I’ve previously written about the importance of a defensive mindset HERE and HERE.
The defensive mindset is the foundation to your entire defensive strategy regardless of the training you’ve had or the tools you carry. Just as a building with a compromised foundation can result in a crumbling structure, an inadequate defensive mindset can result in your entire defensive strategy falling apart in the midst of a fight for your life.
The choice to carry a gun each day is nothing more than an extension of a previous decision one has made in their life. This decision was that of self-preservation. The concept that my life, or your life, or the lives of those we care about is more valuable than the lives of criminals that would seek to do us harm.
Anyone that has made such a decision generally then takes steps to ensure they can prevail against a criminal attack. They acquire the tools and training and they develop a mindset and lifestyle that will allow them to avoid a fight if possible but win a fight if necessary. It’s only logical that handguns would come up in this evolution of tools and training. Handguns are easy to carry on your person and they are generally more efficient at ending a fight than a club, knife, or any less lethal weapon at stopping an attacker. In fact, the only things that usually perform better than handguns are rifles and shotguns.
Having said that, self-defense is not about guns. Continue reading
I have been an instructor for about sixteen years now and I have been fortunate enough to turn some good students into great friends over those years. I am delighted to see these same folks come back to class after class but I would be doing them a huge disservice if I didn’t encourage them to obtain training from other instructors.
Tactical Ted is my favorite hypothetical person. Despite his complete and utter lack of any formal training, he considers himself to be an “operator” and, unlike me, he knows every answer to every question in the defensive shooting world. Sometimes Ted shoots only occasionally and sometimes he shoots every week. Sometimes he shoots competitively and sometimes just for fun. In spite of all of his shooting experience (or lack thereof), Ted is all knowing.
Sometimes it blows my mind when I hear some of the ridiculous excuses made by folks when it comes to why they don’t carry their gun. They have put a lot of time and money into buying a gun, taking a state mandated safety course, paying for their carry permit, and buying a holster and other equipment but choose, instead, to leave their gun at home.
Let’s look at some of these excuses and see why they are invalid.
Armed Missouri, Inc. 