KNOW YOUR ENEMY

by Bradley J. Steiner, American Combato
The great warrior-sage Sun Tzu, a genius who predated Jesus Christ and whose Masterwork, The Art of War, is still studied in military training academies and intelligence agencies worldwide, advised:
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” 
“Knowing the enemy,” as far as Survivalism is concerned, means knowing the human predator; knowing that form of bipedal sewage that infects human society and preys on people – robbing, beating, terrorizing, murdering, and raping them. By understanding what this vermin looks for and seeks out in people they decide to victimize, you will drastically decrease your chances of being targeted because you will be able to reduce the indicators of vulnerability that attract these swine.
First off, I want to stress that the violent types are not looking for a fight. They want victims. Hence, they select those who appear to themselves to be easy marks. Look like you can’t handle yourself; walk in a slouch, stumbling along carelessly, and that is one sign to a predator that says, “good victim.”
Appear to be hesitant, weak, timid, unsure, perhaps lost in a part of the city where the predator observes you, and he may well assume you look like an attractive next target.
Appear distracted, look like all that’s on your mind is your cell phone conversation, the texting you’re absorbed in, or you are lost in thoughts occupying you to the point of making you look like you are preoccupied as you walk, and you may just be irresistible to some brainless punk who has abandoned his humanity and makes a business of preying upon people.
Lesson: Look alive and poised, like you know where you are headed whenever you are out and about. Head up. Brisk steps. Upright posture. 
(Note: I love the idea of carrying a stout walking stick. The English blackthorns tend to be my favorite, but any hardwood walking stick will do. You don’t even need to speak softly, as Teddy Roosevelt advised; just having that big stick in your hand tends to send a message to the street jackals.)
A  second tipoff, closely related to the first, that attracts the street manure is being inattentive. Not noticing or paying attention to who and what is around you. Some people are so distracted when they go about their business, it would be very easy to follow them for blocks and they wouldn’t have a clue they were being followed. These people are great targets for “knockout punching,” abduction, and mugging.
Remember: You can be a highly-skilled black belt, but if you are taken by surprise by someone who strikes quickly and well, you are toast!
I once proved to students in a protective service training course I taught how easily some people can be followed. I picked out an individual at random and followed him for about five blocks – until he entered the building where he was headed – without him noticing, turning his head, or pausing once! Had I been targeting this man, it would have been a simple matter to take him completely by surprise.
Lesson: Maintain a steady commitment to situational awareness – alertness! Notice things. Notice people. If you see the same face twice in your vicinity, take counter-surveillance action. Do not dismiss anyone or anything that gives you a “gut” feeling of uneasiness, and never dismiss anyone whom you observe to be possibly trailing you.
My opinion is that private citizens, where and when legal, should be armed with a handgun they know how to use in personal defense. If you carry a walking stick as well, you might be able to fend off a scumbag without the need to use your sidearm; or you might need to use your walking stick to create an opportunity to draw your sidearm. Think about that. You can never be “too prepared.”
A  third thing that attracts predators is finding that their potential target is alone. Yes, people in pairs and in groups do get attacked; but given a choice, the violent felon picks the solitary victim.
Lesson: Whenever you are out alone, be super-alert and super-poised so if trouble comes to you, you will be ready to meet and defeat it. And when with company, do not assume you are safe, automatically, because of numbers. Be ready whether alone or with others.
Remember Sun Tzu’s counsel; it has stood the test of thousands of years experience in war and peacetime. It is sure to help you.
Human predators are like predatory animals in the jungle. They select and target the weak. Of course, it is always wonderful to hear of one of the damn human bacteria picking a target that is not weak and getting his head blown off or being beaten to a broken, bloody pulp for his efforts.
Ah… let me dwell on that last thought. It really is delightful.