Nicky Bats was an old school kinda guy. He was street thru and thru. He was a hard bark tough as nails S.O.B. He was a survivor. His definition of success in life was dying peacefully at a ripe old age of natural causes, not dying on some frozen blood-soaked battlefield in Korea after being over run by a human swarm of Chi-Coms. Not winding up in a landfill dead of lead poisoning and not dying in some filthy gutter with your innards spilling out from a gaping knife wound.

I once asked Nicky what he thought the secret to real world survival was. Now Nicky Bats WAS the go to guy on matters concerning reality based violence. He boiled it down to these words, words which carry a GREAT deal of wisdom..Dealing with most people is like dealing with a jackass. Even a dumb as a stump jackass has a brain, but it all depends on which end youre doing business with. Pick the wrong end and pretty soon youll find yourself standing knee deep in a pile of stinking donkey s@#t. Nicky Bats had a REAL dislike for hard guys, tough nuts, and blustering blowhards. Nicky called these types hard boiled eggs.seemingly tough on the outside, but easily cracked and all yellow and mushy on the inside. If you didnt know Nicky Bats, by the time he introduced himself, it was usually too late.

It took me awhile, but I eventually realized that what Nicky Bats was saying was that REAL survival was rooted in the ability to fully understand human nature and understand how that knowledge could really be put to use to work the mark, as he would say.

So-called self-defense at its core has far more to do with watching, studying and understanding all of the varied components of human nature than it does with ANY set of techniques, system or method.

EVERY single interaction with another individual CAN become a self-defense scenario or situation. Think about this. HOW many times during the course of a day, a week or a month does someone run SOME type of grift with YOU as the intended mark. From the subtle to the overt; from the sneaky and the backhanded to the OPENLY hostile, aggressive and potentially violent; these actions range from the snide comment or wiseass crack all the way up to and including a full blown lethal physical assault. AND they occur EVERYWHERE all the time in EVERY SINGLE interaction you have with someone that winds up with you muttering to yourself what an ASS or worse, you have in point of fact just engaged in a scenario of self-defense.

Every time your head pounded, your heart raced, your guts churned, your teeth gritted, or you clenched your fist in anger because of anothers actions you have just experienced the jump street of SELF-DEFENSE.

In the same way that we strive to deal with violent PHYSICAL attack, we should strive to know how to deal with these less overt intrusions into our personal space and lives. REMEMBER the MOST subtle of actions can open the door for the most dangerous of encounters and the MOST VIOLENT of outcomes!

The ANSWER lies right there in the philosophy of Nicky Bats. From the simply annoying and peevish traits of the human condition RIGHT up to the MOST detestable, ugly and violent actions the ANSWER remains pretty much the same. ITS THIS SIMPLE: Realize from JUMP STREET that you are dealing with the WRONG END of a JACKASS, that NOTHING GOOD will stem from this and that sooner rather than later you are most assuredly going to be CRAPPED UPON.

So the question BEGS to be askedWHY in the world are YOU dealing with the rear end of a JACKASS in the FIRST PLACE!

There any number of cues that will alert an astute observer of human nature to the intent, mind-set and type of character you are dealing with. USE THAT. Dont molly-coddle. Dont make excuses. Dont look inward. Dont equivocate. DONT BE SUCKERED and DONT BE STUPID.

If it looks like a JACKASS and it ACTS like a JACKASS..well you can figure out the rest. Never PLAY the other mans game. Never fall for the grift. NEVER allow yourself to set up as a mark.

REAL SELF-DEFENSE AINT JUST ABOUT KNOWING HOW TO STOP THAT BASEBALL BAT DESCENDING UPON YOUR SKULL!

IT IS FIGURING OUT WHY YOU DIDNT SEE IT COMING IN THE FIRST PLACE!

And if youre wondering about Nicky Bats, as I just found out earlier this evening, his wish came to fruition, hes finally a success.

RIP my dear Brother. In a world of hard boiled eggs, the ones that count, will remember you as the REAL DEAL!

2005 www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com