Robert:
Never pass up good instruction or advice. I appreciate the positive comments on the post and will add some lessons learned. Irish is correct, the Outlaws are major meth distributors in the southern states and don?t lack for funds, plus, they can hire the best attorneys, just like dopers.
Robert, I was carrying a knife, but, idiot here, had it ON THE SAME SIDE AS MY GUN, right behind the holster, a Spyerco. No excuses, but, it?s where I carried it for several years in the forces and it was a habit, a bad habit. Why carry a weapon and can?t get to it? Stupid. Since that time, I have carried a knife on my Left side, if I am carrying a firearm on the right side.
Don?t have to worry about a suit, Robert, currently in Iraq as a CQB/Counter intell instructor.
I thought, I would pass on some changes and observations that have stayed with me after that fight. We all have defining moments in our lives, it?s facing the truth about yourself, after something dramatic happens,that defines your future responses.
After the fight, I spent the rest of the night in the emergency room lounge, and was driven to my apartment and went in, took a couple of pain pills, passed out. Several hours later, I woke and was so fucking beat up and sore, that I had to crawl to the bathroom. Pulling yourself along the floor with your hand in a cast, and a splint on your nose, will bury about every inch of pride you ever had.
Remember, I thought I was bad, a couple of those high belts in TMA, club fighter circuit, etc. Pulled myself up to the vanity and took a good long look at myself, saw a beat to shit motherfucker, who couldn?t take one short little dude, juiced on crack. WTF? I couldn?t last 1.5 minutes with a fucking street hood, who just stabbed his sister?
This is fact: That guy was whipping my ass, would have probably killed me it the troops hadn?t arrived. For someone who had recently fought in a 4 round club fight, I was verging on exhaustion after 1.5 minutes. The amount of adrenaline burned during a fight like that is incredible, and unless you have experienced it, hard to describe.
Right then and there, I changed my whole approach to training and life. This is not a CRITIZISM OF TMA, but, FOR ME, I never went back. MT/Boxing/wrestling/knife work/ weapons/ became the focus. When I trained, I went all out the last 20 minutes, trying to burn everything up, sparred with fresher, better guys, who would not let up, who would push you till you puked. I was trying to capture that feeling of helplessness, of being beaten like a yard dog.
My new motto: you may take me asshole, but, you damn sure are going to have to work for it.
I would assume since you are on this forum, you are involved in combat oriented arts or work in a capacity that forces you to face real life situations. A good piece of advice: do some research now on a good attorney. After a lethal force encounter is no time to be looking for one. Do some mental role playing on what type of street situations could happened to you, in your everyday life.
Do you ride the subway? What happens if a fight breaks out or a junkie pulls a knife? Do you work in an office environment? What happens if a co-worker goes postal? Are you a TMA/MMA instructor? What happens if two bikers walk in and start giving you shit? These are situations that could happen any day.
This morning, I am flying to Anbar providence by helio. I have already gone through dozens of situations if the helio goes down and I survive. The more I can visualize, the calmer I will be during the real thing. Everyone here should take stock of their environment, where do you anticipate the threats? What am I going to do if this or that happens? Just fill in your own situations. The key is being mentally prepared, ready to respond or do battle. That is your first line of defense. I stole this term from Jeff Cooper?s Gunsite: ?combat mindset?. Without it you will not prevail. Period.
Weapons/ weapons proficiency: I will not advise anyone on this forum to violate local, state, or federal law. Whether you choose to be armed, regardless of your weapon preference, go, once again, into the bathroom, shut the door, stare at the mirror and ask yourself: Can I kill someone? Don?t lie to yourself, because if you choose to carry to weapon that is exactly the decision you made. This is a decision for YOU and you ONLY. Because only a fool carries a weapon with no intention of using it.
You are better off unarmed, than sticking a cheap auto in your back pocket, leaving for a night of drinking with the buddies. That is a recipe for disaster. Untrained and uncommitted. Mental weakness. Suddenly, you and your buddies are in a pissing contest with some drunken football players and out comes the gun. Then what? You going to shoot and spend the rest of your life in prison? Decide now?not in a holding tank.
If you choose to go armed, know how to use what you carry. You are no good to anyone if you cannot hit the target and believe me, shooting people is much harder than it looks, more than likely, you will kill some innocent bystander?..holding tank?.prison?life ruined. Same goes for a blade. Know how to use it, carry it, and most all, do you really have what it takes to use it? Knives are close up and personal, real personal. Decide now, not in a bar fight or football game.
Aftermath:
Ok, for whatever reason, it?s happened to you. You survived and your assailant is down: injured or dead. Now, your second fight for survival starts and it will not be over in 1.5 minutes. Everything you do from this point forward will go a long way in keeping you from being convicted of a felony or felony murder.
Get your breathing under control, restore oxygen to the brain, so you can start thinking clearly again.
If, and this is a big if, if bystanders are around, start screaming for an ambulance. This will be very important in establishing your credibility with the witnesses on the scene. Don?t yell out, ?Did you see that? I kicked that motherfucker?s ass?
That ?motherfucker? may have friends or family around, and that one statement is going to label you the aggressor, whether you were or not. If you used a weapon, secure it on your body under your clothes, don?t throw it on the ground, don?t carry it in your hand, and secure it. That?s a piece of evidence now, and it doesn?t belong to you anymore. Keep asking for an ambulance regardless what someone tells you on the scene.
You will want testimony from someone on the scene, that you seem to be in shock and all you could think of was getting an ambulance for your attacker, this is laying the groundwork for your defense, you were in shock and ?worried? you had to hurt someone.
Police on the scene:
When the first patrol cop arrives on scene, point to the assailant, again asking for an ambulance. Then, and this is very, very important: SHUT THE FUCK UP! Other than your name, DOB,SSN and address, that it. Period. The police arriving on the scene are not your enemies but they are not your friends either. They are there to control the environment, establish order, and secure the perpetrator, which is YOU.
Face the fact you will be arrested, handcuffed, and stuffed in a patrol unit. You will get asked about a thousand times, ?What happened?? be polite, be calm, be respectful, but, state, ?I am really upset now, I will talk later?.This will buy you some time to get your thoughts in order. NEVER DISCUSS WHAT HAPPENED ON THE SCENE WITHOUT A LAWYER PRESENT.PERIOD. This is a really good time to have done that research on an attorney.
BTW, I don?t know how many times, I have arrested some street rat, and have him scream at me,? My lawyer is going to sue your ass off, motherfucker?. My reply was always the same, ?oh, yeah, what?s his name?? I never, ever, got an answer, so, my thought was fuck you, slick?.
Now, you are in the car, probably been sitting there while the detectives and crime scene people are in route. The back door opens, and the cop goes ?what the fuck happened out here? You say, ?Sir, can I call john Smith? The number is in my phone?. Cop is going to say, ?Who is that?? and you are going to say, ?he is my attorney, I have known him a long time, and I don?t know what to do here?.
Of course, he is NOT going to let you call your attorney on the scene, but, you have established a PERSONAL CONNECTION with the criminal justice system, instead of ?my lawyer is going to sue your ass off crap?. The detectives on the scene will already know that the situation needs to be handled a little differently on the scene, and this will buy you time to think and plan your actions. Remember, you don?t know what to do?SHUT UP and stay SHUT UP.
Intervention:
An excellent example has already been given concerning intervening in a domestic situation. Study that very closely; it happens every day in an urban environment. Now, you got one more trip to the mirror. Look at yourself, be honest, and ask yourself what situations you are going to intervene in. Now, the correct answer is none, but, I have never met a person with Honor values, likes to see the strong, prey on the weak.
Again, decide now, before you leave your residence, what you will, or will not fight for. Be committed to something or not. Just make a decision. I cannot tell anyone on this forum what to do or who to fight. I can only tell you what MY guidelines are: defense of myself, and those under my protection or responsibility, the elderly and children.
The first two are obvious, but, the second taps into my core, I hate seeing the elderly and children preyed on by assholes. And, just in case, I wind up in front of a grand jury, or on trial, there is no one there that will not get old, and there is no one there, who wasn?t a child.
I want to thank Big Boss for posting the video; it has opened the door to good discussions. I also, want to apologize for the long posts. I have said enough, and wish other people would respond.