Total Home Defense

This is a guest post by Scott Sylvester.

Total Home Defense

When you are contemplating your personal defense how many attackers do you train to defend against?

At what distances do you train to interdict these attackers?

Are you ready… after firing your gun to slide lock to engage them in hand to hand combat to defend your life, or the life of someone worth dying for?

What other tools do you have nearby that can assist you in winning the fight?While these are some pretty direct and heavy questions, they are worth contemplating, preparing a strategy and training to win when the odds are against you.

Growing up in the “good old days,” when two kids on a school yard or adults in conflict would settle things mano-e-mano or one to one, and let the better man win. It was how we settled arguments when every other option had failed. During these conflicts the crowd would gather, and friends of both sides would watch while the two individuals settled things. These fights were rarely fatal and there were gentlemanly rules of engagement. I’m not saying that fighting is the way to resolve things, it is merely a continuation of diplomacy through other means.

In our modern society, cowardice reigns and the one on one fight is gone. You need to look no further than the evening news to see groups or gangs of combatants attacking a lone victim. Unlike the good old days, they will do so for the slightest perceived insult or the pocket change you are carrying.

Working patrol and especially during my experience in corrections, the fights were almost always 2 on 1 or more. Robberies are now  committed by crews not individuals. Ten years ago no one heard of Home Invasions, but now they are rampant and always committed by a group or gang of thugs. When talking about personal defense, are you prepared to deal with the group of home invaders or are you
preparing for the 1970’s lone cat burglar?

When you spend time at the range it is sometimes difficult to hang two or more targets and practice shooting each one in rapid succession. Most ranges limit the rate of fire and confine you to one lane which makes it difficult to achieve realistic practice. This is why you need to go to a training class! In my intermediate and advanced courses every student will end up having at least two and often three targets posted in front of them with urgency to put a minimum of two to four accurate rounds into each target. To add some pressure I’m also using a timer so you can accurately gauge your abilities. If you have never tried driving the gun from target to target and getting good hits, you need to train this.

Moving the gun from target to target is not an easy skill to master, and if you swing instead of drive the gun, you’ll end up missing! If you do not understand what I mean when I say, Drive the Gun… you need a training class!

The main reason you need to hone this skill is because gun fights occur at very short distances.

Having multiple attackers less than 10 feet away forces you to shoot quickly and get meaningful hits. I do not have the exact stat but nearing the 90% mark, most gun fights occur less than 21 feet away. Measure out 21 feet with a tape measure and ask yourself honestly… how many bad guys could you shoot before they got their hands on you?

This brings me to my last point for the article: When you don’t have a firearm or find yourself in a hand to hand struggle, how prepared are you to continue fighting the threat. You have never been in a fight until you’ve had to fight someone for control of a gun! If you can’t get to the gun and you need to keep your attacker away from it, what makeshift weapons of opportunity are nearby?

Flashlight, lampshade, bat, knife, heavy book, or shovel… whatever you can get to and use, do it!

Your life depends on it.

Now, not every situation will involve a firearm, but the fact of the matter does not change. If you are attacked, expect to be outnumbered, and have a plan to defend yourself. Martial arts like Krav Maga, Kenpo, MMA and Kajukenbo are excellent at teaching defense against multiple opponents. The key to surviving these assaults is this: Action beat reaction. Use the maximum amount of violence in the shortest amount of time. You need to seize and maintain the initiative against multiple attackers. Note I used the word survive. You are going to be hit, you are going to get hurt, but that doesn’t stop you from fighting on!

It is not a matter of if… it is when! Get trained up, get ready and win the fight!

 

Be safe this week. Stay vigilant.
Scott S
One Weapon – Any Tool
Your mind is the weapon, everything else is just a tool!