  “Nice!  That’s awesome!”

Dealing with an unknown pedestrian approaching your car when you are in or transitioning into it:

What I particularly dislike is when individuals do this type of approach when you have the least amount of mobility, as you are entering your car.   I just find it sketchy and I do not engage with them or care what they are asking for. 
As a guy, it’s probably just that they are asking for money, for a girl you could add to that option the possibility of sexual interest, either way: car door shuts, doors lock, windows up, safely get/continue moving.

I’m not waiting around to allow an unnecessary encounter that could be a setup for an attack, and I’m not going to take money out in front of someone I do not know.  There are plenty of good ways to help people in need that can be done without fixating on your money by digging through your wallet/purse in a stationary, seated, non-mobile configuration (car parked or stopped at a stoplight) in front of a stranger.

Making the message clear:

My body language make the message clear that I am not interested and not open to further communication as I safely make my exit.
 
My “NO, NOT INTERESTED” gift basket comes packed with the following items:

• hand signal of no or not interested: shaking hand or finger
• head shaking NO
• clear lip-readable mouthing of the word NO
• clear verbal articulation of the word “NO/ NO, I CAN’T”
• not waiting around for rebuttals or a continued approach

​The way I look at this, if you include the verbal and non-verbal ways I have communicated, I have said NO four times. If someone persists after four clear messages of NO when you are in a mobility compromised position, be prepared to take action, verbal escalation or even physical action could be required depending on the circumstances and what has developed.

If the person persists, well, usually my car is in careful motion so that it does not matter.  It is much harder to get robbed, assaulted or carjacked if your car is moving. If I am not in-action yet, I am ready to escalate or enforce my personal space boundaries- if breached, and make my message very clear.

There are a few incontrovertible rules of self defense.  One of them is to avoid interacting with approaching strangers when you are in a vulnerable position; being seated and strapped into a vehicle puts you at risk.  Rolling down your window and engaging heightens the risk exponentially.  When I get in my car, my goal is to get from Point A to Point B as safely as possible.  No texting and no striking up conversations with people at stoplights or loiterers in parking lots.  You have nothing to gain from these encounters; it’s just not worth the risk.

Train smart & be safe! 
​
Evan Dzierzynski
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
​www.novaselfdefense.com

Every year horrid stories of women getting attacked while running trails get lit up by the media and usually all that results from this usually is fear tactics rather than advice on what to do about it.  "Women urged to be cautious." -Great advice.  I’m writing this post to give readers some useful insight on the problem and some solutions.

Before looking at some safety tips, let’s take a look at the possible opportunities from an attacker’s perspective:

• His victims are alone, running through isolated areas that provide him with cover (trees, buildings, brush)
• His victims are usually unarmed and untrained- most people do not have any self-defense training or carry anything that can be used as a weapon that they know how to access and use
• His victims run at night or early morning-when it is cooler and darker outside
• His victims wear headphones so he knows they’re not likely to hear him approach

When you look at the problem from the perspective of the opportunity that is presented it illuminates why women are frequently attacked while running trails.
 
You should be able to feel safe enough to run by yourself without having to worry about something bad happening to you.  Unfortunately, that is not the world we live in, even in safe places.  You can do little to make the world safer on your own, but you can do a lot to make yourself safer in an unsafe world.

If a criminal has the intent to abduct someone and take them to an isolated area to rape or murder them, what could possibly make it easier for him than a woman running by herself when it’s dark out, through an isolated area with headphones on?

So how can you avoid this?  You’re not going to like the answer.

Do not fit the perfect victim profile of running alone, unarmed and untrained, wearing headphones, especially in isolated areas at night.  

The best protection is to be more proactive with your planning by running with a friend or acquaintance.
Don’t have any friends? Make a friend. Go to a local running club meet up and run with a group.  Local running shoe stores like Pacers have groups that go out on evening runs together.  If you like the group find somebody in that group that runs as good or poorly as you do and get their contact information and run with them. 

“But that’s inconvenient! I don’t want to have to text somebody and plan to run with them.”
Running with someone is the safest option and there is no easy substitute for accepting responsibility for your own personal safety.  Something bad is more likely to happen to you when you are by yourself because you are simply an easier target.

Ultimately it comes down to the cost-benefit analysis you make with any life choice.  What level of risk are you willing accept for the decisions you make? 

Assuming you are running to improve your health, doesn’t it just make sense to take the ultimate step in protecting your health by taking precautions that promote your own safety?

If you are still willing to risk running by yourself these are some considerations

• Ear-buds- consider wearing only one ear bud so that you can still hear background noise- on several occasions while running I have almost slugged someone who brushed up behind me briskly because it startled me since I did not hear them. This was why I switched to 1-bud in.
• Do you run ‘till you flop on the ground like a dying fish? I surely don’t.  I always leave enough in the tank to still be able to move explosively.  On a side note, some great self-defense drills involve sprinting, then striking or doing your skills while fatigued or with a spiked heart-rate
• If you carry a weapon while running- pepper spray, knife, etc., make sure it is something that is actually useful and carried in a manner that you can access it easily.  Knowing how to access it is one level of understanding; having practice and drilling accessing it under stress is on a completely higher level. Side note: if you do choose to carry something that can be used as a weapon- know that it could be used against you, particularly if you pull the weapon and are not willing and capable of using it.
• Get some hands-on self-defense training and an understanding of how to defend the most common types of attacks. 

Under the best circumstances: you are highly trained, you carry a (legal) weapon and are competent with how to use it, you are still betting on your ability to utilize your skills under stress and get your tools on target with an attacker who likely already has the jump on you when your physical state could be diminished (if you’re on the brink of exhaustion from a hard run).

No matter how many people get attacked while running trails, there is logistically, financially and physically no possible way to place a police officer on every mile of every trail to ensure the safety of people running alone, so take ownership of your personal safety by being street smart and reducing opportunities for an attack when you are at higher risk can go a long ways to help keep you safe, as well as help to put those who care about you at ease.

Train smart and stay safe,

Evan D
Owner/Lead Coach
​NOVA Self Defense

​This first video shows illustrates some important lessons and shows the lack of some important concepts.  First off, avoidable violence should be avoided at all costs.  Do not let your ego make bad decisions for you and get into altercations with people willing to engage in violence.
Videos not safe for work:
(youtube took down the videos, can't find a replacement as of yet)

First video: you see what appears start as an altercation or posturing, and then the man on the left punches the guy on the right, so as to put him in his place, teach him a lesson, or possibly portray some type of dominance. The guy on the left staggers a few steps back, pulls out a gun and shoots the man in the face who punched him.  (I don’t know what he got shot with and couldn’t find any back story).

Another important point of any fight that ends up going physical is you must stop the threat and get to safety as soon as possible. Stopping the threat in the context of unarmed self-defense means you are striking the person overwhelmingly until you know that you are safe to remove yourself.  Attacking until person does not have the will or ability to continue their attack or pursue you and you are preferably no longer in proximity for any new variables to be introduced (such as friends of the bad guy or weapons that you were not aware of).

When I analyze these self-defense situations I look at them with my core values in mind to see what can be learned:

If I remove myself when something is sketchy and manage my encounters so as to prevent avoidable violence at all costs, those instances I am forced to go physical should be fewer and when they happen I KNOW I am all-in because going physical was my only or safest option at the time.

You cannot afford to wait around and see if the person has a weapon, friend, or both.  In this case, this guy who participated and possibly instigated the ego-based violence paid the price of getting shot in the face.
 
​To show an example of someone finishing the fight & getting to safety, check out this video:

*There are context differences here in that the back story for this girl apparently was an ongoing bullying situation where she had enough and attacked the boy whereas the video with the two men it was unclear if they had any previous contact with each other. 

Important take-aways from her actions:

• Excellent use of a knee to the face/head. Probably the best knees I've seen in a street fight video.
• When she did enough damage she removed herself and got to safety-sprinting as fast as she could

When the fight was over, she was GONE.  Sprinting to safety in this situation means leaving less possibility for other kids to jump in and come to the aid of their buddy who got mauled; she also outran the frantic staff member that was chasing her and angrily yelling, “Get that girl right now!” 

Running away-would running mean she would get in more trouble? Sure, probably, but place yourself in her shoes… running in my opinion would be safer than allowing an enraged adult who yelled “Get that girl!” to tackle her on concrete.

Train smart, keep your ego on a leash, & stay safe.

Evan Dzierzynski
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense

​

DC news radio WTOP recently interviewed me for personal safety advice because of a rape that occurred on a DC Metro Red Line train at 10:00am on a weekday in April.  The attack involved a man approaching a woman who was sleeping on the train and allegedly asked her, "Do you have a boyfriend?" and "Are you going to Glenmont?" Then the assailant grabbed her, forced her to another part of the train and raped her at knife point. Click here for Washington Post’s report of the incident.  

During the interview I talked about the importance of having awareness and some concepts for managing your personal space, however, there were some things I did not have time to mention about transportation safety that I wanted to address.

Public transportation offers some unique challenges to personal safety in that people you do not know have a justified reason for being close to or within your personal space.  Also, while you are riding or waiting for a subway train or bus you are stationary in a transitional space- a space where people move to and from regularly.  Criminals often take advantage of transitional spaces because of the ease of access to victims and general lack of awareness people have of their surroundings.
Preemptive safety tips:

Maintain mobility: select a position, whether seated or standing, in an arrangement that allows the greatest number of exits and movement directions.  Sure the seat in the back corner of the car seems comfortable because there will be less people around you, but it also means that you are boxed in with only one way out if something happens. 

Is there an emergency button/pull that will contact authorities? This does not make help materialize, but it can potentially draw attention and help get someone to your aid eventually, and should be pulled early if something is escalating.

Some of the problematic encounters with public transportation:

Incidental and intentional unwanted contact- trains can be crowded and incidental contact can occur between passengers in close proximity.  There will be those that will deliberately touch others, particularly women. Someone might take advantage of close proximity and touch you. If you feel that someone is taking advantage of the close proximity in order to touch you, or if  you feel uncomfortable about a certain person being near you, consider removing yourself and moving to a different part of the train.  Depending on the circumstances you might need to say something assertively to get the person to back off- the severity of what they do can justify more aggressive actions as well.

Getting people acclimated to the social element of attacks is an important focus of my self defense classes.  Get comfortable with using your voice and being loud and assertive in situations where it is not an outright assault, but a violation of your space in an unacceptable manner.

A belligerent or aggravated passenger harassing  others but not particularly targeting you- options:

• STAY UNDER THE RADAR- do not give the aggressor a reason to antagonize you. If possible, try to maintain or increase your distance from him.   
• GET OUT. Consider if relocating is feasible then call security or the police once you are in a safer place.  If a fight breaks out and you are situated between the combative parties, you be incidentally at risk of getting hit or injured for an altercation that you were not a part of. 
• DE-ESCALATE/INTERVENE. This is a judgment call since there are risks to your safety for getting involved in someone else’s aggression, and I would not recommend it, especially if you do not have the mindset and skills to handle it if it goes physical.  That said, sometimes you don’t have a choice, but if things go physical, you must always be prepared to FIGHT.

If you feel unsafe about someone specifically targeting you that has not attacked you yet:

Prioritize having mobility- standing rather than sitting; this could mean moving to another area where you can stand up. Keep in mind, movement can range from difficult to impossible when a train is packed like sardines.

Get to relative safety- away from the potential attacker where more people are around then contact security or the police.  If you are completely freaked out by someone’s behavior, better to be early than late, after he attacks.
Relative safety could mean getting off the train or bus, but in some cases exiting could also be a risk if you are in a bad area of town or moving to a more isolated area. 

Getting off the train at a stop and re-entering the same train 1-2 cars down or the next train could work if the person does not follow you.  If you relocate and someone follows you, you KNOW you have a problem. Get your head right and ready to fight or run.  If you have training and are carrying force-multiplier (pepper spray or other self defense weapon) having it in hand and readied prior to contact is ideal.

Being isolated is always a red-flag-your alertness should be at a higher level when you are isolated.  You should be paying close attention to anyone else getting on the train, especially if their presence or anything they are doing makes you uncomfortable.  It doesn’t matter if it’s 9am on a weekday.

Alerted safety tips

• Can I remove myself or stand in a manner that I am readied if I have to defend an attack?
• Both hands free, senses clear, body unencumbered
• No newspaper or phone in hand, no headphones-no backpack on my back/shoulder.

A recent student told me about an encounter she had on the metro when she was the only one on the train and a man approached her, sat down next to her, exposed and started touching himself.  She immediately left and called security- fortunately before anything worse happened. 

For example, another passenger boards the empty train and takes a seat uncomfortably close to you or after getting settled in, moves closer to you. There could still be a natural hesitation in these cases, since this person could be doing so without malicious intent and has a legitimate reason for being on the train with you- to get to his destination-but why would he come closer to you? Is he oblivious to personal space/doesn’t care? Does he want to talk to you? Is he physically attracted to you? Or is this an opportunity because nobody else is around?

There is no catch-all for any self-defense situation; the proximity of the aggressor to you, your circumstances, your options: observe, remove/assert yourself, de-escalate, intervene, fight, etc., will always require analyzing what has lead up to the moment you are in and thinking on your feet to determine your best course of action.

If you found this article useful please share it with others.

Train smart & stay safe,

Evan Dzierzynski
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
www.novaselfdefense.com

I am frequently asked, what’s the difference between a self defense class for women and one that is open to men and women? 

For the most part I am teaching many of the same concepts in a similar format.  There will be some differences in scope and emphasis, but both are aimed to address situations that men and women are likely to encounter.  In women’s self defense classes I am going to give some specific instruction that will be covered particularly for women- wrist grabs and variations of understanding encroachment and how to escalate and use your voice, when appropriate.  

However, time permitting- I also introduce these concepts in the classes for men and women.  Is it likely that a man will have to deal with a wrist grab? No.  Is it likely that a man will have to deal with the creepy encounters that women constantly face? Not likely, but I explain it from the point of view of, here is something you can easily teach to your friend, sister, girlfriend, etc.  It is of value for you to be able to understand something and pass that information on to someone you care about.

Concerned women- but training with men is scary, right?  I know it may seem uncomfortable but my main goal is providing a safe, a positive learning environment for everyone in my sessions. I would prefer women be paired up with men for some of the drills, so that they can work with someone potentially bigger, stronger/taller, and get a  better imprint of what targets are available, and learn how size and build can affect movement, mechanics, and your options.

In an introductory self-defense seminar my intent is not to crank the intensity dial to a 10 and see who stays standing.  There will be opportunities for you to push harder and work at a faster pace if you want, and I will push your comfort zone, but I have to push comfort zone intelligently and safely. This means that our drills can be scaled up or scaled down to the intensity that you need in order to make you safer and more effective at defending yourself.

Regardless of this, there are still women who are more comfortable training in an environment of only other women, so women-only classes will still be a regular offering, and currently my women’s only classes are now open to girls age 13-16 if an adult registers and also attends the session.

Train smart, stay safe, & sign up early!
​
Evan Dzierzynski
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
www.novaselfdefense.com

That largely depends on your short and long-term goals.  If you are purely interested in self-defense and not looking for a long-term training plan, try to find a professional with a broad background that can teach you a mental, physical, and social skill-set in a compressed amount of time that covers the types of attacks you are likely to encounter- encroachment, aggression, grabs, punches, and the social behaviors that occur prior to these assaults. If you enjoy training, find a martial art that engages and challenges you that also teaches beneficial self-defense skills.




What about martial arts training-isn’t that self-defense?
Martial arts can compliment, improve, or steer you away from solid self-defense skills, depending on what you are learning, how it is presented, and if delineations are made between the katas, competitive sport applications, and personal defense skills, and whether or not the skills learned can apply to real world attacks.  I am an advocate of martial arts training because of the positive affect it has had on my life: friendships I have made, learning movement and exercise, the foundation of skills I have built, and continuously being challenged are great things. Though, I have learned to take a step back and analyze what I am learning and where it fits in with respect to real-world self-defense.

A problem on both sides
I’ve seen self-defense instructors that neglect learning martial art fundamentals: lack foundational striking skills, grappling, footwork, and head movement, and do not have a desire to learn martial art because they think their reality based self defense training is all-encompassing.

I’ve also seen martial arts instructors that lack self-defense skills-they are unfamiliar or have unrealistic expectations of what attacks really look like and how they occur, they may have technical proficiency in movement, but do not have a grasp on what skills to use in the street, and in some cases do not seek out new concepts specifically addressing self-defense because they think their training is all-encompassing.

BOTH OF THESE situations are problematic.

My recommendation for those who enjoy training is that you can do both.  For martial artists- I suggest immersing yourself in some type of broad, self-defense training that covers assaults (see the points above), then go back to your martial arts training and re-discover what skills will be useful to you in an attack.  For self-defense practitioners- I suggest immersing yourself in martial arts that will give you a foundation of skills in multiple disciplines: try out a school that has multiple offerings or that integrates stand-up, grappling, and fighting from the ground and take what is useful for you- find something that you enjoy that engages you. I was fortunate that Cuong Nhu, where I started training martial arts, was based on multiple different disciplines and integrated these skills, so I had early access to many aspects of training.

At this point in my training career, I’m not really seeing new movement, just new ways of presenting and practicing or training with movement.  I approach training with other professionals with the mindset of what are the best things I can take away from this training to better relate to my audience and make them safer.
 
When I do this I find great bits of information ALL of in the trainings I attend from other instructors, even if I don’t 100% agree with them.

A few correlations of useful bits of training from martial arts that I have experienced:

Wrestling/jiu-jitsu: I used to feel that training jiu-jitsu was giving me bad street-defense habits because 95% of the training I was doing started and stayed on the ground, but now the place I am training always starts their grappling standing up, so you have to either take the person down or get taken down to work your non-vertical ground game.  This is a great opportunity for me to work my takedown defense under pressure with my personal focus being working skills that would translate better to the street: working to get to the back, flanking, arm-drags, and no slamming my knees on the mat on a takedown because in the street that will be concrete.

Boxing: footwork, head movement, angling, combinations, defense, and generating striking power. What's not to like!

Point sparring in traditional martial arts- barely making contact, more of a game of timing and speed- seems really impractical at face value but change the scenario to there being two guys trying to close distance on you and you have a small knife in-hand. Your understanding of movement and timing could help keep them off you.

Aikido: seems really complex and for the most part; the joint-locks and finesse are not something I would advocate during an attack-but the concept of redirecting someone into a wall could be very handy.
​
In conclusion, there are useful things you can take away from almost every martial art.  Sometimes you have to be open-minded and re-discover them as an eager white belt.

Train smart & stay safe,
​
Evan Dzierzynski
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
www.novaselfdefense.com

Would you let someone you do not know use your phone to make a call if they had a compelling reason to do so?Read this story, then ask your significant other/friend what they would do if someone asked to borrow their phone. Then tell them what happened to this guy:

A recent report from Arlington County Police Department reads:
​
At approximately 2:45 p.m. as a male victim was walking down the street he was approached by a male suspect who requested to use his cellphone. The victim complied and the suspect began walking away from the victim with his cellphone. The victim followed the subject in an attempt to regain his cellphone at which point two additional male suspects approached the victim. Two of the suspects brandished handguns and robbed the victim of his personal belongings. 

How could this have potentially have been avoided? If you have trained with me you know that the first drill I teach is for dealing with encroachment from someone you don’t know:

The 3E’s of being Elusive: Empathy, Excuse, Exit. 

Hands up, -sorry man, I can't- and keep walking-keeping an eye on the person, making sure they are not following or closing distance on you.

This seems like an easy example to dismiss and say, of course I'd never do that, but under what circumstances would you be more likely to comply and help a stranger?  

• What if the person asking was a woman?
• What if the person had a compelling story about how they can't find their kid but their phone is dead?
• What if they sold you on their story or emotionally drew you in?

My goal is for you to be well on your way before allowing the scenario to unfold- before getting to hear the story and feeling bad about the person's situation, if in fact it is a ruse.

You do not owe anyone your time, money, use of your phone, or any other favors-especially when you do not know them.

Another bit of food for thought- following the man who has your phone to another location- where his armed accomplices are located, is essentially allowing yourself to be abducted- never do this.

Make yourself a harder target-  It's OK to say no, address the person to disengage, and be in a hurry and on your way.  If the encroachment persists- you have other options.

Train smart & stay safe,

Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense

A couple weeks ago I attended an Edged Weapon Overview with Craig Douglas, owner/creator of Shivworks.  This class is a broad overview of close-range knife skills.  The class was split about 50/50 with training for controlling the person and mitigating the knife attack in grappling range as well as accessing and utilizing your own knife if you carry one and using it in close range or at keep-him-off-me-range.

What I appreciated from this course was how much it implicitly stressed the need for broad fundamentals.  The base skill set in which the drills were introduced were movements derived from Greco-Roman wrestling.  What I found extremely helpful from this course is that you learn a lot from the variations in the training modalities and constantly changing of training partners.  With a group of 20+ people of varying sizes, athleticism, training backgrounds, and “go-speeds” you get a better feel for who you are with the drills and what you can make your own, even more so in the “competitive” iterations of the drills, where both participants are trying to competitively win the drill- the drills still had boundaries and particular focus points, rather than a free-for-all, but this is method of training, which I would prefer to differentiate from the word “sparring" was task specific, mostly with a particular skill-focus under the stress and pressure of somebody not letting you technically perform the task. 

This class also did an excellent job of pushing comfort zones during the "Evos," which are competitive training scenarios with high intensity that last for an unknown amount of time (maybe 30-60 seconds... felt like an eternity), with the participants wearing minimal gear- big padded helmets (which were thankfully pretty good at absorbing strikes) and either training knives or boxing gloves.  

All and all it was a very good experience and illuminated how crucial distance, time and movement when you are within arms-reach and someone is attempting to attack you with a knife.  If you are serious about carrying a gun or knife and need skills for accessing it under stress, I highly recommend checking into training with Shivworks.

Train smart & stay safe,

Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense

Video not safe for work
Things this guy did well:
He was bigger, stronger, and clearly more skilled than the guy he took out.  He did not posture, threaten, or try to interject with the aggressive shirtless “weirdo” and he did not telegraph his intention.  When he decided to act, he placed him in a rear-naked choke before the aggressor even knew of his presence, in fact, before he was even on frame in the video.

Post choke-out considerations when he came back to consciousness:
It was pretty clear that he didn’t have much fight left in him after the choke, but I couldn’t help but think, I do not like that his arms are free and that he can reach his waistband. If he had a knife concealed in his jeans he may have had the opportunity to access it and get it into play on the Good Samaritan’s legs.  Could the skilled good guy stomp him out & finish the fight again, very likely, but I don’t leaving opportunities for unknowns.

If you are a skilled individual and you go hands-on with someone and you are in a position where you have to stick around, such as in this case, they were on a moving train and it was clear that a Sheriff would be present soon, you need to consider a few things.

Are there secondary threats?
It was pretty clear that the aggressor did not have any supportive friends on the train.  You likely would have seen some involvement with them, either coming to his aid, egging him on to fight, talking him out of the fight, or somehow reacting or protesting when he was put into the choke.  Also, the other aggressive individuals that were posturing and challenging the shirtless guy were clearly not on his side; however, a sucker punch attempt during or shortly after the choke attempt could have placed the good Samaritan in danger incidentally/accidentally.

Don’t let the bad guy back into the fight.
Consider securing the person in a manner that does not put you in danger. Make sure that he cannot get back into the fight or access a weapon that you are unaware of.

The Good Samaritan did a good job of keeping his mobility while holding the choked out aggressor down in that he likely would have seen a second person approach him. Unlikely, but  you find yourself in this situation (as a skilled person), consider a means of restraining that does not put the person’s body in a configuration that interferes with his ability to breathe, especially if he is going to be restrained for a significant amount of time. If the threat is over, and you hold the person in a manner that causes him to die from positional asphyxia, this could be a big legal problem for you.
​
Have an understanding of the laws regarding use of force
Also, hopefully you have a good understanding of use of force and are able to articulate why what you did was reasonable if the police are to be involved, and why it was the least amount of force necessary to stop the threat.
Consider if the person who recorded the video started recording at the beginning of the choke rather than showing the previous aggression, you might have a completely different story being told to the police from what was apparent given when the video started.  Also- keep in mind we don’t know what happened prior to the beginning of the video.

Train smart & stay safe,

Evan D
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense

There is probably no other transition we prep for more rigorously in our lifetime; even in the past couple decades, the preparation for college has started at an increasingly young age.  But somewhere between the SAT tutoring and the extracurricular activities to add to the application, we forget that these kids are about to go off and live as adults very shortly. 

Eighteen-year-olds are still kids in many ways, and this is in large part due to the emphasis of today’s American culture on teaching with books rather than with practical experiences.  We have all heard the criticism that many high school kids are not taught life skills like how to balance a checkbook, build good credit, or do their own laundry – all very important things, but I can’t tell you how many parents approach me weeks before their kids leave for college and realize they have not addressed something incredibly important with their children: personal safety.  Like everything else outside of academic performance, it understandably gets put on the back-burner.

This is one of my most frequent training inquiries and I wanted to illuminate some helpful ideas for preparing teens that are going off to college soon, particularly things that I might not get to discuss in my intro self-defense seminars.

The old boxing saying, protect yourself at all times, is an good adage to live by.  It does not mean that you should be hyper-vigilant or paranoid about everything and everyone you encounter; it means you should have an overlying awareness and question the intent of people you are unfamiliar with in new environments.

Protecting your money and personal information: Since this is the first time your son or daughter will be living independently, consider talking to them about the type of soliciting calls, emails, and other attempts that they will likely encounter of people that will try to take advantage of them financially, whether by scam, misleading information, or offers and opportunities that seem “too good to be true.”
That free “College” t-shirt and slice of pizza may seem like a good idea at the time, but is it really worth the credit card that comes with the 29% interest rate?  

Campus safety and pre-planning: Can you schedule your classes in an efficient manner that doesn’t have you running all over the place and taking night classes?  Spoiler alert- night classes are not much fun, but sometimes they are unavoidable. In many schools there are on-campus programs with male-female volunteer teams that that will walk you to and from your classes at night by request.  Contact your college’s campus safety office to see if they have something like this available. Having some guidance and pre-planning in place can go a long ways in instilling confidence in a completely new environment.

How different is your destination from your current safety bubble? I have taught self defense at many private schools and have found that some small schools have honor codes, where the students are comfortable with leaving their valuables and backpacks in plain sight without worrying about theft.  This is a very rare privilege that does not transfer beyond the safety bubble of small private schools.  Protect yourself at all times means- somebody might take my stuff, I need to be cautious about what I leave laying out and keep an eye on my belongings. This also means not leaving valuables in your car.

What is the environment surrounding your college campus? College campuses range from relatively secured areas to spread out areas located within cities, where many individuals not affiliated with the university will be passing through. Also, since students will spend some of their time off-campus, it is important to consider safety of the surrounding areas, not just the campus-especially for students that will be living in off-campus housing.

Sexual assault: Various surveys of college campuses including the 2007 ­Campus Sexual Assault Study, have found that approximately 20-25% of undergraduate women have experienced sexual misconduct (Gray, 2015). (In depth post coming soon on sexual assault & college campus crime statistics).  Campuses have been taking action to address sexual misconduct, offering seminars for incoming freshman on topics like healthy sexual relationships and bystander-awareness to stop sexual assault.  These programs are a step in the right direction, but it is crucial to emphasize to all individuals: your safety is in YOUR hands.  

Thus, as with any type of personal safety training, I strongly advocate putting the tools in place before the moment they are needed – so that teens can build the skills, self-confidence, and awareness necessary to understand the complexities of the new social environment they are entering.  It is the unfortunate reality that many teens will not seek out personal safety training until they have a reason to do so – whether through personal experience, or hearing of a friend’s endangerment.

There are many things to consider when talking to your kids about going off to college and the transition to independence in a new environment.  So, if I had to boil it down, what would I personally say to a teen?  At the conclusion of a recent self-defense seminar for high school seniors, the organizer of the session asked me,

“What is the most important piece of advice you would tell these kids as they go off to college?” 

• For everyone: awareness.  So much can be done by simply tuning into your surroundings.  Watch yourself and your belongings.  Watch others- not just in the sense of protecting yourself, but help watch out for them by being aware.  Campus culture is determined by what kids will and will not put up with among their peers.
• Guys: take a deep breath and check yourself. Don’t let your ego get the best of you in avoidable situations.
• Girls: be okay with setting boundaries.  Be okay with letting other people be very aware of your boundaries.  Give yourself permission to say no, assert yourself, escalate, and even fight if your “no” is not respected.

Train smart & stay safe,

Evan Dzierzynski
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense

If you found these tips useful please feel free to share them with others.

Gray, Eliza. (June 15 2015) University Survey highlights role of 'Verbal Coercion' in Sexual Assault, Time Magazine. http://time.com/3936005/university-michigan-sexual-misconduct-survey/ 

ATTEMPTED MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 160211049, 1000 block of N. Quincy Street. At approximately 8:40 p.m. on February 11, an unknown male subject approached a male victim and attempted to stab him. The victim was able to use self-defense in fighting off the suspect and then fled. The suspect was accompanied by three additional male subjects. The first suspect that brandished a knife is described as a white male in his teens, approximately 5’10” tall with a slim build. The three accompanying suspects are described as males wearing grey-hoodie style jackets.

You can read the news story here

Breakdown of what was  reported about the incident:

• Victim took a secluded shortcut at night RED FLAG
• Knife was brandished at some point (unclear when in the timeline of the attack)  IMMEDIATE ACTION RED FLAG
• The attacker told the victim he was about to stab him as part of a gang initiation RED FLAG ON FIRE WITH SMOKE BILLOWING OUT OF IT
• The intended victim secured the attacker's wrist, then hit him in the face, potentially injuring him- look at the result first, it worked! However, there may have been opportunities to strike first or run away prior to the stabbing or brandishing of the weapon.  Intelligent self-defense includes implementing options and actions prior to discovering the attacker has weapons and friends.
• As the other potential attackers attempted to closed on him he ran to safety- GOOD, he got away.

Important takeaways from this incident:

• Avoid the secluded shortcut at night
• He may have been able to run prior to the verbal engagement with the attacker but that is unclear from the reported information- have an understanding of when you can run and when running is not feasible. Running was an excellent decision when he discovered 3 more guys coming towards him. 
• He was very lucky that the intended attacker forewarned him of the attack; it almost seems as though maybe the attacker wasn't committed to attack the kid.  Had he been seriously committed and not announced his attack (or shown his weapon, unclear if he did this) it would have been significantly more difficult for him to defend effectively- not impossible, but more difficult.
• Its tough to say how quickly the event unraveled and at what distance, but dealing with the unknown contact is critically important,even more so when things don't "add up."  Why is someone approaching me at night in a secluded area? What is his intent? In what way could this ever be advantageous for me to get drawn into this conversation with a stranger, in a secluded area, at night?
• The biggest indicator in this situation was when the intent of the attacker was determined. This is not a robbery, he didn't want your stuff. He wanted you stabbed, bleeding out, possibly dead, as part of a sick ritual. You will always have to think for yourself self defense situations, and sometimes you need to find that f**k it switch that turns you into the one doing violence, attacking the attacker, when violence cannot otherwise be avoided.

UPDATE: the kid who reported this story admitted that he made the story up and was charged with filing a false police report.  This makes sense since it seemed odd that the attacker announced the attack, he was able to defend the knife attack, injure the attacker, and escape the gang unscathed.

Updated important take-away:

• Be respectful of police officer's time. Don't file false police reports. The police have plenty of real work to keep them busy.

Train smart & stay safe,
Evan D
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense

 How can you find out who you really are and how you respond in a crisis?  This was a great concept a previous client, Mike, introduced me to in a discussion we had.  One consideration is to reflect on things that have happened in your past that were emergencies that required you to take immediate action; most relevant are the situations where you believed your life was in danger.

The first outlying incident that comes to mind for me was when I was maybe 17-18 and my dad had death threats coming to him from an employee he fired.  We had a sheriff guarding our house on several occasions, and then one day with no guard present, a truck pulled into our driveway. The driver and the vehicle both fit the description of the fired employee.  As he walked up to the front door I heard my dad’s girlfriend announce, “Ed, he’s here” and I got sinking feeling about how unprepared mentally and physically I was for something bad happening to me.  Everyone else bolted out the back door into the backyard but I was panicked in fear and paced back and forth between two rooms, unable to decide between whether to run or hide, which were the only options I had at that time; fight had never been a consideration.

The person that arrived ended up being in-house security from my dad’s company, not in uniform… poor decision to arrive unannounced as a substitute for a sheriff, since he looked like the other guy and drove the same type of vehicle.  We were fortunate this was a fluke.

Many years later I can understand why I reacted that way. My inaction and lack of options were in alignment with how people with no training think… “it will never happen to me.” The thought of something bad like that happening had never even crossed my mind.

The last few years have been happily uneventful with respect to extreme stress; however, I have had situations recently that were high stress and required full sprints under difficult conditions with no preparation of the event, where something else was at risk.

For example, chasing our foster dog that escaped out of my back door required a full sprint in my socks in several inches of snow for about 150 yards.  Chasing my girlfriend’s dog, through rain and mud at night, initially wearing flip flops, when he broke the leash, and doing it again a week later again, in socks (yeah, some repeated patterns here…and please don’t ask me to dog-sit for you). 

The main difference with these examples is that in the first story I believed my life was in danger, so the stress was extreme; in the dog scenarios, though I believed the dogs were in danger of getting away or getting hit by a car, the stress was less than when I perceived my life was in immediate danger. In retrospect, she would have killed me if I was the reason she lost her dog, so my life was at stake.

Also, by dog escape incident 3, I had built up experience on what had worked for me under stress and what had failed, and how to adapt and resolve this specific incident to get the dog back safely.

So what do you do with these assessments and reflections from your past?

Learn from them and consider what your options would be in a similar situation or how you can extrapolate useful information from how you handled certain stressful events.

You are the summation of your training, mindset, and useful experiences that you can draw upon in need.
If an event happened to you where you perceived your life was in danger, reflecting on it and learning from how you felt, how you responded, and how you handled yourself is a huge learning opportunity, and it is something that only you can do. If you are in a profession where emergencies are prevalent (law enforcement, first responders, military, etc), you likely have a lot more experiences to draw upon.

It's important to know what you are capable of in situations that you would never otherwise test because of the inherent risk.  I would never sprint as fast as I can in the snow wearing only socks without any warming up. There’s too much chance of injury: pulling a muscle or slipping and injuring myself, but I can do it, I have already done it, and if I had to do it again to sprint away from danger or towards it, I know I can.

Train smart, stay safe, & don't clip the leash to the small key-ring on the dog's name-tag!

Evan Dzierzynski
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
​www.novaselfdefense.com

Here's a non-exhaustive list of attributes/skills that would be ideal to possess:

• being in good physical health
• physical mobility: being capable of walking, running, striking, and performing normal physical functions
• physical fitness: tuning your ability by having put in work
• active awareness of your surroundings
• unarmed self-defense training
• possess/carry useful tools and have associated training with accessing and using tools in the appropriate context: (ANY tool suitable for a situation: knife, gun, pepper spray, automobile, tools to fix a flat tire, first aid kit)
• positive, winning mindset
• ability to swim 
• control of self and emotions
• first aid training/emergency medical management
• verbal agility/persuasive verbal skills

What are your weakest links? 

What type of external events could happen to you to exploit your weakest link(s) and severely impact your quality of life in a negative manner?

For example, lets say you are well-rounded, well-trained, and fit, but when someone does something that rubs you the wrong way you turn from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde and get involved in an unnecessary road rage altercation that turns into a physical fight. That physical fight could cost you a significant amount of freedom if police, charges, and lawsuits occur as a result.  You could even lose your job depending on who you work for!

It takes being introspective to rank what you are good at, bad at, and things you know nothing about, but attacking those things rather than dismissing them makes you safer and better prepared for unknowable events and everyday life.

There is zero downside to becoming better at any one item on this list, and many of these can carryover positively into other aspects of your life and potentially positively affect someone else that is in need.

Train smart, stay safe, & don't be a one-trick pony,

Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense. 

We offer self defense seminars and corporate training in Seattle WA and Washington DC metro areas

A video is making its rounds of a little boy and his Father in Paris talking about the recent, horrific terrorist attacks.  When I first watched it, I thought it was heartfelt and made me thankful that even in the face of evil there is still good in the world. 

I thought the way the father talked to his son and the message about not changing his way of life was beautiful.  Then I saw it posted on a self-defense page and witnessed the backlash of comments,



“How could he deceive his child that way?"
“He’s giving a false sense of hope and security to his kid!”
“Flowers don’t save people, guns do!”

We all know that flowers and candles do not protect people from guns and bombs, but how this man raises his son and teaches his child about the world is up to him and his family, and them alone.

I do, however, have an appreciation for his character and what part of his message represents. Yes, bad things happen, but no, we will not let that affect us, stoop to their level, or live in fear.

You do not let terrorism or violence bully you or intimidate how you live your life, and you do not have to hate your enemy.

This rings true for personal defense and violence that we might face on an individual level as well. It does no good to invest hatred or disgust in the monsters the media portray.

Living a life of hatred, disgust, and rage is not healthy and does not bring about a healthy, happy life.

What’s more important is that if you are ever faced with real evil, you must understand enough about it to destroy it without hesitation.

You do not have to hate the monster to slay the monster.


Evan Dzierzynki
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense

Get off the couch!  No, not the dog, I mean you.

After attending my introductory session people often ask "What can I do to improve the physical aspect of my self-defense skill-set?"

Before I give them specific advice one of the first questions I ask is,

What do you do for exercise? Or what athletic activities do you do?

If the answer is “nothing” we’ve got some work to do. I have seen vast gaps in initial capacity in participants I have trained over the past 6-7 years.  By initial capacity, what I mean is, given a very short amount of time:

How well can you move? How quickly can you learn and adapt?  

Quite simply: Your level of fitness or lack thereof can be a huge limiting factor in your ability to use your body to defend yourself.

If you are not doing anything active, the short answer to improving your self-defense capacity is to explore making physical activity part of your lifestyle. Find a type of exercise that you are interested in that you find fun and rewarding - bonus points if it is functional and builds strength.  Not only will increase your quality of life in many ways, but it will also lay the physical foundation for self-protection.  My clients who come in with a solid fitness background show increased body awareness, faster reaction times, and more forceful strikes - all key elements when you are in a life-or-death situation.

Sometimes people in sedentary jobs will tell me that they do not exercise, but want to get better at the skills I teach. There is a huge gap for those lacking practice with using their bodies.

Let’s set aside the mindset and non-physical. EVERYONE can benefit from learning how to understand the pre-cursors to attacks, how to improve their awareness and listen to their intuition.  

Imagine the challenge of trying to teach someone the physical aspects of personal defense who has not done anything active besides moderate walking, for the past 5, 10, or 20 years.  

“Ok, now we are going to go over using your palm/elbow/knee as a tool to generate force that you are going to hit somebody with as hard as you can.”

How does this stack up to someone who you can work with who has a moderately athletic background and therefore more practice with a range of motor-patterns and potentially greater strength?

Sometimes I don’t have the luxury of time, I’m hired for a single session, and one of my main goals is hoping that something sticks, and the participants will change their mindset or lifestyle to that of a more positive, active, and prepared lifestyle.

Bottom line is that you don’t have to be a cardio kickboxing champion, Crossfit games athlete, or ninja to be good at learning self-defense, but if you don’t live an active life, any physical challenge that comes your way will be more difficult.

Train smart, stay safe, and get off the couch.

Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense

For 2016 our training plan is to continue to offer two-session introductory self-defense classes in Arlington at CrossFit South Arlington, alternating women's classes with classes open to men and women once every 1-2 months.

At our Falls Church location, the small yoga room, we will continue to offer multiple-session courses, but may experiment with offering two or three session courses, offered once per week, rather than solely offering the condensed 4-session course.  

We recently introduced a local martial arts school to a modified version of our condensed self-defense course, which included doing scenario training, these types of courses might be opened to the general public in 2016, and the location is in Arlington.

After every 2-3 introductory courses, the plan is to offer a Fundamentals II class.  Our hopes are to continue with the Gun/Knife focus, and to add a Multiple Attacker focus, as well as a fighting from the ground course.

Experiencing the build-up to an attack, even when it is artificial can cause adrenaline, a freeze, and/or a host of other reactions in participants unfamiliar with aggressive language and behavior.  Once some fundamentals have been established it is good to experience it now and then as an assessment of how you are at utilizing your skill-set under pressure.

Some of the biggest challenges are role-playing the bad-guy role, acting, and understanding that even with good protective gear, you can’t go full force, full speed and keep everyone involved safe.  Safety-wise, you have to come up with a compromise that works for your group.

Acting/role playing: at face value, you either have it or you don’t.  If you struggle with taking on the bad-guy role, consider being an angry aggressive version of you.  Think about when you are driving and some idiot does something stupid, cuts you off, almost hits you, putting your well-being at risk.  Be THAT version of you that yells aggressively in the car, when the scenario requires an escalation (you do that too, right?).

Scenarios should NOT always be, “Bro, you spilled my beer!” or “Hey mother f-er! Bla bla bla!”  Consider scenarios that allow gray areas. 

Scenario training quick-tips:

• Not every scenario should be a fight.  The role-player should have some instances where verbal de-escalation is possible to allow escaping without going physical.
• Some scenarios should have no verbal or build up. 
• You should be practicing your engage-to-disengage skills as well.  
• Movement with your hands-up non-aggressive posture when applicable
• Employing the 3-Es if you think you can get away without engaging (empathy excuse exit), “sorry man” and keep moving!
• Identifying secondary threats- having a second role-player enter the scene or get involved in the dialogue during the build-up.

Think of scenario training as gaining the experience of taking an important test.  It’s good to get some experience with it, but doing tons of scenario-work can be counter-productive if you don’t have sound fundamentals.

Don’t just take the test 40 times, study for what’s going to be on the test, then re-test and assess your skills!

Prepare for what is likely to be on the test and to get familiarity with decision-making under stress, then evaluate what areas you need to work on.

One thing I’ve done to help take the thinking out conducting scenarios is create a cheat-sheet with some possible encounters.  The conductor of the drills gets to decide what the bad guy(s) will be doing, the actual attack, the duration of any relevant build-up, and the orientation of the good guy.  This takes some of the thinking out for the bad guy, and helps the students experience a wider array of scenarios and responses.

Train smart & stay safe,
Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
www.novaselfdefense.com

I had a good discussion with a participant in my recent fundamentals intro class, who was retired law enforcement officer with a lot of broad self-defense training and real hands-on experience from his line of work.  Something that he said stood out, that his training goals are seeking out new perspectives on fundamentals that work for him.

With his 20+ years of experience it is unlikely that anything I showed him was new, but illuminating the same problems from different angles provides a greater understanding of perspective, which may have given him insight on what works for him, whether that be from confirming his previous ideas or adopting modifications and new concepts to his belief system on what will likely work for him to keep him safe.

The idea of perspective resonates with something my first martial art instructor said during a post class lecture, “Reality is the sum of all perspectives.”  If you only see things from one angle, how much can you really know about the subject?  An underlying problem in the martial arts and self-defense industry is the “know-everything complex” that I believe in XYZ and tune everything else out.   I’ve been fortunate enough cross paths with multiple individuals having a wealth of knowledge that are open-minded to new ideas because they understand that no one source holds all the information.

Sometimes I’ll attend a new seminar where the prioritization of concepts that are being taught don’t resonate with my perspective-(my perspective is prioritizing things that can be learned quickly and taught easily to people who do not have any training in efforts to deal with the most probable encounters they might face.)  This is my perspective because it is what resonates best with me and with my interpretation of what my clients need.

However, without investigating this instructor’s perspective, I could be tuning out useful information that could work for someone with goals different than mine. For example, a more experienced person in a security role seeking solutions for their field endeavor could be better suited for learning joint manipulation and leverage than a civilian whose primary goal is avoidance and personal defense.

I’ve learned something useful from everyone I’ve trained with.  I encourage you to get out and learn from someone new.  More exposure to relevant information makes you more well-rounded and knowledgeable.

Stay safe & keep learning,

Evan D.
Owner Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense