Mindset! Enough said...

Read the story of this Marine/Cop...
http://www.today.com/news/shot-face-cop-chases-suspect-giving-not-option-8C11504098

"You must prepare your mind for where your body may have to go" Stacy Kim, LAPD

a conversation....

ON MAINTENANCE; a conversation…

Instructor: “Warrior!”

Warrior: “ooorah!”

Instructor: “Always maintenance your weapons. Keep the knife sharp; the bow taunt; the spear straight. More importantly though…. Are those core weapons:
YOUR MIND! YOUR BODY! YOUR SPIRIT!
Fail to maintain these weapons…, you weaken and die.
Do well to maintain these weapons and they will serve you gloriously; here and beyond!

Warrior: “OOORAH!!!”

Leadership

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

John Quincy Adams

 

What about you? What do your actions and your words inspire in others around you? Do you inspire them to do, dream, learn and become more? Or, have you gotten caught up in the negativity you are bombarded with every day and become an energy vampire and a dream stealer?

When people spend time with you do they walk away with a renewed energy, sense of purpose and commitment to pursue their dreams and goals? Or, do they walk away with their energy levels low and convinced the world is conspiring to keep them down so there is really no point in trying to do better?

Who are the energy vampires and dream stealers in your workplace and in your life? Now, if we conducted an anonymous survey of the people you work with would your name be on their list?

Yesterday I had lunch with my two sons Jesse and Cody. Jesse is 30 and owns a very successful wine boutique in Calgary. Cody is 27 and in the process of opening his own restaurant in Calgary. Every time I get together with them they inspire me. They inspire me to dream more, learn more and do more. They are role models and mentors for me. They are leaders.

Leadership is about choice. Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now? - can help you prioritize the choices you make on a daily basis.

What's Important Now? - Using John Quincy Adams definition ask yourself, "Are I a leader?"

Brian Willis

www.winningmindtraining.com

fight... Always Fight!

"You cannot run away from a weakness; you must sometimes fight it out or parish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand." -Robert Louis Stevenson

(Thanks Pete for sharing)

Another great class concluded

Finished up another great Train-the-Trainer course through the County Sheriffs of Colorado (CSOC). It was a fun five days and I thoroughly enjoyed instructing this fun, interactive group of professionals. We had the following agencies represented in class:

Lakewood PD
Blackhawk PD
Denver CSO
Lone Tree PD
Colorado State Patrol
Colorado State Parks
Castle Rock PD
Weld CSO
Colorado Bureau of Investigations

I had a blast and look forward to the next class...:)

Mom stabbed at light rail robbery....

Woman with baby stabbed during robbery….

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24350340/woman-child-stabbed-during-robbery-near-light-rail

Chicago Cop Stabbed in face, suspect killed

“The three officers forced their way into the home after hearing a woman scream and the sergeant, who was first to enter, was stabbed several times in the face….The sergeant, 46, suffered a puncture wound above the temple and lacerations to face, authorities said. He was taken in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center”

 

Red the entire story here:

http://www.policeone.com/edged-weapons/articles/6540958-Chicago-cop-stabbed-in-face-suspect-killed/?source=newsletter&nlid=6538808

 

Gun in the house?

Cant help but wonder if this poor woman had previous training with weapons (knife, gun...) or even had a gun in the house if it would have changed the horrible outcome?

http://therightscoop.com/if-there-ever-was-an-argument-for-owning-a-gun-this-is-it/

Upcoming Dates

Don't forget to check my sites for upcoming courses and availability:

Law Enforcement and Military Training Schedule:
·         Tactical Knife Options
·         TKO-Duty Knife/Offensive
·         Mind-set Seminars
·         Report Writing and UOF documentation
·         Trainer/Instructor Development
http://www.esr-black.com/

Civilian Training Schedule:

·         Knife Tactics
·         Self- Protection (hand-to-hand)
·         Firearms
http://www.tacticalknifeoptions.com/

How to apply Force Science findings to policy and training

"This information has been beneficial in our understanding of officer(s) actions under stress and has ensured officers are not held to inhuman standards of performance. Yet, the question should be posed as to whether administrators and trainers are using FSI’s research to adequately adjust tactics and policy in order to limit exposure to overwhelmingly-stressful situations."

To read the entire article, follow the link:
http://www.policeone.com/Officer-Safety/articles/6503975-How-to-apply-Force-Science-findings-to-policy-and-training/?goback=%2Egde_3386144_member_5794515283104260100#%21

TASER v. Sword???

What is wrong with this picture? 15 to 20 feet distance, armed and threatening with a sword? Pretty sure this constituted an “imminent deadly threat”. Now, I was not there and am only commenting on what was published; but on the surface this definitely raises numerous flags…

FINLEY, Wash. — A Finley man faces multiple charges for allegedly leading officers on a high-speed chase exceeding 100 mph and deliberately crashing into two patrol cars early Tuesday morning.

Shane DeWeber, 33, brandished a sword, fought with police and was stunned with a Taser twice — with no effect — before being taken into custody, according to Benton County Sheriff Steve Keane. DeWeber, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 260 pounds, took the sword out of his pickup and threatened deputies, who were standing 15 to 20 feet away, while refusing commands to surrender and asking them to shoot him, Keane said. He got in the pickup and fled after a deputy attempted to stun him with a Taser.

He led deputies on a high-speed chase down Highway 397 and other roads around Finley, often driving on the wrong side of the road, Keane said. They gave up the pursuit out of concern for the public.

His second confrontation with officers came after he crashed his Dodge Ram pickup at more than 100 mph into vehicles from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and Kennewick Police Department that were waiting for him along Haney Road around 4:30 a.m., Keane said.

Weapon Retention: On-duty and Off-duty

Any weapon system is only good if under your control. Do you train on how to retain your sidearm should someone decide they want to take it? If someone goes for your gun, it is unequivocally a DEADLY THREAT situation....

 

Off-duty Calif. cop shot with own gun

The officer was involved in a collision and the other driver used his weapon to shoot him

LA HABRA, Calif. — An off-duty La Habra police officer was shot with his own weapon early Saturday during a fight after a traffic accident on the 5 Freeway in Castaic, authorities said.

The shooting is under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which said the officer's injuries were not life threatening.

The incident occurred near Templin Highway at 5:15 a.m., when the officer was involved in a traffic collision. During a subsequent struggle, the other driver used the officer's handgun to shoot him, according to the Sheriff's Department.

The gun has not been recovered, and no description of the suspect or his vehicle was released.

http://www.policeone.com/off-duty/articles/6500230-Off-duty-Calif-cop-shot-with-own-gun/

Interesting - from Tony Blauer - mindset

What would it cost you if you didn't fight back?  Make a list.

What's on it? If you’ve studied with us or read some of my previous posts you probably answered this quickly: property, body or life.

That is the correct response…if only real violence was like a video game and the fight-of-your-life was a multiple-choice test. But it’s not.

I want you to spend 5 minutes and dig deeper than the obvious answers listed above. Discard cavalier comments like, “Shit happens”, “It’s a dangerous world out there”, “I have insurance”, “What’s in your wallet/purse that’s worth your life?” “ I’ll just shoot him” and so on.

Seriously think about what it would cost you?

I’m referring to the emotional/psychological taxes. Most people never consider violence’s deeper impact. The noxious effects that create PTSD, the memories that stain our mind-eye and silently agitate our nervous system.

When bad shit happens close-up, everything can change. So what would you pay to avoid some of this? What would you pay to feel safer? What if I told all you had to pay was ‘attention’?

Pay attention.

The cool thing about personal defense (regardless of your experience, gender, profession) is that most of what you need to know (and do) is already hard-wired into you. You don’t need to buy anything. You don’t need to sign up for anything. You just need to ‘pay attention’ and then act accordingly.

If you’re a fan of SPEAR & PDR then you’re already familiar with the Three D’s, if you’re new to our research, here they are:

1) DETECT (to avoid)

2) DEFUSE (to de-escalate)
3) DEFEND (to protect).

Two-thirds of your personal safety takes place before you even step on the “X” (The “X” being symbolic for the time & place of an ambush).

The Three D’s is the basis of your ‘ Personal Defense OS’.

Two-thirds of confrontation management relies on awareness, mental toughness and fear management strategies before any contact is made. Avoiding danger should be the primary directive.

In my 30 years of researching violence, every victim of violence who lived to tell the tale said they had a 'bad feeling' before the actual attack? Think about that. Every one of them had some bad feeling but ignored or suppressed it. Had they run, screamed, moved first, they could’ve changed the outcome. Remember this, the vast majority of bad-guys don’t want to get caught, hurt or for things to take too long. Compelling. Detect & avoid.

Why do people ignore these warning signs? There are many theories as to why; like denial, cognitive dissonance, fear, etc., but the specifics aren’t relevant right here. What’s important is acknowledging this fact: we all know what a bad feeling ‘feels’ like.

This strategically brings us into the next step in enhancing your personal safety: decide right now to respect and embrace your body’s survival signals. If an alarm goes off, respond to it. Got a bad feeling? Address it. Something nagging at you? Stop and look into it. Don’t ignore these signals. Don’t rationalize and mentally correct them. Don’t dismiss them without assessing them. Your body is built for survival and one of its hard-wired systems is designed to alert you to danger.

I know what some of you are thinking, “What if I mistake a feeling, body language, a gesture or movement and react to it.” And? What’s the downside? No one [important in your life] is going to be upset with your for facing fear. Don’t be shy or embarrassed about this. Accept that the human body will generally err on the side of survival. And so should you. There is no downside to being safe or safer. But there is a massive down side to ignoring these survival signals.

And don’t let peer pressure; socialization, fear of fear or other distractions mess with your survival instincts. We are physiological survival organisms, designed to adapt & survive. (FYI, in my courses I’ve re-named us #humanweapons, because that’s the mindset you need when the shit hits the fan, right? I’d rather remind myself “I’m a human-weapon”, and charge forward than scream, “I’m a Survival organism!” Self-talk is key. Also, I can use the # on Twitter).

So make a contract with yourself right now that the moment your instincts & intuition raise an alarm that you will take steps to move to safety as soon as possible. Got a bad feeling? Address it now. Get off the "X" ASAP. Start moving when time and space are allies and options.

What’s the cost of learning the most the most important and practical part of self-defense? Zip. Just pay attention. Getting off the “X” is FREE.

Stay Safe,

Tony Blauer

New ForceScience study (#239) - Sprint Speed (re-action time)

New sprint study: Are you prepared for this offender speed?

New time-and-motion research by the Force Science Institute has important implications for officers in defending themselves against close-quarters attacks, according to FSI's executive director Dr. Bill Lewinski.

And a companion study, now nearing the reporting stage, will shortly reveal for the first time the extent to which duty gear and protective equipment on an officer's body slow down his or her movements in critical situations.

"Both these studies underscore the importance of making training exercises dynamic and realistic," Lewinski told Force Science News. "The wealth of data gathered can help trainers to expose officers to the true speeds at which assaults can occur and condition them to approach and respond to dangerous threats accordingly. Investigators and force reviewers can use these findings to better assess the behavior of both officers and suspects in situations where an officer is assaulted. And they arm administrators and PIOs with more scientific information to use in educating the media and the public about the realities of violent encounters."

 

"SPRINT PERFORMANCE"

Besides Lewinski, the team conducting the first study included Jennifer Dysterheft and Dawn Seefeldt of FSI's research staff and Dr. Robert Pettitt, associate professor in the Human Performance Dept. at Minnesota State University-Mankato. The project was coordinated by Patricia Thiem, FSI's chief operating officer.

Their goal was to measure and analyze "sprint performance": at what speed, with what stride length, and in what time frame can the average subject run full-out and move in different directions from various starting positions.

Among other things, Lewinski points out, these findings can help define an officer's vulnerability to an offender with an edged weapon or blunt object at relatively close distances.

"We've known for years from researcher Dennis Tueller and previous Force Science studies how fast knife-wielding suspects can attack from 21 feet or farther," Lewinski explains. "But many edged weapon assaults occur in kitchens or living rooms or bedrooms, for example, where distances may be 10 feet or less. What challenges are officers facing in those circumstances?"

 

THE TESTS

The researchers tested 13 male and 6 female civilian volunteers, most in their early- to mid-20s, reflecting an age group common among offenders. About half had some school athletic experience that included sprinting, such as football and baseball. However, they were not specifically trained as sprinters.

Wearing athletic shoes, each was videotaped performing a series of sprints in a gymnasium, running from a dead start as fast as possible forward, back-peddling, and turning at a 90-degree angle and running to the right and to the left.

For some trials, subjects were told to maintain eye contact with a fixed, lateral focal point while sprinting to see if that affected their performance. This simulated an officer trying to escape from the path of an oncoming vehicle to avoid impact.

Afterward, the time-stamped video was subjected to a sophisticated and precise computer analysis to measure the length of each subject's first six strides, the time it took to make each step, and the acceleration the sprinter gained as he/she moved. Comparisons were made in each category between subjects who concentrated on a focal point and those who did not.

 

STRIDE-BY-STRIDE RESULTS

In a report of the study to be published in a future issue of the International Journal of Exercise Science, the researchers present a detailed grid of the averages they determined.

-- This grid also can be accessed in metric- and imperial-unit format on the Force Science website at: www.forcescience.org/sprintstudy.html

Lewinski recently walked us through a sampling and explained some of the implications.

Stride length. Sprinting straight forward from a starting position, the average subject (let's say a suspect charging toward an officer) covers more than 3 feet in his first stride. His third step stretches out to more than 4 feet, and by his sixth stride he's closing distance at more than 5 feet per stride.

Back-peddling from a starting position (as a startled officer might do in trying to escape an attack), the average first step is barely 2 feet and doesn't reach 3 feet even after 6 strides.

Step time. The average forward sprinter takes a first step in about a third of a second and follows with subsequent steps about every quarter-second. He can propel himself through 6 strides in slightly more than a second and a half, the researchers found.

Stride velocity. By the time he hits his fifth stride, he's sprinting at just over 13 mph. "A back-peddler--if he hasn't already fallen by then--is nowhere close to that speed," Lewinski says. "Civilians can move really quickly in launching an assault, and true to form, a reacting officer is at a marked disadvantage, especially in trying to escape backwards."

Focal point effect. The researchers detected only negligible differences in real-world application between the subjects who "just put their head down and ran as fast as they could" and those who concentrated on a visual focal point, Lewinski notes. "For years there has been controversy over which way is faster, but the difference turns out really to be of no significance."

Backward step. Researchers found that subjects who first took a quick backward step with their dominant leg and pushed off from there when turning to sprint to the side were generally able to generate more power and force, thus increasing their acceleration for short distances. This could have implications, Lewinski says, for officers trying to get out of the way of an approaching threat, such as a speeding vehicle.

90-degree turn. To assess the speed of dynamic movement on the part of an assailant while engaging an officer in a gunfight, Force Science has studied the 90-degree turn in three separate studies. In FSI's first study in which subjects had a gun in their hand and simply turned 90 degrees, without pointing the gun, the time to complete the turn was just under one third of a second.

In FSI's second study they tested the time for an assailant to fire at an officer and then escape by turning 90 degrees and running. The average time to turn, once the assailant completed firing, was 37/100ths of a second or just over a third of a second.

In this current study the average time for someone to turn into a 90-degree angle and take one full step without a gun in hand, is still approximately one third of a second. The time will vary slightly depending upon whether the person maintains a fixation point on the officer, or not, and whether they are turning to the left or right but the first stride covers approximately three feet and the person has reached a velocity of just under 7 m.p.h.

 

IMPLICATIONS

This study is the first phase of an extended sequence of time-and-motion research, Lewinski says. Long-term, its core value may be in establishing baseline measurements for speed, movement, and distance against which a range of variables can be tested.

Yet even these basic data raise some important questions for trainers, street officers, and other law enforcement principals. For example:

• "Our findings show that a suspect standing 9 feet from an officer can charge at him and be close enough to reach out and slash him with an edged weapon in just over half a second. Starting just 5 feet away, a determined offender can be stabbing an officer with his extended arm in a third of a second," Lewinski says. "What does this do to the traditional thinking about a reactionary gap and about a preemptive use of force?"

• "Given the documented slowness of back-peddling, are officers being trained to make--and practice--well-timed and well-coordinated J turns and L moves as escape tactics?"

• "Understanding that suspects may flee and shoot back at the same time, are officers practicing shooting at targets that are moving away from them at some angle as fast as this study shows an average attacker can sprint, perhaps up to 13-15 mph?"

• "Do they understand and practice what they need in terms of time and stride distance to move out of the way of an oncoming vehicle that a suspect is deliberately driving toward them? Given our clearer understanding of the relationship between time, distance to be covered and proximity of an officer to a vehicle it is now more feasible to train officers to accurately evaluate the degree of risk posed by an oncoming vehicle and to help them determine whether getting out of the way is a safe, reasonable option or whether shooting to stop or divert the driver is the only necessary course of action given the circumstances.

• "Are investigators and force reviewers prepared to consider the speed with which offenders can attack from relatively short distances when analyzing an officer's defensive actions?"

• "Likewise, can departmental spokespersons use this information appropriately in public to explain uses of force that might otherwise seem questionable?"

 

NEXT PHASE

Data from Phase 2 of this research has already been gathered and is currently being analyzed for publication. The central thrust of that project is to determine the extent to which an officer's movement in threat situations is slowed by the duty gear and protective equipment that weigh him/her down.

That study, headed by Lewinski, was conducted in an academy setting in Minnesota and involved testing more than 20 law enforcement students in sprint trials with and without 20 pounds of equipment.

Final results of their performances are expected shortly and will be reported by Force Science News. We'll also announce the report about the current study in the International Journal of Exercise Science when it is in print.

Officer stabs Suspect in weapon retention fight

I had the opportunity to talk to this warrior for about an hour on the phone the other night. What an incredible story!!

This warrior had the proper mindset; OFFENSIVE...:) He never once considered going defensive or submitting. He recognized the level of threat and responded (notice I did not say re-acted) appropriately. I hope to tell his story in upcoming classes.

If you would like more detail, feel free to e-mail me directly (cqctactics@msn.com). There is obviously much more than you will hear/see on the interview video...

http://www.newson6.com/story/20627201/tpd-officer-talks-about-fighting-off-suspect-who-tried-to-steal-his-gun