Mike Seeklander shares some, possibly unorthodox, thoughts on a self-defense checklist.
Most people think about self-defense in terms of hard skills, like shooting a gun, deploying pepper spray, shouting “NO!” and issuing palm strikes to the face. Sure that’s all part of it, but there’s so much more fundamental stuff.
I like how Mike’s #1 is to learn first aid. The need for first aid is arguably more important and something you’re more likely to use on a regular basis. I mean sure… we carry our guns because someday it may save our lives, but first aid skills save many more lives on a more common basis. Until I took Lone Star Medic’s Dynamic First Aid class a few months back, my first aid knowledge was still based upon what I had learned in Boy Scouts. I had been searching for a first aid course for some time, I knew my skills were lacking, so it was great when LSM’s course came up. I do consider seeking additional medical training a priority, an LSM is coming back to KR Training in September 2012. I’ll be there.
I also appreciate Mike’s #2 about physical fitness. Sometimes the best defense (see what I did there?) is to escape. If you can’t run 25 yards without collapsing from lack of breath, if you struggle to get up off the floor or just from a bended knee, you are at a major disadvantage. If you need somewhere to start, I’ll give you two suggestions. 1. Pick one thing in your diet to clean up, like stop drinking soda or cut back on it (e.g. at most 1 per day, or maybe 1 per week). No major changes, just 1 thing. 2. When you drive somewhere, park your car away from the store. Not in some “tactically unsound” way (e.g. that dark, unpopulated corner of the lot), but don’t keep circling or striving to get a space that’s as close to the building doors as possible. Parking a little further away means you have to walk a little more, and that’s a good thing. These are small things, but these little things will add up.
Go read the rest of Mike’s article. It’s sound advice.
Stuff From Hsoi 
Great articles; both yours and Mike’s.
Learning first-aid and advanced first-aid is a great priority. Many of us train to be prepared for a violent sociopath(s), but not really think about the aftermath of assisting the wounded. At a minimum, the training should cover the four “B”‘s: Breathing, Bleeding, Brain, and Bones. Each preceding status is priority before moving on to the next. Be sure your training covers each thoroughly. In addition, self-administered first-aid training is just as important.
Physical fitness is such an overlooked aspect of self-defense preparedness. In particular, the aspect of an adrenalin rush and the following adrenalin dump usually ends up being a negative variable to those of us that depend solely on our firearm alone for reaction to a threat. You never know when you’ll need your core strength to stay standing during a struggle and, should you be taken down, be able to twist and push your assailant off and quickly get to your feet.
My only disagreement with Mike’s article is the integration of less-lethal weapons. I can understand law enforcement’s need to have less-lethal weapons, because they are afforded the training and understanding when and how to use it. For us law-abiding citizens, I think it adds another variable that could lead to hesitation or worse, the ineffectiveness of using or attempting to use the less-lethal weapon that result in deadly consequences. If the verbal threat of deadly force followed by presentation of deadly force isn’t enough to deter a sociopath, I don’t think pepper-spray would do much good.
What struck me the most about the LSM aid class I took recently was how much medical knowledge and procedure has changed over the years. IIRC, it’s due to combat… so many wounded, in such remote and harsh conditions, consequently you learn a lot and things evolve, knowledge expands. It was quite eye-opening. And it shows as well that you need to keep up with medical training.
In terms of fitness heck.. it’s not even strength to battle, it’s enough fitness to run!! or just get up. I see it often in the shooting classes at KR Training, where we’ll have students do a drill involving kneeling and some folks struggle with that. Granted, some have legit bad knees and that’s another matter, but most don’t and seeing folks struggle just to get up off the floor is a bad sign.
The less-leathal is a topic of much discussion. I appreciate at least that Mike was willing to discuss it because it’s a option that most people that carry guns don’t even consider. Like he said, “I have a gun, what else do I need!” (well, a lot…. hence Mike’s article). I’ve been searching for an acceptable way to carry OC myself (still trying to find a solution that’ll work for me) because I have encountered some situations where it would have been useful… mostly dogs.