Good advice from Greg Ellifritz on the use of a firearm as an impact weapon.
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Have you ever considered using your handgun as an impact weapon? Before you do, you may want to think about a few things. Take a look at this article. A cop used his pistol to break a car window and accidentally cranked off a round. Don’t think that…
via Your Tactical Training Scenario- Pistol as Impact Weapon — Active Response Training
I’ve previously written about the importance of a defensive mindset HERE and HERE.
The defensive mindset is the foundation to your entire defensive strategy regardless of the training you’ve had or the tools you carry. Just as a building with a compromised foundation can result in a crumbling structure, an inadequate defensive mindset can result in your entire defensive strategy falling apart in the midst of a fight for your life.
What a Defensive Mindset IS
So what does a good solid defensive mindset look like? Here are some identifiable characteristics:
Proactive: A defensive mindset is one that is proactive. Proactive people are the ones that get a permit to carry a firearm as soon as they can rather than waiting for a potentially violent situation in their life to prompt them into action. They are the ones that then seek out much more training than their state requires. They are the ones that develop a plan for their range time so their time and ammunition is productive rather than wasted by just putting holes in a paper target.
A person with a good defensive mindset shouldn’t wait for a need to arise to develop skill or obtain equipment. They should spend time learning about the techniques they are most likely to need in order to adequately defend themselves and then seek training in the implementation of those tools and techniques. Discovering you aren’t equipped with the necessary skills or tools in the middle of a fight for your life is a bad time to wish you had been more proactive.
Introspective: A defensive mindset is one that is introspective. Introspective people understand what they are capable of because they spend time thinking about their current level of skill. Instead of an over-inflated opinion of their abilities, they have a true knowledge of their capabilities.
You should never be afraid to take a long hard look at yourself. Your skills can never be improved inside a vacuum. Put yourself to the test. Find a training class or a training partner that will allow you to test your skills in a safe but realistic environment. Will you be humbled? Probably. I, myself, have been humbled many times in many classes when the skill I thought I possessed failed me. But that’s how we learn and it is essential to skill development.
Retrospective: A defensive mindset is one that is retrospective. Retrospective people are the ones that have a clear training plan for the future because they know exactly where they have been in the past. They see the failures in past training experiences and they learn from them.
We all fail sometimes. After a training situation in which I feel as though I failed, I like to list the things I feel like I did “wrong” and the things I did “right.” Only through this introspection, can we learn from our mistakes. A training environment is where we want to fail so we don’t when it really counts.
Dominant: A defensive mindset is one that is dominant. Dominant people are the ones that others naturally look to as leaders. Displaying your dominance to an attacker might very well make them change their minds about attacking you.
Dominance can be displayed in the way you conduct your daily life. Looking people in the eye and standing erect are indicators of a dominant personality. Displaying dominance may cause an attacker to choose a different person to attack. Even if it doesn’t, it’s possible to deescalate a potentially violent encounter by asserting dominance over an attacker. Some people are born with a dominant personality but a dominant attitude isn’t reserved only for those few. Virtually anyone can learn to impose dominance over another with the right instruction and practice.
Aggressive: A defensive mindset is one that is aggressive. I’m not talking about people that are intentionally mean to others. Those people aren’t aggressive, they’re jerks. I’m talking about those that have determined beforehand that any degree of violence should be met with an even greater degree of violence.
When necessary you should be ready, willing, and able to meet violence with more violence. Street thugs often don’t understand attempts at peacemaking but they do understand violence. They understand that the winner in a fight is the one that displays the propensity for the most violence.
Flexible: A defensive mindset is one that is flexible. Flexible people understand that anything can happen in a fight. For that reason they intentionally keep their plan of action open to improvisation.
Mike Tyson astutely noted: “Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth.” This is why you shouldn’t place too much stock in choreographed fighting moves. Keep your options open. Most defensive encounters devolve into street fighting regardless of the training of either participant. Limiting yourself to “real” fighting techniques will put you at a distinct disadvantage. Remember, there are no rules in a fight for your life except one: win. Any technique or weapon that allows you do get closer to winning is valid.
Unrelenting: A defensive mindset is one that is unrelenting in the struggle to win the fight. People that refuse to give way to the attacker, no matter what happens, generally prevail in the fight.
You may consider the officer that was attacked while confronting a mall shoplifter (you can see an interview with him HERE). At some point he became certain he was going to die. He determined at that moment that he was going to make sure he took the attacker with him. This unrelenting mindset not only allowed him to prevail but he survived.
What a Defensive Mindset IS NOT
Now that we’ve discussed some key characteristics that define a defensive mindset, let’s define some things that a defensive mindset is NOT.
A defensive mindset is not unafraid. Courage can be defined as “acting in spite of fear.” Being afraid in a fight is OK. Setting your fears aside and doing what is necessary to win the fight is the key. It is a lot easier to do that if you have spent time being proactive and developing the right skills.
A defensive mindset is not unwilling to run away. Unless you’re a law enforcement officer, you have no legal obligation to continue a fight. Running away from a fight is not a sign of weakness. In fact, it takes a modicum of strength to make the decision to run rather than continue the fight. As an armed citizen, your goal should be to win the fight and go home at the end of the day. If running away achieves that goal, you should consider it to be a viable option.
A defensive mindset is not all about situational awareness. Being situationally aware is great… when you are situationally aware. A person with a good defensive mindset will realize that they can’t always be situationally aware. It simply isn’t possible to go through life being aware of every little thing no matter how hard you try. Distractions occur all the time and we usually don’t even realize we are distracted in the moment. An attack will almost definitely occur in one of these unaware moments instead of when you can see it coming. Having a good defensive mindset means you will train to deal with surprise attacks.
A defensive mindset is not all about a gun. Guns are great defensive tools but one can defend themselves without the aid of a gun or any other tool. You are the weapon. The gun, knife, club, pepper spray, etc. are just tools. They are force multipliers that can help get the job done much like a lever helps move a heavy object. A person with a good defensive mindset will spend time learning how to defend themselves with nothing if necessary.
A defensive mindset is not lazy. Getting better at anything takes work. In the case of self-defense, it can take a lot of work since we can’t practice our skills every single day. I recommend taking at least two training courses each year, even if you’ve taken them before, as well a regular range time for yourself preferably with a training partner. But far too often I see people put trivial matters before training and practice. Taking time to rest is mandatory. Not putting in the work because of laziness or discomfort is unacceptable. A rainy day is no reason to skip that class you signed up for. Get out and do the work. Bad guys don’t take days off so we shouldn’t either.
Becoming proficient in self-defense techniques is a balance between training and practice, and spending time with family and friends or doing your honey-do list. It should be an important part of your life because your life depends on this knowledge and skill but your life doesn’t have to revolve around it.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve defined a defensive mindset and described several characteristics of what a defensive mindset both IS and IS NOT, I would ask you this: Is your mindset right? Do you have a solid defensive mindset or do you need to work on it? Does your defensive skillset have a firm foundation or is it a bit shaky?
If we’re all honest, most people, me included, would admit that we still need work. Maintaining this mindset is difficult and sometimes all but impossible. Life gets in the way. Time and finances are limited. We all have demands on our attention that it can be hard to meet.
I simply try my best. I do everything I can to make myself a less desirable target and a more likely victor in a fight. I ask you to start today with some good introspection of your own. Once you know where you are, you can move forward.
Date: 9/26/2015
Instructor: Steve Collins
Some have asked why I would spend my time taking a course like this a second time. The answer is simple; there’s no way to adequately remember the lessons learned in such a course by going through only once. Too much time passes from the beginning of the course to the end of the day and there isn’t sufficient time to take notes even if note taking were more practical on an outdoor range.
That said, as a previous graduate of this training course, I had a pretty good idea what to expect as I was going into it. Although the course is basically the same, there were a few minor changes to the lesson plan and, of course, the scenario based shooting was different out of necessity.
The day began with a safety briefing and explanation of how the course would progress. Once everyone understood the special safety considerations involved with moving and shooting in, from, and around vehicles, we moved over to the actual vehicles we had obtained for use in the class to discuss some basic concepts about defending oneself around a vehicle.
We had acquired a 1991 Ford Tempo sedan and a 2003 Plymouth Voyager minivan from a local salvage yard. Steve began by going over each vehicle’s best and worst areas of cover as well as a few “don’ts” such as defending with one foot on the ground and the other in the vehicle. We also discussed when and where people are most vulnerable and what ways we could help to make ourselves a more difficult or less desirable target.
After a thorough look at the best cover areas on each vehicle, we moved to the range and started with some warm up shooting. I should add at this point that it is an instructor’s responsibility to begin shooting classes with some fairly basic shooting to ensure each student is “up to speed” and doesn’t need remediation before moving on.
The first shooting exercise was simply to draw and fire a single round using a two-handed grip at full extension. We did this ten times at our own pace. We then were instructed to draw and fire multiple shots using a two-handed grip at full extension.
Then we moved up to arm’s length of the target and shot using a “guarded” position in which the dominant hand would grip, draw and fire from retention while the other hand would come up to the side of the face to protect from incoming blows or cuts. Adding a layer of complexity, we then turned toward our dominant side and were told to first strike the target with our non-dominant hand, turn toward the target and then perform the previous exercise of guarding, drawing and firing.
These two exercises were run through dry many times before live fire was permitted. I personally noticed a very real possibility that, if guarding with the non-dominant hand incorrectly, a shot could be put right into the elbow of the non-dominant arm. Dry fire practice is vital to work out these kinks to ensure a safe shooting exercise.
The idea of this exercise was to simulate putting a child or cargo into your car and being approached by a would-be carjacker. I should mention that it was firmly pointed out that at no time should we use the “speed rock” method due to the off balance nature of that position. Instead, we were instructed to take a more aggressive position and lean in to the target.
Once we had performed these drills we moved chairs to the line and worked from a seated position in order to get used to drawing and firing from a seat. The chairs faced the targets on the first set of exercises and then we turned them to our dominant side. This proved to be especially challenging to the left handed shooters on the class as they realized accessing a gun that may be up against their driver’s door would be very difficult.
The warm up done, it was time to move the junk cars into place and set up scenarios. Steve took great care to make the scenarios believable and challenging, since the bad guys rarely make things easy for you.
While it’s difficult to describe the drills run from the cars in any great detail, I will mention a few major points that I took away from my participation in each scenario.
In all, we each had the opportunity to run through several scenarios at least twice each. Some were performed on our own and others were done with a partner. Steve allowed us to use our best judgement to go through most of the scenarios. If, during dry practice, he noticed something that needed improvement, he would interject and have the student try it again.
Personally, I have come to realize that there are many “right” ways to get the job done when someone is attacking you. Some of these right ways are better than others but the end result of surviving speaks for itself.
There are also plenty of wrong ways to defend oneself and that’s why we each need training like this to help eliminate our tendency to go for the wrong way to begin with.
The last hour or so was spent doing a Test and Evaluation of various calibers of ammunition through various firearms at various parts of the two vehicles. We used a .380ACP, 9mmx19, .40S&W, .38SPL, .357 Magnum, .45ACP, .454 Casull, 7.62×39mm, 12 Gauge Buckshot, 12 Gauge Slug, .44 Magnum (through a lever action rifle), .30-30, .50 BMG.
We shot at front doors, rear doors, B-pillars, and a tail gate. With few exceptions, most of the above mentioned rounds failed to fully penetrate the Tempo from one side to the other. Several of them failed to penetrate the first door leaving anyone inside relatively safe until a follow-up shot in the same location finally breaks through. Even the 12 Gauge Slug failed to penetrate the B-pillar of the Tempo.
On the other hand, the .30-30 had little difficulty penetrating the tail gate of the Voyager as well as the rear seat and front seat. It would be likely to be seriously injured in the event someone shot a more potent round tough the rear of a minivan or SUV.
The .50 BMG, on the other hand had no difficulty penetrating pretty much anything we shot it at. It went all the way through the minivan leaving a fist sized hole in the firewall before becoming lodged somewhere in the engine. On a second shot, a five gallon bucket of paint left in the cargo area of the van was struck leaving paint throughout the vehicle. There was even paint on the dashboard and windshield. It bears noting that this paint and the human body have roughly the same consistency.
It’s no surprise that a round so powerful would have such a devastating effect. It was designed to disable military vehicles from a distance. Thankfully, your average gang-banger thug doesn’t have access to such a weapon.
In general, cars are more bullet proof than you might think but there’s always that chance that something will make it through. Your best bet is to get out and get behind as much solid material as is possible.
The day ended with a quick debrief and certificates were handed out. As usual, Steve Collins met the superior expectations that I have come to have for his instruction. He has taken a lifetime of military experience and masterfully translated it into the civilian world of moms and dads getting groceries or going out to eat.
I will take this course again as it is not only very informative but it is also extremely fun.
Tactical Ted is my favorite hypothetical person. Despite his complete and utter lack of any formal training, he considers himself to be an “operator” and, unlike me, he knows every answer to every question in the defensive shooting world. Sometimes Ted shoots only occasionally and sometimes he shoots every week. Sometimes he shoots competitively and sometimes just for fun. In spite of all of his shooting experience (or lack thereof), Ted is all knowing.
The problem that Ted often runs into is that most of his “knowledge” comes from unreliable or inaccurate sources. He tends to believe the popular gun blogs that he reads and takes them at face value without stopping to consider the source or motives behind the article.
When I ask Ted about a method or tactic for a particular situation, he is confident in his response. He always knows exactly what he would do in that situation. He knows because he read about it somewhere on the internet and a buddy confirmed the information after reading the same article.
My problem with Ted, of course, is that he talks what sounds to many as a good game but has nothing to back it up. He may have had some minimal training, perhaps a state mandated course to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but has never taken it past that very basic level. Even though that’s all the training he has had, he still knows what to expect in a fight. He knows because he has watched a lot of action movies.
That sounds silly doesn’t it? After all, we all know that movies rarely mirror real life…
Or do we? You’d be amazed at how often I hear people paint their planned response to an attack as if it were in a Die Hard script.
I see Ted all over Facebook and other social media spouting how he would have responded in the recent shooting everyone is talking about. He goes on to say that if he had been in the theater, there would be one dead bad guy and everyone else would have survived to post their videos of his heroic victory on YouTube. His situational awareness can never be broken. He sleeps with one eye open and all that stuff.
He comments on a post about what he would do if ever faced with someone holding a hostage at gun point. He knows he would be able to take the only possible shot to the head of the hostage taker and that the shot would be perfectly aimed and timed. He knows this because he can place a one inch group into the head of a B-27 target that isn’t moving and doesn’t have a hostage while he isn’t under the stress involved in a real life threatening encounter.
He talks about how he always uses his sights because one should never shoot unless they have taken a proper sight picture. He knows this because he shoots competitively and knows where each target is beforehand and can take the necessary time to acquire a sight picture.
He may even discuss his reason for choosing to carry a gun. For him, it’s so he doesn’t have to run. Or so he doesn’t have to fight. Or some other equally mind-numbing tired old argument.
He never carries with a round in the chamber because he’s just that fast. He only open carries and the second amendment is his carry permit. Smith & Wesson is his security system. He carries a .45 so he only has to shoot once.
I sure am glad that Tactical Ted is merely a hypothetical person and that none of us know any real person like that.
So what’s my point?
Tactical Ted’s are all over the internet. They have an extremely small amount of good, useful knowledge and a whole lot of bad, useless and inaccurate information in their heads. They talk a lot but, when it comes to obtaining more good information, their inaction speaks volumes. They would rather remain ignorant of reality than humble themselves by taking a more challenging defensive shooting course.
Don’t be a Tactical Ted. Talk less, learn more.
The words we use to describe a particular activity are important. If we use the wrong terms it can lead to a gross misunderstanding by others of what we hope to convey. This is especially true in the use of text since there is no variance or inflection of voice to help get the point across.
With that in mind, I have noticed many people in the “gun world” using the wrong words to describe all sorts of things. One pair of such misused terms is training vs. practicing.
Recently a friend of mine posed the following question on his Facebook wall:
“How often do you train and what kind of training do you do?”
He got a number of responses. Most of them included the some form of “I’m at the range every couple weeks,” or “I shoot 200 rounds a month.”
While it’s actually quite commendable for anyone to take the time and money necessary to spend every other weekend at the range shooting a hundred rounds or so each time, these responses completely failed to answer his question.
These folks have failed to recognize the difference between training and practice. Let’s take a look at what it takes to do both effectively.
By definition, training is “the education, instruction, or discipline of a person or thing that is being trained.”
In other words, in order for one to be training, they must be in the process of acquiring new knowledge or skills. It is entirely possible to go to a firearms course, listen to every word the instructor says, and perform every drill as instructed and still NOT be training. If all of the information presented in the course is something at which you are already adept and if you fail to acquire new knowledge or skill in the process of the course, you have not been training.
Practice, on the other hand, is defined as “repeated performance or systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency.”
Once training has taken place and you have acquired your new skills and knowledge, you must hone them to get better. In order to do this you repeat them over and over. This process is called practicing.
Going to the range and putting a bunch of lead downrange is practicing NOT training.
If you are one of those people that spend five hundred to a thousand dollars each year putting holes in a paper target you might want to go back and reread that last sentence.
Don’t misunderstand me. There’s nothing wrong with practice. Practice is an essential part of the use of firearms whether you are a beginner or an expert. What is important, however, is the distinction between the two.
You are short-changing yourself if you set aside several hundred dollars each year with which to pay range fees and purchase practice ammunition if you never set aside anything with which to acquire new knowledge and skills. You are deluding yourself if you have convinced yourself that spending all that time and money at the range is training.
What’s the solution?
A well-rounded defensive shooter requires a balance of training and practice.
If you spent a lifetime on learning about the subject, you could still never know everything about the art of self-defense. Therefore, it stands to reason that the average person has much to gain from regular training courses. And those new skills must be put into use through regular practice as well.
I challenge you to set aside just a few hundred dollars each year from your “practice budget” and use it for training instead. Attend one course each year at minimum. Vary the subjects that these courses cover. They may not even be shooting related courses. You might also consider medical, knife, and hand to hand courses to round out your skillset.
Find a good instructor with good, relevant, up to date course material. These don’t have to be the best known schools or the most expensive courses but they must fill a need in your skillset.
Once you have acquired the knowledge and skills from these training courses, spend the next year honing them while you search for the next course to sign up for. I think you’ll find the training side of self-defense is more fun than simply putting holes in paper once you start doing it regularly.
N.A.P.S.I. Training Blog 