by Galia Berry
Last autumn, fourteen women participated in Kate Alexander's
self defense pro gram for women, Tugs 'N Thugs, in conjunction
with Lethal Force Institute's LFI-1 For Women Only, given by Massad
Ayoob (see Women &Guns, March '96). Ap proximately half of
the women participating were survivors of sexual assault and/or
wife battering.
Needless to say, it was a very traumatic experience for these
women to have to face the likes of two very scary looking, intimidating
thugs and attempt to fight them off. The thugs' identities were
not made known to the participants until the final day of class,
when, in a touching gesture, the very same thugs who had forced
women to relive horrific events in their past, reverted to the
sensitive, kind, and caring men that they are in "real"
life.
Stripped of their masks and protective clothing, the two men,
Jimmy Krueger and Andy Langlois, presented each woman with a long-stemmed
rose and a well-received hug along with a few shared smiles and
tears.
I decided I had to know more about what motivates a "thug"
to take part in this physically and emotionally demanding program.
So I asked the meanest, nastiest, most intimidating Thug that
only a mother could love, Andy Langlois, to share his side of
the story.
GB: How did you first become a Thug?
Andy: I attended one of Kate's classes a few years ago,
mostly to observe, to see how Kate teaches (really dynamic!),
and to learn a few things about women and self-defense. I was
so impressed and excited about all of it, I wound up actually
participating in the class! The techniques, although designed
for women, made so much sense, were so easy to use, and were so
well presented that I knew I just had to be a part of this. I
spoke with Kate about getting involved possibly as an adjunct
instructor, and soon became a "Thug"!
GB: How much does all that protective padding weigh? It
must get awfully hot in there!
Andy: Probably about 40 - 50 lbs., possibly more. Most
of the padding is spe cial for our use. We have modified existing
pads and helmets to take the impact of a full power hit with little
damage to the Thug or the student. It gets very hot. We need to
take breaks often and drink lots of fluids. I drank about a half
gallon of water or more for each night of Tugs 'N Thugs/LFI-I
For Women.
GB: Just how well does the padding protect you? You were
getting pretty well pounded by the women, especially in some pretty
(ahem) sensitive areas of your body.
Andy: If the padding is on perfectly (you learn quickly
to make sure!), I feel no pain. I do get some pressure in my lower
parts, but non painful. Kate can knee me in the groin and pick
me up a foot or so off the ground, and back 3 - 6 feet. . . no
pain at all!
GB: Sometimes the scene seemed surreal. A few of the women,
who had never had any kind of martial arts training, and who were
a fraction of your size and weight, were able to knock you down,
or, if they were on the ground, really deliver some blows. You
weren't "faking" your vulnerability so they should feel
a sense of accomplishment and success? Do you feel these women
were really hit ting back in an effective manner?
Andy: We do not fake anything. . . we start at half power
to give the students a "feel" of the situation. We do
change scenarios to keep students on their toes. When I fall,
I am hit hard enough to do so. Kate's techniques are de signed
to get the most from each student during an attack. Many of the
women hit us very softly at first. After a few hours of training
they usually start getting more aggressive and using the real
power they have (inside and out!). Of course we Thugs increase
too!
GB: Some of the exercises forced women to relive the terror
of their assaults all over again. I'm thinking in particular of
a woman who had been raped thirty years earlier and thought she
had put it behind her. Suddenly, she was reliving the moment again
in her mind and became very upset, crying and shaking and fearful.
How do you handle putting women through that kind of experience?
What kind of emotions go through your own mind when you get such
an emotional reac tion? Guilt? Shame?
Andy: Well, as you witnessed, there were a few emotional
times for a couple of ladies in the course. It really hit home
when one of them broke up and started shaking and crying. . .
I really wanted to go over and console her. But that would have
ruined the whole idea of being unknown to everyone. And I guess
our job was to make women deal with whatever fears they have on
assault/crime/past experiences with crime. I did get pretty emotional
myself in one particular exercise.
GB: Which exercise was that?
Andy: The live-fire exercise.
GB: Ah, yes, the "garbage mouths." That really
was scary! Why don't you describe the exercise?
Andy: Well. . . Garbage Mouth is the section of Tugs 'N
Thugs when we go to the range with the students. We thugs are
on each side of a student; she is point ing her gun downrange
in the "low ready" position (hard guard) towards a silhouette
target. We proceed to swear, make crude, sexually-explicit remarks,
vile comments, and sometime during this exercise one of us blurts
out a lethal threat. At the point the student hears this threat,
she should respond accord ingly and fire. The purpose is twofold:
we harden the student to vulgarities, and train them to discern
a lethal threat from a non-lethal comment. (Note: all the students
fired on the target right on cue: Verbal Lethal Threat . . . bang!
bang!) I did get a bit emotional during the live fire/swearing
exercise. Kate can tell it better, but I guess I got really wide-eyed
and scared when a student got VERY upset on the range. I guess
what I or Jim said really got to her. . .I was not ready for the
reaction I got from her; it floored me emotionally.
GB: I have to confess, I have never heard language that
vile in such concen trated doses, ever! Where on earth did a nice
guy like you learn to talk like that?
Andy: Well, I do not like it; neither does Jimmy. But it
is a part of the training, and we would be doing an injustice
to you, the student, if we did not do this part. I try to think
of the nastiest things I have ever heard, the must vulgar sayings,
the vilest comments, words that street scum would use, vocabu
lary that low-lifes spew. I felt like my mouth needed washing
out after I did the Garbage Mouth.
GB: Can you balance the fact that you cause these women
so much angst with the knowledge that you are in reality strengthening
the women?
Andy: Yes, in the long run I can balance the two out. The
week really took its toll on me. I was truly exhausted from the
experience. Between the thug suit and the emotions, I was "whupped".
I could not get to sleep till midnight most nights from the adrenalin
(and Kate and Jim keeping me awake! They were pumped, too.)
GB: Was this the most intense and bonded group of women
that you've worked with? How did this group of women differ from
any others you've worked with?
Andy: This was my first "group." I did Kate's
Tugs 'N Thugs course as a stu dent/observer last year, and did
a small course this summer (two people). I had never "performed"
for a group before. I have never seen a better bonded group ever
- - male, female, males and females mixed - - this one had the
Right Stuff. In fact, I really think a few of the women should
make it back to LFI (or other places) as a reunion sometime. They
did a lot of work at LFI, men tally, physically, and emotionally;
you need to share it. It would be nice to hear about the experience
a year from now: whether they retained it all, what really stuck
out in their minds, what is more appropriate at a future date
than now, etc.
GB: Well, to some extent this has happened. As an alumnus
of that class, I am still in contact with over half the class;
we frequently exchange notes or cards or chat on email. But a
reunion certainly does sound like a good idea! Oh, and by the
way, Andy - - you definitely look better without your mask!
Andy: I hope you use your knowledge well and wisely. Firearms
are only a part of the defense picture; your mindset and attitude
will be as important in your quest for personal safety and confidence.
Be safe, be aware. . . use all of the skills you have well, practice
with your pistol, think about Mas' and Kate's words. If you are
affected as I was with LFI and Tugs 'N Thugs, your life has been
changed. . . for the better.
One last thing: I would like to thank Kate Alexander for the chance
to work with her in this self defense program. I would like to
thank Jimmy Krueger even more; without his thorough and patient
training to use the thug suit and the applicable techniques, I
would never have had the chance to enjoy this course as I did
(Jimmy is the "Main Thug;" I am his "Assistant
Thug.") I'm pleased that I had this chance to speak with
a participant of the class after the fact. It helped clarify and
define a few issues I had with being a Thug.
Copyright © 1996 - Galia Berry, All Rights Reserved, Reprinted
with permission
For more information, contact:
Lethal Force Institute
P.O. Box 122
Concord, NH 03301
Kate Alexander
Tugs 'n' Thugs Defensive Training
P.O. Box 924
Concord, New Hampshire 03302-0924
603-226-3857
FAX 603-226-6683
Read about the LFI course