Half of what you think you know about rape is wrong, the problem is you don’t know which half.” – Marc MacYoung

  There is an old Firesign Theater album titled “Everything You Know is Wrong.” There’s also a John Wannamaker quote “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I just don’t know which half.” We can blend the two to get a “Half of what you think you know about rape … [Read more…]

Ask the questions they didn’t – Marc MacYoung

If you don’t ask specific questions, you won’t get important information. This simple statement has bigger implications than you might think. Often this ‘missing’ information, is something that if people knew, it might change their minds (or undermine the narrative the questioner is pushing). This makes it incredibly important for people-trying-to-sell-you-a-narrative NOT to ask certain … [Read more…]

Wheelchair Self-defense: On Using Your Wheelchair as a Weapon and More

I have repeatedly come across internet self-defense “advice” for wheelchair users. The majority of the suggestions provided usually refer to how to “fight back” against attackers. The two main themes usually consists of (a) using your wheelchair as a weapon and (b) how to use being lower than you attacker as an advantage. My first … [Read more…]

Are you getting screwed by your ‘self-defense’ training? – Marc MacYoung

When it comes to self-defense, many people want one-stop-shopping. Man, if they know this one ultimate martial art style, it’s is all they need. I hear this a lot. Usually in the form of being asked, ‘which martial art style is best for self-defense?’ Or ‘what do you think about (fill in the blank) for … [Read more…]

Paradigm Pitfalls – Dead Ends, Loops, and Wrong Turns – Marc MacYoung

The journey of self-defense is filled with dead ends, loops, and wrong turns that could cause you to back track years of training. Here are a few of them:  MARTIAL ARTS:Martial Arts for Self-Defense Traditional Martial Arts vs. “Real” Fighting  Mixed Martial Arts Grappling Lies, Damned Lies and Martial Arts Myths CULTS: Cults in the … [Read more…]