Home Invasion

I was sitting at a restaurant bar having dinner and started a conversation with a very nice, intelligent couple from Texas sitting next to me. As we told stories and laughed, I couldn’t help but notice the horrific scars on the women's left hand. I asked “What happened to your hand? It looks like a tiger clawed you!” Her husband immediately said “She doesn’t talk about that.” He was in disbelief when she said “I think I’m ready to talk about it now.” After she told me the story she wept, and her hands were trembling. This is how traumatic a life or death fight can be on one’s life.

A year earlier her family was relaxing in front of the television. This couple had two children, a girl thirteen and a boy age nine. The door bell rang, her husband went to the door and looked through the peep hole. There was a smiling man, matching brown shirt, pants and hat, a box in his hand. “Delivery” he said. As soon as the door was opened the man dropped the box and took out a knife. “Give me what I want and nobody gets hurt.” Dad lets the intruder in and said “Take what you want, just don’t hurt my family.”

The Mother and two kids stood petrified not knowing what to do. Things immediately got worse. He duct taped the compliant husband to a chair, hands behind his back. He ordered the wife to gather money and jewelry, and she did. But that was not enough. He then told the young girl to take off her clothes. Realizing the intruder was going to rape her daughter, the women jumped on him swinging. She was quickly hit and thrown to the floor. The boy, age nine, trying to protect his mom, picked up a figurine and tried to hit the man with no effect. He turned on the boy, threw him to the floor, and punched him unconscious.

When she saw that, she turned into a wild animal and gabbed the first thing she could -- a table fan with sharp, spinning metal blades. As the blades cut into her hand and fan cord was pulled out of the wall (it was like slow motion), she hit the scumbag in the back of the head. Screaming, she kept hitting him with the fan, even though he was unconscious after the first blow. She kept bashing his head until her husband yelled to her to stop. She said she wanted to kill him. After freeing her husband and duct taping the intruder, they called the police.

Everybody survived, and the scumbag was put in prison.

ADVICE:

• Prepare your family ahead of time for emergencies, what to do if there is a fire, or, if outright horror breaks out.
• Have a secret word if horror presents itself. When yelled, your family knows to run to their designated escape routes. Practice the escape, just once actually is enough.
• Research shows that taking control away from the perpetrator as soon as possible can throw the situation in your favor.
• The longer you wait to act, the worse it will get!

Corrections Officer (a Competitive Boxer) Chooses Guided Chaos to Defend Himself from Prisoner Attack

"As a corrections officer at a major facility in the U.S. I was assigned in mid-2009 to work a mentally disabled inmate section. I had been preparing for my first amateur boxing competition which was to take place later that month. There was a lot on my mind that day. I was visualizing my bout. I didn't know if I was going to be boxing a south-paw, orthodox, boxer, slugger, aggressive fighter and so on.

That day, I was getting ready to call my unit to the evening meal. There was an inmate in cell X. He was a man in his 40's. He's approximately 6'1", 200 lbs. He had a long history of getting into fights with other inmates. He's a quiet inmate. One that never gave me any problems. Inmate X was always the last guy out of my unit every time I sent the unit to chow. That day I called him down from his cell. I asked X if he was going to chow and he replied yes. I said that he could have a seat in the dayroom, that way when the unit went to chow he'd be one of the first ones to be let out. He looked at me with a dazed look and went back up to his cell.

Moments later, the call came over the radio to let the unit out to chow. I opened all 40 doors at the same time. All 70 or so inmates exited the unit for chow. Suddenly, I heard Inmate X yelling at the top of his lungs as he walked down the tier yelling all kinds of nasty obscenities. At first I couldn't figure out if he was yelling at myself or another inmate. As X stood at the top of the tier, he was looking right at me and still yelling at the top of his lungs. At that moment it dawned on me that he was yelling at me. I quickly moved my office chair in case he made a mad dash into the Officer's Station. X walked past me giving me the look as if he wanted to kill me. I then called for back up on the radio to assist with X.

I followed Inmate X outside of the unit. I ordered Inmate X to face the wall. X had both fists clenched with his chest protruding outwards looking as if he was ready to fight. I again ordered X to face the wall but nothing was getting through to him. As X came into my personal space, I didn't even think once. To put it in a nut shell, I reacted with what I had been taught in a Guided Chaos/Close Combat class. It wasn't the countless hours I spent in the gym working the hooks, uppercuts, or the ones or two's or the countless combinations on the heavy bag. None of my boxing skills that I had been doing for well over 10 years even came into play. It was the Guided Chaos that dropped Inmate X to the ground in one motion that saved me. X didn't even know what hit him. It was over just like that.

Violent encounters with inmates are always going to happen. The question is when. Thank you for teaching what you do. Guided Chaos is beyond a shadow of a doubt the best stuff out there. It just goes to show that anything can happen, anytime anywhere."

--Names and places withheld by request

Attacked with Clubs

Gavin was visiting some friends one evening.  At the same time, there was a party going on in a downstairs apartment.  When Gavin left, some men from the party came out and became belligerent with him.  Two of them were very large, agitated, and apparently high on some kind of drugs.  When Gavin got to the front of the building, two men assaulted him from behind with four-foot long clubs.  A savage and brutal attack ensued.  Gavin stated that because of his training in Guided Chaos, he was able to remain loose and elusive, allowing him to escape with only minor injuries.  Otherwise, he states, “he might’ve been killed.”  Gavin made the personal choice to escape, rather than use the deadly force available to him from his extensive training.  At key points in the fight, he was able to evade strikes while simultaneously moving in, allowing him to get his fingers right on his attacker’s eye balls – but chose not to strike through them.  This option is available when you know how to use effective geared down force, something not possible when all you know are restraining moves like locks and holds that police reports show can be ineffective against enraged or drug-crazed assailants. 
--Gavin P., Valley Cottage NY

Attacked During A Robbery

In the early ‘80s, K was visiting with some friends in East Hampton.  While alone in the house, she was confronted by a man with a knife.  He apparently was in the middle of robbing the house when he stumbled upon K.  After a wild struggle at knifepoint, K was cut on the hand but managed to escape further harm.  She was very lucky.  K decided that she needed to learn self-defense.  After much research, she found that standard martial arts were not what she wanted for realistic protection.  The formalized techniques and katas of karate and the sportive movements in kick-boxing did not instill confidence in light of the harrowing experience she had had.  Finally she came across John Perkins and knew this was the real deal.  She began to train in earnest.  Some months later she was attacked by a very large man in a club.  He grabbed her forcefully by her hair from behind.  Like lightning, she spun around and exploded with a palm strike to his solar plexus with the “dropping energy” that is unique to Guided Chaos.  This stopped him in his tracks.  K feels that instead of curling up and becoming a passive victim, she was able to deal with this surprise attack with ease.  
--K, Yorktown Heights (K is now a GC 4th degree)

Attacked with a Machete

"I have been a student of John Perkins since October of 1996 and this is my survival story. Several weeks prior to the confrontation I had terminated one of my employees for stealing from me.  I had warned him on numerous occasions to stop but he continued to steal, finally I had no other choice but to get rid of him.

He still continued stealing from my customers even though he was no longer employed. Several weeks had passed and he drove by me one day, flipped me off, and told me to F--k myself.  So I followed him into a parking lot to remind him that he should not steal and that he should stay away from my business. I did not follow him to fight, but after trying to reason with this individual, the talking became arguing. This is when I realized that my pleading with him was an exercise in futility.

As I turned my back to leave the scene, he retrieved a machete from his vehicle at blinding speed and was coming at me. Remembering the principle taught by John Perkins "Attack the Attacker" [originated by Bradley Steiner] I quickly moved in on the weapon and his body, attacking with both hands and knees. He was holding the machete with two hands at about shoulder height and through a series of strikes to the butt of the weapon and his hands, I was able to get him to release one hand, however he was still able to raise the machete above his head.

At this point I realized that this was going to be really bad if I did not take some drastic measures to end the attack. It was literally do or die, so I went for it. I was able to perform a neck manipulation by putting one hand on the back of his head while the other simultaneously struck and twisted his neck and chin. He immediately dropped the weapon and spun away falling to the floor like a ton of bricks. I booted him twice in the torso causing further damage.  I then stopped attacking him upon request of a man who identified himself as a city marshal. I would have never thought that someone I had known for several years would try to kill me. A machete is a very serious weapon, a person with little strength can cut small trees in half almost effortlessly.  All of this happened in a split second, with no time to think, just react. I am convinced that what made this a successful outcome for me was being able to put myself ahead of this guy before he knew it.  It was a seamless series of reactions and body alignments that prevented him from seriously cutting me and made my attack so successful.  A witness said that if I did not stop him with such force he would have cut me up.  His intent was obvious by the look on his face and he meant business with that damn thing.

I later saw John Perkins and thanked him for sharing his knowledge with me over the years.  This training is beyond imagination, it is indescribable, just when you think you have it understood, a new door opens to another level of knowledge and training.  John Perkins' talent and training techniques must be experienced and felt to be understood, words do not do it justice.  The power behind these techniques is both devastating and amazing. It almost looks fake, until you experience it. I owe John and the others in this organization a serious debt of gratitude for instructing me over the years. Admittedly I made a big mistake by following this guy into a parking lot, fortunately I walked away with nothing more than a cut on my pinkie.  As for the Scumbag, he nwas arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon,  battery, and menacing."

Post Script (Oct 2012):

"The bottom line is that some one I had known for many years tried to take my life. It is possible that I could have survived a strike from a machete, it is more likely that I would have died or would have been wounded for life had he been able to contact me with the weapon.

I think the majority of people, even some of your students, are naive to the explosive nature of  REAL violence. At times while training I have heard my training partner say, "if this was a real fight I would be doing things differently". I always think to myself that the person who just said this has never been involved in a REAL fight or situation where someone is trying to seriously hurt them. They are ignorant to the explosive nature of violence. 

Once in a while it may be to your student's advantage to be HUMBLED, I refer to being humbled as a physical reminder from one person to another of what they are or are not capable of. I have tried politely and respectfully to test my own ability and limits at the hands of some of your most highly decorated students and instructors. The result of my efforts are what I refer to as Humbling.  I  pushed myself and the skill of the instructors while training to determine just how tough I thought I was, and to determine just how tough your instructors are, conclusively they could have severely injured me at any time they chose. Having a knife or gun in your pocket might give you a mental edge, remember that edge can be taken from you in a second, getting to that weapon and having the mentality to use it is another story.  It is then that you have to rely on your humbling experience to hopefully save your life.  I humbly thank you for sharing your talent with me, it allowed me to save myself from a life or death situation."

--Vin C. 4th Degree GC

Thanks Vin for sharing this personal insight...I know that some of our students have seen the dark side of violence and many have not...I am always working on new and better ways to develop their abilities to deal with the real deal....You are a true warrior of the spirit as well as the physical....All the best to you all the time...John

Another Corrections Officer Attacked in Prison

"I know many out there reading this will still not believe what I'm about to tell you. I totally understand-- I was you! I have many GC success stories as it relates to my job. I felt compelled to share this none.

I'm a C/O (Prison Guard) and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I'm assigned to work a MRDD unit (Mentally Retarded Developmentally Disabled Unit for the most part this is a pretty laid back place to work in relation to the rest of the Institution. Most of the Inmates are medicated and easy to manage. The state I work for has closed the State Hospitals because of budget constraints and the clients need a place to stay so off they go to the Department of Corrections. Last night at approximately 7:25 PM, an Inmate approached the Officer's Station in the Unit where I'm assigned to work and asked for a shower. Normally this is no big deal except this gentleman was on Loss of Privileges status and is not allowed out of his cell. There is a zero tolerance policy on this rule infraction; but considering where I was and who he was I explained the rule and told him go back to his cell and I would get him out for a shower after Line Movement had secured. He walked about two steps from the Officer's Station and yelled in a loud voice "This is a bunch of bullshit!" Problem is he did so in the presence of 60 other Inmates and we can't have this for obvious reasons. So I called him to come back to where I was.

I was standing in what I call a modified Jack Benny stance. He spun around and balled his fists. He was not yet in my sphere of influence so I using a little verbal judo and told him to face the wall. I figured if I could get him restrained he and I would both be safer. He complied and I placed him in wrist restraints. Now I don't know what it is but in my 10 years experience as a C/O it seems like any time you restrain a person they want to fight or yell or scream or all of the above. This was the case with this individual.

I explained to him in a calm voice that he was not necessarily going to go to segregation. I radioed for my Sgt. and some escorts and then I removed him from the Unit. I escorted him outside the Unit and had him face the wall and this is where he decided to get combative. Please note this all happened in seconds. First he turned his head towards me (a big no, no, we don't like to get spit on) and pushed away from the wall. There were 4 other staff plus myself. While giving him orders to stop and face the wall, another staff member and I attempted to place him back on the wall. He then turned towards me and attempted to kick me. This is where all the Drills of Guided Chaos come into play. It was because of my connection with his body (I had my left hand on him in a standard escort hold) that I felt all his movement even the head turn. It is because of Contact Flow that I felt and perceived his kick in my subconscious that I was able to react the way I did.

I shot a spear hand right to his throat and once I made contact I turned the strike into more of a push because I was not justified in using lethal force in this situation (as a side note this is why we train lethal but are prepared to bunt at any time). This totally negated his kick, in fact I did not get kicked and pushed him back into the wall. I then instinctively skimmed my right hand over his face and grabbed some hair and placed him on the ground. Where the head goes the body follows. He was placed in leg restraints and escorted to segregation. He actually told my supervisors that I was kind and professional and he over reacted.

This just goes to show that you must never rely on verbal skills alone; you never know who you are dealing with. The main point I want to make is this: I have studied other martial arts in depth since I was a kid. None of them prepared me for the chaos of a real combative situation. When you study Guided Chaos and train the drills it becomes part of you and although the above situation was not life or death I just reacted with no pre-planned thought. The only reason I was able to do so is because of Master Perkins and his system of martial combat. Thanks for your time."

(submitted by Bob Miller, Corrections Officer, GC 2nd Degree)

Two Encounters

"I was trying to help one of my friends calm a very hostile individual with clenched fists and aggression. Before I knew it he was in my sphere of influence. I instantly, before I could think, threw a short palm strike to his rear jaw bone area with a very light drop. I rocked my opponent with the shot and got some distance to where I felt more comfortable. I was surprised with the very short distance and the amount of power I put into the shot and how much my opponent stumbled. Once I got to safety he did not get close to me again and I felt very confident to defend myself.

I have taken multiple different kinds of martial arts and this is what kicked in when the crap hit the fan. I love Guided Chaos Combatives and I fully trust my body to take over and do what it has to do in able to keep me safe!! It feels good to know that your body will just take over in any situation and do what it has to do. You don't have to think and worry about what you would do in a certain situation which gives me peace of mind.

One other time I was at my brother in law's house just hanging out with a couple friends. My Brother in law was drinking very heavily and that's kinda why we were there to keep an eye on him and give him some company. Honestly, he is one of the best, most kind hearted people you will ever meet. Alcohol has a way of changing people and this experience taught me to never hang out with angry drunks no matter who and how good a person they are.

He was going up and down for a couple hours and I had to calm him down once already. The other guys I was with had run outside the first time he got a little hostile. So, thinking nothing about it ‘cause it is my brother in law I continued to hang out. We had stepped outside and was laughing and joking around. Then out of nowhere he threw a punch at me. I instantly just threw my hands out and up in a Fright Reaction, stepping forward simultaneously which deflected the most part of the punch and sent
him flying off the porch backwards. He landed on his head and split his head open so we had to call an ambulance to come pick him up.

We rode to the hospital and he got a couple staples in his head. It could have been a lot worse and I could have gotten hit or hurt also. He barely connected with his punch and you couldn't see anything but my eye bone was sore when I pressed it the next day. So I knew he could have really hurt me had my body not taken over and kept me safe. I also knew I had done the right thing and as bad as I felt, it wasn't my fault that he fell and busted his head. Also, it worked out better since I was sober and could properly see his wounds and call the ambulance to tend to his wounds properly.

The guys I was with were not ready to deal with something like that so it was a good thing I was prepared. I honestly think my body reacted in the best way to not hurt him. It was unfortunate that he fell back and banged his head. I trust this art because of this and will continue to use this as my primary self defense. I know other martial arts and have been training for years.  Only this one would have me fling my arms out at the perfect time just to throw my opponent off balance to try to prevent
hurting him all in one. Unbelievable stuff!"

--Ken J, Shelby NC, black belt Shorin Ryu (Guided Chaos distance learner)

Attacked by a Gang of Thugs

Greg Madison, one of our 3rd degree black belts, was attacked on a street in Yonkers by a gang of thugs. He went completely Zen and wrecked them all like a human tornado, to the point where the cops thought they had been beaten with a baseball bat. All he had used was his body. He had said he barely remembers what he did but when he came out of it, he was surrounded by broken bodies writhing on the ground.

Sadly, Greg was taken from us in 2013 when he succumbed to a long battle with brain cancer.

"He Immediately Went Unconscious..."

In Spring Valley Market Place about 18 years ago I was attacked by a taller, much younger male. I had tried to get away from him because I walked too closely in front of his van and he got out and went after me. That “Jack Benny” stance worked wonders.  When he caught up with me, turned me around and tried to strike me, I quickly threw his arm away from my face and used my other hand to hit up under his chin. The strike had such force that he went immediately unconscious and collapsed like a wet piece of overcooked "al dente #5"  Barilla spaghetti. The entire event was witnessed by Spring Valley PD.  There were other squad cars watching this guy and his vehicle.   During the event, my T shirt lifted up and exposed my .45 Para.   They wanted to know if I was OK and told me to leave the scene.  I would imagine at least one officer knew me and did not ask to see my permit. It all happened so quickly but I guess I got off the upward swing without thinking about it.  I still think about it today, more often than I would like to. Lesson learned…I shook for about an hour.  Thanks for teaching me that move.

--Steven E.,  firearms instructor