The Tactical Life

Off Topic
4020

Thought for the day:

If you have followed this thread, you know I preach situational awareness all the time. Never let a stranger approach you this close without attempting to at least , go into a fight or flight response. Use those legs to execute the best self defense tactic ever: running away.

The 770 report said the victim identified himself as Caliber Visuals from Los Angeles. The incident occurred at about 6:15 p.m. on July 31, the report said. The report said the suspect stole at least $900 in cash and an iPhone 12. The victim, who set up a GoFundMe page, reportedly suffered a brain bleed and a fractured eye.

Seattle Police said in a statement that a bystander “came to the victim’s aid and called 911. Medics transported him to Harborview Medical Center, where he received treatment for head trauma and significant injuries to his face.”

4021

Thought for the day:

From Coach Blauer:

blauer

If you said it, it’s because you had a ‘feeling’ that you ignored. That was intuition speaking.

Why do we all ignore intuition from time to time?

So many of us think we are doing the right thing without realizing our choices are often based on ‘conditioning’ and not intuition.

This is most often seen in school, career, and relationship choices. Then one day, years down a path we chose, we realize something is very wrong.

We all do it.

Intuition whispers in our ear and fear shuts it down.

I wish it were easier to learn to trust intuition. It’s one of those empirical experiences that happens and we don’t notice how subtle yet profound it is.

Here is my best tip for learning to trust intuition:

“Learning to trust intuition requires that you begin trusting intuition.”

Ironic right?

Intuition whispers to us. Fear shuts it down.

When you decide to trust intuition, you must commit.

That’s why learning to manage fear is critical to this process. Self-awareness deepens intuition. Managing fear creates self-awareness.

For decades I was told I wouldn’t make it, that my approach to self-defense wasn’t right, that I wouldn’t be successful without belts or following system XYZ, and so on.

Fear held me back. Fear made me redirect, hesitate, second-guess myself, but my intuition always won out. I always came back to what I knew was true deep inside.

I didn’t work my ass off to prove something to someone else. I worked my ass off because I had a vision and I trusted my intuition.

Sometimes I’m asked: “What if it doesn’t work out?”

That doesn’t mean your intuition was wrong. Maybe the timing wasn’t right. Maybe you needed more experience. Maybe you had the wrong partner, location, messaging, and so on.

So even when something doesn’t work out, the fact that you went with your ‘gut’, is as important. It’s a battle scar you earned. You are developing self-awareness & experience. And if you reflect and introspect, it’ll impact your growth, confidence, and self-worth.

It all works out if you focus on two things: Direction & Lesson.

Am I going the right way? Am I learning along the way?

4022

Was mistaken about situational awareness as focus.
3 hour free seminar was split into talking about developing ‘escape’ skill as a civilian being accosted. Differentiated from controlling (LEO) or destroying (military). My terms, can’t recall his exact terms.
Assertiveness to achieve fight/flight vs stunned disbelief/frozen was reinforced by several real clips, showing passive victims being victims.
Attention was paid to differentiate man attitude of wanting to fight fairly and win versus woman fighting to survive. IOW living is the win.

Second part was demoing/explaining several techniques available to most adults, if flight has not taken place or the victim was ‘ambushed’. All seem to assume actual contact - arm grab, shirt, choke. Eye rake was go to move, second was head slap (ear as a goal), knee for 2 hand grab. And then bugging out.
All were chosen for high pain/non train part of anatomy, low training needed to perform these gross motor movements.

Third hour was pairs practicing the above, including bugging out. Many there were visibly nervous even going through the drills, at first.

I thought it was fine as an intro, and am confident it would work on some attackers. Particularly if they had their guard down while accosting an old person, kid, mobility issue, etc.

Several shortcomings: spend more time on awareness, assertiveness on maintaining fence, response to loud/coarse speech preceeding an attack, drilling response to weapon presentation.

Final note: wife has been practicing the moves and that is a complement to hearing me talk situational awareness out in public.

4023

Wow. A person you don’t know approaching you on the street to shake your hand is always a signal of aggression. It’s the first step in a robbery. It’s a shame this young man didn’t have the street smarts to realize that. And I certainly don’t want to blame the victim, but I can’t help but suspect there were some red flags before this happened. The news article says this was close to a Cash America, which should have been a red flag in and of itself. I’m sure that to the scumbag who attacked him, he looked like a sheep who had wondered into a wolf’s den.

1 Like
4024

I saw this link from an advertisement in a Canadian online newspaper. Instead of resurrecting the Gun Policy in the USA thread again, I thought it might be an interesting read to at least some here.

New investments to help end gun and gang violence in Canada - Canada.ca

4025

That is great news and thank you for the synopsis. Here is a good one to show you wife: female attacked at gas station. Violent attack, thrown to the pavement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IrEM2pjBCc

4026

Yeah, I agree. A lot of commercial places are used to provide victims for the predators. Gas stations, check cashing sites, etc., serve the same purpose as a watering hole on the savannah. prey animals come in to drink, cheetahs are lying in the tall grass.

4027

The problem with these short seminars is that they’re short. I’ve never actually attended one, but I have assisted my instructor in delivering them to a very specific audience of home hospice care workers.

Not to take away from our own work, but none of our fellow hospice workers and volunteers were coming out of that proficient in anything. The best that can be done is to plant good ideas about situational awareness, how to react to dogs, threat assessment, the fighting mindset and maybe, if you’re lucky, a few basic techniques.

Don’t get me wrong, that’s all a big step forward for people who might otherwise continue to exist in a fictional bubble where they don’t think the bad man will ever come knocking at their door. There’s no need for regular Americans need to center their lives around all possible threats, but some time spent preparing a more organized response to violence could benefit nearly everyone.

I think grip-stripping is one of those things that should be prioritized in these short sessions, but I rarely see or hear about it in the little exposure I’ve had. There’s actually some pretty decent techniques to make someone give up a grip that can be easily explained and trained enough in a single session to at least implant the idea and movement as a course of action for when things get chippy.

Responding to hair grabs, clothes grabs, body grabs, limb grabs and the idea of not tolerating another person having grips on you is all low-hanging fruit on the tree of martial arts training.

4028

Of course I agree with your post.

The seminar was free (donation if desired) to a bunch of oldsters at my church, I was the youngest at 60. And should not be construed as anything more than your words about ‘starting a mindset’ and a couple of moves.
And that was exactly what has happened in my house. I can not speak to the others and their continuing motivation or lack thereof. But now my wife is showing an interest.

4029

Thought for the day:

“Experience is something you get shortly after you need it.”

1 Like
4030

Good decision making comes from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions.

4031

Well then, I should be an exceptionally good decision-maker by now. :wink:

4032

My last post was I suppose lame enough that it didn’t attract any interest. I hadn’t noticed when I posted that it dates from 2018.

This is an example of the police holding a man down, and there is distinctly a knee on either his neck or the side of his head.

The outcome in this case didn’t seem bad, I don’t know what the reason for the interaction was.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/rcmp-detain-man-at-winnipeg-airport-warning-video-may-be-disturbing-to-viewers/vi-AANgkW9?ocid=msedgntp

4033

I always appreciate what you post. I read it, but, waited to see if anyone was going to comment. I feel like I run my mouth on this thread too much. Keep posting.

4034

Thought for the day:

I rarely go to established chain commercial gyms, preferring small hole -in -the- wall crossfit/ strongman type places or public parks. Yesterday, I remember why I don’t like those places, when I was waiting on a piece of equipment, listening to two males whine about their “programs” not working. One guy said, " I have been using this “arm routine” for two weeks and “it’s not done crap”. Holy Hell.

bolt

1 Like
4035

This speaks to a major problem IMO. Not with you, but with how violence is perceived and judged by the public.

If force is needed, grappling is the lowest level of force possible. Knee pins are integral to effective grappling. So is the choke, especially the threat of choke.

Take away knee pins and chokes and you’ve removed two very effective tools for controlling a violent person without causing them significant harm.

If every time an officer uses a knee pin becomes blasted over the news as if it is George Floyd redux, well, I’m not sure there is any level of force that isn’t subject to Monday morning quarterbacking.

4036

The fact that he was doing an “arm routine” says it all. I’m guessing he was doing his “arm routine” in the squat rack.

4037

So, true. An example:

From personal experience, I know that every use of non-lethal force is criticized by the public. Once on a hostage situation in a Subway sandwich shop, where a man was holding a knife against the throat of his two year old son, with the wife lying on the floor screaming from hysteria, screaming at me and my team, “don’t kill my man”.

Well, things rocked on and eventually he laid the child down in the restaurant booth and when he straightened up, knife still in his hand, I shot him in the chest with a .12 gauge non-lethal round. The distance was around 8 feet, so it knocked him on his ass, fight over. The wife sued the city for excessive force and was paid 75,000.00 to go away.

1 Like
4038

Thought for the day:

flashlight

Make a small flashlight part of your EDC. You will use it far more than your gun or knife. Attached is an article that breaks down 6 models. If you don’t carry one, start.

4039

Thought for the day:

"How did people fight before martial arts were developed?”

human weapon.PNG

It is not often I get to witness a fight between two grown ass men armed with short windshield washing scrubbers. We were helping a local fugitive unit trying to find a guy wanted for murder. According to their local Intel, he was going to be in a large shopping area and they needed extra bodies to cover the exits.

We were set up between a Taco Bell and a Kroger gas station or whatever you call them. I was just scanning the place and letting my subconscious range free to pick up any signs of something not right. I glanced over at the vehicles in line and saw a guy (overweight) walk around the front of his truck and began cleaning his windshield. About 2 minutes later and another guy pulled in behind him, got out and began doing the same thing.

I don’t know what was said, but, I saw the first fat guy dip his scrubber into the solution container and sling the water into the face of the second guy. That guy began yelling and ran back and dipped his scrubber into his water, run over and throw it on the first guy.

I ask my partner, “You see this shit?” “Yeah, he said, what a couple of stupid assholes” ., “They are going to fuck up this op ”.

By now, both warriors were swinging their scrubbers like swords and already ( it appeared from my distance) running out of gas. (Pun intended)

My partner said, “do we need to go over there and stop this shit?”. ‘ I don’t know I said, do we have federal jurisdiction over windshield scrubber fights?” He didn’t answer right away, pondering this problem in the new age of law enforcement. We were saved from the legal quandary because at that time the locals showed up and handled the problem. Thank God.