Thought for the day:
Training: Heavy bag, speed bag and sledge hammer drills.
Question of the day:
Although this list was originally made for patrol officers, it serves as a checklist for us all. Which is your greatest area of weakest? identify and start learning.
Thought for the day:
"In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.”"
I agree with the author’s observations on situation awareness. The vast majority of people are not aware of anything in their immediate area, threats or otherwise. Also, I think the lady is very lucky, I admire here courage to fight back, but, I am amazed she was not shot , stabbed or beaten to death.
The author’s opinion:
No, not the transition from your rifle to your pistol but transitions from location to location. This is the time when you are most vulnerable. Going from your house to your vehicle, vehicle to work, shopping mall to vehicle, etc etc… Why? Because your attention is drawn towards where you are going and not the deadliest hazards around you. You are thinking about what you will be doing once you reach your destination. You aren’t thinking about what is happening around you now. When you are in transition you need to raise your level of situational awareness.
Conduct your 5’s and 25’s. Observe the people around you. How are they dressed? What is their demeanor? If they were a threat, how quickly could they get to your location? Begin asking yourself these questions. Once you do this consistently, your brain will begin processing this information instantaneously. Next time you are going to a public place, take note of everyone else in transition. Notice how they they lack spatial awareness and are clueless to those around them. Watch how nonchalantly people enter their vehicles with some of their most valuable possessions. Put yourself if a criminal’s shoes and see how easy it would be to take advantage of their lack of situational awareness. Hopefully, this opens your eyes to how vulnerable you are in transition. Keep your head in a swivel and don’t get caught unaware!
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Training: Range work and bands.
Question of the day:
Do you have a good rope in your kit? If not, buy one. Climbing, rappelling, rescues, pulling logs, tying down gear, pulling vehicles, the uses are endless. Make sure you have at least two good carabiners , makes locking things down much faster.
Not a bad idea. However, just to add on: if you are going to do this, then make sure you are getting good gear. My wife and I do mountain rescue where we live, and have seen and heard what happens when people skimp on gear. If the locking carabiners on Amazon claiming to hold 25kN look like too good of a price, they’re probably from China and not worth the screen image you are looking at.
I would also add, learn to tie a swiss seat. We keep our rescue harnesses in the truck with us, but those aren’t cheap. A swiss seat can be tied with 10 feet of rope or 1" tubular nylon, either of which is considerably cheaper than a professional rescue harness. Also takes up a lot less room in your bag/trunk.
Thought for the day:
The magic is … that there’s no magic, unless hard work and fortitude are considered “magic”.: Mike Pannone.
Some rules to think about:
1.Always have an escape plan
2.Simple and light equals freedom, agility and mobility
3.Don’t spend time trying to move your opponent, just move yourself.
4.The solution is in the problem.
5.If it’s stupid but works, it isn’t stupid.
Training: Body weight day and agility drills.
Question of the day:
I am inclined to agree with this, how about you?
Yup. Listening to JRE with Adam Curry as guest, remember the old MTV VJ from the 80s? Anyway, he was talking about being on the internet very early on (mid 80s) before there was a WWW. And the boards he was going on back then, when the internet was figuratively speaking only a few days old, people were already attacking like that. So it happened very quickly, apparently.
Yep. I view social media like cyber pubs / bars. If you wouldn’t say it to someone in a real pub / bar then don’t spout shit on the internet.
I agree with both of you and in this current pandemic situation, I have seen some people turn into massive assholes. I know this is not PC correct, but, what the hell. It seems the fatter a man is , the worst his mouth is, strange , since they could not fight their way out of a wet paper bag.
Thought for the day:
First, I sincerely hope each and every one of you are protecting yourself and your family the best you can. The protocols put in place for personal hygiene are paramount. I, like so many others who have spent a lot of time in the Middle East and Asia, know all about keeping your hands clean, baby wipes and alcohol wipes are your friends. Iraq had some of the filthiest air on the planet and you learned quick to clean yourself and your equipment clean as possible. Sick 8 days and losing 23 pounds taught me that. Be as safe as you can, your child and spouse need you.
On a more positive note, here is the woman’s first place winner at the Tactical Athlete Games held last weekend in Burnett, Texas.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B92joLbJXP-/
Question of the day:
What precautions are you taking during this period? Share with others here.
I think this pandemic has reinforced the idea that failure to plan is planning to fail.
Totally agree. I just wonder if the lesson will resonate with most people.
Thought for the day :
"Many of us are wrapped up in the notion that speed is everything. Speed is a byproduct of working the fundamentals with absolute meaning. With any skill set requiring a tempo, beats per minute, or revolutions per second, we do not get faster by working fast. Any professional performer in any skill set works with meaning and in deep practice mode until the tempo at which he is training is perfected. Then, and only then, will he work / train up to the next level."
“Regardless of whether you are playing a cello, drums, doing origami, or perfecting a martial arts move, perfection requires keen intellect, introspection and objective self-critique.”
Training: heavy bag, speed bag, kettle bell carries in the park, since every gym in my area is closed.
Question of the day:
Got a good tomahawk in your kit? Multiple uses including close range weapon, with an added bonus of never having to be reloaded.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Valuable lesson I learned in Advanced Urban Combat school in Chesapeake when we were training in weapons transitions. That school was just 10 hours of shooting all day, going between a regular range, a house with ballistic walls, and a ship in a box. Everyone felt awkward switching from m4’s to m9’s at first, but the slower we went at first, the smoother the transitions went. Still remember on my last test running dry in my m4 in the last room and without thinking, drawing, riding out the slack while punching out (those fucking berettas have a 9-16lb double action trigger pull and we were penalized for not decocking) and keyholing two to the chest on the target across the room with the instructor right behind me. Fun stuff.
Really good training. Most classes don’t focus enough on transitions IMHO.
Damn right about that, a lot of those Berettas had trigger pulls worst than trying to use a pipe wrench. The early model Sig 226’s were not much better.
Thought for the day:
Checking on @Chris_Colucci
Chris,
Always had the impression you lived near NYC. Check in and let us know you and your family are ok. NY appears to be ground zero.
Question of the day:
It you follow this thread, check in . Also, I assume ( like me) that your gym or martial arts centers are closed. Post your at home or park routines. I am basically doing outside work with what I have. Bands, kettle bells, ax and sledge hammer work, pull ups, push ups , wheel barrel loads and doing loaded walks with large plastic jugs full of water.
Band routines from Pat.
@twojarslave checking in from Maine.
Things are “normal” here, insomuch as we’re all shut down as much as possible but nobody seems to be freaking out. My long-time ethos of having a months worth of supplies on hand was helpful during the first panic buys. I just stayed home. I ventured out yesterday morning to find BJ’s had a few pallets of toilet paper, so I even grabbed a package of that along with some dry and canned goods. I’m trying not to venture out unless necessary, but the fact that supplies are available now is something I’m taking advantage of.
Look at how quickly things changed and the shelves emptied out. That can happen again.
Security-wise I’m good. 1,000+ round count for all of my calibers and hundreds of those are in high-quality defensive ammunition. Apparently guns and ammo are in panic buy mode right now. I live in Maine’s 2nd largest city, so my bug-out bag is ready if for whatever reason being in the city becomes undesirable. The truck’s fuel tank is full and will be kept full as long as it’s possible.
I’ve checked in with just about everyone I know and a small group of us have a bug-out spot to hit up if things get bad. Out in the woods, away from any major roads, very close to a lake with wood heat. We could set up there for a long time and eat a lot of fish, deer and small game if we really need to.
Hopefully it doesn’t come anywhere close to that, but if there’s one lesson that’s sunk in for me with all of this it is how quickly things can change in society today. BOOM. We’re in lockdown and the economy is powered down. Just like that.
Stay safe everyone!
Oh and for at-home workout I’m making use of my 50lb kettlebell, adjustable bench and 50lb adjustable DB’s.
My 70lb Kettlebell is on the way from Rogue. They even sold out of their kettlebells 53lbs and under. Who would have expected a kettlebell shortage?
I can do solo BJJ drills too. I really need to work on shots across the mat. Mine are less than elegant.
Really looking forward to tossing around that 70 pounder. I may need to see if I can sneak in and grab my 88 from the gym I’ve got it parked at. I’m not quite strong enough to do much overhead work with the 88 but its a perfect weight for swings with me. The 70 should be a good all-around weight for snatches, swings, cleans, presses, you-name it.
SE Tennessee checking in. County and city shut everything down, including gyms. Kind of a bummer, cause I’ve always been a ‘pick up heavy shit’ kind of guy - not much else interests me in that regard. Managed to grab my 53lb kettlebell out of the gym before they shut down, and I have a smattering of smaller ones. Have been wanting to get some bigger ones, but haven’t had the cash yet. That will become a priority after this BS ends.
Haven’t gotten a workout in yet, was raining all day yesterday so I never left the house. Doubled up my lifting the day before (last day gym was open), so I did deadlifts around noon and then chest/back late afternoon. Looks to be clear today, so I’m thinking I’ll get a run in. Really hope this doesn’t last long. It’s already screwed up our deployments, so my summer is most likely toast.
EDIT: I started messing around with guitar several years ago, using Rocksmith on my laptop. Made some progress, and then quit doing it for various reasons (mostly laziness). Guitar’s been collecting dust in my corner, think I’ll pull it back out and give myself something to do. Was going to use this time to de-crap the house, but the town decided to close the dump along with everything else. Seriously? How many people do you ever see congregating at the dump, especially in close proximity to each other?
Alphonsus12 in the UK checking in. Had a seasonal cold last weekend so decided nobody would thank me for coughing and sneezing in the workplace so self isolated. Developed a shortness of breath and fatigue as the days passed. No idea if I have this thing or not as there’s only testing for the vulnerable and I’m definitely not that.
I’ve not been in condition to train this week so haven’t. I went for a stroll and washed the windows in my house yesterday and was very tired afterward. I’m not gasping for breath but it feels like the tube is half it’s normal size if you get me. I never have breathing issues and don’t smoke. I’ve sat outside when it’s dry and practiced some box breathing which is ok.
A friend told me he expects a baby boom in 9 months but being locked up with grown up children I expect prison overpopulation.
Stay safe men, take no chances.
Glad you are ok and have a plan. Great insight , perhaps Americans will take the practical things in life a little more seriously now, instead of worshiping the latest I-Phone app. Imagine society losing electricity? I was a street cop in a major city when a major sub-station blew, very little power for 11 hours, people turned into animals.
Glad you are ok, brother. I always wanted to play some type of musical instrument, HA, a monkey has more skill than me. Start playing, I hear it makes you are better shot:))
Why in the hell would you close a dump? Are you supposed to store your garbage bags in the front yard? Some of this shit is just beyond stupid.
