The homicide rate in Philadelphia has been soaring for the last few years, since the start of the pandemic and the aftermath of George Floyd led to 2020 being the most violent year suffered by the city in three decades and the second highest in six. Nearly five hundred people were killed that year, and …
It’s the start of a holiday weekend here in the United States. For many of us, it’s the last breath before we dive into the madness of fall activities, a marathon from now until and through the winter holidays with weekends crammed full of school and other events that have waited for the cooler autumn…packed …
Let’s shift gears for a bit, as fast as your life might lurch when you are faced with an unexpected large expense. Maybe your car died, or your home needs a sudden major repair, or you’ve been informed of a fee or a fine you didn’t even know was a thing. Maybe you budgeted for …
In my travels around the internet, I see a lot of folks who are interested in becoming an instructor of some type. Many, even most, are people excited about their skills, and in the self-defense space, they’re interested in passing it on to help others feel or be safe too. It’s an admirable impulse, and …
The story of Adam Simjee and Mikayla Paulus has been floating around the news recently. As is often the case, there is some disagreement between sources about exactly what happened, but here’s the outline we’ll go with today, based on the initial Clay County Sheriff’s Office news release and early news reports. It was mid-morning …
Pepper spray is on my mind, and in my eye, as I taught the basics to a friend this weekend and am preparing to teach a few seminars on it next month. Keep an eye here for the announcement and sign-ups; I’m finalizing details but save the date of September 17, in Epping, NH. In …
How do you decide something is worth doing? One of my followers asked me about deciding whether or not they should get a motorcycle, but the question makes me think about all sorts of other decisions too. They can be big ones like whether you should get married or move in with a significant other, …
At its core, self defense is really about establishing and enforcing boundaries on your life. It’s deciding what someone can and can’t do with your body, mind, and heart, and then enforcing those limits against those who would intrude. It’s often easy to decide some of the big boundaries: Nobody gets to kill me. Nobody …
This past weekend, I spent two days with John Hearne of Two Pillars Training. Advertised as separate classes, Saturday was all about examining the characteristics of people who win in violent fights, and how we can learn from them to increase our own odds of success if we face that worst day ourselves. Sunday, we …
When I think about OHO, there are many types of women I think about. It’s hard to tell folks who OHO is for, because of all the different times in life when a woman might be on her own. One of the classic scenarios is when a young woman moves out from her family home, …
Moving out, moving up: advice for a new girl in a new city Read More »
