What Combat Handgunning

Really Requires For Success

SOME people regard the handgun as a target shooting, recreational, sporting  device. Others consider the handgun to be a game-getting weapon. Both these objectives are perfectily legitimate. Indeed, there are handguns — and handgun modifications — specifically intended for either of those two purposes.

My view of the handgun is very specific and very limited. I am not a sportsman, and I am not a hunter. I respect fair-minded sportsmen, and understand that there will always be an overwhelming preponderance of shooters who prefer that aspect of shooting to any other. I respect hunters (and, indeed, would hunt, myself, were it not for an abundance of fresh meat and poultry that is easily obtained from local grocery stores), but am not a hunter of animals. For me, personally, the handgun — the sidearm — has one purpose: That of personal defense in situations where lethal force is necessary in order to protect life and limb against a close-range violent attack by a lethal felon.

Using a handgun properly in that particular context with which I am concerned (and for which I teach others who are similarly concerned) has a specific and proven methodology. That methodology is POINT SHOOTING. The system of “point shooting” is not new. It was first developed and systemized during the early part of the last century by William E. Fairbairn. Suffice it to say that there is no one in history who has had more documented, direct, personal experiences with lethal street violence of all types than Fairbairn. He was mentor to one of my own teachers, the late Col. Rex Applegate (who further advanced point shooting doctrine, during and after WWII) and trained both British and American secret servants and commandos. Anyone interested in reading the story of Fairbairn, Applegate, and point shooting, is referred to William Cassidy’s classic, QUICK OR DEAD, published by Paladin Press.

Anyone interested in learning how to point shoot, or learning more about the mechanics involved in this method of using a handgun in combat, is referred to KILL OR GET KILLED, by Rex Applegate, to SHOOTING TO LIVE, by William E. Fairbairn, and — again — to that section dealing with instruction that appears in QUICK OR DEAD.

Right now what I wish to address is something that is all but completely ignored (or not understood) by those who teach the combative employment of the handgun. It seems that even those who, correctly, advocate the proper point shooting method, neglect to stress to their students the literal heart and soul of that which is required in order to be able to prevail against a living, breathing killer. There is something much, much more important still, than the mechanical system of shooting. And, that is the balance that should be understood and appreciated by all who teach and train to use sidearms against human adversaries, that apportions the emphasis due each of the factors required in a program designed for REAL WORLD use of a fighting pistol.

First and foremost — and I realize that this is politically incorrect, socially unpalatable, and offensive to many — is the readiness and willingness to kill a human being, if and when necessary, without the slightest tremor of hesitation.

I know all about the idea of “shooting to stop” (a euphemism introduced by the man who gave us a competition method and insisted that we all regard it as some “new technique” of combat shooting). True enough, we DO shoot a person in order to stop him. But shooting him is applying DEADLY FORCE AGAINST HIM, and until or unless it literally is so absolutely imperative that a person be “stopped” that it does not matter if he is killed in the process, we do not shoot that person. Using any firearm against a human adversary is using deadly force, and we use deadly force when and if — and ONLY when and if — we are fully prepared, ready and willing, to kill that adversary.

Taking a life is something that combat shooting is all about. Unless we are fully and unhesitantly ready to do just that — and fully appreciate the meaning of the act that we undertake — we are not combatively prepared to use a handgun in combat/self-defense emergencies. Period.

Violent criminals often have the edge here. Notice how often violent lunatics kill better “trained” and better armed members of our law enforcement community. This tragedy occurs very often not because the officer who is murdered is “not as good with his weapon as the creature who murders him”, but because the scumbag who shoots the officer has not the slightest compunction about killing the officer! That  the felon frequently employs an inferior weapon than that which the officer possesses, and/or that the felon has never had five minutes of “proper instruction” in how to use a handgun in combat, doesn’t matter, either. THE VIOLENT CRIMINAL IS READY AND WILLING TO KILL WITHOUT HESITATION. That’s his edge.

Winning medals for shooting paper targets has nothing to do with conditioning a man to take a human life. And it is, to repeat, TAKING A HUMAN LIFE that is the crux of the matter in preparing to use a handgun in personal defense. The person who is settled — really settled — on the matter, and who has not the slightest degree of doubt or hesitation regarding the act of killing, when killing is necessary and justifiable, is almost certainly the one who will prevail in any lethal, armed encounter IF . . .

He also possesses a proper degree of practical skill in point shooting, and if he employs good combat and personal security tactics.

Point shooting is combat shooting. The method has been proven in WAR as well as in peacetime (by both law enforcement and private individuals) to be the right way to use a sidearm in a deadly encounter at close quarters. There are those who continue to argue that the method has been “replaced” — but these individuals are basing their position upon competition experiences, and upon that which they practice at the range. Those who have done it for real and who do it for real understand that point shooting is the way to use a handgun against enemies who shoot back.

Point shooting enables a man to make the speediest and most efficient use of every phenomenon that occurs, mentally and physically, in a close range encounter. It is the skill that facilitates the mindset. Once ready and willing to kill, the individual armed with a pistol will be able to do it best and most reliably in a close range, quick reaction situation with POINT SHOOTING, than he possibly could by using any other method. Visually locking on to the enemy (the peripheral optic dysfunction phenomenon), crouching, convulsively seizing one’s weapon and pulling (not “squeezing”) the trigger, and losing one’s fine motor capacity while experiencing a jolt of adrenaline and an explosion of blood pressure, etc. — all these involuntary occurrences MAKE USE OF and do not work in opposition to, point shooting.

Good tactics are always important. Having one’s weapon out when one expects trouble; correct use of cover; applying good security precautions and procedures (whether one is a law enforcement officer, soldier, or private citizen); etc. and so on, are all necessary. The person who is 100% prepared to kill his enemy in combat, who has mastered the point shooting method, and who employs good tactic all of the time, is the one who may be regarded as a properly trained combative marksman.

I would sum it up by offering the following as an assessment of proper apportioning of the three key factors when considering how much of what contributes to genuine individual readiness:

• BEING READY AND WILLING TO KILL, WHEN THE NEED ARISES — 90%

• MASTERY OF POINT SHOOTING — 8%

• GOOD TACTICS — 2%

I hope that this brief presentation helps good people, in law enforcement, in our armed and intelligence services, and in the private sector, to be better prepared to use handguns to save their lives when doing so is unavoidably necessary.

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The Enormous Error Of Defensive Self-Defense

WHEN a violent offender attacks you there is no question about the fact that what he is doing he is doing by deliberate intent. He wants to injure or perhaps even kill you. Why he wishes to do this is irrelevant — at least for the time being. There should be only one single overriding mandate driving you, the very second that you realize that you are under attack: STOP THE ASSAILANT!

A violent attacker has two immense advantages — initially — that absolutely must be overcome decisively and immediately: 1. He is in action first, prompted by a mind that has been set to attack you.  2. His abilities, his ultimate objective in attacking you, his past history, his physical strength, whether he is or is not armed, how determined he is to carry out his objective, etc. are ALL unknown factors to you. For all you know you may be under attack by a hardened, experienced killer whose purpose is to take your life right now. In fact, if you are wise, you WILL ASSUME JUST THAT!

Unfortunately, the situation of being under attack by a dangerous and determined individual does not leave you the luxury of being a gentleman, of striving to be “humane”, of attempting to handle the onslaught against you by not injuring your attacker, or by indulging in the qualities of compassion, forbearance, restraint, and sportsmanship, that are implicit in all too many “self-defense” techniques and methods that are popularly taught in so-called “martial arts classes”. The underlying philosophy in all of these methods is that you do not wish to be barbaric, aggressive, or as vicious and cruel as a violent offender. Yet, I am telling you that that is exactly what you DO want to be, In fact, that is what you MUST be, or stop allowing yourself to think that you are prepared to handle a genuine attack.

Not only are defensive techniques that fall short of seriously injuring the attacker technically ineffective and all but impossible to apply against a really dangerous assailant, the entire MINDSET of “defensiveness” is woefully inadequate to deal with the savagery of a violent attack. That which works against a cooperative training partner in the dojo is hardly therefore acceptable when a life-threatening emergency strikes, and the opponent is a lunatic bent upon killing you — as opposed to being a friendly practice partner!

If, God forbid, serious danger ever comes your way the proper way to handle it will be anything but pleasant. You will need to reach deep within yourself and draw out your most primitive, vicious, inhuman, murderous drives — and direct them in one great explosion against your enemy. It’s that — or lose.

Many martial arts teachers do not know this. Others might be aware of it, but for commercial reasons refrain from saying it and advocating it. After all, the typical individual who wishes to enroll for self-defense training is doing so because he is afraid of being injured, is intimidated by violence, and wants a means of protecting himself that will keep him relatively free of the need for immersing himself in the brutality of a genuine hand-to-hand battle. This accounts for the popularity of “humane self-defense” courses, for the popularity of such arts as “aikido”, and for the reason why every effort is made to focus on DEFENSE ONLY when learning self-defense; despite the fact that “defense only” constitutes a philosophy and technical ability geared to FANTASY, not reality.

But if any study requires REALITY — the most undiluted, unvarnished, hard-nosed reality possible — it is close combat and self-defense. Without it, no worthwhile training or individual development of a practical kind results.

DEFENSE IS THE PROPER MOTIVE FOR TRAINING AND FOR DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE SKILLS. BUT OFFENSE IS THE ONLY MEANS OF ITS ATTAINMENT.

If you are serious about self-defense — really serious — then drop all of the “compassion” nonsense. Forget about “you don’t want to hurt anyone”. Stop believing that some fantasy skills from some mountaintop in Asia can equip you to stop anyone without resorting to outright savagery, yourself. Self-defense is WAR in microcosm. Wars are won by attacking and destroying the enemy. Period.

You do not like violence? Neither do I. However, when you find yourself in a situation that is being foisted upon you by one or more others who do not care in the least what the hell you like or don’t like, and who intend to cripple or to kill you, or to savage your loved ones, then you do not have the luxury of behaving in a manner that you’d “prefer”. It is an emergency and you now must act in a manner that the emergency requires. You must get tough, brutal, remorselessly savage, and you must completely disregard anything and everything except dropping your foe, lest you be dropped by him.

Train yourself to ATTACK when you are attacked. Forget about your shirt or your jacket. Let the assailant rip and tear it. Forget about what he is now attempting to do to you. Concentrate immediately upon what YOU can do to HIM — and do not be influenced in the least by the idea that maiming your attacker might be “too harsh”.  Hopefully, it will be harsh enough!

Don’t get fancy, and don’t try to be acrobatic or impressive. If you’re a judo man don’t be so foolish as to risk your life by trying tomoenage. That’s for the mat! Besides, if you can place your foot in his stomach for the throw, why not just kick him in the testicles as hard as you can? You can always strike or kick a man faster and more safely than you can move in, off-balance him, and go for a throw.

If you’re a karate man do not wait to block. Get those OPEN hand strikes more highly polished, and train to kick the testicles and the knees the very second you see an adversary begin his onslaught.

Yell. Throw dirt. Use a fork or a table knife. Pick up a small chair or stool. NEVER fight fair. Never think fair! This is WAR.

The person who thinks “defense” is only trying to avoid injury, he is not trying to inflict it. The person who is attack minded knows and strives to apply force, and to cripple and maim his attacker. This carries a morale edge to the fight that is of incalculable value to the defender who employs it.

No, this is not pleasant, and it isn’t “artsy”. But it works.

The second that you perceive aggression being directed against you, ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK!

Neither I nor anyone else can offer you a guarantee of victory. Neither my System nor any other in the world is foolproof or perfect. However, when you use the right principles, possess the right attitude, and employ the best techniques, the odds favor you, immensely. And it’s the right principles, attitude, and techniques that we offer you. Your responsibility is to understand, accept, and develop them.

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The Critical Principle Of Eye Contact In Any Confrontation

HERE’S what we teach:

In any instance when you are interfacing with anyone you do not know, keep yourself distanced outside arms’ reach if you possibly can, and keep your eyes on the face of the person.

Whenever you are standing — alert, off-angled, and ready (in condition YELLOW or ORANGE) — outside of arms’ reach you have placed whoever you are confronting at the disadvantage of having to take a step toward you, in order to attack you if that is his intention. He cannot simply throw a fast punch or otherwise attack without moving in in order to do so.

When you are properly distanced and when your eyes are resting on the other person’s face, then your peripheral vision will take in his entire body (try this with a training partner, and you’ll see what we mean). He will not be able to initiate any suspicious or even subtle gesture without your being 100% aware of just what is happening. Once again, if you are in the proper off-angled (we call our position the “Relaxed-Ready Stance”) position and if your mind is in either YELLOW or ORANGE, YOU WILL BE IN THE PROPER POSITION TO MAKE ANY REQUIRED PREEMPTIVE ATTACK. And you will observe — in plenty of time — when making that attack is required.

If by chance you have ever heard the statement, in any context, that “the hand is quicker than the eye” you have heard a piece of scientifically proven, absolute NONSENSE. There is simply no way — no way — that any individual, no matter how physically fast, how superbly trained, or how experienced he may be in close combat or anything else, could possibly make any physical movement that is faster than you can see him doing so, if you are watching him do so at the time.

The hand is not even close to approaching being anywhere near “as fast as the eye” — let alone “faster”! Even the physically slowest and most technically inept individual whose eyes are watching will pick up any slight physical action that is attempted by anyone who he is looking at, regardless of who that person may be.

How do we know this? Three sources:

1) Our own experimentation and researches during teaching and training, over the years, in a “hands on” training environment

2) Documentation from the U.S. armed forces pertaining to findings in regard to the aircraft recognition capabilities of fighter pilots and others, during and since WWII

3) Documentation from the Central Intelligence Agency that was compiled during the Cold War, when John Mulholland (a professional magician contracted by CIA to provide instructional manuals for operatives on deceptive hand movements, etc.) established that magicians must use deception and distraction to fool audiences. THE EYE IS ALWAYS QUICKER THAN THE HAND, and consequently, it is only by distracting a person that you can initiate a hand movement or other physical motion that you can prevent him from seeing it happen.

During the second world war it was determined through exhaustive studies done with aviators that an accurate identification of an aircraft (”friend or foe”) could be made by a pilot in hundredths of a second! The eye and brain of a trained aviator who knew what friendly and enemy aircraft looked like could do this reliably and routinely. And that has nothing to do with his being able to SIMPLY SEE THAT THERE IS ANOTHER AIRCRAFT IN THE SKY WITH HIM! Essentially, that occurs virtually upon eye contact.

This ability to observe-and-identify is hardly the province of trained fighter pilots. Any human being possessing eyesight has this identical capability. Obviously, he can only determine the status of an aircraft per se if he knows what friendly and enemy craft look like. However, the student of close combat and self-defense need only learn what an aggressive physical action that is being made by the human body “looks like” in its embryonic stage (and we all, presumably, know that much, if we train in personal combat) and if that action is being made by someone whom we know, or by a stranger. IF IT IS BEING MADE BY A STRANGER WHO IS CLOSE ENOUGH TO HARM US, AND IS APPARENTLY CAPABLE OF DOING SO, THEN WE ATTACK — we preempt and we finish the damn thing. Period.

It is very easy for you to prove to yourself the truth of that which CIA learned from John Mulholland. Obtain video footage of some brilliant magicians rendering their performances. Penn and Teller are two of our favorites. Now, watch the magicians perform — carefully. Scrutinize areas of their bodies and positions of their hands over and over again, as they perform their “magic”. If you do this you will see — rather clearly — the deceptive hand motions involved in concealing that which they do not want you to notice. As you review the video again and again — in regular and in slow motion — you will marvel at the skill and dexterity of good magicians BUT YOU WILL ALSO DISCOVER THAT, WHEN YOU ARE NOT DISTRACTED BUT ARE INSTEAD LOOKING AT SOMETHING, YOU SEE IT HAPPEN — CLEARLY, AND IN REAL TIME!

It is important to keep your eyes on anyone who approaches you, and whose identity and intentions you are unsure of.

It is important to be in either yellow or orange during any interfacing with any stranger.

It is important to REMEMBER HOW CRUCIAL DECEIT AND DECEPTION IS FOR YOUR OWN PURPOSES in close combat, and how it may be used in an emergency to save your life!

From the standpoint of the combatives student — i.e. YOU — an understanding of this irrevocable fact (that the eye is always much quicker than the hand) should help you in making your own preemptive attacks more effective.

Whenever and wherever you find yourself being approached by anyone, DO NOT AVER YOUR EYES. Always keep your eyes on any presumed opponent or stranger. ALWAYS!

TIP: NEVER try to “look tough”.  Just look. Let your eyes rest on whoever you are facing, and give away nothing by either your own physical movements or by your facial expression. This will serve you well, because the individual whom you are facing will remain unable to “read” you. Hence, if his intentions are to attack you, he will never quite know when or if he ought to make the attempt.

TIP: NEVER get caught up in a shouting or insult contest with anyone. If the other guy raises his voice, be quiet and physically still. ORANGE! But do not give the person you are facing the opportunity to distract you from his plan and intention by either verbal or subtle physical histrionics (i.e. pointing a finger at you while he mouths off and jabbing it in your direction, etc.). Just watch him.

TIP: NEVER “watch the hands”. Keep your eyes on the other guy’s face and stay at the proper distance. Your peripheral vision — not your direct stare — will more than adequately let you know when an attack is being initiated. You want to remain constantly AWARE OF the hands, as well as of the rest of the individual. This is the soundest tactic.

ANNOUNCING  A NEW INSTRUCTIONAL

MANUAL!

WE have just completed a 214 page training Manual on “Mental Conditioning For Close Combat And Self-Defense”. Our visitors have asked repeatedly if we could offer materials for their personal training, and this Manual is sure to be a tremendous aid to anyone training either in our own System, or in any other — if his objective is real combative ability and preparation for emergency defense of himself and those he loves!

MENTAL CONDITIONING IS 90% OF WHAT IT TAKES TO BE PREPARED FOR VIOLENCE, AND REAL WORLD SELF-DEFENSE! This Manual is a “FIRST” AND WILL HELP YOU TO TRAIN YOURSELF TO A PEAK IN REALISTIC PERSONAL READINESS!

If you would like a copy on a quality CD (that you can either read on your computer screen or print out in a hard copy) we will send you one for $30. AND AS A BONUS WE WILL INCLUDE  PRINTABLE COPIES OF COMBAT JUDO, by Robert L. Carlin, and DEFEND YOURSELF!, by Jack Grover (two books that are collector’s items and would cost a small fortune in their original editions if  you could locate copies!!!) The mental conditioning Manual is highly readable on screen or when printed out. The other two publications should be printed out for study purposes.

This is a hell of a bargain, and we urge  you to take advantage of it. You’ll be receiving a premier first-of-its kind Manual on mental conditioning and two impossible-to-find classic texts on practical self-defense and close combat!

This is considerably below what the cost of a printed copy would be, since modern production costs, packaging, and mailing is now through the roof.

This is not an academic or theoretical study of the subject. It is a forthright how-to-do-it Manual that will instruct, inspire, guide, and motivate you — just as we would if you were our personal student.

Teachers of self-defense and close combat will find a goldmine of information here that will not only help them, but help them to teach their students this absolutely critical subject.

This Manual is comprehensive and extensive. It explains and describes WHAT you must do, and then HOW to do it. It is politically incorrect, direct, and pulls no punches. It is the REAL DEAL, and if you are serious about training yourself for close combat and self-defense you will certainly want to obtain a copy and study it again and again.

Not available from any other source!

Send $30. (cash or money order payable to Brad Steiner) to us: Brad Steiner  P.O. Box 15929  Seattle, Washington 98115 USA,

We urge anyone who is serious about self-defense to order a copy of this new Manual today on CD. You will not be disappointed.

Point Shooting IS Combat Shooting!

WEAPONS are and have always been integral to martial arts. The weaponry of the time always dictates what will be included in a realistic, practical program of training, and thus antiquated weapons (i.e. sai, sword, tonfa, nunchucks, 9-foot poles, etc.) must be relegated to classical/traditional studies, and abandoned when considering what a combatant must learn in the 21st century. The premier self-defense weapon of today is the handgun that has been designed and intended for anti-peronnel use.

While few rational individuals will dispute the handgun’s status as the “ultimate weapon of self-protection”, there is some question — unfortunately lingering from the halcyon years of that wrong turn-off taken when the late Jeff Cooper introduced what he called “the new technique of the pistol” — about what exactly constitutes the best technique of employing the handgun in close quarters battle.

The proper technique for real world close range, quick reaction combat use of the one-hand gun was developed and initially wrung out by the late William E. Fairbairn when, as “Officer in Charge of Musketry” in the Shanghai Municipal Police Department during the early years of the 20th century, this incredible close combat master used actual gunfight experiences (plenty of which were his own, and all of those of dozens of other officers, shopkeepers, and criminals, who had engaged in handgun battles, and whose experiences were documented or personally observed) to formulate doctrine. By actual record, William Fairbairn personally participated in more than 600 violent encounters with lethally dangerous felons! More than 200 of those encounters involved combat use of his sidearm!

During the 1940’s, when Fairbairn was called out of retirement to train British secret service personnel (SIS or MI6), commandos, and operatives of the wartime Special Operations Executive (SOE), his methods of armed and unarmed combat were further refined.  Seconded to  the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Fairbairn became mentor to then Capt. Rex Applegate. Applegate, eventually to become Fairbairn’s opposite number in the States, contributed his own research and his terrific teaching acumen to train more than 10,000 fighting men in the legendary Fairbairn methods of both armed and unarmed combat.

The Shanghai experience, the countless experiences of the second world war, and post-war experiences with law enforcement,  intelligence,  and military service organizations — all of whom received extensive training in POINT SHOOTING (the Fairbairn/Applegate Method) proved beyond doubt or question that proper use of the fighting pistol for close range engagements is UNsighted, natural, “instinctive” or POINT shooting.

The unfortunate advocacy of always concentrating on the front sight and always using the handgun’s sights is the byproduct NOT of combat experience, but of competition experience. And yes, certainly, as a sporting/competitive way to use the pistol at a range, in competition, in events set up to require use of the sights by establishing unrealistically long range targets, the newly introduced “technique” of Cooper’s makes sense. BUT NOT IN CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE PREDICAMENTS WHEN ONE CONFRONTS AN ARMED KILLER!

We wrote about all of this in enormous detail and at great length for nearly ten years, every month, in a Column that we contributed to a mainstream gun magazine. And while many of that publication’s readers took issue with that which we presented, 100% OF THOSE WHO READ OUR COLUMN WHO WERE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE MILITARY, AND OTHER CAREERS WHERE IT WAS “DONE FOR REAL” , AND WHERE THESE READERS HAD BEEN ACTUALLY “DOING” SOME OF IT, THEMSELVES, agreement was total, enthusiastic, and based upon REAL WORLD EXPERIENCES!

Point shooting is not theoretical. It is a simple, basic method of utilizing the handgun when the circumstances of actual combat impinge upon the shooter, and when his ability to focus on sighted shooting becomes impossible. It is easy to demonstrate the “superiority” of focusing on the front sight and hitting targets conveniently set up at a shooting range. However, the shooting ranges that most competitive shooting aficionados do their live firing at are wholly unrealistic. Not only are the shooting distances generally ridiculous (more than 50% of all encounters occur at distances of FIVE FEET OR LESS; and nearly 100% occur well within a 20-foot range — usually no further away than about ten or twelve FEET), but the range environment does not produce the stress of combat, and it never triggers the involuntary psychophysical reactions in the shooter that a real battle inevitably includes. IN A REAL CLOSE RANGE COMBAT SITUATION YOU CANNOT FOCUS ON THE FRONT SIGHT! At the range — whether the target is three feet away or thirty yards away, you always can use the sights — rather easily, too, if you’ve spent time practicing the so-called “new technique”.

Sadly,  the recent experiences of police officers, federal agents, and others who have been trained in and who have attempted to rely upon the “new technique” have all too often resulted tragically. The California Highway Patrol is only one law enforcement agency that has abandoned the “new technique” and — wisely! — gone back to point shooting for its officers.

We bring all of this up because we appreciate that our visitors will in many cases wish to avail themselves of modern weapons in their quest for realistic and total preparedness. Know this: it is point shooting that you want to learn and rely upon for close range lethal emergencies in self, family, and home defense, if and when you need to employ a pistol. Waste no time or money on competition methods. If you ever need to use your pistol for real it will not be very sporting.

The fabulous Kimber Company (a weapons manufacturer that everyone considering purchasing a sidearm for social use should check out!) has come up with another classic winner! It is a concealment handgun without fixed sights.

Whether you select the new Kimber as your personal carry weapon or not, is a choice that only you can make. We certainly think highly of Kimber’s products.

What we wish to stress is that, so long as your objective is learning how to employ a pistol in actual combat, against living, armed, dangerous enemies, it is POINT SHOOTING that you want to rely upon as your technique.

Two chapters in Applegate’s KILL OR GET KILLED will teach you the method. Or, you can check into SHOOTING TO LIVE, by Fairbairn, or the classic QUICK OR DEAD, by William Cassidy. There are other sources, as well as a few teachers who are fully qualified to train you in the method (without side-tracking you into competition shooting). Mark Bryans or our self can train you — or, if you can read and are disciplined — you can likely train yourself. We obviously caution that you obey all laws regarding firearms ownership and use, and that YOU GET PROPER INSTRUCTION IN SAFE GUN HANDLING AND THE FUNDAMENTALS of handgun use before you actually purchase any firearm.

This is the terrific ULTRA RCP II by Kimber. The encouraging fact that — finally — the uselessness of sighted firing at close ranges is being acknowledged in a modern pistol made by a top, premier manufacturer, is very gratifying to us.

We hope that you have found this article helpful.

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FOUL METHODS:

“Fair” Is A Four-Letter Word!

MANY who teach and practice the martial arts bandy about the term “dirty fighting” or “foul tactics”, or “anything goes”, etc. It sounds great to give a self-defense demonstration or to interview a prospective student who is terrified of being injured by criminal assailants and to speak of how “in our school we advocate all of the stuff that’s ‘banned’ or ‘forbidden’, and we hold nothing back when we teach self-defense”, etc. Yet, when one finally enrolls in this “anything goes” school, what is one encouraged to do? Usually . . .

— Square off and bow, then get into a fighting stance and spar or wrestle

— Grapple for a pin (or a “mount”), or another form of judo or wrestling type immobilization hold

— Use punching and high or fancy kicking

— Block

— Enter match events — or train in skills devised for and perfected in such contests

— Apply armlocks, and wrist twisting pain compliance holds

— Jab, poke, pinch, or strike “secret nerve centers” that supposedly cause an attacker to release a grip, drop a weapon, or double over in temporary pain so that you can escape

— Develop antiquated weaponry skills

— Cultivate absurdly impractical and unrealistic actions against weapon attacks made by criminals with modern weapons

— Develop utterly unnecessary flexibility for utterly unnecessary acrobatics

— Acquire a mystical mind-set, and learn to babble incoherently like a moron, as though mysterious Eastern esoterica and arcania had anything to do with hand-to-hand combat

— Practice relentlessly to master classical/traditional kata

. . . and the reader can quite possibly come up with one or two other things that typify so much of what is advanced and espoused as “all in fighting” for serious, practical, real world self-defense or battlefield survival, in today’s martial arts emporiums.

There is no nice, sanitized, artful and esthetically beautiful way to manhandle an enemy in close range physical combat. Brutality, viciousness, speed, and merciless ferocity applied with physical and psychological desperation is what typifies actual self-defense and close combat. The mainstream magazines and the commercializing schools and DVD presentations have a wishful-thinking, essentially braindead “self-defense seeking public” all too often thinking otherwise.

This is why people so often fail to defend themselves when they find themselves in a real world emergency — despite their having “trained in martial arts”. Their “training” has left them without a clue, and at the mercy of the hardened violent predators who embody and personify “foulness“, and  whom they inevitably will always encounter when things go down for real — in the real world.

To be fully and legitimately prepared to defend yourself, you must embrace foul methods. This does not mean that a few “dirty tricks” will save the day, and it is no guarantee that if you do adopt the gutterfighting attitude (as Fairbairn called it) you will always prevail. However, if you train in a truly viable close combat and self-defense system you will be instructed in how to lace foul methods into all that you do, and you will learn how to resort — and why you MUST resort — to the filthiest, most dangerous, underhanded, unscrupulous measures imaginable when you find yourself fighting in defense of your life, or to save a loved one.

In some cases martial arts classes will be conducted by teachers who mention a few dirty tricks or foul methods. The problem is, these are not emphasized and hammered relentlessly into the student’s psyche. His physical practice and mental conditioning — such as it may be — all but completely neglects POWERFULLY PROGRAMMING him to rely upon foul methods right away — and to do so without a tremor of hesitation, the very moment that he is attacked. He is somehow conditioned to be more ARTSY than MARTIAL.

We appreciate that some will find the following foul measures abhorrent. We make not the slightest apology for advocating them. It is for the protection and the survival of the innocent victim that we care. We see no point in wasting time on scruples and decency when dealing with predators.

If truly prepared you wish to be, then give some serious thought — and training time — to the practice and mastery of the following, which we stress incessantly in American Combato ªJen•Do•Tao)™:

•EYE GOUGING

Dig thumbs deeply into eyes and rip out. Excellent in rape defense, weapon defense, or whenever an enemy attempts to grapple. Always justified to save a life. Don’t be squeamish.

•THRUSTING FINGERS TO EYES

Open the hand and extend fingers, but do not tense them. Thrust straight through (not “on”) the eyes, without warning. Kicks can follow up, or other hand or arm strikes, or the use of a weapon or object-at-hand.

*THROWING SAND, DIRT, ETC. INTO THE EYES

Never hesitate to do this. Small change, a hat, a magazine, or a cup of coffee, etc. may all be flung without warning into an attacker’s face. Followup viciously and take advantage of the momentary distraction.

•SEIZING, CRUSHING, AND JERKING THE TESTICLES

Much more difficult to do than most people believe against a standing, fully clothed aggressor — but certainly in some situations (like attempted rape, or ground grappling) very practical and doable. Drive hand between legs sideways with hand open. Then snap open hand upward and grab the enemy’s testicles with every ounce of strength you can muster. Twist and jerk.

•RIPPING THE EARS OFF

An excellent, reliable technique. Seize ears and followup with a knee to the testicles while pulling opponent in close. Now move your hands and arms exactly as you would if using a bow and arrow — with a powerful grip on both ears.

The ears come off easily. Shock is the result, and your attacker will be susceptible to anything else you need to do.

•NOSTRIL OR MOUTH HOOKING AND TEARING

Good, close in technique. Rip hard! This opens up the throat. It also makes your attacker easy to throw.

•BITING

Should be used often and without hesitation. An ear, the nose, and either cheek may literally be bitten off the face. Bite like a pitbull!

Excellent when used in conjunction with grabbing the ears from in front.

Any part of the body can be bitte hard to good effect.

This should be your FIRST reaction if you ever find yourself taken to the ground.

•SPITTING

Always a good idea. Often, it is difficult to collect sufficient saliva to actually employ this quickly. However, if you have food or drink in your mouth — go for it!

•CLAWING AND SEIZING

Windpipe – hair, etc.

• USE ANYTHING AT HAND AS A WEAPON

Self-defense is an emergency situation. Use whatever you can use, regardless of whether or not your attacker is armed! There are no rules in this game!

•BREAK THE FINGERS

Just grab and snap one or more of the enemy’s fingers when the opportunity arises.

*BASH THE ENEMY’S HEAD AGAINST THE GROUND

Or against the corner of a desk, fire hydrant, stairs, etc.

•KNUCKLE-JAB OR CHOP THE THROAT

Attacking the throat in this manner, with a sharp jabbing or striking action is always effective in serious combat.

•FEIGNING INJURY, CONFUSION, COMPLIANCE, TERROR, ETC.

Once your adversary believes you, ATTACK LIKE A WILD ANIMAL! Always strive to do the unexpected, and always convey the opposite of your true intentions to any attacker. Then GET HIM!

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We are confident that anyone who trains seriously, stays in good shape, cultivates attack mindedness, and strives to keep the foul methods that we have presented at the forefront of his thinking and tactical preparedness, will find himself well able to deal with the most savage aggressor.

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Points To Ponder — Part 2

• IF IT CAN BE DONE IN SPORT THEN IT IS TOO UNRELIABLE FOR USE IN AN EMERGENCY. IF IT CAN BE RELIED UPON FOR USE IN AN EMERGENCY THEN IT IS TOO DANGEROUS TO PLAY WITH.

While virtually all forms of sporting combat have some application to real combat (and highly experienced and champion competitors in most combat sports are usually able to adopt their skills to self-defense situations) it does not follow that by participating in sport you can prepare adequately for combat, per se.

What we ideally want in combat (self-defense) is to speedily inflict serious injury so that a dangerous aggressor cannot continue to endanger us. This point about INJURY is critical to understand. “Pain” is a completely unreliable means of stopping a determined attacker. As a licensed and experienced hypnotherapist with well over a quarter of a century’s experience in that field — and decades more than that studying psychology and psychiatry and the mental aspects of combat — we can assure everyone that there are individuals who can block out pain completely —ignore it — and continue to function very efficiently. Injury, however, is another story. Break a man’s leg and he falls. Period. Crush his windpipe and he dies. Period. Chop his carotid artery with a powerful, snapping handaxe blow and he drops unconscious. Period. Burst his eardrums with a powerful ear box attack and he collapses with a concussion. Etcetera.

Often, self-defense involves reacting to a mentally disturbed, psychotically motivated, or drug/alcohol-influenced madman. Pain is out of the question. Such a menace must be stopped,  forthwith. Only destructive techniques will achieve that objective.

While there are many who will insist that the ultimate validation of any fighting technique is how it works “in open competition”, these people are incorrect. Appropriate combat techniques may be practiced (carefully) with partners in training, but they cannot be utilized in “matches”. Not  the least of the reasons for this is because, if you want your skills to be there for you instantly, then you must not muddy the training waters by dividing practice time between movements that can be done without injury to your partner and some peripheral work on skills that “you must remember to use in a real emergency”. You WON’T BE ABLE TO remember to use anything in a real emergency. The skills will either have been motor-memorized and internalized, or not. And the task of doing that is best accomplished by sticking to a single type of action.

“Going right for the eyes!” works beautifully in a self-defense emergency. Anyone who believes that such an action is suitable for competition is a fool.

• THE ASIAN MARTIAL ARTS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND VALUABLE. HOWEVER, WESTERN MARTIAL ARTS ARE NO LESS EFFECTIVE, AND OFTEN (BECAUSE THEY ARE LESS RIGID) EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE ASIAN SYSTEMS.

The disdain that one so often hears from practitioners of one or another of the Asian martial arts betrays real ignorance, no less than arrogance. Boxing, wrestling, fencing, football, kick boxing, etc. are excellent and effective arts. And, there can be no denying that the revolutionary steps taken by Westerners who had studied and who had used the Asian martial arts, to devise short-term, viable combat methods, during WWII, remain to this day of immense value for students to study.

• THE IDEA THAT SIZE AND STRENGTH DO NOT MATTER IS A MYTH THAT SHOULD HAVE DIED OUT WITH PHRENOLOGY AND PALMISTRY.

Yes, a small man who is skilled, fit, properly trained in tactics and destructive techniques can defeat a larger, stronger man. But not if that larger, stronger man is equally skilled, fit, properly trained in tactics and destructive techniques. Then, the stronger and larger man wins.

The point? Train hard with weights in addition to combat skills, and become as strong as your genetic potential permits.

• MOTION PICTURES AND TELEVISION DO NOT PROVIDE A VIABLE SOURCE FOR OBSERVING AND LEARNING VALID COMBAT SKILLS.

We will acknowledge that sometimes one might see a good technique or two, or witness the application of proper mindset and battle principles. One case in point is in the opening scene in the movie CASINO, when Joe Pesci takes out a loudmouth who insulted his friend. (Watch the movie! It’s a great scene.) But normally one sees fight sequences that have been choreographed to look good. Another depiction of realistic hand-to-hand combat appeared in the excellent motion picture THE PATRIOT. Mel Gibson’s use of a tomahawk in that movie was very realistic.

There are motion picture stars who play “ex green berets”, “tough, loner cops”, etc. and, plying their theatrical martial arts, they certainly provide a great deal of entertainment. So, if you like such films, go ahead and enjoy them. Just don’t mistake what the good guys do to the bad guys as being quality instruction in close combat.

•MODERN WEAPONS FOR MODERN TIMES. AND WEAPONRY IS INTEGRAL TO CLOSE COMBAT; IT IS NOT A SEPARATE STUDY.

Classical weaponry is a fascinating study, but it is largely irrelevant for modern close combat. Modern weapons include: The stick, the fighting knife, the handgun, the shotgun, the rifle, the tomahawk, and unconventional/improvised weapons.

•IF YOU ARE DEFENDING THEN YOU ARE LOSING. IF YOU ARE ATTACKING THEN YOU ARE WINNING.

It really is as simple as that. Good, basic military strategy and tactics. Go after the enemy. Drive him back. Occupy his ground. Keep pounding him so that he cannot recover, and continue until he is destroyed. An awful lot of people do not like hearing this, but it is the truest thing you’ll ever read, or be told about the reality of combat. There is no “nice way”.

• THERE ARE UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES AND FUNDAMENTALS THAT ALWAYS APPLY IN REAL COMBAT. THEY ARE TRUE NOW, HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TRUE, AND WILL REMAIN TRUE.

Strive to always keep the following in mind when you train:

Balance . . . momentum . . .leverage . . . maximum force . . .deception . . . the surprise attack . . . continuous awareness.

Hand-to-hand and unarmed combat is really not complicated or difficult to learn. The primary problem is that people do not generally appreciate that it is a different skill than either classical or sporting forms of “combat”, that it is a dangerous and risky activity; and that the bottom line is that, in order to be effective and prevail you must learn to be a ruthless, unscrupulous, foul and underhanded gutterfighter, ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to destroy the enemy.

With that pleasant thought we conclude Part 2, and wish you very well in your training endeavors.

Points To Ponder — About Training For Real World Self-Defense And Close Combat – Part 1

WE appreciate that many if not most of our visitors train in methods of defense or martial arts systems other than our own. However, we also appreciate that the reason why these people visit our site is so that they can secure helpful information and guidance that is relevant to their adaptation of whatever they learn for practical purposes. Our specialty is close combat and self-defense.

In order to train properly for actual encounters with dangerous and determined human adversaries, in a self-defense or perhaps military context, certain adjustments — mentally, physically, tactically, and technically must be made. Not because “we prefer those adjustments”, but because the nature of the challenge that confronts a person in toe to toe battle with a living, breathing enemy, necessitates them.

Perhaps we may assume that the reader understands — or is at least willing to consider — that which we are saying. With  that much understood, we’d like to present the following “points to ponder”, which comprise a fairly rich miscellany of items that are directly relevant, and essential, to preparation for the supreme and critical application of martial skills and knowledge in real, honest-to-goodness, anything goes hand-to-hand combat; not for appearance or for points, but FOR KEEPS.

•THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A PRICE TO PAY WHEN YOU BECOME EMBROILED IN PHYSICAL VIOLENCE.

It is foolhardy to expect, regardless of your level of strength and ability and technical competence, that you yourself will not be injured. The real world isn’t like that. Experts may stand an excellent chance of winning a serious encounter, and providing skills and mental conditioning are practical and suitable to actual battle, of defeating an assailant in a street attack. But there will almost certainly be injuries absorbed by the expert in the process. Do not misled by advertisements, the arrogance of instructors, or such false claims as may be unfortunately seen in some overly enthusiastic presentations of seminars, courses, or programs in “real world combat”, etc. on the internet. The better and more authentic the teacher, and the more reliable and authentic his teachings, the more it will be frankly admitted that combat is dangerous, cannot be undertaken without risk, and no one — no matter how good he may be — can be a superman!

There are also possible legal consequences to engaging in physical combat. One may win the physical encounter, but end up in jail, prison, or suffering financial and emotional losses of monumental proportions in civil court. Wise persons will understand this and vow never to raise so much as a voice (let alone a hand!) against anyone, unless absolutely necessary in unavoidable self-defense. There is perhaps no greater or more persuasive reason to AVOID TROUBLE IF AT ALL POSSIBLE than the fact that, even if you are in the right, and even though you may win, there will be consequences of an unpleasant nature more often than not — to you.

• THE ONLY “RULE” IS: WIN!

When no choice offers save that of being beaten — perhaps killed — or fighting back fiercely and with determination to prevail, then nothing, absolutely nothing must be permitted to interfere with your ferocious, all-out, driving, committed, “balls to the wall” ATTACK. Winning is the only option that is now acceptable, and every rule, regulation, restriction, block, so-called “foul method” about which you may have been cautioned during your martial arts training is cast aside. Decency must be cast aside. Fair play, humane consideration, “not wanting to injure the attacker too badly”, etc. are all sabotaging thoughts and impediments, and must not be permitted to stand between yourself and instantly resorting to the most brutal, barbaric, even distastefully “dirty” methods you are capable of. You are out to WIN. The attacker has chosen his fate and is responsible for whatever happens to himself. Your life and well being, and the lives and well being of those you love, matter. The attacker — the “enemy” — does not matter. By his initiation of unprovoked violence he has declared himself a wild beast, and has placed his signature upon his resignation from the human race. WIN!

May God Rest Their Souls

ON the morning of Sunday 29 November 2009 four Lakewood, Washington police officers were attacked and murdered while tending to some routine work on their laptops, and having breakfast together at a small coffee shop, before going on duty.

The killer entered the coffee shop and produced a firearm, with which he proceeded cold-bloodedly to shoot the officers to death.

The officers, from left to right below are: MARK RENNINGER, TINA GRISWOLD, RONALD OWENS, and GREG RICHARDS. Each of these officers left behind children and other loved ones for whom this catastrophic event can never and will never make any sense; and from which their grief will likely never  abate.

While police work is quite often routine and — from the stadpoint of violence — uneventful, it is a tragedy and horrific crime like this that reminds us all that a police uniform is sometimes regarded as a target, and that there are predators amongst us who, seeking constantly to escape the consequences of their behavior, resent, hate, and will attack our uniformed protectors. When police work does involve violence, it can get very ugly, indeed.

Greg Richards was the patrol partner of one of our Black Belts, who also serves proudly with the Lakewood Force.

We want to know every scrap of information that any law enforcement officers will provide us about this event, so that we can use it to assist in presenting information and tactical doctrine to our students who belong to our Nation’s proud law enforcement community.

Only a short time prior to this latest mass murder, Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton was assassinated while occupied in a parked patrol car, going over items of police work with a new Officer, who, as a Field Training Officer, Brenton was mentoring.

Knowing full well the shortcomings of much of that which is presented as “defensive tactics” and “officer survival” instruction to police, we are always delighted to have police officers as students. While we will be the first to admit that that which we teach may be “politically” quite incorrect, we also insist that it is EXACTLY WHAT LINE POLICE OFFICERS MUST KNOW AND PRACTICE.

Nothing can guarantee that a police officer will always prevail in a violent encounter, and there is not, unfortunately, any assurance that catastrophic and senselessly evil attacks on our brave men and women in uniform will stop. However, preparation — mentally, technically, tactically, and physically — can go a long way toward minimizing the likelihood of success for any psychopathic scum who see our cops as fair game.

We wish to extend our heartfelt condolences, and the condolences of our students, to the families and friends of those Officers whose lives have been cut short. And a message to all of those police officers who work hard to protect us by  seeing that our rights are not violated with impunity: “You are always appreciated. Thank you.”

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Ankle Holsters

The above is an excellent quality ankle holster, however when wearing such a holster we recommend PULLING THE SOCK OVER THE RIG so that it will not be detectable should the pant leg rise a bit, and an observant individual notice that leather is being worn about the ankle. Wearing the ankle holster with the weapon INSIDE the leg (as opposed to wearing it one the outside) is best. Thus, if you are right-handed you would wear your ankle-holstered pistol on the INSIDE of your LEFT leg. Wearing it on the outside of the leg leaves the protrusion of the weapon subject to detection when or if someone bumps or brushes up against you.

RECENTLY,  a friend brought to our attention the fact that he had read an article in a mainstream “knife publication” about how to draw a knife quickly from an ankle holster. This reminded us immediately of a classic book on handgun shooting (i.e. Handgunner’s Guide) by the late Chic Gaylord. Gaylord was a highly regarded holster maker who flourished during the 1950’s, in New York City. He crafted holsters and recommended handgun modifications, ammo choices, etc. to law enforcement professionals in the various city, state, and federal agencies. Gaylord’s book, recently offered for sale in reprint by Paladin Press, illustrated in one of its chapters how to draw a handgun (presumably quickly) from an ankle holster. It was not the high point of the book.

Ankle holsters are extremely useful and valuable — much more so for handguns than for knives. The latter are better worn concealed in more convenient places than the ankle, and they can be, rather easily. The configuration of a good fixed-blade boot or small fighting knife makes it highly concealable in much more readily accessible places than on the ankle.

Be this as it may, the idea of quick draw under combat conditions of either a handgun or a knife from a concealed ankle holster is frankly not too bright, in our opinion.

One carries a weapon in an ankle holster for maximum concealment, and mainly as an emergency arm, to be accessed when one’s primary weapon has been neutralized or confiscated. One might also employ an ankle holster as we ourself once did: because we simply could not appear to be armed, and no other concealment option was practically feasible due to prevailing weather and dress conditions. Also, the possibility of anyone brushing up against us and encountering a sidearm worn inside-the-pants and under our shirt could not have been chanced.

Ankle holsters are for carry in an optimally concealable position on the body, not with an eye to having speedy, instant access via quick draw, in a combat situation.

Please reflect on the following:

• Drawing an ankle-holstered weapon requires that one assume a completely vulnerable position for a relatively long time — before one has any chance of his weapon — or of himself — being positioned effectively for close combat.

• Drawing from an ankle holster must be done while you are stationary. I.e. You cannot simultaneously draw your weapon while seeking cover (handgun) or draw while launching blows of the hands and feet and/or evading an incoming attacker (handgun or knife).

Proper tactics for the real world as opposed to the shooting range or unarmed combat practice studio, mandate not attempting a quick draw when an adversary is directly in front of one, without simultaneously striking him in the eyes, throat, or nose, while accessing one’s sidearm, and stepping back. This can be applied readily when a weapon is worn in the high-hip, or even in the crossdraw or shoulder holster mode, but not when one’s weapon is in an ankle rig, under one’s pant leg!

If the tactic of striking and moving back described above is not feasible, then common sense dictates that one must rely upon unarmed combat, or upon the immediate employment of anything that one might happen to be holding in one’s hand at the time, in order to strike a blow. Until the distance, time, and space has been established, no attempt to draw should be made.

If there is distance between oneself and an attacking enemy, then one gets to cover before drawing one’s holstered weapon and firing it (handgun) or engaging the enemy hand-to-hand (knife).

The whole notion of mastering a “quick draw” from an ankle holster is — for actual combat confrontations — a superfluous if not a ridiculous skill to strive for.

There is a greater likelihood that you will end up on your butt, helpless to defend against your attacking enemy, if you try a quick draw from an ankle holster, than there is that you will have any chance of stopping him with your weapon.

Ankle holsters are excellent and valuable — when properly understood, and when kept in their place. We recommend them highly. What we do not recommend is that anyone spend time developing, or permit himself to be misguided by any advice that training to “quick draw” from such a holster, is desirable.

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The Combat Color Code

PROFESSIONALS, as a rule, always strive to overcome complexity, and to achieve optimum simplicity.

Albert Einstein, the great physicist and scientific genius, was searching for a “unified field theory” at the end of his life. His unified field theory, in layman’s language referred to a simple explanation for the universe.

Odd, we think, that Dr. Einstein was convinced that the entire universe could be explained “simply”, while most people in the martial arts believe that preparing for close combat and self-defense emergencies can only be done through endless studies and training in the complex. The reader must draw his own conclusions about what this might imply.

Some time following WWII, USMC combat veteran Col. Jeff Cooper took the long-established concept utilized in the military of “color coding” as an assistance in managing states of formal readiness or lack thereof for the troops, and came up with an excellent and very practical version of his own — for helping individual combat pistol students to attain a proper degree of mental conditioning for violent combat. While we trained with Col. Cooper and have been certified by him, we differ significantly in regard to his theories concerning how a handgun should be used in close combat. However, we agree with Cooper’s “Combat Color Code” 100%. and we have been teaching it as an adjunct to the curriculum that we have formulated for totally conditioning a trainee’s mind for battle — in and under all conceivable conditions.

Here is Cooper’s color code

WHITE: That state of mind that is inattentive, relaxed and unaware. This is the mental state that can be suicidal, if one is attacked by an assailant who knows what he is doing, or/and if one is simply unlucky. The highest level of training in counterattacking (i.e. “self-defense techniques”) may be insufficient to enable the person in condition white to handle a dangerous situation.

TRAINEES ARE ALWAYS ADVISED TO AVOID “CONDITION WHITE” WHENEVER THEY ARE CIRCULATING OUTSIDE THEIR OWN HOME OR OTHER AREA THAT THEY CONTROL COMPLETELY, AND TO WHICH ONLY KNOWN PERSONS HAVE ACCESS.

YELLOW: Basic alertness. This is where, ideally, the student will learn to live, whenever he is circulating “out in the world”. The condition of Yellow insures situational awareness, which of course is the key factor in being able to see trouble coming. Being in Yellow is simply common sense (which is, today, uncommon), because it refers merely to paying attention to what is going on around you and to who is in your vicinity.

TRAINEES ARE URGED TO LEARN TO “CLICK” INTO YELLOW WHENEVER THEY LEAVE THE HOUSE. OFTEN, IF TROUBLE COMES, HAVING BEEN IN YELLOW WILL BE THE PRIMARY FACTOR THAT ENABLES THE TRAINEE TO BRING HIS SKILLS INTO PLAY, AND SURVIVE.

ORANGE: This is a mental state of alarm. In Orange you have said to yourself: “I may have to stop this guy!”, while Yellow has merely made you aware of the individual’s presence and of his approach. In Orange you are “ready to go”. Nothing in your face, physical posture, demeanor, or bearing has changed (i.e. from the relaxed-ready off-angled, hands-at-the-center-of-your-body stance, and distanced outside arm’s reach from whomever you are facing), but your mind is on a hair-trigger now, ready to give the “ATTACK!” command to your body. The only thing holding you back is the fact that the person who has triggered your alarm has not made an imminent threat.

TRAINEES ARE TAUGHT TO “GO TO ORANGE” IMMEDIATELY AT THE SLIGHTEST HINT OR INTUITIVE SUSPICION THAT DANGER MIGHT ERUPT AT ANY MOMENT. SINCE NO PHYSICAL ACTION IS TAKEN IN ORANGE, AND SINCE NO ONE CAN TELL THAT YOU ARE IN ORANGE, IT PAYS TO BE CAUTIOUS AND TO SHIFT TO THIS STATE OF MIND AT THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION.

RED: This is the action state of mind! In Red you GO! No more talk, no more hesitation, no more preparation. This is it!  Danger is imminent because aggression has been clearly initiated, and your morally and lawfully permissible preemptive strike may be dealt.

That’s it. Wehave been using this color code since we first learned of it in the 1970’s, and there is absolutely no reason to change it in any way!

Yet . . .

We noticed (with some amusement) that a “Condition Black” was added (we believe, somewhere in the 1980’s) by someone who, in our opinion, was simply trying to establish “his” particular version of the color code. Some might call this simple egotism or self-importance. We won’t say that, however. We’ll just say that in our opinion it was a “mistake”. Some people adopted this “new and improved” version of something that was perfect the way it was, and that required NO improvement, whatever. However . . . all who teach and practice close combat and self-defense are not necessarily knowledgeable about that which they do; they just do it. (We are reminded of all of those who, after watching the movie FIRST BLOOD, simply had to have one of those oversized, ridiculously impractical and cumbersome knives that “Rambo carried”. Sales of  facsimiles of the knife that Sylvester Stylone carried in FIRST BLOOD probably exceeded sales of the classic (and real) masterpiece survival/combat knife — the “Attack” — made by Randall. But, oh, well, “bigger is better” in the eyes of many children, regarding their toys.

Just this afternoon one of our Black Belts advised us that he had spoken with one of his friends who had attended a training course recently in which Condition PLATINUM (in addition to Condition Black!!) was taught. Never mind what the hell  “platinum” is supposed to mean (we can’t concentrate on the keyboard, because we laugh too hard whenever we think about it!). Suffice it to say that both “black”  and “platinum” should be ignored by anyone who is in this field for real. The addition of these two stages of coding results in needless complexity, senselessness, and total confusion, in our opinion. Adding “condition black” to the color code was like encouraging students to do a spinning heel kick, rather than a simple side kick to the knee, in self-defense. Adding that “platinum” nonsense is like — additionally — advocating that students train to do a flying spinning heel kick. It would be riotously funny were we not concerned here with saving lives by preparing people for dangerous emergencies.

It is unfortunate that some people may actually believe that this “more extensive” color code is usable and that they should learn to attempt to employ it.

Simplicity is always best when it comes to the tools and to the techniques of combat. In about two years the Colt .45 1911 pistol will be 100 years old. It remains, in our opinion as well as in the opinion of a number of others who are professionally involved in this field, the single all round finest combat pistol in the world. One of its greatest assets is its SIMPLICITY.

Fairbairn’s chinjab smash dates back to the early part of the last century. It needs no improvement; it simply needs to be learned, studied, and practiced. And the same goes for most of the combat-proven blows and other skills of real world unarmed close combat.

The chinjab smash, as well as the entire syllabus of wartime-proven hand, arm, knee, elbow, head, and foot blows, is valuable because it is EFFECTIVE and it is SIMPLE.

So is Jeff Cooper’s four-stage color code.

Please listen to what we have to say. We really have been at this for a while, and we really do know that of which we speak and write.

The last thing in the world you need in an emergency is more details to remember!

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