Putin’s Endless Stupidity
Is matched only by the astounding stupidity of Western politicians
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A very long time ago some friends begged me to go with them to a nightclub — a venue I had zero interest in experiencing — and reluctantly I acquiesced. During the course of the overly-loud evening I witnessed an interesting event. At the time, I’d just gained nidan (2nd degree black-belt) in Shotokan karate and was attempting to stitch a workable system of self-defense together out of various parts: karate, judo, boxing, grappling. Back then, no one had heard of Krav Maga and no one was teaching it, so anyone serious about learning to fight had to work things out for themselves. Taking the very few techniques that worked, from various different disciplines, was all that was on the table.
One of the people I trained with occasionally in those improvised sessions was Brice (not his real name). Brice was around 1.95 meters tall and powerfully built. In training he was almost impossible to beat, not least because I’m 20cm shorter and in addition to his size he also had superb quick reflexes. So when that night a wiry little skinhead began to pester Brice with the clear intention of provoking a fight, it seemed obvious what the outcome would be. The bouncers, who also knew Brice, were amused by the escalating situation and instead of stepping in to remove the skinhead simply stood back to watch the fun. They were certain Brice would annihilate the angry little skinhead.
Unfortunately, unless you train really hard and in a consistently realistic manner, real life is not like training. In training, you show up prepared for what is to come. In real life, it’s easy to be blindsided. Brice was at the nightclub for a pleasant evening out and he wasn’t prepared for an ugly encounter. The skinhead began to shout and prod Brice’s chest — a classic aggressive move that simply begs to be used against the would-be assailant — but instead of taking a firm hold of the skinhead’s fingers and forcing him to his knees by using pain control, Brice took a step back. The skinhead throat-punched him and Brice’s eyes widened. Before any of the bouncers could move, the skinhead had pulled out a blade and was slashing at Brice’s torso and arms.
