“Be aware!”, echoed both masters. Here, it would be pertinent to note that both have been responsible for giving extensive close quarter combat (CQC) training to various law enforcement agencies, the military and some of its elite units. It seemed a generic directive, but as the South Africans proved, it was the one trait – being aware of one’s environment (moving away from glass areas, fire, checking for exits, and finding resources for barricading an area) that saved more than a 100 lives.
“Secondly, you should always stay low – you might escape both bullets and heavy smoke”, urged Vicky Kapoor. “Krav Maga (used by the Israeli Defence units) was designed to counter hostage situations”, he elaborated, as he showed us how he would’ve handled armed hostage takers even if handcuffed “and while most Israelis would’ve made difficult hostages because they’ve served in the army and trained in CQC, most of us Indians are neither trained nor aware. Even if you can’t get army training, every school, RWA and organisation should run programmes that run basic first aid. Doctors trapped in one of the hotels saved the lives of a wounded few with basic first aid techniques. Perhaps many others could’ve been saved. Teach people what to do incase of a fire or an earth quake. Offices have fire extinguishers but who knows how to use them? In case of a fire or explosion, more might die in a stampede. Simple evacuation drills could save lives. Martial skills could be infinitely useful, but the rest is basic and should be mandatory training for each and every Indian. Wake up, and take charge of your lives. No one else would do it for you”, he concluded. Incidentally, Vicky Kapoor has been training security teams in some prominent hotel chains in the aftermath of 26/11. Kanishka echoed the same thoughts. “We’re usually too busy walking like zombies to notice our surroundings. Why is that man so nervous? Whose bag is that? Where are the exits? Which is the closest hospital? I’m not saying you should be in a state of paranoia 24/7, but be aware of your surroundings. And be careful before you start a self defense course to prepare yourself for hostage situations. They work…” he said as he demonstrated how even an unarmed hostage could, at the right moment, “with the right training”, disarm an armed assailant and get out alive “… but you must understand that combat martial styles, like Kali (a martial art used by the Filipino Marines) begin where most martial sports (Tae kwon do and sport Karate are sports which’ve banned lethal techniques, focusing instead on scoring points) end. Their aim is to train to finish the opponent (even if armed), not score points and this distinction is very important when you choose a martial art for self defense. Presence of mind, common sense and even the ability to engage hostage takers in a conversation, a negotiation, could save your life. If that fails, train the mind and the body with self defense skills and you might still come out alive.”
I know what you’re thinking? What good are martial skills in the face of a bullet. Well, if someone wants to shoot you, he will and there’s nothing you can do about it. But in a hostage situation, escape if you can. And if you can’t, wait. There might be a moment when the terrorist comes close enough for you to act. I hope such a day never comes, but if it does, you might as well be prepared… See you in the dojo then… PS Mr CEO(s), do remember to organize fire safety, first aid and evacuation drills in the office. It might save more than just one life…....Continue
“Secondly, you should always stay low – you might escape both bullets and heavy smoke”, urged Vicky Kapoor. “Krav Maga (used by the Israeli Defence units) was designed to counter hostage situations”, he elaborated, as he showed us how he would’ve handled armed hostage takers even if handcuffed “and while most Israelis would’ve made difficult hostages because they’ve served in the army and trained in CQC, most of us Indians are neither trained nor aware. Even if you can’t get army training, every school, RWA and organisation should run programmes that run basic first aid. Doctors trapped in one of the hotels saved the lives of a wounded few with basic first aid techniques. Perhaps many others could’ve been saved. Teach people what to do incase of a fire or an earth quake. Offices have fire extinguishers but who knows how to use them? In case of a fire or explosion, more might die in a stampede. Simple evacuation drills could save lives. Martial skills could be infinitely useful, but the rest is basic and should be mandatory training for each and every Indian. Wake up, and take charge of your lives. No one else would do it for you”, he concluded. Incidentally, Vicky Kapoor has been training security teams in some prominent hotel chains in the aftermath of 26/11. Kanishka echoed the same thoughts. “We’re usually too busy walking like zombies to notice our surroundings. Why is that man so nervous? Whose bag is that? Where are the exits? Which is the closest hospital? I’m not saying you should be in a state of paranoia 24/7, but be aware of your surroundings. And be careful before you start a self defense course to prepare yourself for hostage situations. They work…” he said as he demonstrated how even an unarmed hostage could, at the right moment, “with the right training”, disarm an armed assailant and get out alive “… but you must understand that combat martial styles, like Kali (a martial art used by the Filipino Marines) begin where most martial sports (Tae kwon do and sport Karate are sports which’ve banned lethal techniques, focusing instead on scoring points) end. Their aim is to train to finish the opponent (even if armed), not score points and this distinction is very important when you choose a martial art for self defense. Presence of mind, common sense and even the ability to engage hostage takers in a conversation, a negotiation, could save your life. If that fails, train the mind and the body with self defense skills and you might still come out alive.”
I know what you’re thinking? What good are martial skills in the face of a bullet. Well, if someone wants to shoot you, he will and there’s nothing you can do about it. But in a hostage situation, escape if you can. And if you can’t, wait. There might be a moment when the terrorist comes close enough for you to act. I hope such a day never comes, but if it does, you might as well be prepared… See you in the dojo then… PS Mr CEO(s), do remember to organize fire safety, first aid and evacuation drills in the office. It might save more than just one life…....Continue
of K-Mart in 2005 and became the Chairman, he thought of ruling the retail world. However, recent developments at Sears Holding Corp. suggest how poorly he misread the whole scenario. At the moment, the retail giant is facing the brunt from both internal & external factors. Apart from economic slowdown, its army of 3,800 stores is dilapidating with every passing day due to rising complaints related to its stores and customer service. Edward announced massive re-organisation plan on January 22, 2008 (new organisational structure composing of five business units – operating businesses, support, brands, online and real estate).
postcard was pioneering enough. Such ideas, often hailed as proprietary of a few gifted people, predictably came from the patriarch, thereby establishing Reliance Communications (RCOM), a telecom major credited with skipping and climbing the golden ladder that leads to the world’s second fastest growing cellular market. That drew in the hordes flaunting white LG phones with blue-lit screens, which could literally be had by just walking into one of those Reliance stores better known as R-World cafes. Of course, detractors were quick to speculate that Reliance Communications would be all about price leadership and nothing more.
is an amazing company with amazing products. The only problem is that its customers don’t agree,” asserts a confident Jeff Kagan, Telecom Anaylst & Expert. Well, we don’t want to agree outrightly, but beg to add – even investors don’t! Look at its share price on NYSE. ‘Accelerating downhill’ is perhaps the only words you’d use to explain its movement; currently at $16.30 (as on December 10, 2007) – and simply sad days with its share price hitting the lowest levels in 7 years! And this was also confirmed by Gartner Inc on November 27, 2007 when it disclosed how Motorola’s mobile handset global market share had slipped to 13.1% during Q3 2007 from 20.7% during the previous year. The Gartner revelation was followed by Edward Zander’s announcement of an exit on November 30. 2007, alongwith Padmasree Warrior, the CTO – two chiefs who had led Motorola’s revival in the past.
ex-presidents. There’s no real electoral payback anticipated in supporting them. Jews and Israel-loving evangelicals dwarf any Arab lobby to the extent that it’s not even funny. President Bush is now on the exit track. And it’s time to rectify the fundamental error he had made in allowing the war-on-terror rhetoric to wrongly discredit the Palestinian national movement.
World of Warcraft, Tabula Rasa et al creating the buzz. In fact, Wikipedia lists at least fifty of them on its MMORPGs page. At the last count, there were over 10 million people across the world registered with some MMORPG. And this number is doubling every year. The addiction is allegedly far worse than drugs or junk food. So what is this attraction based on? Well, first, an online 3D virtual world allows you to hide behind the screen and be just about anybody. You can make your deepest desires come true in a virtual world. This is the single most important driving factor behind this revolution.
consumers reported a decline in spending power due to rising petrol prices. While 19% wanted to buy more fuel efficient cars, an astonishing 13% had already reduced their driving on the back of $3/ gallon gasoline prices! As a result of earlier oil shocks, consumers have increasingly adapted an ‘aftermath attitude’ and eventual demands for automobiles have sagged significantly through out the world. A total of 38,214 hybrids were sold in the American market alone in March 2008, proof that these cars are now being perceived as a value proposition that’s beyond ‘fashion’.
operations are running smoothly, one must go through the Indian example before believing the same. The scene in India is not at all enticing. Though most banks have raised their minimum annual income criteria for a credit card to Rs.1,20,000 from Rs.80,000 and the know-your-customer (KYC) norms have become more stringent, the total amount under credit cards default stands close to Rs.200 billion, data from Credit Information Bureau of India reveals. Probably such kind of data might have scared the officials at Citigroup. As during March 2008, speculations were rife that Citigroup may sell-off CitiFinancial, a NBFC, which belongs to the group. Once considered to be the most aggressive sub-prime lender in India the NBFC was forced to change its norms and issue only collateral backed loans. On the other hand Citibank has also tightened its norms for issuing credit cards and now-a-days is focussing more on financing consumer durables and two-wheelers through credit cards. In rest of the markets Citigroup is now taking a cautious approach.
as well as aggressive PE groups, there is always that theoretical chance that something more desirable for Yahoo! would emerge. It may be more an issue of Yahoo!’s management really believing that there is great upside potential if the company remains independent and not wanting to transfer that potential to Microsoft regardless of price. “If it were ever put to a shareholder vote, however, I imagine shareholders would look at the situation much differently and line up in overwhelming numbers in support of a sale to Microsoft”, feels Richard.