Awareness, Mary Ann Lindley Style

There are alternatives. The one that was pounded into me, and which I still use every time I am approaching a vast parking garage, heading toward a car-filled parking lot, walking alone as dark descends, or sometimes just in a large crowd, is awareness...We were trained in physical maneuvers, some of the less-refined martial arts moves that could help us fight if necessary before we could flee. Quick kicks or punches to the throat, groin and eyes are what most attackers wouldn't expect. [More]

Yes, awareness/preparedness are all part of Col. Cooper's basics. But that's not enough.I'm sure all those Ted Bundy victims you mentioned were quite aware of what was happening to them.

You stupid little girl: I know someone very well who is 6'3" and weighs 230 lbs. He has years of martial arts experience as a young man, starting with Korean Tae Kwan Do, heavy involvement with Okinawan Ishin Ryu, including tournament competition, judo, and even a college course in hand-to-hand combat taught by the late Joe Begala, the man who wrote the Navy/Marine aviator training manual used in WWII and who was "the winningest wrestling coach" in the nation. Plus he's been in a few real fights and knows what it's like to be struck, kicked, kneed and grappled full force, and to bleed.

He's even the subject of some Herman Munster ribbing from his family, like over the time he yanked up too hard on the parking brake and ripped it out of the car floor, or lifted the end of the van enough so it could be freed from a snow-filled pothole.

He would never call any of this to anyone's attention to make them think how "bad" he was: quite the contrary. Since you brought up the Clint Eastwood quote, let me offer another: "A man's gotta know his limitations."

Not being aware of that is the same as being oblivious.

There are plenty of guys he knows who could mop the floor with him--and many of them little guys, like any of his teachers, or men who have never taken a day of martial arts training in their lives and are simply tougher, faster, stronger... The only chance he'd stand, and he freely admits this, is if he had a weapon to overcome their physical advantage.

So you take a basic intro class, and that's all your 10-week session really was, and think you're now qualified to instruct? You fool. I'm sure you'd like to give everyone your expertise on what you'd do when an enraged animal with twice your upper body strength has you on the ground, which is where most fights end up--it's not like in the movies, where everything is choreographed with perfect form, you know.

This is journalistic malpractice, and proves that a little bit of knowledge truly is a dangerous thing. Anyone who listens to an incompetent such as yourself is liable to get themselves killed.

120 Pounds of Pure Tough

UPDATE NOTE: Ken Blumreich was misquoted by the reporters. See his clarification comment here, and my clarification post here.

She was an experienced hiker and accomplished martial arts student described by her self-defense instructor as "120 pounds of pure tough."

"I've seen her take down men twice her size," said Ken Blumreich.

No you haven't, Ken, not in a real fight, against a man whose intent is to kill. Those don't take place on mats, wearing protective gear, and with a sensei enforcing rules of engagement, including when to break off. And I don't know of too many dojos where full contact between men and women is allowed--or too may insurance carriers that would underwrite such an operation.

Look at the specs on the alleged assailant: He's 60 years old, 5/10", 160 lbs., bad teeth...doesn't sound like the most formidable of opponents, does he?

She was less than half his age, in the prime of health and strength and endurance...

We touched on this here. Life just isn't like the movies, where dashing heroines employ their fighting skills to dispatch multiple hulking killers with skill, and most of all, style. The simple fact is, except for extremely rare anomalies, a woman stands no chance against a man in a mortal physical confrontation.

I truly don't mean to disparage martial arts--they have their place in the toolkit. But ultimately, when confronted by a man intent on doing her vicious harm, a woman needs the ability to respond with lethal force, meaning she needs training, she needs the mindset, and she needs an equalizer.

We're the Only Ones On Course Enough

The longtime martial arts instructor for former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona was convicted Thursday of criminally threatening a golfer during a dispute that began with a wayward fairway shot.

Raymond Yi was acquitted of all other charges, including three felony counts of assault with a firearm, by a San Bernardino County jury that deliberated less than a day in a case that drew attention to Carona's troubled reserve deputy program...

The case drew headlines because Yi, sworn in as an Orange County sheriff's reserve deputy in 2002, was among friends and allies of Carona who allegedly misused their badges.

Well first of all, and unless all those movies I've watched are wrong, I'd like to know what a karate expert needs a gun for. And then I'd like to know why the "Only One" who felt compelled to use one was a pseudo-"Only One."

Not to Insult Boxes of Rocks or Anything...

 Martial arts, failed stick shift carjacking, wrong-way I-95 pursuit: How three men ended up in a Virginia jail [More]

Products of Democrat systemic racism all...

[Via Mack H]

José Can Say So

And he does.  And does it OK, except for that bit revealing his lack of formal training when he speculates about shooting a home intruder in the knee. [Read]

This contrasts well with my last entry, where it was pointed out a gun can be a great tool to overcome someone with much greater physical prowess.

One tired bit of snark used by those who would undermine our right to keep and bear arms is that gun owners are a bunch of cowards and weaklings, which certainly doesn't take into account that our ranks include people from all walks of life including athletes, ex-military, and men and women of unbending principle.  Canseco's thwarted (for now) wish to legally  carry a gun in CA can hardly be attributed to wimpiness of body or soul.

If a champion athlete who is "a 6'4" 250-pound martial arts expert" deems he would be better protected with a gun, how much more would someone who can't match him physically benefit?

A side note on the article's comments: Notice how dumb everyone dismissing him as dumb is?

Provided Your Assailant is Stupid

As anyone who would hold a gun on someone this way must be...

Back when I was young and immortal and taking all kinds of martial arts training, I could even get out of the way and strike a simulated blow with a "gun"  pressed in my back before it could be fired.  But fortunately, the gun wasn't real and the "assailant" was under instruction not to fire until I made the first move. Stress level and negative repercussions for failure were "zero."

It's not really that hard to understand -- it's why we leave car lengths between ours and the vehicle ahead based on speed. It takes an instant to realize and react, so the first move has the advantage.

I bring this up because there are some who watch an internet video or take a basic class and make the idiotic assumption they're ready to rumble. It's not like that, and as I've noted before, all other things considered, the most important element is will.

Gimme a Break Redux

A St. Louis County judge, since retired, boasted of his martial arts prowess and said he wanted to fight an officer during a 2015 traffic stop ... Last week, he was found guilty of a municipal DWI charge and received two years of probation and a suspended imposition of sentence. [More]

As for the rest of you...

[Via bondmen]

Another Craigslist Scam

A boutique owner shot outside an East Village deli in July sued Craigslist for $10 million Thursday, claiming his assailant bought a gun through the online classified ad service.

Yeah, well, one problem there:

...prohibited or restricted items...

Weapons and related items, including but not limited to firearms, disguised, undetectable or switchblade knives, martial arts weapons, scopes, silencers, ammunition, ammunition magazines, BB guns, tear gas or stun guns.

Now is it possible to do an end run and post a gun ad? If you use a text ad, it will probably be detected very quickly, if not rejected outright. But if you post a hosted image file, yeah, I could see an ad being up for a couple hours before it's reported and removed. But that still requires the seller and buyer to intentionally disregard a slew of "gun control" edicts.

I'm no fan of Craigslist--their gun prohibition policy alone is enough to turn me off. And it seems every time you turn around there's another headline about scammers and robbers and whores (oh my!)...

If there was ever a place where the words "Caveat Emptor" need to be branded into the frontal lobes...

In a rational world, this lawsuit would be thrown out, the plaintiff scolded and the lawyer warned of sanctions. But who knows? Maybe they'll luck out and get Jack Weinstein...

Fallen Gladiator

Rest in peace, Lee Reherman. [More]

He lived a few blocks from where I used to in Manhattan Beach. I got to know him from when I worked with him for a few years on fundraising with fireworks. He was helping low-income kids get martial arts training along with the needed discipline and caring adult guidance that went with it.

He wasn't just muscle. He handled the books for that nonprofit, had an MBA and at one time was going for a doctorate in economics.

I'd lost touch with him, fewer than a dozen emails over the years, but got a pleasant jolt watching the Star Trek reboot, when the security guard he played confronted Simon Pegg's "Scotty" and I immediately recognized who it was. That's pretty surreal if it's totally outside your life experience -- to go to the movies and suddenly see a closeup of someone you know on the screen. At least that's my excuse for exclaiming "That's Lee!"

Good man. Sad news.

We're the Only Ones Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Enough

At the Iron Tiger Martial Arts school in Middletown and in Milford, N.J., New York City police Officer Trent Young taught kids self-defense.

But Middletown police say Young twisted the tenets of self-reliance to sexually abuse one teenage female student and try to abuse another.

Master Only One say "When you can snatch the pebble from my..."

[Via Declan]

Online Gun Sale Opportunity for PMSNBC to Go Into PSH Over RKBA

A Collier County man is having second thoughts about selling his AK-47 online because of the buyers the rifle has attracted this week. He says most of the people that responded to his Craigslist.org posting are convicted felons.

"Jeremy's" story stinks, and I am left wondering about his identity, his sympathies and his motives. I note the quoted dealer runs buyers through NICS, so it looks like this is more PSH from PMSNBC. And I find it curious the denied checks haven't resulted in a BATFU response for a federal felony by prohibited persons--I guess they're just too busy hounding Red's.

But re-reading this, it looks like the dealer was just someone the "reporter" picked to interview--Jeremy says "he does a background check on every person." Without access to NICS, how would he do that? And why does this article deliberately obfuscate the realtionship between "Jeremy" and the dealer?

But aside from that, I just did a cursory search on CraigsList and couldn't find a gun being advertised--albeit I only looked for a few minutes. I wonder why the "authorized journalist" didn't see fit to mention CraigsList's "Prohibited or Restricted Items Policy":

Weapons and related items, including firearms, disguised, undetectable or switchblade knives, martial arts weapons, sniper scopes, silencers, ammunition, large capacity magazines, BB guns, tear gas or stun guns.

I seriously doubt that "Jeremy" had time to remove his listing as he claims. My guess is, it was flagged and deleted before he would have had the chance, and they probably have his IP blocked from further posting. That is, if he really did so in the first place, and thus far, I see no reason to give him any credence.

You don't think a fair and balanced mainstream establishment news outlet might be pushing an agenda disguised as journalism, do you?

Coming Soon to a Caliphate Near You

In the new issue, an article on terror tactics assures would-be jihadists that "one need not be a military expert or a martial arts master, or even own a gun or rifle in order to carry out a massacre or to kill and injure several disbelievers and terrorize an entire nation." [More]

So come on, Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in!

Rigorous!

Max Gall

Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a DEA agent (Wahlberg) whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin (Kunis) out to avenge her sister's death. The duo will be hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation.

Ah, our old pal anti-gun Pokey-Poke, making a ton of money off a film adaptation of a third-person shooter game.

I notice anti-gun champion Beau Bridges co-stars, meaning he's not above a little unprincipled profiteering, either. Yeah, study "martial arts," Beau--and be sure and let the next guy who puts a gun to your head know how good you are at it.

You're right about one thing--it must have been "a little chicken joint." You were in it.

[Via AlanDP from "Comments"]

Bringing a Fist to a Gunfight

Bob Renzi believes that teachers represent the first and best line of defense against school violence...For the past seven years, he has taught teachers how to protect themselves against violence in schools...Renzi teaches not only how to defend against violence, but how to prevent it. He urges teachers to tell their students how not to be victimized...

Renzi teaches individuals how to defend themselves against weapons, but does not believe teachers should carry guns into the classroom.

Well, you had me going for a minute there, Bob. I'm sure if some budding young Harris or Klebold wannabe shoots his way into Kristen Felentzer's third grade classroom, she'll be more than up to the task of defending herself and her charges.

Do you also teach her to yell "Judo CHOP!" as she strikes?

Unarmed martial arts skills have their place and everyone could benefit from learning them, but there are times when they just won't meet the task at hand. Here's hoping no one gets killed listening to you.

[Via Cousin G]

Clear Your Mind of Whimsy*

Last week, 15 members of Iraq's taekwondo team were kidnapped between Falluja and Ramadi, west of Baghdad, said a member of the Iraqi Olympic Committee. The kidnappers have demanded $100,000 for their release.

15 martial arts experts, a team that trains together, presumably the best in the land--helpless against armed captors?

You mean real life isn't like a Jackie Chan movie?

Well, let's just see what the Bradys have to say about that:

Women would be safer knowing self-defense to fight off an attacker than using a gun which can easily be turned against them.

That seems pretty authoritative to me.

Next time someone threatens your life, don't reach for that firearm that might be taken away and used against you. Simply adopt the crane stance and give 'em a hearty "Hai-ya!"

Tell me that won't scare 'em off!

[*Bonus points for anyone who can tell me where I jacked this title from...]

DON'T SHOOT!

Anti-Gunner Recommends STABBING People Instead

Alphecca steers us to an opinion piece by Berserkeley Loony Tune Becky O'Malley, who thinks that guns are icky and you shouldn't have one.

He does a good job of dismantling what she thinks passes for reason, but to me, the most outrageous part of her theorem was in her opening paragraph:

"An old reprobate, a heavy-drinking veteran of many barroom brawls, once told me why he favored knives over guns when he needed to get out of a tight spot. Anyone who knows how to use knives, he said, knows that you can always put your thumb half-way up the blade, so you can just stick the guy, not kill him by accident."

Becky--do you hear yourself? The guy's a violent drunk, he knifes people in situations not requiring lethal force whenever his alcohol-impaired reptilian hindbrain deems he is in "a tight spot" (no doubt one of his own creation), and you believe this loser has the martial arts skills to safely wield a blade so he will only leave some sort of scratch because he puts his thumb halfway up the blade?

Becky, I have no words--I somehow just can't bring myself to believe that people as stupid as you exist.

Some day, your friend is going to find he's brought a knife to a gunfight.

Another Fool With an Opinion

"If she was pointing that gun at me I could take it from her in a heart beat."

On March 5, I congratulated friend Deborah Courtney for getting front page ink in The Orange County Register.

One Ian Fitz-Gibbon wrote to the OCR reporter:

After reading your article on Deborah I just had to laugh. She’s another fool with a gun. Does she walk around with a gun in her purse? LOL My guess is that if she had that gun when she was raped she would either be dead or be wondering why she bought it in the first place. A criminal won’t wait for her to reach into her purse or run out to her car to retrieve a gun. It’s also my guess that if she was pointing that gun at me I could take it from her in a heart beat. Being smart……..or not doing something stupid will do more for a person’s protection and security than carrying a gun. The most important thing in self-defense is what’s in your head, not what’s in your hand!

Regards,
Ian Fitz-Gibbon

Mr. Fitz-Gibbon apparently considers himself an authority on defensive tactics.

He’s evidently more educated on the matter than Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck, whose surveys indicate up to 2.5 million defensive gun uses each year by Americans.

He’s obviously done more thorough research than economist John Lott [scroll down to bottom of right column to download CV], whose exhaustive analyses of statistics from all 3,054 counties in the United States from 1977 to 1994 confirm the title of his aptly named More Guns, Less Crime.

“Murder rates decline when either more women or more men carry concealed handguns, but a gun represents a much larger change in a woman's ability to defend herself than it does for a man. An additional woman carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for women by about 3 to 4 times more than an additional man carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for men,” Lott concludes.

But we must assume that Mr. Fitz-Gibbon has amassed and analyzed superior empirical evidence.

He’s clearly reported on more case studies than Robert Waters, whose The Best Defense provides chilling, real life examples of ordinary people repelling brutal criminals with firearms. And “being smart”—just like Ian Fitz-Gibbon—would no doubt assure superior outcomes for those people chronicled in KeepAndBearArms.com’s “Operation Self Defense,” each of whom was, evidently, “just another fool with a gun.”

“My guess is that if she had that gun when she was raped she would either be dead or be wondering why she bought it in the first place. A criminal won’t wait for her to reach into her purse or run out to her car to retrieve a gun,” Fitz-Gibbon smirks.

Unfortunately, your guess is wrong, Mr. Fitz-Gibbon. Without going into the details of her ordeal, her assailant trapped her. She knew he was coming for her before the actual physical assault, and would have had time to retrieve a concealed firearm if she’d had one.

“It’s also my guess that if she was pointing that gun at me I could take it from her in a heart beat,” he claims.

Really?

Do you have any idea how many shots a trained shooter can squeeze off “in a heartbeat” Mr. Fitz-Gibbon?

Here's a concession: Back when I was young and immortal, I was pretty heavily into martial arts. I used to do a demonstration, and, when I established the conditions (that is, having someone point a toy gun at me when I was standing within three feet of them, with instructions to shoot if I made a false move), I could—without fail—disable their gun hand and strike a simulated crippling blow. But it wasn’t real—there was no danger. And importantly, I controlled the situation.

What makes you think you would control the situation and be allowed to get within striking distance? I guess you must be a greater authority on such matters than Col. Jeff Cooper, so a trained shooter who has mastered the mental discipline of applying his Color Code would be no match against your awesome prowess.

Your point is not that you could surprise and ambush a targeted victim—hell, anyone could do that. You claim you can disarm someone who is trained and equipped, and who has you in their sights!

I could arrange a demonstration, if you like, Mr. Fitz-Gibbon. I’m sure I could assemble an audience that would love to see you exhibit how what’s in your head will overcome what’s in a trained shooter’s hand. I can probably even arrange for you to place bets on your ability to prevail against, say, my 10-year-old, someone who is elderly, and maybe even a disabled shooter. We’ll even videotape it, and post it on the Internet. And don't worry, we'll only use props. Care to prove your words?

How did you dismiss Deborah? Oh, yeah, "LOL!"

You should be careful about laughing at people, Mr. Fitz-Gibbon, especially when you're obviously in over your head—it makes you come across as just another fool with an opinion.

AFTERWORD FROM TJ JOHNSTON

Ian: being Deborah's trainer, I want to respond to your comments.

Deborah's rape was typical in that the assailant didn't jump out of the bushes and attack her. That media stereotype is so far from reality. Rapists set up their victims. And when they do, the potential victim has a series of options, which are greatly expanded if they have access to a firearm.

In Deborah's case, the assailant locked her in her personal office and then carefully walked around the rest of the building, closing windows and locking the front door. If she had her Glock in her office, he would have found a nasty confrontation when he returned to attack her.

You sound very courageous, in that you feel you could disarm somebody very easily. Candidly, it is possible. I teach those techniques and it requires much disciplined practice, considerable confidence, speed and precision to do it safely. With the hammer cocked, most handguns will fire with only minimal pressure on the trigger, and the movement that action requires is much less than the movement to reach out and take the gun away. If the person with the firearm maintains his/her distance, the person encroaching WILL BE SHOT.

Most importantly, as the statistics from John Lott, Gary Kleck, and a host of other criminologists show, the mere presence of a firearm deters most criminals, usually without the gun being discharged. No one wants to get shot, and criminals are not brave people. They run away.

The facts are clear and irrefutable. In her situation, if Deborah had been armed, she wouldn't have been raped.

And I would challenge you to take a loaded handgun away from her. Knowing her current attitude and aptitude, I am confident that you would have at least one more hole in you than before the attempt.

Regards,

TJ Johnston

www.allsafedefense.com