Defense Against Abduction

© COPYRIGHT 2009 BY BRADLEY J. STEINER - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Sword and Pen – November 2009 Issue

[Reprinted With Permission]

American Combato
Seattle Combatives

"Get in the car or I’ll blow your head off!"

"Come with me and I won’t hurt you; but I’ll use this knife if you resist!"

"Just come with us, and we won’t hurt you. But if you so as much as move the wrong way, we’ll kill you!"

"You can’t get away, so just come with me and don’t make a sound!"

It is difficult to imagine hearing more terrifying words than those above, spoken by one or more violent offenders whose clear intention is to effect your kidnapping. Only a genuine idiot would regard such a situation as being either non-frightening, or "easy to handle if you’re trained in the martial arts".

In fact, it is to prepare decent people to deal PRECISELY WITH THIS KIND OF HORRIFIC THREAT, and not to "win contests", or to "be a champion", that genuine combat training and quality self-defense instruction ought to be — and in the case of American Combato and similar systems — IS intended and directed.
But many would ask: “What could one possibly do in such an awful situation? Would it not prove futile — even suicidal — to attempt any resistance when confronted by this kind of threat?”

Without in the least denying the lethal nature of such an admittedly awful predicament, we must emphasize that by no means is resistance either "futile" or "impossible". In fact, we will not be surprised if we learn that many black belts would disagree with us, and that SUBMISSION and COMPLIANCE would be their (well-intended, but completely incorrect) advice, in the face of this kind of situation.

The truth is that the best (i.e. most likely to save the intended victim) reaction to an abduction attempt is the SURPRISE EMPLOYMENT OF WELL-EXECUTED DEADLY FORCE SKILLS BY THE INTENDED VICTIM. And, there’s a "right way" to do it — the rudiments of which we shall now explain.

Here, in a nutshell, is what you need to know about defending against abduction:

1. THE SITUATION IS NOT “HOPELESS.

2. YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR COOL

3. YOU NEED TO CONVEY A MISLEADING ATTITUDE

4. YOU NEED TO ABSOLUTELY KNOW AND FEEL THAT YOUR LIFE IS AT STAKE

5. YOU NEED LETHAL SKILLS AND — ABOVE ALL — THE UNHESITANT WILLINGNESS TO USE THEM WITHOUT RESTRAINT OR MERCY

6. YOU MUST NEVER PERMIT YOURSELF TO BE REMOVED FROM THE INITIAL SCENE OF CONFRONTATION WITH THE ABDUCTOR(S), AND YOU MUST NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE PLACED IN A PHYSICALLY HELPLESS POSITION

7. YOU MUST ACT AS SOON AS REALISTICALLY FEASIBLE ACCORDING TO YOUR ASSESSMENT OF THE SITUATION, AND IN LIGHT OF THE ABOVE

8. THE VERY SECOND YOU HAVE CREATED THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO, YOU MUST ESCAPE THE SCENE AND GET AS FAR AWAY AS YOU CAN, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Killing a would-be criminal kidnapper is not merely "legal" — it is the proper thing to attempt to do, if you are able to do it, because it provides you with certain safety if successful, and, whether completely successful or not, it provides you with the surest means of getting away. Too many softies resist this "politically incorrect" idea today. The idea that, somehow, there is a "nice" or a "sanitized" way to defend against a lethal threat is a popular (and very stupid) misconception.

Face it: If you are confronting the threat of kidnap, then your LIFE is at stake.

Since kidnappers will not likely attempt their act when there is plenty of help around, and/or when you have a pretty decent avenue of escape open to you by running, you will be on your own. Remember, in this awful situation, that abductors do NOT wish to kill you at the moment of the abduction. For whatever reason they want to take you elsewhere, and to do so speedily, quietly, and without risk to themselves. Your opportunity for escape and survival is never going to be greater than it is AT THE SCENE OF THE ABDUCTION ATTEMPT — AND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Later on, after your kidnapper(s) has taken you away, your chances of surviving and escaping drop drastically, as you will be in a more secured environment (from the kidnapper’s perspective), you will be further away from any help, you will almost certainly be more mentally terrified and confused, and you’ll probably have undergone some physical ―softening up‖ (ie being BEATEN) by your abductor(s). You may, as captivity is prolonged, be deprived of adequate clothing, footwear, and nourishment. You may even be drugged. The message is: YOU MUST GET AWAY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

You cannot allow yourself to be tied up, handcuffed, shoved into a vehicle’s trunk, taken on board a vessel or aircraft, or otherwise placed in a position of total helplessness.

Should your kidnapper intend any of the above, PRETEND momentarily to be terrified and compliant, then ATTACK HIM WITH LETHAL INTENT AND DO NOT STOP ATTACKING UNTIL YOU HAVE ELIMINATED THE THREAT AND ARE ABLE TO ESCAPE.

If held at knife or gunpoint you must initially surrender. Convey fear and compliance. BUT THE VERY MOMENT YOU PERCEIVE THAT YOUR ABDUCTOR BELIEVES YOU ARE UNDER HIS CONTROL, KNOCK THE WEAPON ASIDE AND — IF YOU CAN — KILL HIM IMMEDIATELY.

Even if confronted by apparently unarmed abductors, whenever there is more than one, feign initial fear and compliance. This will normally prevent them from initiating what might be a knockout blow or overwhelming physical attack that you will be unable to repel immediately. WAIT. Let them believe that they’ve got you. Then ATTACK! Then get away.

In the unlikely event that you are confronted by a solitary and apparently unarmed abductor, make no initial telegraphing move, but without warning kick him in the testicles, chop him across the neck or throat, ram your fingers into his eyes and then break his leg with a side kick, etc. Then GET AWAY.


Remember that anyone — kidnapper or other lethal felon — who points a weapon at you and whose intention it is to cause you to comply with him, thereby, HAS PLACED HIMSELF ON THE DEFENSIVE. That means that the intended victim has the opportunity to select the moment when he will act, and the intended victim GETS TO MAKE THE FIRST MOVE!

Remember that it is not merely your life that an abductor is directly menacing, it is the life of every individual whom you love and who loves you. Remember that anyone dependent upon you will lose you if the abductor is successful. Remember, above all, that you must forthrightly, fully, and without the slightest tremor of hesitancy, PLAN ON KILLING AND INTEND TO KILL as effective preparatory training any individual or individuals who would forcibly kidnap you, or your reaction will be pathetically weak and ineffective, in a predicament that is already lethally serious and grave. This does not mean that in order to survive and escape you will inevitably have to kill your abductor. It means that initiating anything less than lethal force in your escape effort is foolish. Whether or not a kidnapper dies is irrelevant. By his action he has forfeited any right that he may have had to even the slightest mercy or consideration. SO DO NOT GIVE HIM ANY!

Thus far it has been our assumption that you will not be armed at the time of the kidnap attempt. Obviously, if you are armed, your weapon must be used as expertly and as unhesitantly as you are capable of using it. Remember that you may not be able to access a pistol or a knife quickly enough in an emergency, and you may well need to respond with unarmed force in order to gain the time and the distance needed to secure your weapon. DO NOT TRY TO “ARREST” YOUR ABDUCTOR(S). This will place you on the defensive, and you do not want to be thusly positioned. Just use that weapon to full effect, and do not hesitate or restrain yourself in the least. YOUR LIFE IS HANGING IN THE BALANCE!

There may be an object at hand with which you are able to assist yourself. If so, USE IT! Use it quickly, brutally, repeatedly, and without mercy, until you can safely escape.

The prospect for survival when or if kidnapped is frighteningly poor. On the other hand, the odds of successfully escaping BEFORE THE ABDUCTION HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY ACCOMPLISHED are considerable. In any case, it is always worth taking the chance, and taking action.

SPECIAL NOTE: We have, during the last several years, had the privilege of training a number of our Nation’s fighting men prior to their departure for the cesspool of the Middle East. We have invariably counseled these young men to NEVER FAIL to be armed with a readily accessible, razor-sharp fighting knife AND with a loaded, powerful handgun. Unfortunately we have had to say “To hell with the regulations!” when one or another of these men has advised us that such would not be permitted. the fact is, resisting an abduction attempt and dying while killing one’s abductors (a worse case scenario) beats ending up on the internet and being publicly beheaded by savages.

Our advice to those wonderful men who serve in the defense of our Country is the same. Whenever it is a matter of “survival versus compliance with rules” choose SURVIVAL!