William Aprill was a unique educator in the personal defense training community. He saw things through a slightly different lens than most instructors. He communicated differently, challenged people to think differently, and had a huge impact on the way people prepared to defend themselves or others.
His work also motivated many people to begin self-defense training as well. His focus was on changing the way people thought about violence. He wanted to help people accept both the reality and the irrationality of the potential for extreme violence in all our lives. His work was a critical addition in a field that is filled with a focus on physical techniques and defensive tools. He knew that our mind is our most important tool and our techniques of observation and thought were the most important to develop.
He will be missed… but, we hope that his contributions will be celebrated, shared and appreciated through this tribute page.
NAVIGATION:
- Violent Criminal Actors Series
- The 5 W’s of Personal Defense Series
- They Are Not You Series
- William Aprill Live PDN Events
- William Aprill’s Appearances on Ballistic Radio
- The Best Defense Survival Round Table
- Practically Tactical with William Aprill
- Carry Trainer Podcast Appearances
- William Aprill Podcast Appearances
Violent Criminal Actors Series
VIOLENT CRIMINAL ACTORS – INTRODUCTION
Who are violent criminal actors, the bad guys we are preparing to defend ourselves, our family members, and perhaps our community members against? With his experience in law enforcement and the court and mental health systems, the late William Aprill was one of the country’s foremost experts on this subject.
VIOLENT CRIMINAL ACTORS – TRAINING TO DEAL WITH VIOLENT CRIMINAL ACTORS
How flawed is the standard response model of avoidance — deterrence — de-escalation when under threat from a bad guy? Can we affect their behavior or do we need to ramp up our response to match their irrational violent threat?
The 5 W’s of Personal Defense Series
VIOLENT CRIMINAL ACTORS – WRAP UP
Some key takeaways from the insightful information in this series, including how and why you should develop a more robust response to the threats posed by violent criminal actors.
THE 5 W’S OF PERSONAL DEFENSE – WHO?
“Who?” refers not only to the bad guy in a potential confrontation but also to you — who are you and what level of investment have you made into a defensive persona? Types of bad guys/violent criminal actors are also discussed.
THE 5 W’S OF PERSONAL DEFENSE – WHERE?
Where are attacks going to happen? Standard advice used to be, “Don’t go to dangerous places.” But so-called “dangerous places” have become harder to define in today’s mobile society. Danger may come to you. William Aprill advises instead to think about which places offer an advantage to bad guys and a disadvantage to you. The link between “when” and “where” is also analyzed.
They Are Not You Series
COMING SOON: WILLIAM APRILL’S NEW SERIES “THEY ARE NOT YOU”
William Aprill has been a contributor to PDN for a number of years and I’m really excited to have him stepping up his role on our team significantly this year! William is one of the most thoughtful and articulate educators in the world of self-defense and his new series of contributions to this blog will be informative, enlightening and, I truly believe, compelling in regard to motivating people to be as prepared as possible to defend themselves and those they care about from violence. One of the most important lessons that William taught me many years ago was that you can’t worry about trying to make sense of why someone is trying to (or about to try to) hurt you… you just have to respond.
THEY ARE NOT YOU: RAPE, MURDER, AND WORKING THE SYSTEM
The offender referenced in today’s case from Arizona is indisputably a career violent offender: a serial rapist and multiple murderer of children. His case, and the facts arising from his prosecution, highlight some of the features of Violent Criminal Actors that those interested in protection of self and others must understand and plan for in order to increase our safety.
THEY ARE NOT YOU: RAPED AND MURDERED BY “FRIENDS”
The temptation when faced with the seemingly incomprehensible behavior of Violent Criminal Actors (VCAs) is to simply throw one’s hands up, mutter something about “crazy,” and move on as if there were nothing substantive to be learned; as if the truth were somehow beyond our capacities. This error is both grave and overly facile, as the risks presented by VCAs and their behavior easily justify the potential discomfort and time spent in attempting to grasp what is active behind the mask.
THEY ARE NOT YOU: LAUGHING IN THE FACE OF DEATH
The temptation when faced with the seemingly incomprehensible behavior of Violent Criminal Actors (VCAs) is to simply throw one’s hands up, mutter something about “crazy,” and move on as if there were nothing substantive to be learned; as if the truth were somehow beyond our capacities. This error is both grave and overly facile, as the risks presented by VCAs and their behavior easily justify the potential discomfort and time spent in attempting to grasp what is active behind the mask.
THEY ARE NOT YOU: SERIAL MURDERER TOYS WITH JUSTICE SYSTEM
The features that separate normal, ordinary, rational folk from the particular subset of criminal offenders we refer to as Violent Criminal Actors (or VCAs) can often appear trivial, as they do in this case. It is in these details, though, that wisdom and concepts that can lead to greater safety for ourselves and our loved ones often lie.
THEY ARE NOT YOU: DRUG ABUSE SPIRALS INTO MURDER
Today’s case involves a combination of extraordinary risk factors leading to an almost incomprehensible level of violence on the way to a sad and entirely predictable outcome. The predictability arises from the victim’s on-again/off-again struggle with substance abuse, a chronic relapsing condition that stresses family systems to the breaking point as parents and others desperately attempt to save their loved ones from destruction.
THEY ARE NOT YOU: THE MINDSET OF HATE
Undertake a bit of a thought exercise with me if you will, one that will point out viscerally some of the differences between ourselves and the most dangerous of Violent Criminal Actors. Imagine the level of hatred required to shoot someone in the face on sight; not figuratively, but actually to shove the muzzle of your pistol into contact with the flesh of another human’s jawline, for example, and press the trigger.
THEY ARE NOT YOU: RANDOM NEIGHBORHOOD VIOLENCE
The included video and news coverage do not reveal the “Crime of the Century,” do not show a victim being butchered or crippled, and will not yield a march, vigil or boycott. Rather, they show a brutal but nonchalant violence that has become all too common in modern America; a use of force without apparent justification and equally without demonstrable gain. But from our perspective, they illustrate a clash of world views that could indeed have life-altering impact on at least one side of the interactional ledger, and perhaps both.
THEY ARE NOT YOU: DEPRAVITY BEYOND BELIEF
Depravity: a condition that moves beyond bad conduct, beyond gratuitous infliction of pain and suffering upon others, beyond even cruelty. Depravity extends into a realm of the complete lack of moral compunction and a finding of joy in the devaluing and destruction of human life. As an artifact of human behavior, it bears some scrutiny for the fact that normal, ordinary, rational people are quite rightly loath to look into its abyss, leaving lessons unlearned.
THEY ARE NOT YOU: EXTRAVAGANT VIOLENCE
The study of violent crime and the subset of offenders we refer to as Violent Criminal Actors, or VCAs, is a serious undertaking and as such it bears scrutiny to make sure we’re not engaging in the titillation of what has been referred to as “murder porn.” A good question to ask of any example is: Does its educational value outweigh its “ick factor”? Today’s case of extreme violence from a correctional setting falls clearly on the balance-positive side, I would argue, because it illuminates several points of value to those interested in protection of self and others, if we can see past the grotesquerie.
THEY ARE NOT YOU: PRECONCEPTIONS AS DEADLY MISCONCEPTIONS
When asked, independent of any other information, to form a mental image of a dangerous criminal offender, we tend to fall back on a combination of half-remembered images from the past, examples in media and, to a very large degree, internally maintained preconceptions. But how closely do our personal impressions hew to the truth of what is represented in the world? Moreover, to what extent do they and should they drive our choices about risk?
THEY ARE NOT YOU: SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS RECORD RANDOM BRUTAL ATTACK
Today’s case directly addresses one of the greatest fears of city-dwellers and suburbanites, young and old, those invested in self-protection and the unprepared: a moment of inexplicable violence that arises with the stark suddenness of a crevasse opening in ice beneath our feet. The natural questions arise: Who commits this sort of offense and why?William Aprill Live PDN Events
THEY ARE NOT YOU: ROAD RAGE
Many violent events are challenging to hear about, discuss, and learn from because the details are so distressing. This is especially true in cases involving the murder of a child, and in cases where violence is sudden and seemingly inexplicable as it erupts into the lives of ordinary families doing ordinary things in ordinary ways.
PDN LIVE! PREPARING INTUITIVE RESPONSES IN EMERGENCIES
Trainer and Mental Health Professional William April joined Rob Pincus to discuss the best ways to prepare for rapid decision making and execute planned responses during emergencies. They answered questions regarding preparation for quick responses during surprising, emotional and chaotic events. They also covered the principle of pre-need decision making and various training & practice methods.
PDN TRAINING TALK: AUGUST 16, 2018
Training Talk with Grant Cunningham is the show to watch to get reliable and responsible self defense information! Training Talk is the webcast that talks about you: about your life and how to protect it. Grant and his guests cover defensive shooting, unarmed self defense, home defense, situational awareness, training tips, and much more. This week, Grant’s special guest is Dr. William Aprill. They’ll be talking about the psychology of violent criminals — and why it’s important for you to understand it.William Aprill’s Appearances on Ballistic Radio + an Episode from The American Warrior Show
The Best Defense Survival Round Table
The Best Defense Survival Round Table – Episode 2
William Aprill joined the weekly Best Defense Survival Round Table during the spring of 2020 and contributed greatly to the conversations about the Corona Virus Pandemic, Disaster Preparation and Responses to Civil Unrest.
The Best Defense Survival Round Table – Episode 5
William Aprill joined the weekly Best Defense Survival Round Table during the spring of 2020 and contributed greatly to the conversations about the Corona Virus Pandemic, Disaster Preparation and Responses to Civil Unrest.
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