If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.
self defense
A proper training mentality
I was pointed to this article, “On Being a Beast“. If you come to my blog for gun and self-defense stuff, you should read this. If you come to my blog for weightlifting stuff, you should read this. If you come to my blog period, you should read this.
The article may come primarily from the realm of strength training, but the message applies to any sort of training. The writer, Johnny Pain, talks about a conversation he was having with a friend about why they train. A question:
What if you were being sentenced in six weeks for a crime that you did not commit? (Or fuck it, what if you did commit it, I’m not one to judge).
How would you spend the next forty-five days? Think about it.
And all you gun folks reading this, oh yes, it could happen to you even if the situation was totally righteous. How would you spend the next 45 days?
Well, if it were me, I’d want to be the meanest, toughest, nastiest, most beast-like human being that I could be.
The concerns over training minutia would go out the window. Arguments over percentages or head and eye position on the squat would seem rightfully retarded. All that would matter is building a body that was strong and capable. Times to completion of various arbitrary tasks would be of little importance, as would one-rep maxes performed for other people’s benefit.
Things like biceps peak, body composition, quad sweep, or whether or not you could do a particular parlor trick on the rings would be unthinkable notions pushed aside by ever-present knowledge that your mind would be tested the most, but that your body could be called on to do very serious things. These tasks could be life or death, not win or lose. The stakes could be rectal integrity or death, not bragging rights on an internet forum.
You’d have to be strong, you’d have to be quick, and you’d have to have a decent set of lungs on you.
Quite the sound point. You get put into such a high pressure situation, and suddenly you gain great focus. You gain a greater insight into what really matters, and how most of the stuff we deal with in life doesn’t matter.
I know I get caught up in the details. I know I start to worry about all these sorts of minutia all the time. It’s just how I am. But one good lesson I’m learning right now is to just shut up and squat. The Wendler program I’m on right now? I’ve been analyzing too much, thinking about too much. I realized I was thinking way too much about it, and going back to the BBB template works better. Sure I still think about some details, like I am worrying about my knee angle because I’m concerned about the stresses it’s feeling since I don’t care to blow out my knee, but that’s different from just worrying about how good I look in the mirror.
There are situations in life where being an absolute beast could be very beneficial. Whether or not you plan on getting jammed up in the next few months, give some thought to the idea that you have one life and one shot at doing it right. We make decisions in finance and other realms based on long term payoff and relevancy, why not in why we train?
Don’t be the fat, beer bellied guy at the gun show who carries three cocked and locked 1911 .45’s and shit talks the 9mm round who loses his teenage daughter from choking because he didn’t possess basic first aid skills which would be much more likely needed in life than his 24 rounds of 230 grain hardball, or who can’t run to save his four year-old son from the drunk driver barreling down his street.
Get your basics down. Build your body up into that of a beast, a predator’s body, not a butter soft, tasty piece of food chain. It may very well all be in vain, and I hope to God that it is for your sake.
This is why I’m training to be strong. Oh sure I’m working to shed some body fat, but that’s because the fat is mostly useless. It doesn’t add anything useful, it doesn’t help me. I am not working my “chest” today because what’s the point of big pecs and big arms if I can’t do anything useful with them? I want to be strong(er) because that’s useful.
Preparing for the worst is never a bad thing. Be ready for anything. Prepare in the manner that gives you the most bang for your buck.
Oddly, some people think it is a bad thing… or at least, that you’re paranoid or have something to be afraid of. No, it’s just about being prepared because life can and does throw you curve balls, and you’ll never see them coming. It’s why we have insurance. It’s why we have smoke detectors. It’s why we wear seat belts. It’s why some of us choose to prepare ourselves physical and mentally for a confrontation we hope never comes, but we’ll be ready to meet it when it comes.
So when you train, train like you mean it. Focus on what’s really important. Yes, you’ll get caught up in minutia, but always be aware that you can, aware when you do, and willing to step back and refocus when it happens. Reading this article gave me a kick in the pants. Maybe it did for you as well.
Things your burglar won’t tell you – #4
Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.
Things your burglar won’t tell you – #3
Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste… and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.
On OC spray
Wife has always been big on OC spray, carrying it with her constantly.
I didn’t want to add OC spray to my EDC gear because I carry enough stuff as it is. But a few years ago I had a situation with some dogs and gee it would have been nice to have OC on my person. I’ve had a few other times where OC would have been welcome, and so it’s spurred me to look for OC that could work for me.
Thing is, I’d like my OC can to be in a particular style, a particular way to deploy it, and so on. When I find something that could work, the capacity is small and the distance it shoots is very limited. When I find something that can shoot far enough and have enough capacity, then the ergonomics aren’t what I want. It’s always been a tradeoff and I’ve yet to find something that fits my needs.
Until now.
Sabre makes this model called the Spitfire. Seems to be just what I need. Read a bit about the model and design, and it seems like it’ll be a solid choice. I have ordered some and we’ll see how it works. Yes, I ordered a couple extra cans just so I can try them out and see how they spray. Hopefully it’ll fit the bill, and yes I’ll write about it.
I learned about this particular product via a Facebook posting from Claude Werner. I trust Claude’s take on things. And it has a greater weight when Claude writes it like this:
I tell every class I teach: “If you carry a gun, carry pepper spray. Not having pepper spray implies that all you are willing to do to defend yourself is use deadly force, i.e., kill someone. ‘All I am willing to do is kill someone’ is not a statement most rational people are willing to make if they think about it for a moment.”
I keep a pepper spray (Spitfire) on my keyring so I never leave the house without it. It’s very small and unobtrusive. I keep it in my hand anytime I am walking to or from my vehicle.
One of the great regrets of my life could have been one of the great triumphs if I had just had my pepper spray with me. I learned my lesson from that incident.
Things your burglar won’t tell you – #2
Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.
Things your burglar won’t tell you – #1
Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shuttters, or delivering your new refrigerator.
Thought for today
We seek security, constantly demanding that there shall be no disturbance; and it is this desire not to be disturbed that makes us avoid what is and fear what might be. Fear is the ignorance of what is, and our life is spent in a constant state of fear.
-Krishnamurti, via Maku mozo!
Key factors in fight survival
Finally got to read the March 2012 Rangemaster Newsletter.
There is an excellent article in there, “Survival in the Line of Duty”, written by Lt. Marlan J. Ingram of the Memphis Law Enforcement Unit . Lt. Ingram examines FBI data about officers killed or assaulted in the line of duty and examines common themes that run through successful cases (i.e. where the officer lives).
Here are the conclusions from the article:
- Take your training seriously.
- Don’t give up, don’t surrender – survive no matter what.
- If you are shot, keep fighting.
- Learn to shoot accurately under all conditions – even if your sight is compromised.
- Learn to shoot, reload and clear malfunctions with either hand, long-guns included.
- Carry your weapons and spare ammunition on your person, both on duty and off.
- Carry as much ammunition as you can.
- Once you make up your mind to fight, do so quickly and effectively.
- Never underestimate your opponent – always expect the unexpected.
Here’s my responses to each point.
1. Take your training seriously.
This cannot be stated strong enough. Why are you training? To fight? To win? To survive? To live? If so, why aren’t you training with that goal in mind?
I cut some slack to beginners, because at their stage they’re still feeling things out and trying to find their place. In KR Training curriculum terms, once you start coming to classes like Defensive Pistol Skills 1, you need to start taking things seriously. I don’t necessarily expect people to be that serious about it at the start of DPS1 class, but by the end I hope some realities have settled in and when the student comes back for DPS2 and DPS3, they’re of that more serious mindset. That these are skills towards keeping you alive… else why did you get that CHL and why are you carrying a gun?
It takes us all some time to find our “seriousness”. We don’t start out with it because we don’t know it and it’s not innate. But hopefully sooner or later something will kick in and help you not just take classes, but engage in serious training.
2. Don’t give up, don’t surrender – survive no matter what.
3. If you are shot, keep fighting.
I’m grouping #2 and #3 together because they are related. If the fight is on, keep fighting until the fight is over or you’re dead. You should never decide to die; sounds funny, but read the article and you’ll see that too much Hollywood has influenced people to think if I’m shot I’m dead and they truly give up and fall over and die. Don’t be That Guy. When you are dead, you’ll be dead — that’s a decision that will be made for you. So until that time, keep fighting.
One recent event? In this past Saturday’s AT-2 Force On Force Scenarios class, TXGunGeek and I were running the indoor segments. One of those segments discusses realities of building clearing. During the “fast clearing” practice I like to hide in a particular room in a particular location and play “bad guy ambush”. The goal of the scenario? You’re on this end of the house, your child is in the far room and screaming for you: get to the child, fast clearing along the way. And so then I shoot them… and they stop. Why? Why did they stop? Well, because we get so conditioned to being shot being the “end game”, whether from video games, movies, or just playing with our friends and learning that “tag, you’re it”. We have to break that mindset and continue to our goal.
Keep fighting.
4. Learn to shoot accurately under all conditions – even if your sight is compromised.
This is where you need to break out of static range training. That is, shooting at tin cans on the fence rail, or being a good range citizen and only shooting cardboard targets from 3 to 7 yards down your lane, slow fire, and so on. This is why you need to seek out further training and ranges that can allow safe practice of drawing from a holster, movement, and other such things. Consider trying IDPA or IPSC competition, not that those are “tactical training” but they sure do let you shoot in non-standard ways.
But what really struck me about #4 was “even if your sight is compromised”.
I wear glasses and without them my vision isn’t that great. I need to try shooting without my glasses on and see how it goes. See what can I do. Find my skills, find my limits, find what I can work on.
It’s not just thinking about the middle of the night home break-in situation, which is real. But a more likely situation is that I just lose my glasses in the heat of the fight. I need to try this out.
5. Learn to shoot, reload and clear malfunctions with either hand, long-guns included.
Not much to elaborate on here. Speaks for itself.
But I will say to look into having a rear sight for your pistol that can hook on to something (belt, shoe, edge of table, etc.). Something like Dawson Precision’s Charger rear sight.
6. Carry your weapons and spare ammunition on your person, both on duty and off.
7. Carry as much ammunition as you can.
You’d think this would be one that doesn’t need elaboration, but alas it does.
You cannot know when the flag is going to fly. If you are fortunate to have the ability to see in the future, I’d like to talk to you about some stock picks. But since most of us don’t have superpowers, you just have to carry your gun — always.
I hear of too many people who only want to carry if they know they’re going into a bad place. Uh… if you know it’s a questionable or bad place, why are you going there in the first place? And as well, what makes you think that “good places” are immune to bad things happening?
And yes, spare ammo. Sure, the statistics might say “3 shots”, but you know how Murphy’s Law works… you’ll be the anomaly. So do you want that 5 shot snub? or would you rather have a M&P9 wth 17+1? and a reload? I think the only time you can have too much ammo is when you’re swimming or on fire, but otherwise, who sits there and wishes to have less ammo on them? If that’s the case, just carry 1 .45 ACP bullet, because that’s all you need to put down a charging rhino, right?
Carry your gun. Carry a reload. Always.
8. Once you make up your mind to fight, do so quickly and effectively.
This means you have to learn how to fight. You have to discard useless techniques. You have to work on your skills, you have to work on your tactics. This means taking more training than just marksmanship stuff. Try Force-on-Force. I know it sounds scary and intimidating, but really it’s not. If anything, it’s sobering and helps you really get your head in the right place.
9. Never underestimate your opponent – always expect the unexpected.
Skip ahead to 1:58
I know I’m a big guy. I know I’m a strong guy. I know I’m fair-to-midland with a gun. I can get along in a fistfight.
But there’s always someone that’ll be bigger, stronger, faster, better. More clever, willing to fight more dirty, willing to care less about the law, willing to have lower standards of conduct and do things I’d be unwilling to do.. or may never think of doing.
And so this goes back to #8, that you have to be quick and effective, to get it over with as fast as possible.
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Go read the whole article. It’s well worth your time.
I detect a theme…
Maybe cosmic forces are at work here, telling me (and you) to pay attention to something.
It was a topic in classes this past weekend. I blogged about it prior to the classes and honestly the motivation for that was the car incident a few days prior to writing, not at all thinking about the forthcoming classes.
And now, Michael Bane in the Down Range Radio podcast #257 talks about it.
It’s about violent encounters, and ensuring you have a plan — or an index card, as Michael puts it — for a situation.
As it was said in all three instances: it’s about getting you home alive.
Michael’s discussions starts around 34:47 into the podcast. At 49:26 Karl Rehn gets a mention, because Karl is a pioneer and leader in Force-on-Force training.
And Michael, if in fact you do want to have Seeklander and Janich do a segment on this next season? You should have Karl on the show as well. You’ve acknowledged him numerous times in your podcast in this context — including this very one — so I think it would only make sense to have him on there to help discuss this topic. I’m not speaking for Karl at all, just speaking my own opinion on it.
Stuff From Hsoi 