Exactly. You could have the situational awareness of Cooper himself, but for most of us who are just out living our lives, we can’t keep several yards of distance between us and all other people at all times. There are lines, there are store aisles, there are people who walk by your table at the restaurant or through the doorway while you are…there is no legal or practical way, in most instances, to force somebody not to get close to you just because you don’t want them to.
And the majority of threats aren’t going to be lethal force.
Definitely have to work to avoid “if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”.
Thanks. I never missed even one day on here since I joined. Somedays I may not say something (which the wife finds weird and checks my temperature on these occasions), but I enjoy all of you and reading your posts. I look forward to my anniversary in December of '21.
Note: The icon of a cake slice was carb free on part of my keto thing.
Every option you have at your disposal is good to have. Hand to hand skills could make or break survival and sometimes going to the gun just isn’t possible.
Of course not everyone has the physical conditioning or robustness of youth to train to defend themselves using only their body and technique can only make up for so much difference in physique. The gun is the great equalizer. Anyone can learn to land well placed shots and a few well placed shots will stop any threat.
Staying in shape, exercising, stretching, jogging, practicing/learning hand-to-hand skills are good ways to stay fit for those that are able to, like ME. NOT BRAGGING! My truck driving job kept me physically fit, and now retired I’m going to stay fit for as long as I can. It’s a rough world out there, and for those of us who are no spring chickens anymore can be easy targets for those that prey on older folks.
Those are no joke, if you get a good solid wood cane (hickory is good I think?) and you learn a few simple motions with it…last I looked into that I seriously considered getting one as canes were specifically mentioned as a “Yes” for TSA carry on, in case my checked luggage were to be lost and I had nothing but what I got off the plane with at a destination
Agree wholeheartedly with your evaluation and observations. A firearm can only be used when effectively presented. A surprise attack within your reactionary gap distance will necessitated your staying alive and in one piece in order to get to that firearm. Recommend going to YouTube and watching several episodes of Active Self Protection (ASP) which analyzes video events from around the world, many emphasizing the importance of hand to hand skills. Also, Clint Everett did a series of intervews on the Warrior Poet Society Network last year entitled 100 Deadly Skills, Combat Edition, which explores the use of hand to hand and alternate tools. Also, Tim Larkin does interviews of subject matter experts on Youtube and now Rumble which explores this topic. Carrying a firearm with little or no training on top of ignoring common scenarios that might lead to the use of lethal force is a recipe for disaster. Stay safe out there…and so it goes.
Absolutely. Learn to fight. Then learn there is no such thing as a fair fight. If it’s a fair fight, your doing it wrong. You hands, feet, and whatever else you can use. If it isn’t bolted down, and you can lift it, it is a potential defensive weapon.
As many have said, as we get older, hand to hand can become less effective. I often practice with elbows and knees. As an older guy, I recognize that I cannot fight the way I used to. You might need to be a little closer, but elbows to the head and chest and well as elbows and knees to large muscles can get you time and distance.
I’m new to the community and getting my CCW in Nevada. I’ve started looking into hand to hand self defense courses now. I’m thinking about trying out Krav Maga training for starters. My main goal is to get experience in a physical fight and how to defend myself if I can’t get to my hand gun or oc spray.
Drawing a weapon is absolutely the last option. I agree 110% in having at least some hand to hand combat/defensive training, along with lots and lots of practice. People also should try and learn how to de-escalate situations verbally. Once one pulls a gun, or other lethal weapon, all other options must be tried first. Please don’t forget about leaving the area as well.
I try to be cautious on this topic. Are additional skills good to have? Yes. Are they mandatory to carry? No. Recall the Rittenhouse prosecutor’s closing arguments, that Rittenhouse should have punched and kicked his assailants prior to using his rifle. Thankfully, the jury rejected that argument.
In action movies, two characters might set aside their firearms and fight hand-to-hand. In real life, your job is to avoid, escape, or stop your opponent; there are no style points. As my combatives instructors used to say, if you’re fighting hand-to-hand, you’ve already screwed up.
I’m not saying that hand-to-hand techniques aren’t useful, or that we don’t need less lethal means of self-defense. Those are all fantastic and help keep us safe. I’m just saying we need to be careful with this subject.
I completely agree on all points. One part of my routine training is watching self defense videos from a YouTube channel called Active Self Protection. Some of the videos of actual self defense shooting are hard to watch. The lessons I’ve learned on what to do and not do are life saving. The words lived by are “don’t go to stupid places at stupid times of day with stupid people who do stupid stuff.”
In my experience, if a threat grabs you or sucker punches you- the threat sees you trying to grab something, and you and the threat are in what I call the hug zone. You best have some plan b. For me owning and carrying a firearm is the most significant responsibility weight I have on my shoulders. I train because I want a plan A, B, and all the alphabets after. I don’t allow myself to be comfortable knowing I have a lethal force strap on me. I have peace of mind knowing I have options—my opinion.
Active Self Protection is a great resource. Even if you mute it and leave CC off (I don’t recommend that, John has generally good/great advice IMO), seeing actual real life real world incidents is priceless
There are also the real life scenarios analyzed videos on the USCCA Protector Academy, but the sheer volume of incidents on the ASP channel is itself a tremendous value
You raise a good point. A sparring partner and I might roll on the mat and practice our technique, but it’s a very different game when you introduce a (practice) firearm. At that point, no one is trying to pin the other person, we’re both trying to get control of that firearm. That’s very chaotic and in real world very deadly game, but probably not something you’re going to learn in the average karate class. Most of the gyms in my area teach martial arts as a sport, not as real self-defense.
Again, better to have additional tools and techniques than to not have them. But in a real-life scenario we aren’t trying to score points, we’re trying to survive. I don’t want my grandmother wasting time trying to arm-bar an assailant.
