Mandatory Firearms Training Refresher

“Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.”
  ~ Thomas Jefferson ~

Firearms Refresher Course:
1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
3. Colt: The original point and click interface.
4. Gun control is not about guns; it’s about control.
5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
8. If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any.
9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
10. The United States Constitution (c)1791.  All Rights Reserved.
11. What part of “shall not be infringed” do you not under stand?
12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
13. 264,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.
15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
16. You don’t shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.
18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.
20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.
21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.
23. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don’t make more.
24. When you remove the people’s right to bear arms, you create slaves.
25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.
26. Calling an illegal alien an “undocumented immigrant” is like calling a drug dealer an “unlicensed pharmacist.”

The gun-grabbers will win if people don’t WAKE UP! And then, we will indeed be unable to overthrow any form of unjust Government as was intended in the Constitution by our founding fathers.
 
Meanwhile, they worry (some are horrified) about people who keep a loaded gun in their homes and say – why does anyone need one, we have the police to protect us.

Yes certainly, there are a lot of good, dedicated cops but they are overworked and understaffed and who wants a cop on every street corner for that matter anyway?  I don’t, how about you?

M-Tech MT1221 Folding Knife

If there’s one item that I use on a daily basis, more than anything but my toothbrush, it’s a good folding knife. I rotate them on a monthly basis to justify my affinity to knives I suppose, but they are very handy to have.  I’m not a cop or a soldier, just a guy who leads a normal life but digs knives.

If you work in an office as I have for the last 8 years, they come in handy for opening mail, cutting the tape on a UPS box, spearing the odd bit of junk that falls on the floor and more uses too numerous to mention.  They’re also quite reassuring to feel nestled in your pocket when out and about. I qualify that last sentence by adding that I’ve studied Eskrima for over 20 yrs now and only feel more secure from “violent types” or assault when carrying a handgun.  Living in a CCW “shall issue” State, handguns top the list.

My purpose is not to discuss what my favorite knife is or how to use one for various chores.  I only post to laud the merits of a good folding knife for use around the house and even for self defense purposes.  There are many brands out there and configurations as well. My feelings are that one purchase a decent quality folding knife, that has a lock when the blade is opened and for some, an integrated belt clip, if you plan on carrying it and need fast and easy access. 

There are many owners of telescopic steel batons.  They are lightweight and easy to carry since they telescope out for quick use and after giving them a tap on a hard surface, will retract back into the handle.

This makes for a small but very destructive self defense weapon. Being an extension of your own hand, one can easily employ one for use with relative ease.  Use the concept of a fly-swatter for instance, anyone can use one with pretty effective results right? 

A steel baton is used exactly the same way – anyone can use one!  Now, there’s an end cap on these babies, that can be unscrewed and replaced by a high intensity LED flashlight tip which allows you to turn it on (like a mag-light) and get 6,000 hours of illumination with long life batteries that are included. You’ll have a marked advantage when investigating a sound or meeting an attacker with this hand accessory attached.

You can imagine the advantage of having a free hand and the other, which holds the baton in a striking position, shining a high intensity LED light right into the eyes of an attacker or home intruder. At under $10 a pop, this little attachment is a “no brainer” add-on if you already own or purchase a steel baton!

I’d like to offer a tip from a martial arts article that I wrote long ago. It’s been copied and pasted in so many blogs and social sites that we’ve given up on sending out DMCA warnings!

Here’s an abbreviated version so it’s not “flagged” for duplicate content.

Escape a hair grab:

Hair grabs are very frequently used in scuffles and fights. To avoid this, one must simply slap the offending hand away immediately, before the fingers are clenched tightly and the grabbing hand will instantly be removed. It’s all about reflex action – if a hand is felt or seen touching the hair – slap it away smartly and you’ll be good to go!

The flip side is – once a person grabs your hair, then gets a hunk in between their fingers and the hand grasps it tightly, with a slight turn of the wrist – your “ass is grass” as they say! They will control your head and if they know what they’re doing – will control the outcome of the fight. You’ll most probably lose a portion of your hair if you let it get to this point and then tear yourself loose.

If you are slow and get snagged by the hair tightly – remember – your opponent has left one side of their body open for a rib smashing blow to the ribs or liver (depending on the hand used) so look for it and save yourself from getting scalped!

Tai Chi Chuan, Taijiquan and other less common spellings all mean the same thing: “Grand Ultimate Fist” another translation is: “Supreme Ultimate Boxing” and there are certainly a few more but I digress.

Tai Chi or Taiji is a philosophy: “yin and yang” – “hard and soft” and there cannot be one existing without the other.

Now add the suffix chuan / quan and we have Tai Chi Chuan or Taijiquan which are formidable fighting arts that are based on the principles of the philosophy.

Those who do the forms and don’t know or practice the applications are playing at “taiji / tai chi” and don’t know it in many cases. Practitioners who perform the routines, understand and use the applications, are doing Tai Chi Chuan / Taijiquan.

Most people see this art as a flowing and soft type of dance. They are “half right” it is a flowing art that is BOTH extremely soft and yielding while also extremely hard and immovable, as required in self defense scenarios.

Having come from an Okinawan Shorin Ryu background (which attempts both soft and hard) there is only a vague comparison to the philosophy and applications of Tai Chi Chuan / Taijiquan.

Many years of the training in this art will teach a student, even a former martial arts  expert, a measure of complete integration of mind and body that they’ve never known.

Widely practiced for it’s health aspects, which is fine.  I recommend that martial artists do some training in the Chuan / Quan styles, simply because they will bring one a coordination of mind and body that can’t be experienced in karate and other “harder / external” martial arts.

The training will make their current movements more subtle, balanced and potent. You must practice slowly and practice applications with speed. Then you will surely learn when it’s time to be soft and when it’s time to be hard!