Roger Siggs of the Rocky Mountain Swordplay Guild has posted some pictures from their recent spear seminar with Greg Mele. What had me most interested was their excellent training space. Knocks the socks of the dingy church halls we usually train in.
I am somewhat late to the party, but following on the recent 25 words meme, here are the 25 words that describe safeism.
By taking responsibility for our own safety, following realistic precautions and by learning to become aware we can all become safer, happier and more free.
Via a post on TPI, comes this rather interesting summation of a talk.
It speaks to the need to understand the mindset of ones adversary, and from this, to understand his strategy and tactics, and how to interrupt them. This is nothing new. Writers on strategy from Sun Tzu, to Boyd to Von Clausewitz have advised this. However, what this talk does differently, and where this relates to my semi-nascent concept of Safeism, is that we have to understand the goals of our opponent. What it is that motivates him.
For most martial artists, training for the gym or the ring, this is simple. The opponent wants to do to you as you to him - score points, get the technique on, look good and impress sensei or maestro. This is all well and good, but a different context to that of the VCA (Violent Criminal Actor) as Gochenour calls them. He likens the attacker to a predator, noting that crocodiles gather at the points where othe animals come to drink. This concept of predator is the first step to understanding the goals of the attacker.
One of the exercises I encourage those that attend my seminars, is to role-play being a bad guy. As you go about your daily life think about how you would mug those around you, how you would get that girl alone to assault her, how you would start a fight with that guy. By considering this one comes to a greater understanding of the motivations of the attacker. Leaving aside the deeper societal motivations that leads to this behaviour (I care deeply about social justice, but not when faced with an individual or group seeking to do me or mine harm), it does show that the predator analogy is simplistic. An attacker has concerns about being caught and has needs that transcend the purely material or sexual. The need to dominate, to exert will over another is a prime example of this, and a significant motivator for many crimes. By understanding this, and by playing to it we can gain an advantage. By acting cowed, for example, we can gain initiative - what Fairbairn would call Artifice.
As with most things understanding is the key to success, and by putting oneself in the mind of another we can better judge how to deal with them.
According to Guido, the Spectator today has this little tale from Tory speechwriter Danny Kruger
My wife and I were coming out of a house in Camden where we had been viewing a flat to rent. Standing on the steps with us, the owner of the flat suddenly saw the retreating rear of his moped, two boys aboard and half a dozen of their friends pelting along behind.
Like the pair of prats we were, the owner and I tackled youth crime. When we caught up with the pedestrians, we received between us a black eye (owner) and cut lip (me), and no moped.
My main memory of this incident is rather horrid: the spit-filled mouth of the little rat-faced boy who punched me. Short, white, in a grey hooded tracksuit, he shouted at me with all the rage of Cain: the most astonishing indignation.
Whilst it is a shame that he got hurt, his experience does provide a lesson. Dealing with physical aggression is hard. It is not nice, but sometimes it is required. Some prior thought, either about for what it is worth risking his life, and some planning and practice in dealing with these kind of situations. I’m not saying not to go chasing thieves, although I wonder how many of us would, considering the question dispassionately, risk our lives for a moped belonging to a stranger? It may be that you would, but the time to first consider that decision is not when it happens. Consider now your limits. Visualise the situation and think - is this something that is worth not going for?. If not then be prepared to resist that impulse to jump in. If it is, then jump with a clear mind, free of the burden of this particular decision. Dealing with a feral hoody is not a good time to have that voice in your back of your head saying ‘I wish I had just stepped back’.
The concept of making decisions prior to having to implement them is central to strategy, and especially to Boyd’s OODA Loop concept. It also has the advantage of removing some of the negative thoughts that can rob one of resolve. Both of which I shall discuss in later posts.
Inspired by this post on Lifehacker, I decided to give my desk a bit of a declutter. Whislt I am somewhat limited in what I can afix to the walls (I rent my home) I do have the advantage of a good amount of space, and 2 nice desks. The desks don’t match, so they really only work apart, but it does give me space for what I need.
Most of my work is done on my macbook pro. Despite having a sweet 2 monitor set-up on my gaming PC, and my work laptop this is where I find myself most productive.
Previously I had pretty much everything I needed on my desk, and a lot of stuff I didn’t need. My in-box in particualr was forever in danger of being knocked to the floor and I was finding it all a bit to hard to concentrate on. This is what it was like prior to the changes:
I decided to move the laser printer (which is designed to do pretty much everything via the front - thank you HP!), the dock for the work laptop, the sub, the external HD and the USB hub to to the floor, freeing up a fair old bit of space. It also allowed me to tape the chargers for my BT earpiece and my 2 mobiles behind the macbook, so I can access them when needed.
This is my desktop now
Under the desk looks a lot better as well, although I do need to get these ables up off the ground. That box is a custom charging station my mate Paul made for me, and very nice it is too 
I have some more images up on flickr, showing my sadly neglected windows machine, and my Fairy Dust. Oh yes.
This is still very much a work in progress however, so I expect more will be done soon.
I spent 3 mostly happy years working for London Underground, and one of the things I really valued was the chance to take away from there some of the posters they had used to advertise the Platform for Art programme. These now hang in my bedroom/office. I’ve long been a fan of this programme, now renamed Art on the Underground (Not as cool a name). The latest exhibition looks like a corker - a crossword puzzle book, with supporting artwork at Stanmore station, all based around the code breakers of Bletchley Park. What an excellent idea. I really am looking forward to this.
The picture above is from Brian Griffith’s current installation at Gloucester Road Station, Life is a Laugh.
Samizdata has this report of Jersey Home Affairs Minister Wendy Kinnard issuing a diktat allowing the indefinite detention of suspects without charge. It has since been rescinded but I curious as to the reasoning behind this. Was it as, the Jersey authorities seem to claiming, an error? Was it, as Samizdata seem to think, to support the UK Government in the 42 day vote? Very, very concerning.
Mike Stimpson has recreated some classic photos using lego. Wonderful stuff!. With a hat tip to Wil Wheaton
He’s put them all up under a Creative Commons licence as well. Kudos.
Via the excellent GTD Times comes this gem from videojug.
