Preface:

It is not common for one to enjoy rereading something that he wrote a decade previously. Times change, styles change, attitudes change, and most of all people grow, both intellectually and emotionally. It is therefore with gratifica­tion and some little surprise that I was able to reread Prin­ciples of Personal Defense at the request of the publishers, and to discover that I felt no need to change anything of importance. It stands as it stood, and insofar as it spoke the truth ten years ago, it speaks it still.

The booklet is essentially a digest of a presentation I developed while working in Central America before the Communist takeover there. This part of the world has al­ways been turbulent, and the need for individual self­ defense has  remained fairly constant ever since the depar­ture of the Spanish in the early part of the nineteenth cen­tury. Individual conduct in lethal confrontation is not, however, something that is confined to any one locale or era, and if there are principles guiding its conduct-and I believe there are-those principles do not change according to geography, history, or sociological whim. If a principle exists it must be immutable, for that is what a principle is a truth standing apart from the mood of the times.

If I were to rewrite this pamphlet completely, the only thing I would change would be those few personal anec­dotes that appear within it. I would update them to include only those that have taken place within the last year or so. As it now stands, the anecdotes are all at least ten years old, but the more I look at them, the more I realize that there is no need to change them, because the experiences that have more recently come across my desk, and in which I have lately been involved, simply corroborate what has already been set down. These experiences could be rewritten to include nothing that happened more than one year ago and we would have the same story. Thus it has not been neces­sary to do any extensive rewriting.

To emphasize this point, however, I should mention that only this last week another episode came to my atten­tion that was immensely satisfying in its exemplification of several of the principles set forth in this work. It seems a yachtsman was asleep in his power cruiser docked in the Bahamas. After midnight he opened one eye to be aware of two intruders in his cabin, one of whom was pointing a Mini-14 at his chest from a range of about eighteen inches. This is a startling situation. This is an intimidating situa­tion. It might properly be termed a terrifying situation. But the man remembered his principles and instantly attacked, with his hands, and won. He personified the principles of decisiveness, aggressiveness, speed, and surprise in a most satisfactory manner.

Stories such as this come to my attention with such fre­quency that it would take a whole directory to list them. They establish beyond any question that the principles we have taught over the decades, and still continue to teach at Gunsite, are valid beyond any contradiction. Our work here is conducted in order to keep the victims of aggression alive, and the knowledge that it succeeds is our reward. Principles of Personal Defense has been received with only moderate  enthusiasm by the law enforcement estab­lishment. Several departments have adopted it, but only with the deletion of the principles of aggressiveness and ruthlessness. It obviously makes for bad press to have a department known as both aggressive and ruthless. This is quite understandable, but it does not invalidate the prin­ciples. In war there is no substitute for victory, and this is equally true of personal combat, which is, after all, a microcosm of war. When a coward is offered deadly vio­lence, his reaction may be to surrender, or cower, or flee, or call for help; not one of these choices is likely to obviate his peril.

But this booklet was not written for cowards. I think it stands as well now as when it was first written, and I have nothing further to add to it.

To continue reading, download a pdf copy of Principles of Personal Defense Here.