Defense Mentality

The side of mass murder that no one is talking about

Posted by adam on June 16, 2016
Posted in: Defense Mentality, Mass Murder, Self Defense, Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

First of all, let us get our terms correct. When someone uses a gun to kill en mass, they are not active shooters; this is for two reasons. First, anyone that is engaged in shooting a firearm in a safe and legal manor is an “active shooter”, that is about 99.999% of gun owners and shooters. Secondly, quit desensitizing these sick acts! Call it what it is! MURDER, HOMICIDE and so on; by creating light weight euphemisms, we take away what the victims went through, while simultaneously removing the severity of the heinous crime. These sick, hate filled people who go in to an area, to take children from parents and parents from children are murders not shooters.

Now that we have that settled, we can move on to the intended topic.

Every time we have a mass murder emotions run high, which is understandable; especially regarding those that were directly affected by the event. This is a time for healing and grieving; not political conversations. To take such a tragedy and politicize it is both disgusting and revolting. A serious, well informed, and intelligent conversation cannot and should not take place until the investigation regarding the incident is complete, understood, and the event is not a fresh wound.

The conversation, typically in the hours that follow, after such an atrocity is committed using a firearm, turns to “gun control”. For some reason, many elected officials and uninformed citizens say that banning guns would make these kinds of shootings go away (see The Paris Shooting that took place in 2015; the guns used are highly illegal and monitored in France).

This writing is not about gun control, I could write quite a book on that topic, I will say two things on the matter: 1) Let’s make drugs illegal that would solve the drug problem, cause, you know, that has worked… ha! False! 2) Guns are tools, inanimate objects, not capable of making decisions. To ban guns addresses a symptom, not the cause. Would you continue to go to a doctor who kept treating a seeping, infected wound by just putting a bandage on it? I certainly hope not! A good doctor looks for the cause and treats to cure. The seeping wound is simply a symptom of a larger, much more serious problem.

In actuality, this is what no one seems to be talking about. The root cause. Elected officials know that the best time to get stuff done, is when people are emotional. This is when they can push their agenda. Instead of talking about the problems that lead to such a tragedy, they ( being media and politicians) talk about what they want, not what needs to be said.

Abuse can be found in most every single mass murderer, and serial killer. Physical, verbal, sexual; victim or perpetrator, in any combination, typically multiple. Why are we not addressing this!? This is one of a very few common denominators among killers. The recent Pulse Orlando murderer ( I refuse to lend to mass murderers’ fame by using their names) physically abused his first wife.

Root causes are the true concern regarding such incidents. There are too many to discuss with any depth in this venue and truly warrants a book on the matter. Root causes are however, the true topic that needs to be addressed and fixed. When the infection is stopped, the wound can heal, but not until then. We have a serious heart problem in this country. We have strayed from God for so long, man has been allowed to go his own way, which leaves us where we are today; in a dark, dismal place that will only worsen. We desperately need to look at the heart and start our work there. Once a murder has happened it is too late, for every one. We can prevent violent crime, not only that, we can predict it.

They (again, media & politicians) say these kinds of things are “unpredictable”. That is bogus. No one just all of the sudden decides to go on a killing spree. It takes time and a series of events. There are many people who make a living by predicting violent crime, and successfully I might add. (That is a service we offer at Strategic Defense Group by the way.) After every mass murder, some neighbor, or friend of the killer gets on camera and says “he was a really nice guy, he was quiet and kept to himself, never bothered anyone” and so on. HELLO! Those are signs of a sociopath with antisocial personality, a major component to an individual predisposed to mass murder!

If you think “banning” a tool will solve a problem you are terribly mistaken. It is a half-hearted attempt to cure an infection with a bandage. Mass murder can be, and is often done with any array of tools. just look at the data below taken from the FBI. As you will see, getting rid of a particular style of rifles will not stop murders…

FBI Uniform Crime Report Table 8

In 2011 (the most recent year provided by the FBI for this data) the following tools were used to commit murder:

  • Rifles: 323
  • Shotguns ( the type gun that Vice President Biden recommend you buy ): 356
  • Edged weapons: 1694
  • Blunt Weapons: 496
  • Personal Weapons ( hands, feet, etc.): 728

Why do we as a nation, as states, and as citizens always seem to look to make major changes by addressing a symptom? If you want to see a major change in culture, go for the roots! Think of it this way: Your flower garden is plagued with weeds. You constantly are cutting them but they seem to come back, in even greater numbers! Then, one day you decide to dedicate some real time to treat the problem. You get on your hands an knees, grab the base of the weed, and pull hard and slow to ensure you get the  whole root. After a little time, your garden is lovely and thriving! You have no more weeds, and with a little maintenance, your garden in continually beautiful!

When we as a culture are truly ready to end mass murders, we will begin to address the root cause and not the symptom. Let me know when you are ready to end this tragedies, we are ready and waiting…

What can we learn:

  • Not active shooter, Mass Murderer! Do not negate the victims, and certainly do not desensitize the crime!
  • We should never make decisions based on emotions. Emotions are temporary, decisions typically are not.
  • Treating a symptom will only cause us to die from infection. We cannot heal by treating symptoms.
  • Root causes. This is how we can effect an entire generation, and generations beyond.
  • Violent crimes can be and typically are predictable. For a crime such as mass murder to be truly unpredictable, is a phenomenon.

 

Stay Sharp,

Adam

 

Hyper-vigilance and the need to move

Posted by adam on June 9, 2016
Posted in: Defense Mentality, Self Defense, Training, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

FREEZE! Don’t move! Stop right there! Hypervigilate! Okay, I made that last one up, but the other three I’m sure are familiar to you. We have all seen that cop movie, you know the one; where the good guy is breaking the rules in order to enact “justice”. When he finally catches up to the villain, he uses one of those three aforementioned cliches; the bad guy stops and turns slowly only to make a move and wind up losing the fight.

This style of drama serves to captivate us, what it does not do however, is reflect reality. Both the good and bad guys are cool as cucumbers in the midst of a deadly encounter, hardly factual. Let’s talk about reality and facts for a moment then shall we?

Fact: It is not rare for a solider in combat or an officer in the streets to lose control of bodily functions during a deadly encounter. This is no reflection on them, it is a bodily function that is not controllable. As our sympathetic nervous system goes through the roof, our parasympathetic nervous system pitches in to help, and stops doing the non-vital functions like, holding your bladder and sphincter muscles.

Fact: When our heart rate goes above 140 BPM, we exit our frontal lobe processing, and enter Parietal lobe processing. Our speech does not come as easy, our complex motor skills deteriorate, our sense of touch goes us, and smell goes down. There are all manor of things that our body does that drastically affects and effects our body and thought process.

Both of the facts above, along with a host of other areas, contribute to our response in moments of extreme danger. One possible response is “hyper-vigilance”. In layman’s terms, freeze, or stop moving. In the south we have a saying for such an action: Deer in the headlights. For anyone who has driven country roads at peak active times for white tail deer has seen the look and knows what I am talking about. You come around a corner only to see a deer in the middle of the road, just staring at you, not moving.

I was a conversation with a fellow instructor and trainer friend of mine about hyper-vigilance. He described it like this: “Think of your brain as a Rolodex, each experience is logged away on a card. When you encounter something familiar, you go to that card and respond using the data found. Everyday functions are easy to find, rare functions may take a minute to get to. But, new experiences are not found, you just keep scrolling through trying to find an appropriate response, but keep coming up empty.” Thanks Fred. That is what is happening when we freeze.

The danger of freezing is obvious. If we are in a deadly force situation, we may get killed or seriously injured. If we are on stage, we look foolish and become embarrassed. So, we need to move, to act, to do something! I have heard said: “Do something, even if it’s wrong!” Now, I caution against this in the context of self defense as the wrong thing may end with criminal charges. However, tactically speaking we have plenty of options, even “wrong” ones.

Law Enforcement has a phrase we will borrow here: “Get off line” This means basically be somewhere other than where you were when the bad guy made his move. “Get off of X” is also popular.

Not being where you just were is important; as the threat knows where you were, but not where you are going. If you take a big step to the left or right, you now have a slight advantage, as the threat is still going where you expect, but you are not where he thinks you are. This serves two purposes: 1) Hopefully you are now so far “off line (off of his line of movement)” that what ever tool is being used will not make contact with you immediately and buy you time. 2) The assailant is now exposed in a way he is not prepared for. At his side you have a host of options available to you.

The natural reaction to freeze is nothing to be ashamed of, but is something you should train against. By training with scenarios, creating stress, and making things as real as is reasonable and safe, you begin to fill your Rolodex. A full Rolodex will help keep you from searching for a response, you will simply react to a threat. I close with the immortal words of the greatest tactician in history:

“Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected” – Sun Tzu

What can we learn?

Hollywood misses the mark here. Surprise surprise.

MOVE! Do something, just get off the “X”

Train and practice. Fill up your Rolodex so you can respond without thinking, you won’t be able to think.

You can train to overcome fear and natural response, but you have to train!

Read Sun Tzu. It is a bit dry if you are not into such literature, but is is n absolute masterpiece of tactical literature. Still used today around the world as a training aid in the most elite military, law enforcement, and private groups in the world.

 

Stay Sharp,

Adam

Practice makes perfect… Or does it?

Posted by adam on June 2, 2016
Posted in: Defense Mentality, Self Defense, Training, Uncategorized. 1 comment

Everybody learns something; typically everyday. Hence that old saying “learn something new everyday!” I certainly try to learn something new everyday; most days I am successful. But, what about something deeper than trivia? What about a skill set?

I bought my first guitar for 30$ out of some guys front yard when I was about 12. I mowed my neighbors yard during the summer and just so happened to have 30$ saved up. It was a Gibson Epiphone electric guitar, and it even came with a little amp. I own both to this day. I spent a great deal of time learning chords, finger placement, strum and picking patterns, how to read music, and so on. It has taken me years to get to get to where I am today; although I am sad to say that I am no Peter Phrampton, or B.B. King.

All of those years of practicing and I am still not perfect! I will learn a new song and play it for hours, slowly at first and naturally I will pick up speed until I play it like it should be done. But practicing in and of it self is not what improves my ability. It is the proper application of knowledge that improves my skill.

When I practice drawing my handgun, or hand to hand combat techniques I do not just go through the motions. As I perform each step of each technique I am criticizing and analyzing my actions to ensure that it is not just proper, but effective in what I am wishing to accomplish.

We can go through the motions until we are blue in the face, but without proper training methods in place, we are only getting better at a specific controlled action. In order to improve our skill set we have to eventually move beyond “practicing” and upgrade to “training”.

When we acquire a new skill and or technique, we need to practice and practice as a way to improve our techniques. Once we have established a firm hold on our new skill we can begin to incorporate it into our training.

Think of it like an instrument. We learn scales first, then music. We never stop practicing our scales though do we? Why? I mean if they are for beginners why do we keep practicing them? Scales are a fundamental part of music; the way it is written, played, and understood. Scales determine the key of the music, but, scales do not make music what it is. The critical aspects of scales are applied, but the best music is not made of a scale by itself.

How to draw is a note on the scale, how to align your sights is a note; how to strike is a note, and how to take a hit is yet another. You cannot win a fight by knowing how to hit. You may be the best striker west of the Mississippi, but with no other skills you are likely to have your proverbial clock cleaned.

Practicing is an absolutely critical component to any effective self defense strategy. What it is not however is the end all. We practice our techniques and skills, and put them all together in training to ensure we can use them under stress.

All of our physical skills in the context of self defense are perishable. Meaning “use ’em or lose ’em”; we don’t practice, we lose what we have. So we must practice in order to stay sharp. Do not for a second however, ever think that you have mastered a skill beyond the need for practice. The best shooters and martial artists in the world spend a great deal of time practicing and training. If you think you have practiced to the point of perfection, I highly recommend you reconsider and reassess your abilities. For when you think you have perfected it, you tell yourself there is no need to practice it anymore. This translates into a lost skill within a short period. No one is perfect, especially when you throw that pesky variable we call the human body.

What can we learn?

Practice is critical; but without training it loses its potency.

No one is perfect, not me, not you, not the best in the world. The second you think you have perfected a skill, you are subject to failure based on that very statement.

We can be good, but never perfect. Do not set your self up for failure thinking that you can become perfect. You will get discouraged, or arrogant. Both are detrimental.

One of the first lessons I can recall my father teaching as a boy is: “Son, there is always someone out there better than you”. Remember that. Those words will prepare you for the fight of your life

 

Stay Sharp,

Adam

 

Practice or Perish

Posted by adam on May 26, 2016
Posted in: Carrying a deadly weapon, Defense Mentality, No-Gun Defense, Self Defense, Training, Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

A few years back I had the opportunity to train with the Grand-master of Shao-Lin Do, Sin The. A true master in every sense of the word. The training was for a very advanced kata, at the time I was a lowly green belt. I knew when we started I was in over my head, but I stuck with it as it was a fantastic opportunity to train with one of the foremost martial arts masters in the United States. Several others from my Dojo went as well, that allowed us to practice and train after the seminar.

Sadly, my life got to the point to which I was no longer able to attend classes on a regular basis, and had to stop training with the normal classes. This meant I could no longer practice the advanced form. I am sad to say that I have completely forgot most every part of the form.

The point of this story is this: We can train, spend time and money learning new things; however, if we do not keep up with the information and techniques, they will go away. We call these a “perishable skill”.

We go to a handgun or knife course then never practice the skills and techniques we spent days and hundreds of dollars on; I assure you, they will be gone within weeks. In order to retain your new found knowledge you must practice, practice, practice.

If you ever attend one of my classes, you will learn very quickly the significance I place on continuing education. There is no way you can attend an 8 hour or even 16 hour course pertaining to life saving practices and tactics, and retain them for life.

The reality of training like this is: These courses are designed to give you a great deal of information, and maybe techniques, that you can take back and perfect over the next several years into a lifetime. Different researches will tell you different numbers regarding memory retention relating to skills. Suffice it to say, it takes a good deal of time, and hundreds(or more) repetitions to have something so ingrained into your psyche that you make the motions without thinking.

This is typically referred to as “muscle memory”. That is a fine term for this but, if I was being picky; I would prefer the term “train to reaction”. Meaning, if you encounter something you have trained for, you do not think about it, you simply react. For example: In my years studying martial arts, there are specific techniques I have practiced, thousands, and thousands of times. Should I need those techniques, I will not think about it, I will simply act before I can cognitively process what is going on.

What happens if we go spend time and money on a course and never continue to train with the new knowledge? We lose it, I assure you. I understand that it may be difficult to train in some disciplines on your own. My wife and I train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu together when we can. BJJ is not something you can do effectively by yourself.

Practice is critical to perishable skill survival. Most of the skills we use in self defense are perishable, requiring practice. This requires time beyond the course. Perishing is two fold here; not only may the skills perish, but we may as well. If we do not continually train on our perishable skills, we too may perish when we need those skills most. Train like your life depends on it, it just may…

What can we learn?

Train, train, train!

Focus on one discipline at a time and get it down before moving on. Do not pick up 3 martial arts, 2 new weapons platforms and a book club all at once. Only practice what you can digest.

Have you analyzed your self and your skills recently? What have you done to sharpen your edge? Every combat skill is perishable. If you are not improving, you are deteriorating.

Train to reaction. When our life depends on our skills, we cannot think cognitively. We must rely on processes we do not think about.

Stay Sharp,

Adam

Need to know: Reactionary Gap

Posted by adam on March 16, 2016
Posted in: Carrying a deadly weapon, Defense Mentality, Intermediate Weapons, Need to Know, Self Defense, Training, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a Comment

BACK UP! GET BACK! Those are a couple of examples of what you may hear or say to create space between you and a threat, real or perceived. Creating space between you and a subject is officer safety 101, but it not limited to public law enforcement. It applies to you and your self defense strategy just as well. Creating distance has numerous benefits, some of which we discuss below.

In the “industry” we call the gap we create using different tactics the “Reactionary Gap”. One of the primary reasons for this aptly named concept is to allow us time to react. Common sense, and a little bit of physics, tells us: the greater the distance of an object traveling towards us the greater the time it will take to reach us. Traveling is a prime example. If you visit your friend down the road, it take a couple minutes, to visit your relatives 300 miles away, it will take several hours.

This concept is what started the 21 foot concept in the 80’s. (Learn more about the 21′ “rule” HERE). Lt. Tueller, in a classroom setting determined that on average his students could draw and fire in the time it took another student to run 21 feet. This highlights the importance of creating space and distance.

But! And it is a big but; can you reasonably keep 21′ or more space between you and everyone you encounter. Although we may wish that was the case sometimes, no, that is just not reasonable. What is reasonable in most cases, however,  is “our bubble”. Take your hands and stick them straight out to the side, like you would if you we pretending to be an airplane. The circumference you make when you turn 360 degrees is your bubble. This is you space. No one has any business being inside of that space uninvited.

What this means is: a reasonable reactionary gap is your bubble. The downside here is you do not have much time, and most certainly not time to get to a traditional tool. So, you must learn to buy  time with what you have. That leaves something already in your hand, or just your hands. Keys, a purse, a cell phone, etc. can all be employed as an intermediate weapon if need be.

Another benefit of the reactionary gap is the cost. It’s free! The self defense world can get expensive; with all the gadgetry, tools, training, etc. So, when we stumble across that beautiful gem that we can learn and employ for next to nothing, there is no reason what soever we should not become proficient on the topic.

This brings us to our final concept: Using objects. Using objects to buy us time, even when distance is not available, gives us a reactionary gap. You may be just across a low fence from a threat, but that fence must be overcome before the threat is valid.  In the case of a dog, that fence may give you such a reactionary gap, there is no threat.

The reactionary gap may sound like a technical new phrase, but the concept is something we employ everyday. While driving we create distance between us and the car ahead of us to allow time to brake. We put things between us and a threat: a fence, a car, a table, etc. Don’t fret the terminology, you already know and understand the reactionary gap as a concept; now you just need apply it to your self-defense strategy.

 

What can we learn?

It’s free, master it

Creating distance of space and/or time allows us time to react to a threat

Use objects to create time. Knock a chair over, trash can, get behind a car.

If the threat cannot physically reach you, they must have a tool that can close the gap. If they do not have such a tool, you have effectively neutralized the threat (to a point).

A substantive reactionary gap is not always possible. Develop techniques and skills to forcibly create distance.

 

Stay Sharp,

Adam

Need to know: Violence of Action

Posted by adam on March 9, 2016
Posted in: Defense Mentality, Hand to Hand, Intermediate Weapons, Need to Know, No-Gun Defense, Self Defense, Training, Uncategorized. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

Grammatically speaking, Violence of Action is a nightmare, not to mention confusing. To further complicate matters, it is difficult to define in finite terms. Violence of Action (VoA) is a concept and ideology. A well rounded self defense strategy will include VoA, and employ it properly.

Traditionally a military term, VoA is common within that community; however, it has struggled making the leap to civilian life and application. VoA can be defined as: the unrestricted use of surprise, speed, strength, and aggression to achieve dominance against your adversary. While the military implications are far different than that of civilian individual self defense, the concept remains the same.

Where the military may employ coordinated air strikes combine with artillery, infantry, and whatever else they may have handy. For you and I, we have much less to work with. Our hands, firearms, intermediate weapons, and the like are all we have. So, how can we employ VoA, what does it look like?

Using the above definition; let us look at a scenario. You are walking down the street at night and get “jumped”. They guy has a knife, not time to go for your gun. With lethal force legal here; you explode with everything you have, lashing out with your hands striking the attacker in the face and throat with everything you have. No warning, no pleading, just action. This is VoA.

You used the following components of VoA to react:

Surprise: You gave no warning that you would fight back. Your response was instantaneous and explosive.

Speed: An effective hand strike will be fast, if not it is easily defeated or avoided.

Strength: You don’t hit someone with a knife in your face like you’d pull a paper towel off of the roll. You hit with everything you have.

Aggression: Hello… you just throat punched him; that qualifies as aggression.

If done properly and effectively, you have achieved total dominance over your attacker. I assure you, a good hard throat punch will disable anyone, no matter how tough. If nothing else it will buy you a second or two.

Violence of action is not only employed for defense, but in attack. Think: ambush. The bad guy can use VoA just the same as you. Think about it; if a guy 100 feet away said he was going to rob you, would you continue on? No! You would avoid him and the area. They require VoA to be successful in their attempts.

VoA requires quick thinking, problem solving, and skill. You must be able to process and act fast in order to defend against, or employ VoA. If not, it is just violence or action. This comes with time and training. The more you think about and train using VoA the more natural and instinctive it becomes.

What can we learn?

Violence of Action is critical to a successful defense strategy

The grammar ( or lack there of) is terrible…

Action is critical, explosive, surprising action is better

The more you do something, the more natural it becomes. When you train, train with VoA in mind. That way, when you need it, you don’t think you just act.

 

Stay sharp,

Adam

 

Buzzwords: “Train like you fight”

Posted by Adam Markesbery on February 26, 2016
Posted in: Buzzwords, Carrying a deadly weapon, Defense Mentality, Hand to Hand, Self Defense, Training, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment

“You gotta train like you fight!” This vague phrase that gets so many worked up and causes us to go over the top at times. But, what does “training like you fight” really mean? Is it gear and equipment, or environment, or what?

In my personal and professional experience when people talk about training like you fight, they often mean wear a bunch of gear, and look “tacti-cool”. Going to the range to sling some lead wearing a leg rig, armor, and a helmet makes you look super cool, but do you wear that when you go to the grocery, or out for dinner? There is a time and place for such a load-out, but self-defense in public is not it.

Where else do some claim you have to “train like you fight”? How about in hand to hand defense? Oh yeah, I have heard too many times that you have to train like you fight when going hands on. Let me tell you something, I pity the poor soul that is on the receiving end of my “training” if we are going all out. I do not trade punches. Through extreme violence of action, I am going to do as much damage as needed to end the threat as quickly as possible. However, I spend time sparring, and working on my skills. This allows my muscles and mind to get used to the right movements, so when the time comes, I can go full-out and win the fight.

Ok, we have looked at a couple of examples of what people think “training like you fight” looks like. Now, let us look at what training like you fight should properly look like, shall we?

In order to understand how we can train for a fight, we have to learn what our fight will look like. It will likely be over in just a couple/few seconds, someone is probably going to be injured, and the threat will not announce it self and you will not have time to plan.

In order to prepare yourself for a real world threat in a safe training environment, there are some simple steps to be taken. This list is not exhaustive by any means, but, is a place to start. These steps are simple and anyone can do them.

  1. Mentally prepare yourself
    • While driving to work you can perform mental rehearsals, learn more about that here. You have to get your mind in the right place for combat before you are in it.
  2. Put everything you have into your training, regardless of the topic (ie: hand to hand, knife, gun, etc.)
    •  Putting everything we have in our training is free, and will automatically up our game. I assure you, when your life depends on it, you will not be engaging haphazardly. Note: This does not mean go 100% on your training partner, this means engaging yourself in the training and giving it everything you have, every time.
  3. Train with the tools you will actually have on hand ( your concealed carry load out)
    • When you are grocery shopping, what do you carry? A compact handgun, and an extra mag in your pocket? If so, train just like that, how fast can you get that mag out of your pocket? Learn your abilities and bottlenecks, then start removing bottle necks.
  4. Get good quality training.
    • There are a lot of good trainers out there, find one, and get trained! Do your homework first to ensure they are certified and a good instructor, running good, modern tactics.
  5. Don’t waste your time on worthless drills, techniques, and popular Tacticool methods.
    • For example; engaging a target with one or two shots, whipping the gun back to compressed ready, and whipping your head around, “scanning” for additional threats is a waste. You are building training scars into your training. Work the fundamentals, then start to add effective tactics.

The five points above are an outline, and they may take numerous different forms and combinations. We are all only have 24 hours in a day, between work, sleep, and life, we do not get as much time as we may like to train, we have to make the most out of our time and training.

What can we learn?

Training like you fight is a buzzword. If you are making the most of your effective training, you are preparing for the fight.

Not all “training” is created equal, some is a waste of time; don’t waste your time.

There is no way to account for every potentiality. Master the fundamentals and basic tactics, and they will give you the advantage in a fight.

Use the 5 tips above to improve your skills starting today!

 

Stay Sharp,

Adam

 

 

Buzzwords: 21 foot “rule”

Posted by Adam Markesbery on February 17, 2016
Posted in: Buzzwords, Carrying a deadly weapon, Defense Mentality, Hand to Hand, Intermediate Weapons, Self Defense, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . 1 comment

March 1983 was revolutionary for Law Enforcement Tactics, but should it have been? Dennis Tueller a now retired Lt. with the Salt Lake City Police Department, developed and conducted a drill to find out How close is too close? Today, the Tueller drill has become more than was ever intended, and not in a good way.

Lt. Tueller’s findings were first published in SWAT Magazine. The intended audience was, and to a certain degree is still, law enforcement. However, the principles and tactics apply well to your self defense. I highly encourage you to read Lt. Tueller’s article from the March 1983 issue of SWAT magazine titled, How close it too close?, find it Here.

The Tueller Drill was intended to answer two questions: How fast can the average officer (person) draw their firearm, and what distance can a threat cover in that time? A great drill and great questions! However, it is far from being a rule! Yet, there is this HUGE misconception that this drill constitutes a rule, even among leaders and professionals in law enforcement and law.

Here is why the drill is great, but, the “rule” is bogus:

Bogus Rule:

  • Each person is different. Tueller’s findings were based on a class of a couple of dozen new recruits he had in his firearms course. This is an extremely small test pool.
  • The 7 yards/21 feet was arbitrary, for all intents and purposes. It was a distance they were comfortable at and had the availability to use.
  • The drill was conducted for the benefit for his class; it was not scientific and conducted in laboratory conditions.
  • The time that was determined to draw and put two rounds on paper at 7 yds was determined to 1.5 seconds. The time to cover 21 feet was determined to be an average of 1.5 seconds. This is a good baseline, but in no way assures stopping the threat. They are literally on top of you in that 1.5 seconds.Even if you make those two rounds count and the threat is killed instantly, they are likely to fall on top of you and still cause injury.

Great Drill:

  • In conducting your own Tueller drill, you can determine your personal reactionary gap (the distance that can be covered in the time it takes you to recognize and react to a threat.)
  • You can gain a good understanding of your skills as they pertain to drawing and engaging a threat.

Points of interest and of note

It is important to note that in 1983, almost all police departments we using revolvers, leather holster with snap retention exposed on their hips, and the tactics were vastly different. Here are some things you need to know as a citizen who carry’s a concealed handgun legally for self-defense.

The draw dynamic is quite different for you than an officer. Officers have retention holsters and carry them openly, you likely do not on both counts. You have to consider the time it takes to recognize a threat, present your handgun for access, draw, and get on target, and fire. Officers just have to overcome the retention, and they may even already have their sidearm drawn due to the nature of the call.

Tactics have changed too. How we draw and shoot have evolved over the last 33 years. You can even get training for reactionary/reflexive, etc. shooting (close quarters emergency shooting, typically a “point and shoot” training, not much sight work)

Physical ability varies from person to person. The drill was conducted by people who had to meet certain physical requirements. Your right to self defense has no minimum requirements. If you have a handicap that prevents you from drawing your handgun like Billy the Kid, then you need to know and understand that.

Cover/Concealment is a basic and fundamental part of combat. Where the rule is, the more bulletproof the better; in the context of a hand held threat, any trip hazard is a help. Putting furniture, a fence, etc. will slow them down and give you time

What can we learn?

Do your own Tueller drills and get a good grasp of your own time, and get a distance. This should become your “hazard zone”

Use cover and concealment. Any object you can place between you and the threat will slow his time and in turn give you more time to act and react.

There have been many, more scientific, tests and studies performed since 1983, I recommend you poke around the internet and look into “The Force Institute”. They have turned out some great studies.

Don’t get caught up in buzzwords. The Tueller drill is a great tool, but it is no rule!

Stay Sharp

Adam

Buzzwords: Train(ing)

Posted by Adam Markesbery on February 10, 2016
Posted in: Buzzwords, Defense Mentality, Training, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a Comment

We all train, and we do it often. How you and train and what you train for may not be what your intended goal is. When we go the range, we call it training. When we study in martial arts, we call it training. Both of these things are good things, I actively participate in both, and I recommend you do the same.

But! When you go the range and train, what are you training for? How are you training? By definition training is the action of teaching someone something. For those of you with kids, or if you have ever been around kids for any amount of time, you will see them learning, they are always learning. Always… They learn by doing, seeing, and hearing. Of course, seeing us do something and repeating the action themselves is the most prolific way children learn.

So, what changes as we grow up? Nothing. We still learn by performing a task more than any other method. This very much carries over to our training. We go to the range, or to a class with the intent of learning. We have engaged our mind and body to accept a task and perform it over and over.

Now, let’s use the range as our example. When you are at the range “training”, what are you training yourself for? If you use an indoor range, to shoot at paper, in climate controlled area, with safety equipment, from the low or compressed ready, you are training for that scenario unless you have a predetermined training goal.

We will discuss “training like you fight” in more detail in another article. So we will not go into detail here. What we are going to discuss is having a training plan. Going to the range “to sling lead” is fun, but if you are calling it training, please stop. Correction: do not consider it productive training, you are training, but it is not productive.

Keeping with our range example: there are many a good training that come from those nice indoor range days. You must have a predetermined training plan going into the range if you expect to be productive however. Go with the intent to work on one or two things, Trigger Control, Sight alignment/picture, reloads, shooting both eyes open, etc. are some examples of training areas that can be honed in such an environment.

In martial arts, if you go with the intention of self-defense training, be sure you are getting what you are going for. A fancy sport in which you perform no hand cartwheels, and spinning back kicks has its place; self-defense is not that place. There are many good martial arts out there that have both, traditional martial arts require years of study before you really get into the meat and potatoes. If you are going just for self-defense look for self-defense training, boxing, Krav Maga, or something of the sort.

Our time is valuable, every second spent is one you are never going to get back. Make your training count. Don’t waste time and money of on some fly by night training or method. Invest yourself into the process and put everything you have into everything you do, especially those things in which you may trust your life to someday.

What can we learn?

We are always training, be sure your training is effective and of quality.

Don’t waste your time or money on junk. If you are going to go to the range, or a class, be sure to make the most of it.

Put everything you have into your training; trust me when your life hangs in the balance you will be fighting with everything you have.

Get training. Guns are great, but we don’t need a $3000 rifle, we need a $1000 rifle and $2000 of training!

–

Stay Sharp

Adam

Buzzwords: Situational Awareness

Posted by Adam Markesbery on February 3, 2016
Posted in: Buzzwords, Carrying a deadly weapon, Defense Mentality, No-Gun Defense, Self Defense, Training, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . 1 comment

If you have spent any time in the defensive realm, you have heard two words at least once: Situational Awareness. In every discipline I have studied in whether it be martial arts, executive protection, firearms, etc., every one of them not touches but drives home the concept of situational awareness.

This concept sounds cool, and it flows off the tongue in an exquisite manor; but what is it exactly? What it is, and what it has become may be two different things.

What it has become: A buzzword. It is great to say and when you do, you are speaking the language of the defensive community. A newbie can sound like they belong in about 3 seconds! But in all the times I hear the phrase, I never get a good definition and explanation of what it is. I think many instructors take for granted that both words are common and easily defined. However, when put together they become more than the sum of their parts. This brings us to what it actually is.

What it is: Critical! Situational Awareness (SA) is far more than is often let on. Typically when it comes to firearms training, situational awareness is limited to that 1 second of scanning performed after target engagement. Knowing what is going on around an engagement, but that is putting it far too small a box.

Knowing what is going on around you (situational awareness) is not limited to threat engagement. Employed properly, SA will prevent a threat! This however takes more than looking around. It requires being engaged in your environment and planning ahead. Walking down the street at night, you see a few people lurking around just hanging out. You could continue to walk right to them, watching their hands, or: you could cross the road! When you park your car at the movie theater and it is daytime and when you come out you know it will be dark; park accordingly. Don’t park in a dark corner. Find a light post and park close enough that your car and the surrounding area will be well lit.

I propose here and now a change in phraseology from Situational Awareness to: Environmental Engagement; and here is why:

  • Situational assumes intangibles. You find your self in awkward or uncomfortable situations. Situation implies a moment in time and emotion. Environment mandates, by definition, mandates tangibles. Environment is people, buildings, cars, etc., etc.
  • Awareness is superficial. I am aware there is a suspicious looking character approaching me, but unless I am engaged, I do nothing about it. Awareness does not require action.

Situational awareness is an important concept, and needs to be a part of your repertoire. But, you must insist on expanding it beyond what is currently accepted. I recommend using the term Environmental Engagement. This, through simple change of terminology, changes your perception and approach of the concept.

To be effective you must become engaged. Understand what is normal and familiar to your common environment, and look for differences. Don’t just be aware of your surrounding, but engage in them. Wolves prey on those who look like they are not engaged in their environment. Playing on your cell phone requires you to be oblivious to your surroundings, making the wolves job much easier.

One of my favorite Sherlock Holmes quotes is: “You see, but you do not observe”. He tells this to Watson numerous times when Watson does not observe the infinitesimally small details that Sherlock sees in his environment. This is a perfect example of the difference in one who is aware and one who is engaged.

What can we learn?

  • Situational awareness has become a buzzword, but for good reason. It is an important part to our overall defense strategy.
  • SA is more than what is often taught. The term itself may be to blame for this anemic application.
  • Consider transitioning to Environmental Engagement. This term is better suited to the reality of what is needed.
  • Engage in your environment, don’t just be aware of it

 

Stay Sharp

Adam