The Tactical Life

Off Topic
3818

Thought for the day:

" Something I tell myself is that it’s ok to have a weakness, but it’s never okay to have the same weakness twice. That is knowingly failing to prepare, and there is no excuse for that. Once someone is able to identify their weaknesses, then they’re responsible for fixing them. We should always try to be as prepared as possible, or as much as we can be. So, hopefully, no matter what life throws at you, you can stand confidently and say, " Ok, I’ve trained for this"

Tristin Burris, multiple Tactical Athlete Games Champion.

3819

Thought for the day:

Until you step into the unknown, you don’t know what you’re made of.”
Roy T. Bennett

It’s a “holiday” weekend in the United States. We celebrate our war dead by having furniture sales. However, large crowds attract every nutcase available. Read the story and imagine you being in the area and form a plan on what you would have done if your family was present. Being situational aware at all times will prepare you act when you need. Don’t wait until you step into the “unknown” to come up with a plan.

"I need you guys to hurry up. There’s a guy walking around at the splash pad on Trail creek with a weapon, yelling at people and kids,” a woman tells 911 through tears. “There’s a bunch of children and pregnant women here.”"

3820

Noting all above, given our Government only put in a larger pfizer order late in the piece, my understanding is given these extra pfizer shots won’t arrive until end of 2021 (at best), throw in typical govt delays etc it’d be mid 2022 before a decent % of the population will be vaccinated in Oz.

3821

Thought for the day: Memorial Day

“The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree.”—Thomas Campbell

memorial day.PNG

For me, Memorial Day is like ripping a scab off a wound. Cannot stop the memories of those that did not come back. The multitudes of parents who lost a son or daughter, the children whose lost their father and or mother, brothers who lost sisters, and sisters who lost brothers. The pain will go on and on.

" I will follow what the older men who fought stated. “The real heroes are those buried under the white crosses. The ones who never came home and continue living.” While wiping their eyes they would continue, “Never able to marry, have children, grandchildren and experience the rest of life. Instead, their life came to a sudden violent end. For that, they will always be forever young.”

3 Likes
3823

I initially thought the deleted post was worthwhile, well, I decided it was styrofoam.

3824

Thought for the day:

“Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society” –Aristotle

3825

So true. I had a fellow at church introduce me to a study class, called me a hero. That’s essentially how I responded…I just followed orders and survived.

3826

Thought for the day:

I usually don’t write up critiques on an officer’s actions or decisions, mainly, because I have been in situations where a split second decision has to be made and the results are securitized for months. My thinking is basically, “I wasn’t on scene, so, I don’t really know what happened’. I feel like we all can learn from analyzing tactical situations and decisions. I truly hope the officer recovers, both physically and mentally from her violent attack. There are lessons to be learned here for all of us. I have watched this video several times and frankly I am stunned at the complacency and total lack of situational awareness.

“There is very little evidence that what this community teaches for defensive tactics works with any regularity during violent resistance or a sudden violent assault.” Toney Bauer.

Surveillance video shows the female officer, who is of Asian descent, approach Gerardo Contreras on Friday and tell him to turn around and put his hands on his head.

“ put your hands on your head” I thought this method of handcuffing went out with the revolver. It is an extremely awkward and dangerous position to cuff from, especially if the officer is shorter than the suspect. It allows for offensive strikes to be thrown from a high position and does not allow adequate time for the officer to gain distance. It also is the slowest method I know.

The 33-year-old turns around, but while the officer puts on plastic gloves before patting him down, he turns back to face her, shoves her, then wrestles with her on the ground.

I simply don’t understand this. If you think you need gloves to arrest, have them on before you approach the suspect. The worst thing you can do, especially with a mental patient or anyone for that matter, is give them time to think about being arrested. Put those cuffs on as fast as possible. I have seen officers screw around after telling someone they are under arrest and the suspect starts building up anger and fear and then the fight is on.

You are carrying a non-lethal shotgun with a sling, obviously you had some prior knowledge the suspect was a mental case, why in hell did you not keep you distance until backup arrived? You had the means to keep your distance and still protect yourself and the public. I have used non-lethal rounds on suspects and they work about 9 out of 10 times. Slinging your shotgun over your shoulder just gave him the advantage, especially after you were slammed to the ground. Weapons with slings are hard enough to fight around when you are rolling on the ground.

The video first made public by the San Francisco Police Officers Association shows four men rushing to help, hitting Contreras and trying to pull him off the officer as he punches her in the head and face. Shortly afterward, other officers arrived and arrested Contreras, who is apparently homeless with mental health issues and a record of prior arrests.

IMO, if the citizens had not intervened on the officer’s behalf, he would have killed the officer, especially if he had a weapon. All he needed was an ink pen to stab you 50 times in the throat. I have no knowledge of the officer’s grappling skills or even she had any, but, if appears you are giving up at 75 to 100 pounds to your attacker. That is hard to overcome for anyone, especially after getting slammed to the pavement. Hard surfaces plays no favorites when it comes to injuries.

The officer, who has worked for the department for five years, suffered bumps and bruises, Tony Montoya, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

I know it states the officer is a five year veteran of the force, but, I have my doubts the officer has spent five years working the street. I have known many officers who have spent years working admin assignments and probably the last violent encounter they had was in field training. I know the SFPD has been hit hard with experienced officers leaving one of the epicenters of wokeness. I know the department is working with a shortage, one of the reasons the officer was working solo. If the department is going to pull admin officers to help the rank and file, at least they should offer some type of defensive tactics / situational awareness training before tossing officers to the wolves.

But, that training has to be realistic with simple, direct defensive tactics that have shown to work. I am very glad she survived.

1 Like
3827

I believe people thanking a vet for their service/sacrifice are merely expressing their appreciation. Perhaps it’s ackward, like being offered (or offering) a condolence. But l see it as well meant.

1 Like
3828

Something to consider is that the situation with the female cop had two possible outcomes had bystanders not intervened: she was going to get killed or seriously injured or, she was going to shoot him if she could have. She wasn’t going to subdue him or at the very least keep him from killing her using hand to hand fighting skills. Now, had she shot him it’s quite possible there would be a reaction from the public about the cops killing another unarmed man and how they need more training. But what training would have helped her? We aren’t going to pay cops to train BJJ, for example, several days a week and wait for then to get to a certain level of proficiency before they can work the streets. And even if she had a couple of years of training I don’t know how much that would help her against a much bigger and mentally ill man. So my question is, would this be something that training would fix or is it a case of procedure that needs to be fixed, meaning, maybe a small female should not be in that situation in the first place? Give her a partner or keep her at the station.

3829

Day 1 kinda stuff where I train. Grip-stripping and distance management.

This is exactly what was taught at a home hospice worker class I assisted. We didn’t have enough time to teach everyone how to choke grabby grandpa out, but we spent most of class practicing various grip stripping and too far, too close concepts, all while standing.

I used grip strips as a bouncer all the time. I never tolerated being grabbed.

1 Like
3830

I think running away would have suited her best. I get the idea of distance management but what would be the end result in that situation? She can draw her gun and shoot him? Not that that wouldn’t be justified given the two people involved but I would think the idea is to try and avoid using lethal force.

When I was in MP school, one of the guys training us told a petite female to just sit in the car until back up arrives.

1 Like
3831

Who knows how it could have played out differently, but it all began with a grab. Eliminating that connection gives way to options other than being muscled to the ground. Run or fight at range, for instance.

She had a couple of seconds to grip fight. Untrained as she was, she didn’t appear to have any organized response to the man grabbing her.

1 Like
3832

This is good. The police don’t need to be BJJ black-belts, they just need to practice a little “Cop-Fu.” A handful of useful techniques taken from a range of disciplines.

1 Like
3833

I get my ass handed to me on the mats. My BJJ isn’t high level at all. I cause problems, but nothing a legit black belt can’t stuff in short order.

I’ve dominated every bar fight I’ve been in since roughly my 2nd white belt stripe. Stopping inept drunken assaults on myself and others became much easier.

Black belt level of skill would be great, but I can’t see how that would have improved the outcomes of any of my encounters. If someone falls for a sucker arm drag and gives me their back, I take it every time. The fight is essentially over at that point and it didn’t even seem like a fight.

3834

Thought for the day:

From Luke Ryan:

Every person has it in them — the demon. I’m not sure what it is exactly, whether it’s some inner spiritual rage or some biological instinct to spur one toward survival at any cost, but it’s there, and it’s inside everyone. The warrior types are generally more inclined to tap into their inner demon, to use it in combat of some form or another, but just about any person can be pushed to that point if they’re hungry enough or their family is threatened. The most devoted of pacifists must “train” it out of themselves so that when they are put to the test, it doesn’t rise up. Rest assured, it’s still there.

My father was an emergency room doctor for many years, and he always told me how surprised he was at how many people it would take to hold down a ten-year old kid for treatment, if he truly did not want to be held down. If he was in excruciating pain and he felt that, for whatever irrational reason, his life was threatened by the hospital staff around him, he would kick and scream and writhe so much that multiple doctors and nurses and paramedics would have to hold him down. We’re only talking about a 60 pound kid.

It’s true, sometimes fear does other things — it can freeze people or make them frantically run or cower in some corner. But everyone is capable, somewhere deep down, of extreme violence. Untrained, that violence is relatively chaotic and might serve to hurt the person as much as his or her adversaries. Untrained, that demon may not be able to overpower the instinct to freeze in fear, or to run when others need help.

Most of the martial arts aims to train that demon, to hone it. The first step is teaching you the skills and the second is to make them muscle memory. Once those skills are ingrained into your psyche, they become second nature. Your body knows exactly what to do when it hears gunshots to your right within hand grenade range; your hands know exactly how to apply a tourniquet with lightning speed and zero room for error.

With training, that primal rage — that frantic energy — suddenly has an outlet. It has a place to siphon all of that raw power and turn it into honest-to-God violence of action.

  • Honing the demon and turning it into something useful is something every warrior strives to accomplish. It’s built deep inside every person, and a true warrior aims to use it for something good.*
3835

Love that post. Reminds me that a stone sharpens steel…guess sharpening the weapon is what I summed it up as…very well written!

3836

What happens when someone is shot by one of these rounds? I assume they don’t penetrate skin. Is it like getting shot with a paintball gun but far more painful as the projectile is still propelled out with gunpowder? Is it enough to stop an attacker who is mentally ill and/or on stimulants? I’m asking because the mentally ill/intoxicated crowd can have a level of adrenaline fuelled strength that far exceeds what you’d expect an individual of a given stature to have.

I don’t know how accurate they are, but every now and then you see a video wherein six cops are required to hold down a guy who is having a psychotic break/who is on a lot of methamphetamine. Would a non lethal round be able to stop someone like this?

Do you become jaded/irritable working as a bouncer (serious question) when you have to deal with drunken assholes all the time? I’ve noted some bouncers are notoriously unfriendly, even towards the few who are well mannered, polite and sober. I suppose being enveloped within an environment wherein you consistently see the worst of the worst (in terms of jackassery) you’d become disillusioned

I’ve also started training BJJ (amongst some other arts)! What belt are you? I have prior experience striking, but very little in the way of grappling. It’s a very new and exciting paradigm for me.

Are you still a bouncer? If not I’d be wary, sometimes the type of degenerate who goes around looking for fights in bars have friends who will kick you in the head (or if in Aus they might glass you, idk how prevalent that is in the USA) when you take an altercation to the ground. There’s also the (admittedly low) chance your opponent is a boxer or knows Muay Thai/Krav Maga, in which case you might be fucked if you can’t get the guy to the ground quickly (and Krav also works with grappling). I’m no expert, I’m regurgitating what I’ve already heard from those far more qualified than I am. Perhaps I’m wrong?

3837

No, they do not penetrate the skin.

No, more powerful than a paintball round. The round is about the size of an egg, in a “bag” the round flattens out when it strikes, creating more shock power. Since, it is soft , filled with a rubber compound, it is like getting hit with a ball bat. You always aim for the torso or hips, never the head. The Israelis used use one that fired a small wooden plug. They were tried here and resulted in too many injuries.

depends on the person, but, it will work occasionally on the mental ill, because they still are able to feel pain, against someone on PCP or a coke/ meth cocktail, no so much. All bets are off on someone high on drugs

Some manufactures claim they are good out to 25 yards. Based on my experience, 10 to 15 yards is maximin.

on average, no. Suspects high on meth or having a severe mental episode ( hallucinations) don’t feel a lot of pain compliance techniques.

3838

And this is where choking, technically strangling (and specifically blood “chokes”), would come into play but we know how they aren’t allowed in spite of how many lives they probably would have saved.