Greetings Sheepdogs,
Tom Givens posts --
Predictably, as soon as news of the second assassination attempt on former
President Trump was broadcast, there were renewed calls for gun control,
assault weapon bans, etc. Let’s look at the guy who had the rifle:
Routh lived much of his life in Guilford County, North Carolina. In that one
county alone, he has been arrested 74 times on 100 charges. Those charges
involved illegal possession of fully auto machine guns; hit and run; possession
of stolen property; and an armed stand-off with police where he barricaded
himself in his home after fleeing a police stop. Again, these are only charges
in that one county.
Instead of asking “why is this rifle allowed to be in circulation?” the question
should be, “Why is this man allowed to be in circulation?”.
-- Tom Givens
---
Liberal media reported that Routh lived in Hawaii and only had a speeding
ticket on his record (in Hawaii). When Honolulu Police Department officers
searched Routh's house in Hawaii they didn't find anything unusual.
That's why you can't trust the liberal media.
Table of Contents:
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
Table of sections:
Mindset
Safety
Training
Practice
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset -----
Figuring out the correct way to think.
‷If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think,
‶I'm at a disadvantage″,
I have news for you: you are.
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.
The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender --
all the factors that untrained people think make the difference when it comes to violence --
all matter far less than your mindset and your intent.‴
-- Tim Larkin
Tuck your chin and pull your head back. Don't slouch.
Head jutting forward is bad posture, putting stress on your neck, and
bad body language, making your look like a good victim.
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
"Your gunfights will always be anomalies.
So are those of all the instructors you venerate.
It’s useful to keep those facts in mind."
-- Greg Ellifritz
‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”
– William Aprill
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
***** Situational Awareness *****
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
“You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.
There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”
-- Jordan Peterson
"Three Mental Keys To Winning A Confrontation" by Ken Good
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"It really doesn’t matter that you can consistently present your weapon from
a position of carry and fire multiple well aimed shots from your wonder gun into
the A-zone in 1.25 seconds. If you never perceive the attack, you won’t respond."
"Your opponent may have carried your weapon to the fight for you!"
"Put pressure on your threat by adopting a relatively calm, positively determined
posture that displays that you are efficiently adapting and that you plan to prevail,
period."
"Several notable studies have shown that the “walking dead,” those walking
in a non-erect, scanning posture, are the preferred victims of society’s predators."
"If you don’t constantly train, don’t expect results. You see, the only free lunch
is the one your friends enjoy after your funeral."
"Jeff Cooper's Color Code exists to help you get your head
around the need to kill someone in the immediate future."
-- John Hearne
---
Jeff Cooper's Color Code of Mental Awareness
UNAWARE - of what's going on around you. (White)
AWARE - of who is around you and what they are doing. (Yellow)
ALERT - to a potential threat and taking action to avoid the threat. (Orange)
ALARM - by a real threat and taking action to escape the threat,
which might include shooting to PREVENT the attack. (Red)
COMBAT - front sight, press. Shooting to STOP the attack. (Black)
*************************************************************************
----- Safety -----
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING
THAT YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
---
Safety RULE V: Maintain control of your gun. -- Stephen P. Wenger
"One of my frustrations during the time that I volunteered as a range safety officer
at the local outdoor range is that some of the other RSO's, who lacked instructor
experience, failed to appreciate that, just because shooters followed The Rules at the
start of a shooting session, they might not continue to follow them as fatigue and
dehydration set in."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
“Takeovers” by John Farnam
I remember when the rioters (Black Lives Matter et al) blocked the roads and
burned the court house in Nashville, TN. The Nashville police did not arrest
them. The District Attorney did not prosecute them. Never arrest or prosecute
your political allies.
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
"Distracting Questions" by Greg Ellifritz
“Borders” by John Farnam
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
Don’t go to stupid places.
Don’t associate with stupid people.
Don’t do stupid things.
Have a “normal” appearance.
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).
Don’t fail the attitude test.
*************************************************************************
----- Training -----
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
"The Most Terrifying IQ Statistics | Jordan Peterson"
Excerpt:
"There is nothing more important that you can do to maintain your cognitive ability
than to staying in shape (exercise)."
Breast feeding your child makes your child smart. Not breast feeding reduces nutrition
resulting in 4 point decrease in IQ.
The video cuts off before Dr. Peterson explains that any random selection of 100
questions from the 10,000 question pool will work to determine IQ. You will get the
same rank order of the subjects every time. That is what he means by IQ testing being
robust.
The important point Peterson makes for our purpose is that if you work on a skill
you can get good at it. No matter where on the IQ spectrum you are.
[Having a higher IQ would mean you more easily transfer your ability to learn to
other skills. Having a lower IQ would mean you would have more difficulty
transferring your learning ability to other skills.]
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
"The Collected Wisdom of Tom Givens", Volume I and Volume II are now available.
Both are about 130 pages each of selected articles from the past few years.
Volume I is available now, and Vol II will be available in early October.
Cost delivered will be $20.00 in print form, and $15.00 in pdf format.
Tom is only accepting orders paid by personal check or money order.
Put a note with your check as to which volumes, print or pdf, and
address or email address.
Shipping might be slow since Tom is on the road so much,
but he’ll get them to you ASAP.
Tom plans Volume III for early 2025.
For orders --
Rangemaster
1808 James L Redman Parkway
Plant City, FL 33563
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
I went to the 2024 Guardian Conference.
September 20th - 22nd, 2024.
Some of the things I learned: (of course some of the things were subtle,
so I don't mention them, thinking it would better for you to take the
class, so I don't confuse you or get it wrong)
---
"Force-on-Force Adaptive Scenario Training (FFAST)" by Chris Cypert
We suffer from an initiative deficit. It is often to our advantage to take the
initiative.
The bad guy has lots of experience in doing his violent crime. We have
little experience dealing with violent crime. So there is an experience
disparity.
Stranger assaults usually occur in transitional spaces. Violent Criminal Actors
(VCA) do not chase their prey. They sit and wait for victims. Just as the lions
sit and wait at the watering holes for the slow, lame, old, and disabled animals.
Don't limp. Where a brace. Do whatever you have to do to avoid the appearance
of limping. William Aprill interviewed such a VCA. The VCA told Dr. Aprill
that he looked for shoes with Velcro straps, indicative of persons who cannot
tie shoe laces. And targeted those persons. Don't wear shoes with Velcro straps.
If you look like food, you will be eaten.
Watch for pre-assault indicators. Such as: directly moving toward victim,
grooming gestures around face and head, glancing (at the target such as your pistol,
or around the area for witnesses), checking for concealment of his weapon,
"fig leaf position" standing with hands together over the crotch area, weight
shifting (preparing to punch or kick).
Don't get involved in other peoples fights, because you don't know what's
going on; no matter what you think you know.
---
"Low - Light Fundamentals (classroom portion of the class)
Low-Light Shooting and Tactics (live fire portion of the class)" by Chuck Haggard
Don't trap the trigger to the rear and slowly reset after the shot.
Rather, race to reset the trigger.
Strong pinky finger. The other finger will follow. This will give you a strong grip.
The pinky has the most effect because it has the longest lever arm from the pivot point.
The pivot point is the deepest part of the back strap.
You have three trigger pulls:
1. Slack out first. Then press to release the sear. Race to reset.
2. Roll the trigger from touch to bang at the same speed all the way through.
3. Crash through the trigger.
DA/SA have two different trigger pulls. Do you really want to practice enough
to know and master 6 different trigger presses?
One handed techniques to experiment with to find what works best for you.
1. Thumb up or thumb down.
2. Firing side shoulder forward or backward.
3. Pistol held vertically or canted.
Trigger confirmation or trigger checking is where the person unconsciously touches
his trigger. How do you obey the safety rules if you are not aware that you are violating
them? By paying attention to what you are doing. Feel for the index point with your
trigger finger. The absence of that pin in the 1911 or that take down lever in the SA XD
will tell you that you trigger finger is not in the register position. You should constantly
be feeling for you index points. Firing-side web against the tang, firing-side middle
finger against the trigger guard, support-side index finger against the trigger guard,
base of the thumbs pressing against each other, etc. If you don't have index point to
feel for, you are floating around in space.
You must transition between searching and shooting. They are not the same.
Change recoil spring every 5000 rounds.
Light draws vision and fire.
1. Modified FBI position. Arm not necessarily straight out to the side, but comfortably
away from your head. Not very stable for shooting.
2. Cheek bone / jaw bone index. Close to your head, but more stable, flashlight moves
with your head and eyes.
3. Harries technique. (Chuck made a point of pronouncing the name correctly.
Hâ - rees′ )
Don't run your weapon mounted light with your trigger finger. Lots of documented
cases where the police officer fired the pistol when they meant to turn the weapon
mounted light on or off. Technical term "task saturation confusion". Always operate
the WML with your support side thumb. When holding a pistol, the only task your
trigger finger does is press the trigger to fire.
Never attempt to catch your ejected cartridge. Significant probability that the ejector
will hit the primer thereby detonating the cartridge in your hand.
Hand held light. Press on, release off. Click to stay on or off. Nothing more
complicated than that. No strobes. No dim, medium, high. No colors. Keep it simple.
Chaotic light. Move light to prevent enemy from understanding where you are and
how you are moving.
Strobe is a bug, not a feature.
When holding a bad guy at gun point, don't make him turn away from you. You
want the light in his eyes.
Pin the enemy with your light.
Splash light to identify the target, then shoot if necessary.
---
"Sniper Pistol - Extreme Precision Handgun for the Guardian Citizen"
by Kaery Dudenhofer
Subconscious aiming.
Bridge of decision.
Mantra mountain tunnel.
Perfect or not at all. (a precision shooting concept)
Precision city.
DFUS =
Direction
Finger
Unload
Secure
Make road map and stick to your process.
Neural linguistic programming - words to control movement in your body.
The United States Army Marksmanship Training Unit took 4 days to train
their recruits. Marcus Wynne reduced the training time to one day and got
comparable results.
Lewinski says, "Making mistakes the best way to learn."
Your evaluation of your performance should be "Good", "Okay", or "Needs work".
Never anything putting yourself down. Never any negative talk.
No need to aim. No need to teach aiming. Aiming is automatic / instinctive.
Perfection is the enemy of marksmanship.
The human brain can process 11 million bits of information per second
subconsciously. But only 8 to 12 bits per second consciously.
Concerning aiming, watch it to keep it. As with driving down a highway,
you don't need to concentrate on keeping your car between the lines. Your
subconscious mind will keep you centered between the lines automatically.
Subconscious anticipation of recoil (bracing, as in bracing for impact)
such as flinching, etc. is natural. Only a trauma brain injury would prevent
such bracing. Bracing can never go away. It's just the brain protecting the
body.
Strive for an automatic trigger press by creating an automatic motor program.
Open loop motor programs, 0.25 seconds, subconscious. Once started, impossible
to stop before completion of the program. This is not precision. But it's fast.
Precision is a closed loop automatic motor program. Executed consciously,
not subconsciously. Closed loop automatic motor programs allow you to catch
and correct errors.
Slack out first, precision slow press, while reciting the mantra,
"Keep pressing", "Keep pressing", "Keep pressing", . . . These are not arbitrary words.
These are in fact very special words on many levels: semantic, syntactic, linguistic,
and others.
Accept your wobble. Strive for a perfect trigger press.
Pre-ignition movement of the gun is present except with intense concentration.
The concentration leaves no room for evaluation.
"Keep pressing", "Keep pressing", "Keep pressing", . . . said aloud in rhythm.
Your body moves at the speed of your voice.
Sub-conscious concentration prevents conscious mind from bracing. The mantra
keeps you in the precision program.
Concentrated trigger press.
Lower the red dot brightness for long distance shooting.
Allow your subconscious to take care of aiming for you. Take the slack out of the
trigger. Repeat to yourself aloud (silently if you can, but do it aloud initially),
"Keep pressing", "Keep pressing", "Keep pressing", "Keep pressing", "Keep pressing",
(the mantra) until the pistol fires.
Cooper said that the surprise trigger break defeats the autonomic nervous system
responses to the report and recoil by allowing the bullet to exit the muzzle before any
body reaction to the report and recoil.
Dudenhofer says that by concentrating (by repeating the mantra) you can prevent
the bracing.
---
"Managing Unknown Contacts" - by Chuck Haggard
Lead has a 20 year half life in your body. So, wash hands three time. Take a shower.
Toss your clothes in the wash.
We go to conferences (such as the Guardian conference that we are presently
attending) to get training and learn new things. Bad guys go to prison where they
exchange ideas and to get training.
Dr. Alexis Artwold of Force Science says (concerning deadly force encounters),
10,000 murders per year, 60,000 traffic accidents per year. So which is more dangerous
to you? Which should you be training to avoid?
How to avoid a home invasion. Don't be a drug dealer. Everybody knows drug
dealers have drugs and cash in their homes. Everybody knows they won't call the
police.
Almost all persons who are shot, are shot by people they know (criminals know
each other). Almost all persons involved in shootings are criminals (a good guy
shooting a criminal is extremely rare; generally it criminals shooting criminals).
Stranger attacks take place in transitional spaces and urban watering holes.
Gas stations, stores, Wal Mart parking lots.
Recon to your destination, at your destination, and back home from your destination.
Hunt to your destination, at your destination, and back home from your destination.
That shit don't look right, because that shit ain't right. (trust yourself)
Human predators, just like sharks, will do a shark bump. They will probe their target
to see if it is food. Be aware of the shark bump. React correctly. Immediate
counter attack. Kick the shark (or a bang stick). Let the shark know that you are not
food.
William Aprill says, "They (criminals) don't think like you do." (Assuming their
behavior based on your behavior or experiences is a fatal mistake.)
Wasp spray does not work on humans. (There is a lot of stupidity floating around
the internet and human gossip.)
Don't look like a tourist. Tourists are targeted because the criminals know that
the tourists won't cooperate with a prosecution.
[Same reason cops give speeding ticket to out of town drivers. The cop knows the
driver is not going to spend the money and time off from work to fight the false ticket.
The driver is just going to mail in the payment. Speeding tickets are extortion,
and a major source of revenue for the jurisdictions. -- Jon Low]
---
"Dry Fire Optimization for Defense-Oriented Shooters" by Dan Brady
Everything is something; time, effort, treasure.
Annette Evans says create your "dry fire dojo". A protective place dedicated to your
safe dry fire practice.
Chamber bore plug.
Say out loud, "I am beginning by dry practice." when you start, and
"My dry practice is over." when you finish.
A car is about 16 feet long. A garage is about 20 feet (7 yards) long.
Scale targets accordingly.
Anticipation is an emotion. Pre-ignition push is an action.
Dry fire tools (like Mantis X et al) . . . not needed.
Consistent grip, not necessarily tight grip. (Consistency is accuracy.)
Chamber lasers (which are not actually lasers) are a bad idea, because they cause you
to peek to look for the red dot on the target. Trust yourself and follow through. Don't peek.
Do micro drills. Break each task into components. Practice each component, striving
to perfect it. For instance; Access, Grip, Present.
Create visual go signals.
Let yourself be fast. Let yourself explode.
0.2 to 0.25 seconds is the human response time for an anticipated signal.
Unanticipated is 0.25 to 0.5 seconds. Which varies with the complexity of the signal.
Visual signals take longer to process than audio signals because the physiology is much
more complex. Vision is 2-dimensional. Hearing is 1-dimensional (just a time series
of pressure amplitudes, because that's all that air can transmit).
---
"Inner Games of Shooting" by Brian Hill
Three presentations: (car analogy)
1. Ignore the stop. Fire as soon as possible. (i.e. from one handed close contact,
before full extension, before you see the sights, etc.)
2. Roll through the stop. Firing before the stop (at full extension).
3. Complete stop before firing.
Three sight movies: (words to give you an idea as to how well you
see the sights and target)
1. Flash.
2. Float.
3. Focus.
Three trigger presses:
1. Crash through the trigger.
2. Roll the trigger from touch to bang at the same speed all the way through.
3. Slack out first. Then press to release the sear. Race to reset.
Tom Givens' terms: (for relative speed vs. accuracy)
1. Quickly.
2. Carefully.
3. Precisely.
Ready positions - not on target. Fighting positions - on target.
Always be ready. Stand up straight. Quiet your eyes. Visualize. Breathe.
Your training must have complexity and novelty for you to get better.
Strive for anti-fragility.
Learning stress.
"Try harder." -- Stop that shit. Don't say it. Don't think it.
Levels of shooting:
Live at 80%
Performance at 90%
Elite at 91% (The point is making improvements at the higher levels is very hard,
you hit a point of diminishing returns.)
Perfection is procrastination.
You don't want to be measured, but measurement is necessary for improvement.
Measurement is the scientific method.
Are you a supporting character in your life? No, you're the main character.
Such is your training. Act like it.
One goal at a time.
Good instructors agree on 80%. Great instructors agree on 90%. Still, lots to
disagree on. (Don't get dogmatic. Best practices change with time. If you haven't
changed anything in your teaching in the last 10 years, you're probably teaching
obsolete stuff.) [Every time I attend a class, I make changes to my teaching curriculum.
I always learn better ways to teach a thing. I often learn things that I should not be
teaching, like manipulating the WML with the trigger finger. -- Jon Low]
Training:
Accuracy mode
Precision mode
Performance mode, see your sights, call your shots
Efficient means maximum results, minimum effort. NOT hard work. Hard work
doesn't necessarily achieve. Smart is efficient.
Be present. Concentrating on what you are doing, not on the future, not on the past.
Only NOW.
Never yell at athletes.
Red dot sights allow the shooter to see below the target; a significant advantage.
Trigger process: pin trigger, race to reset.
There is only one risk taker in ever 5 humans. The rest are risk averse.
Psychology: time vs. information.
Physiology (biology) trumps personality.
Breath exercises:
Deep inhale and sigh.
Double nasal inhale.
Think "good enough". Perfectionist think "never good enough". Don't be a perfectionist.
You have 3 types of vision:
1. Tunnel vision, when you're totally focused and concentrating on some thing.
2. Panorama vision, extend your arms with palms facing forward,
see your fingernail clearly, spread your arms apart until you can't see your fingernails.
This is maybe 20 degrees. That's why you have to turn your head to look around.
3. Peripheral vision, what you can notice (especially movement) at the limits of your
field of vision.
Red dots are good for distance shooting. Iron sights are good for low light with a
flashlight.
---
"Shooting From Diminished Positions" by Mickey Schuch
When shooting from a supine position, bend knees up and shoot between your thighs.
If your legs are extended, you might shoot your feet.
Recover from a supine position in such a way so as to avoid exposing your head
to a kick. From your back, push your torso up with your support side arm, pull
support side foot to your butt, pull firing-side foot under you into a kneeling position,
and stand. [I know it's hard to visualize from my prose description. Olivia Dunne
demonstrates at 0:13 / 2:07 in this video of her floor exercise,
Ya, I know she does it really fast. You might want to slow the video down using the
"Settings" control at the bottom of the screen.
-- Jon Low]
From supine position, roll to side into fetus position. Squeeze your two handed grip
between your knees. Experiment. Find a comfortable position to shoot from.
Stand, squat, stand, squat, . . .
It takes about 0.25 seconds to recognize the threat. It takes about 0.25 seconds to
decide to respond to the threat.
Our attitude at the beginning of a task is the determining factor in the outcome.
How do you win? Visualization and working the process. (Of course, you have to
have a well defined, correct process to work.)
A lady in the class had a red dot sight. The rain filled the volume above the window
of her sight when her pistol was in her holster (open carry, concealed carry would have
prevented the rain from pooling in her red dot sight). When she drew her pistol to shoot,
there were water droplets adhering to the sight window. When she blew the water out,
the window was fogged. Such is reality on a hot humid rainy day.
------------------ End of 2024 Guardian Conference ---------------------------------
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
Email from Jeff L. Gonzales --
Hello Jonathan,
There has been great discussions on rifle training after the last couple of ProDev
videos and blogs on the subject. One question had to do with planning your
professional development. It's a great question and there is no single answer.
What I can tell you is there are three ranges that require slightly different approaches.
These approaches translate into a percentage of time spent and rounds fired. Here's a
breakdown of the three different ranges to practice.
A note on total rounds fired annually. I diversify my ammo budget between,
pistol, rifle, and shotgun. I will shoot about 5,000 rounds with my pistol, about
3,000 rounds with my rifle and 1,000 rounds with my shotgun. Some years might
favor one platform over the other, but this is my typical yearly goal.
#1: Close Range (0-10y yards)
I define close range as inside of 10 yards or most CQB distances. At these ranges
it's all about speed and knowing your mechanical offset. Low light is another
important skill to develop at this range and one often overlooked. Pistol transitions
is a tricky subject since most homeowners will not have their gun belt. That leaves
reloads and carrying a spare magazine even without a gun belt. Since this distance
would be the most common distance one might experience it represents the largest
percentage of your training allocation. I would anticipate 50% or more of my
ammunition training at this range. So for me, that's going to be about 1,500 plus
rounds per year.
#2: Mid Range (15-100 yards)
I define mid range from the 15 yard line to the 100 yard line. At these ranges it's
all about movement and positions. You need to be able to cover ground and get
behind cover. While moving to cover you may need to return fire so shooting on
the move is a big part. Then knowing how to shoot from behind cover and when
to break cover. You are start to become very familiar with your Point Blank Range
or PBR and how shooting from different positions can be challenging. In specific
dealing with mechanical offset over and around objects as well as canting from
unconventional positions. This would take about 40% of my training budget or
1,200 rounds.
#3: Long Range (100-300 plus)
As a rifleman I want to be able to hit targets at the maximum effective range of my
caliber; which for 5.56mm is 300 yards [I disagree. In recruit training the Privates
were able to hit man size targets out to 500 yards. -- Jon Low]. If I have the
opportunity to shoot at 400 or even 500 yards I will take it to get more dope.
This range is all about precision and consistency. It highlights errors that go
unnoticed at close range and provides a greater appreciation for position work.
The value of an LPVO (Low Power Variable Optic) shines brightly at these ranges.
If you have a true daytime "red dot" with power up to 8x and a good tactical reticle
you sitting pretty. I will invest about 10% or 300 rounds of my training budget,
usually match grade ammunition at this distance. [Do you have magazines loaded
with match grade ammo and marked as such in your go bag? -- Jon Low]
Everybody wants to be a rifleman, until it's time to do riflemen shit.
Don't ignore the other distances and be a well rounded rifleman.
Good Luck,
JLG
P.S. Feel free to share with other like minded folks.
[Proofreading corrections are mine. -- Jon Low]
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing –
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
"Those motivated by a desire to improve their
gunfighting skills as opposed to a quest for trophies,
must be willing to bleed ego on the match results
to avoid shedding blood in combat."
-- Andy Stanford
"Train and practice so that you can stay in your rational mind,
and force your enemy into his emotional mind. The emotional
mind makes bad judgments which will allow you to win."
-- John Hearne
------------------------------ Classes and Conferences --------------------------------
Rangemaster-Certified Instructors
"Law of Self Defense" class by Andrew Branca, $149
Live Online Course
Saturday, October 19, 2024
9AM - 4PM Mountain time
"The National Christian Protectors Conference (NCPC)"
Dallas, TX.
October 3, 2024
Paladin Training, Inc.
Training schedule --
Course descriptions --
OUR TRAINING PHILOSOPHY
1. Train the mind.
The body will follow.
2. Stick to the basics.
Working the gun — getting hits and reducing stoppages.
Moving — plus use of cover.
Communicating.
3. Be patient.
People learn at different rates and in different ways.
4. Insist on perfection.
But praise ‘the best possible’.
5. Be a student.
Never stop learning.
6. Be humble.
“When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.” Winston Churchill
FPF Training
Defensive Training International
Rangemaster
Trident Concepts
Mead Hall Range & Tactics
Apache Solutions
Harris Combative Strategies
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
----- Practice -----
How to get proficient at that task.
Why practice?
“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively
tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them
and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or
unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”
-- Winston Churchill
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
‟Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous.”
-- ‶Shooting in Self-Defense″ by Sara Ahrens
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, Escape
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy -----
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it,
which tactics to use, which includes walking away.
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from "Principles of Personal Defense" by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC,
(1920 – 2006 A.D.)
"Have your affairs in order."
-- John Hearne
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
"Having a gun is important. But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
[As opposed to "Getting hits on target." Lots of discussion of Holschen's dictum
at the Guardian conference. -- Jon Low]
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics -----
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.
[I don't mention hand-to-hand combat, because disparity of surprise, strength, weight,
speed, agility, etc. make hand-to-hand combat problematic. We have brains so we use
tools. The pistol is an emergency rescue tool. We always carry because we understand
that predators exist in the real world. We chose to live in the real world. -- Jon Low]
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before intervening
in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced your in-hand weapon
retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
". . . if the assailant has a gun, it may actually be the easiest gun for you to access,
if you know how to take it from him."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
---
When was last time you practiced your in-holster weapon retention skills?
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques -----
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"The Precise Trigger Press
It takes a lot of work to make the perfect shot."
by Steve Tarani
Excerpt:
The nine trigger positions of a handgun are generically identified as:
At rest: there is no external forces exerted
Slack: the front-end take-up
Wall: where you start to feel a buildup of resistance
Creep: as you are pressing through the wall
Break: where the sear is released causing the hammer or striker to send the shot
Overtravel: the trigger movement past break
Pin: stopped at the rear of the trigger guard
Reverse travel: the trigger has now changed direction and instead of moving to
the rear of the trigger guard is now moving to the front of the trigger guard
Reset: where the cycle of action begins again
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
"A Personal Challenge" by Sheriff Jim Wilson
"A Personal Challenge, Part II" by Sheriff Jim Wilson
Ya, it's real important to master what you carry.
Hard to do if you keep changing what you carry.
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
"Sight Alignment vs. Sight Picture and What The Unison Aim Is"
by Richard Nance
[Misaligned sights causes a geometric error, not an exponential error.
Misaligning the sight picture with the target would also cause a geometric error.
It's just that the coefficients of the variables are much smaller. So at pistol ranges
it appears to be a linear error.
-- Jon Low]
"From One To The Next — Some Handheld Light Techniques"
by Erick Gelhaus
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to treat your wounds or the wounds of your loved ones.
Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.
Table of contents:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath -----
You must be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.
“Your understanding and consent are not required
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones,
and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the link is,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
*************************************************************************
----- Medical -----
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified
$495.00
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
*************************************************************************
----- Survival -----
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
Table of contents:
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
Active Response Training
"tacticalprofessor"
ConcealedCarry.com articles
Concealed Carry Corner
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Legal -----
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
"Law of Self Defense" class by Andrew Branca, $149
Live Online Course
Saturday, October 19, 2024
9AM - 4PM Mountain time
Congressman Mark Green addresses Constitutional Carry at TFALAC Annual Event 2024
I gave Mark Green $1000 to run for Governor, but he dropped out of the race.
I gave Mae Beavers $1000 to run for Governor, but she dropped out of the race.
So I gave Bill Lee $1000 and he won. I should have saved my money and stayed home.
"Build A Reciprocity Map:" by Concealed Carry Inc.
"Federal District Court for the Central District of Illinois Refuses to Dismiss
Civil Rights Lawsuit for Loss of 2A Rights"
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
"It helps to have a skilled attorney, such as David Sigale, who has considerable
experience and success in Second Amendment lawsuits . . ."
"Concealed Carry Laws in America" by CCW Safe
"Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
(free book, just pay for shipping so you don't have to go to Colorado to pick it up)
Why? Because cops don't care. They get their raises and promotions based on arrests.
Not convictions.
"Never allow someone to be your priority, while allowing yourself to be their option."
-- Mark Twain
"NYC" by John Farnam
“Is there no virtue among us? If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form, will insure liberty and happiness
for a dishonorable population represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
*************************************************************************
----- Instruction -----
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
"The limited time you spend with students may be the only training they ever receive!"
-- John Farnam
----- Instructors -----
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
----- Students -----
I know training can be difficult. Let me share some words of encouragement that
my teacher told me, that I believe apply to all training regimens.
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material. It is totally normal
that the first time you see this stuff, you find it confusing. You find it difficult to
understand. So, confusion should not discourage you. It does not represent any
intellectual failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an opportunity
to get even smarter."
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science
and other stuff at Stanford University
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague." -- Freeman Dyson
If you are wrong, the instructor can correct you.
If you are vague, no one can help you.
----- Andragogy -----
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
----- Gear -----
And the safe storage thereof.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Let’s Keep It Clean, Folks
Cleanliness is next to preparedness."
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
"My Gun Isn't Working! What Should I Do?"
by Langdon Tactical
S - shooter
A - ammunition
M - magazines
"Another sig blows up" by Ben Stoeger
"Falco's Hybrid IWB Holster: More Than Meets the Eye
Artisan craftsmanship paired with modern manufacturing
technology equals a product victory."
by Kevin Reese
I broke 3 ETS clear plastic magazines in three days at the Guardian conference.
Kinetic energy is ½ (m v²) .
where m is the mass of the object and v is the velocity of the object. (Ya, I know that
velocity is a vector. What we mean is that we are taking the square of the magnitude
of the velocity vector, i.e. the square of the speed of the object. We are always dealing
with finite extent objects. And we are assuming that the mass is constant.)
Momentum is m v . Momentum is a vector because velocity is a vector.
That means that momentum is the first derivative of kinetic energy with respect
to velocity.
mv = d( ½ (m v²) ) / dv .
You're taking the derivative of a scalar (kinetic energy) with respect to a vector (velocity)
and getting a vector (momentum)? That seems kind of fishy.
And that's not the strangest part. While total energy is conserved (in theory, in classical
mechanics), kinetic energy is not conserved. K.E. can be transformed into other forms of
energy or mass. So, the derivative of a non-conserved quantity with respect to a state
variable results in a conserved quantity. Even if the K.E. changes in our system, the
momentum does not. That's why the energy of the bullet is meaningless. The muzzle
energy is completely useless, because it cannot be used to calculate the energy at the target.
All of the important information is in the momentum. Because momentum is conserved.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
It's Korea.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property.
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use."
-- Thomas Paine
Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR,
International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That means cryptosystems are
protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never let the
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to
include home made cryptosystems.
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
"NIST Releases First Post-Quantum Encryption Algorithms" by Bruce Schneier
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
"The National Cryptologic School Television Center Catalog"
Cool!
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Life is not easy for any of us.
But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing must be attained."
-- Marie Curie
"The American M-209 cipher machine" by Christos
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
"Australia Threatens to Force Companies to Break Encryption" by Bruce Schneier
More evidence that politicians don't understand cryptology. And the experts that the
politicians rely on don't understand either.
"You don't need to memorize theorems,
because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
"UNIX memoir, in first person - Ken Thompson"
Hexadecimal is a mix of Greek and Latin
Sexadecimal is Latin
Hexadeka is Greek
***** Signals Intelligence and Ground Electronic Warfare, Cyber Security,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) *****
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
"Now Israel Has Detonated Thousands Of Hezbollah's Hand-Held Radios" by Docent
"Israel Triggers Pagers To Explode (Updated)"by Docent
---
“Operation Pager” by John Farnam
"Surveillance Watch"
Oh, so many companies that I have worked for, and so many missing from the list.
"US appeals court rules geofence warrants are unconstitutional" by Zack Whittaker
"Is Telegram really an encrypted messaging app?" by Matthew Green
"Telegram – “secret”? Yeah, right" by Alanna Titterington
“We have a lot of legacy applications within the department [of defense] — I mean a lot.
We still have applications that run on mainframes that are critical to day-to-day operations,
and the people who wrote those are dead.”
— John Hale, chief of cloud services at the Defense Information Systems Agency,
describing the state of the Pentagon’s IT and how they are using AI to modernize
legacy code of these ancient systems
Hat tip to the Merge.
[Do you see a vulnerability? -- Jon Low]
Taiwan committed $1.3B to buy L3Harris ‘Viper Shield’ EW systems for its fleet
of 66 F-16V fighters.
Hat tip to the Merge.
"Third Marine XQ-58 Valkyrie Flight Test Uses Link 16 For Control
Marine Corps' plans to operate drones like the XQ-58 from far-flung
forward locations will require robust command and control networks."
by Joseph Trevithick
Good authors define all acronyms on first usage. The comments are worth reading.
"Space Force Picks 4 Firms to Work on New Resilient GPS Small Satellites"
by Greg Hadley
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
2600
‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
This is the question that Tennesseans should be asking the Republicans who voted
for immunity for the medical "industry" during Covid.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
Gathering, Analyzing, Disseminating
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution
The art and practice of Intelligence is an arm protected by the 2nd Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution. Never let anyone infringe upon your God given right
to keep and bear intelligence. (The enemy, foreign and domestic, will try to dumb
you down. Resist!)
How did the second would be assassin of former President Trump know where
and when to set up for the rifle shot? Who gave the would be assassin the rifle,
ammo, and training? As Tom Givens tells us, the would be assassin was a prohibited
possessor of the rifle and ammo. For the planners of the assassination attempt to
believe that success was possible, they had to have given the would be assassin
some training. (At least have the shooter zero the rifle. A 400 yard shot ain't that easy.)
Who would train such a person? It is unlikely that any of us would have allowed the
would be assassin into any of our classes, based on his behavior and his son's behavior,
including their excited utterances. (Extensive criminal history. No military history.)
Have you heard the son running his mouth on TV? Trump Derangement Syndrome
in full bloom.
“Unfortunately, we continue to be stuck in a reality where it takes longer to do
the government paperwork to license a rocket launch than it does to design and
build the actual hardware.”
— SpaceX throwing shade at the FAA and EPA (and probably some other agencies)
over the fumbled approvals for Starship’s next test flight
Hat tip to the Merge.
[Notice Elon Musk refers to hardware, but not software. -- Jon Low]
Jim Dunnigan's Strategy Page, September 1, 2024
"Murphy's Law: Hong Kong the Smuggler Haven"
Hong Kong has become the major source for supplying sanctioned nations with
weapons and munitions. A current customer is Russia. Hong Kong does this by
allowing Russian tankers and cargo ships, operating with fake credentials to disguise
their Russian affiliation, to bring in Russian oil and other raw materials. The Russian
ships then leave Hong Kong carrying weapons for their war in Ukraine. This is not a
new activity for Hong Kong, which has been in the smuggling business for decades.
Since 2004 Hong Kong firms have been using their port city to smuggle
Chinese-made weapons to foreign customers who are sanctioned and unable to obtain
weapons legally.
Meanwhile China has been increasing its military hold on Hong Kong.
In 1997, Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese control, after the 99-year lease that
Britain had on the territory was not renewed by China. Hong Kong was allowed to
maintain some economic and administrative autonomy but the police and military
garrison were now under the control of China. Initially, the Chinese Hong Kong
garrison consisted of one infantry brigade of four battalions plus support units.
The garrison is there to defend the city against internal unrest, rather than external
threats.
For the troops, it's a choice assignment, as Hong Kong is a cool place to live if
you are young. Most of the Chinese troops are young. Duty in Hong has other
advantages as the Chinese troops took over the old British barracks and then upgraded
and expanded those facilities.
The Chinese garrison is there to protect economic activities and maintain order.
The Hong Kong smugglers are considered an important part of the local economy and
worth protecting.
-- Jim Dunnigan
[A brigade (commanded by a Brigadier General) is usually made up of 3 regiments
(commanded by Colonels). So a brigade composed of 4 battalions (commanded by
Lt. Colonels) is kind of strange. The unit should be a regiment (commanded by a Colonel)
with 4 subordinate battalions, but a BG can't command a regiment. So, it's called a brigade.
Nice duty for a BG, too.
-- Jon Low]
"Israel Hits Beirut, Lebanon With Airstrikes After
Assassination Of Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah"
by Forbes Breaking News
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** After Thoughts, Politics, and such ***** ***** *****
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- (Mary) Flannery O'Connor
"Feds Nab Would-Be Trump Shooter's Son" by Liz Wheeler
"Breaking News: Kamala Harris LIED About Her Black Grandparents | Candace Ep 71"
by Candace Owens
"This Is Terrifying! What is Kamala Hiding? | Candace Ep 72"
by Candace Owens
"I Think I Found Kamala’s Real Family | Candace Ep 73"
by Candace Owens
"The Kamala Investigation Continues… | Candace Ep 74"
by Candace Owens
I'm on vacation. I will return when I run out of money.
Brandon putting the squeeze on the richest African-American in the world.
If you order sweet tea and the waiter says they don't have any or doesn't know what
you're talking about, you've traveled too far from home.
This is reality.
"Hysterical Kamala Harris parody ad goes viral after being banned by Gavin Newsom"
by Sky News Australia
“You can’t truly call yourself ‘peaceful’ unless you are capable of great violence.
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.
Important distinction.”
-- Stef Starkgaryen
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.