It Can Happen to You ...

Fight Back; Arm Yourself with Mental and Physical Self-Defense
by Dominick DiVito

Dominick DiVito has been teaching self-defense for over twenty-five years to celebrities, law enforcement officers, and average citizens. In this new approach to self-defense, he won't expect you to master complex martial arts, nor will he leave you relying on a gun to protect yourself. What he will do is prepare you mentally and physically so you can successfully deter an attack, whether you are victimized without warning in your home, in your car, or in a public place.

In Fight Back you'll learn:

• The common myths of self-defense
• What criminals look for in a victim
• How to recognize and take advantage of an attacker's weaknesses
• What everyday objects you can use to defend yourself
• The three key target points on the human body that can quickly disable any assailant (and the one you're thinking of isn't among them).

Through common attack scenarios, you will learn warning signals and the real-life applications of these simple and effective self-defense techniques.

Becoming trained and prepared is easier than you think. By learning these basic techniques and believing in yourself, you can defend yourself and your loved ones from the devastating psychological and physical consequences of a personal attack. The new confidence you'll have in your everyday life is just one of the many rewards you'll gain when you learn how to Fight Back.

Chapter 1

And You Can Do Something About It

There exists a law, not written down anywhere, but inborn in our hearts; a law which comes to us not by training or custom or reading . . . a law which has come to us not from theory but from practice, not by instruction but by natural intuition. I refer to the law which lays it down that, if our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right.

- MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO, 44 BC

"Don't make a sound or I'll kill you . . . just do exactly what I say"-a ruthless command and a lethal threat on an innocent human being. It wasn't a statement coming through a television set from an episode of Cops or a Lifetime movie. Nor was it a practical joke carried out by one of her friends. It was real and it was happening to Caryn-a tall, thin, and ultrafeminine woman who had always thought with confidence, It [rape] won't happen to me. But there he was and there she was.

At ten o'clock that night, Caryn had checked that her doors were locked, as usual, before shutting the lights off and going to bed. She assumed she was safe within the protection of her apartment walls. A typical night coupled with a typical attitude. At four o'clock in the morning, the scene drastically changed. Her worst fear had crept out of her nightmares and forced its way into her bedroom. While she slept, a man had broken into her locked apartment and moved silently into her bedroom. He woke her from a peaceful sleep with the forceful words, "Don't make a sound, don't move." That statement would resonate in her mind for years. Don't . . . don't . . . don't, he was telling her, while he granted himself permission to violate her body any way he pleased.

This desperate, angry man-a man she'd never seen before in her life-stood over her in her bedroom and made one last reminder for her not to do anything. Caryn's mind raced back to my self-defense workshop, and she was reminded of the emphasis placed on fighting back in order to surprise the attacker. Don't think of anything other than survival. Find the opportunity- it may be as little as five seconds-when he is vulnerable and use it to your advantage. Fight back. And that is what she did. She knew she needed to remain calm, assess the best time for defense, and strike.

He pulled back the blankets that covered her and lifted a leg to climb on top of her as he started to unbuckle his belt. There he was, with only one foot on the floor, fingers clumsily fumbling with his pants. She recognized her opportunity and went for it. Bending her knees and thinking of nothing but survival, she kicked him in the chest with both of her feet, using all the force she could muster. As she watched his body fly across the room, Caryn was amazed to see the shock resonating on his face. He was caught so physically and mentally off-guard by her blow that she had enough time to escape. As she rushed out of her apartment to get help, he ran, too . . . not after her, but away from her.

You may be curious as to how the intruder managed to break into Caryn's apartment without her hearing any noises indicative of a breakin. The sad fact is that the man had a key from the tenant who'd previously lived in that apartment. Apparently, the landlord never changed the locks when Caryn moved in, and as a result of that negligence, Caryn experienced a life-threatening situation. It is our responsibility to ensure our own safety and that means, sometimes, making sure other people do their jobs. Caryn was one of the students in my self-defense workshops, and she experienced this ordeal in September 1997. Luckily, she was prepared. Would you have been prepared? I want to make sure that you will be.

Crime: It Exists

Violent crime is a national concern. More than half of Americans say reducing crime should be a top legislative priority, according to a report conducted by the Pew Research Center in January 2004. It wasn't long ago that parents were able to drop their kids off at school with a sigh of relief, knowing they would be safe inside. Today, with the incidence of school shootings and assaults, parents can only hope their school's security systems will serve to prevent another Columbine.

Fast Facts

In 2003, for every one thousand people age twelve or older, there occurred:

• One rape or sexual assault.
• One assault with injury.
• Two robberies.

National Crime Victimization Survey
(Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003)

Being aware of the prevalence of crime throughout our country is the first step in building solid offenses and defenses against these monstrosities. When we put blinders over our eyes and remain apathetic toward current statistics and abundant media reports about criminal activity, we are doing a disservice to ourselves and those we love. In addition, being oblivious to crime creates a detrimental sense of inattentiveness. We are no longer aware of what is going on around us. We are dangerously boxed inside our idealistic worlds. Criminals love us; we make the best targets. Mental and physical self-defense is about being smart, not being irrational or impractical. Obviously, there aren't attackers lurking in every single dark alley or parking garage in the world. Not every guy you date will try to rape you. Being aware means understanding the possibilities and being prepared should you face them one day.

While awareness is necessary to understand the danger of crime and determine measures of prevention, being educated in mental and physical self-defense is necessary to walk away from a deadly situation alive. Proper education in this powerful duo can be effective in surprising your attacker and, ultimately, crippling his power over your life. This book is designed to equip you with the mental and physical resources to combat an assailant, regardless of size, weight, and weapon possession.

Now . . . It's About You!

I'd like to give you my official congratulations! You have taken the first step necessary to learn mental and physical self-defense: You picked up this book! Just by reading these words, you have acknowledged the problem of crime and are looking to find a solution that will create a safer environment for you and the ones you love. More important, right before you started flipping through the pages of this book, you made another significant decision: You willingly created a conscious commitment to learn about self-defense. You have opted to empower yourself with knowledge rather than sitting on the sidelines and letting everyone else worry about safety. You made the wise choice to soak in this information, which has been compiled to keep you safer, make you more aware, and, ultimately, save your life.

But specifically, why? Why did you decide to read this book? Focusing on and reminding ourselves of the reason or reasons we want to learn something is a great way to strengthen our commitment and solidify our desire to learn. So why did you pick up this book? Why are you really interested in learning about self-defense?

Below are some good reasons my students have shared with me as to why they wished to equip themselves with these lifesaving tools. Which of these do you relate most to?

• I'm a stay-at-home mom with two kids under the age of five and my husband works late most nights. I wouldn't know what to do if an intruder ever came in.

• I travel by myself a lot for my job. I want to be able to learn how to protect myself anywhere I go.

• I just don't know anything about self-defense and want to learn.

• I want to know how to protect my wife and children and not rely solely on my muscle power.

• I was once a victim and was unprepared. I don't want it to happen again.

• The thought of being raped frightens me.

• I don't want to become another statistic.

• I have three children and I don't know what they would do if something bad happened to me.

• I want to become more confident, wiser, more aware, and prepared should anything ever happen. I feel too afraid now.

Now what about you? On the next page, write down the top three reasons that have prompted you to learn about safety and self-defense. During the course of reading this book, refer back to these notes and remind yourself why you want to learn self-defense. It will help you to focus on your specific needs and reinforce what you will learn.

Copyright © 2005 by Summer Haven, Inc.

About the Author

Dominick DiVito has been teaching self-defense for more than twenty-five years. A fifth-degree black belt in Chinese Kenpo, he has appeared on Oprah and trains with celebrities such as Wynonna Judd. He also gives workshops to members of the FBI, police departments, and SWAT teams.