Top Five questions

Doing what I do for a living makes for interesting conversation in the average social setting. After an initial awkwardness, the questions usually start to flow. I find that I get the same general questions whether I it is during training, (regardless of the group I am training), at a party or at a business function. I thought I would share the top five questions I get:

1.       What is your favorite weapon system?

a.       My favorite weapon system is the one(s) that I was born with. My personal weapons. I have never had an elbow, knee, hand or foot malfunction on me. They do not need to be loaded, charged, deployed or come out of a holster. They can’t be taken away from me. They do not run dry. I don’t need a certificate to carry them and they are with me, at the ready, ALL the time. With that said, I still practice with them and take care of them; just like any weapon system.

2.       Are you more afraid of getting stabbed or shot?

a.       I don’t plan on either happening. I do plan on how to win the fight if it does happen. However, within close quarters, I think a knife presents a more deadly threat.  It is very space/distance dependent. If you are 500 meters away; I would be more worried about your long-gun. If you are within 15-30 feet; the handgun. In a room with me; the knife…

3.       What is the best “self-defense” training?

a.       The one you can learn and have confidence in. By learn, I mean that you are able to transfer the skills and knowledge into a real-world situation. Otherwise you are wasting time and money.

4.       How did you get started in this type of work?

a.       Many, many moons ago I discovered that I had a proclivity towards violence. I liked to fight, loved tactics, and was pretty good at both. I was a runt with a strongly independent attitude and a mouth that did not know when to stay shut.  I had my butt kicked many, many times up until the 9^th grade, when I finally had a growth spurt. That was when I realized that I had developed (out of necessity) a knack for violence.

As I got out of high school and moved out of State, I realized that there was a lot more to violence than street fighting. I became an LEO back in Colorado in the 90s and got involved in formal Combatives training; becoming a firearms instructor first and then an “arrest-control” instructor. I fell in love with the science behind the tactics and started really digging into studies, stories, various systems or anything I could get my hands on. I became a perpetual sponge. I would seek out any training I could go to; take copious notes; and try to figure out if what was taught was realistic or not. I was always trying to teach myself the “counters” to everything I learned in class. I have dedicated myself to developing the most realistic and effective tactics that I can share with others.

5.       Why would anyone bring a knife to a gun-fight?

a.       This is my favorite. Keep in mind that I have been a firearms instructor and have taught firearms (basic, tactical…) for longer than I have been teaching the Tactical Knife Options. I am a HUGE gun proponent and carry one almost all the time.

I get this question almost weekly. And besides being a “fad question” and seemingly sound on the surface, it is very alarming to me that people actually follow that thought-process.

That question is based off a couple of very bad assumptions: It is only a “gun- fight” if you get the gun out and pointed at the threat. Until then, it is fight for control. How many people train in weapon retention, deployment under deadly-threat stress, or the physiological and psychological realities of close-quarter-combat, (re-action time, Combat stress…)?

Any auxiliary weapon system (knife, gun, mace, baton, TASER) is only viable when you are the one controlling it and IF you can deploy it while being violently attacked.

Next, according to the FBI, most victims of a knife-assault had no idea that a knife was involved until they had been cut 2-3 times. The above question is based off of the deadly fallacy of knowing that the bad-guy is armed with a knife. Big mistake. I always tell people that if you know someone is armed with a knife and is a threat to you; a hundred meters with a rifle is an appropriate response. Put two average people, with average training, in an elevator. One armed with a firearm and the other with a knife, and the person with the gun will suffer way more nasty wounds than the guys with the knife. There is a very strong chance that the person with the gun may not even get a shot off and if they do, may miss. That is just reality.

 

And there you go. The five most common questions I get asked any my general responses.