Thank you for reading this article.
First, I would like to talk about the self defense training I see these days.
Then cover a little background on myself and why I am writing this article.
For self defense training I have read books, watched videos and taken courses.
The typical kind of training I have seen is students standing in front of a firing line, while an instructor is directing them to shoot at a paper targets.
On the command of the instructor the students start blasting away.
These schools want you to bring 500 to 2000 rounds of ammunition to the training sessions.
The instructors at most of the schools are former policemen.
Those former policemen are training other individuals the way that they were trained.
However, police officers are trained to respond exactly the opposite of how citizens should train.
Citizens should train to avoid and escape from criminals, not confront criminals if possible.
I mean no disrespect for other people's self defense courses.
I try to keep an open mind and believe most trainers teach something of value.
However, you should always question what you hear and test what you see to determine if it is feasible.
There seems to be a lot of talk regarding avoiding a gun fight.
However, there is almost no training in avoidance, escape and evasion from criminals.
The typical training class appears to be suited for men in the 30s and 40s age group.
In reality, useful training should be suitable for you regardless of your age, gender or physical disabilities.
Let's stop and think for a minute about the kind of confrontation policemen train for.
Upon graduation from a police training academy, policemen are taught to seek individuals who may be involved in suspicious activities.
Let's say the police officer felt a bit apprehensive.
He draws his pistol.
He holds the person at gunpoint until he can handcuff him for further questioning.
Police officers can quickly request backup help by radio, if the officer is alone.
However, we as individuals do not have that resource.
I hope everyone can agree with me on this basic premise.
What is wrong with strutting down the street and if some criminal gets in my way I have a shootout? In this situation I come walking down the street minding my own business.
I either do not know how to get out of a criminal's way or I decide I am a tough guy.
My pride prevents me from getting out of his way.
I see this guy who I think is a thug.
He comes up and yanks his gun out at me.
I in turn pull out my gun and we have a shootout.
That situation could be detrimental to me.
I could get shot by blundering into the shootout.
Let's say for the sake of this example I am successful.
I kill him and I am unscathed at this point.
After the shooting, someone in the neighborhood heard what is going on and calls the police.
Here come the police with lights and sirens flashing.
Now the police get out of their car and point their guns at me.
I would have my hands in the air and lay my gun on the ground.
The police would handcuff me and put me in the back of their patrol car.
From then on they would start questioning me about what had happened.
Based on the cases I have read the police would probably arrest me for something.
The charge could be anything from murder to discharging a firearm in the city limits.
The police would take me to the station where they would book me.
First I would call a bail bondsman to bail me out of jail, that is if I had the money to post bail.
The bail bondsman would charge me a fee of 10% of the bail as a fee.
If the bail were $100,000 that would mean I would give the bails bondsman a fee of $10,000.
The bails bondsman keeps the fee even if I am found innocent.
If I had the bail money, I could get out of jail.
If I did not' have the bail money, I may languish in jail, for months or years waiting on a trial.
The second person I would call and very quickly would be a criminal defense attorney.
The attorney would probably charge, I am guessing, $50,000 to start representing me.
If I was successful in the criminal trial then I would get out of jail.
The relatives, of the person I shot, would probably file a civil suit against me.
That would be more legal fees.
Depending on the situation I have just described, your best outcome is probably being bankrupt.
You could be thrown out of your house, lose your car and other possessions.
A worse outcome could be imprisonment.
I do not see either one of these as acceptable.
A result of dying is the most unacceptable.
The best outcome is to avoid the criminal at whatever cost possible.
The question for you, the student of self defense, is can we as normal citizens do exactly the same procedures the police do? When we are walking down the street can we draw our gun on people just because we are suspicious of them as a policeman would do? Well of course not.
That is absolutely ridiculous.
If you did that you would end in jail on some charge such as brandishing a gun or assault.
Do we want to face someone we believe is engaged in criminal behavior? The answer has to be of course not.
That is not our job it is the police's job.
So the problem is the current training techniques are based on tactics the police use.
Ordinary citizens cannot do the same.
Conversely, we should be doing the exact opposite of what the police do.
When we believe that danger may be present we should not walk up and meet the danger.
We should be trained to get away before the danger evolves into a life and death struggle.
I am aware of only one other person who has tried to present training based on evasive maneuvers.
After seeing his techniques, I do not believe they would be effective.
If you are in a shooting, would you be able to tell the police all of the things you did to prevent the shooting? It is crucial that you can!