Indignation for Self-Defense: "How Dare You?"

The CrossFit Journal -- (journal.crossfit.com)
If a bad guy sticks a gun in your face, makes the mistake of not killing you and then further makes the mistake of talking, it's your lucky day.
"If a guy stuck a gun in your face, would he expect you to put your hands up in fear? Yeah," explains Tony Blauer, who owns Blauer Tactical Systems and leads the CrossFit Defense courses.
Luckily, that nonviolent posture also is ideal for grabbing the gun. At that point, all you need to remember is the shape of a question mark or a light bulb to keep the gun from being pointed at your face-and, of course, also bite, scratch and become indignant.
"You gotta start going crazy," Blauer says. "The movements that we're doing here are things you all can do."
He adds: "Indignation is my favorite word in our courses. ... Indignation is that moment where I go, 'How dare you?'"
Video by Jay Vera.
The CrossFit Games® - The Sport of Fitness™
The Fittest On Earth™

[@ellenj8896]

Thanks, DHC45, I appreciate your response and I'm glad to know that gripping the barrel is feasible on a semi-auto. I realize this technique would not work on a revolver due to the different way a round feeds into the chamber as well as blast generated (partially) out the front of the cylinder.

[@OLOHEKAI]

"...But that doesn't even matter now when Ernie & Bert jump in here..." Love it!!! :)

[@rextransformation7418]

This is freakin' BEAUTIFUL!! Respect!!

[@zoomergrrlinluv]

Tony! you taught me submisive stance and attacks from that position back in 1988,Youre system saved my butt at least twice in my life,I thank you Sir.

[@bharlan2002]

My self defense is a .45 with alternating FMJ and hollow point with a CCW permit. Someday I'll take a Krav Maga course but until then distance and a sense of awareness will work as well as it has so far.

[@lakaiguy187]

why do you alternate fmj and hollow point, have you tested both of your carry ammos? the point of aim point of impact could shift drastically

[@pgmorse]

Marc White he doesn't. he just thought it would sound cool. how witty...

[@ShredMaster1289]

Marc White not necessarily, FMJ is used for a warning shot, i.e. the shot to the knee that might be able to be repaired. the hollow point is the follow-up kill shot. Fun fact: If a person uses hollow points in self defense, the courts will file for manslaughter 1, because fragmenting ammunition shows intent to kill.

[@lakaiguy187]

anytime you fire a weapon at someone you should have intent to kill. Firing a warning shot is a form of posturing and shooting someone in the knee means you did not fear for your life to the point of using force was necessary, therefore you should not have fired. trying to remember weather you have a hollow point or a jacketed round coming out of the barrel next is a bad idea in a gunfight. less variables the better. and just like I mentioned earlier there defiantly could be a considerable shift in point of aim and point of impact.

[@ShredMaster1289]

idk if shift matters in CQB :/

[@OdrasUdec]

I love this kind of stuff

[@basskicking4532]

Thank you sir for keeping it real. I like people who know what they are doing and talking about. Thanks

[@selfpolicing]

Very good video! Thanks!

[@ThiVids]

The amount of usefulness is unbelievable!

[@drdr3496]

Yes, it is ZERO

[@DavidHaldenby-fe2uc]

this is awesome, thanks.

[@amadorarteaga9715]

Wow great video guys teaching people how to fight back. :)

[@TriggerTimeTV]

great content!

[@iWorld0815]

Still don´t get it what this has to do with Crossfit!? Self-Defense WOD? Unarm a guy 10 Times, 50 Double Unders, Unarm 8 Times, 50 Double Unders, Unarm 6.... !? As a fan of Crossfit as I am, it would be more interesting to see some more behind the scenes of the games, training of the athletes etc..

[@squidly1117]

Does Crossfit help you in your everyday life? Picking up kids, loading groceries, helping a buddy move his couch, disarming an attacker? You really never thought of this?

[@captainfaldior]

squidly1117 CrossFit does not necessarily help you become better at self defense. Smarts is more effective than fitness or strength at achieving this. In this video, Blauer actually subs in a bigger, stronger dude to demonstrate how the technique works just as well against him. It just happens that Tony is a huge fan of CrossFit and for some reason at this time it's difficult to keep the SPEAR system from CrossFit separate in the various media. Whatevs. Whether you're a fan of CrossFit or not, you can still take away the pure self defense aspects of the tuition.

[@donwill1926]

good stuff

[@Rattle86]

Love this guy! We need more of this kinds of videos. Please

[@frederickdahl2780]

Actually, this does make omplete sense based on reaction time, the reactionary gap, and distraction. Scientifically, the technique is sound...and as Tony indicates, is used as a defense technique when escape and evasion are not possible.

[@vShoTzZ25]

LMFAO " put the fuckin gun down, I'm a trained fucking assassin"

[@emkay1015]

GOOD POINT. I LIKE THAT

[@LifewithAbraham]

That was awesome thinking!

[@aidanpeters1598]

No it's not most of this requires pure strength no skill if you want to learn to defend yourself learn brazillian jui jitzu

[@Supernaught00]

aidan peters Excellent for 1 on 1 fighting. Awful for more than one opponent for obvious reasons.

[@Alejandro218]

Brazilian what? That shit doesnt work in the street try to go on the ground with someone that has a knife is stupid

[@LifewithAbraham]

Lol, keyboard warriors

[@warrennicholsony.fernando4513]

Simple and effective.

[@maxrey4055]

What kind of training pistol is that? Perfect for determining if you're move worked or not by being able to pull the trigger.

[@krisz443]

Good stuff... also make sure you carry your own peacemaker...

[@berengerdietiker22]

"More people have successfully defended themselves through sheer indignation and will power than ever have through traditional self defense techniques," Tony Blauer once said. I authentically believe indignation and determination are key to survival. However and wherever people may be accosted, they should react indignantly and determinedly.

[@ellenj8896]

Regarding grabbing the slide/barrel to prevent the the next round from feeding into the chamber: I've had a question about this for awhile: If you grab the barrel and they get off a shot (from the round that's already in the chamber at the time), is there enough heat generated by the muzzle blast that would burn the palm amd cause you to spontaneously let go of the barrel? Most of the blast comes out of the muzzle but I think some comes out from where the slide meets the body of the gun. Maybe the heat is so momentary that it does not cause a burn? Obviously a burn is no big deal in the face of a threat, but if painful, I wonder if it would cause a reflexive release. Anyone out there tried this without shooting gloves on? I would be curious to know, thanks!

[@DHC-jw8qs]

No issues what-so-ever, as long as you don't cover the end of the muzzle w/ any body part: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaKWnHSfbs9kfLs

[@keithfine8020]

Nice stuff !

[@aidanpeters1598]

This is garbage and u shouldn't buy into it if you want to learn self defence learn brazillian jui jitzu

[@KeithFine10]

Thanks, but I'll stick with Krav Maga

[@Alejandro218]

Brazilian what that shit doesnt work in the street try to take down some one with a knife

[@selfpolicing]

Worldclass!

[@MrTinmann73]

It got my blood pumping just to watch this. But this cannot be done without practice, no matter what anybody thinks.

[@brettritzmann2937]

Not much practice, just eye and hand coordination. Better than just running or going down without a fight!

[@waffle2112]

Awesome video. Who cares if it has "nothing" to do with CrossFit. If you watched it, I'm sure you learned something new that could potentially protect your life or health if an incident like this were to happen.

[@wannaszreen]

Muscle coordination, reaction speed, functional movement...... Yep, that sounds like CrossFit to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they wouldn't put a self defence WOD in the games (that'd be crazy if they did) but this right here is a fraction of an application of CrossFit (or real life problem solving,if that make sense to any of you who still doesn't get what CrossFit is all about); it's what we can do with the capability that we were naturally born with.

[@txplaystafreak]

Where can I get his shirt?!

[@thelonioushorner7039]

3:18 FINALLY! Someone who repects the gods bert/ernie, some of the best living and dead

[@yell0fello]

hang on, are you suggesting that if asked for my wallet at gunpoint i should attempt a gun disarm rather than comply and simply hand it over?

[@MrTinmann73]

After they get your wallet they will probably kill you anyway. Assume they will and gouge the pricks eyes out.

[@GeneralBlackNorway]

When you give them the wallet and they try to grab it, their gun is in one hand as they reach for your wallet. That's the perfect time to drop the wallet into their hand and use both your hand to grab his gun using your entire body on his little wrist and the gun is yours and you have your wallet back!

[@boyertb]

+yell0fello If you're not prepared, then by all means, give them your wallet and hope for the best. The point of the video is to train and be prepared. You should actually learn what he's teaching outside of these quick little videos.

[@frederickdahl2780]

Tony recommends this only when compliance or giving the wallet will not stop the bad guy from killing you.

[@thedreadpirate3454]

Not necessarily. He could and you might have to fight the guy to save your life. But if he's after your wallet, he's probably just going to rob you and make a run for it. Your wallet's not worth your life and any policeman worth his badge will tell you to cooperate and save your life. It comes down to a judgement call. You fight the guy if you think you can take him or if you know and sense he's going to kill you anyway. Or you move to disarm when he's drawing the gun. But you have to do it quick. You have to attack or your already dead. And if you try to fight the gun and your not ready for it and he's got the drop on you, he's going to kill you. And again your wallet's not worth your life. I'll say this, technique-wise this video is a little better than his other videos, but overall I don't think this is good advice. There are a lot better self-defense programs out there, whether they be police, security, or military training, martial arts, boxing, pick your poison. They are better than this. And yes, you need to spar. You need to be able to test these techniques to see if they work.

[@pittcrunch8787]

0:19 lmao

[@Mr.Highway]

once again, tony says one word that ties this WHOLE thing together... the Trojan horse concept... does work,but fear must be in check...

[@aimeeyervasi3095]

Fantastic instruction by Coach Blauer!! We often forget that a gun in and of itself does not kill, it is when the trigger is pulled and the bullet flies that it has the capacity for death. In this case the idea of allowing yourself to take control of the gun by jamming it and giving yourself time to defend yourself is amazing. The "lightbulb" moment is remarkable and makes perfect anatomical sense. Wow.

[@RDA8191]

Aimee Yervasi it really is amazing how easily some people are manipulated

[@antparts]

Do armed robberies mirror this? Yes. Assailants do hold guns close to the face. Not all will but from personal experience I did the same hands up no threat posture in the same scenario. Having a course of action after that would've been beneficial rather than hoping he wouldn't shoot me in the back as I was laying on the ground. Rely on luck or practiced course of action?

[@HeinRichKocHPretoria]

Assailants would probably point the gun from 2 meters away and ask you to throw the wallet to them.

[@simonflr]

Congruent...

[@kaizerthetorus]

Loved it! Who is this guy???

[@RDA8191]

kaizerthetorus a moron

[@ozmer]

This video would be hilarious if the guy with the gun just pulled the trigger everytime he pointed the gun at his head instead of waiting for the guy to start disarming him.

[@HeinRichKocHPretoria]

99.9% of the time, your life is not in danger because the person is not willing to shoot you for what he wants. (If he intended to shoot you, he would ve done it, nevermind asking for your wallet.)

[@tdeboer1089]

I’ve been a Krav Maga instructor and practitioner for 4 years, and this is some of the worst advice I’ve ever seen..... the “question mark” thing will get someone killed. You have to understand, most people DO NOT have the strength or the balls to make that “defense.” Not only that, but if the gun goes off in your face, you just had a gun go off in your face! Powder burns, muzzle flash, and if it’s a large caliber there’ll be a massive recoil. And to tell someone to take a hand off the weapon to strike is ludicrous. It’s easy in a video where some dude who knows less than nothing about self protection to go, “gimme your money” in some lame tone. But, a man or woman who’s made the conscious decision to cause harm to another man or woman will have way more conviction in their actions. There will be no static hold and meek command of “gimme your money...” they’ll grab your hair, press the gun in your forehead, smack you with it, sucker punch you,literally anything. Mental toughness aside. This shit looks flashy and sells seminars. But to put the line of fire back on yourself is a ridiculous notion and Blauer is giving everyone who takes his one-off seminars a false sense of confidence. Now while I love crossfit, this is nuts. Just like you can’t walk in a gym and deadlift 350, you can’t take a seminar and start teaching self protection. Most people that take this probably have no idea the concept of a violent encounter or how swiftly they escalate. I’d love to audit this seminar as a spectator and see exactly what they teach, but I’d never pay this yahoo. Crossfit, I love you guys. But this stuff has to go!

[@HeinRichKocHPretoria]

Tony's seminars give you "the strength or the balls to make that defense."

[@HeinRichKocHPretoria]

Tony's point is that you must make that move before the gun goes off in your face.

[@HeinRichKocHPretoria]

If they grab your hair or sucker punch you, then you use different self defense moves.

[@yorfitness2033]

i want your shirt

[@stevbarto]

"you just jammed the gun.".... unless its a revolver...

[@frederickdahl2780]

Even so, you now own the attacker's gun, and are fucking him up by reversing the predator prey relationship. Fuck him up enough and you have the gun.

[@donthatejoerogan]

I don't have enough experience with disarming to say whether or not the tactics in this video are sound or not but I'd say it has a lot to do with crossfit and being strong and fit in general. To all of you who question that, do you mean to tell me that at least one of the reasons you train isn't so you are strong enough and fit enough to fight for your loved ones if you have to. Before anyone suggests it, that is NOT to say that strength automatically makes a good fighter because we all know that isn't true. However, if something goes bad, would you rather be strong and fit, or out of shape and weak? This video has everything to do with crossfit.

[@vShoTzZ25]

if you have absolutely no fight training then yes, getting stronger will definitely help

[@RDA8191]

bo slogan but Crossfitters are weak.... extremely weak compared to an average weightlifter

[@NAMELESSsquiggel31]

Ahaha so many trolls, suddenly everyone is a self defense expert XD call down. If you're skeptical take a damn class with tony

[@thedreadpirate3454]

How do you know we're not self defense experts? You don't know what are training is. If you've taken self defense courses, and I recommend taking a variety of different ones, whether it be police training, martial arts, boxing, or even a firearms course or a defensive tactics course that maybe covers OC spray, batons, and tasers, you can easily poke holes in this guys curriculum. I think that's why a lot of people are hating on this guy. It doesn't take a genius to see this guy is handing out bad advice, which is really dangerous in a life or death situation. I've also noticed he takes about ten minutes to explain something he could've done in about one. And you better believe I am not going to blow 2 or 3 hundred dollars or however much he's charging to take his dumb class after the handful of videos I've seen thus far. No sir. This guy has a bad and dangerous product he is trying to sell.

[@RDA8191]

Nickolas Sherman Blauer is no self defense expert himself. This con man teaches people that if they wear a seat belt, they're experts at throwing elbow strikes. Blauer is a fraud. He is known for going to certain units, like the SEALS, trying to pitch his bullshit self defense, and he ends up stealing the techniques the team is using and starts selling the techniques to the public. He's a piece of shit

[@stefanlazar113]

I think, it could work in some cases. The problem is that a real "bad guy" would never come so close to you that you can grab the gun. At least, a well trained one :)

[@kazan5838]

Yeah i agree,but someone who feels/wants to feel in power will come to you that close to intimidate you more with the weapon and then you can try something like this.Ofc this is not going to work if someone is outside of your reach.Other than that i think boxing+wrestling is best combination you can learn.

[@JayBeeEff1]

Most "bad guys" aren't well trained though. Mostly they are just random, desperate people with a gun.

[@HeinRichKocHPretoria]

@@JayBeeEff1 True, well trained bad guys rob milionairs and banks, not Tom Dick and Harry.

[@craig265]

it worked for me but it was a revolver ,,,, gun fire was part of the equation but I survived

[@ShellySummers]

From a self defense perspective this was more painful then pistons. Initial movement was good with the hands up, but the punching is worse then useless. They are counter productive.

[@allanblakemore381]

I aint a troll like a lot of the people who commented on here. This is very well thought out stuff... If you cannot see that then more fool you. Love it Tony.

[@esscate]

Allan Blakemore You sure?

[@RDA8191]

Allan Blakemore holy fuck you are stupid. Your hero is a well known fraud amongst real martial artists and military spec ops guys

[@iskarzi4924]

More

[@-kenzo-blake-1091]

This is Funny but could be useful for some people in Dangerous Situations .... hope you don't die.

[@sondosal-himri8432]

what if u r a girl and he is much bigger and taller than u what would u do !

[@dallasvandesto6235]

Sondos Al-Himri I've ask myself why very many don't show men and women who are against people 2x there size but I did learn this what you need to do is practice it with someone who's 2x the size and see what works. For us smaller people we need to do things fast like eye gouging part and try not to over take the bigger guy with the gun about 80% of gunmen in my thought are not over 170Ib but this is a guess

[@sondosal-himri8432]

Thnx for the reply wish we had this kind of self defense classes where i live .. Thnx fir the video too

[@RDA8191]

Sondos Al-Himri definitely don't try anything from this con man when your life is on the line

[@pittcrunch8787]

Hi Have been watching Tony since the 90s he is the real deal.He said in one video people post 20 years exprance but what they actually have is 1 year repeated 20 times.

[@yusrirashidi9844]

👍

[@NicholasWhiteley]

I think he means ‘congruent’ not “congruess”

[@BuddyLee23]

He appropriately says “congruous“. All you have to do is turn on the captions to see what he’s actually saying.

[@CyanLink]

You might indeed cause the gun to malfunction by holding it but your hand is going to be FUBAR. Not many people are going to be able to keep fighting back after that has happened to them.

[@boyertb]

+CyanLink Holding the slide does not cause your hand to be FUBAR. I've done it at the range on many occasions. The gases still escape, they just don't cause the slide to cycle.

[@CyanLink]

Gitsum Yeah, since then I've seen a video of Polenar doing it. This is an old comment.

[@boyertb]

Roger that.

[@CyanLink]

Gitsum Your username is hilarious BTW.

[@DanielCruz-uz3nv]

HahahahahahahahahahahaTHE SAME KINETIC SHIT

[@plissken151]

Tony Blauer is fucking briliant. I love this guy. His approach and training is smart and effective. I wish his stuff was taught to the regular military. He could single-handedly affect the Infantry and how we fight close in. Brilliant. Great stuff. Guys like Blauer come around once every 30-40 years. Genius. Genius through observation, biomechanics, and logic.

[@RDA8191]

plissken151 I hope you're trolling. All his shit is ripped off from police and military units

[@LogicallyCoherent]

Can CrossFit please stick to just fitness. Don't try over-do it

[@russiantothefridge]

cant be fit if you're dead

[@infinitestarz]

Crossfit has pretty strong LEO and military roots, you cant take fitness out of survival. Life is "unknown and unknowable".

[@RDA8191]

infinitestarz Blauer bullshit definitely has military and police roots, because he stole all this shit from spec ops units

[@delvesdg]

Good technique but definitely not for the average Joe. This requires a certain amount of mental dedication.

[@reademandsweep]

Krav Maga still uses conscious cognitive processing in order for it to work. In real fighting you don't have time to think. Motor functioning decreases depending on your heart rate. That's why it is flawed

[@lifesabuzzwhoopwhoop]

You might want to watch Tonys video on defending straight punches, he points out the spear system is a bridge to your motor skills. Use the spear to defend and gain control because its instinctive and gross motor based i agree, but to rule out a system thats been used in thousands of live situations just isnt smart. Can Krav Maga be improved? Of course but so can any system. Tony does'nt rule out Krav Maga but does'nt claim the Spear systems perfect either. He quotes Clint Eastwood in the straight punch video, "if you want a guarantee by toaster".

[@williampinnell8919]

'MURICA

[@jimbanzo]

1u put ya hands up n u gettin pistol whooped 2 this is horrible advice

[@Preparednessman]

It was interesting...but the swearing was ghetto. I'm disappointed Crossfit is cool with that.

[@aidanpeters1598]

This guy is a joke if u want to learn self defense learn Brazilian jui jitzu I would like to see this guy fight someone who is bigger or in an actual martial art

[@daldude178]

this comment makes a lot of sense under a video about self protection against a gun. This is of course covered in BJJ classes on a regular basis...

[@Milanders]

daldude agreed, first thing I'm gonna do when someone points a gun at me is pull guard and hit an easy triangle...

[@tashakazulu8737]

perfect tony blauer the fake self defence master with crossfiters the fake athlees

[@aidanpeters1598]

This is such a bad form of self defence

[@pgmorse]

Big let down that crossfit is still releasing this garbage. Stop it with this guy. Please

[@myvideoisnotgood]

***** then just don´t watch the 3 minute videos.

[@richardmosley9053]

***** "Altho it was interesting..." That doesn't seem like someone who didn't watch the vids.

[@richardmosley9053]

***** Personal level? You made it seem as if you were sharing an opinion on something you didn't even watch. I barely remember commenting on this vid, but thanks for dragging me back.

[@Alejandro218]

You ate the typical bitch that talk shit of some ones work and when some one disagree with you bam you turn into a crying girl saying that is just your opinion and nobody should say shit about you

[@duuuude3642]

What's the idea here lol you only need to know crossfit to take a gun from someone? Delusional

[@aidanpeters1598]

This stuff is garbage it wouldn't work against someone bigger than u or someone who is in a martial art i want to see this tony blaure guy fight someone who is a trained martial artist

[@stevegledhill1575]

you are totally clueless.

[@Alejandro218]

Yeah because every one is a martial artist

[@boyertb]

+aidan peters Actually, yes it does.

[@boyertb]

+aidan peters He literally demonstrated the technique against a bigger guy.

[@marvinasencio83]

This is terrible...