Defense Mentality

So, as I was riding down the road with a buddy the other day we got on the subject of fighting. Go figure huh? The question posed to me was: Who would win in a fight, Mike Tyson in his prime or Bruce Lee? I did not have an easy answer for that. However, it did bring to light an interesting point and concept that I have touched on in the past. A martial art, or a fighting system? Now, before we get going on this you need to know that I have a special affinity for martial arts. I have been studying martial arts for quite sometime and hold it very dear. But, enough about me.

I am asked on a regular basis: “What should I learn for self defense?” or “I want to learn to fight, what do you recommend?”. That is a loaded question the scale of: “What gun should I buy?” The only way I can answer this question is by asking my own questions: What do you want to achieve and How much time do you want to dedicate to the venture? There are a lot of subsequent questions and unique qualifiers that help guide us on the conversation but, these two will get you going.

Time is a big picture question, not short term. If you want to be a professional fighter in a year, I recommend that you stop the fantasy and check into reality hotel. Unless you are prepared to train 8+ hours a day, you can get that out of your head. Additionally, if you want to learn to “fight” I further recommend that you look to Mixed “Martial Arts” competition fighting. Trading punches is for sport; if you want to learn self defense I recommend you learn combatives. You can learn a great deal of combat skills in a short amount of time.

If you only intend on spending as short amount  a time as possible in learning combative skills,  you would be best off in spending a day or two in a good quality self defense class. The one caveat to these courses is: You have to practice!! There is no way you can gain and retain these skills on the level necessary to recall them in a survival stress situation in a day. This process takes time. Spending just a few minutes a day on the techniques learned in a good course will go a long way.

What I want to hear you say in response to the time questions is: “Until I die or my body won’t let me.”. Regardless of what system or style you wish to pursue, this needs to be a life long journey. I understand that we all have complicated lives. I have had to take breaks from study from time to time, life happens and gets in the way. But, as life allows, I get back into it. This journey of hand to hand combatives is not one that takes a week or year, but is a life long adventure; one with many paths and rabbit trails. Once you set foot upon this trail it captures your attention and passion with fervor. Time matters because martial arts is a long slow process, while fighting systems start punching things day one. The big difference here is; a good martial art will take this long slow process to change and modify your body to prepare you for combat in a way that a fighting system never could.

What you want to achieve is significant because that will ultimately determine the path you take. There are countless martial arts out there, and just as many fighting systems. Your end goal will dictate not only what genre you choose but also the style. To put it in a nutshell: Martial arts will teach you to change and manipulate your body first, then it will teach you to do the same to an opponent. A fighting system will teach you how to manipulate an opponent’s body.

I am not saying one way or the other on either genre. Both have their place and serve their purpose, or neither would exist. I actively train and practice both fighting systems and martial arts. I highly encourage you to do your homework and learn more about both genres before you start down one path. Ancient Adam proverb say: Do not start on a journey unless you are prepared to reach your destination. Meaning this: Do not start something unless you are prepared to see it through. Starting out, bouncing around will do you no good, you will never grow, and you will become frustrated. What ever you choose, embrace it and enjoy it!

What can we learn?

  • There are two genres of combatives: Martial Arts, and what we call Fighting Systems. Martial arts are typically comprised of much more that straight combatives. Fighting systems focus on fighting exclusively.
  • How much time do you have; or should I say, How much time are you willing to invest?
  • What is your end goal with this process? Only you can answer this question, be honest and answer truthfully.
  • Regardless of what you choose you must practice and stick with it!
  • Do not start on a journey unless you are prepared to reach your destination
  • My money is on Bruce Lee…

Stay Sharp,

Adam

 

I have seen countless videos on social media and other venues of guys and gals shooting with extreme speed and accuracy in competition. Moving from one target to another after one shot with incredible fluidity, engaging with one shot to drop a steel target. This is no doubt impressive, and I encourage you to find your balance of speed and accuracy, push yourself and grow!

Before we get going, let me make one thing clear: I am not bashing competition, I compete when my schedule allows it. There are many benefits to structured competition, but that is another article.

I am going to come right out and say it: Competition speed shooting builds a false sense of reality when you shoot once and the target falls, that is just not reality. One of my first times shooting an IDPA match I found myself allowing speed to trump accuracy! While I support the saying: A fast four is better than a slow 5, there needs to be a balance. What I saw myself doing was getting a fast 2 or 3 and moving so fast that my time makes up for my poor shooting, this is not permissible!

The thing that bothers me most about watching these folks shoot 10 rounds in 3 seconds, engaging 10 targets is this: It creates within you that you shoot the target once, and the threat is neutralized, this is just not true, especially when we are talking handguns (unless you hit the “light switch”). According to a study performed over 12 years at King-Drew Medical center in Los Angles, they found that only 24.5% of handgun gunshot wounds to the heart were fatal (learn more here)!

What I am getting at here is don’t allow competition, or watching others compete, influence your tactics. While there are situations in which you may need to engage numerous targets in rapid succession, don’t get in this habit of shooting once and disengaging. You can still engage numerous targets in a short time by planting a few well placed rounds in one target and moving on. It takes you more time to transition from one target to another than it does to squeeze your trigger finger a few more times.

Side note: Consider training for head shots. With the ever-increasing availability of body armor, “center mass”  shots may not get you where you are going. Training for head shots within 7 yards will not be a waste of time and resources, I promise. If you want to train for the one shot and move on kind of engagement, you must train for head shots.

What I’m not saying: Single shots are ineffective. A single, well placed shot does something, what exactly, varies based on the situation. I was talking with an officer friend of mine, and he was telling me about an encounter a friend of his had out west. He shot a suspect 3 times (it was justified for the record), the suspect then began to fight, and hard. The officer was in the fight of and for his life for over 30 seconds, which might as well have been 30 hours. An autopsy of the suspect revealed that the officer’s first shot blew the suspect heart to pieces. He was dead but he did not know it for 30 seconds. Thirty seconds are a long time do serious damage…

Speed and accuracy are critical for effective handgun self-defense, but, they are not everything. We must use sound tactics; which means addressing the threat until it is no longer a threat. Shooting once and disengaging may leave the threat intact, I mean, what if you miss?! This is why follow through is so important. If you decide to use your handgun use it to its maximum potential, don’t hit it and quit it…

What can we learn?

  • Speed kills; Question is, will it be you or the threat? You decide that through your tactics.
  • Don’t shoot once and move on!
  • If you compete do not allow your time to influence your shooting.
    • Hold fast to your commitment to accuracy and shot placement, speed will come naturally.
  • The majority of handgun wounds are not fatal, that goes for you and the threat both.
  • Follow through to ensure that the threat stops being a threat.
  • Everything you do is training, act like it.

Stay Sharp,

Adam

In 1989 Patrick Swayze starred in a film called Roadhouse. It is a rough and tumble movie with even rougher characters. Swayze is hired for his reputation, site unseen. They know this guy is as bad as bad can be. He woops butt, and loves the back leg spinning roundhouse (possibly why the movie carries that kick’s namesake). He brings in his mentor (played by Sam Elliot) when things get rough. A few guys want to prove they are tougher than they hear these two are and are dead set on proving it; then the fight is on! Both of these men had reputations that far surpassed their geographical reach. What does your reputation say about you?

Every now and again, I meet someone who says: “Markesbery? any relation to….”, or “I think I met you at…” or maybe even “Oh my gosh, I’m your biggest fan!”. Okay, I made that last one up. However, I often meet people who have heard of me, know of me, or know some of my family. They have some predetermined view of me, and have made assumptions based on what they have heard, seen, or read even though they have never met me personally.

We have no control over what people think of us, how they see us, or what they say about us when we are not around. What we can control however, is our own actions. This is where we need to spend our efforts, not worrying about what others say about us. I have had some nasty rumors spread about me in the past, but, those who hear them discard them out of hand, or ask me about it. I have spent many years gaining and maintaining a reputation of honesty, integrity, humility, and character. Those that have spent time with me know that if they hear something counter to what they know me to be, know the rumor to be bogus because it is inconsistent with my character.

What in the world does our reputation have to do with self defense? Frankly, nothing directly, but, indirectly is another story. Your reputation does not help you shoot straight under stress, make you stronger, or sharpen you blade. What our reputation does for our defense is spread the word. I have personally witnessed several fights that started as a result of something someone said about someone else, or at least were accused of saying.

If you have a reputation of being above reproach in character, as well as being a capable warrior, then you are a lot less likely to be attacked by those around you. If, on the other hand, you have a reputation for drama, histrionics, and starting fights, guess what? You are going to be in a lot more fights.

I was able to avoid fights for the most part growing up, as I was born bigger than most and maintained that advantage into adulthood. At 6’5″ and 240 lbs, I am larger than most. One day, during my stint in public school I somehow collected for myself a bully, he was 3 years older and 2 grades above me, with about 70 pounds or more (even if it was all fat, it was still mass). He kept pushing me around and down. One day, after I reached my tipping point I told him “If you do that again, I’m going to hit you back”. He and his two friends were standing over me mocking me and betting with their tongues I wouldn’t. They bet wrong… The next time he pushed me down (about 5 minutes later) he started walking away. I stood up, and commenced to run as fast and hard as I could, lowered my right shoulder and put it into his lower back right on the spine with everything I had. He went flying in the air for a few feet and landed on his face. He started to get up and come back at me, and one of my buddies tripped him again. He then got up and left the Gymnasium.

From that day forward, if I was in and around the Gym, he would not come in. Several times I witnessed him looking through the doors, we would make eye contact, and he would walk away. What did I do in those five seconds of action? I established my reputation. Everyone there that day knew that if you pick on me, there will be retaliation. I did not have a problem with a bully for quite some time after that.

What does your reputation say about you? Are you an easy victim, a pushover, liar, drama queen/king, a jerk, rude, needlessly combative, hateful, arrogant, etc? Or, are you humble, gentle, kind, hard, strong, an intercessor, a warrior, capable, honest, man or woman of integrity? Don’t get me wrong, I have my moments; my wonderful wife can tell you that I can be a jerk at times. But, does that define me? I certainly hope not, nor is that the feedback I get from people I interact with!

What does your reputation say about you? If someone was telling me about you, what would they say? Is it flattering or degrading? Would what they say honor or embarrass you? People will not remember you for what you had, but for who you where; what does your reputation say about you?

What can we learn?

  • Your reputation proceeds you.
  • Be conscience of your reputation and do your part to ensure you project the kind of person you want to be
  • People talk. If you are a jerk, people will know about it. If you are kind and capable, people will know about it
  • It takes 1 second to ruin your reputation, and years to repair, if repairable (consider public figures who lie or cheat, they are often ruined and fade into obscurity)
  • Integrity and character is critical for establishing a positive reputation
  • A good reputation won’t keep you from spontaneous attack (robbery/mugging, indiscriminate attack, etc.)
  • What does your reputation say about you?

Stay Sharp,

Adam

 

STOP! GET BACK! NO! These, are words; shocker right? You know what else is shocking? Most of us don’t use them in moments of danger. I have done my fair share of scenario training. More often than not in my debriefing and review, the instructor and I both agree that I could have used my words more.

Here is why I, and we, don’t use our words in high stress situations: In a “survival stress” situation our heart rate goes above 145 beats per minute. Our brain goes into survival mode at that point and we no longer think logically and in organized sequence. We think like the stereotypical caveman: “Gun, move, run, shoot, ahh!” is about as close as we can get to a comprehensive thought.

When we go into this mode, forming a thought is difficult enough. Turning that thought into communicable words is something else entirely. In primal mode our brain can only think in single compartments, one at a time. Talking  takes a compartment and moving and reacting takes a compartment. To be able to operate two compartments at the same time under survival stress conditions two things are possible, and one of them have to happen.

One: you are able to maintain a heart rate of under 145 bpm in a life or death situation. There is an exceptionally small number of people on this planet that can do this. Outside of an anomaly, these people are those that live in combat. They have spent so much time in combat, the stress of it has become diluted and is no longer exceptional.

Two: You train, and train a lot… Your run scenarios designed to increase your heart rate and elevate stress, then, you react appropriately; all while the instructor is yelling at you to use your words. I assure you, the reminder from the instructor will be the only way you remember to speak at first.

Using our words is important for a couple of reasons. First it helps establish that you are the victim to the witnesses. If there are any witnesses you have just told all of them by shouting as loud as you can “NO, STOP, GET BACK” or something to that effect. Secondly it helps you exhale. When striking and fighting, exhaling on force makes you more powerful. When you sync your strikes with your words, you naturally exhale, adding force to your strike.

I know that using words in high stress situations is no easy task, I do. However, as with so many aspects of self defense we can train ourselves to overcome some natural responses. Speaking during a survival stress situation is not a natural action, therefore, we must train it into our response. A little time and a little effort will be worth it. Words are not likely to dissuade someone on hell bent on violence. Your words will help you physically and psychologically, it’s worth the effort.

What can we learn?

  • Words are good and can be helpful
  • It is hard to use words in survival stress situations without training
  • Scenario training is a great mechanism and I highly recommend it.
  • Exhale during a strike to gain power, words naturally help you do this

Stay Sharp

Adam

I hate the English language; I do. I’m sorry, well I’m not really actually. If you study linguistics at all, you will know there are better languages out there. More efficient, less convoluted, and more consistent languages exist. You see, the English language has changed and evolved over hundreds of years, adapting and stealing from other languages. Over time this has made modern English excessively complicated.

Although I have a certain disdain for the English language, it is what I grew up with and am most familiar with. So, when life gives you lemons… I have a particular passion for words. I speak professionally to large and small crowds alike, I have been through public speaking training and education, and I have a Type A personality, with Anal Retentive tenancies (just without the fussy part). When I am communicating I sometimes get ahead of myself and get mixed up (brain moves faster than mouth), other times I am searching my vocabulary for just the right word; and very rarely I actually get it right!

I am very particular about my words. I will search and search for the perfect word, if I cannot find the right word it frustrates me. I have learned through speaking and teaching the significance and benefit of being particular. If I am trying to communicate a particular process to you I need to do so as effectively and efficiently as possible. If you have been to any of our courses, you know I will often exchange terms. For example, Situational Awareness is a common industry term. I prefer to use, Environmental Engagement. Same concept, but I think is communicates what you should be doing a little better. Those two words tighten up the concept and take it up a notch. To learn more about this term, read our article on situational awareness.

When it comes to combat, and communicating in the real world communication goes from important to critical; In a combat situation your life may depend on it. Now, what and why it is important changes a little. For me, speaking and communicating in a class is important so you can learn most effectively. In life, it is important to be clear and concise in order to communicate properly.  For example, if a man is “pursuing” a woman in an effort to get a date with her and she does not wish to do so, the woman needs to be clear and concise. Saying things like: “not right now”, “your not my type”, “maybe later” does not end the pursuit, it only causes the man to “up his game” until he gets the girl.

By not being clear and concise the object is never met! A simple NO! gets the job done.Or if you wish to elaborate: “I do not now or ever has any desire to see or speak to you again, leave me alone.” Now that is a clear message! If the pursuit does not end, then we may be looking at a stalker, and that is another topic all together.

We have an incalculable quantity of words in the English language. Often times we are faced with several words  that may appear to fill our current need. Typically one word actually works better than most or all of the others but, we settle for “close enough is good enough”. This mindset will spread to other facets of our thought process is we are not careful. We do nothing more than speak, other than blink and breath. If we allow ourselves to become complacent with something we do so much, how much more are we willing to let life safety issues slip? Your words matter, be sure your terms are correct, and your standards high!

What can we learn?

  • Our words matter, use the correct ones
  • Some terms, especially in the safety and security industry are mediocre. Do not settle for mediocrity.
  • Keep your standards high, starting with your vocabulary. If you keep high standards in this, you are more likely to maintain high standards in other areas.

 

Stay Sharp,

Adam

When I was a kid I would scare my Mom, on a regular basis… I would hide in the hamper, under the dirty clothes, in a closet, in the dark, whatever it took. I would go all out, I mean I would plan it out in advance! I would find out what she is doing, and predict where she would go. So, if she was drying and folding linens, I would go hide in the linen closet and wait. Sometimes I would wait for 10 minutes,  sometimes more, sometimes I was wrong and she would never come. It was always worth it… Looking back I feel bad, as I may have very well taken a few years off of her life.

Regardless of how I scared my dear Mother, I would always garner the same response: A scream, a jolt, and a chastisement, often followed by a punishment (and yet I kept doing it but, that’s another story). She would always provide the same response, a natural response.

This; this is what we are after! A natural human response! If we are defending ourselves when our fear, adrenaline, and every other human function is going crazy, we will default to our natural response. We cannot fight these reactions, certainly in the moment. Now, let me lay out a disclaimer here: We can also default to our training; once we have trained and prepared ourselves to encounter certain events we may default to our training. Our article on hyper vigilance talks about our mind being a Roledex, check it out to learn how it works.

What if we understood and could plan on our natural human reactions? Imagine knowing what will happen to your body if “X” happens, training for it, and mastering it! This would place you in the top few percentile of people. This is where our training philosophy comes in to its own. We train, and teach you what happens to your body under extreme stress, then we teach you how to harness it, then it is up to you to master it. I would argue that mastering our natural instincts, our reaction to them, and our response would make you super-human, not the TV superhuman by the way, just a normal person performing acts that most everyone else cannot.

Why do we do this? Well, you are going to do it anyway, right? Why not perfect and control our response!? For example; bi-pedal animals are designed to get as big as possible and square up to a threat (bears, humans, primates, etc. all do it) So, our fighting stance, to include shooting, should utilize this platform. If you become the best at what we do naturally, you will be incredibly hard to beat.

Bruce Siddle in his fantastic book: Sharpening the Warriors Edge, tell us how the Isosceles stance came to be. In 1927, Lt. Fairborn with the Bangcock Police department observed the officers in gun battles. They all adopted that stance naturally, it was not taught to them. Fast forward to 1989, a research group took 39 police officers, the majority whom shot only the “Weaver” stance”, a very accurate stance used by competitors for over 50 years. They put them in real world scenarios with a gun. All of them hated the isosceles, and worshiped the weaver. In that moment, 96.7% went straight to isosceles. What is the take away? Not even training can  overcome natural reaction every time. (I highly recommend this book, it is excellent!

However, there are times in which we train to overcome natural reaction. Running away, freezing in place, panicking, etc. are all bad natural reactions. We train those out, and replace them with productive activities.

What can we learn?

  • Scaring our mom is not cool…
  • Understanding natural human response is critical for two reasons: Measuring our response, and knowing theirs
  • Training is critical
  • At Strategic Defense Group, we train to master and perfect natural human reactions. We do not fight them, we work with them so all systems are working together, in synchronization.
  • Train to and master your natural human reactions, and you will become better than most…
  • We train to what is natural for that very reason, it is natural. It is easier to understand and master, because we are already programmed to do it, we just tweak it and master it.

Stay Sharp,
Adam

One round started with Christina Grimmie. In the weeks that followed her murder in Orlando we saw several sensationalized murders. Thanks to the news media, and America’s sometimes disturbing infatuation with murder, murders are often sensationalized. If anyone famous is killed, commits suicide, some form of mass murder, and or critical incident occur, the media pours all resources and attention into the incident for days and weeks.

The compound danger of this sensationalization is when there is one publicized mass murder the likely hood of a secondary event goes through the roof! I told my wife that we can expect to see another incident very soon, just hours before the Pulse Orlando Shooting. Mass murder, assassinations, stalkers upping the ante, and so on all cause a ripple effect. It emboldens those planning a similar attack. It shows them that such attacks can be successful, that there are others out there doing the same thing, and that they will be “insta-famous”.

When people are looking at or planning an attack, they may be deterred by security, police, or threat of punishment. However, when one person carries out a successful attack it proves to the person that, up to this point has been hesitant to carry out any fantasies, it can be done after all. So, in an effort to ride the media frenzy started by the other person the next murder is ready to move forward.

In mass murder cases, these psychopaths are striving to break the previous body count record. They will be famous and everyone will know their name if they kill the most. Their names will go down in history as carrying out this act. Without digressing into another topic about the psychology of a mass murderer, suffice it to say, they need to be seen and heard, even if it is their last act on earth.

The same concept is applied with group mentality. A group is far more dangerous than an individual; because the individual in the group will do more that he/she would ever do on their own. All it takes is one person to start the train moving, then we have an explosion of incidents. Just a week after Christina Grimmie’s murder, we saw another Voice competitor killed.

The American people by in large have an extremely short attention span and can only focus on one thing at a time. So, when the media decides to dump all of its resources into sensationalizing a particular event, everybody will hear about it, in turn, the murder becomes famous and a house hold name. If I was willing to spread the names of those murders (which I will not do unless necessary) you would likely have heard all of their names before.

When one crazed man with a gun shoots up a mall the chance of other events, similar in nature increases. So, what does this mean for you and protection of yourself? A few things. You need to keep your eyes and ears open, look for pre-attack indicators, take threats seriously, and be prepared to run, hide, or fight. You have to have a plan for every place you go. When you go to a restaurant, know all of the exits, look for cover and concealment. When you go to the “game” be very aware of what is going on in common areas, report abandon bags and suspicious people. Above all, trust your gut. We are designed with this amazing thing called intuition, learn to trust it and embrace it.

What can we learn?

  • The media causes a lot of problems. They create problems that don’t even exist.
  • Mass murderers want to be famous, and stalkers want to “be with” their victims.
  • There is compounding danger in sensationalizing murders.
  • It only takes one killer to be successful to ignite an explosion of incidents.
  • Be engaged in your environment and pay attention.
  • Trust your gut, if something does not feel right or look right, trust yourself.

Stay Sharp,

Adam

Is there any way to predict the imminent danger of an attack? Absolutely! Can this be done with 100% accuracy? Nope. However, we can gather data, add it together, and compute a likelihood and probability. We do this by looking at past events, their outcome, and comparing that with our current circumstances.

Each and every incident is unique, but more than that, they are ever evolving and changing as they unfold. We are going to look at some “pre-attack indicators”. So called for their purpose and function. We look at pre-attack indicators prior to an attack to help us calculate its outcome.

Here is an incomplete, but sizable list of pre-attack indicators:

  • Darting glances (looking escape or friends)
  • Target Glance (looking at weapons, or targets)
  • Face wipe
  • Grooming (adjusting hair, picking at nose ears, etc)
  • Removing clothes (seriously, taking off the shirt is common)
  • Cracking Knuckles (preparing the fists)
  • Pacing back and forth (unsettled and nervous)
  • Pointing fingers (admitting target)
  • Shouting and screaming
  • Threats (obvious)

The above list is not exhaustive, but it is a good start. When you find yourself in a sketchy situation, look for some or all of the above cues. They may or may not be present in any and all combinations. A calm, cool, and experienced head, is not likely to show signs of a fight, so this is not a guarantee, just a likelihood.

Once we have looked for pre-attack indicators we need to make an assessment. This is where we move from information to intelligence. Let us do a quick hypothetical: You and some guy are having words, never mind the reason. He is becoming hostile and you are getting nervous about the whole thing. You observe him pacing, screaming, pointing fingers, and looking around. You have someone call 911, but now what? What can you do while waiting for the cops?

First, create a reactionary gap. This allows us more room and time to react. Now that we have that, we begin to plan. What are we going to do if he does “this”? That is why we have so much time going through mental simulations, right? We are going through and over our capabilities. Legally, we cannot take preemptive action. Just because you observe a few pre-attack indicators does not mean you can shoot, stab, slash, or through punch the guy.

What we can do it assess the subject. We can identify weak points, vulnerabilities, ability and skill,  and tools.  Once the fight is on, if it ever comes, we can and will be much more prepared than the bad guy, and that is everything in a fight.

Pre-attack indicators are a fantastic tool and should be used regularly. One neat thing about this is you can do it anywhere, anytime. You can master this art in a relatively short time. Once you have, you will become fluid in reading people. You will be able to tell just by looking at someone if something is not right.

Take the time, and make the effort to learn and practice pre-attack indicators. They may just save your life. You will be less likely to be caught off guard and more likely to win, prevent, avoid, or run away from a fight.

What can we learn?

  • Pre-attack indicators are good, but not a guarantee.
  • We cannot attack based on indicators, we can, however, plan our attack.
  • Once we have seen indicators, we have to assess the threat and ourselves.
  • Get police in route anytime we can in such a situation.
  • Use reactionary gap, and mental simulations to help you win the fight if it comes to that.

Stay Sharp,

Adam

We talk about practice an awful lot; well, training anyway. This article is a follow up to an article we did a little while back titled Practice makes perfect… Or does it? In that article we discussed practicing, training, and the difference. This week, we are talking about practice, and what it does to us, or for us.

As the title of this article states, practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent. We can practice all day long, but if we are not improving, we are only making our inability permanent. Yeah, I said it. If you stink, and never improve, you are going to be really good at being lousy.

Well then, how do I improve? Great question! With time, and proper instruction. A good teacher combined with dedicated time to practice will help you improve. Easily formulated, complexly accomplished; I know. But, as my Mamma always said, “nothing worth doing is easy”; or if you prefer “anything worth doing, is worth doing right”.

So, back to this permanent thing. Have you ever heard of muscle memory? If you have been around us here at Strategic Defense Group for very long at all, you know we are sticklers, and quite picky about semantics. Muscle memory is a common term and generally accepted. However, there is no such thing. Muscles cannot create memory. Muscle memory is simply motor learning through procedural memory. Basically, we do something so much, we do not have to think about doing it any more. For example, if you type on a keyboard a lot, or play an instrument a great deal, you fingers just go to where they need to go to do what you want; you don’t have to tell yourself, hey left index finger: place yourself on the third fret on the A string (for guitar).

Muscle memory is actually procedural memory? Yes. So is practicing to permanency bad then? NO! It is a great blessing! However, there is an underlying danger… The horrific “training scars” *gasp*! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, training scars are very real, and very dangerous. These nightmarish things can come from no training, or worse yet, bad training and instruction. A training scar is:A procedure or process learned and practiced into a procedural memory that is wrong and or dangerous. We will pick up training scars in another article.

You were saying that there is a good side to training to permanency?.. Oh yes! There are many, too many to list in any singular entry or book even, advantages to procedural memory. Everything that is not bad, is good. Learning where all the functions on your firearm are and keeping your knife or keys in the same exact spot all the time are good examples of major positives.

I am a monumental fan of consistency. It makes us better at everything we do. Through being consistent, we develop procedural memory, and that is our friend. Thanks to Hyper-vigilance and the need to move we know that our brain does not function like normal in combat, we have to have a plan already. That is precisely why practice making permanent can be a good thing.

Take your time, and do it right. If you shave corners in training and practice, you will surely do it in combat; and cutting corners in combat will get you killed… If you do not make a tight fist when you train punching the air you will make a weak fist in combat. Then on your very first punch, you will break your hand, and be down in the fight. Do not give your opponent that gift. Take a little extra time, make a little extra effort, and find a good teacher; then you will be the best.

What can we learn?

  • Practice makes permanent, not perfect
  • Permanent is not a bad thing, unless it is, then, you better fix it and now!
  • Muscle memory is not real, it is a lazy way of saying Motor learning through procedural memory
  • Training scars are real, and real scary. Once procedural memory is established, it takes some time and effort to correct
  • Procedural memory is a real blessing, take full advantage of it!

Stay Sharp,

Adam

I was recently ask after a class by a good friend and student; “What do you do to get better at shooting”. I did not have an immediate answer for him. After a minute’s thought the fog lifted and I was able to tell him what I do. This article is a direct result of that conversation.

There are about as many ways to train as there are colors in the spectrum. That goes for anything; physical fitness, rock climbing, whatever. In the context of self defense, there is an equally long list: Handgun, Rifle, Shotgun, Knife, Hand to hand (which is massive in and of itself), mentally training, so on and so on. That said, the way I do things is a way, not the way. If you like it and it works for you, take it and run with it. I have developed this methodology over time and still allow room for modification.

This approach and process can be applied to any skillet. We will use handguns here, as that was the original context.

I take the approach of getting better like I would if I was to eat a whale, one bit at a time. When I go to the range, I go to get better at head shots at 10 yards from the holster, or get better at unsupported support hand shooting and reloading, or whatever I am improving.

I do not go to the range to “get better”. If you go to the range just to get better, you never will… What I do, and what I recommend students try is profound, are you ready!? Here it is: “Focus on one thing at a time!” See, not so hard right? But it’s so obvious, there must be more to it, well, there kinda is.

Let’s say you want to get better at shooting handguns, overall. Your groups are spread out and sometimes you miss all together. How does fixing one thing at a time help? Well, I’m thrilled you asked. Everything! Remember, what I said about the whale? One bite at a time. You will not become an expert shooter in one range session, not gonna happen. That takes time and practice. What you can do however, is get a little better each time!

When you go to the range to get better, start big and get small. Meaning, work on your big actions (stance), and move small (trigger control). So, you are at the range, and shooting all over the place. First things first: be consistent! If you are nothing else be consistent, you cannot improve until you are doing the same thing over and over.

Once you are doing the same things constantly, you can begin to improve what you are doing! Start with your stance. Make sure you have a good, solid, comfortable, and repeatable stance. Once that is solid, go smaller, how about your grip? Is that a great grip, or is it meh? Get it great and move smaller. Trigger control and sight alignment are the most critical functions for accuracy, they are also the smallest.

Now, about 90% of what makes you a better shooter can be done by dry firing. Please make sure you are being incredibly safe while dry firing! Follow all safety rules and remove any ammunition from the area!

When I go to the range, I will go with at least 100 rounds. I will spend all 100, more or less if that is what it takes, to work on one particular skill. If I need to work on my trigger control, then each shot is slow and analyzed to death. If I want to practice speed reloads from running dry, I will only put a round or two in the magazine so I can maximize my reloads, while still working on a shooting skill.

Do not try to do too much at once. That will frustrate you and you will not improve, because you will never know what works and what does not. Be particular, and take your time. Change one thing at a time, otherwise you will end up “chasing the bulls eye” and you will only become frustrated. When you train, train with a purpose, do not go shoot just to waste ammo and money. Nor should you swing a knife around and call it training, use these principles in all areas of training and watch yourself grow. Training implies improvement, and we should always be improving.

What can we learn?

  • Be consistent! You will never improve without constancy.
  • Once you are consistent, you can move your group
  • Focus on improving one thing at a time. Do not change too many things at once, if you do you will never know what works and what does not.
  • Start big and go small. Start with stance, move down to trigger, one step at a time.
  • Dry fire training will make you better when done correctly and safely
  • Be patient

I hope this helps, Nighthawk.

 

Stay Sharp,

Adam