For people who have done any amount of training in defensive tactics and situational awareness, the sight of an individual, or multiple people, wearing heavy clothing during hot weather indicates the possibility of concealed weapons. This is a tactic that has been used for decades, likely centuries, by criminals to hide weaponry so that they... Continue Reading →
Proactive Avoidance
In the second decade of the 21st Century we need to be actively practicing the skill of avoidance. No longer is it good enough to simply parrot the advice to “avoid the fight.” Rather, the citizen self-defender needs to practice what I will refer to as “proactive avoidance.” Unfortunately, we live in a time of... Continue Reading →
CCX2 with John Murphy of FPF Training
This past Tuesday night we had John Murphy of FPF Training join us to discuss criminal assault paradigm. I have met John several times in the past and I have actually taken his Street Encounter Skills class when it was a single day format, I reviewed that class here: Our discussion delves deep into the... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Left of Bang by Jason A. Riley and Patrick Van Horne
Several years ago I read Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life. The authors detail the Combat Hunter program approach to identifying threats in the environment. The idea behind the term “left of bang” is that this material focuses on what happens before the “bang.” The desired result... Continue Reading →
Contact Management Skills: Seeing Other Threats
Knowing how to speak, believe it or not, is an essential element of self-defense. I have written a number of articles on the general subjects of contact management and de-escalation. These skills are just as important as knowing how to draw your firearm. If you have not researched and trained in this skillset I would... Continue Reading →
Stop Forecasting and Prepare for all Contingencies
There is a disturbing trend in the community of self-defense, shooting, and overall preparation in which many people “forecast” and try to predict the nature of the danger they may face and what that will actually look like. This can be seen in a number of ways. In his best-selling book The Black Swan renowned... Continue Reading →
Proactive Situational Awareness when Transitioning Spaces
You are at greatest risk of criminal assault when transitioning from one space to another, or one environment to another. While there is some merit to sitting with your back to the wall like Bill Hickock so that you are aware of what and who is around you, this mentality is somewhat difficult to maintain... Continue Reading →