This is the posting that I wrote which we referenced in tonight's Gun Nation Podcast
A Gun
Will Not Solve All Your Problems—Part One
The Case for Leaning to Use Avoidance Strategies,
De-escalation Techniques, Empty Handed Close Combat Skills, and Less than
Lethal Weapons
Part
One: The Use of Deadly Force
One of the questions I am frequently asked by women who are
experiencing stalking, unwanted pursuit, or physical abuse is whether they
should obtain a handgun. My answer is an
emphatic “maybe”. This may come as a
surprise to those who know that I am a life member of the National Rifle
Association and an avid handgun shooter. I want to take this opportunity to share my
opinions, which are based upon both experience and research, as to all of the
skills and hardware you should consider in order to be truly equipped to handle
any self defense related issue that arises. First though, the requisite disclaimer. I am not an attorney and the opinions shared here should not be construed as legal advise. Before making any decisions about firearms, other weapons, self defense training, and the use of force please conduct your own research, consult your personal attorney and/or query your local county prosecutor.
There are two questions that need to be answered after
thoughtful consideration before making the decision to get your concealed carry
permit and procure a pistol and those questions are:
1. Am I
going to make the commitment to handle the firearm responsibly?
2. Am I
going to make the commitment to obtain the most competent and advanced training
that is available in my area and practice to keep those learned skills sharp?
The answer to both of those questions has to be “yes”. Not handling the firearm in a responsible and
secure fashion is not only irresponsible but also a violation of the law in
most jurisdictions.
I also truly feel that anyone who procures a handgun for
self defense (whether they legally carry it outside of their residence or
not) is doing themselves a huge
disservice if they do not get the most comprehensive training that is available
to them. Shooting bulls eyes while
standing still is great fun but it is not anything close to what you will be
facing if what you are shooting at is shooting back at you. You must learn to shoot from a holster, shoot
while moving, learn to reload under stress, and find cover and
concealment. You will make a lot of
mistakes when you try to do these things and it is best to make them in a
supervised training class than in an actual physical confrontation.
As my study of shooting has continued I find it also
important to learn avoidance strategies and de-escalation techniques to stay out of a shooting situation in the
first place. It is equally important
to learn empty handed close combat skills and weapons retention
techniques. Avoidance strategies, de-escalation
techniques, empty handed combat, weapons retention techniques and tactical
shooting skills are all a part of a well balanced personal protection training
program. Unfortunately, you will be hard
pressed to find one training facility that incorporates all of these skill
sets. You are going to have to do your research
to find instruction for all of them.
While engaging in your search here are some things to take into
consideration.
Presenting
Your Concealed Weapon Is Not Always Appropriate
My first premise for writing this article is that the use of
your handgun is not appropriate for all situations in which you feel
threatened. A common condition that must
be present in order to present your weapon (which shows that you intend to use
deadly force) is that you must be in fear for your life or in fear of great
bodily injury (and by great bodily injury I am referring to serious physical
damage from which a person may not completely recover). If you wind up using deadly force and there
is any question as to the legality of your choice you will probably find
yourself in court with a jury of 12 people judging your actions against the
Reasonable Man Doctrine. Basically this
means that the jury will be contemplating your use of deadly force and saying
“is this what a reasonable man would have done under the same
circumstances?” If the answer is “no”
there is probably prison time in your future.
Therefore it is important to understand when deadly force can be used,
have some less than lethal options and avoidance/de-escalation strategies.
Not too long ago I read an article about someone who had
recently obtained his concealed carry permit and was having a drink in a bar
when another patron began verbally harassing him and challenging him to come
outside for a fight. In order to get his
harasser to leave him alone he produced his handgun and fired a round into the
floor. Not only did his harasser run out
the door but so did everyone else in the bar.
While he achieved his goal of being left alone he also wound up losing
his concealed carry permit and was jailed on a variety of charges. In my opinion his new found trouble were due
to a lack of understanding the laws surrounding the use of deadly force and not
being trained to employ any other options.
In order to consider whether the use of deadly force can
legally be employed in response to verbal harassment there must be a threat or
a statement of an intention to do harm.
If someone is calling you names, making racial slurs, or questioning the
morals of your mother as long as there is no statement of an intention to do
you harm there is no threat. Even if
there are statements of an intention to do you harm you may not legally be able
respond with force unless the instigator not only made the threat but also has
the means to imminently carry it out. If
someone is threatening to kill me and they are brandishing a gun I am going to
assume that they intend on using the gun and be in genuine fear for my life.
On the other hand, threats that are vague, implied, or not
realistically possible may not be cause for the use of deadly force. If you are told that “someday you are going
to get it” that statement in and of itself alone, does not pose an imminent
threat.
Part
II: Avoidance: The Art of Staying Out of Trouble
- Avoiding
the Wrong Kind of People
It seems that all my life I have encountered people who have
a hard time staying out of trouble.
Earlier in my life they were kids in school who always seemed to pick
fights and later they were college acquaintances who drank too much (and then
committed acts of vandalism, insulted the wrong person, or made a pass at girls
whose boyfriends were nearby). As an
adult I realized that there were people who thrive on creating drama wherever
they go that could occasionally escalate into physical confrontations. All of these people have one thing in common:
they are always stirring up the pot.
They are experts at creating turmoil where turmoil did not exist, and
dragging others down with them. Trust me
on this; you will lead a much happier life if these people are not in it. Avoiding them, avoids trouble.
- Staying
Out of the Wrong Place At All Times
Whenever possible stay out of places where you know trouble
likes to visit. Frequently when
debriefing someone who has experienced an assault or similar harrowing
experience they begin their story with the phrase “I knew I shouldn’t have gone
down there but…” They then fill in their
rationale for putting themselves in harm’s way and in hindsight the reward was
clearly not worth the risk. Therefore, if
there is a small corner tavern where four generations of your family have
gathered every Friday night to celebrate the end of another workweek then it is
understandable that you want to continue this tradition. However, if this corner tavern has become a
hangout for undesirable elements resulting in frequent visits from local law
enforcement to break up fights, bust drug dealers, and mop up after assaults
and the periodic homicide, then it is time to move your family tradition to
another location. Avoiding these places
avoids trouble.
This is probably best illustrated by a fellow student in the
tactical shooting class who told us that, on the prior week, he decided to take
a short cut home through a higher crime area.
While sitting at an intersection waiting for the green light a man in a
hooded sweatshirt came bursting out of a convenience store on the corner and
ran past the front of the student’s car.
A second later another man burst out of the convenience store’s door; he
was presumably employed there, and was brandishing a handgun. This man fired at the man running who spun
around and returned fire. In the flash
of a second the student’s mind began calculating possible scenarios and his
probably options. Fortunately the
shootout was over quickly, the light turned green and the student drove off
while fumbling with his cell phone to call 911.
From this point on the student took the freeway. And the story began with “I knew I shouldn’t
have been driving through there but...”
- Getting
out of the Wrong Place at the Right Time
Although we don’t necessarily want to go to the wrong place
sometimes we find ourselves there. Your
child comes down with an ear infection and high fever at 1 AM and you have to
go to the emergency room; an hour later you find yourself at the all night
pharmacy getting the prescription for an antibiotic filled. The pharmacy may be in a high crime area but
you can still utilize skills to help keep you out of harm’s way.
Using
intuition
One of the best works on personal survival is a book titled
“The Gift of Fear, Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence”. It was written by Gavin De Becker in 1997 and
was published by Little, Brown, and Company.
It is available in paperback and should be stocked in most bookstores if
not, Amazon.com carries it.
De Becker states that everyone is born with a very powerful survival
tool called intuition. Frequently men
refer to it as a “gut reaction or gut feeling”.
Intuition quite simply is “knowing something without knowing why” and in
the context of what we are talking about it is “knowing that something is wrong
without immediately knowing why”. Unfortunately
all of your life you have been socialized not to pay attention to your
intuition. You have been told by your
parents and taught all throughout your schooling not to “judge a book by its
cover” and to deal in facts, not emotion. Unfortunately many people wrongfully
conclude that intuition and emotion are the same, but they are clearly not the
same thing. Intuition is your
subconscious mind recognizing danger signs and communicating that to you before
your conscious mind evaluates the situation and provides you with the hard
data.
Let’s go back to the scenario mentioned above; it’s 2 AM and
you find yourself at an all night pharmacy getting a prescription filled for
your child. As soon as you open the door
to the pharmacy you see someone talking with the Pharmacist and you feel
uncomfortable, nervous, your stomach begins producing too much acid (hence the
origins of the term “gut feeling”) and you are a little confused because you
feel that something is not right but you are not immediately able to detect the
cause of that feeling. Your
subconscious, in a split second evaluated the facial reaction of both the
pharmacist and the customer when you opened the door, it evaluated their body
language, what the customer was carrying, whether or not the customer’s
appearance was appropriate for the surroundings, and the whether his clothing
was compatible with the weather conditions and many other factors that you
cannot immediately recognize.
Your intuition is telling you to leave; will you listen to
your intuition or suppress it?
Gavin De Becker’s book has a lot of excellent material in
it. Please purchase a copy or borrow it
from your library. Chapter four,
“Survival Signals”, details seven methods by which an attacker may try to
ingratiate himself with his intended victim so that the victim will let their
guard down and ignore their intuition.
This chapter also lists 13 messengers of intuition to help you
understand the form in which your intuitive survival signals may come to
you. I cannot recommend this book highly
enough.
- Retreating
One sometimes overlooked avoidance strategy is to
retreat. In a stressful situation some
people get confused and do not recognize when they have an opening to retreat
while others get their adrenaline flowing and disregard the option altogether. Some jurisdictions legally mandate that you
retreat if that opportunity is available.
Other jurisdictions believe in the “your house is your castle” doctrine
and do not require you to retreat if you are in your home. A few states have passed legislation that do
not mandate retreat under most conditions.
While you need to understand the legal limitations on the use of deadly
force in your place of residence my perspective is that discretion is the
better part of valor and if retreat is available and does not put anyone else
in danger then take it. Why run the
risk of a physical or shooting encounter if it is not necessary? One thing to also keep in mind is that when retreating or escaping from an imminent threat be sure that you escape to an area of safety. That means get to well lit places where other people are. A robber, rapist, or other criminal does not like an abundance of witnesses or people who may come to the aid of the victim. Stay away from dark alleys, and deserted parking lots/garages even if your car is there. Better to get to safety, call the police and come back for the car later.
Part III:
De-Escalation Techniques: The Art of Getting Out of Trouble
De-escalation techniques can be effective if used early in a
confrontation when it is still in the talking stages, well before it turns physical. Even if the person you are dealing with is
not completely rational trying these techniques will at least show that you
attempted peaceful alternatives before force became necessary. If physically attacked, respond accordingly,
but if the encounter begins with words, see if you can give these techniques a
try.
To de-escalate a confrontation I follow what I have termed
the A.C.C.O.R.D. process which
stands for:
Acknowledgement
Compassion
Common
Ground
Or
Redirect
and
Deflect
Acknowledge that
they are upset.
Show
some Compassion for their
perspective (even though it may not be justified or rational).
Try to
find some Common ground between you.
Or, if the above techniques are
not working
Redirect and Deflect their anger.
Let’s look at an example involving “parking lot” rage.
Let’s say that you’re at a shopping mall where parking has
become difficult because half of the parking lot is closed for repaving. As you pull into an aisle a car pulls out and
you park in the recently vacated space.
As you exit your car you see that another vehicle has pulled up behind
your car. The red-faced driver jumps out
of his car and aggressively approaches you spewing all sorts of salty
language. You calmly Acknowledge that he certainly seems
upset and ask him why. In between his
expletives you ascertain that he had just passed this space as the previous
driver was getting into his car. Your
new agitated acquaintance drove around the aisle to get back to this space just
as you were pulling in. You show some Compassion by stating that you
understand why he is upset. Looking for Common Ground you ask how long he had been circling the lot looking for a
space. He tells you 15 minutes. You could apologize stating that you did not
know he had “seen the parking space first” and offer to move or point out
another open space if one has become available.
Hopefully by now you have de-escalated his rage and he declines your
offer to move. Even if he doesn’t
wouldn’t it be worth moving your car to keep from becoming entangled in a
physical altercation?
If these techniques don’t work then I would try to redirect his anger and deflect it onto some other issue. Try to get the person to agree that the
reason this happened was due to some factor other than you. For instance, I might try to get him to agree
that the reason for the shortage of spaces is because half the lot is closed
off for repaving and the mall management should not have done this on such a
busy shopping day. Hopefully the
A.C.C.O.R.D. process will give the enraged person an opportunity to cool off
and the redirection and deflection of his anger allow him to “save face” if he
has realized that he is making a fool of himself.
One of the keys to controlling and de-escalating these types
of verbal encounters is how you react to and treat the other person. Treating them with dignity and respect won’t
hurt and may help diffuse the situation; treating them with sarcasm and anger
will probably only escalate the situation.
Please note: treating someone with dignity and respect should be done
with focus and control so that it is not perceived as fear by the other
party. Try to conduct yourself with a
gracious but command presence. In his
book Gavin De Becker explains that “fear is the currency” of the person making
the threat. This is a simple but very
important observation. The more fear you
show when threatened the more threats and verbal harassment you have just purchased
from the instigator. If the person can
see that their harassment or threats have had an impact on you, you are bound
to get more of them. I like to follow a
process (are you ready for another acronym?) I refer to as “C.E.R.T.” which stands for Control, Eye Contact, Relaxed,
and Tactful. C.E.R.T. is all about “maintaining” yourself;
maintaining your calm control over both your temper and the situation,
maintaining eye contact with the person (this shows that you are in control and
not afraid), maintaining a relaxed appearance (showing a tense appearance will
only create more tension in the situation), and maintain tact in your
responses.
A long time ago a Cook County, Illinois Corrections Officer that I was working with taught me a great technique that was my basis for C.E.R.T. This officer, who was charged with controlling the worst of the worst in the City of Chicago and County of Cook faced threats and verbal harassment from gang bangers, degenerates, and the criminally unstable on a daily basis. He told me to pick a spot on the instigator’s forehead and stare at it while they are spewing their verbal garbage. This will give them the appearance that you are looking them in the eye without having to see (and possibly react to) their facial expressions. Then, make yourself yawn. Nothing shows a complete lack of fear any more than a yawn. The icy stare and the yawn have helped me suck the wind out of many a blowhard.
Part IV:
Less than lethal options
All threats are not equally serious. There are times when you may need to defend
yourself but the use or even presentation of a firearm may be considered
excessive force. In these instances
empty handed combat skills and less than lethal weapons may be more appropriate. Just a few days ago someone asked me for
advice on less than lethal weapons for a relative that had no interest in
firearms. First of all it is important
to understand what is classified as less than lethal. Some people think that it is anything outside
of a firearm and this is incorrect. Lethal
weapons could include any implement that could cause death or great bodily
injury such as expandable batons, knives, and blackjacks and may also pertain
to tools designed for other purposes but used as a weapon such as hammers, nail
guns, letter openers, and box cutters (remember on 9-11-2001 we incurred a
major terrorist attack that was primarily perpetrated at the beginning of the
attack by the use of box cutters).
Less
Than Lethal Weapons
Let me run down the most common less than lethal weapons and
my feelings toward them:
- Mace or Pepper Spray. I am not a big fan of sprays for a
couple of reasons:
- I am aware of them
being used in retail establishments causing the establishment to have to
close while the fire department’s hazmat unit comes in and blows out the building
with their fans.
- I am aware of them
being used in a high school where many students not involved in the
altercation, especially those with asthma, had to be treated at a local
hospital.
- I have seen
episodes of “Cops” (here’s where my lack of experience really shines)
where the perpetrator was inebriated and the Mace/Pepper spray had little
effect.
- In other episodes
of cops it was sprayed on a perpetrator outside and several of the
officers had to be treated because the wind blew the spray into their
faces.
That being said, there are important differences between
Mace and Pepper Spray. Chemical sprays like mace take
5 to 30 seconds to become effective; they cause pain & irritation to
the mucus membranes, but rely on pain compliance to be effective. So drunks,
people on drugs, people on an adrenaline high, or those with extremely
high pain tolerances might not be affected by mace/chemical spray. Pepper spray (as the name
indicates) is made from peppers and not only causes a burning sensation, but
also creates inflammation of the airways. When a person is
sprayed with Pepper Spray two things happen; his eyes involuntarily slam shut
(and if he is able to open them he can't see because the ingredient, Oleoresin
Capsicum, dilates the capillaries of the
eye causing temporary blindness) and an immediate fit of uncontrollable
coughing doubles the person over and often sends them to their knees.
As mentioned above my fear is that sprays can cause too much
collateral damage indoors and outdoors it might be blown right back into your
face. Kimber has two fairly new products
that have been designed around these concerns called the “Pepper Blaster” and
the “JPX Jet Protector”. The Pepper
Blaster is a small handheld unit that gives the user two measured blasts with
an effective range of 13 feet. These
blasts of Pepper Spray are delivered at a velocity 90 miles per hour. The velocity helps in several ways: it makes
the blast less likely to be affected by wind and blown back into your face, it
improves the accuracy, and the velocity helps penetrate clothing etc. The JPX Jet Protector is a polymer handgun
looking device that also provides two measured blasts with an effective range
of 23 feet at an increased velocity of 270 miles per hour. The problems with the JPX is that it is a
holster carried implement, is not all that concealable, and is fairly expensive. I cannot attest to their effectiveness but
from some YouTube videos of people using them on each other they appear to be a
cut about the normal Pepper Spray. There
are a couple of things to keep in mind; one is that with any chemical weapon is
that there is usually an expiration date so you if you purchase one you will
want to make sure you get one with the longest shelf life. The other issue is that both the Pepper
Blaster and the JPX Jet Protector give you two blasts of the concentrated
chemical; if you miss with those two blasts you’re done.
- Stun Guns. I am not a big fan of these because they
are a close quarter weapon. You
have to push the electrodes on the device against the attacker. If the stun gun is not fully charged or
the attacker is wearing heavy, thick clothing it might not have the
intended effect. If this is the
case you are up close and personal and in position to be pummeled by the
attacker.
- Tasers. In my opinion Tasers are a step up from
sprays and stun guns. They allow
you to use them at some distance and are usually (but not always)
effective. The two negative aspects
of the Tasers are their size (again they are another belt holstered weapon)
and price. Good ones run from $400
to $1,000.00.
Another thing to bear in mind
with Sprays, Stun Guns, and Tasers is that they are not convenient weapons with
which to practice. Bear in mind that in
a stressful situation muscle memory wins the day. During an attack is no time to learn to use a
new weapon system. Even though they are
simple devices to use fine motor skills disappear under extreme stress. Remember the tactical student mentioned before
who witnessed a shoot out just in front of his vehicle? I wrote that as he drove away he fumbled
trying to dial 911. Under normal
circumstances he can drive, dial, and talk on the phone very easily. Add gunfire to the equation and this normally
simple process becomes anything but simple.
- High Intensity
Flashlights. Now these I like. In the 1970’s every cop carried a large aircraft aluminum Mag
Light, many times in place of their traditional hickory nightstick. They were big, heavy and wouldn’t
break. They also provided a good
amount of light. Fast forward to
today and every cop carries a small high intensity flashlight. They are lightweight and take up little
space on the officer’s belt. They
are still made pretty darn indestructible but they have a huge advantage
over the large Mag Light; they produce high intensity, blinding white
light. The most prolific
manufacturer of these items is Surfire and years ago when they first
introduced their lower priced polymer G3 with an output of 80 lumens I
picked one up. One night a storm
knocked out the power and my Surefire G3 was in easy reach so I picked it
up. I was making my way down the
hallway and, without thinking opened the bedroom door. The 80 lumens of light hit the bedroom
mirror and shown back in my face. I
was immediately blinded and somewhat disoriented. For a few seconds I wondered if my
eyesight would return. I learned
from that how powerful these little lights are. I have learned to respect their power
and keep one with me. I may not be
able to take my handgun with me to New York City or Los Angeles but
flashlights are still allowed.
These days I carry the Browning Pro Hunter Tactical flashlight. It produces 210 lumens of light. I used it during the tactical class when
we performed room clearing drills in complete darkness. The other two students hiding in the
room said that the light was so bright that it caused them to both close
their eyes and turn away. Firing
their weapon was not the first reaction they had. The advantage goes to the high intensity
flashlight. Since I first wrote
this article the price of these flashlights has come down while their
power has gone up. It is now
possible to find 400 lumen flashlights at fairly reasonable prices.
Part V: Leaning Empty Handed Close Combat Skills
You May
Not Be Able to Get to Your Weapon
An attack may begin at close quarters and/or you may not see
it coming. Ever heard of the Tueller
Drill? Salt Lake City Police Sergeant Dennis
Tuller was working as a training instructor when a police recruit asked him how
close he should let a charging assailant come before using force. Tueller assumed it would be about four paces
but decided to find out. Knowing that it
took the average officer 1.5 seconds to draw and fire from a duty holster
Tueller decided to find out how much ground someone could cover in that amount
of time. He was surprised to find that the
answer was 21 feet. That’s a pretty fair
amount of real estate. If someone within
21 feet is charging with a knife, a club, or even their fists, they will be on
you before you can draw and use any weapon, lethal or non lethal. Add another second or two if you are
carrying your weapon in deeper concealment than a uniformed police officer. Do you have the close quarter fighting skills
to ward off this attack until you can get to your weapon of choice?
Also pulling a handgun at close quarters may not be a good
idea unless you have some training to learn how to protect the draw. As one gun writer (whose name I have long
forgotten) once said “when you and your assailant are at arm’s length away from
each other the pistol belongs to both of you”.
If someone has the will to do it, it is not difficult to disarm someone
holding a handgun. If you grab the slide
of a pistol and push it slightly to the rear it will not fire. If you grab the cylinder of a revolver and
hold tightly the trigger cannot be pulled.
Once someone has a hold on the handgun it is not a difficult process to
wrench it away. Prison inmates have been
noted practicing this in their exercise facilities. Do you know how to protect, retain, and
properly present your weapon when you are up close and personal with an
assailant?
Creating
Space
Do you know how to create the space needed to draw and fire
under close quarter combat distances by throwing a powerful kick with the weak
side foot or by shoving your weak side palm into the sternum while digging your
middle finger into the trachea and violently pushing the assailant backwards? If so, do you practice these techniques
regularly enough to develop the muscle memory needed to make them happen
automatically? Do you regularly practice
handgun retention techniques?
You
Need Competent Instruction; Try Krav Maga!
Everything mentioned above is a part of the curriculum of
Krav Maga.
While I stumbled into Krav Maga it turned out to be an
excellent choice of empty handed combat training for both the shooter who is
licensed to carry a concealed weapon and the person who does not carry a weapon
but still wants to learn how to defend themselves. Krav Maga is the hand-to-hand system taught
to the Israeli Defense Forces; the words Krav Maga are Hebrew meaning “contact
combat”. The reason that Krav Maga is an
excellent choice for me is because it is a modern fighting system which
incorporates modern weapons and firearms into its scope of training. Krav Maga was developed by Imi Lichtenfeld in
1948. Lichtenfeld was born in Hungary
and grew up in Czechoslovakia. His
father, who was a police detective and self defense instructor, had Imi
studying wrestling, boxing, and judo throughout his youth. In the 1930’s as fascism began to rear its
ugly head in Czechoslovakia gangs of young male fanatics began roaming the
streets beating Jews. Lichtenfeld
organized his community and taught people to defend themselves. He escaped Czechoslovakia and fled to
Palestine in 1940 where he fought with the British in their Middle Eastern
campaigns. After the war he stayed in
Palestine. When Israel became a State
Lichtenfeld was already there teaching the Jewish settlers the close combat
skills he had developed over the last 18 years.
He very quickly was appointed as the self defense instructor to the
Israeli Defense Forces.
Back in Czechoslovakia during the 1930’s Lichtenfeld found
that his training in boxing, wrestling, and other formalized fighting styles
had not prepared him for street fighting.
Boxing, wrestling, are competitive sports; there are rules, you only
fight one opponent with whom you square off in the middle of the mat or ring, the
opponent is not armed, and there are time limits on the rounds. In a street fight the opposite of all of the
preceding is true. There are no rules;
you will frequently have to fight multiple attackers who sometimes “come out of
nowhere”. There is no time limit and your
attackers may be armed. Krav Maga trains
their students for all of those conditions.
Many martial arts that incorporate weapons training (both uses of and
defenses against) utilize weapons from the period when the martial art was
created. Being an amateur historian I
certainly appreciate and applaud these arts for preserving traditions and teaching
their classical weapons but there aren’t that many street fights involving
samurai swords, lances, etc. While many
of these classical techniques can be adapted for use against modern weapons,
the midst of a street fight is no place to begin to develop that
adaptation.
Krav Maga is based upon instinctive movements to respond to attacks. Imi Lichtenfeld kept it simple as he knew that the fine motor skills deteriorate under stress. Because of the effect of stress on one’s ability to execute their training Krav Maga incorporates drills designed to increase the stress level as Lichtenfeld knew that the only way to overcome the effect of stress was to train for it. In Krav Maga you learn to fight in your first class. Krav Maga also incorporates aggression drills to bring passive people out of their shell and prepare them to react to an attack with the speed and force necessary to defeat their attacker.
Krav Maga was developed to get students (originally military
recruits) to a basic level of proficiency in a very quick time and you can
devote many years to continued training gaining advanced levels of expertise.
I realize that recommending a martial art is as
controversial as discussing which vehicle is the best. Somebody is always going to take issue with
your suggestion. Let me say this: what
fighting style you study is not nearly as important as what YOU are prepared to do to defend
yourself. You can own the finest and
most accurate handgun in the world but if you can’t bring yourself to pull the
trigger when being attacked it has done you no good. Similarly you can be an expert in any martial
art, but if you are not mentally prepared to fight back and stay focused while
responding with aggressive finality, then your training has done you no
good. Like most things in life your successful
deployment of your survival skills is a 70% mental and 30% physical proposition. This is the reason you must find a competent
instructor who provides realistic training for your fighting skills.
In
conclusion (and not a minute too soon)
The piece has discussed a lot of subjects. I cannot completely cover everything within
the confines of one article, nor do I know “everything” that should be
discussed. My intention has been to
provide you some food for thought. Hopefully
this discussion will inspire you to do your own research to provide more
options and expertise to your personal self defense program. If it has done that then I will feel very
satisfied for having written this article.
I hope you are never attacked. If
you are I hope you make it home safely.
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