NEWS: Knife Attack in the UK

Silver Street, Burwell. Close to the scene of the Attack

NEWS: Knife Attack in Burwell, UK

At 930pm on the evening of Sunday, 8 August 2010, a 26 year old man was attacked with a knife in an alleyway running off Silver Street in Burwell.

The attacker was wearing a white zip up hooded top, was black, about 6 foot 5 inches tall and of a stocky build. The attacker walked up to the victim and asked him for a light. The attacker then proceeded to hit the victim in the face with a probable knife. The victim received slight injuries and was able to quickly run off.

Detective senior Constable Gayle of Cambridgeshire Police said “This was an unprovoked attack and has left the victim very shaken.” Anyone with information should call police on 0345 456 456 4.

Analysis and Lessons Learnt

The Environment

The street is the most likely place for muggings and robberies to occur. This is especially the case with quiet areas that lead off from busier areas. This is the case here as the victim was walking down an alleyway which runs off the main street of Silver Street. This is a high risk area for these types off attacks. An aware person would not have walked down that alleyway or

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Do Your Thoughts Lead to Consequences?

I just recently read an article that made me shake my head with disbelief and frustration because it was nonsense. What slowed me down however was that I thought there was also an element of truth there, however it seemed misguided. After some consideration I have come to the conclusion that the article is incorrect, correct and also ill informed. How is THAT for sitting on the fence???

The article over at Person Missing is discussing the viewpoint that if people read all about muggings and attacks, that it instills a certain amount of fear in people. People end up thinking, "I hope I don't get mugged". The articles position goes on to state that the "unbiased ear" inside our heads will not hear the "don't" but will hear the "I" and "mugged" and connect these two words. It is all about the "Law of Attraction".

The thought remembered by ones subconscious is that it connects "I" and "mugged". This results in our thoughts leading to action. That is, we get mugged. This is a theory whereby if we focus on negatives, the "do nots" and "don'ts" that our subconscious only hears what we say without those words.

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Real Case Studies Highlight Most Assaults Occur Between People Who Know Each Other

Statistics tell us that a slight majority of assaults occur between people who know each other (see also here). Assault is generally a much more emotional physical encounter than cold blooded robbery and muggings. This is an important distinction. Assault often is very passionate but doesn't generally involve a deliberate intent to cause severe damage or injury. It often involves a lot of posturing, similar to how two animals of the same species fight.

What does this mean? It means we need to be as careful of people we know as we are about strangers. Below is a sampling of real news stories showing various real cases of assaults occurring between people who know each other. They involve teachers and students, partners, opposing gang members and more. The message is, its not just strangers who fight at pubs over spilt drinks and offensive 'looks'. Sometimes, we know the aggressor.

Hopefully this post will provide a little food for thought. Lets get into it.

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My Epic Barefoot Summit of Mt Barney ( Long Post)

The warning sign at the base of Mt Barney

What an adventure I had over the weekend. I went for the summit of Mt Barney. Mt Barney is a mountain (in Australian standards anyway) for only experienced walkers and climbers and there have been numerous examples of climbers having to be rescued from it's grasp. The plan was to go up the spectacular SE Ridge to the East Peak, go down into the saddle and descend the South Ridge. I aimed to reach the summit and get back down all in the one day. It didn't turn out that way as the mountain had other ideas...

I have recently been eyeing off Mt Barney as it is the biggest mountain near where I live in south east Queensland, Australia. I had sounded out a few prospective climbing companions but for three separate reasons, they all had to pass as the time approached. I decided I would go for it by myself. I wanted to go for the summit within a couple of weeks and the weekend just gone was the only time I could really fit it in. So I decided to go for it. The weather wasn't looking great but

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ATM Card Skimmers: Exposed

Many people have heard about ATM skimmers but most have never seen them, know how they work or most importantly, know what to look for. Below is intended to be a practical guide explaining all things ATM skimmers. It is hoped that this guide will contain some very interesting information. I know when I was first exposed to all of this information a few weeks ago, I was surprised at the quality of some of these devices which can be seen with some of the images included below. I doubt very much if I would have noticed them. Lets get into it.

What is ATM Skimming?

ATM skimming is a problem the world over. Skimming is a method where criminals capture the data

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Real Bus Attack: Justified or Stupid?

Warning: Video may offend.




(Note: Email subscribers may have to click through to view post on the main site to view the video)

This video is getting mixed responses around the Internet. Some say it is funny and the young guy got what he deserved. Others say the older guy was after a fight as well and the real victims were the bus passengers who had to deal with it. Did everyone see the older guys shirt? It said "I AM a Motherf$#ker.

Leave your opinions below.

EDIT: Just found the second video. Not long after the first. For those interested...

Defendo Kotka: Realistic Training Video

Watch on You Tube
I like it. Unarmed. Weapons. Standing. Clinch. Ground. Static drills. Sparring. Scenarios. Role playing. In gym. On site realistic environments. Normal clothes. Aliveness throughout. Indoors. Outdoors. Functional strength and conditioning.

Can You Be Stabbed With a Knife and Not Know it?

A remarkable news story unfolded recently. A Russian woman, Julia Popova, aged 22, was mugged and had a 6 inch knife blade lodged in her back. She was so traumatized that she did not realise it was there until she walked home and her parents saw it!

Details of the actual mugging are unclear but it is the image above which is being widely spread around the Internet. There is some speculation as to whether it was faked but it seems at this stage that it is genuine.

This story prompted me to examine if this is a common occurrence. The examples below indicate that it may be.

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