TACTICAL SELF-DEFENSE Press the Points, Part 1 By Grandmaster Tom Patire In the past, I’ve talked about control tactics and how they are a necessity in the world of professional bodyguarding. Facts being facts, you hope to avoid confrontations most of the time, but if you do get into a physical confrontation, the use of force in many cases will be low-level or what many of us call “softhanded force.” A reader asked me via email what I personally thought of pressure points or pressure point-based techniques. As I’ve stated before, all aspects of training have their place and time in certain situations that you may or may not run across while working as a private protector. Pressure points are definetly something that fit the bill in full-circle training regarding the EP profession. Now, pressure point-type techniques are a debatable topic among many in the security and law enforcement professions. Some swear by them, while others swear against them. As in anything, it depends not only on the situation that you are dealing with, but it also depends on how you apply the technique and the state of the person you are applying it on. With that being, said let’s look at a few variables: Situations When you talk situationbased scenarios, you need to address what type of force is needed. In this case, since we are addressing pressure points, let’s look at specific situations or attacks on the principal that would warrant the use of a pressure point technique. Scenarios that involve restraining an aggressor that could or would do harm to not only your client, but to you and your team as well, would be a common one. Situations like overaggressive fans that grab or attempt to grab your client, like at a rock concert or autograph session, or when protesters lock onto stationary objects like doors, each other, or vehicles, and you, as the on-premise agent, need to remove them quickly so the client can get through. These scenarios and many others like them give you the option of using a soft-handed technique like a pressure point. And yes, when done right, they do work (I have used them). GRANDMASTER TOM PATIRE, is known as “America’s Leading Personal Safety Expert” and has appeared on Good Morning America, The CBS Morning Show, The Colbert Report, Montel, plus in mainstream publications such as Family Circle, Redbook, Fortune <strong>Magazine</strong>, and The Wall Street Journal. He has written several books and has personal safety programs that can be incorporated into your martial arts school, available at TomPatire.com. 78 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME <strong>22</strong> | ISSUE 2
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