I previously wrote about my friend Lam and an encounter he had with a would be attacker half a foot taller than him and literally twice his weight.  The fight was avoided by a simple "flick" to the throat, and no more ever came of it.

Was it the finger flick that did it?  Well, that was the tool.  Lam used a physically strong tool to attack a physically weak target.  

He "won" that encounter not by being stronger (he wasn't), or by knowing more "techniques" (though he did).  He won because he remained calm in the face of danger.  By remaining calm, he saw his opportunity and was able to take it.  Of course, if he had panicked, it would have been different.

The modern martial arts owe a lot to Bruce Lee.  He pioneered the use of the training equipment seen in every martial arts gym in America.  He researched and tested ideas from martial arts from all over the world.  He even fought - literally - for the right to teach non-Chinese people martial arts.

Now we come to the end of this famous battle, and the 4th part of this "mini-series"

The last bit is often forgotten as we tell the story to children.  David took advantage of his opponent's moment of weakness and followed through.  He took Goliath's own sword and cut his head off with it.

I guess I understand why we rarely tell that to the kiddies, and why women recoil from it.  There is a tremendous lesson there though.

In Part 1, we covered the role of faith and clear mindedness.

In part 2, we saw how it is best to have more than one plan, in case of inevitable problems.

Now we continue to explore how David actually engaged the giant.

Part one began with David approaching the battle with unshakable faith and a clear mind.  What else did David bring with him?

When David was preparing for battle, he picked up 5 smooth stones.  Why five?  If he had faith, why not 1?  For that matter, why bring any weapon? 

The idea of being attacked by a larger, stronger person worries both men and women.  Many - especially women - fear that fighting back will only make things worse. 

Forget for the moment that studies show that 80% of rapists will give up if they meet with resistance. 

What can anyone do against a physically overpowering foe?

One of the fundamental concepts of Personal Defense is using one's strengths against an attacker's weaknesses.  When I was in high school, I had a friend named Lam.  Lam was from Vietnam, but his paternal grandparents were from Hong Kong, and he lived with them for a number of years while trying to secure passage to America.  Lam's grandfather taught him kung-fu, just as every chop-sockey movie ever made would lead you to expect.

Paul Vunak once shared this illustration with me to demonstrate the fallacy of "style vs. style" thinking.  Imagine 3 experienced fighters.  

Fighter A is a professional heavyweight boxer.
Fighter B is a jujitsu wrestler.
Fighter C is a karate man.

In fight 1, It's karate vs. boxing.  The boxer is agile and fit, but when he closes the distance, the karate man snaps a kick to his groin.  The boxer, unfamiliar with the low kick and unable to block it, drops his hands in agony.  The karate man is able to kick him in the head and run away.  Winner= Karateka.