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
Have you ever considered taking a defensive shooting course? I’m talking about a course that goes well beyond the basic firearms safety and operation taught in most concealed carry classes. Most people that take a concealed carry class or other basic firearms course never consider continuing their training. Others think about it but never do it. Then there are those that buy a gun for “self-defense” but never take any formal training of any kind.
How can you expect to use a firearm as a defensive tool with minimal or no training? How can you expect a basic firearms safety course to prepare you for a life and death fight with a gun?
Yes, you read that right. Here are a few of the questions I’ve seen posted on social media sites in just the past week:
I think you get the idea. You could probably look through gun forums and gun pages on social media sites and find hundreds of similar questions from just the last couple weeks alone. Continue reading
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.
If I asked you what your most effective weapon in a dynamic lethal force encounter would be, what would your answer be?
Would it be pepper spray…
A Taser…
A knife…
A gun…
I have often heard people that practice martial arts and other fighting techniques claim that if you can’t win a fight without a gun, you won’t be able to win it with a gun. Most of them use this claim due to their desire to get more people involved in hand to hand self-defense techniques. Continue reading
Armed Missouri, Inc. 