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When the thought of self-defense enters most people’s brains they get an image that might range from punching to drawing a weapon with no middle ground no backup plan or thoughts on “what will the consequences be for employing the use that might lead up to deadly physical force.”

It has undoubtedly happened to you. There you are, in the middle of a fierce argument with someone, and suddenly you realize that you not only do not particularly care about the subject of the argument but you cannot understand how you got into the altercation in the first place! This should never lead into needing to deploy self-defense tactics but instead the use of voice and reason to deescalate that is going on. What I am talking about is when you are walking down the street and scumbag gets in your face with weapon in hand with no signs of using it (yet). This is one of the most toxic, corrosive and devastating thing I am talking about in that we are cautious about most dogs knowing they might attack us but not our fellow man.

So if all you have in your bag of tricks is to use this move or that move to disarm the bad guy you are sadly playing Russian Roulette. Simply having one or more skill sets is not enough. What needs to be within your toolbox are verbal skills that can be used to perhaps reason with the bad person to distractions which are used to allow one to use your skills to prevent harm to yourself.

One of the parts of your brain (the amygdala) is on constant duty, and one of its primary tasks is to scan for danger. When it spots an incoming perception that meets its criteria for danger, it has the ability to send a message that provokes an immediate fight-or-flight reaction, and it can do that without first going through the reasoning part of your brain. It can literally short-circuit your thinking process. In the saber tooth tiger days this was a good thing. You saw something vaguely big and furry, and you either left the scene fast or threw your club. You acted first, and then you thought about it, which increased your odds of survival a good deal. If you do not practice verbal skills than the mid-brain will rule and you will be stuck in neutral and the amygdale will reign supreme, the dog is busting out the front screen door chasing after the fire truck with no plan if they get to it. You must integrate verbal tactics with physical tactics to better your self-defense skills.

You’re strategy for stopping an assailant intent on taking your life is to draw your self-defense firearm. But what happens when the assailant is bombarding you with head punches with your back up against a wall? Most people who carry a defensive firearm usually get a concealed handgun license followed by maybe taking one shooting class and then maybe just maybe will practice once or twice then call themselves good to go. Some will go one step farther by attending an intermediate class which teaches draw from cover, reloading on the move and similar skills. A very low percentage of this level student will practice several times a year which indeed is moving forward to improve their skills to defense against Mr. Scumbag. Our last level are raw and few which are those who learn not only skills with a handgun and shotgun but also verbal, hand to hand and impact defensive skills.

Without scientific figures my guess is that out of the intermediate and advance level people there are very few who think about “what if” my primary defense does not work what will I do? For example, there are instructors who say if caught in a headlock simply deliver strikes to the groin area until you are released. But what if the bad guy positions himself in such a manner you cannot deliver those strikes? What is your backup plan? The final question is what happens when your backup plan fails?

My first piece of advice as I give to my students is to seek out instructors that will teach backup plans or better phrased as counters than as they advance “counter-for-counter” which might be considered a backup to a backup since scumbags, especially those who have been in prison or in the military will have these skills. Another charge to those who rely on the self-defense handgun is to know how to a) access malfunctions and fix them or have a “back-up” plan b) again for those relying on firearms is to train in empty hand combative's. Oh, let’s not forget verbal skills too which just might get you out of the pickle jar without going beyond reason.

 
What would you do?

Knife/Counter-Knife June 14

Fee $120.00

There is a commonly held view that a person armed with a knife is less dangerous than a person armed with a firearm. The truth is that within their practical ranges both weapons are capable of fatal life stopping wounds with a greater chance of mortality from an edge weapon then a firearm. The training methods we teach are straight forward, effective, and usable by people of even average ability.

Instructor Kevin Gallagher style will teach you tactics with or without a weapon along with the how and why of the principles and the conceptual motion to defend yourself. All curriculums emphasize the concepts of awareness, avoidance, and de-escalation.

This work shop begins by reviewing some essential precepts which reinforces basic self defense principles. Very quickly we work into areas such as use of empty hands against knife, knife against knife and knife to gun transition.

Other topics

• Unarmed defense against knives
• Knife against knife counters
• Principle of action: Bio Mechanical cutting/action
• Selection of a folder for self-defense
• Carry methods for your folder
• Options for engagement of folder
• Exercises to keep your skills fresh
  • Flow drill
  • Six count Dexterity Drill
  • Passing drill
  • Slash and cover

"To own a gun and assume that you are armed is like owning a piano and assuming that you are a musician!"

The average person who purchases a gun should take this to heart in that simply owning a gun does not make you the master of the gun. People believe that watching movies on television is all the instruction that is needed to properly use a gun, they cannot be more wrong.

What does it takes to be proficient with a gun? Professional training and repetitive practice sessions until the basics are ingrained. This does not mean one needs to spend hundreds of dollars to master the firearm but instead through calculated practice sessions were the techniques are learned through slow fire rather than shooting off rounds as fast as you can. This is akin to masturbation in that perhaps one will gain pleasure from firing off several hundred rounds with no end goal other than some sort of self-satisfaction “I am the man” or “I am the woman.”

Of course there are those who believe that they are “naturally good a shooting,” more so in their own mind than anything else. Those who are proficient in the use of a gun practice all the time don’t believe me than do the research.

Now get trained properly and if and when the time comes to use the firearm hopefully you will be ready.

Not much to say other than the class was a success in that students learn new methods to keep themselves safe. Below are several pictures from the class.