SPARTAN PERFORMANCE                               CROSSFIT SUFFOLK

 With a continuously running clock do one pull-up the first minute, two pull-ups the second minute, three pull-ups the third minute… continuing as long as you are able.

Use as many sets each minute as needed.

WOD Demo with CrossFit Route 1 by Again Faster Equipment – video [wmv] [mov](Courtesy of CrossFit.com)

 The Medical Establishment Fired Me For Rejecting Convential Wisdom    "Each time I visited the office I was asked to get a flu shot and make an appointment for a mammogram – two standard items that define the establishment protocol. Neither of these is beneficial, and in fact both are harmful, but lots of folks in the statist medical system make a whole lot of money off of the existence of this protocol. One month ago, I had to visit the doc, and when I was asked again if I wanted a flu shot, I said, "When I want to avoid the teensy-weensy chance that I will get a mild flu for 3 days, and increase my chance of long-term health problems or immediate harm to my immune system, I’ll get your flu shot." I was branded as a "troublemaker" because I kept denying the flu shot."—Karen De Coster for Lew Rockwell.com

The Gray Man

By George Demetriou

The savage beating of off-duty Woodbridge, NJ police Officer, Neal Auricchio after the Winter Classic Hockey Game between the New York Rangers and The Philadelphia Flyers was despicable and completely unwarranted, but there are lessons we can take from this incident.

First of all, I'd like to thank Officer Auricchio for his service to our country. 

We need to address another factor before we get into the "tactical" lessons.  When I spoke about the incident with friends, at least one or two mentioned that the "Ranger fan was probably shooting his mouth off."  There was nothing to indicate that Auricchio or anyone he was with was acting improperly or rude in any way, shape or form.   I would suggest that even if he was celebrating by being loud and obnoxious–which again, there is nothing to indicate that he was–this is not a reason to assault a person.

Onto the "tactical" stuff.

There is much to be said for being the "Gray Man".  The term comes from the Intelligence community.  The Gray Man is the guy in the room that nobody notices.  The Gray Man is not noticed entering or leaving an establishment.  He's there, but nobody remembers him being there.  It's bad concept when trying to market yourself ,  but it's a great concept when you don't want to attract attention for one reason or another.

When going into another city in the United States as a New York fan,  you're going behind "enemy lines".  You can blend in–be the Gray Man–if you don't wear anything that shows you are in fact a New York fan.  If you feel it is an absolute necesity to "wear your colors" then remove them as soon as the game is over.  It's not being afraid, it's being smart.  When you're out and about in town looking for a place to eat you don't need to wear a blinking neon sign that indicates, (1) you're probably far from home and therefore far from your backup, your support system, your cavalry, and (2) you're a fan of the team that just beat the home team–therefore a target for the sociopath who takes pro sports a bit too seriously.

Auricchio and his friend were sprayed with what was described as "cleaning fluid" by a homeless man paid by the attackers.  The Ranger fans were justified with defending themselves especially not knowing what they were being sprayed with.  This is when words were exchanged prior to the assault.  This is the most critical part of the incident–the most critical part of most street confrontations.  Most people are drawn into a conversation that is not going to resolve anything.  This is the time to either physically defend yourself or walk, if not run, away.  This is not the time for conversation.

If you are going to stay and exchange "words" with a group of hostile morons a punch WILL be thrown.  You either need to be too far to be hit without the bad guys having to telegraph their assault or be the person throwing the first punch with the intention of getting out of there because it's too late to walk away safely.  The next reasonable option is you have to quickly close the gap and stay close to the attacker, but this requires training as you will be in a close contact fight.  Any of these can keep you safe from getting sucker punched.  Your options will be determined by how much you thought about being in such an incident before it happens, how trained you are or are not, and what the bad guys decide to do.

Your objective in a street assault is to stay mobile and conscious.  This is easier to achieve if you can stay on your feet.  Staying on your feet during this type of assault is difficult even if you are trained.  It requires recognizing that an assault is about to take place, moving away from the attack and/or having your hands in position to protect your head and jaw.  If your hands are down by your pockets you are going to block with your face.  I don't recommend face blocks.  If you are not realistically trained to protect your head and jaw YOU WILL GET PUNCHED in the face.  If you are trained you still might get punched in the face, depending on how you trained and how much you trained.

So you got punched in the face and you go down.  You need to know how to get up SAFELY.  When you hit the ground your attackers will try to stomp you.  The stomp requires no training, no skill, no stretching, little accuracy and is very effective.  Very effective in this case means wherever the attacker's foot makes contact with will be damaged.  A stomp to your head can kill you.  A stomp to your throat can kill you.  A stomp to your solar plexus can kill you.  A stomp to your straightened knee can break your leg.  If they elect not to stomp you one of the bad guys will get on top of you (mount) to repeatedly strike you while making it extremely difficult for you to get up.  Getting up safely means getting up as quick as possible, while keeping yourself as protected as possible.  It's difficult to do if you are not trained to do so.  It's really difficult to do if you lose consciousness.  You need to move, block, grapple, counter-strike and get up.  You will only do this if you are properly trained.

You see where I'm going with this?

The thing about being properly trained is the better your training and the more experience you have the easier it is to avoid assaults in the first place.  You understand the dynamics of a violent confrontation a bit better than the the person who does no realistic defensive tactics or combat sport training.   Trained individuals will recognize a bad situation before a non-trained individual.  There's also less chance of ego being a determining factor in a fight with a trained person.  The well trained can walk away from a situation with their ego intact.

Being a war fighter and being a law enforcer don't necessarily prepare one for all street fight situations, specifically the unarmed event.  While military personel and police officers are taught to "fight" the training is nowhere near extensive enough to make it practical in situations where you have no other edge.  An edge would be backup, a non-lethal weapon, or the luxury of initiating the physical damage and chaos. 

With all the the best training in the world anyone could be had.  Anyone can lose at any given time.  Proper training raises your awareness and improves your odds of survival should you find yourself in an unavoidable violent incident.  It doesn't guarantee victory or survival.

Be the Gray Man (or Woman).  Blend in.  Keep moving without attracting attention.  Be courteous, but not friendly.  Have no unnecesary conversation.  Get in and out without creating a ripple, especially when you're in enemy territory.