Non Verbal Diffusion

Non Verbal Diffusion can be defined as what Crocodile Dundie did in that classic scene. Some young hoodlum wannabe pulls out a pocket knife and tries to rob Dundie and his date. The boy says, "I have a knife!"

Dundie looks at him and says, "That's not a knife, this is a knife" as he pulls out a knife five times the size of the sardine sized knife the young hood is brandishing.

That is non verbal diffusion, even though he was speaking, it was the large knife that did the real talking.

As Westerners we are taught to believe that everything can be 'talked out', that reasonable people can work out their differences, that "cooler heads" and logic will prevail.

Welcome to the Middle East. None of that is true.

When an Arab (excuse me for being politically incorrect) in the Old City of Jerusalem pulls out a kitchen knife and starts chasing a group of Jewish or Christian tourists, you cannot reason with him. He is not angry about being dumped by his girl friend or being fired from his job. He is the product of intensive life long indoctrination.

From his earliest days he has been taught to chant, "In blood and fire we will liberate Palestine (sic)". His religion has taught him to hate the infidels. He has seen older siblings and relatives given great honor for killing Jews. He believes what is doing is a godly act. And you will not be able to convince him otherwise, certainly not in the next thirty seconds.

So what can you do? Well, the Krav Maga approach is, as one T shirt says, "Peace through superior fire power." Same as Crocodile Dundie. The only way to prevent violence is through the threat of greater violence. That is what works with violent people.

Of course there will be some CNN reporter, a die hard liberal, who will report that "unnecessary excessive violence" was employed against an "adolescent", and audiences around the world, will be sitting in their comfy living rooms, shocked.

There will be exceptions. There will be some martial arts guys, some law enforcement types, some former Marines, who will be sitting there with their beer, and say, "Way to go, those Israelis really know what to do." I know, because I have met them all over America.

My friend and fellow martial artist, retired NYPD detective Louie Balestrieri says,"As far as Non Verbal Diffusion is concerned, I believe it works. I believe that silence claps louder than thunder. Body language has to be apart of it as well. I think that when someone begins to argue and threaten you, they are looking for a reaction and the reaction they want from you is fear. If you show no reaction by staring back at them real hard into their eyes and subtly shifting your body into your ready/fighting stance; you are showing that you are ready for what they may attempt to do.

Once again this is with reasonable people.

Without being political or pointing my finger at any race or creed in particular, when dealing with the terrorist mindset, you must fight fire with fire. Always carry a big gun to a knife fight. These are people that don't care. Death is an honor to them."

When you see the hatred in these terrorists eyes, the blind faith and fanaticism, the combination of religious zeal and hate as a result of a life time of indoctrination; you know that it is either, "Peace through superior fire power" (love that T shirt), or, peace of the grave. We have chosen life.