Why Self-Defense Training Matters

By Rob Morse. June 6th, 2019

Original Source

Fear and panic are hard to understand. The assumption is that the same thinking-mind we’re using now will be available if we’re attacked. In fact, our memories are jumbled when we’re frightened. Words escape us and we can’t think clearly. That happens to us when we face a lethal threat. Fortunately, we remember how to act even though we forget how to think. That is why firearms and self-defense training is critically important. Let’s contrast two recent example of armed self-defense. An attack at home showed the benefit of a planned response, while an attack on the street showed the benefit of recent training. You only have the solutions you planned and practiced.

The first example comes Kaufman County, Texas.

You are a woman home alone. It is almost ten in the morning when you hear someone banging on your front door. You don’t recognize the visitor, so you don’t open the door.* A minute later you hear someone trying to get into your house through your back door. That seems suspicious, so you retreat to a back room in your home.* You get your gun*, hide in a closet*, and call 911. You’re talking to the police when the intruder opens the closet door. You shoot him several times.
The police arrive minutes later.

You can’t think and make plans as someone is breaking into your home. You can perform the actions you planned and practiced. Let’s give this woman credit for her safety plan.

*She planned to lock her doors and windows. She planned to keep the door closed and to talk to strangers through the door. She planned to retreat to a back room rather than confront an intruder. She planned to have a firearm for self-defense. She planned to get the police on their way before an intruder even made it into your home. She planned to protect yourself if she were confronted.

This attacker had twelve prior felony convictions. Some criminals want what to take what we have. This criminal searched out and confronted the female homeowner.. and may have wanted to take more. Have you practiced running away from danger?

You’ll only have the responses you practiced.

Our second example comes from Chicago, Illinois.

You are walking to your car with your 5 year old son. That is when a man across the alley starts yelling at you for no reason. It is four in the afternoon. The man across the alley has a gun in his hand. You step back, pulling your 5 year old behind you.* That’s when the criminal starts shooting at both of you.

You have your Illinois concealed carry license.* You’re armed* and you’re well trained.* You present your gun from its holster*. You shoot the criminal until he stops shooting at you and your son.* You rush your son to your vehicle and hand him to your friend. You check to make sure your son is uninjured.* Then you call police while keeping your eyes on the bad guy.*

There is a difference between knowing what to do in the calm of the evening, and being able to act under extreme stress. The part of your brain that recites lists stops working when we’re attacked. Fortunately, this defender was very well trained.

*This defender made all the legal preparations to go armed in public. He practiced carrying a concealed firearm. He trained to step between his loved ones and an attacker. He practiced presenting his firearm and shooting accurately. By coincidence, the defender was on his way home from a multi-day defensive firearms class and had recently fired thousands of shots in training. He also trained to stop firing when the threat stopped. He practiced moving his loved ones to safety. His training included interactions with the police.

This attacker was a convicted felon and gang member. It was illegal for the attacker to have a gun. Have you taken the training and secured the permits to carry your self-defense tools in public?

I want you to have a plan to retreat. I also want you to defend your life when you can’t retreat. I want you to protect you and the people you love.

Please plan on it. Please practice it.

An Experiment in Crime Control and Social Engineering. . One Free Shotgun at a Time

How you can help support JPFO Join JPFO The JPFO Order Line (800) 869-1884 Office Hours CST. SELF-DEFENSE May 23rd 2013 An Experiment in Crime Control and Social Engineering How you can help support JPFO Donate to JPFO The JPFO Order Line (800) 869-1884 Office Hours CST. About JPFO Site Links The BoR Page. JPFO 24 Years Alerts Archive An Experiment in Crime Control and Social Engineering.. One Free Shotgun at a Time By Rob Morse, May 20th 2013 Article Origin I wrote about social engineering by politicians and the media. Private citizens perform experiments in social engineering as well. In this case some private citizens will give peace a chance, one free shotgun at a time. They think firearms will reduce crime. The debate about violent crime is long running. To find out if guns will make us safer, we have to go talk to likely victims, and crime is anything but uniform. There are dangerous cities and violent areas within those cities. The Armed Citizen Project reaches out to the needy in our violent and crime ridden neighborhoods. They teach single moms in high crime areas about self-defense. Like all proper experiments, the potential victims, training and firearms are mixed under carefully controlled conditions. The participants in the Armed Citizen Project are vetted. They are screened for criminal convictions, drug use, and must also pass a firearms background check. Then they are given instruction on home security, firearms storage and the legal and ethical use of deadly force. All this happens before they receive firearms instruction, including hands-on time at the range. They must pass each class before they are given a free gun and gun lock. Applicants are selected and trained in a several block area at one time. The first class from Houston, Texas graduated a few weeks ago. Classes are being organized in Tucson, Chicago and Detroit. Those several blocks near Jester Park on Houston's north side are posted and publicized as an armed self-defense zones. What do you think will happen to the crime rate in those areas? Few criminals want to die in a stranger's hallway. I think criminals will think twice about a burglary when the apartment could be occupied and the occupant might be armed and trained. Burglars will spend more time making sure the house is empty, and that takes time. Maybe a burglar will decide to rob apartments in some other part of town. We will see, because the Armed Citizen Project is collecting crime statistics in these areas and comparing the results against pre-selected control areas. Good experiments have a control group. The armed citizen project predicts that the crime rate will drop. I think they're right. Time will tell, and soon we will have another enduring truth to add to our SlowFacts. I met Kyle Coplen and the Armed Citizen's Project in Houston. They have instructors lined up, but their rate of growth is limited by donations. They have my money. You can donate here ... Rob the giver Yours in Freedom, The Liberty Crew at JPFO Protecting you by creating solutions to destroy "gun control" Copyright © 2013 JPFO.ORG, All rights reserved. http://jpfo.org/ Our mailing address is:  jpfo@jpfo.org P.O. Box 270143, Hartford, WI 53027, USA

Thursday Thought: FTF

Each day as I put on or remove my gun belt, I check the magazine in my pistol and the backup mag in its sheath. I always rap firmly against the heel of my hand, to make sure the rounds are seated firmly, so they'll feed properly. Usually, I push the exposed round back & down, just to make doubly sure.

Last night, I found that the first round in the magazine in the pistol - which I'd carried all day - had moved forward about 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch. It would not have fed properly; I'd have been able to fire only the round in the chamber, followed by an FTF.

Now I'll need to check it periodically throughout the day until I can determine whether the mag has gone bad, or if it was a fluke. I've practiced with partially filled mags, to require changing at different intervals, but ... wow. One shot? I'll need to change my practice routine to include that possibility.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but check 'em, guys and gals. If you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's good to know you'll get that next shot. But be prepared for failure after the first round; if it happened to me, it can happen to you.

I'm just sayin'.

Update: I think the mag spring is weak. The mag is only 15 months old, and used one out of four weeks on a regular rotation. A second mag of the same brand & purchase date has no spring issues.