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When
it comes down to "flight or fight!"
Related
story: Virginia reacts to terrorist
attacks
by Peter
Galuszka
"Kick! Kick!" screams Julien
Patterson at the man wearing a blue dress shirt and
white, padded helmet. Tom Connolly, training officer
for Omniplex World Services is already sweating, but
he manages a short, choppy kick at the football practice
pads held by a young, female trainer. "Stick! stick!,"
yells Patterson, giving Connolly not one second to rest.
Patterson brings a soft, pliable stick down onto Connolly,
who blocks the blow as taught by forming a "V"
with his upper arms to deflect it.
So goes personal defense training called
"Flight or Fight" at Omniplex's headquarters
in Chantilly. Patterson, founder and CEO of the firm,
developed the program to help corporate and government
officials react quickly if they are under threat. Since
the Sept. 11 attacks, companies have been calling for
the sessions, which can last from half a day to three
days.
The instruction, often carried out
at the headquarters of the client company including
some Fortune 500 firms, is designed to help employees
develop a "measured response" if they come
under personal threat, says Patterson, a former CIA
security officer. "If you are traveling for your
company and you find yourself under threat, the best
thing to do is flee," says Patterson. Sometimes,
though, that's not possible.
Thus, corporate executives need to
be able to instantly decide: When to fight back and
how best to do it. "The problems are always of
doing it under stress and in a confined space,"
says Patterson. "It takes extraordinary presence
of mind to make the right moves, and no one knows how
they will do under stress. People with military training
have developed a way to handle themselves under stress,
so they have an immediate point of reference to go to."
Screaming at trainees is one way to
create stress. Omniplex would rather focus, though,
on ways to minimize danger. One technique requires turning
your body at an angle to the assailant so that if he
has a knife or other weapon, your arms protect your
vital organs. Should trainees decide to fight back,
Patterson recommends that they don't clench their fist
like a boxer; instead people should make a hammer fist
and chop down on an assailant's clavicle. If kicking,
go for short chops to the groin and knees. "Forget
what you learned at your favorite karate school, these
guys grew up fighting dirty," he says. Another
tip: "If the assailant has a gun and drops it,
try to kick it away, but don't pick it up." A person
may not be familiar enough with the weapon to shoot
and "if you do pick up a gun you have to be prepared
to kill your assailant."
Despite his lessons, Patterson has
no clear advice on how to handle hijackings. Thirty-eight
passengers and seven crew members apparently died Sept.
11 when they fought terrorists who hijacked United Airlines
Flight 93. After the struggle, the plane crashed, killing
all aboard. "You may want to fight back, but you
may be in the window seat next to a lady and her infant.
There's no way to know in advance and with Monday morning
quarterbacking, well, the people criticizing just weren't
there."
Return
to Virginia Business - November 2001
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