subject: Self-defense - Surviving Your Worst Self Defense Nightmare [print this page] Whether you're a gun-control advocate, a member of the NRA, or you don't have any particular like or dislike for firearms, the fact remains that, as long as criminals have access to them, you may find yourself in a self-defense situation where you will have to deal with them.
I have lots of friends who take martial arts or study self-defense. As I should, since this is what I do - it's the world in which I live.
Not surprising.
But what is surprising is the number of them who don't want to train with, think about, or deal with guns. Now, I can understand not liking guns, In the wrong hands, they are very dangerous things. I can also understand not liking baseball bats, knives, and nunchuks for the same reason.
What I can't understand is how many martial arts and self-defense students (and teachers) simply want to avoid something like firearms - a common weapon in the criminal community - altogether. You don't have to like them. You don't have to carry one. But, in Today's world, living in denial and then finding yourself staring down the barrel of a gun, or feeling the hard, bluntness of that weapon pressing into your back, gut, or head, could be living your worst nightmare.
And, if you're going to survive this nightmare, you need to acknowledge and prepare for it BEFORE it ever happens. Like the saying goes, "forewarned is forearmed."
But, how do you prepare for something that you've never dealt with before?
Good question.
And the answer is, by doing what you've always done when you didn't know something. You find someone who does and get them to teach you. Just like learning to tie your shoes or drive a car, you learn from someone who can already do that thing.
The difference between defending against a gun-wielding assailant and, say, tying your shoes is that, there's more than one type of situation you may have to deal with. When you learned to tie your shoes, you only needed to learn one skill, one way, and you were set for life. Regardless of whether you were wearing shoes, sneakers, or boots, if they had two strings or laces, you were set.
Unfortunately, attack scenarios come in many shapes and sizes. Variables include not only the type of attack but:
Environmental conditions
Number of assailants, and...
Weapons
In the case of attacks involving firearms, your personal nightmare could involve one of three possible scenarios.
Your attacker could be armed and you're not
You could be armed and your attacker is not, and...
You and your attacker could be armed (with the same or different weapons)
And each of these scenarios requires different skills to effectively neutralize the threat and survive. Some of these skills include:
Disarming techniques for taking a weapon from an attacker
Retention skills for preventing him from taking your weapon
Shooting skills that are effective under pressure
Choosing appropriate cover or positioning to avoid incoming fire
Efficient reloading skills
Drawing, aiming, and using the weapon while walking, running, rolling, etc.
It's true that defending against a gun-toting assailant can be one of your worst nightmares. And, while no one wants to have to live this nightmare, there are solid principles and lessons that you can learn to be a survivor instead of tomorrow's headlines.
But, before you can survive, you must learn to face the fact that this type of training must be a part of your overall self-defense study. Because no amount of denial, wishing, or wanting guns to go away, will change the fact that no law has ever prevented anyone from having weapons except law-abiding citizens.
