Month: March 2009

Back to responsibility

/ hsoi

So President Obama was on Jay Leno last night. I didn’t watch, mostly because I rarely watch late night talk shows… heck, I rarely watch late night anything (I tend to go to bed early and get up early). I will say that it’s interesting he went on the show… gotta keep up his hip rock-star image I guess. 

Reading that CNN article, President Obama was quoted as saying:

Obama said earlier this week that he’ll “take responsibility” for AIG executives receiving those controversial bonuses — roughly $165 million — while the company took $173 billion in government bailouts. Congress is looking for ways to recoup all or some of that money.

“The larger problem is we’ve got to get back to an attitude where people know enough is enough, and people have a sense of responsibility and they understand that their actions are going to have an impact on everybody,” he said. “If we can get back to those values that built America, then I think we’re going to be OK.”

First, if he’s willing to accept responsibility, I hope he’s willing to accept what comes with responsibility. Time will tell. Based upon his past actions I’m certainly skeptical, but I’ll give him a chance and would love to proven wrong.

Second, I do think he’s right about the latter part: that we need to get back to a point where people have a sense of responsibility and understand their choices can have greater impacts. Yes, I do agree if we get back to these values we will be OK. But again, I’m skeptical of Mr. Obama. Behaviors and policies enacted so far rob people of the ability to be responsible. You can argue if bailouts rewarded bad behavior, but certainly they did not punish the bad behavior. When you feed at the government teet, when consequences of misbehavior don’t directly affect you, when you aren’t directly invested in the results of performance, then you have far less motivation to be responsible. 

And let’s not forget the growing Nanny State…. that does nothing for taking us back to responsibility.

So President Obama, as always you speak a good game. But talk is cheap, and you’re in a great position to lead by example. Let’s see if you can live those words you spoke last night.

Advanced Kick Routine

/ hsoi

Here’s an advanced kicking routine that we used to do at my martial arts school. I don’t know if this is some greater Kuk Sool kicking drill or was just something local to our school. But it’s a challenge, and fun. Note as well that I’m using what ought to be typical Kuk Sool verbage, both in kicks (e.g. a “spin kick” is what others might call a 360º kick) and and specification (e.g. inside kick implies using the back leg, pop-up implies front leg).

  1. Start in defensive stance
  2. Inside kick (now in offensive stance)
  3. High spin kick
  4. Low spin kick
  5. Jump spin kick (ending in offensive stance)
  6. Switch stance (now in defensive stance)
  7. Pop-up outside kick
  8. Roundhouse kick (now in offensive stance)
  9. Spin kick (ending in offensive stance)
  10. Inside kick
  11. Jump spin inside kick (ending in defensive stance… and no right had soo doh 🙂 )
  12. Pop-up side kick
  13. Pop-up hook kick (still in defensive stance)
  14. Spin back kick (now in offensive stance)
  15. Jump spin back kick (now in defensive stance)
  16. Step through/across spin kick
  17. Double front kick
  18. Split kick
  19. Scissors kick

You want facts? Here’s facts.

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

The Florida State University’s Research in Review magazine Winter 2009 issue has as their cover story an interview with Gary Kleck. (h/t to Sebastian)

Whenever people talk about “gun control” (in a manner other than “use both hands”), far too often what you hear from them is emotional arguments (see here and here and here). If you hear any data or facts, it’s usually vague and incorrect, or just a flat out lie (tho usually well-intended, but that’s what paves the road to Hell). While I can’t fault people for going with their emotions, legislating and regulating a citizenry because of how you feel usually doesn’t make for sound policy. Facts, hard data, and research make for a more solid foundation upon which to build. So if you want such things regarding guns, Gary Kleck is the man to turn to. For those that will offhand dismiss him as being an NRA shill, he’s not. Read the article.

Ah, kids

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The neighbor kids are over, playing with my kids. The joys of Spring Break and nothing for them to do all day, eh?

They all have their Nerf guns out. In the hallway. Outside my office. Setting up barricades. Plotting strategy. Choosing teams.

I hear them talking about each other’s Nerf blaster.

“How much capacity does yours have?”

“A lot.”

Sounds of “rack, click, pop” as suction cup darts go whizzing about, sticking to the walls and windows.

I’m all tempted to go down and start to show them some tactics, but I know it’ll be instantly uncool for me to do so. 😉

 

BTW, today’s Nerf blasters are pretty awesome.

 

Update: I come downstairs. The kids are now outside playing, but evidence of their past exploits remain. Three guesses whose “compound” this was.

Emergency, by Neil Strauss

/ hsoi

My buddy Ron has his review of the new Neil Strauss book, Emergency, up on his blog.

After reading the review, I’m not sure I’ll buy the book. It seems it’s not what I expected it to be (tho I did suspect it might be the way that it went). It’s the sort of thing where I’m not going to blindly order from Amazon, but instead I’ll try to find it at a local bookstore and flip through before I decide. Still, it’s cool that he wrote the book that he did.

Rangemaster in the news

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The March 19-25, 2009 issue of The Memphis Flyer has a cover story on a handgun permit class.

Apparently one of the Flyer’s senior editors, Michael Finger, went through the class just a little while ago, without mentioning to the Rangemaster folks who he was or his intent to write a story. The story is factual and accurately depicts the process that beginning students go through at Rangemaster. Apart from the whole “clip vs. magazine” thing (minor nit), it’s a good article. Give it a read.

Ode to Chick-Fil-A

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Chicken is probably my least favorite meat, but I love Chick-Fil-A. Nuggets. Waffle fries, especially when you get one of those “side chunks” loaded with potato skin, dipped in mayo and ketchup. Their lemonade. A fruit cup. All so good.

And of course, you crave it most on Sunday….

The 9mm Handgun

/ hsoi / 15 Comments

James R. Rummel over at Hell in a Handbasket has a nice write-up answering the question “What is a ‘Wondernine’?“.

I have no problems with 9mm handguns. Yeah, some say any handgun caliber that starts with something less than a “4” is wussy (9mm is about .35″). So are you volunteering to take one to prove how wussy it is? I didn’t think so. 😉  I assert that just about any handgun load is wussy. They all pretty much suck equally, in terms of the fabled “stopping power.” When emergency room techs have to deal with handgun wounds, they can’t really differentiate between 9mm Luger vs. .40 S&W vs. .45 ACP. Granted, in the past 9mm ammo had problems if you were using ball ammo for self-defense, but with advances in technology most any modern hollow-point 9mm is about as effective as you can get from a handgun round.

So why 9mm then over something like .45 ACP? As James explains, part of what makes it a “Wondernine” is the expanded capacity. Consider something like Springfield Armory’s XD(m) in 9mm. It has a 19+1 capacity, which means 19 in the magazine and one in the chamber, for a possible 20 rounds total. That’s a lot of lead. So why might someone want this much capacity? I’ve spoken about it before.

Let’s also consider that prices of 9mm ammo is less than prices for many other calibers. 9mm is so popular, so pervasive, it is a NATO standard. If it’s less expensive you can get more for the same price, you can then practice more, you can keep more on hand. I don’t see how this is a negative.

Finally, 9mm is rather controllable to shoot. It doesn’t have a lot of recoil. I mean, 11 year old McKenzie has no problems with her Glock 19:

(note, her malfunctions are intentional… they have random snap caps in there to force the practice of malfunction clearing).

Granted as she gains more strength in her forearms and wrists she’ll manage the recoil even better. Now this isn’t to say that the recoil of a .40 or .45 isn’t manageable, but when you’ve got more kick and have to manage it, you’re just not going to perform as fast. I recall one of the KR instructors telling a story on this… I may have the details wrong, but the gist was that highly trained handgunners shot courses with a .40 then a 9mm and the 9mm shooters always finished about 15% faster. When those follow-up shots matter, when a fast reacquisition of your sight picture matters, why subject yourself to something that will just slow you down?

So, 9mm handguns. They can hold more ammo, ammo that is less expensive and able to be found worldwide, and shot with more control, and be about as effective as any other top handgun round out there. I don’t see much of a downside.

 

Updated: A lot of people come to my blog via this posting. So, you’ll also want to check out this article and this article that elaborate further and may be of interest.

Humility may save your life

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

I train in an empty hand martial art. I train with guns. Some would say I have a greater ability than the average citizen to hurt other people and perhaps end their life. And there’s no question, when you start to learn these things you get a big confidence boost in your ability to take care of yourself. Unfortunately, ego can get in the way… and you can get over-confident, and that could get you killed.

Over-confidence can lead to a false sense of what your skills and abilities actually are. Over-confidence might lead you to make choices, especially in the heat of the moment, that turn out to be less than correct and could lead you into greater trouble. And worse? Being over-confident might lead you to be arrogant, and that could lead to you getting your ass handed to you.

What is the point of self-defense? To come out alive with as little injury as possible. A realistic humility aids in this endeavor. If I know it’s a bad part of town, while perhaps I could take care of myself just fine, why should I even put myself in that situation in the first place? If there’s no need to go there, don’t. There we go, I’ve just defended myself, came out alive, no injury to myself. I didn’t let my ego get in the way with a “I’m going to go there, and if any punk tries to mess with me I’m going to fuck him up good!” sort of mentality — that’s more than likely just going to get me in trouble.

Realize as well that just because you have those particular skills doesn’t mean you have to use them. It’s the old “you have a hammer so everything looks like a nail” problem. I recall my first “force-on-force” scenario. I had a (fake) gun, I felt like I had to use it (it’s a gun class after all, right?). But in fact, that was the wrong answer; the best answer was to just call the police and avoid putting myself in a potentially dangerous situation. It was a humbling experience. Yes, my ego felt really bruised to have gotten the answer so wrong. I wanted to rationalize, I wanted to make excuses, I wanted to save face. But that’s the wrong way to go about it because I wouldn’t learn. Better to make the mistake in a forgiving environment and learn from it. The experience was humbling in and of itself, and by accepting my mistake in a humble manner, it’s a lesson that’s stuck with me and I’d like to hope I’m a little better off for it.

If someone opts to get in your face for something stupid, just apologize. Back off. Yield. Take on a submissive posture (tho still have the mental preparation and wherewithal to respond should the situation turn ugly). Even if you were wrong, still apologize. What’s more important? Being right? Or being alive and uninjured? This isn’t to say be wishy-washy, it’s to say you should be smart, you should be wise, and you should maximize the course of action that allows you to stay alive and unharmed. Don’t let your ego, your testosterone, your fantasy, your false sense of honor, get in the way and get you hurt.

Be humble. Yield. Knowing how to yield is strength (Tao Te Ching 52). Ponder Tao Te Ching 59:

The generals have a saying:
“Rather than make the first move
it is better to wait and see.
Rather than advance an inch
it is better to retreat a yard.”

This is called
going forward without advancing,
pushing back without using weapons.

There is no greater misfortune
than underestimating your enemy.
Underestimating your enemy
means thinking that he is evil.
Thus you destroy your three treasures
and become an enemy yourself.

When two great forces oppose each other,
the victory will go
to the one that knows how to yield.

Tax Free Weekend for guns?

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

Texas State Senator Jeff Wentworth is proposing a “tax free weekend” for the sales of guns and ammo. It is filed as SB 1788.

It’s an interesting thought no doubt. Every year at “back to school” time there’s a tax free weekend here in Texas allowing families to purchase clothing and other necessities for kids going back to school and all tax free. What isn’t taxed is very limited (e.g. basic clothing, school-type backpacks; no accessories, no sporting goods, etc.), but many stores know how big a shopping weekend it is so they’ll have their own promotions that basically eliminate the tax… technically yes you’re still paying tax, but they’ll adjust the price so in the end it totals up to the regular price sans sales tax, or other sales promotional gimmick. Either way, the weekend is always big business.

So to provide such a weekend for hunters to obtain the things they need, there’s merit to the idea.

I did find this a choice quote in the article:

“It is not because we don’t believe in people’s right to bear arms,” [Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston] said. “It’s because we don’t think we ought to subsidize an industry, which is what this bill would, subsidize the gun industry.”

Note, Rep. Coleman has an “F” rating from the NRA. So please excuse me if I doubt the sincerity of the first part of his statement. And I guess then it’s OK to subsidize the clothing industry? Oh I forgot… that’s thinking of the children, right?