Drunk Spinning
If you do have to fight, the goal is generally control the other guy unless he’s got some sort of weapon or is exceedingly large and/or excessively violent. It may not be sufficient to simply get away in situations where the other guy is out of control and may hurt others if you do not intercede. Or, perhaps, you must fight in order to get away. Either way, in these circumstances spinning the other guy often works better than just about anything else. When a sober person spins around quickly it can be slightly disorienting, yet for a drunk it can often be debilitating, particularly when done unexpectedly with sufficient force.
Self-defense expert Marc “Animal” MacYoung postulates that the reason for this is that alcohol acts as a diuretic. As the person gets dehydrated, the fluid in his inner ear begins to dry out as well. This reduces his sense of balance and makes him more susceptible to being spun. Here’s how this works.
The vestibular system of the inner ear is responsible for our sensations of balance and motion. The inner ear is made up of a complex series of fluid-filled tubes that run through the temporal bone of the skull. This bony labyrinth is filled with a fluid called perilymph. Within this structure is a second series of tubes made out of delicate cellular material called the membranous labyrinth. The fluid inside these membranous structures is called endolymph. If the level or viscosity of these fluids is impaired through drink, the sense of balance is reduced. Further, as the head spins around, the fluid sloshes quickly thus increasing the sense of motion. This combination can be severely dizzying to the drunk, rendering him much easier to control. It works faster and easier than trying to beat him to a pulp, and plays much better in court afterward too.
It’s easiest to spin a person by using his head. While the neck is very strong front-to-back or side-to-side, it is rather weak when pulled both ways at once. Neck cranks take advantage of this fact by stretching and twisting simultaneously. If you can control the other guy’s head, his body has to follow. You can grab a hold of his hair, ears, jaw, or neck to pull and twist with. If you don’t get the opportunity to do that, you might also be able to arm whip or shoulder check the other guy to get him to spin.
You really don’t want a circular motion, however; it’s far better to corkscrew him in a downward spiral. That’s not only harder to ward off, but also much more effective in disorienting a foe. And it almost always dumps him onto the ground facilitating your ability to control him or get away.
Effects of Other Drugs
Unfortunately, alcohol is not the only drug you might encounter. People who use drugs are roughly twice as likely to engage in violent behaviors as people who do not. In general, it is best to avoid tangling with anyone who is under the influence drugs because such confrontations can become extraordinarily ugly. Leave such things to law enforcement professionals whenever possible. For example, it can take as many as a dozen officers to restrain someone effectively in a drug-induced frenzy without accidentally killing him because non-lethal weapons such as pepper spray and Tasers can prove ineffective in such cases. There is a good chance that many, if not all, participants will be injured in the process when those types of situations occur.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than half of violent criminal offenders are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of their offense for which they are subsequently convicted. The drugs of choice are most often marijuana, cocaine/crack, or heroine/opiates. Stimulants such as cocaine/crack are most linked to violence. Similarly, about 30 percent of victims are intoxicated with drugs at the time they are attacked.
It is useful to understand (at least in general) the effects that various drugs may have on a person’s nervous system. There are five main drug groupings: (1) narcotics, (2) depressants, (3) stimulants, (4) hallucinogens, and (5) cannabis.
1. Narcotics: Narcotics can include drugs such as heroin, methadone, opium, and morphine, which can cause euphoria, drowsiness, respiratory depression, and constricted pupils among other things. These drugs may be injected, snorted, or smoked. Symptoms of withdrawal include sweating, cramps, and nausea.
2. Depressants: Depressants include substances such as barbiturates, methaqualone, solvents, and alcohol, which cause disorientation, dizziness, slurred speech, delusions, hallucinations, and, of course, euphoria. Symptoms of withdrawal include tremors, delirium, and convulsions. These substances decrease dexterity and increase the users’ potential for accidental injury by five to fifty times.
3. Stimulants: Stimulants include drugs such as cocaine, crack, amphetamines, and methamphetamines, which can cause hyper-alertness, excitation, euphoria, and insomnia. Symptoms of withdrawal include irritability, depression, and disorientation. Crack, a popular street drug, frequently causes rapid, intense euphoria followed by a sharp crash, often accompanied by violent impulses. Methamphetamines, also popular on the street, can cause intense euphoria, tremendous energy, heightened sexual potency, paranoid impulses, and violent behavior. People in this condition frequently have decreased pain sensitivity and can be very difficult to restrain, much more so than people who are merely drunk.
4. Hallucinogens: Hallucinogens can include substances such as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and phencyclidine, which can cause users to experience time dilation, delusions, and illusions that can be linked with suicide and self-mutilation as well as accidental trauma. Hallucinogens cause their effects by disrupting the interaction of nerve cells and the neurotransmitter serotonin. Distributed throughout the brain and spinal cord, the serotonin system is involved in the control of behavioral, perceptual, and regulatory systems, including mood, hunger, body temperature, sexual behavior, muscle control, and sensory perception. Some hallucinogens such as LSD can cause intense emotional swings.
5. Cannabis: Cannabis can include such drugs as marijuana and hashish, which can cause increased appetite, relaxed inhibitions, and euphoria. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, used either solo or in combination with other substances by about three-quarters of people who take drugs. Withdrawal symptoms include insomnia and hyperactivity.
Wrangling drunks is a unique, albeit quite common, form of fighting. It’s important to know how to do it well. It is also useful to be able to identify the presence of other types of drugs so that you can either avoid encounters with impaired individuals or be prepared to deal with them effectively.
Never Hit a Girl… Unless She’s Armed
Sun Tzu and Miyamoto Musashi made no distinctions regarding gender. To them all adversaries were defined as combatants. In today’s world, distinctions of gender are made by friends, family, police, and the courts. The role of combatant is, oftentimes, secondary.
