The Little Black Book of Violence

“Do you remember that guy you killed last week?”

“Which one?”

“On Thursday.”

“Which one?”

“Thursday morning.”

“Early or later?”

“Early.”

“Sorta… why?”

Wow, what a bummer! Not to be remembered. And dying for no good reason because you failed to achieve your goal. This is frickin’ scary!

We often use the word kamikaze or suicide bomber, but those aren’t true suicides… they are homicidal acts aimed at an external goal. Granted they are acts that one isn’t going to survive, but that external goal gives them value. True suicide doesn’t have an external goal.

ALL of this has to be factored into the subject of the WILL. Yes, there are many people who are willing to murder another person. But that is done with absolutely the most minimum danger to the murderer.

This is why self-defense is such a tricky subject. People think that it’s a matter of survival when, in fact, you might not survive. And you need to know that going in. You could fail and end up being Thursday’s statistic. What’s more is that a half-baked attempt at defense actually increases the odds of you getting killed.

Even harder is being the one who goes into a dangerous situation to save someone else or for some “greater goal.” Not only is there a good chance of dying, but there ain’t no guarantees you’re going to succeed. You hope for the best, but that ain’t how it always works out.

Stop and think about your reactions to these concepts. You can see them in manifest in many movies. In fact, the original Die Hard movie was a great example of all of these motives. The deputy police chief, ignoring McClane’s (Bruce Willis’) warnings about the entrenched positions of the terrorists, sends in SWAT and an assault vehicle (useless deaths). The rage and blind hatred of Karl seeking to avenge his brother’s death (murder and in the end failure). Han’s (Alan Rickman’s) losing and attempting to take Holly Mc-Clane (Bonnie Belinda) with him into death and failing. (And this brings out a cheer from the audience when he died AND failed). We want to see the “bad guy” not only die, but also fail to achieve his goal.

Contrast this with the shoot out at the end of Open Range. Where after listening to his partner (Kevin Costner) line out the tactics they will be facing, Robert Duval says, “Sounds like you got things pretty well figured out.” Costner replies, “Yeah, except how we’re going to survive.” And yet, despite this, they go out and engage with the cattle baron and his men.

So I’m kind of the opinion that the issue of “will” is a whole lot more complex than do you “have it” or not. Because basically, a big-assed factor is how much are you willing to pay? And it is a crapshoot that you might fail in the process.

APPENDIX D Vital Area Targets

If you have to hurt someone in a fight, you will need to target a vital area of his body, someplace that can be damaged relatively easily. Punching someone in the stomach, for example, may only piss him off while striking him in the temple may render him unconscious. When executed correctly, vital area attacks are extremely dangerous stuff. Do not abuse this knowledge. Such areas should only be forcefully struck or manipulated in true life-or-death, self-defense situations from which you can only escape through violence.

Not every vital area blow will have consequences such as we list here. It depends on how hard and accurately you strike as well as what you hit with. Most people can deliver a pretty strong blow using their fists or unshod feet, while a severe blow requires help from some sort of solid object such as a baseball bat or steel-toed boot to increase the effectiveness of their strike. Highly skilled martial artists can often do extraordinary damage unaided. It is important to note, however, that individuals who are stimulated by adrenaline, fear, drugs, alcohol, or even sheer willpower may not be incapacitated from any blow that is not immediately physiologically disabling, even if mortally wounded.

While you read this chart, it helps to have a good anatomy book on hand.

The vital areas listed above describe targets that are vulnerable to blunt force trauma, the type of damage typically meted out by the fist or foot, though occasionally by instruments such as baseball bats, batons, bricks, boots, and other solid objects. When it comes to bullets, ballistic performance (for example, penetration, expansion, energy transfer) and wound trauma (for example, level of physiological disruption) both affect stopping power, though shot placement is paramount. The only truly incapacitating targets are the brain and upper spinal cord, though the wounds to the heart, major arteries, and lungs may prove severely disabling if not fatal in rather short order. Damage to the head or neck that does not disrupt the central nervous system, as well as hits to the arms, legs, stomach, and groin, may prove sufficiently painful to stop an attacker, though they are generally not immediately disabling and can be shrugged off by a committed adversary.

Common targets that have proven lethal or severely disabling with blade weapons include the heart, subclavian artery (behind the collarbone), stomach, brachial artery, radial artery, carotid artery, femoral artery, axiliary artery, groin, and kidneys. Knife thrusts are generally more damaging than slashes yet they also require you to move deeper into your opponent’s target zone where he can easily reach you with his weapon if he is similarly armed. Consequently, other frequent targets include the hands, wrists, and elbows, which may be cut at somewhat less risk of riposte. Such damage, while not immediately disabling, may convince an attacker to break off and retreat though you certainly cannot count on that happening in every situation.

APPENDIX E Reading List

The topic of violence is far greater than anyone can cover in a single book. The following is a list of authors whose texts we highly recommend for further study. The authors are arranged alphabetically.

Massad Ayoob

Massad Ayoob is director of the Lethal Force Institute, an organization that trains 800 to 1,200 personnel per year in the judicious use of deadly force, armed and unarmed combat, threat management for police, and advanced officer survival in four countries. A retired police lieutenant, firearm, weapon, and unarmed combat expert, his books, articles, and classes teach law enforcement professionals and civilians realistic, street-worthy self-defense