I saw an e-mail today with the headline:
“Criminals do NOT care who you are, how much money you have in the bank, or whether or not you have children.”
For example: “Former Sen. Barbara Boxer attacked in California” , “Illinois State Senator Carjacked in Suburban Broadview” , “Beatle John Lennon Slain: Shot Down Outside New York Apartment”
The bottom line is, regardless of gender, race, political affiliation, money, fame, location, or religion, everyone is at risk of a violent attack. There are things you can do to mitigate the risk, but there is something you need to consider now … Today could be the day you have to defend yourself. Are you ready? Is your family ready? Today is the day to get prepared. Not tomorrow, not a week from now. Today.
Get prepared - What does that mean? It means you must take positive steps to move toward improving your ability to protect yourself and your family. This then begs the question as to what should you do. There are many options. Here are a few. Develop a plan
Become familiar with less lethal weapons
Develop at least some basic empty hand skills
Take a firearms course
Develop a Plan
You should have a plan and it needs to be discussed, and practiced, with your family. What to do in an emergency – who calls 911; who evacuates the children/elderly; who leads the way. All this can happen if you are out to dinner, shopping, or in your car. All actions need to be preplanned and thought out before the event occurs.
Less Lethal Options
We have more less lethal options available now than ever before. These include, among others, the following:
Pepper spray (OC-CS)
Impact weapons (batons, Kubotan/Munio, ‘tactical’ pens)
Flashlights (small tactical lights)
EMD (electro-muscular disruption device, i.e., TASER)
All of these are small enough to be carried daily as part of your EDC (Every Day Carry). You should make a habit of always having at least one less lethal option with you. There are some areas where you will not be able to have a firearm. Just because you are “ungunned” does not mean you have to be unarmed.
Empty Hand Skills
Even if you carry a firearm and/or a less lethal option, you still need to have some level of empty hand skills. Most attacks begin at ‘bad breath distance’ (i.e., ambush), where the ability to access and utilize any self-defense tool you have can be severely compromised for several reasons. You need to be able to fend off the initial attack and fight your way to your tool for it to be effective.
Firearms
Some consider the firearm - specifically the handgun - to be the ultimate in personal protection. However, it is not a magical talisman that vaporizes street vermin with the push of a button. It takes training and practice to be competent with a firearm. It also takes education. There are so many myths and misunderstandings regarding the capabilities of handguns as to be almost laughable. Handguns do not have the capability to remove body parts. Most individuals who are shot will continue to be quite functional for some time and thus, are still quite dangerous. In the case of using firearms in self-defense, life does not imitate art although many believe it does.
Bottom line is you must get educated and trained. We are offering a new seminar series beginning in April. Check out www.gtac.us for more information. Classes/Seminars
Home Defense
EDC
Self-Defense/Combatives
First Shots/Next Shots/Fundamental Defensive Handgun
BE SAFE • BE EFFECTIVE • BE READY
