The Ernest Emerson Podcast

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Surviving Inside The Kill Zone
Two Days of Hands on Training with
Ed Calderon and Ernest Emerson
Los Angeles, California
February 8-9, 2020

Ed Calderon has survived a career in one of the most non permissive and dangerous environments that exists, Combating Organized Crime and Counter Narco Terrorism. His skill set needed to survive in this deadly profession was developed from first hand personal experience and he is now a valuable resource called upon to teach those skills to government and law enforcement agencies in order to enhance and insure both the effectiveness and the survival of officers, operators and agents in the most dangerous covert and non-permissive environments.

Ernest Emerson is a recognized expert in the field of personal combat and the physical and physiological effects of deadly force encounters. He is a tier one combatives instructor who has taught various aspects of his skill set to government agencies, elite military units, law enforcement and concerned citizens throughout the world for over 30 years.

Legal Implications for Self Defense

lease bear in mind that the following information is not from a lawyer.  Always check your local state and municipal laws for exact details pertaining to your specific needs and requirements.  Most importantly always secure the services of a good attorney if you are ever involved in a self-defense situation.

Self-Defense

1.Know Your Laws

2.Get a copy of your state laws.

Whenever you are involved in a “Self Defense” situation there are terms, other definitions and a formula that you must be aware of because they will be applied to your “case” if it is one that goes before a DA, a judge and a jury. You may have been raised in a state with contrary rules to those listed below. So find out now. Here are those terms and the formula you need to know.

Affirmative defense – by claiming self-defense you are admitting to your involvement no matter to what degree . It is not, “I didn’t do it” It is, “I did it because…”

As A Result

The burden of proof is on the defense – that is you.  You are not innocent nor will the Judge and Jury look upon you as such – you are either guilty or not guilty.  You must prove the justifications beyond doubt or you will be found guilty.

Force Justification – Why you did what you did.  You must be able to explain in a couple of seconds clearly, articulately and convincingly what happened.

This is the science of explaining what you did.  And there is a formula you are held to.

“You may use the minimum level of force that you reasonably believe is necessary to safely resolve the situation.”

Now let’s pick it apart so it’s meaning and implication becomes crystal clear. First you must understand that you are not required to use force.  Officers can’t walk away, but you can walk away… and should whenever possible.

“You may use the minimum level of force that you reasonably believe is necessary to safely resolve the situation.”

You will be required, if your actions go to court, to explain not only why you chose your course of action, but why a lesser level of force would not have worked.

“You may use the minimum level of force that you reasonably believe is necessary to safely resolve the situation.”

Would anyone else have made the same choices – a reasonable man, theoretically.

“You may use the minimum level of force that you reasonably believe is necessary to safely resolve the situation.”

To claim self-defense you must not only be threatened, but also able to explain to a jury why any other reasonable person would have believed he or she was in danger.

“You may use the minimum level of force that you reasonably believe is necessary to safely resolve the situation.”

You must prove that the level of force you chose was the only option.  If you stay when you could leave it becomes mutual combat.  “Don’t rely on “stand your ground.” This is not about ego; this is about survival and the least amount of resulting consequences to you during and after.

“You may use the minimum level of force that you reasonably believe is necessary to safely resolve the situation.”

This is hardest concept to understand.  You are not out to win, expected to win or even allowed to win.  You can use the minimum level of force that you will believe will get you out of the situation.

Some states have “Castle Laws” – you can defend yourself or use force if you are attacked in your home or someone breaks into your house.

Some states have “Stand Your Ground Laws” – you do not need to retreat but still it is the prudent decision to do so if the opportunity exists.

But some states have “The Duty to Retreat” laws and they require you to exhaust all means of escape before you can attempt to defend yourself with force.

“You may use the minimum level of force that you reasonably believe is necessary to safely resolve the situation.”

Getting away resolves the situation just as well as leaving an unconscious bad guy.  Think less about destroying the bad guy and more about getting to safety.  Your safety is the ultimate and optimal goal.

“You may use the minimum level of force that you reasonably believe is necessary to safely resolve the situation.”

There are a million and one possible scenarios here.  Remember though, voluntarily placing yourself in the situation will usually exclude the affirmative defense of self-defense – stepping in to help a buddy, etc.

The Threat

You must be able to articulate why the person was a threat to you.  “I had a feeling,” won’t cut it in court.

There are three required elements by the definition of the law and a fourth that is also necessary for the judge and jury.  Intent, Means, Opportunity and Preclusion.

Intent: the threat must indicate to you by some means that he, intends to harm you.

Means: he must have the means to carry out his intent.  Size, fist or boots, gun, weapons, knife etc.

Opportunity: the threat must have the ability to reach you with the means.

Once those three have been fulfilled Intent, Means and Opportunity, one more element should be satisfied for you to convince the jury that your actions were justified.

Preclusion:  You must be able to convince the jury that you did not have any other viable option.

You could not leave: The threat was blocking your exit. You could not leave your family behind. You tried to leave and he stopped you. You tried to talk your way out and it didn’t work.  You couldn’t call for help because help would not arrive in time.  You must be able to articulate why force was the only option that would safely work.

At any point during the perpetration of the attack, the situation can change and you may be seen as the aggressor, if the threat is injured, falls down, swings and then backs away, or if you have any moment or opportunity presented during which you could leave or retreat.

You must also be capable of de-escalating your level of force as the threat is diminished.  If a push would do the job, then a punch is not necessary.

There are some twists and curves that come up.  For example if someone tells you, “Shut the fuck up or I’m going to beat your ass!” and it escalates into a fight because you simply did not “shut the fuck up” You will have engaged in mutual combat.  It’s not about defending pride, only about defending and protecting your body.

Taking damage or “losing.”  If you are struck without warning, that justifies an increase in the level of force. If you are taking damage while attempting to protect yourself, you may escalate the force needed.

If you are trapped, taken hostage, thrown into a vehicle, or invaders are in your home, a higher level of force may be justified.

Then Comes

Civil Court

Culpability in this arena is not based on “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” but upon “the preponderance of evidence.”

It does not matter  how justified you may believe yourself to be in making a decision to engage in combat even if it were force upon you and you did not even have a choice, for example, if you are attacked. In any case, you will have to face the after effects of your actions. At that point it does not matter if you were right in doing so. What will matter is, first, whether law enforcement thinks you were right and whether they decide to charge you or not. And if charged and the district attorney doesn’t believe you were right, then it will come down to whether you can convince a jury of your peers, 12 complete strangers, that you were indeed right. What follows are some words of advice that may help you prevail in the, fight after the fight.

To prevail in a civil suit you must convince the jury that the threat left you no choice – that any harm he received was the result of his actions.  To be absolved of responsibility, you must show absolutely that the threat was entirely responsible for the consequences of his actions and it was only self-defense on your part.

Get a good attorney in advance and on retainer.

Check your insurance for self-defense coverage.

The ability to express yourself in understandable and justifiable language with the right amount of properly placed emotion is an art that most of us do not have mastery of. Do not delude yourself about the importance of what I have just stated. Your freedom and your entire feature may depend on your “presence” and your ability to convince a jury to see it 100% your way. Get a good attorney, pay the money. He will be your coach.

Any incident that involves you having to act in self-defense of either yourself or your loved ones is guaranteed by it’s nature to be a dangerous and traumatic event.  The effects of which may last for years.  In such a stressful moment it is easy to say or do things that if twisted around, can easily make it appear to others that you were the bad guy. Having a plan before something bad actually happens is a wise way to prevent the bad “after effects” that can affect your future for decades.  Having knowledge of what to be prepared for is a big part of having that plan in place.  If you are training in the art of “self-defense” but only learning to shoot, kick, or punch then you’re only doing half the training that you’ll really need to defend yourself.  Don’t get caught with your guard down after you’ve put down the threat.  The next attacker (our legal system) can be just as dangerous.

Copyright © 2016 Ernest Emerson

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From a non-lawyer so take it for what it’s worth.

o what do you do if you are caught up in a deadly force scenario? Let me state again, I am not a lawyer, but I have been on the witness stand for the Los Angeles Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

The first thing that I want to tell you is this. Hold up your hand and say aloud right now, “I will not lie.” Now repeat it. “I will not lie.” If you do not want to go to prison for something you needed to do, do not exaggerate, do not stretch the truth and do not lie, even once. Leave that to your attorney (no offense).

The aftermath of a violent act, a deadly act, is like a play. There are villains, there are heroes and there are extras on the set. In fact, you may even really be on film. You never know. Play your part well and you’ll get the Oscar. Play it badly and you’ll get free room and board for life.

So let’s start a sequence and go through it step by step. Because it’s easier to relate to, we’re going to use a violent armed robbery as the subject.

You are alone on the street walking home from Monday night football with your buddies. You have a legal license to carry a gun. (By the way, you better be able to prove you have had proper training and your license better be current and 100% legal at all times.)

As you are walking along the sidewalk to your car, about a block away, you look up and see some road crew guys working under construction lights when suddenly, out of nowhere, something hits you on the side of the head. There is an explosion of white light and you stagger, your knees buckle momentarily as you turn, and you can barely hear, “Give me your f*cking money!”

All you see in front of you is a silhouette and the glint of a gun. “I said, give me your f*cking money! And your wallet! Hurry up motherf*cker or I’ll blow your f*ckin head off!” You reach for your wallet and you fumble it as you hand it over and it falls to the ground. “Stupid Mother F*cker!” And he fires off a round at you. It strikes the car beside you as you recoil then reach for your weapon. Boom! Boom! And the silhouette falls to the ground silent; his gun clatters across the ground into the bushes.

So here we go; If you are safe, do not flee the scene. If you have a cell phone, call 911 to report the incident. Call it in immediately. Don’t wait. All you need to do is say there’s been a shooting and give the location if you can. The construction crew down the street has already called it in. But you better, too. You don’t want to be on record calling it in 45 minutes later. Stay put. Do not tamper with the scene or the evidence. Do not move the weapon closer to the body. Forget everything you’ve ever heard from all the bullsh*t advisors, i.e. putting the gun in his hand, hitting yourself to show he attacked you, yelling “don’t kill me,” or dragging someone back into your house. Believe me when I tell you, rearranging any evidence at all, is not the thing to do.

You hear the police sirens getting closer. Put your gun down on the ground. Put yourself in plain view. Don’t be moving around when the units roll up. And for God’s sake have your hands in plain view. Do not run toward the officers as they arrive. Let them come to you. Follow their commands; remember they know nothing about what just happened except that there was a shooting. For all they know you may be the bad guy and you don’t want to get shot too.

Now comes a very important part. You will probably be handcuffed. You may be arrested. If you are arrested, be assured that you will be bonded out after a few hours, so don’t panic. It is just the way it is until things get sorted out. This is one of the most important things to keep in mind. From the moment that the police arrive on the scene consider that anything and everything you say will have a direct effect on the outcome of the situation facing you. You are being interviewed (questioned) from the moment they arrive.

If you are arrested, you will hear the following:

Miranda Rights
1. You have the right to remain silent.
2. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
3. You have the right to an attorney now and during further questioning.
4. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you free of charge.

Everyone always wants to tell the story of what just happened. It was a huge, traumatic event and you want to tell someone about it. It’s just human nature. Don’t do it!

You must request an attorney and have him present before you answer any questions. “Officer, I need an attorney before I answer any questions.”

Remember the Miranda Rights. You are being placed under arrest and anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you.

You are not presumed guilty by requesting an attorney. And look carefully at Miranda. It says, “…will be used against you, not for you in a court of law.”

A very famous attorney once told me, “For God’s sake keep your mouth shut. You can think about it like this. Every word that comes out of your mouth is a $1000 bill floating away. Because that is what it is going to cost you for me to undo every one of those words.”

From this point forward it is not going to be an easy journey. There will be a criminal investigation. The DA may or may not file a case against you. There may also be a follow up civil case by the bad guy’s family. This whole mess may take years to get through. But in the worst of times to follow, know that if you were justified and you kept your wits about you, you will prevail and justice will be served. What happens after the incident will be a roller coaster ride of elation and despair, but you’ve still got to maintain that spirit of a warrior to see you through. It will not let you down.

Copyright 2010 Ernest R. Emerson

The post Legal Advice On Deadly Force appeared first on The Guardian Shepherd.

There are two basic fundamental principles to acknowledge, accept, and abide by in regard to personal safety and security in your home. The first is this: If a truly determined bad guy wants to get into your house they will find a way in.  Just don’t make it too easy for him. And the second principle is this: You never want to get into an armed or unarmed confrontation inside of your home if it can be avoided. It is the last thing on the long list of decisions and choices you should be making. Lots of really bad things happen to really good people at the hands of bad guys inside their own house. Remember you have one objective, your safety and the safety of your loved ones and it is the only thing that matters. Do nothing to compromise that fact. Ever! That’s your goal and your mission and you cannot waver or deviate from that mission until the all clear signal has been sounded.

Don’t be a hero or you might end up being a dead hero and then the bad guys can do whatever they want with your family. Let the heroes be the guys who wear the badges. It’s what they do for a living. Chances are, your “experience,” is what you have only seen on television. Besides, it’s pretty cool to throw a party down at the police station for the guys who saved you and your family from harm.

Everything that I will discuss here is governed by a set of four principles that I call The Protocols of Action. They are in the correct sequence of application as follows;

Detect  
Evade
Barricade
Engage

In an extreme situation such as confronting an armed intruder, if you do anything that does not comply with the Protocols of Action then you are doing the wrong thing and you better start doing the right things quick, fast, and in a hurry.

But also bear in mind that you still may have to, given no other choice, and as a last resort, take up arms against an intruder to save yourself and your family from harm.  Following the simple principles and steps I’ve outlined below will help you accomplish your mission and avoid the violence that an intruder brings into your home.

Don’t Invite the Vampire In.

Never let anyone inside your house unless they are an invited guest. Do not answer a knock at your door by opening the door.  Ask who it is and then ask them to state their business or reason for being there.  Not satisfied with their answer? Tell them to leave.  Don’t be bashful and don’t be worried about coming off a little rude to a complete stranger. Remember, you’ll never see them again and believe me they are used to it.  And don’t forget we are dealing with your safety and the safety of your loved ones.  Being polite to a potential burglar is never the right choice.  Now taking this even further, you’d be surprised, maybe shocked, at how many people actually invite the bad guys right through their front door.  I t reminds me of the old story that a vampire can only enter your house if he is invited in.  Don’t welcome Dracula into your house.  And drum it into your children to never open the door for anyone, and I mean anyone, not even someone dressed as a police officer.  If it wasn’t you who called the police, call 911 and verify that these are “real” cops at the front door.  If they are actual police officers, they will understand and won’t mind.

Get some way to “see” who is at your front door.  You can get a low cost remote camera and wireless intercom that you can easily mount on your door so you can both verbally and visually identify who is there.  You might want to get a cheap sticker at the hardware store or off the internet that says, ”You are being recorded on video.” It will have an effect whether it’s true or not, because bad guys never want their picture taken.  Just take away this; Never open your door for anyone unless you know who it is and never let anyone into your home unless it is an invited guest.

Install a Security System

Install an alarm system and an internal and external camera system that can be accessed via the internet or a cat 5 direct line.  This is to allow you to see what’s going on both inside and outside of your house in a moment of crisis.  More on the importance of this, we’ll discuss shortly.  Is this expensive? Not really these
days.  You can get simple yet effective security cameras and systems from Costco, Home depot, Walmart and places all over the internet at very reasonable prices. Besides, what is the value of your family’s safety?

Have a Safe Word. 

Remember that the military still uses the password system for soldiers standing watch. There is a good reason for it.  The reason is so that you can tell friend from foe.  How does this apply to you inside of your own home? If you have a family it’s vitally important for their safety and your ability to assess a situation and to tell family members from “unwanted guests.”  If you have children, especially older teenagers or other family members living at home, it is absolutely essential to pick a safe word – the password – so that if you hear a door open after midnight or something get knocked over downstairs, you can immediately assess whether it’s your daughter’s boyfriend hightailing it out after curfew or a bad guy on his way in. And if there are any weapons involved, you have to be sure who’s in that other room. Your daughter should have answered with the safe word.

It’s human nature to call out, “Who is it?” And it’s human nature to answer back, “It’s me.”  Unfortunately experienced bad guys know that same answer too. So you must develop a code word or phrase that has a programmed cue and response. Why so complicated? Because I guarantee that if you only have a response word, it won’t work.  I’ll explain. Let’s just say that you only have the password, “jackrabbit.” When you ask, “Who is it?” The reply you will receive back will be 9 times out of 10, “It’s me.” The reason is that that response is programmed into us since we learned to talk. And in a potential crisis situation you need to know exactly who you are dealing with.  You need a specific question or cue word that is never used in normal conversation such as “Who is the dog?” And the response would be “Rover” or the name of your cat or some cartoon character, just make sure it’s something that no one will forget.  It has to be something that’s never used anytime else and it has to be different and specific enough that there can only be one response, the correct response.  That way you won’t shoot the shadow coming down the hallway that is actually you son or daughter.

Get a Dog. 

Now I‘ve already mentioned in a previous article the importance of a dog as a deterrent against a break in, but the dog is also a defender and protector – a Guardian Shepherd.  For this purpose if you can, get a big dog.  If you are a true dog person, then a German shepherd is a good choice.  You’ll need to spend some training a dog such as a shepherd. So that’s why I said, “If you’re a true dog person.”  If you are a hands off pet owner then there are plenty of less assertive breeds that are also territorial and protective of their “family.”  Let the dog have the run of the house, he doesn’t need a password and he can always tell a friend from a stranger.

Take Control of Your Lighting.

Contractors don’t build for security unless you ask them and building codes are more for the safety of the structure not for the type of security I am talking about here.  Assess your lighting and pick one light, maybe two, downstairs in the living room, the dining room, or kitchen.  Then pick one or two upstairs, whatever gives you the most illumination overall.  Then either have an electrician rewire those two or three lights so that they are on a three way switch that you can control from a wall switch on the side of your bed.  Or, you can install some remote control units, usually in a wall plug and plug lamps into them.  Keep the
remote on your nightstand.

The goal in this is that if you hear a noise, you turn on the lights – all of them.  Bad guys do not like light.  Sometimes just the light going on is enough to scare them into running away.  Don’t forget the outside lights.  On all of the Emerson Compounds I have a bunch of motion controlled floods along with motion controlled solar floods to brighten the night and scare away the Zombies.
And always have some bright, rechargeable, flashlights in your bedroom and in all of your family member’s bedrooms just in case your power is taken out.

As long as I’m on the electric kick I should mention that you should always keep your cell phone and the recharging unit in your bedroom, because you want to have that phone within arm’s reach all of the time.  It will be your only contact to the outside world in the event of a crisis.

Pick a Safe Room.

Pick your safe room and reinforce it.  Now, I’m not talking about steel sheeted walls, unless you want to but at least get a solid wood door with reinforced hinges and a couple of deadbolt locks or industrial slider type locks that can only be accessed from the inside, perhaps one going up, at the top into the jam or header and one going down at the bottom, into the floor.  This is not complicated. Essentially what you’re doing is putting an outdoor entrance door on an inside room.  Try and pick a room that has outside walls along the exterior of the house.  A bathroom is not a bad choice.  They usually have fairly strong walls due to the
plumbing and many times they have cement backer board with tile cemented onto them.  Although it may seem a bit crowded with the whole family in there, remember that you are going there for temporary safety.  Just try not to pick a closet where you need to retreat directly behind the door – in the line of fire. Now, what do you need in your safe room?

 Get A Gun.

I’ll say that again. Get a gun.  Get more than one.  Teach your entire family how to use them safely.  I’m not going to get into what type of guns to buy so I’ll just say one word – Glock.  I won’t get into one of those pointless debates about caliber size so I’ll just say two words – nine millimeter.  Let’s just say I’ve got my reasons – valid reasons.  You might want to get frangible ammunition for use in the house.  At least check that option out. You should have at least two guns that are exactly the same.  One you will store with extra ammo and magazines in the safe room.  One you will store by your bed.  

What you need to do is go to Home Depot or on the internet and buy some metal, battery powered, keypad lock boxes. They look almost like a thick metal briefcase with a suitcase handle on one side. Pick the same combo for all of them.  The reason I say get more than one is that if I have to send my wife and kids to the safe room if I can’t make it, they’ll have a gun and so will I.  You will need a couple of more things for that safe room also.  Always bring your cell phones with you into the room.  Have some cell phone chargers along with flashlights and batteries in the gun lock box also.

You will also need a command word or order for safe room evacuation.  It could be something as simple as Safe Room! Now! That will work just fine.  Just be sure that everyone knows the command and that it will never be spoken unless it is a real emergency or a drill.  If they ever hear it they’ve got to know it’s serious and it’s go time.  Another reason that I favor the gun box is that no one can get into it except for those who know the combo and if we do have to retreat (Barricade) I can just grab my box like a briefcase next to the bed and we’ll have two boxes of goodies with us in our safe room.  

As an aside, I used to play baseball.  I have quite a few baseball bats that I’ve collected over the years along with all my sons aluminum bats from little league.  You’ll never see them but I have a baseball bat handy in almost every room of the house.  I had to put them somewhere and now they’re ready for me to “swing away” if I ever need to do so. Does that sound a bit paranoid? Well I have had quite a few credible death threats over the years and I abide by this maxim: “Be ready so you don’t have to get ready.”

Remember when I said to be sure that your security system is setup for WI-FI?  Well you should always keep a charged WI-FI tablet in the safe room. I actually have mine directly connected via cat-5 cable so I’ve got direct access to the system.  My system’s brains are hidden in another secure area that no one would be able to find or disable while we are in the safe room.  There are many reasons to have access to your system from inside the safe room.

I can see where the bad guys are both inside of my house and outside of my house.
I can see when the police roll up.
I can advise the police where the bad guys are when they get here.

I also keep a first aid medic/trauma kit in the room with Kwik Clot, tourniquets, gauze and two boxes of super absorbency Kotex napkins.  I also have ballistic vests and night vision along with some other things but that’s just me.

Why did I suggest a safe room with outside walls earlier? Because outside walls are the strongest walls on the house. However do not pick a room with ground floor windows, for the obvious reasons, unless you can metal shutter them from the inside.  If your safe room is upstairs you can get away with windows as long as you don’t leave an extension ladder next to the house.  But always have some fire extinguishers in the room and if it is upstairs get a fold-able fire escape ladder.

Do Not Fight For Your Stuff.

Only fight (Engage) if you feel that you and your family’s lives are in danger.  That’s the only thing really worth fighting for or dying for.  Let’s say you hear a noise and you go downstairs to, “investigate.”  You’ve got your gun and you “know how to use it.”  You creep through the dining room just into the kitchen door where you see him.  You raise your gun slightly to take aim. In your head your voice shouts,”You son of a….” BANG! You never finish the thought as your lifeless body slumps to the floor, half of your skull blown away by the other bad guy holding the sawed off 12 gauge on the other side of the doorway. He was standing in a place you didn’t look because you only “saw” one bad guy and all of your focus was only on him.  

So now they’ve already committed murder.  What do you think is now going to happen to your wife and kids left upstairs with no one to defend them?  You do not know what you are about to walk into and unless you are a real door kicker, you don’t really know how to clear a room.  Unless you are a real gunfighter, you really don’t want your very first gunfight to be your last.  Leave that job to the professionals.  Stay where you can best protect your family.  In this case you have to let them bring the fight to you.  If they never come upstairs then you’ve done your job…correctly. If they come upstairs to get you then you fight and you’ve done your job…correctly.

Remember when I said that survivors make the right decisions?  Think about that for a moment.  Come on guys it’s not about being a coward or not “stepping up.”  It’s about being smart.  Survival in any crisis event is about making choices, the right choices not the wrong ones.  Remember I said you never want to engage in armed or unarmed combat inside of your house.  Think about it, this is not a robbery or an attack out in the street where you are ambushed and have no choice but to fight back.  And this is not a fist fight with some drunk in a bar over some girls honor.  If you get into combat or a gunfight inside of your house and it’s probably because you decided to walk right into it.  

Break in robberies involve a higher risk type of criminal and they can be very violent.  They are almost always armed and there is a high probability that they are not alone.  What number was Engage, in the four Protocols of Action?  That’s right the fourth one.  The last one.  The last choice.  Given the choice, it’s definitely never the first choice.  Staying alive means staying smart, no matter how stupid you might want to be.

 Develop the Proper Mindset.

Never forget your mission. What is that mission?  To save the lives of your family.  Nothing else matters.  Your safety doesn’t matter.  You will give your life to protect them.  You will do anything and everything to protect them.  You will attack with Violence of Action and Ferocious Resolve to protect them.  You will fight to the bitter end with all of your might and you will never, ever give up. You will kill to protect them.  You are a Warrior and a Guardian Shepherd and you only live to keep them safe.  

I’m going to leave you with three anecdotes that I use in my classes.  As fellow trainer, “Rory Miller” states so eloquently, “Make my kids orphans or his kids orphans?  That’s a no brainer.”  I also ask the students; What do the U.S. Marines do when they are ambushed or attacked? They counter-attack with overwhelming firepower and Violence of Action. And I always bring up the quote from an old west, outlaw, gunfighter when he was asked how he survived so many gunfights.  He simply said, “The one who wins is the man who has the coolest head at the most dangerous moment.” You have the coolest head.  You are the protector and the defender.  There is no higher calling for a Warrior.

Have a Plan and Stick To It.

Have a plan and have everyone well aware of and well versed in its execution.  If anyone deviates or goes “rogue”, it can compromise the entire mission. And the goal of the mission is to get everyone through the crisis event safe, unharmed, and alive.  If someone decides to, “do their own thing,” it can get everyone killed. Everyone must be disciplined to the rules of the plan and they must keep that discipline while under the pressure of a crisis event.  

So, if everyone has done everything according to your plan, what do you do when the bad guys are banging on your safe room door, trying to get in?  Well you should already have called the police at the first sign that your perimeter has been breached and someone should be staying on the line with them.  Keep them on the line, it’s important.  You or someone should be yelling loudly at the bad guys on the other side of the door something like this; “I’ve called the police!  They’ll be here in a minute!  I’m armed and I’ll shoot if you make me! Get out of here now!  Now I want you to think about what I’ve just said.  It’s not just words.  It’s a finely crafted defense you can use if you have to shoot and kill someone.  Remember I told you to keep the 911 operator on the telephone all of the time?  There are a bunch of obvious reasons for this but it’s also so they can hear you say those words to the bad guys.  And they will weigh heavily in your favor in court.

Let’s take a look at them.

“I’ve called the police…”  You’ve done the right thing by calling the proper authorities.  You did not take the law into your own hands.
“They’ll be here in a minute…”  You are reinforcing that you are relying on the police as the first choice for your safety and protection.
“I’m armed and I’ll shoot if you make me…”  This statement is critical.  It will read to the court that you have warned them and given them the chance to cease and desist.  In fact you warned them twice (I’m armed. I’ll shoot).
“I’ll shoot if you make me.” This reads both to the D.A. and the court as; I don’t want to do this but you by your actions are forcing me to do so. I had no choice left but to shoot.
“Get out of here now.” You have given them yet another chance to stop and retreat. You have exhausted all of your other options.  

Of course, that is if they continue trying to break down your door. If they run, you’re safe and you can’t shoot, ever.  Let them go. The police will get them eventually.

But, if you are pushed to the end of this dead end road, you must be ready, willing and able to pull the trigger, again and again until they stop. Please remember that they may be armed too so never place yourself directly in front of the door on your side.  This is also where the inside security cameras come in so handy.  Be sure to have a hidden one viewing the outside door of your safe room.  You can tell if they’ve got weapons, if they’ve stopped, if they’re still there, if they’ve run away, or if they’re lying dead on the floor.  

Conclusion

In the end, like I said at the beginning everything that you do, your education, your preparation, and your execution must be held to the Four Protocols of Action – Detect, Evade, Barricade, Engage.  These protocols come direct from the battlefield and are the same as taught to the world’s military elite and law enforcement agencies.  After all, a battle is a battle, and whether it’s in a cave in Afghanistan or in the upstairs of your own home, the principles do not change and the survival of your team is all that really matters.

Copyright Ernest Emerson 2016

The post Personal Security and Safety at Home – 10 Ways to Protect Yourself In Your Own Home appeared first on The Guardian Shepherd.

Introduction

It’s a privilege and an honor to stand here before you today. I know how long and hard it is and what dedication and sacrifice it takes to get to this place and time. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to be here.

Honestly I only get this feeling, the feeling that I have right now when I’m standing in front of a team of U.S. Navy SEALs.

Why is that? The answer is because you are warriors. You are the chosen few. Why do you choose to do what you do? I’ve been trying to figure that out my entire life. Why would I choose to suffer the pain, the injuries, the hard work? I don’t get paid for it. In fact most of my life I’ve paid someone else for the privilege of beating the hell out of me. What the heck is wrong with me? Why do I like fighting? Why do I like violence?

I figured I just must have a screw loose. I used to think a psychiatrist would have a field day trying to figure me out. So I finally gave up trying to analyze myself – trying to figure out what was “wrong.”

But then at some point in one of those rare, brief moments of clarity I realized – there’s nothing wrong with me. I do these things to find myself – to prepare myself for battle. I do these things just like you do – because you are warriors, and warriors do these things – not for fame, not for glory but because it is in our nature. It is who we are. Our role and our eternal role has always been to sacrifice ourselves for the safety, protection and freedom of others.

A warrior is here today. A warrior will be here the next day and a warrior will be back day after day, again and again until his task is complete.

Since time immemorial, warriors have always held a revered, honored and respected place in society.  In spite of all political meanderings and the ebb and flow of societal values, this has never changed and it never will.  There is an honor and pride in joining this brotherhood that can be gained nowhere else, and once joined can never be taken away.  Although women are not excluded, it has always been the man’s role to be the protector and provider.  This is your responsibility and your role to uphold and honor in your time upon this earth.

The responsibility of a warrior does not merely necessitate the taking up of arms against an enemy.  It is more, much more and it is such that you become an example, a role model of ethical and moral behavior to all others who may look to you for guidance or protection.  If this is the path in life that you have chosen to walk then know that it is a path well worn by the footsteps of those who have walked here before you.  Others, who have willingly said; I will endure the hardship, the pain, the sacrifice and the risk of death so that those who sleep soundly in their beds can do so in the warm embrace of safety and peace.

If this is your choice then know that your road will be fraught with adversity and you will be assailed by many, but in those times, remember that you are in the company of the noble souls who have also faced such adversity and prevailed.  And know also that your legacy shall be that until the end of time, as the last sun sets upon this earth, in that blackest night, somewhere a warrior still stands his lonely watch.

Warriors Prayer from The Order of The Black Shamrock

Lord, we ask that you look upon our humble brethren with Your infinite grace and blessings.

We ask that you give us strength against our enemies when we are forsaken and grant us courage when we falter.

We ask that you stay our hand with your mercy when we have none.

We ask that You grant us wisdom when we are in need of guidance.

We ask for your light to guide us when we dwell in darkness and know not the way.

We ask that you protect our brethren from harm and temptation. We ask that our faith shall stand as our unbroken shield against all that is evil.

We ask that You have mercy upon our soul in the time of our death.

For we know that all things are possible through faith and through the blessings, of your grace and mercy Amen.

Legal Principles

A knife is a deadly weapon. In the eyes of the law it is exactly the same as a gun.
The Purpose of civilian carry of a gun is to only use it if your life or the life of your loved ones is in imminent deadly danger. And, if you deploy your weapon (gun) it is with the intent and purpose to kill another person.
The exact same rules apply to you making a decision to “pull out your knife.”
The second that you deploy your weapon the dynamics in any conflict have now changed to the use of a deadly weapon in a deadly force encounter.
Two things become paramount at that instant:
You have to be willing to use the weapon (gun or knife) to kill another human being.
You must be able to justify that you had no other choice and that you had exhausted all other means to stop the threat.
Justification of the Use of Deadly Force
All four of the following must occur and exist in the eyes of the law:
Intent – The threat must indicate to you by some means that he wants, intends to harm you.
Means – He must have the means to carry out his intent. Disparity of force, size, weapon – knife, gun, club, etc.
Opportunity – The threat must have the opportunity to reach you with those means.
Action – The threat must act upon his Intent, Means and Opportunity.

*** And, as one additional after the fact necessity:

Preclusion – You must be able to convince a jury that you had no other viable option.

For further discussion and information regarding the legal implications of self-defense and deadly force, please go to The Ernest Emerson Podcast, click on suggested reading at the top, and then click articles. Scroll down to the articles Legal Advice on Deadly Force and Legal Implications for Self-Defense.

The Principles and Strategies of Mortal Combat

Moral Clarity – 6th Commandment – Thou shall not Commit Murder – not - Thou shall not kill.
Capability vs. Capacity – You must have the capacity to use your capabilities.
Two types of Predators
Rewards Predator – Mugger, carjacker or thief. They attack to take something – a reward.
Process Predator – Serial Killer, Sexual Predator, sociopath, mentally deranged, violent psychopath. They attack for the feeling of the process – domination – fear – power.
Types of Attacks
Assassination Attack – serial killer, crime of passion or revenge, sentry takedown.
Escalation attack – starts as fist fight and ends as knife attack.
Spontaneous or opportunity attack – Mad Wife or Husband (domestic violence) – OJ Simpson, 3rd Strike Felon, disarms gone wrong.
Cornered Animal Attack – 3rd Strike felon, confronting a criminal, crazy person.
Death is caused by:
Rapid Drop in Blood Pressure – bleeding out
Disruption of the nervous system – brain stem or brain case housing group.
Restriction of Oxygen to the brain - airway or blood flow restriction.
Targets to Attack – And Defend
The Neck – Jugular, carotid-arteries/veins or airway
The Eyes – Opening to Brain
Brachial Arteries – Under Arms
Femoral Arteries – Inside of Upper Thighs
Torso – Aortas upper and Lower, Internal organs
Bio Mechanical Targets – Structural Damage (Not life threatening)
Inside of fingers, wrists, elbow (grasping tendons)
Back of knee, Achilles tendon (one armed man)
Escape if at all possible – Never stay to fight if attacker chases you – keep running.
You only fight until the threat is neutralized or you have the opportunity to escape. If you stay to fight when you could escape – you have now engaged in “mutual combat.”
When is it necessary to stay and fight? Moral or legal reasons but not necessarily the same. To defend yourself – you are under attack. If you have no means of escape or are injured. You must stay to protect family, loved ones, teammates or innocents (school violence) who are also in grave danger. You are a police officer or a soldier.
Do not personalize or humanize the enemy. He is the enemy – the one who is trying to kill you. You can not hesitate in your actions. The bad guy will not.
Do not compartmentalize the weapon. All Fighting is Fighting. It’s not knife fighting. It’s not stick fighting. It’s not gun fighting. It’s fighting with knives.
What stops violence? Only a greater force of violence.

The Mentality of Combat and The Proper Mindset
You have far more to fear from a deadly man than a deadly weapon.
You are already knife fighters. Why? Because if you are a fighter then it does not matter what tool you have in your hand – weapon or not.
Attributes of a Combat Mindset
Education – Knowledge
Situational Awareness – tactical awareness of your environment and all those who are in or enter a proximity where they could cause you harm
Preparation – Training
Bias for Action – Immediate response and action as opposed to freezing
Proper Mindset – accept violence and know that you will prevail
Ferocious Resolve – Bad Intent coupled with the will to do whatever is necessary to prevail
Gut Feel – It is never wrong. It never lies and it only exists to protect you
Faith – in abilities – in a cause – the good fight
Moral Clarity – you are the good guy – he is the bad guy – he has caused your actions
Never Quit, Never Give Up, Never Surrender
The Reaction/Action Turnaround
All Defense is Offense
The opponent must react to you, not you to him. How is that accomplished?
Movement
Clinch
Counter Attack
Never Do Anything that is Useless
Never Do Anything Without a Purpose
Disregard for personal harm or safety – The Samurai called it “The Loss of Self.”
Your Victory relies on three actions
Bias for Action
Efficiency of Action
Violence of Action

Techniques Fundamentals

Rule #1 If you need strength it is not correct (Explosive power is not strength)

Rule #2 If it is hard to do it is not correct

Rule #3 If the average person cannot do it, it is incorrect

The Nine Positions of Engagement
The Five Strikes
The Snake Bite
The Lawnmower – The Figure 8
The Stance
The Guard

The Perfect Technique

It must place you in a superior tactical advantage.
It must place your opponent in an inferior tactical position.
It must unbalance, damage, incapacitate or kill the opponent.
It must protect you from harm.
It must give you the opportunity to disengage when appropriate

Techniques Unarmed Vs Knife

The Pyramid Guard Defense
Triangle Jam Up
Triangle Jam Down
Against #1 Strike
Against #2 Strike
Against #3 Strike
Against #4 Strike
Against #5 Strike

Techniques Knife Vs Knife

Against #1 Strike
Against #2 Strike
Against #3 Strike
Against #4 Strike
Against #5 Strike

The human body is a perfect machine. In order to get it to the highest state of perfection, perfect body mechanics, perfect coordination, and perfect execution, you need to know the simple secrets to ultimate performance that I discuss in this article: The Human Machine.

he human body is a perfect, natural, machine.  It strives always, to do everything with the least amount of effort and to the most benefit for itself.  In everything we do, it searches for perfect rhythm, balance, and timing. These traits or attributes are part of the overall package that has enabled us to survive on this planet in one form or another for the last six or seven million years.  It has an unarguable, proven track record.

The human body has perfect body mechanics.  What are body mechanics, you ask?  Quite simply body mechanics are the physical movements performed by the body needed to accomplish an action.  Standing up, walking, swimming, or throwing a knockout punch are all the result of body mechanics.  The real important questions are these;   what are perfect body mechanics?  Can I get them?  How do they affect punching power?

Unfortunately in some regards, we humans have been blessed with higher thinking capability, a more developed cognitive sense which gives us the ability to analyze, judge, and interpret everything that comes across our radar screen.  It has enabled some to flourish, such as Mozart, Shakespeare, Thomas Jefferson and Britney Spears.  Unfortunately, this ability also enables us to override many aspects of our natural behavior.  It’s too bad that the body mechanics of our perfect human machine is one of those attributes that we can over-ride.  By the way, I’m just kidding about Britney.  I bet you thought I’d just blown all my credibility.  Anyway, back to the questions regarding body mechanics.

What are perfect body mechanics?  This is the body merely trying to get the most done with the least amount of effort.  No unnecessary, extraneous or exaggerated effort.  Perfection in this regard is efficiency.  No wasted motions and more importantly no wasted energy.

Can I get perfect body mechanics?  You already have perfect body mechanics! All you have to do is scrape away the eight layers of paint you covered them with to expose the bare natural wood that lies underneath.  Then with a little sanding and polishing you’ll have that beautiful natural grain once again.  I will help you do this.

How do body mechanics affect punching power?  The mechanics of throwing a punch involve the entire body, right from the toes to the top of your head.  It takes all of them working in unison to deliver a correct punch with power behind it.  Anything that is out of rhythm, not in balance or out of sync takes energy away from the punch.  Remember, less energy delivered = less power.  Yes, you can still punch without everything being perfect for you.  In fact in a real fight or even a match, it never is perfect for you so you’re going to want as much going for you as you can.  Knowing and training for perfect body mechanics will give you more power even when things are not perfect.

Let’s take a look at body mechanics from the ground up.  I’m going to dissect this subject bit by bit and I fully expect you to think, “This guy has too much time on his hands.”  Actually I don’t.  I have several companies to run, a family of five, and a horse ranch.  I have no time to waste.  So when I train I want to get the absolute most out of every moment I’m in my gym.  If I put the gloves on, I want to practice exactly the way I want to be when I’m in the fight.  That is why I’m going to make this statement in Big Bold letters.

“IF YOU DON’T PRACTICE PERFECT, THEN YOU’RE JUST PRACTICING MISTAKES.”

I don’t want to waste my time or yours.  

PICK A MODEL – A GOOD ONE

Here is a big secret, Please don’t tell the bad guys.  If you want to be perfect then model yourself after perfection.  This really is one of those secret keys to success and I’ve taught people how to use it as well as having used it myself since I was in grade school.  I was doing this for 25 years before I even knew what I was doing or just how valuable it really was.  I was just doing something that seemed natural and worked for me.

As I said before I was a pretty good athlete and I have to believe that it was in a significant way due to what I now know as modeling.  I wanted to be a pitcher so I modeled myself after my Baseball hero Sandy Koufax.  I wanted to be a quarterback so I modeled myself after Bart Starr.  When I got interested in Boxing I modeled myself after Muhammad Ali and Alexis Argüello.

What the heck is Emerson talking about?  You should ask.  When I talk about modeling I don’t just mean to be inspired by a chosen model.  What I mean is that you imagine yourself as that individual.  Hey, I’m not getting weird here.  I’m only referring to this during training.  As a young little leaguer I tried to pitch just like Sandy Koufax.  I tried to mimic his stance, his wind up, the long step he took forward, his delivery and his finish on the mound.  For those of you who do not know Sandy Koufax, he was one of Baseball’s greatest pitchers with ERA stats and strikeout records other pitchers dreamed about.  There was something about him that was so smooth, so natural, and so effortless.  When it came to football, Bart Starr was the same, effortless, graceful and effective.  Could it have been their body mechanics?

I would practice throwing baseballs at a chalk drawn strike zone on the side of a brick building for hours throwing just like Sandy Koufax.  When I started playing football, I would throw a football through a hanging tire for hours.  I was Bart Starr.

Think of it like this.  Remember guys who would imitate movie stars and politicians.  They were called impersonators.  They would study all the nuances of their subject, their voice, their speaking rhythms, their expressions, their gait, and any other nuances they could find.

Well I found that the more I did it the better I got at it.  Someone could say, dribble like Elgin Baylor or shoot like Pistol Pete Maravich and I could imitate them, reasonably well.  What I didn’t realize was that this form of imitation, this physical imitation, had helped me develop my athletic abilities immensely.  By imitating these superstar athletes I was developing my body mechanics, my rhythm, my balance, and my power.  Since I admired the pro stars of my time, I was copying if you will those who had become superstars for a reason.  They were the best at what they did.  

I didn’t try to imitate the fat guy down the block shooting hoops in his driveway.  Would you?  There were reasons these guys were good and a large part of it was their form, their athleticism, and their Body Mechanics.  When I got into boxing I learned to mimic the jabs, the footwork, and grace of Ali.  My jabs got better, my footwork got better.  When I imitated Joe Frazier my hooks and overhand right got better.  When I imitated the perfect form of Alexis Argüello my form got better.  

Here’s a quick tip I learned from Muhammad Ali.  Ali had what a lot of Boxers (mainly his opponents) called a ghost cross.  It comes out of nowhere and bam!  Lights out.  Most fighters throw their punches in a rhythmic pattern 1, 2 – 1, 2 or 1, 2, 3 – 1, 2, 3.  They throw their jabs bring it back and throw the cross.  Now if you look back on some of Ali’s films you will see him throw the cross, his ghost punch, directly behind the jab.  One clearing the way for the other.  What he does is to let the jab go and throws the cross while the jab is still on its way, not even to the target yet.  The difference is like this; Bam dot Bam (conventional) and BaBam!  From Ali.  Now, bear in mind that he did not do this all the time because he needed to establish a rhythm or pattern to fool the opponent and set the opponent up so his ghost punch would work.  He created a false rhythm then broke that rhythm completely baffling his opponent time and time again.  Try it yourself on the heavy bag and just remember there’s quite a difference between Bam dot Bam and BaBam!  That’s the difference.  No boxing coach ever showed me this and I never would have learned it if I had not been modeling Muhammad Ali.

Modeling has worked for me in shooting, fighting, training, speaking and teaching.  It is a multipurpose tool that you should definitely add to your training agenda.

There are four basic things you need to model successfully.

Believe that there is someone who is better than you so you can accept improvement in yourself.  You should call this: Realistic Self Evaluation.
Pick a good role model(s).  Don’t base it on your likes or dislikes, or your instructor.  Pick the best.  For example, when I was bent on increasing my power I used Mike Tyson.  Do I like Tyson? Absolutely no.  But at that time he was the youngest boxer in history to win the Heavyweight title and his first 8 or 10 fights were knockouts in the first minute of the first round.  Bad Guy – Furious Puncher.
A mirror.  You got to be able to see yourself, your moves, your motion, and your progress in order to improve.
You need to think of yourself as a human tape recorder.  Train yourself to be able to physically imitate others and you will see and feel the benefits of imitating someone who is not just better than you but the best at that they do.

THE NATURAL

Have you ever seen or known a natural athlete?  The kid in school who was good at everything.  The one that every sport just seemed to be easy for them.  While you and I struggled to perfect these skills they would just show up and shine.  Well it took me a long time, almost 30 years to realize that we all are that natural athlete.  We are the culmination of human evolution.  We are alive, not because we understand physics or can create great works of art or music.  We are alive because our ancestors could stay a couple steps ahead of that saber-toothed tiger.  We are alive because our ancestor could jump over the trap that the bear fell into.  We are alive because our ancestor could throw a rock so hard it could kill the sloth so everyone could have dinner that night.  Just because we can go to the moon doesn’t mean we have lost those abilities, those attributes, and those skills.

Our ancestors weren’t 9 feet tall and they didn’t have 3 arms or 4 legs.  They were just like you and me in almost every detail.  Hell, a Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon man could pass you in a mall and you’d never even-know it, except for the grunts, the club and the woman he was dragging by the hair.  Seriously what I’m getting at is this, we still possess these skills and we are alive because our ancestors were the strong ones, the smart ones, the natural athletes.  However, we don’t have to fight for survival from the moment we are born, like they had to.  I’m willing to bet the average 12 year old cave boy could run, jump, and fight pretty damn well, by anyone’s standards.  He had to, in order to survive.  However, as a whole we do not now need to practice these skills in order to survive.  That’s why we now have obese children that already have elevated cholesterol levels by the age of eight.  But I digress.  Where am I going with this anthropology lesson?  I’m going back to the natural athlete.  Conversely, how many of you have known someone who just wasn’t coordinated.  The kid who was clumsy, uncoordinated and maybe just sucked at sports.  Perhaps it was me or perhaps it was even you.  If you were that kid or if you are the guy who always has said, I’m just not coordinated, I’ll never be as good as him.  I’m here to tell you that’s B.S.; capital B period, capital S period.

A martial arts student once approached Bruce Lee and ended his conversation by saying “I’ll never be as good as you.  You have a natural talent, a gift.  Bruce looked at him and simply said “If you trained 16 hours a day you’d be as good as I am.”

We are all gifted.  We all have these natural talents.  It’s just that if you don’t use them, if you have never used them then those skills, agility, balance, and power won’t be as sharp or efficient as they would have been in a highly trained individual.  You would be the “un-coordinated” guy.  But if you have mentally convinced yourself that you are not “coordinated” then you have to change your mind first.  If you can’t change or throw out and completely destroy that mindset, then you will always be uncoordinated.  But if you can, if you can truly believe that you are capable of perfection in motion then you can fulfill that goal.  Training your physical skills is the easy part, and proper training can address that, training your mind is the difficult part, if you don’t believe.  If you don’t believe in yourself then you can never reach your personal ultimate performance potential.  I don’t just want you strong.  I don’t just want you stronger.  I want you to be as strong as humanly possible.  That’s the goal, brother.  Why have I been talking about all this “in your head,” stuff?  Because you have to have to believe you can get better, stronger, and faster.  If I were able to look you directly in the eyes right now and you were to tell me, “I will never be able to be better,” I will be the first one to call you a liar.

THE MECHANICS OF MECHANICS

Let’s get to the mechanics part of body mechanics.

Some of the key issues in any training regimen are the perfection of the basic fundamental skills.  It has been said that an expert is merely one who has mastered the basics.  Unfortunately, most of us view the basic skills in any learning progression as just some things to get out of the way so we can get to the fun stuff.  I wonder how many people have been accidently killed by a gun in the hands of someone who did not have knowledge of basic firearm handling skills but knew how to pull the trigger?

Well in the case of developing proper body mechanics, it’s all about fundamentals, but they must be the right fundamentals.

Now, if you were to come to me and say, Ernest give me 30 seconds of advice that will improve my skills the most.  I would say, “Spend at least an hour a day practicing footwork drills.”  You would look at me with the “That’s it?” look.  Believe me I’ve seen it many times before.  And I’ve always said “Yeah that’s it.”  If you ever ask me anything, be prepared for an honest, forthright answer.  I’m not here to impress you or myself.  Those days are long, long in my past.  I’m here to give you something that’s going to help you – nothing more, nothing less.

Let’s face it; footwork skills are the basic fundamental skills that must be the foundation for skills in any sport, except maybe chess.  Is that a sport?  It’s your feet that move you and they are the building blocks upon which everything else is built.  Look at it this way.  I could build the most solid brick wall in the world, rebar, concrete, bricks, everything done right, but if my footing (foundation) is sitting on a pile of soft sand  I can tip the wall over just by giving it a good shove.  Now my strong wall is sitting on its ass.  Don’t let that wall be you.

One of the world’s greatest guitarists is a man named Steve Vai.  This is not just a public accolade.  The entire world’s other great players look at Vai and just shake their heads.  “He can do things other guitarists don’t even dream about.”  Well guess what?  Steve Vai has followed a grueling 10 hour guitar workout for years, that’s right, 10 hours.  Remember Bruce Lee, 16 hours?  Anyway, three hours of every workout is devoted to practicing scales, one of the first things you’re taught when you begin to take guitar lessons.  In fact scales are fundamental to the mastery of any musical instrument, they are the footwork drills of musical mastery.  Are they fun?  Not for most people.  Everyone just wants to pick up that axe and jam because that’s the fun part.

Back to my answer to the 30 seconds of advice; I spend at least an hour of every workout on footwork drills.  Granted, I mix a lot into the drills such as bobbing, weaving, ducking, and shadowboxing but it is while I am shuffling forward, backward, sidestepping, circling and generally doing all the dance steps of boxing.  The paradox is that if I could teach the way I really want to I would devote half the training to footwork drills.  I can guarantee that I would have better fighters in those classes but no one would want to attend the seminars, on top of the fact that everyone would be worn out after the first hour of class.  So what I’ve done is fold-in and also disguise a large amount of footwork training into drills that the students aren’t even aware of.  They think they’re doing one thing but I’m really training their feet.

So here we go.  Now it would seem there must be thousands of drills to teach footwork skills the way I’ve described so far.  In reality there are not.  You can make unlimited combinations out of just the two basic steps I’m going to describe.  Just as there are only eight notes in the musical scale, by varying their timing, their pitch (sharps and flats) and the combinations of notes (melody) songwriters and composers have written millions of beautiful yet wonderfully different songs.  It just depends on how creative you are, or want to be.

There are two more things that I want to say and stress before I get to the training.  I will from time to time state that something is a rule.  I have to call them something.  Maybe fundamental principle is a better descriptor but saying rule just sounds more authoritarian.  This is where I’m going with this.  There are rules and there are no rules.  There are rules about stance, footwork, combinations, defense, and offense that we’ll talk about.  But remember this point,  you gotta learn the rules before you can break the rules.  For example; Pablo Picasso, the famous artist is generally known as the guy who painted noses on the sides of heads and ears in the wrong places.  Well, he could still draw and paint contemporary art at a level as good as any world famous artist.  He could create images, just like Caravaggio, Van Gogh, or Monet.  He just chose to break the rules.  It didn’t mean he didn’t know the rules.  Muhammad Ali broke almost every fundamental rule of boxing throughout his career.  Angelo Dundee said Ali had ruined more boxer’s careers than anyone else in history with his hands down boxing guard.  You had to be as good as Ali before you tried using antics like that.  And remember Rope a Dope?  He just let the opponent pummel him over and over while he leaned back on the ropes.  No trainer or coach would ever recommend such unheard of behavior.  Angelo Dundee would go hoarse screaming at Ali to get off the ropes but in the midst of this terrible fusillade, Ali would suddenly sidestep and hammer his opponent with a flurry of damaging punches.  

Ali knew what he could get away with because he let his body, his machine run without letting his mind get in the way.  He was an improviser.  And speaking of improvisation, if you ask any real musician what is the pinnacle of the musician’s art, they will tell you that it is improvisation.  They will also tell you that it is the hardest thing they had to learn to do. The reason is that in order to improvise, to just flow, you have to disengage your thinking brain and just feel.  You just let the music pour out. The Japanese Samurai called it “the loss of self.” It was a state of mind where conscious thinking and essentially you ceased to exist.  This was because if you were engaged in a deadly duel with lethal swords and the difference between life and death was measured in milliseconds, well you just did not have time to think.  If you had to think, you would die.  It takes almost a lifetime of study in any endeavor to get to the degree of innate and intimate understanding to be able to let go of your conscious mind.  Part of that understanding is the knowledge and acceptance that the human body is that perfect machine that I talked about at the beginning of this article.  Once we accept that fact, we just need to let that perfect machine do its job.

Copyright 2017 Ernest Emerson

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Know Your Attacker – The Attributes of the Sociopathic Predator

“Wherever you are, death will find you, even if you are in towers strong and high!  So what is wrong with these people,  that they fail to understand these simple words?” – Mohammed (Qur’an: 4:78)

ow do you prepare yourself for an attack by your enemy?  Let’s first take a short look back in history.  

Prior to World War II, the French Military built a line of defenses, a wall called the Maginot Line as a bulwark defense against an attack by the German Military.  The Germans simply went around using a different route, and over the line via the Luftwaffe.  My point?  The French strategic planners and military advisors failed to anticipate technological advances made by the German military.  They failed to realistically evaluate all the possible strategies that an enemy could employ to subvert the defense. They also ignored the fact that the way wars would be fought had evolved and changed.  In short, they did not know their enemy and as a result could not prepare an effective defense.  Their efforts were futile.

The simple lesson here is: Unless you “know” your potential enemy, you cannot prepare effectively for his assault.

The principle here as it applies to self-defense and hand-to-hand combat is the same.  You need to “know” your attacker so you are ready and properly prepared should that attack ever come.

Who is Your Enemy?

“I didn’t feel nothin,” said Tommy Lynn Sells – when asked what he felt as he cut the throats of two ten year old girls.

With all of our training, our technology and our knowledge, why do the bad guys win?

Do you know what a sociopath is?  In simple terms, I would define it as someone who has no empathy, no feelings for others – no conscience.  We’ve been aware of and perhaps have had contact with obvious sociopaths our entire lives, ranging from the grade school bully all the way to the serial killer with all degrees of sociopathic behavior in between.  In fact, many bullies actually grow up to be adult sociopaths.

It is commonly cited that 4 percent of the general population are born as sociopaths and never have any chance to be “normal.” That means that that at least 4 out of every hundred people you encounter on any given day are sociopaths, people without conscience.  When it comes to criminals, it is also cited that about 25 percent of all criminals are 100 per cent sociopathic.  That means that they are capable of doing really bad things without hesitation. And even more dangerous to society is the psychopath. Not only are they generally sociopathic, but they are not even living in the same reality as us.  You might think of it as sitting next to someone in a theater yet they are not watching the same movie as you. Their whole world is different and only they know what’s going on in their head but I guarantee it is much different what we consider normal. You cannot go through life assuming that everyone you meet is another good guy just like you. In fact it’s one of the main reasons that so many people get “caught off guard.”  Hell, they were never on guard.

As the father of two beautiful blonde daughters, I have warned them time and again that no young man that they ever meet, just wants to be their friend. I never, ever want them to let their guard down. In this case I’m not saying that all the young men that they meet are sociopaths, I’m just saying that they’re all just being young men. Yet, the terrible unarguable truth is that women are most often the victims of the actions of both the sociopathic predator and the criminal psychopath.

We, on the other hand, are the good guys.  We have a conscience.  We care about what happens to others. We do not want to cause pain or suffering, let alone death to anyone.  In this contrast lies the bad guys’ biggest advantage.  My question earlier to you was, “Why do bad guys win?”   There is a phenomenon called “hesitation shooting,” an all too real scenario in which a police officer has his gun drawn and pointed directly at the bad guy.  The bad guy also has a gun pointed at the officer.  The bad guy pulls the trigger.  The officer dies.  How does this happen?  Forget about your training.  Forget about department policies about justification of force.  Forget about rules of engagement.  Putting yourself in the officer’s shoes, it happens because he’s not a sociopath, even at the expense of his own life.  But the even bigger reason is this. The bad guy is a sociopath and he’s done this before.  You have not.  A sociopath will stove your head in, grab your sandwich finish eating it and wonder what flavor the cheese is.  His behavior started with pulling the wings off flies, kicking dogs, or beating kids in the schoolyard. He’s done this before, a thousand times before.  The only difference was that this time he had a gun.  Tomorrow he might beat the hell out of an 85 year old grandma just to get her eight dollars and change.

In simple terms they are a product of their environment and we are a product of ours.  You might say, Good Vs Evil.

This is your enemy.  Understand, I’m not talking here about a bar fight over a girl’s honor.  I’m talking about a stone cold killer who will climb through a window into your house, crush your head with a hammer and rape your wife right next to your dead body.

This is the enemy you must prepare for.  If you are prepared, truly prepared, mentally prepared, to face an opponent like this, then all lesser opponents will pale in comparison.

“Let him who desires peace, prepare for war.” – Publius Flavius Vegetius

How do you prepare for the sociopath, perhaps a gang member who will kill you just so he can tattoo a tear drop under his eye for status in the gang?

Unfortunately to beat this opponent you have to become a sociopath.  This is the point where a majority of people fall short in the totality of their preparation.  Will you gouge someone’s eye out?  Will you tear their throat open with your teeth?  Will you smell his stale breath as his eyes glaze over from your arm around his throat?  If you’re not willing to answer “yes, hell yes,” to these questions, then the day you meet one of these guys is the day you are going to die.

Are you a Sociopath?

I am a sociopath.  Well, let me soften that a bit by saying, “a justified sociopath.”  What I mean by that description is; my decision, my mind set, my foregone conclusion is simply this.  If you threaten my life or the safety or the lives of my family, I will do anything and everything to prevent you from succeeding.  No restrictions – no conditions.  Period.  You also, had better be able to be that “justified sociopath,” when the time comes.

It is with this singular clarity of purpose that you must approach the reality of true life or death combat.  The British SAS that I’ve known often describe it as the switch.  You’ve got to be able to turn on the ruthlessness when you need it and turn it off when it is not needed.  That is what separates “us” from “them.” I will go into more detail about the “switch” and also the psychological/physiological response to such extreme violence in upcoming articles.  But for now I want you to consider how you stand when it comes to a “what will I do to survive?” moment.  Otherwise if there is any part of you or your conscience holding you back when a bad guy is bent on your destruction you’d better be able to turn that switch off and the other switch on.  If you don’t, you may personally find out the answer to the question “Why do the bad guys win?” And the answer may be one you can’t live with.

Copyright 2016 Ernest Emerson

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hat is Power?  In terms of punching or hitting I define it simply as this; punching power is a sudden, violent transfer of energy from one individual to another delivered via a strike.

It’s really just that simple.  Now thinking in these terms, the more sudden, violent energy I deliver, the “harder I punch.”  As a result of reducing everything to this basic definition we can then define, categorize and address all of the components that when combined, create the ultimate in human punching power.

Ultimate Power.  If you’ve ever trained with me you know that I use the term frequently. What is Ultimate Power?  What does Emerson mean when he uses it?  When I use the term ultimate power I am usually talking about how to develop it, train it, or unleash it.  But I define it in this way; it is the absolute summation of everything in your being brought to focus on a single task or goal.  And I mean everything, every sinew, every bone, every tendon, your lifetime of training, you’re life’s experience, all of your mental focus, and all of your intensity.  Without getting any wordier, let’s just call it, unleashing your inner Superman.  Do you have a Superman inside of you?  Absolutely yes.  Does everyone have a Superman inside of them?  You bet they do.  Why would someone disagree with this statement?  Simply because they’ve never experienced or have never had an experience that required Superman’s presence.

I had an “event” when I was twenty years old that changed my life forever.  My friend Tom had a 1971 Plymouth Belvedere and it needed new front brakes.  Along with another friend, Bill we decided to change the brake pads ourselves.  We were all young, dumb and not too full of brains at that age so we just took the ratchet jack out of the trunk and used it to raise the car.  We didn’t have any jack stands so the car was sitting up on this skinny rickety jack with Bill sitting on the ground, legs in a Vee on each side of the wheel using a pair of vise grips to pull the brake springs off the pegs.  Suddenly the vice grips slipped off the spring and as Tom and I watched, the car began to slowly tilt to the right, fall off the jack and onto Bill.  It took long enough to fall that Bill had scooted himself backwards clearing his body except for his foot.  The wheel and brake drum assemble had landed squarely on top of it.

Bill was screaming.  Tom and I grabbed the front bumper of the Plymouth and lifted up.  The car started to move as we strained to lift it off Bill.  All we did was decompress the springs on the front end, much like bouncing the shock absorbers up and down.  All we did was take a little weight off Bills leg.  He was still pinned and we had to let the car back down.  What I thought were some of the worst screams I had ever heard suddenly went times ten.  At that instant with no words spoken Tom and I looked at each other and lifted the car up and off Bill. But, not just off his foot but way off of his foot, about 9 or 10 inches off of the ground.  Bill pulled back and we put the car down.  Paramedics were on the scene within five minutes expecting a rescue and actually did not believe that Tom and I had lifted the car off of him.  Over the next few months we tried a dozen times to “go lift that Plymouth” but could never ever come close to picking it up.

Now, that’s the story.  It actually did happen and it happened to me.  Now granted it wasn’t a little old lady lifting a tractor off of her grandson.  It was a two pretty strong farm boys from Northern Wisconsin, but it was a heavy old car that we lifted off the ground once, but could never lift again no matter how hard we tried.

This event was a life changing experience for me in a number of ways but in terms of what happened, in regard to the Superman, or ultimate power it was this.  When we first tried to lift the car up we were trying with all of our might, with every ounce of strength that we had.  Our friend was screaming pinned under the car.  We had all the adrenaline, urgency, and resolve, everything that you always read about happening in that moment, yet we could not lift that car.

When we let the car back down (on Bill) something happened that seemed straight out of the Twilight Zone.  There was a moment, an instant when all thought was suspended and nothing else seemed to exist, except that exact moment in time.  It was a moment of perfect mental clarity, absolute and perfect.  At that instant in time when we lifted again, the car was weightless.  It might as well have been a box of Styrofoam.  There was no strength involved, no weight, no straining, and absolutely no exertion, none.  It was not adrenaline or any of the other scientific explanations.  I’m telling you it was weightless – no weight.

Why am I talking about this in a book about the science of hitting?  Because I was a healthy strong man who had played college football, semi-pro baseball, wrestled and lifted weights since I was about twelve years old.  I was an athlete, a great athlete and I knew I was strong.  Now, you must realize that I’m the kind of guy who looks at life in pretty simple terms.  If I can’t see it, feel it, or hear it then it probably doesn’t exist.

But, from that day forward I was much, much stronger.  My endurance, my natural strength, my training routines and my weights increased dramatically.  I had seen a small, fleeting glimpse of the Superman we all carry inside of us.  Granted, I did not become a Superman but my strength and my power increased by a good 25 to 30% in just a couple of weeks.

That may not sound so impressive, but for a highly trained athlete in peak condition, already by all standards at my own training limits of strength and endurance a 25% increase was like getting struck by a bolt of lighting.  It was like I had taken some kind of magic power pill.  No, I have never taken steroids.  What I realize was that all of my bests, my limits, were no longer valid.  They did not exist.  Was I stronger than I had previously thought?  Yes.  I could quantify that fact with weights and times.  But the epiphany wasn’t that I was 25% stronger.  I was really, a thousand times stronger.  When I said this event changed my life, it sent me on a lifetime journey in search of re-finding my inner Superman.  I haven’t found him yet but I learned a few things along the way that I hope you can use too.  Will I ever find my Superman again?  I do not know but I will never stop looking.  I do know this, if I am ever in such need again, he will find me.

Copyright © 2016 Ernest Emerson

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lmost all street fights are won by the guy who throws the first punch.  There are certain reasons for this.  The most obvious is that a lot of attacks are surprise attacks.  For example, in the middle of a verbal confrontation one guy clobbers the other with a sucker punch.  Since the guy on the receiving end usually reacts by turning away or covering, the attacker merely continues attacking, usually with a flurry of punches.  In this fight scenario the attacker usually wins.  It’s important to know that the guy being attacked can be an untrained fighter or a highly experienced fighter.  It can happen to anyone and will happen to anyone at some point, if you’re involved in the fight game for any length of time.  Remember it was a surprise attack to start with.  Even the most experienced boxers will cover and retract when an opponent unleashes a flurry of punches.

Now the best thing you can do in this situation is either get out of the line of fire or attack back aggressively.  Unfortunately these types of fights happen so fast that sometimes all the damage is done before you even have a chance to react.

However, this is not about the principles and techniques of counter-attacking in this article.  We are going to discuss is a topic based not on “The best defense is a good offense,” but rather, “Defense is offense.” By abiding by that principle then an attack, an attack without warning and a continuous attack with unrelenting force is the surest way to avoid defensive fighting.  Defensive fighting is by nature a catch up game.  You will be reacting to an attack or the blows that are thrown by the other fighter.  In a real fight there are no rules, no ref and time is not on your side.  Defensive fighting implies almost a wait and see picture.  If someone is trying to seriously injure or perhaps even kill you, you cannot afford the luxury of letting him strike first.  The bottom line is simply this: you might miss – he might not.

The most effective street fighters, tough guys or saloon fighters are always talked about in terms of aggression, toughness and, sneaky or dirty.  Now, fortunately most of you who read this are good guys.  We’re not going out and beating the hell out of people.  We’re the protectors of the innocent.

However, when you are confronted with a situation where an attack is imminent, then you should be ready and willing to use every trick in the book.  After all, your survival or the survival of your loved ones might be at stake.  Let me just interject this point:  I’m not concerned with legalities in this article.

I’m concerned with survival.  There is a big, big difference between the way a law reads on paper and the reality of facing down two ex-cons who step out of the shadows in front of you at midnight on the way to your ear.

The biggest difference between defensive fighting and offensive fighting is your mindset.  In essence the difference changes from, “I’m not going to let this S.O.B. kill me” to this, “I’m going to kill this S.O.B.”

Now, if your training, no matter how hard or how tough does not contain some aspect of pre-emptive or first strike training it is not a true reality based fighting art.  You actually have to practice striking first and without warning.  You must integrate the same tactics and strategies used by those same tough, aggressive, dirty and sneaky street fighters.

Here are some of the tactics you should incorporate into your training.

Setting up the first strike.  There’s a million ways to do this (Be Creative)
Going from a completely relaxed posture to a furious punching flurry.
Non-telegraphic delivery.  Practice going from a perfectly still (motionless) fighting stance, to an instantaneous, blinding, full speed punch.  The jab is perfect for this.
Pre-load posture – the classic arms crossed over your chest creating a spring-loaded backhanded strike.  Practice against the heavy bag.  Develop some power!
Fakes, feints and distractions – my favorites.  For example, fake a groin shot and then strike to the head or fake a punch and go in for a double leg takedown.  Distractions might include throwing your hat or keys into their face.
Moving in a Non-Threatening manner.  The act of raising your hands up while saying, “Hey, I don’t want to fight you” can actually allow you to be moving your hands into a striking position without triggering a response in the opponent or giving away your intentions.
Capturing the mind.  Simply asking a question can be enough.  This is where you need to understand how the human mind works.  For example, when you ask someone a question regarding numbers, especially something they can relate to, the mind automatically searches for the answer.  In the middle of a verbal confrontation if you were to ask, “What size shoe do you wear?”  It would break the momentum and they may even answer the question.  Or, if they respond by replying such as “What the hell do you want to know that for?”  Then you have captured their mind if only for a moment.  That is the precise moment to deliver your attack.

In closing I would like to stress that you need to spend some time practicing or at the least, thinking about these first strike scenarios.  You don’t ever want to be trying something for the first time in actual combat.
Once you have initiated your attack you have to follow through with ruthless intensity until the threat to you or your loved ones is completely neutralized.

This is where aggressiveness in your routine training will pay off.  The U.S. Marines have one main strategy, and it is as true in battle as it is a Hand-to-Hand Combat.  “When attacked, respond back with overwhelming aggressive firepower.”  It works for them.  It’ll work for you.  And finally, there is no truer statement regarding combat or conflict.  “Defense is offense.”

Copyright Ernest Emerson 2016

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The Warrior Mentality – Developing the Warriors Spirit

“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” – Vince Lombardi

ince time immemorial warriors have always held a revered and respected place in society.  In spite of all political meanderings and the ebb and flow of societal values, this has never changed and it never will.

In terms of exposure to a spontaneous dangerous threat, it has been my observation that in general, society breaks down into two groups.  Those who run to danger and those who run from it.  This is not a matter of courage or cowardice and I place no judgment upon it.  I believe in the idea so eloquently explained by my friend and colleague Lt. Col David Grossman that, “There is the flock and there are the protectors of the flock, the Sheepdogs.”

Now, if you are reading this article, then chances are you are a protector, a warrior.  Otherwise this would be of no interest to you.

Mind you, a warrior is not necessarily the 220 lb football quarterback or the professional wrestler.  In fact the physical aspect of strength or size, or sex has little if anything to do with the bearing of a warrior.  Many times in hostage situations, it has been the petite middle-aged woman who has stepped forward, into the fray.

Do you know who is the toughest son-of-a-bitch to walk the face of this earth?  Any guesses?  Well, I’ll tell you who it is.  It is a 120 lb Marine just out of Boot Camp.  How can this be?  Does he think he is tough?  No, he does not.  He knows he is tough.  He knows he is the toughest son-of-a-bitch to ever walk the face of the earth.  There is not one shred of doubt in his mind.  He has the resolve of invincibility.  If any of you who are reading this are former marines, then you know what I am talking about.

Every time I teach a hand-to-hand combat class the ever anxious students expect to grab weapons and start training in knife fighting tactics right out of the gate.  They expect that to happen, but that never happens.  Why not?  Because after 2 or 3 days of training what I’ve got is 30-40 weak fighters with knives in their hands.

My goal, my methodology, is that that I must train them to be fighters first, before we ever put any weapon into their hands.  Once I have turned them into fighters – hard-core, fight to the death warriors, then I can put any weapon I want into their hands be it a rock, club or knife, and they will prevail.  Because now, even without weapons, they are warriors, not just athletes. At the end of a training evolution I’ve got 30-40 warriors willing to fight to the death if necessary, to stop the bad guy.  And it doesn’t matter whether they have a weapon or not.  They’re going to win.

Once upon a time I was working with members of the British SAS.  In the middle of an edged weapons training block we were practicing how to punch as hard as humanly possible.  I asked one of the instructors why we were training in punching when we were dealing with edged weapons.  In a thick Scottish Brogue he answered bluntly, “If I can hit you so hard, that I’ll knock you into next Sunday then, if I have a knife in my hand, I’ll drive it through your chest and right out of your back.  The only reason I’m in this fight is because the bad guy’s tryin’ to kill me.  I’m not about to let that happen.”  What is the key point in his reply?  The one you should lock onto?…  “I’m not about to let that happen.  That is the Warrior speaking.  Not the punching. Not the drills. Not the SAS.  It is the man who is a warrior.  In simple terms, it embodies everything I’m trying to describe.  It is the attitude.  The resolve.  The Mentality of the Warrior.

“Get Tough or Get Beat” – SAS Maxim

In 1876 the citizens of Northfield, Minnesota rallied together to rout a daring bank robbery by the James Younger Gang.  Cole Younger was shot 13 times.  While recovering in the hospital he was asked by a newspaper reporter how he could survive being shot 13 times.  His answer was simple and direct.  “We’re tough men used to tough ways.”

The warrior’s spirit is conceived by need, driven by a cause and fueled by inspiration.  It is learned and earned and is not something anyone is born with.  As it is with a leader, the Warrior is not born into the role.  It is made by hard effort, determination, resolve, selflessness and a dedication to a moral and ethical ideal, a sense of justice and a willingness to defend your convictions.

A warrior is one who takes a stand and will give 100% of himself, even unto death to protect those who depend on his shepherding.

“Until the end of time, as the last sun sets upon this earth, in that blackest night, somewhere a warrior still stands his lonely watch.” – Ernest R. Emerson

For inspiration I submit to you the following, taken from The Order of the Black Shamrock:

“The Medieval Knight and the Royal Orders represented the ultimate warrior class of Western Civilization mirrored only in the East by the Samurai of Feudal Japan.  The Knight represented the ultimate culmination of skills and the epitome of human development.  Fearless in battle, heedless of death, driven by a cause and held to a strict set of moral standards.  To the common man, they represented the ultimate in human achievement.  And they represented the protector, their bulwark against evil.

These knights also represented the idea that someone possessed of such deadly skills and destructive force could at the same time be held accountable by an adherence to a code of strict moral, ethical, and honorable standards.  Standards held higher for them than any others.  Such was the definition of chivalry.

And this definition stands true today.  We are warriors.  We are warriors in the fight for justice, for truth, for freedom.  We are warriors against tyranny, against oppression, against evil in all its forms.  We are warriors for what is right and good.  We are warriors who protect those helpless, from harm.  We are warriors who fight to protect our way of life.  We are warriors who carry on the legacy of those who have gone before us, those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and the safety of our families.  We carry on the legacy of the warrior class, those who have always stepped to the frontline to place themselves as the last wall of defense between the evil that would destroy it and the precious things that we hold so dear.

This legacy has been borne true since the time of the noble knights and it is now held forth by those who heed to its calling to this day.  Those who stand watch over our neighborhoods and city streets.  From the dirt swept planes of Afghanistan to the front doors of our very homes where our families sleep at night, a warrior stands at the ready.  Whether you are a Soldier, Police Officer, Fireman, or a guardian, we are the brotherhood of warriors, the protectors, those who will not run from danger, but run to it, to seek its source and with shield and sword, strike it dead to stop its terrible spread.  We are the noble knights who will, without hesitation, and against fear, enjoin the battle to protect and guard the safety of those who lay their trust in us.

Not every man is a warrior, but for those that are, know that you are the steel that runs through the foundation of society and civilization and that without you there would be no liberty, no freedom and no justice for all.

The warrior is held to a higher standard.  The highest standard.  The greatest heroes in the history of the world have been warriors.  You are counted among those heroes, those times, those events that have shaped human history, that have built the greatest civilizations on this planet.  Count yourself among the ranks of those brothers and know that you stand shoulder to shoulder with those who have shaped the destiny of the world with steel, blood, fists, and glory.

You know who you are.  Carry the pride and bearing that befits the status that you have earned and that you hold.  Be proud that you have chosen to walk the path taken by few and revered by many.

And know also, that as warriors, we will never perish from the face of the earth.”

The responsibility of a warrior does not merely necessitate the taking up of arms against an enemy.  It is more, much more and it is such that you become an example, a role model of ethical and moral behavior to all others who may look to you for guidance or protection.  If this is the path in life that you have chosen to walk, then know that it is a path well worn by the footsteps of those who have walked here before you.  Others, who have willingly said, “I will endure the hardship, the pain, the sacrifice and the risk of death so that those who sleep soundly in their beds can do so in the warm embrace of safety and peace. 

If this is your choice then know that your road will be fraught with adversity and you will be assailed by many, but in those times, remember that you are in the company of the noble souls who have also faced such adversity and prevailed.  And know also that your legacy shall be that until the end of time, as the last sun sets upon this earth, in that blackest night, somewhere a warrior still stands his lonely watch.

Copyright 2010, 2016 Ernest R. Emerson

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Know Who You Are Up Against – What Makes A Street Fighter So Effective?

et’s take a look at two fights:

The lights are bright, the cheers and whistles of the crowd have a strange rhythmic ebb and flow. It sounds a little like you’re hearing it all through a long cardboard tube.  You’re in a light sweat.  The gate behind you swings shut and you look up towards the cheers, but can see nothing because the spotlights are pointed, it seems, directly at you.  Your mind is racing but you are focused.  Your hands tremble slightly and you begin to breathe deep and heavy to get more oxygen into your body.  You can actually feel your heart beat faster and faster.  Looking across the ring you see him.  He looks mad, focused and intense, hopping from one foot to the other in the universal rhythm known only to fighters.  I’m Ready, I’m Ready, I’m Ready.  “Fighters touch gloves!” breaks your concentration and you step forward to the center of the ring.

Or:

Its 10:30 PM as you turn down the street to your apartment and you notice there are no parking spots out front.  “I know it’s late, but can’t there just be one open spot that isn’t a block away?

Wait a minute, there’s one” Looking at the spot, it does look tight but you can fit.  As you jockey the car back and forth your thoughts go to your boss.  “Whenever Tom is absent the boss always yells at us.  We’re not absent.  Why doesn’t he yell at Tom?”  You open the door reaching across for your briefcase and step out.  “By the time that jerk Tom gets back to work everything has calmed down.  This is the fourth time it’s happened.  The boss is an—“ WHAM!  

It’s not a noise but a blinding flash of white light that drops you to your knees.  Your right hand shoots reflexively to the back of your head.  Something hits you explosively in the middle of your back and drives your face hard into the pavement.  You hear something.  It’s not a voice, it’s more like a snarl crossed with a grunt, not really even human sounding.  It’s getting louder – each time you are hit.  Again and again something explodes into the side of your face and ribs.  Three more times something slams down between your shoulder blades and finally grinds you into the cold blacktop.  The crushing blows stop and you hear footsteps, running footsteps, and the world fades to black.

Two Different Fights – Two Different Worlds.  Which one are you preparing for?  Welcome to the world of the street fighter.

Many trainers, fighters, instructors and martial artists train for fighting in the street- or at least they say they are.  They are training to beat the legendary “street fighter”- or at least they think they are.

Now, I’ve heard the arguments that the average martial artist could beat most people in the street.  Well we’re not talking about “most people.”  The street fighter I’m talking about is a ruthless thug, who’s probably done prison time, might have already killed someone and wouldn’t hesitate to stomp your face into hamburger after he’s knocked you down and out.  This is by no means the guy most fighters would want to meet in the street.

Unfortunately, these guys do exist.  I’ve come across several in my career. Fortunately, I’ve not had to deal with them physically, but I’ve seen the brutal and shocking results of their actions.  He won’t just beat you, he will kill you — are you prepared?  Here’s an old military axiom to remember: Proper planning leads to perfect performance.

As a trainer and instructor, I have an obligation to prepare my charges for the worst-case scenario.  It’s just common sense.  If you prepare (train) for the worst, you’ll be able to handle most other situations you encounter.

In order to train effectively to meet a deadly attack, in addition to all your basic training (conditioning, drills, sparring, etc.) you need to know what you’re up against so you can be prepared both physically and mentally should you ever cross paths with a real bad guy.

So, back to the original question: What makes a street fighter so effective?  Here’s a list of attributes.  Some of these you can prepare for, some you can incorporate into your own training, some you should just be aware of, and some you or I just won’t do, because we are the good guys.

This list is in no particular order. There are really only varying degrees of these attributes in every bad guy, since any bad guy is a little different from any other bad guy, just as you and I are different from each other.

However, since we are dealing with the violent aspect of typical sociopathic behavior, certain commonalities exist.

Most attacks by these thugs will be stacked in their favor from the very beginning. You will need every ounce of your resolve and willpower, on top of any physical prowess, to survive a true deadly attack.

If you are lucky, you’ll be able to avoid this type of encounter just by staying alert, using common sense and listening to your gut feel.  “I don’t think I should go into that bar with all the Harleys out front,” would be a good example of using all three tools that I’ve just mentioned.  But let’s say that you just didn’t listen to your better judgment and you find yourself in the midst of 20 “patched” members of an Outlaw Motor Cycle gang who haven’t had any sleep for the last 3 days because they’ve been propped up on meth. On top of that, they’ve been drinking non-stop 6 AM to 6 AM for the last 72 hours.  This is not uncommon behavior amongst the radical hard-core biker gangs.  There is nothing resembling normalcy in this human cauldron. And on top of that, almost all of them have done time. Since most of you can picture this scenario, I’m going to use it as the vehicle to illustrate the attributes. It wouldn’t necessarily have to be Outlaw Bikers, but it certainly could.  If you happen to piss one of them off, who and what would you be up against?

You Will Be Ambushed

Almost all of these types of attacks are unprovoked, surprise or ambush attacks.  Remember, I said the odds are going to be stacked against you?  This is where it starts.  This will not be the “You wanna step outside?  bar fight.  There is no sense of fair play involved here.  You will be distracted or ambushed, perhaps in the bathroom, perhaps on the way to your car, and if you are not absolutely “switched on” as the Brits say, you’ll never see it coming.  This is the first big advantage the “street fighter” uses to his advantage – he knows he is going to attack – you don’t.

He’s Willing To Do Anything

Another advantage that this thug uses to his advantage is that he is willing to do whatever it takes – anything – to win.  Everyone loves to boast about what they would do against a bad guy.  Would you really tear someone’s cheek off the side of their face?  Would you really bite someone’s nose off?  Would you crush someone’s throat with the heel of your boot?  Would you hesitate, if even for an instant, if you needed to do these things?  He wouldn’t.  We are the good guys, and just being good puts us at a disadvantage in a case like this.  We have an unwillingness to fight dirty, to cheat to win.  They have no rules – we have all the rules.  Whether it was from religion, family, society, sports, it doesn’t matter, but we have been imbued with morality, a sense of fair play, honor, and a sense of respect for other human beings.  I am not judging anything here, but I will say that just an instant of hesitation at the critical moment, in a life or death struggle, can ruin your day.  The bad guys do not have a moral braking system like (I hope) we all do.  When they see you frothing blood or going into convulsions on the ground, there is no angel sitting on their shoulder saying, “I think he’s had enough.”

He’s Done This Before

Or he’s had it done to him.  Experience is such a great teacher; unfortunately it does not differentiate between good or bad behavior being the result.  Believe me, when one of these “Street Fighters” stomps some guys head into the ground, it’s not the first time he’s done it or experienced it.  This is his game, his rules and he’s used to how it’s played.

Extreme Violence of Action

Luckily, most of you will never encounter or experience extreme physical violence.  Be thankful for that.  For most people, even soldiers, encountering extreme violence, especially for the first time, can have extreme effects.  When confronted with extreme violence, normal human reactions can range from a dumb founded freeze, to on the spot nausea.  This dumbfounded freeze up, coupled with a gut wrenching feeling somewhere between fear and dread, was the tactic used to advantage by the 9-11 hijackers to wrest control of the planes, passengers and crew when they violently killed flight attendants in full view of everyone or the plane.  Bad guys, real bad guys are almost always the result of a violent past.  You must understand that not only have these individuals experienced violence before, some of them actually enjoy it.  They are not like you or me and they know this works to their advantage.  You cannot allow yourself to go into a “deer in the headlights” mode in the midst of a violent attack.

For your training it is important to try and create scenarios that will bring out this surprise and fear, so that you aren’t seeing it for the first time in the middle of a real life and death situation.  This is the same reason the U.S. Navy developed Top Gun and the US Air Force developed the Red Flag training programs for pilots.  The more realistic you make the combat training, the higher probability of survival in actual combat.

Attitude and Intent

When the enraged biker decides to attack you, it is done with an attitude (anger, ferociousness, vengeance) and intent (your complete and utter destruction).  You on the other hand are going to be fighting strictly defensively, with no intent, just survival instincts and self-protection at work.  It’s important to realize that until you turn this reactionary mode around in your mind, you will be doing just that– reacting.  You have to be able to start acting (fighting back) as quickly as possible.  Being in this reactive mode for even a few seconds is plenty of time for an attacker to cause you grave harm.  Unfortunately, most martial arts are taught from a reactive premise, i.e.; if he strikes – you do this, etc.  Most arts are more defensive in nature, than offensive.  I guess that’s because we are the good guys and not the attacker.  However, you must add some aspect of offensive and pre-emptive (first strike) training to be realistic in respect to being, “Combat Ready.”  Once again, scenario training is very valuable for you to be ready to go offensive and turn the tables on the attacking thug or street fighter.  Just remember if you are only practicing defensive counters, you’re letting him strike first.  In that case, the odds are going to be with him, not with you.

He Will Be Armed

Remember when I said the real “veteran” street fighter would use everything to his advantage?  He’s not going to fight you without a weapon.  Gun, knife, pool cue, bottle, pipe or rock, he will have something in his hand that can cause you great bodily harm.  Have you ever seen a biker without a knife?  There is a reason.  Start practicing against weapon attacks.

He Won’t Be Alone

He will have an accomplice.  Someone will be there to set you up, to distract you, or to help him attack you.  Contrary to what many say, it’s not because these thugs are cowards.  In fact many of them are extremely brave, by anyone’s standards, when viewed objectively.  I have seen some really bad (evil) guys stand down 5 or 6 formidable opponents and not backup one inch.  It’s just that they know from experience that the odds are better for them when there are 2, 3, 6 or 12 against one.  

He’s Not In Shape

He doesn’t have to be.  This is a fight, not a match.  They don’t last that long.  Seconds maybe – nowhere near a three-minute round.  How many punches can you throw in 10 seconds?  How many stomp kicks can you deliver in 5 or 6 seconds?  That’s usually all it takes.  Blind rage, fury, adrenaline and methamphetamine can carry the most out of shape, overweight, outlaw biker, long enough to bring mayhem and serious injury, even death, to another human being.

In the end these are some, but not all, of the characteristics that give the real street fighter his edge.  It is important for you to know that you have to fight until you prevail or escape.  You cannot stop or give up, ever.  There will be no quarter given and no mercy shown by the type of sociopathic, hyper-aggressive outlaw that I’ve been describing. Take a new look at your training and decide what type of fight and what type of fighter you are training to do battle against.

© Ernest R. Emerson

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ou look across the low valley and stream that lies between you, your comrades, and the enemy. Less than one hundred yards separates you from a wall of red uniformed soldiers. Their line bristles with the glint of grayed steel rifles with fixed bayonets. You can just make out the faces of the men, some old with graying beards, many more still too young to shave.

At the sound of a clear and distinctive call from a distant bugle, the enemy front lines drop to their knees, the bright gleam of drawn sabers, held high in the morning sun punctuate the lines of red.

The men in your column drop immediately to their knees and ready themselves to fire. Even though the ground is still covered with the cool dew of the morning, you smell the sweat of those around you.

The first volley is fired, followed by the second, the third. Men fall around you and you can hear, even amidst the explosions of gunfire, the damp thud of bullets impacting bodies.

A tumultuous unified scream goes up from both sides and both lines erupt in a mad dash toward each other. There is only sporadic gunfire now as the muzzle loading rifles have now been relegated to little more than a spear or club. In a matter of seconds the lines clash in a strange mixture of ringing steel, agonizing screams and the thud of body against body. You parry the first bayonet thrust at you and immediately thrust your own forward. Your rifle barrel is grabbed by a desperate hand and pulled aside. You reach for your belt, grabbing your father’s pistol. Dropping your rifle you shove your left hand forward into the face of the man in front of you. Your hand slides up his face and catches under his visor, forcing his head backwards you shoot a half inch diameter ball of lead through his neck. You kick out at his knees with your left foot, dropping him to the ground. He is immediately replaced by another who lunges at you with a knife. You club down on his arm with your pistol, breaking both the fore stock of the pistol and his arm. You grab for you own knife and plunge it forward, meeting soft resistance . . .

This battle took place 250 years ago.

As the strategies and technology of warfare change or evolve, so must the tactics and training methodologies of the soldier change to reflect the relevance of their need in combat.

On the actual field of battle little had changed for almost two thousand years up until the invention of the gun. Yes, there had been changes or inventions that had added new facets to the face of battle, such as the development of steel, the invention of the stirrup, heavy armor, and the long bow, to name only a few. In the end, the outcome of the battle still came down to combat between individual soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The invention of the gun, and by this I mean cannon, rifles and pistols, changed the strategies of warfare forever.

The use of gun powder allowed armies to attack each other from longer ranges (up to several hundred yards) and with greater accuracy. And although hand-to-hand combat never left the battlefield, it gradually became a byproduct of the dynamics of the order of battle and not the goal of the battle. This strategy continued up until around the advent of World War I where the gap between warring armies widened once again. This strategy continued through World War II and, driven by technology, reached its zenith with the deployment of ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) that could strike from the other side of the world.

How did these changes in technology and strategy affect the way that battle is conducted by the individual soldier?

The shift from the emphasis on individual combat conducted by masses of soldiers was a gradual and slow process. It was only within the last 150 years that guns evolved from single shot weapons to multiple shot, semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons. Prior to this, in the time of muzzle loading weapons, several volleys would be fired by each side before the armies would clash and revert once again to swords, sabers, bayonets and rifle stocks. The individual soldier needed to be able to use a rifle, a pistol, a bayonet, a sword and their bare hands to survive, and their training reflected those needs.

Although the ability to kill your enemy from greater distances increased, the way in which wars were fought changed little. Armies were moved around like giant chess pieces, slugging it out over field and plains where it was easier to maneuver and keep track of the ebb and flow of battle. Most warfare was fought out in the open and epitomized by the monumental and tragic stand offs of World War I and the titanic armored battles between Germany and Russia during World War II. As a result, the great militaries of the world adapted their training to reflect larges masses of men and armor facing off against each other over the field of battle.

As a consequence of this view of modern warfare, hand-to-hand combat and close quarter battle skills were more or less relegated to the role of conditioning drills and confidence boosters.

Our wars were going to be fought and won by scientists and technicians using ultra sophisticated machines to fight the battles where ground troops would be employed only after the battle was largely won, to mop up, occupy or secure strategic areas.

But now the face of warfare has changed once again and not because of some technological advance by the enemy, but rather because the enemy has changed so drastically. The enemy that we now face has come in under our radar, both figuratively and literally.  We no longer face a mass uniformed army as the enemy on the other side of the chess board. Now we face an enemy who has no uniform, and no face for that matter, for they have moved right in amongst our own chess pieces on the board. This enemy has come in so far below our technological advantages that we have been forced to confront them at their level of strategies and tactics. They fight us from rooftops and doorways, they use primitive but effective booby traps (IED’s and VBIEDs) and they set up ambushes using guerilla tactics as effective today as they were hundreds of years ago, a perfect example of asymmetrical warfare.

What this has done is force our military and our allies to reevaluate the capabilities and tactics made necessary by this new (old), low tech approach to warfare.

The new strategies have now reverted back to the importance of the individual soldiers (Boots on the Ground) impact on any given strategic objective.

Our battles are now being fought in urban environments, street to street, house to house, and room to room. In some theaters they are being fought in caves. There are two main developments that are the direct products of this type of warfare. You cannot move large numbers of troops around in such environments. You are forced to use small units, teams of soldiers, whose effectiveness relies much more heavily on the skills and cunning of the individual soldier for the overall success and combat capabilities of the team. Secondly, the nature of this type of war fighting and the environments where it takes place put the soldier in much closer proximity to the enemy. Thus the probabilities for the likelihood of a hand-to-hand confrontation with an enemy combatant have risen dramatically.

These changes in the way the military views combat did not manifest overnight and they certainly do not exclude the need for large scale conventional strategies and tactics. After the fall of the Soviet Empire and breakup of Eastern European countries it became very evident that new confrontations would most likely be fought in urban environments against an enemy using guerilla warfare tactics. Military strategists clearly recognized this and it certainly has proven to be the case.

It has always been a part of the U.S. military strategy to have these small unit capabilities and the necessary training to carry out counter-guerilla actions in our arsenal. The soldiers of all of the U.S. Special Forces and SPECWAR Units have existed to fill this role. One of the many aspects of their training and an area these soldiers specialize in is called CQB (Close Quarters Battle). They have certainly proven they have no problems in working up close and personal against enemy forces.

This specialty area of fighting called CQB generally consists of room distance fighting, five to twenty-five feet or so. The main tools used are carbines, sub machine guns, pistols, shotguns, and various stunning devices, (flash bangs, etc.) as needed. In addition these soldiers have to be schooled in various aspects of hand-to-hand combat applications for their needs. In a very simple sense: parry, stun, takedown and finish. They are also schooled in various police type tactics including arrest and control, hand cuffing and the means necessary to deal with prisoners and detainees. This is training related only to the CQB aspect of these multi-faceted warriors and represents only a small fraction of their overall training programs.

Because of the nature of the fighting environments we are now engaged in, the majority of U.S. troops-not just the Special Forces / Special Warfare Branches that, in the past, worked those environments a majority of the time, will find themselves engaged in CQB.

Today, every combat capable soldier must be trained to work within these urban and CQB environments. Fortunately the U.S. military has recognized this necessity and is sending large numbers of troops to MOUT (Military Operations on Urban Terrain) school/training to prepare them for these possibilities.

This close quarter battle environment was once generally regarded as existing at distances of five to twenty-five feet while engaging the enemy.  Over the last five years or so this has tightened up to a distance of three to twenty-five feet.  However, as a result of direct Battle field requirements, this distance has been changed from zero to twenty-five feet, called zero-distance CQB.

Where does this change now bring us? It takes us directly back to the battles of 250 years ago. Those soldiers would fire a volley, close on the enemy, shoot their pistol, switch to bayonets or swords and ultimately resort to their bare hands.

These soldiers had to be able to transition from one weapon to the next quickly and smoothly as each lost its usefulness in the clash of battle.

Now here we are in 2014, having gone full circle to the point where once again, individual soldiers must not only know how to use a variety of weapons, but also know how to transition between these weapons cleanly and efficiently. When you are engaged in any form of CQB, time is greatly compressed and the danger level increases in magnitude due to your proximity to the enemy.

In the mastering of any martial skill it has long been taught that the mastery of weapons represents the highest and most difficult attainment of the art. In fact, most traditional martial systems required the student to master the empty hand skills before being introduced to weapons handling skills.

If weapons skills are recognized as the high art of martial skills, then the mastery of weapons transitions is the high art of weapons skills.

Integrated fighting skills and the mastery of weapons transition skills is governed and defined by one single principle that covers everything you train to do.

All fighting is fighting.

Primitive Skills for the Modern Warrior

What are Integrated Fighting Skills?

Integrated fighting skill, as defined by actual combat applications (not sport) is:

The ability to flow seamlessly through all ranges of combat, using whatever techniques that apply, using any weapon you may have. This is a simple definition which does not mean progressing from kicking to punching and to grappling.

What are weapons transition skills?

Skill at weapons transition is: The ability to flow seamlessly from one weapons system to another, through all ranges of combat, using whatever weapon that applies to any particular moment in combat.

The weapon here could be any of the following: carbine, shotgun, pistol, knife, stick (baton) and empty hand.

Although I have described them separately for the sake of introducing the two aspects of CQB, Integrated Fighting and Weapon Transitions are two halves of the same coin. In terms of CQB, one does not exist without the other. On paper this would seem fairly easy to accomplish and most people generally assume that they could do it. But as you will see, these are skills not easily attained and not easily maintained once acquired. They require hundreds of hours of practice and must be done on almost a daily basis to maintain the precision, timing and accuracy to keep them effective.

Mastering CQB skills is not just a matter of mastering hand-to-hand combat skills and then mastering various weapons skills. It is the practice of integrating hand-to-hand combat with weapons handling skills and then applying them simultaneously. Let’s separate the layers. For example, you might have to switch from kicking to stand up grappling then to a takedown, then transition back to an outside range. This sounds easy – any competent martial artist can do this. Too bad that’s not all you’re going to have to do.

Look again. This time you enter a room, you muzzle punch the bad guy in the chest with your carbine, stomp kick him in the abdomen, drop your carbine (it’s on a sling) close the distance, grab the guy by the hair, yank his head backwards as you draw your secondary weapon (your pistol) bring it up to a CQB firing position called the pectoral register, fire two shots through the bad guy’s neck and foot sweep him to the ground. Does this still sound easy?

Let’s look one more time. This time when you come through the door, shots are being fired at you – it’s automatic weapons fire – you recognize the distinctive sound of an AK. The wood above the doorway showers you with splinters. Suddenly someone jumps out in front of you – he’s screaming and flailing about. Shoot him. No, he’s not armed – he’s a hostage. You muzzle punch him in the chest and stomp kick him in the abdomen, and he drops to his knees. Directly behind him is another, who lunges forward grabbing the barrel of your carbine. He has an AK-47 under his right arm. You drop your carbine, (it’s on a sling) grab him by the hair and yank him backwards as you drop into a CQB firing position (the pectoral register) and put two rounds under his chin through his head as you foot sweep him to the ground. Shots are still being fired. This time they’re not aimed at you but at one of the other four teammates who came through the door behind you. Across the room is another hostage with a terrorist firing from behind him while using him as a shield. The hostage is terrified, yet frozen. There is screaming, you bring your pistol up and fire – an accelerated pair, putting one round through the terrorist’s throat and one round into his head. There are still more shots. Then after two seconds of silence, someone from your right yells “clear!” You take your second breath since entering the room.

The first battle took place over 200 years ago.  This second battle took place this morning.

Let’s review: Mastering CQB skills is the practice of integrating hand-to-hand combat with the weapons handling skills and then applying them simultaneously – While someone else is trying to kill you. I purposely left off the last part of this definition.

I don’t care how many Black Belts you may have or how fantastic, precise and acrobatic your Wushu may be. If you can’t use it while someone is trying to kill you, then it’s merely an exercise, and no good for combat.

I don’t care how fantastic your Chi, Dim Mak or pressure point fighting may be, if you can’t use it while someone is trying to kill you, then it’s no good for combat.

I don’t care if you are the best target shooter in the world. If you can’t shoot accurately when someone is shooting back at you, then all you are is a target shooter – nothing more — and it’s no good for combat.

So how do the tier-one operators of units like DELTA, DEV Group, CAG, the FBI – HRT, the British SAS and German GSG9, develop, test and maintain their CQB skills?

First and foremost they are the cream of the crop. Out of thousands, only a handful are ever chosen for any of these types of units. Not necessarily being big or strong or even possessing previous skills qualifies you. A cool head under fire would probably best describe the assets needed to be considered either a gunfighter or a tier-one operator.   Thinking while under stress is either in the individual or not – all the physical skills can be taught and learned.

Training is under as realistic conditions as possible. This can include training with non-compliant opposition; spontaneous drills where no one knows what is going to happen, simulation training where opponents are firing back with simulated bullets, and live fire exercises, where real guns and real rounds are being fired.

The British SAS were notorious for training using real subjects as hostages, bursting into a room while shooting live rounds from automatic weapons (MP5’s) into dummy targets, sometimes only inches away from the “live” hostages.

Hardcore CQB training always involves attempts to introduce as much stress (realism) as possible into the drill, along with spontaneous responses from the opposition role players. This ensures that the operators are able to react, make changes on the fly and still accomplish the goal (mission).

Physical fitness is a huge part of the training for operators at the tier-one level. Fatigue can not be allowed to become part of the equation as this will lead to sloppy mistakes and death.

Conventional training is also a necessary part of the training construct, for you have to practice the skills you expect to use.  Martial Combat skills, such as Jiu Jitsu, boxing arts, kick boxing, edged weapons as well as range time (shooting skills) are practiced just as you would assume.

The overview and generalization of this training is analogous to the training of a football team. You train for physical fitness. You learn how to block, tackle, and throw. You learn the plays and practice them with your team.  You study the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents. You scrimmage, using your plays against a team of your own players, and this is what gets you ready for the real game.

The training includes an exhaustive amount of academic study.  Some of the most vital information is gained from previous experience. Operators with previous experience from within the US and other countries will share their experiences and particular areas of expertise.

There is also meticulous study of after action reports and analysis of previous hijackings, hostage rescues and terrorist attacks. These aspects are studied in minute detail, from the reaction of the hostages, terrorists, and operators to all aspects of the environment, effects of the weapons used (by both sides) and the strategies, tactics and individual actions of every person involved in the incident. This allows the operators to learn from both the mistakes and the successes of these operations and to keep abreast of the latest tactics and weapons used by the terrorists.

This type of training and analysis fosters the process of continuous learning and continuous improvement, resulting in the evolution that is needed to quickly adapt to changes, just as has recently happened on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, in today’s war on terror.

And so it is, that although the technologies and weapons of warfare have changed, the skill at arms of the individual soldier have come around full circle and are as important to the ultimate outcome of victory today, as they were 250 years ago, or 2,500 years ago.

Copyright 2016 Ernest R. Emerson

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Bullying Causes and Countermeasures

he act of bullying is a subject of human behavior that I have long labored against. I was a victim of bullying as a child and I have a very deep rooted aversion to it — a hatred of it may be the more proper word. I will not tolerate it ever in children, in adults, or in any situation. I have spent quite some time developing a set of descriptions, guidelines, and countermeasures that I have learned, and lectured about and taught over the years.

I believe that the subject of bullying and its prevention is a worthy cause. I have had several long discussions around the basic question, “What can we do?” People have asked about developing a program or at least a set of bullet points to build a program around for use in their own school, their church, their troop and so forth.

Here are the ideas, data and basic format of the program that I have used for years. This is awareness for adults, school administrators, or parents.

Many of you are already aware of the points discussed in the paper. As to the physical techniques, I leave that to you, whether you teach fighting skills or enroll your children in a martial arts school or club. Of course, I can recommend some things for physical countermeasures. But understand that a lot of what is written here has been woven into my instructional doctrine over the years.

For facts and statistics I rely heavily on the work by one of the foremost authorities in the world on the subject of bullying, Mr. Dan Olweus. His findings and conclusions are based on the results of the study of thousands of children over many years, crossing over ethnic and socio-economic differences. It may surprise some to note that there is no noticeable difference in bullying in any defined class. The same percentages and numbers in ultra-rich boarding schools as in hard core, poverty stricken, urban, inner- city ghettos.

Mr. Olweus’ work is considered the Bible in the field and I have used his data and insight extensively in my presentations.

I hope that this may provide some direction or inspiration for you to start your own presentations, anti-bullying education, or training regimens.

My Best Regards,

Ernest R. Emerson

What can we do about bullying?

The Goals:
1. To reduce or eliminate both direct bullying (open physical and verbal attacks) and
indirect bullying (social isolation, confidence reduction).
2. To achieve better peer relations at school.
3. To create conditions that enabled victims and bullies to function better in and out of the school setting.

Preventative measures operate on several levels.
1. The school
2.The classroom
3.The bully
4. The victim
5. The parents

Results have shown that schools and parents who have taken these preventative measures have succeeded in reducing the incidence of bullying (repeated events) and that the children / students themselves when asked, state that there are fewer cases of bullying overall than previously.

What is bullying?

A general definition is as follows; Bullying: An individual (student) is being bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more individuals or other students. Negative actions can be physical, verbal, social, or any combination of all three.

The term bullying should not be applied when differences arise between two students of the same relative size or strength (psychological or physical) and the same relative social status among peers. To be defined as bullying, there needs to be an asymmetrical power relationship – an imbalance in strength. The victim has difficulty defending him/herself and is somewhat helpless against the student or students carrying out the harassment.

The number of students bullied in grades 2-6 (11.6 percent) is approximately twice as high as that in grades 7- 9 (5.4 percent). It is the younger and weaker students who are most exposed and at a greater risk to be a victim of bullying. A considerable part of the bullying being carried out on these younger students is carried out by older students (About 50 percent). It is important also to be aware that bullying is not just boys to boys or girls to girls, but that it crosses over, boys to girls and girls to boys in significant amounts of incidents.

Where does bullying take place?

Contrary to the popular belief (influenced by movies and TV) that bullying occurs either going to or from school, the school is without doubt where most bullying occurs. However, when students are bullied while traveling to or from school, that is where the victims report that they feel the most alone and without help.

In most cases the parents of both the victims and bullies, especially the bullies, were also parents who were the most unaware of the “bully” problem and the least likely to have talked to their children about the subject of bullying. In terms of supervision at schools, both the student/teacher ratio and the importance of the teachers’ attitudes toward the bully/victim problems and their reaction/actions to bullying situations were of major significance to the extent of bully/victim problems in the school or classroom.

Who is The Victim?

Typical victims are more anxious, less assertive, and more insecure. They are often cautious, sensitive and quiet. They often react to attacks by crying and withdrawal. They often suffer from low self esteem and look upon themselves as failures, feel stupid, ashamed, or unattractive. They may have a negative attitude toward violence and the use of violent means. Boys they are often physically weaker than other boys. These victims can be characterized as having an anxious or submissive reaction pattern combined with physical weakness.

In general you could categorize them as a passive or submissive victim. It is important to understand that this behavior (passive/submissive) signals to others that they are insecure, timid and non-aggressive individuals who will not retaliate if attacked or insulted. It is also interesting to note that in this group were boys who had closer contact with their mothers than with their fathers and that the over protectiveness of the mothers’ relationships had a factor both as a cause and consequence of bullying.

Who is the bully?

The most distinctive characteristic of the typical bully is their aggression toward peers. But they tend to also be aggressive towards adults as well, both parents and teachers. They have little empathy towards their victims. And contrary to common belief, they have an internal, positive view of themselves as opposed to the “tough on the outside, insecure on the inside,” view that is so commonly espoused.

There are also the passive bullies, the minions, followers or supporters of the leader. These individuals while possessing many of the same traits as their “leader” do possess some insecurities and self esteem issues. The lead bully does not suffer from low self esteem and is generally physically stronger or larger than his followers or henchmen, the passive bullies . The general contrast between the two groups, Bully and Victim can be generalized as the following:

Bully – aggressive reaction pattern combined with physical strength/ dominance.

Victim – submissive reaction pattern combined with physical weakness/ diminutive physical size or nature.

The bully has a strong need for power and dominance and enjoys being in control by subduing others. The bully views these attributes and the result of their implication provide as a reward in the form of prestige. It has been found that bullying is more often found in conjunction with other overt anti-social and rule breaking behavior. It is further shown that these individuals are far more likely to be at risk for later engaging in other behaviors such as criminality and alcohol/ substance abuse. Approximately 60 per cent of bullies in grades 6-9 had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 14.

Identifying Your Child–Bully or Victim?

Signs of a victim
1. Child is often teased (in a nasty way), called names, or ridiculed.
2. Child is made fun of and often given a derogatory nickname.
3. Child is picked on physically, shoved, punched, or kicked.
4. Child has books, money or belongings taken, damaged, or scattered around, often explained (covered up) to adults as being lost.
5. Child has bruises, cuts or other injuries that cannot be naturally explained, often in conjunction with torn clothes.
6. Child does not seem to have one or two good friends (best friends)
7. Child appears afraid or reluctant to go to school often having repeated headaches or stomach aches- especially in the morning.
8. Child may choose a different route for going to school or choose to arrive right before the morning bell.
9. Child has interrupted or restless sleep, bad dreams or may cry in their sleep.
10. Child may ask masked questions, “Is it ok to…? What should a person do if…? Or describe a scenario involving “other” kids and what “they” are dealing with.
11. Child may lose interest in school, after school activities, school work, or get lower grades.

Signs of a Bully
1. Child may be physically larger and /or stronger than peers.
2. Child may have strong need to dominate and subdue other children to “get his way”.
3. Child may be hot tempered, easily angered, impulsive, have low tolerance for frustration, have difficulty conforming to rules, and may engage in cheating to “win.”
4. Child may be oppositional, defiant and aggressive toward adults including teachers and parents and often good at talking his way out of “difficult situations.”
5. Child is seen as being tough, hardened and shows no empathy for other children.
6. Child is not anxious or insecure and typically has a positive view of himself (average or above average self-esteem).
7. Child may engage at an early age (compared to his peer group) in anti-social behavior, such as stealing, vandalism, drinking and associate with “bad companions.”
8. Child may be average student in regard to grades in elementary school, but grades and performances usually decline in junior high, may exhibit a negative attitude to school.

Size Matters
As discussed earlier, victims as a whole clearly have less than average physical strength. Bullies on the other hand are often physically stronger and larger than victims. However, not all strong boys are bullies. Most larger and stronger boys are not bullies. But characteristically, physical size and strength when combined with an aggressive reaction pattern is common in almost all typical bullies. Correspondingly, a victim is usually characterized by a combination of an anxious reaction pattern along with physical weakness. Conversely, physical strength gives a potential victim the means of defending himself and thus does function as good protection and effective deterrent against bullying and victimization.

What Are Your Child’s’ Rights?
All schools have sets of rules to insure that the school should be a safe place and that students have the right to be free from harassment and bullying, among many other things. However, having a “guaranteed right” on paper does not guarantee its existence in real life. To secure that right, it must be fought for and once secured it must be maintained by a vigorous and ongoing defense of its existence. The bully in this case, does not care about “guaranteed rights” he just does.

The scorpion and the frog
The realty that children actually face can be illustrated by the story of the scorpion and the frog. A scorpion comes to a stream and cannot swim across it. Seeing a frog, he asks for help. “Can you carry me across on your back?” The frog replies, “No way. You’re a scorpion. You’ll sting me”. The scorpion promises not to sting the frog and the frog finally relents and allows the scorpion onto his back. The frog swims across the steam and as they reach the dry land on other side, the scorpion strikes the frog with his stinger. As the frog lies dying on the ground he asks, “Why did you sting me? You promised not to.” The scorpion simply looks back and replies, “I don’t know. I’m a scorpion.”

Your children’s rights, are the ones you must defend. At times, this requires a little personal courage on the part of the parent, even at the risk of being labeled, “one of those parents.” You must speak out when you become aware of bullying against your own child or any other children. Would I defend and protect my own child, any child, at the risk of being labeled with some stupid social stigma? In a heartbeat! Do I care for one instant what some other parent or their peers thinks about me for doing the right thing? Not for one second! Your child’s welfare is the only thing that should matter. Yet, there are many parents who will not “embarrass” themselves for protecting or defending the rights of their own child.
What are those rights? Very simply they are this: no child should ever have to be afraid of going to school, of being on the playground or among their peers for fear of being harassed, humiliated or degraded. Correspondingly no parent should need to worry about any of these things happening to their child!

It does not require much imagination to understand the effects of going through the school years in a state of more or less permanent anxiety and insecurity with poor self-esteem and little hope of relief or rescue. In some cases this downward spiral of exasperation, fear and hopelessness becomes so overwhelming that it has driven the most vulnerable to seeking suicide as the only possible solution.

Countermeasures
It is highly imperative to counteract the bully’s behavior at the earliest possible discovery or the best moment for interdiction. Bullies are far more likely to continue on an ever- increasing pattern of anti-social behavior. It is essential that this behavior be stopped or redirected to “break the pattern” that is being constantly reinforced and developed by the bully. There is no evidence that suggests that a “tolerant” and permissive attitude by adults helps these children outgrow their anti-social behavior patterns. In almost all cases it contributes to the problem by not inducing consequences to bad behavior and becomes tacit approval of such. In fact research has shown that these same bullies carry this behavior forward into adulthood.

At the same time individuals who are the victims of bullying can be given tools, both educational and physical, that can remove them from the radar screen of bullies who search for their next victim. These tools can include a good and ongoing parent/child discourse about the subject of bullying and further discussions to break the stigma of being labeled a ‘’tattle tale” if they report bullying against either themselves or others. By instilling the idea that they are doing the right thing morally and ethically by protecting themselves and others from being bullied by reporting, it can be stressed that they are being heroic and showing courage by stepping forth and reporting such behavior.

The same openness and involvement with the parents can alert you to the fact that your child is being victimized. If you are not aware, then your child is truly alone against the bully. By being aware if your child is being bullied, you can step in to alert school authorities or even law enforcement if necessary. Too many times parents are heard saying. “I did not know anything was going on.” By then it’s too late.

Active Countermeasures
Physical training is a definite factor in creating a non-victim child. Children that are involved in sports become more assertive, more daring and develop an athleticism that deters bullies from seeing them as an easy target. Contrary to what many sensitive, passive or politically correct parents may think, physical retaliation is the greatest deterrent against bullying. All schools have a no violence or zero-tolerance stance in regard to “fighting,” and so this is often a difficult aspect to address. Yet it has been proven that just like large physical size, the ability and the willingness to “flight back” is one of the best and most effective countermeasures against bullying. Children that take boxing, karate, Judo or Jiu-Jitsu learn skills that will not only protect them if attacked, but often will deter an attack because the bully has heard that this boy or girl knows how and will fight back if provoked. Even a child who is forced against his will to take martial arts classes will benefit once the training in martial arts becomes known to others. As a child becomes convinced that they are not helpless, and can defend himself he has now taken a pro-active role in their own defense and protection. It translates to an aura that they exude and that aura will most often prevent attacks without ever any need for actual physical action. Remember that bullies are no more than a predator in the predator/prey relationship. If there is any doubt in the bully’s mind, just like a predator, he will move on to an easier target. So the old scenario, “Son put on these boxing gloves. I’m going to teach you how to defend yourself” has been proven to be one of the most effective countermeasures to bullying that exists.

To effectively deal with the bullying problem, there must be cooperation on different levels from the schools, the parents and the child. Non-involvement or worse, non-cooperation, (denial) by any of the three makes solving the problem much more difficult. If both the school and the parent refuse to become involved, unfortunately, sometimes the results are sometimes disastrous (Columbine or child suicide).

Schools may indeed hide behind the politically correct, zero-tolerance policy for bullying. But unfortunately zero-tolerance is always after the fact and the fact is that bullying takes place at every school, everyday, regardless of the school’s policy. Most schools only become involved after the damage has already been done to the victims. Often, almost always, it has been going on for a very long time. Rather than dealing with bullying in a proactive, preventative way, it is just easier to hide behind a zero tolerance boiler plate and deal with bullies after they have committed their crime. This is expelling both the bully and the innocent victim who may have been pushed so far that physical retaliation was their last resort. That serves no one well and should not be tolerated within our school system. A victim of a bully is a victim of a crime, a criminal assault, no matter the age, and it is just as serious and psycho-socially damaging as an adult being beaten and robbed in a baseball stadium parking lot. A victim is a victim whether four years old or forty and he should be treated as such with no penalty or repercussion for either reporting the abuse or standing up to it and defending themselves against it if necessary. We throw people in jail for abusing a dog. Shouldn’t we be as protective of the welfare and safety of our own children?

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here are few people who by their example alone inspire young people to strive for a higher goal guided by ethics, morals, and fairness.

There are few people indeed, who get the opportunity to teach young people the value of hard work, the sting of sacrifice, the courage to stand tall when they’ve failed, to be able to gather strength from defeat, and to strive to overcome adversity when the odds are against them.

There are very few who get the chance to teach young people how to get up off the ground and keep going when they know that they’re going to get knocked down again. Unfortunate though it may seem, many are not taught these things at home and sadly, in our educational factories, they are not taught these things at school.

But there is one person who has the opportunity, the privilege, and the honor, to teach each and all of these valuable lessons, ideals, and these values, to our youth.

It is the coach. The baseball coach, the football coach, basketball coach, volleyball coach, it does not matter the sport. When these young athletes come before you, volunteering to be part of a team, a team under your command, then you have accepted a responsibility that goes far beyond your duties to teach them how to play the game, or to produce a winning season.

The greatest coaches have always taught more than just the mechanics of how to play the game. They all taught the lessons of life. In spite of their impressive records, they measured their success not in the number of wins in their record, but by the number of winners they had produced. Their concern was more about the young men and women who had become better persons after the season or after their careers, than they were before they had come under their mentorship.

These coaches, these mentors, were always more concerned about producing the better individual than the better athlete. Athletics was just the vehicle used to impart and to give their wisdom and guidance. Coaches like John Wooden, Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi were not only great coaches, they all set themselves as examples of integrity, honor, dedication and inspiration. The ability to inspire came as natural to them as walking down the street, because they lived the high standards that they demanded of their athletes.

I once heard an interview with retired Green Bay Packer, Forrest Gregg. He was asked about the influence of his coach, Vince Lombardi. What he said was this, “I loved my father as much as a son could ever love his dad. My dad passed away 5 years ago and Vince passed away five years ago. I don’t think of my father every day, but I think of Vince Lombardi every single day of my life.”

As a coach, you must realize that outside of the family, outside of Mother and Father, you have the potential to be one of the greatest and longest lasting influences in a young person’s life and you must use your precious time with them wisely in striving to produce true and lifelong champions of them all.

Children are not fragile vessels made of delicate crystal. Children are like fine clay. They can be molded, contoured and shaped into an end result that can be fired in the kiln of hard work, sacrifice and discipline, creating a lifetime of solid values, genuine self esteem and ultimately, the ability to overcome adversity or failure and not be defeated by it. They can take fair handed criticism; they can take a chastisement for bad behavior. They can take failure without having to be consoled for it, and they can take the discipline of rules and order.

You can create a true champion of every one of your players and then, no matter what the scoreboard reads at the end of play, you are the winning team. And know this. A coach who sets a high standard of discipline, a high standard of sportsmanship and integrity is the on that inspires a champion’s attitude, and is the coach that these young athletes, these future leaders will remember for the rest of their lives and in turn, pass that legacy on to future generations.

Ernest Emerson – A speech delivered at an international instructor’s conference.

Copyright Ernest Emerson 2016

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“A leader is one who can get men to do things they may not want to do, but must be done. A great leader is one who can get ordinary men to do the things they thought were impossible.”   Ernest Emerson

Leaders Are Not Born, They Are Created

here are some who believe that leaders are born, that somehow the qualities of leadership are genetically inherited and passed down from father to son thereby begetting the “natural born leader.”  If that were the case then it could be generally assumed that you could only become a good leader if your father or mother were a good leader before you, and the genetic roll of the dice resulted in the right mix.

In reality, that is not the case, although it is easy to make the assumption due to the historical record. For example, many of our own country’s great leaders were the sons of fathers who were noted leaders before them or were from families who had a legacy of leaders before them. Conversely, you might look at the instances of many kings in European history who “never measured up” to the legacies of their fathers before them and turned out to be weak, incompetent and incapable of discharging their kingly duties in the best interest of their country.

A close friend, decorated former Navy SEAL Officer and Annapolis graduate Larry Yatch, and I were talking about defining leadership qualities, the process of identifyng potential leaders and quantifying a process to educate, and create leaders from potential candidates.

Actually, we were having a drink and it all started when I said  that out of dozens of applicants, I could not find one qualified to be a night shift supervisor. I could not believe that we had screened so many candidates and rejected all of them.  Larry on the other hand, was very pleased with the individual that he had just hired to be the operations manager at his business.

He had screened just one person and had hired him without reservation. The  guy Larry hired was also a former Navy SEAL. Larry told me,” Ernie, I knew what I was getting: a highly motivated, intelligent individual capable of both giving orders and taking orders, confident under pressure who would complete any task or project without ever having to be told twice.”

As our conversation continued, he asked me if I believed that leaders were born or if it was something that was learned. Without thinking, I replied,

“No, I believe that leaders are created from birth, but not before. I think that the qualities of leadership are developed and shaped by the environment from early childhood through adolescence onward, essentially by being imbued with the influence of parents and the example they set. Or it could also be through the influence of a brother, an uncle, a teacher or perhaps the example set by an athletic coach. In fact, I believe that coaches are possibly the strongest example of leaders that most young people ever experience. As a result, they have had a lasting influence upon thousands of young men and women. It’s one of the reasons I am such a strong advocate of competitive athletics for all children.”

Larry listened and then replied. “So if you think that it is a learned set of skills, then it should be able to be taught, right?”

“That would be correct,” I answered.

“Hell yes, it can be taught. The problem is that, outside of the military, there are very few civilian venues where those skills are taught and practiced. There are virtually no early age leadership learning programs or opportunities, the area precisely where leadership training should actually begin.” He then asked me, “Do you think that anyone can be taught those skills or do you believe that there are only some that are teachable, fertile ground and that there are some who will never  become leaders no matter what, being unfertile ground.

I said, “It has been my experience that there are some that will gain the skills of leadership and some that will not. I  believe that leaders must have early exposure to those traits, (leadership examples) and additionally, some individuals will actively seek the role of leadership, some will retreat from it, and some will simply have no interest in it just as I may like history and you may like chemistry, one to the exclusion of the other.”

As we talked further, several points came up. In the military, generally leaders are drawn to their position by a willful pursuit of it. For example,  if an individual decides that he wants to become a member of an Special Forces unit, a Navy SEAL or a Marine, etc., he must want to do so. In fact, he must really want to do so. He will put up and even welcome the hardship, the stress and the grueling ordeals he will need to face in order to do so. You could never prevail in an effort to succeed in any of those choices if you did not want, above all, to be one of those special few.

And so it is with the role of leadership as it is with any endeavor that separates one from the rest of the pack.

In further discussion we broke down some of the basic traits that are necessary for an individual to become a leader. These essential traits are made up of the following attributes and circumstances:

Leadership Role Models. These must be present in childhood. These could be parents, relatives, teachers, coaches, mentors or inspirational heroes drawn from literature or history. Thus the “fertile ground” to aspire to a better status or alpha position among peers, teammates, club members or groups is established.
An Outgoing Personality. Wallflowers, introverts, and shy people are not leaders and if they are forced or thrust into such a position often lock up, or fail to perform. A strong personality in conjunction with healthy, genuine, self esteem and an ego, powerful but in check, are all needed and necessary to make difficult decisions in a time of need.  It is interesting to note that intoversion and extroversion are learned behaviors as well.
Want of Responsibility. This includes not only wanting to take charge, but also the willingness to answer for your decisions and actions as a leader, the shouldering of responsibility.
Training. Training can be acquired through a variety of venues. It is not limited  to the formal environment of institutional leadership instruction such as the military, private leadership programs or scholastic instruction such as management training programs.  Leadership can also be self taught, without structured programs- on the job training, you might say. But most often, even in self taught instances, leadership is learned in tandem as an adjunct to the formal or informal training an individual is being exposed to. Some leaders without formal training may have had such strong role models and or parental influence that they have without realizing it trained themselves by merely following the good examples that were set for them. This case could then create to an outside observer the false conclusion of the natural born leader phenomenon. Most leaders though are actually a product of all of these factors combined.
Practice. In order to develop leadership skills, the role of leadership must be practiced to gain the experience of leadership. As with any other learned skill, it must be practiced to be mastered. The military provides the clearest example of leadership practice in action. The rotation of Platoon leader assignments and the continual tasking of recruits with various responsibilities and leadership duties gives these recruits the opportunity to practice leadership skills. It also gives the Command a means of sorting out the leaders from the followers, as a result of their performance evaluations.

Outside of the military the practice of leadership may also be gained through participation in sports, clubs, volunteer organizations and through various business endeavors. In other words, leadership practice may be exercised in any situation where a potential leader is tasked with that role,  ie., team captain, team leader, event coordinators, leadmen or supervisor, to name a few.

Opportunity. Without the opportunity to lead, a leader may never be discovered. Working alone or in environments where one is on his own is usually not the place where leadership is required. In order to be a leader you must be in a situation where there are others to lead. Solo efforts to complete a task may require many varied and essential skills, but leadership is usually not one of them.  When there are two people and one task, there is an opportunity to flex your leadership muscle.

One of the consequences of being a leader is acceptance of the premise that one person is better suited, more experienced, more qualified, better educated or in possession of the combination of traits and skills that sets him above the rest. He is thereby justified in the role of leadership. If someone is chosen, appointed, elected or commissioned to a position of leadership, then he must also have the authority to assure that his orders or decisions are executed, carried out and discharged.

In addition to that vested authority to command, there are personal qualities that the leader must also possess in order to inspire those under him to willfully carry out his commands and orders.

Timidity, second guessing, indecision, waffling and cowardice are not considered desired traits for a good leader. Authority, dignity, decisiveness, honesty, integrity and courage are considered heavily among the character traits necessary for one to be a good leader.

Whether you are someone looking for leaders or charged with creating tomorrow’s leaders, being aware of, codifying and understanding the attributes that are the ingredients for creating a leader will  help you build a successful leadership training program producing solid results.

As our evening turned into late night and the whisky bottle ran dry, Larry looked at me and said,

” We should write a book.”

“We should teach a class,” I added. Then he said,

” Like we’ve both got time for that.” We both laughed.

Copyright Ernest Emerson 2016

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have always thought and have always stated that at the time of the formation of the United States of America that the group of men who formed this nation and decided upon its laws, its Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the documents, credos and rules that would govern this country were the greatest concentration of intellect, compassion, insight, common sense, and courage that ever existed in one place, at one time. The only challenge to this might come from the great thinkers of the golden age of ancient Greece.

There seems to be a feeling in a lot of people today that this country has lost its will, its resolve, its strength, even its honor. Even among our own citizens, it has become very “in style” to criticize the United States for all of its foibles in spite of the fact that there is no question that can be argued that this country has provided more wealth, more opportunity, more safety, freedom and liberty in a quantity that has ever existed in all the history of mankind. And his country has done more to fight for those same ideals and rights and to bring them to others who are oppressed than almost all the other countries on earth combined. I am not sure that our younger generations even know that throughout our history we have shed more blood and sacrificed more of our greatest sacred treasure, our young men and women, in the righteous struggle to protect others in need again and again and again.

This country was founded in a struggle to throw off the yoke of oppression. A bitter war fought just 240 years ago by farmers, shopkeepers and ordinary men who believed with all their hearts in the ideals of liberty and freedom and the inspiration of the men who led them. Few realize that the American war of independence went on for over 8 1/2 years of long arduous struggle against what was then, the mightiest empire on earth.

And if you look back only 155 years to the time of the Civil War, a bloody conflict fought basically for two fundamental reasons, to preserve the Union and to abolish slavery.  New figures point to the deaths of 750,000 Americans in a war pitting state against state, brother against brother, right against wrong. In a country whose total population was only 31 million, America sacrificed 2.4% of her population for the cause of freedom, liberty and justice. Freedom for those who were enslaved and liberty and justice for all of its people insuring the rights of all men, equal protection under the Law. Name any other country, ever that would pay that terrible cost inside of her own borders, to give freedom to her people. What does that say about the United States of America?

The list goes on and on: World War I, World War II, The Korean War, Viet Nam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Many times we have heard the call for help and have gone willingly to the places even where they love to hate us. Yet these same countries and cultures always seem to depend on us in their time of need. The same countries so quick to propagate to their population the vile propaganda of hate for the United States. Is that fair? I don’t think so.  But we have never considered what was fair to us but instead, what was right for all. Where next will we once again send our children into harm’s way to protect others in need?

And now today I see countries whose populations are fleeing by the hundreds of thousands to escape the danger and peril, the genocide brought about by the current crop of dictators, despots, tyrants and religious fanaticism.

I would pose this simple question. If a country were to attempt to invade the United States of America, would our people flee before such an invader by the hundreds of thousands to Canada or Mexico? My feeling, no, my conviction, is that we would not. We would not flee. We would stand and fight to our last breath for every square inch of ground of our precious homeland that so many before us have died to preserve.

And now we face the reality of our current situation. Where once we were strong we are now weak. Where once we stood with resolve, we now turn our heads and look the other way. Is this America? We have all witnessed the seemingly deliberate breakdown of our greatness and we have seen it dismantled bit by bit, piece by piece. We have watched our debt running rampant, strapping us financially and causing us to cut the budgets of the military and defense infrastructure, severely limiting our ability to project power to places where there are those who truly need our strength to say alive. Our word is no longer held in the high esteem it once was. It would seem that there has been a conscious effort by those now in power to, “put America in its place” as if she deserved to be punished for her greatness prosperity and her might. Our enemies no longer fear us. Our allies no longer respect us. How could this possibly be? Tyrants, rogue regimes and fanatical jihadists now march with impunity and having no fear of retribution or consequence, crossing borders and walking over the backs of the dead and dying in their wake. What has happened to our pride and our stature in the world? Were we not once known as the beacon of hope against the worst of all times? And what are the consequences ahead not only for us but for the safety and integrity of the entire world? A very wise man once told me, “Ernest you and all people of the world would much rather live in a place where there is a strong America than in a world where there is a weak America.” I fear that we are now entering that world.

I could look for an easy scapegoat to blame for this decline. I could pick a person or any number of persons to lay this wilted wreath at their feet. But as easy and convenient as that might be.  I do not. Instead, I blame myself. I blame you. I blame us. We get what we deserve, right? Wrong! We, the Americans that I know, do not deserve this. My family does not deserve this. My sons, my daughters, my grandchildren do not deserve this. In the often used words of Sir Edmund Burke, “All evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing.” We have allowed this “nothing” to happen and evil has indeed seized its chance. The United States and its noble citizens have never shrunk from adversity, the hardship of a dauntless task or an endeavor that others have thought impossible. Yet we have slept as the gears of apathy, misguidance, political correctness and the re-writing of history have ground on slowly and methodically while we have paused.

The true power of our people comes from our people not from the so-called intellectual elite, professors in lofty institutions of learning, or even our self-endowed ruling class that resides in Washington. America is not what the media decries in its hyper-critical, self-loathing portrayal of a country and a way of life that they feel we should feel guilty for creating. America is not that. America is us, the 250 million out of the 300 million that still feel a great unwavering pride in our heritage. The 250 million that are still willing to fight for freedom and liberty. The small minority of apologists for the “evil American values” are not what this country is. They are the ones who deserve what they get. Not us. There are many millions who still believe with all their hearts in “American exceptionalism” and that we alone are the reason so many live in freedom upon this earth today.  I feel no guilt or shame in that. Nor should you. And even those who hate us from within should feel no shame or guilt for such a righteous heritage. Shame on them.

And now I speak for the true silent majority of Americans. We are not weak. We have not lost our resolve and our word is still our bond. True Americans know this. Our enemies need to fear us and our allies need to respect us. We can never lose sight of that or, “our America, this grand experiment,” as it was called by Abraham Lincoln will indeed perish from this earth. Or in the words of Ronald Reagan, “If there is no America then who will there be to stand against the forces of evil?”

And now I would like you to listen to the words of a man, a man of great courage and conviction, one of those giants who now casts still his long shadow down from our past to fall again with relevance upon the doorsteps of all true and proud Americans. I leave you to the words of Patrick Henry. Click below to listen.

Watch Patrick Henry — Give me Liberty or give me Death (YouTube)

Copyright Ernest Emerson 2016

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The Training Triangle – Three Sides of an Equilateral Training Program

was recently tasked with creating a training program for a new government agency. Working within such an environment forced me to take a different look at designing a program and curriculum that could be taught by any training instructor to students (recruits) who were complete novices in martial combat/defensive tactics. In other words, it had to be a program that was repeatable and teachable, so that anyone enrolled in the program gets a known quantity of skills and any individual who inherits the duties of instructor can, without prior experience, produce the same results basically by picking up the manual and start teaching.

It doesn’t sound too complicated at first, but taking a lifetime of learning, practicing, and teaching, and then distilling it down to a body of information suited to their needs was quite a daunting task.

It forced me to re-evaluate, quantify, and qualify everything that I teach and it gave me some new insights that I will share with you. It has relevance to any form of martial study and can work for hobby martial arts, sport martial arts, or combat martial arts. The principles are valid for novice practitioners, intermediate students, and professional martial artists including teachers.

Most instructors teach their methods and systems based on some type of curriculum, generally passed to them by their instructors or systems. But it is always the case that every instructor brings his own insights, discoveries, personality traits, physical interpretations, and personal influences into any teaching environment. However, if you were told you were going to be gone the day after tomorrow, what would you spend the next 48 hours writing down to pass on to your students? Here’s briefly what I did in terms of this program but you can plug in your own needs, wants and goals.

The first thing needed was to identify the required results. What skills did these students need to walk away with? In my case the result was the ability to subdue an attacker armed with a weapon of some type, probably an edged weapon but possibly a firearm. In this case survivability of the student was not the primary concern. Preventing the bad guy from accomplishing his goal was the priority. Needless to say this was not a self-defense program. Identifying the goals and the environment they were to be used in specified what was included and eliminated things that would not apply.

Next, who were the students? Were they young, old, male, female? Were they in shape athletes or middle-aged professionals taking on a new job assignment? Luckily for me, these were all young men (no women) who were in top physical shape. Knowing who the students are helped refine how and what would be going into the program and at what physical level of activity we would be training.

There were other factors that came into play such as how much training time was to be allotted, what level of experience did the students possess, what weapons would be available to them and even such things as their mode of dress. After identifying these parameters, the next important aspect was identifying the principles, concepts, and techniques that would be taught. What was I going to teach and how was I going to teach it? Most important of all, would it work? This element brought out something that was absolutely crucial to the success of the curriculum. Would it work for the average man? Here is something that all instructors have to be acutely aware of. It is not whether the techniques will work for you, but whether they will work for someone else. If I were 6’4” tall and weighed 245 lbs., I could get away with a lot more than if I was 5’7” tall and weighed 145 lbs. What works for you might never work for the average man. The average man, in this case was 5’7” tall and 145 lbs., with an exceptional level of fitness, extreme motivation and with an already highly developed warrior ethos. However, these students possessed no previous Hand-to-Hand Combat experience. In order to ensure that I was going to cover all of my requirements and theirs, I had to categorize the training into three main parts so that I could be sure that everything meshed and no deficits were left open.

Here is a brief synopsis of the three categories needed to codify the training.

Hard Skills Training

This is the nuts and bolts training phase. This is a punch. This is a kick. In firearms training this is the initial phase where you would teach gun safety, function of the weapon, sight alignment, trigger squeeze, etc. In other words, the basics. This is where I cover how to punch, how to kick (we used two kicks, a foot stomp and a front stomp kick), stance, footwork and body mechanics. Of course there is more, such as takedowns, various strikes, and locks, etc. but you can see where this is.

Soft Skills Training

In essence, when to punch, when to kick. Where to punch, where to kick. When to take down, etc. Now we are starting to apply the hard skills against an opponent under more dynamic conditions. At this point the student needs to learn to work for his technique against an ever increasing non-compliant opponent eventually leading up to an opponent who is progressing from non-compliant to active aggressive actions. In shooting, this would equate to shooting from various positions, behind cover, on the move, low light, and multiple targets, moving targets and good guy/bad guy targeting, (the introduction to shoot-no shoot training). This is where you apply the mechanics of hard skills training to non-static dynamic environments. This also equates in terms of a sports analogy, to a scrimmage before the big game. You are trying your plays against an opposing team, but it’s not for real yet. Like a scrimmage, if it doesn’t work, you get to try again.

Active Mental Training

After you have acquired the Hard Skills and are familiar with their use and applications, it really boils down to decision making under stress. I have always stated the following in every class I have ever taught. “You never want to experience something for the first time – in combat.” This is the phase where you practice your skills in as close to the actual environment, where they will be used, as possible. In terms of firearms training this is usually called Force-on-Force. If you were a member of an assault team, this is where you would practice dynamic room entry and hostage rescue against live opponents who are shooting back (simunitions or airsoft weapons). In this kind of training, high stress, noise, spontaneous actions of the opponents and fear, you will begin immediately to see the difference between what you can do and what you want to do. It may be a wide gap at first but it narrows considerably as you practice more and more under these realistic conditions. Mistakes will be made. But, this is where you want the mistakes to be made. This is where you get the do-over chance, until you get it wired.

In terms of combat training, developing a process for whatever your purpose, at least some aspect of your training should reflect the conditions (as real as possible) for the arena where you will use these skills. It is important that you realize these three phases of training are not separate or segregated from each other. They overlap, overlay and sometimes occur simultaneously in training. But, for the purpose of relating them here, they appear separate. In reality they are not. Be it sport, hobby or combat, these three phases of training, this process applies across the board. Just take the aspects that can benefit your end goals and apply them as you need. It is vitally important though to know, really know, that you only get out of your training what you are willing to put into it. My training motto has always been and always will be is: Train like a Madman . . . Fight like a Demon.

Copyright Ernest Emerson 2016

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“One who stands with his convictions never stands alone”

SURVIVING THE DEADLY ATTACK

The Principles and Strategies That Will Save Your Life

s far back as man has existed he has had 2 arms and 2 legs and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change for quite a while.  In terms of interpersonal human aggression what has applied to our cave man ancestors still applies to us. In order to fight and survive you need to understand these basic principles as applied to the most intimate and deadly of all human interactions, Hand-to-Hand combat.  These principles are distilled from decades of experience and thousands of analyses of deadly attacks. From all of this study, I began to see patterns and commonalities that manifest in both outcomes of these scenarios, those where the victim of the attack survived and those in which the attacker prevailed and severely injured or killed the victim.

I want you to learn the strategies and tactics, the principles and concepts that you must know, that you must use, that you must embody, in order to ensure your survival when you are against the odds.

Following are the same subjects that I teach in seminars and courses to civilians, law enforcement and elite military units all over the world.

“There is great moral satisfaction when, in a decisive moment in time one is able to mete out clear justice without hesitation or debate” – Ernest Emerson

The Bottom Line

The true bottom line in of all of my discourses is to teach you how to protect you and your loved ones from danger and heaven forbid to survive a violent, deadly attack. This is about survival fighting; it is not for sport or tournament fighting. It is not designed to beat or defeat an opponent (although that is most often the outcome). It is designed to give you the tools to survive. This does not mean that you will not get hit, cut, broken or even severely injured. What it does mean is that everything you will learn is geared to enabling you to survive a violent attack. You must enter into the study of this course from the point of view that the end result of any attack could be your death. It is only with this clarity of purpose that you can, without hesitation, employ the techniques and embody the concepts to give you the best use of the tools to survive. A photo cannot convey the intensity and violence with which they must be delivered to be most effective. If you think you can hit hard, you must hit 10 times harder. If you think you are fast, you must be 10 times faster.

Forget the dojo, forget sparring, and forget the tournament or ring. Forget the teacher, the rules or referee. Imagine that it is 1:30 am on a Saturday and your car has broken down in the worst part of the worst city in the world. As you step out of your car, you see the three predators that are going to rape your wife and daughter and then kill all of you. They’ve done this before and totally without conscience they are about to do it to you. At this time, there is nothing else in your life that matters. There are no safeguards. It doesn’t matter if you are the most powerful CEO in the world or a gas station attendant. The only thing that exists in your world now, is you and them. The only tools that you have now are your physical skills, your wits and your most powerful natural weapon: the will to survive. In most cases, it is the only advantage you possess. Out manned and out gunned, your resolve may be the only deciding factor. You may even need to sacrifice your life to save your wife and daughter. This is the mentality that you must draw upon and develop.

And this is the violence that, God forbid, you may have to confront someday.  If you do, you must be prepared for this level of pure evil, both physically and mentally, in order to survive when, and if, it ever enters your world.

SAVING YOURSELF

You’re the Only One You Can Count On

In a time of real crisis, when your life is truly on the line or if you are ever involved in a life or death struggle with an armed attacker in a fight to the death, you will immediately come to the realization that it is just you alone against the attacker, nothing more and nothing less.

Even if you are protecting loved ones, teammates or innocent bystanders, it will still boil down to just you and the bad guy.  And if you are attacked in a parking lot or outside of some dive, you will really be alone, very alone.

Human beings are in general, by nature, social creatures.  We congregate; we surround ourselves with friends, family and even strangers because it is comforting.  In nature it is the stragglers who are singled out as potential prey.

Our society further supports this comfort zone with safeguards such as Police Departments and Fire Departments who will come to our aid in a time of need.  They form our safety nets.  As a whole we as a society have off-loaded our personal responsibility for safety to someone or something else.  And as a result, psychologically, we have let down our guard and exposed our soft underbelly.  We have come to rely on all of these factors for security and we know they will come to our rescue when we are in trouble.

Or so it would seem.  In reality, it is highly unlikely that a serial killer, rapist or mugger is going to attack you in a crowd.  In reality, a serious attack or fight is started and finished in less than 8 seconds.  How long is 8 seconds?  Just ask any Bull Rider and he’ll tell you just how long 8 seconds can be.  Actually, most of the time a fight is over in less than 4 seconds, but most people won’t believe that.  They’ve just seen too many movies.  In reality, there is not going to be a police officer standing across the street.  In reality, if you are attacked no matter what the circumstance, you are going to be on your own.  Consider this scenario.  You’re walking down the street with your buddies and out of the blue you pass some guy, he starts wailing on you.  How many punches, could he throw in the 3-4 seconds it would take for your buddies to pull him off of you?  How many knife strikes could he have thrown?

Does any of this change in a combat environment?  Hell no.  In fact it is worse.  Not every mugger has the preliminary intent to kill you.  But, if you have to go hands on with any enemy soldier in a combat environment, you better know he is trying to kill you.

I hope that you are coming to the realization that your survival in a deadly attack scenario ultimately rests squarely on your shoulders alone.  You are solely responsible for your own survival.  Safety nets, buddies, teammates or police responders will not be there to help you.  If you are currently of the mindset that someone or something will be there to rescue you in your time of need, then you’re going to get hammered.

But, if it is true that you are responsible for your own survival, and that you believe it so, then you can start to do things to change the circumstances in your favor.  You can start to manipulate the environment of a conflict.  You can change the dynamics of a violent encounter and you can affect the sequence of events to sway them in your favor.

As you may have surmised by now, I am describing a mentality, or a mindset more than anything else.  It is the first step in a progression of steps you must take in a readying yourself to react correctly when faced with the imminent threat of extreme physical violence.

You will be learn that there are certain ways you can think, certain ways you can conduct yourself, and certain things that you can do which will give you the tools to survive if and when you ever come face to face with the most terrifying of all experiences, mortal combat with another human being.

If you are now decided that yes, you are solely responsible for your ability to survive, which is the essential first step, then the next question is, what is the next step?    What are all of the steps?  What are you going to do about it?  Take heart, for there really are certain things you can do…

Copyright 2016 Ernest R. Emerson

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Pre-Emptive Self-Defense Part 2

Deny

Going to Condition Orange, While Becoming Grey

ave you ever heard of the Grey Man?  It is one of the cornerstones of spook tradecraft and is a vital, invaluable tool, to anyone wanting to stay under the radar.  It is easy to understand, yet difficult to master and it can be the deciding factor between your safety and a very bad day.

What is the Grey man?  Grey is a neutral color. It’s not black, it’s not white and it plays the role of filling in and becoming in essence, the background for all other colors.  It is neither here nor there and goes completely unnoticed against all the bright colors and the sharp contrasts between light and dark.  What does this mean in terms of you, the human element?

It means that often your best defense is to just simply become part of that Grey background where you become completely unremarkable, unnoticed and unseen.  It can start by being as simple as adjusting your choice of wardrobe colors.  In fact grey really does work.  It is not just an analogy.  For example, if you are in a foreign country and don’t want to be “American,” don’t wear your “I Love New York” T-shirt.  Look like a local, don’t talk loudly, laugh loudly, or do things that draw attention to yourself.  Having a book, or even better a local newspaper, (even if you can’t read it) is always good.  Don’t pull out your map and look around trying to figure out where you are.  Remember condition White?  If you are in a foreign country some of the words you must learn are please, thank you, excuse me, good morning, good evening, hello and goodbye.  Many times that is all you have to say, to pretend you’re just not in a talkative mood.

And learn to improvise.  One time I was in a situation where I didn’t speak any of the native language.  I was on the spot and didn’t want anyone to know where I was from, so I just made some words up.  I think they thought I was from Lithuania or somewhere. I admit that is not exactly being Grey, but it got me where I wanted to go.  I’ve even tagged along at the back of tour groups I’ve had nothing to do with.  And I’ve used a really bad Irish accent from time to time.  The point is that you have to think like you’re a human chameleon, mentally, physically and socially if you want to “fade into the mist.”

The point is if you are not noticed you can’t be a target.

DESTROY
CONDITION RED

Now, let’s take a look at your possible actions, if you have discovered an active threat to either yourself or perhaps some other unwitting victim.

What was the title of this article?  Pre-Emptive Self Defense, that’s right.  What does Pre-empt mean?  My simple definition is this; the act of stopping something before it happens.

That definition denotes that there must be some action or interaction on your part.

Remember when I said that surprise was a necessary component of a predatory attack, the ambush?  Well, nothing shakes up a bad guy more than a loud voice, shouting “Hey, what the f*ck do you think you’re doing?”  I’ve seen them pick up and run with just this action alone.  Not all the time mind you, but what happens is this.  The first thing from the bad guys view, is that you are announcing to all, that the bad guy has been discovered.  You’ve broken his train of thought, his attention to his action and thirdly, you’ve asked a question, a process so powerful that the human mind internally always pauses to answer.  In a case like this others may look at you like “What the hell is up with that guy?”  But even if there were 100 people present, I guarantee that even if no one else figures it out, the bad guy knows you’re talking directly to him.   Funny how that works.  It’s almost like the “Hey, your fly is down” scenario.  It is awfully hard to avoid looking down (if you’re a man).  When I played baseball, I found that there was no better way to rattle a pitcher than, at the proper moment in time, say a 3 and 2 count and in the middle of his windup, to simply yell out his name and ask a simple math problem.  “Tom, what’s 7 x 6!?”  It worked every time….and the ump yells, “Ball 4!”  

Back to the pro-active side of Destroying the Threat.  First, I’m going to throw in a little disclaimer or perhaps qualify what I’m about to describe and what I’ve been describing throughout this series of articles all along.   What I’m describing herein is based on the premise that all other legal means of action have been exhausted and you have been forced into a situation where you have no other option than to resort to violence and lethal force if warranted.  The first article of this series and the subject of the whole series is “Surviving the Deadly Attack.”  That means someone is actively, positively trying to kill you or someone under your protection.

So, back to pre-empting the attack.  Remember we’re at the moment of no return, no way to escape and without question, facing a “clear and present danger.”

I will tell you this, I’m pretty good at reading people and situations and if I know (gut feel) that something is about to go south, I’m firing first – not necessarily a gun but maybe a punch, kick, rock, bottle, or club and maybe a bullet. Now the question is, how can you be sure?  Well, I don’t know if you can ever be sure 100% of the time.  That will be between you, them and the situation.  There are a lot of components involved in the dynamics of every scenario involving human interaction and there are a lot of split second decisions to be made, but I will tell you this. When you’re there, really there, you’ll know.  And you’ll know what decision you have to make.  I learned that a long time and a broken jaw ago.

Let’s look at this in one context.  You are in a hostage takeover situation.  The bad guy has just told your co-worker to get down on her knees and then shoots her in the back of the head.  You’re next.  Sometimes it’s this easy.  Most of the time it is not.  Yet even in this black and white situation there are still people who will stand in line on their knees waiting for their turn.

Let’s take a deeper look at this.

In regard to a hostage takeover situation, when is the best time to escape?  Answer: as soon as possible.  In any hostage situation the most opportune time to escape is before the bad guys have taken full control of the situation.  In the beginning moments confusion is still working on both sides of the equation and no one is in control.  It’s not the only time you might have to escape, but it’s when the odds are best in your favor.  A successful hostage scenario, looked at from the bad guy’s point of view, is a series or sequence of stages beginning with the initial attacks, designed to initiate shock and awe in the victims, then adding threats or violent acts to instill fear, “Anyone move and I’ll kill you,” Next they move to an assessment of who, what and how many hostages do we have, to a gathering or rounding up of the hostages, for better control.  Once rounded up, there is a further assessment of exactly who the hostages are, (sometimes the most likely to pose a threat to the bad guys are killed on the spot).  This progresses to a furtherance of more violence, threats, degradations, and further control, restraints, such as tying up, duct tape and gags, etc. all of which are designed to effect terror upon the hostages and to keep any attempts or even thoughts of resistance or escape from being an option.  So you see in cases like this, especially if dealing with terrorists, the best time to escape may be at the very beginning of this sequence.  Remember Fight or Flight?  Sometimes flight is the right choice.

Have you ever been in a confrontation, where the aggressor has just stated, “I’m going to kick your ass!”?  Now, mind you, I’m not necessarily thinking, “I’m going to kill this guy.”  But I guarantee that I’m going to be the one to strike first and I’m not going to hesitate for even a split second until he is no longer a threat.  Remember the subheading of this article is “He who strikes first usually wins.”  That statement is oh so true.  I’ve seen it, I’ve felt it.  I’ve done it.  You never want to let the bad guy get off the first shot or punch if you know one’s coming.  And that is a golden rule.  You don’t want that to happen to you.  When your life is on the line, it is definitely way better to give than receive.  And remember to be generous.

Copyright 2010 Ernest R. Emerson

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Pre-Emptive Self Defense Part 1

“He who strikes first usually wins” – Ernest Emerson

here are several components or evolutions of pre-emptive self-defense.  Some are so obvious they could be called just plain common sense.  Some others are much more subtle and require an ability to read a situation and adjust your role in the interaction or manipulate the behavior of the attackers to your advantage.

Detect-Deny-Destroy

These three words precisely sum up the essential objectives of the concept of pre-emptive self-defense.  These three objectives, the same objectives used to protect us from terrorist attacks, are as effective for personal self-protection as they are when used in protecting our country.

There are several steps you can take to make them work just as effectively for you.

First are the levels of mental preparedness as defined by Colonel Jeff Cooper, perhaps the greatest influence on modern gun fighting and the teaching of shooting skills of the 20th century.  Colonel Cooper devised a way to quantify and categorize the different states of mental preparedness, from a completely relaxed, unaware state of mind to the state where are actively engaging in lethal action.

He developed a color code: White, Yellow, Orange and Red and used it to describe the escalating states of self-preparedness.

In the Colonel’s own words:

White – You are unprepared and unready to take lethal action.  If you are attacked in white you will probably die unless your adversary is totally inept.
Yellow – You bring yourself to the understanding that your life may be in danger and you may have to do something about it.
Orange – You have determined upon a specific adversary and are prepared to take action, which may result in his death, but you are not in a lethal mode.
Red – You are in a lethal mode and will shoot if circumstances warrant it.

By identifying these different conditions as differing states of readiness and becoming consciously aware of them, you can assess what condition you are in at any given moment. You can decide if it is appropriate for any situation in which you find yourself.   It also gives you the ability to make a conscious decision to step to the next rung of readiness if the situation so warrants.

So, let’s start with the most obvious ways to protect yourself from an attack and hopefully, pre-empt an attack.

Common Sense Rules Your Safety

Don’t go to an ATM at 2:00 in the morning.  Don’t flash cash in a bar, or anywhere else for that matter.  Lock the doors of your house.  Don’t wear expensive jewelry while you’re on vacation.  Don’t stop for a couple of beers in a biker bar.  If a stranger asks you what time it is, tell him to get a watch.  And don’t ever, ever, wear your iPod and earphones while you’re out in public.  I could go on for pages with these seemingly foolish examples, but I think you get my point.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen people do all of the above and more.  As it is always said, maybe common sense isn’t all that common.

The point is, if you want to stay safe you can start by not doing stupid things.

I know that sounds simplistic, but you’d be surprised at how many times people blindly walk straight into dangerous situations.  People that do these things are definitely in condition White, the most dangerous and vulnerable of all states of awareness.

Detect

If there’s any doubt – There’s no doubt

If you constantly wander about in condition White, how are you ever going to detect a threat to your safety?

If you are awake, then you’d better well be in condition Yellow.

How do you detect a threat?  Well, first you have to assume that the predatory attack, just as in nature, predicates its success on the element of surprise.  An ambush is always better than a heads up, “in plain sight,” confrontation.  Just ask any alligator or tiger.  So, the first method of detection is simply this, don’t go places where the conditions are perfect for an ambush.  And if you do go there, get your radar up and running.  Check your surroundings, check your avenues of escape, be aware of obvious ambush points, and of course, check your six.

Now here’s a question.  In crowds in the general population, who are the only two people that will look you in the eye?  The answer is Cops and Bad Guys.  Everyone else just goes about his or her business (in condition White).  Let’s go into a little more detail about this phenomenon.  Sociopaths, sociopathic criminals, and predatory criminals in particular, are all masters at picking out their potential victims.  They are so good at it in fact that they are rarely, if ever, wrong in “messing with the wrong guy.”

Most criminals are so adept at a process that I call “scanning” that they can look over a crowd of people and ID and separate potential victims and non-victims in mere seconds.  How is it that they are this good at it?  Remember it’s what they do for a living and after a lifetime of practicing their craft, they’re way better than you or I.  What are they looking for?  All of the obvious of course: the weak, the old, the infirm and the distracted.  Most of all they are looking for the victim that they can “hit and split, with the least amount of danger to themselves, by choosing the easiest, softest, target.  Remember the principle that “a wounded predator becomes prey?”  Well, the principle is the same here. The bad guy is looking for surprise and opportunity, the necessary components for the perfect ambush and he doesn’t want to have to fight it out, thereby creating the chance for injury or being caught.

What is your role in taking yourself out of this equation?

Here is one basic principle that is vitally important and perhaps the most important component of Pre-Emptive Self Defense.

If it doesn’t feel right, it’s not right.

You need to listen to your gut feel.  Your gut feel is your very first line of self-defense.  It never lies.  It is never wrong.  And its only reason for existence is to protect you.  Unfortunately, our brain gets in the way and convinces us to do something when our gut feel is telling us not to.  Listen to it and always heed its warning.  It will never let you down.  For more on this by a man considered the world’s foremost authority, I highly recommend Gavin DeBecker’s, book, “The Gift of Fear.”  Everyone in my family has read it.

If you see the bad guy before he sees you, then you can simply avoid him and the opportunity.  If a guy looks suspicious or “feels” suspicious, it is for good reason.  Remember your gut feel?  There is also something else I live by. There are no coincidences, period.  If I see someone more than once, then I’m being tailed. And if I do, I take action.  Sound paranoid?  Sometimes I may have been wrong, but I guess I’ll just never know.  Anyway what action do I take?  The first and simplest step is eye contact.  No stare down, no hard look challenge, just a quick, I know you’re there pass. Definitely directly in the eyes, but just long enough to say that I see you.  I know you’re there.

This same tactic works just as well in a crowd that’s being scanned.  The, “I know you’re there” look, completely removes you as a target, at least to the majority of predatory criminals.  Looking them in the eyes says loudly, I’m not an obvious victim, in fact I may even be a cop.  Remember the two guys who look you in the eyes?  Bad guys just don’t want to take that chance.

Is this true in every case?  Of course not.  When dealing with human beings, there are no absolutes.  But it is true enough of the time to validate its use as a first line deterrent.  If you are out for a walk, look around, be observant, and be alert.  Whether you’ve detected a threat or not, never present yourself as an obvious, unwitting, target.

If you enter a building, restaurant, bar or store, look around.  You be the scanner.  See those who are inside and listen to your gut.  Look for all possible entrances and exits.  Never turn your back toward an entrance for more than a brief moment.  And if you sit down for a drink or dinner, never ever sit with your back to the entrance or doorway into the room.  Always try to place yourself in the best spot to “view” the room.

There are three forms or stages that an attack may be in when detected.  First is the potential attack.  This is the one that we’ve covered a little already.  Three thugs leaning on your car in the parking lot would fit this description pretty well.

Second would be called the imminent attack.  One that hasn’t happened yet, but is about to.  This may be something like seeing the bad guy(s) getting into position or creating a distraction, such as the cliché but often used “Hey buddy, what time is it?”  Or the more obvious, “I’m going to kick your ass!”  In this second form, if you have detected this one, you have identified a threat, and you’d better be taking active countermeasures.

This is the hardest to master and it takes a conscious effort of awareness, vigilance and discipline to be successful.  But it is the safest and most successful way of ensuring your safe way out of a potentially dangerous situation.  Just remember condition Yellow.

The third way that an attack is detected is when it is already in progress – when it is actually happening to you.  Unfortunately, if an attack is already in progress this would be “the attack you never saw coming” and it may be, the last attack you never saw coming.  Don’t let it happen to you.

Copyright Ernest Emerson 2016

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One Knife One Weapon

here are certain aspects of the attack scenario that are common among all physical confrontations between individuals.  By becoming aware of what those commonalities are, you can prepare for them and use them to your advantage.

The first commonality is that 85% of the population is right handed.  Almost without exception, a person will strike first and foremost with their dominant hand.  Further, the second commonality is that a majority of the time, they will strike over and over with the same punch/strike again and again.  Remember, as much training as the terrorists may have had, they are not trained to the level of a professional fighter.  An amateur or minimally trained fighter when faced with a real fight will inevitably revert back to this repeated strike mentality.

A third commonality is that this one strike effect is multiplied if the attacker has a weapon in his hand.  In this case there is so much focus on the weapon that it overrides the individual’s ability to strike with anything except the weapon.  In this case you can be assured of the same strike over and over.  It doesn’t matter what the weapon is, knife, pen, stick, tray, etc.. The mental fixation on the object held in the hand dominates the mind.  This works to your advantage because if you see or identify anything in the attacker’s hand, that’s what he’s going to hit you with.  This gives you a heads up on what you’re going to have to defend against.

Un-Armed Counters To An Edged Weapon Attack

Any edged weapon attack involves two priorities.  First, limiting the damage to yourself, especially the face and neck and secondly controlling or negating the ability of the attacker to strike effectively.  How do you employ these priorities?

The first principle is to cover effectively but not submissively – (the universal cover and ready stance).  The next principle is to present the least vulnerable target.  The outside of the arms – (the triangle defense) and other “hard targets.”

The third principle is to close the gap and tie the opponent up so that he can no longer strike.  This also forces the opponent to start reacting to you so that in effect he must go from an “offensive mindset” to a “defensive mindset,” due to your counterattack.  This change in mindset is key to fighting off the attack effectively and must be your overall priority in defending against the edged weapon attack.  An attack with an edged weapon is quick and vicious and you must expect to get hit several times during your initial defense against the attack.  However, this must not deter you from changing from being the defender to being the attacker.  You cannot hesitate or be indecisive.  Remember, in most edged weapon encounters, the defender dies.

Copyright © 2016 Ernest Emerson

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n any situation whether it is in the safety of home watching TV or in the heat of a firefight, we all respond to instinctual triggers. This is not referring to the fight or flight mechanism that is initiated under threat of danger, but something even more simple and basic.

The instinctual triggers do not need danger to be initiated.  Just as touching a hot stove produces a reflex reaction whether you are in danger or not, these instinctual or reflexive reactions happen any time they are triggered.

In terms of Defensive Tactics, or hand-to-hand combat, knowing how you are going to react when triggered and conversely, how to trigger these reactions in an opponent, allows you to use them to your advantage.

The premise of this article is to discuss events that are taking place just prior to and during an attack, not the events leading up to the attack. These are things that are going on during the fight. How you stay out of it or prevent the fight, is another subject altogether.

THE STARTLE RESPONSE

This response is universal throughout nature and is common to almost all bipedal animals and to most 4-legged animals that spend time upright on their hind legs.  This is actually a very complex mechanism. It is the core premise around which the Emerson Combat System is largely based.

Any time the true startle response is triggered, the human body reacts as follows:

The legs flex and the knees bend slightly to “spring Load” your stance for

     immediate movement.

The stomach muscles tighten and contract to protect the midsection.
The shoulders contract inward and hunch up like you’re doing a shrug—to protect the neck and frontal midline.
The hand and arms come up in front and the elbows contract inward.
The fingers splay and extend and finish in a position about mid-face level to also protect the eyes and neck area.

This response actually provides a natural fighting stance and gives the human being a good base from which to launch an attack, a strike, or a defense against an attack.

As the one who is usually not initiating the attack, you should practice going from a relaxed stance, jumping into or “startling” into the stance that I have just described. In our training courses we call it the Universal Fighting Stance.  Familiarize yourself with this spring–loaded stance and practice immediately launching a kick, punch, or strike out of this stance as you become more and more familiar with the natural balance and power that it provides. Do not be overly concerned with where your feet are—you’ll know if you’re balanced—and whether or not your right or left foot is forward.  In a spontaneous attack you may be in the middle of a step and have no control over “right lead or left lead.” You must always try to protect your gun side, but in the case of a real blind side attack, you don’t get to choose—at least at first.

There’s not a lot to say about this reaction in terms of the bad guy except that he will react this way, too, if the response is triggered in him. Just be aware that it provides pretty good natural frontal protection. If for instance you are going to strike him with a baton, it is probably more likely to succeed if the strike is from the side—say to the leg—rather than directly up the middle.

DESTRUCTION OF BALANCE

Any time you take away someone’s balance and he starts to fall or perceive that he is falling, he will try to recover his balance or break his fall. How does this apply to an attack scenario? Well, let’s say for example that a 285 lb drunken biker has gotten the drop on you and is whaling” away on you. Let’s say that he is throwing haymakers and you’ve gone into a defensive posture, “the cover” in boxing terms. How do you break the momentum of his attack? Let me give you several examples. In this instance, getting away (always choice #1) is not available.

You could dive in and grab his legs, (both are the best, one will do), and execute a double or single leg take down. You could lunge in and grab him around the waist, spinning violently to either side while pulling him down, or you could just try and defend against those punches and take a severe beating in the process.  There are dozens of ways to take another person off his feet. These could be any of the following: trips, throws, sweeps, reaps, pickups, or just a plain old football tackle. The results will always be the same in. The punching will stop. And now, since the bad guy will either be trying to stop you from taking him down, or breaking his fall, should you succeed, you will have broken his momentum and forced him to react to you. This now gives you the opportunity to wrest control of the situation. He will not allow his head or face to be planted into the concrete without trying to break his fall. This same principle applies when someone has grabbed you in a death grip, bear hug, or by the uniform. When that bad guy feels himself headed towards the blacktop, his grip will loosen.

PROTECTING THE EYES

Human beings need eyesight to survive as a species.  There is a huge portion of the brain dedicated to processing visual stimuli.  There is a large portion of our survival mechanism devoted to protecting the eyes. Remember the startle response.

If you are attacked, let’s say grabbed from behind and picked up for example, if possible attack the eyes with your fingers or any object, poking, stabbing, clawing etc. It will have a profound effect on the bad guy.  He will have to protect his eyes. Think of it like this. You might let me punch you hard in the shoulder. Would you let me, ever so lightly, just flick you in the eye? I won’t even hit both eyes, just one. All you have to do is get at the eyes. If the bad guy has you bent backwards over the hood of your car in a strangle hold, and you can get a finger into his eyes, I guarantee you will be able to escape. The eyes are a soft target and no one, no matter how big can take a poke in the eyes (barring psychotic drugs) and still fight effectively. Imagine someone jabbing at your eyes with a ballpoint pen. Do you think you’re going to be trying to execute a wristlock or are you going to stop that pen from putting your eye out? It’s so effective, yet very seldom used. The reason is that we are not dirty fighters and eye gouging is the ultimate in dirty fighting. Even in a fight to protect your daughter’s honor you wouldn’t hesitate to break the guy’s arm—but would you put his eye out? We, the good guys just don’t think like that. I want you to be aware of this point, though. Not every poke in the eye puts someone’s eye out. If it did, there would be a huge amount of one–eyed basketball players out there.  However, if you’ve ever been poked in the eye, it stops you dead in your tracks until your vision recovers. Just striking towards the eyes without contacting them will produce a strong reaction in the opponent, often times enough to loosen a grip. If you do hit the eye, it’s even better.

OBSTRUCTION OF AIRWAYS

How long can you hold your breath? One minute? Two minutes? Maybe three? All right now, give me a 50-yard sprint, get back here and give me 25 pushups.  Now how long can you hold your breath, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, twenty seconds? By the time you get to ten seconds, each second seems like a minute.  Have you ever been in a near drowning situation? I have twice, once in an ice filled river and once in massive breakers off the California coast. I am here to tell you that there is nothing that creates the overwhelming panic and fear that being unable to take a breath causes. Because this is so primal a reaction, you can use it to great effect against an adversary. For example, you are in a wrestling match with an adversary and he has you clamped in a headlock where, because of his superior size or strength you are unable to escape. If you are able to reach around and cup your hand over his nose and mouth, you will elicit a reaction.  You don’t even need to run him out of breath. Just having something over the nose and mouth that interferes with breathing will cause him to weaken his hold, maybe cause him to break it if you have a good seal. Have someone cup their hand over your nose and mouth to experience how uncomfortable the feeling is. The first thing you want to do is just reach up and get that hand off your face.

You will elicit the same reaction by grabbing or encircling someone’s throat and neck. When you start to execute a choke or strangle by putting your arm around an opponent’s neck, you will start to get a reaction from him. If you succeed in getting the choke inserted and you get a seal on him, you will definitely get a reaction. Typically, he will reach up with both hands and try to pry your arm away. Unless he is a trained fighter, used to grappling, he will lose his offensive capability altogether and become completely defensive trying to prevent the choke. Once again he is now reacting to you and this means you have broken his offensive momentum. He is no longer attacking.

ONE WEAPON – ONE STRIKE

There is a curious but real phenomenon that occurs whenever a person has a weapon in his hand. If the bad guy has a club in his hand, he will swing, throwing the same strike over and over again.  In fact in most fights, real fights, a person will often throw the same punch, say a right cross, (his dominant hand) over and over again. Now I know all the martial arts guys will say, “I’d be throwing kicks, punches, elbows and I’d be striking with the club.  Well, I’m here to tell you that even “trained” fighters fall prey to this.  I’ve been involved in the fight game for 32 years in boxing, wrestling, jiu jitsu, Jeet Kune Do, and I’ve trained a lot of fighters. The hardest thing to teach a novice boxer is to throw combinations.  He just wants to throw one punch at a time over and over again.  I can take almost any student in class, put him in a sparring match and stick a rubber knife in his hand and guess what? No more kicks, no more punches, no head butts, no elbows, just the knife strike over and over again.

How can you make this work to your advantage? Well, thankfully most bad guys, even street fighters are not trained technicians and though they may have their tricks (usually getting in a sucker punch first) they are going to fall prey to this phenomenon almost every time.  So if he’s going to punch you it will be with his right hand at least 85% of the time, since 85% of the population is right handed. If he has a weapon in his hand, 99% of the time it is held in his dominant hand. That is where the strike will come from. Further, having a weapon in his hand, it will be the same strike with that weapon, over and over again. Not high, then low, not to the legs, then to the head. Just the same over hand strike over and over again. He will not be throwing knees, elbows, punches, and kick combinations. Now, knowing this allows you to predict quite well what he’s going to do in advance. This gives you a tremendous advantage in defending and/or countering his attack.

Conversely, being aware of this phenomenon, you need to train using ALL of your “weapons”: punches, knees, kicks, elbows, etc., if you are the one with a weapon in your hand. One of the drills I put our students through is one in which I give them a weapon and only allow them to use their off hand. This drill along with a number of other sparring drills I’ve developed forces them out of the one weapon mindset and gets them to use all of the capabilities and “weapons” they have at their disposal.

In conclusion, these instinctive triggers do not represent techniques, and are not devastating or disabling in singular applications. However the key to surviving a violent attack is to avoid or preempt if possible. If not possible,/ then to absorb the initial attack with the least damage to yourself and then immediately turn the tables so that the attacker is reacting to you and not you to him. This sounds great on paper, but in reality it is seldom by the book and is definitely not easy.  You need to rely on all of your training, your skills and your wits to save your skin. Any fight is a game of chance and the way to win is to stack the odds in your favor. Being aware of and using these triggers is one of the tools that you can use along with all of your other training. It is a good way to keep some aces up your sleeve.

Copyright © 2016 Ernest Emerson

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Ferocious Resolve and the Loss of Self
Winning the Battle of the Minds

ave you ever seen two boxers staring each other down in the center of the ring before the fight?  Why do you think they do this?  Simply, they are trying to psychologically intimidate each other.  Two psychological statements are being made.  One is, “I’m not scared of you,” and the other is, “I’m going to kick your ass!”  This action in easy understandable terms defines the classic “psyching out your opponent,” that we’ve all heard of at some point in our lives.

That example is a very easy way to illustrate the psychological interaction of human behavior, between two individuals engaged in or about to engage in combat.  However, there’s a lot more going on than the eye can see. In real combat the stakes are not whose hand is raised at the end, but who ends up in a coffin.

I’ve stressed all along, the vital if not primary role that the mind plays in surviving a life threatening encounter. Now let’s take a look at what role it plays during combat itself.

The apex predator in North America is the male grizzly bear.  Its 800 pounds of tooth claw and bones held together by muscle.  It can kill a 700 pound elk with one blow and it fears no other species of animal.

Yet there is one animal that can and will kill a male grizzly.  What animal could that be?  A 400 pound female grizzly.  How could that possibly be?  The male outweighs her by 400 pounds and is bigger, meaner, and stronger. The answer is; when the female is defending her young. In the wild, males will often kill the offspring sired by other males in order to drive the females into estrus and pass on their genes to their progeny.

How can the female kill a bear that dwarfs it in size?  There are several major dynamics at work that give the female the advantage that she needs.  She will fight to kill the male grizzly (Purpose and Intent).  She has no regard for her own safety (Loss of Self).  And, she will fight to the death (Ferocious Resolve).

Let’s examine these three separate but necessary parts of the whole as they relate to combat, their effects on you, their effects on the opponent, and why they are necessary for your survival when you are confronted with the harsh realities of a violent encounter.

We’ll start with Purpose and Intent.  Using the female grizzly as our model, if she is attacked by a male grizzly over territory, food, or any reason excluding protecting her young, the male grizzly would easily subdue her, drive her away or kill her.  Perhaps he is a serial killer grizzly and she was to become his latest victim.  

What is the difference?  Same bears, same fight – but no purpose.  The difference is plain to see.  She didn’t have anything to fight for.  There was no purpose to fight.  She did not want to hurt or kill the male grizzly – no Intent.  She could always get other food or move to another territory.  So in this case the male grizzly dominates the other bear both physically and psychologically.  Just as with humans, (after all we are still animals), there must be a purpose to fight, a cause, or a reason, or your heart just won’t be in it.  This purpose, whether it is to protect children, loved ones, partners, teammates, or the soldier next to you, is a vital element of survival against the odds.  This purpose can also be driven by less tangible but sometimes just as important reasons such as religion, justice, patriotism or moral righteousness.  Sometimes it’s just plain self-preservation.  Whatever that reason is, there must be a reason.

In regard to Intent, there must be a goal.  And that Intent must be to meet force of violence by responding with Overwhelming Force of Violence.  If you must fight, you have to fight to win – from the very onset.  Whenever I worked with the Brits they were always talking about the switch.  Are you switched on?  Switch on – switch off – developing your switch, etc.

I came to realize that what they meant was, in simple terms of a fight, your switch had better be turned on or you’re going to lose.  Switched on can also mean being aware of your surroundings, your environment and many other things. If you enter into the fight, any fight without the Intent to kill if necessary, then you may not get that option after you’ve been stabbed several times, shot, or beaten with a pipe.  Here’s where most attorney types and a lot of Law Enforcement people say, “Hey, wait a minute.  You can’t tell people to go out and kill someone just because they’ve said, “F..k you. I’m gonna kick your ass!”  So let me say this once again. The premise of this articles is “Surviving the Deadly Attack.”  Maybe it would be better to describe my point in more benign terms.  The female grizzly enters the fight to protect her young at full blood lust rage knowing that if she has to, she will kill the male grizzly to protect her young.  Even more benign is this.  Walk over to your stereo and turn it on.  Now adjust the volume; turn it up so you can hear it.  Or… walk over to the stereo turn the volume up to full blast and then hit the on switch.  That is the difference I am talking about.  Against true, raw, naked violence you don’t have the option of turning up the volume, ramping up to fight off an attacker during the attack.  You need to hit them at full volume and then turn the volume down as is warranted both morally and legally as the dynamics change.  You’ve got to switch on at full volume until the threat is neutralized.  Sometimes just “putting up your dukes,” stops a fight before it starts as long as you are ready to go “all the way.”  If that is your intent, the opponent will get the message – psychologically.  It speaks loud and clear without a word being said.

The second aspect of the fight between the minds is what the Japanese Samurai call “The loss of self.”  What this means is that in order to fight, really fight with everything that you have, with no hesitation or holding back, you must have no regard for injury or harm to yourself.  Why was this important to the Samurai?  Because when two opponents are fighting each other in mortal combat with razor sharp swords that will cut a man in half, there can be no hesitation, second guessing or fear of being cut or injured.  “He who hesitates is lost,” is absolutely true in terms of mortal combat.  Many times we have been regaled with stories of soldiers who fought on against the enemy against incredible odds and serious injuries that any one of which would be enough to disable someone under “normal” conditions.  If you’ve ever had the opportunity to hear or talk to any of those individuals, you will find that they had “ceased to exist” in those moments and that there was only the enemy to defeat.  Everything in their being was channeled to defeating or killing the enemy.  There was nothing held back. It was pure focus and determination at the cost of all other considerations.  There was NO FEAR!  Mind you, I’m not talking about courage here.  That is something that is also necessary.  And many times that courage is fueled by Purpose as mentioned earlier.  

What I’m talking about here is a state of mind.  A psychological phenomenon.  It is also part of what enables the grandmother to pick the car up, off of her grandson.  There is no, “I can’t pick up the car.”  There is no, “It’s too heavy for me.”  There is no “I” or “me.”  There is only, “PICK UP THE CAR!”  I call this the Superman moment.  We all have it, you may have never used it, but you’ve got to believe it exists.

             The third and very vital component of the battle of the wills is this.  I will fight to the death, Ferocious  Resolve.  When the female grizzly is defending her young she will fight to the death to protect them, willfully sacrificing herself to save her babies.  This is the “never give up – never surrender” state of being that gives you the resolve and the ferociousness of a cornered deadly animal.  Somehow the male Grizzly knows this and it has an effect.  It’s not seeable, it’s not physical, but it’s there, in force.  The male grizzly feels it and this gives the female a huge psychological advantage over the male.  The knowledge that you will fight to the death is a powerful potion. Most people will never know if they would or if they could.  I guess that proves that our laws, our system and our individual morals and ethics are in good working order.  This is a good thing.

However there are people – very bad people in our midst that intend to do us harm. Given the right circumstances they will perpetrate their evil deed.  You might be one of the lucky ones whose path is never crossed by such evil.

But for the Warrior, those who see danger where others are oblivious, there is no doubt about the question, “Will I fight to the death?”  They already know the answer.

In a conventional confrontation, in the brief seconds prior to the first strike or blow, the battle of the minds has already begun and the battle of the wills is already engaged.  In the case of a surprise attack or ambush, the battle of the minds begins simultaneously to the physical engagement, but it is still taking place throughout the encounter.

In any case, if all other things are equal, (size strength and skill) then the combatant with the psychological edge will usually win the battle. In a lot of cases where the opponent has the edge in strength, size, and skills, the combatant with the strongest resolve, the greatest force of will can still win the fight even against “the odds.”

When your opponent senses that he is up against a true Warrior, one who is projecting “I’m fighting for a righteous purpose.  I’ll kill you if I have to.  I don’t care what happens to me and I will fight to the death,” then your opponent knows immediately the price he is about to pay for his mistake.  And the moment he senses that, and knows that he is up against a 10-foot-tall fire breathing dragon, his resolve will crumble and you will prevail.  In so many cases the battle of the minds determines the outcome of the battle of the fists.  You must be armed and prepared to fight on both fronts to be the winner.  Just remember never to neglect one, for the other.

Copyright © 2016 Ernest Emerson

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EXTREME VIOLENCE PART I

What Will Happen To You And What To Expect

pretty young flight attendant starts up the aisle to respond to a call light above a seat in row 23.  As she passes the fourth row a man stands up, steps behind her, and grabs her.  No one even notices his actions.  Her eyes go wide with surprise as he cuts across her neck from her left ear across her throat tearing out the front of her trachea.  Still not realizing what has just happened, the flight attendants hands come up to her throat, blood spraying from her severed arteries as her expression changes from surprise to mortal terror.  From behind her are heard shouts of “Allah Akbar!”  The man strips the flight attendant’s hands down from her neck fully exposing the gaping wound as her muffled scream is nothing more than loud choking gurgles.  Even now passengers are still watching, drawn more to a “commotion” than actually realizing what was taking place.  The man throws the attendant face-down into the aisle and stands with one foot in the middle of her back as she writhes violently about in her last seconds of life upon this earth.  Still shouting “Allah Akbar”, the man, now with a crazed look of a rabid animal keeps shouting his cursed chant, “Allah Akbar.”  The time was 8:19 AM.  The date was 9-11-01.  The plane was American Airlines Flight #11.  And the rest of his unholy team sprang into action.

The initial step of this takeover was a carefully planned and orchestrated event.  It took approximately 32 seconds from start to finish.  In those 32 seconds, during which two flight attendants had their throats cut, no one even moved, save to “see what was going on.”  The hi-Jackers had planned well, very well.  They chose this act of violence as the first act of their deadly play.  Why?

They were well aware of the effect that an act of extreme violence has on a “normal” person.  They were aware of both the physical and psychological effects that this brutal act would provide for them.

Would they have even stood a chance of taking over the plane if they had merely stood up waving a razor knife and started yelling, “We are taking over this plane!”?

The initial non-reaction of the passengers had nothing to do with bravery or cowardice.  It had to do with a human being’s reaction to a spontaneous, event that was so far out of context and so shocking and surreal that the human mind just could not process what was happening.  There was no previous frame of reference for the mind to immediately recognize what was going on.

This act of violence and the resulting shock and terror was what enabled these Islamic Jihadists to take control of the airplane and complete their deadly, unholy mission.

That first process is what I will introduce in this half of the discourse on the effects of Extreme Violence.

We have all heard of the “fight or flight” reaction to a spontaneous, unanticipated threat.  Well, there is much more to it than fight or flight. There is another process that must be completed before fight or flight is even activated.

You must be aware of and understand these processes and reactions that will allow you to see them for what they are and to use them to your advantage and not to be completely submissive to them.

Without going into great detail about the historical origin of these processes, I will briefly frame, then explain them so that you understand the process to a sufficient degree to prevent you from being caught completely unaware of their effects should the insanity of extreme violence ever come knocking on your door.

The OODA loop is a process that is the hard wired sequence which the human mind must go through every time it is confronted with a spontaneous, unexpected stimulus or stress.  Please reference Lt. Col John Boyd for a detailed history and thorough analysis of the OODA loop.

Have you ever come around a corner or turned to go through a doorway when suddenly there was someone already there and you were “startled.”  If you have, then you were in the middle of the OODA loop.  What OODA stands for is Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act.  Whenever the mind “sees” something for the first time, the OODA loop is switched on and running.  It only takes a few microseconds to complete from start to finish, but in terms of life or death those few micro seconds might seem to last an eternity.

As the eyes, ears or other sensory organs are triggered by an outside stimulus, Observe is the first step in the OODA loop, when raw data is being poured in.  There is not yet any judgment formed by the mind as to good, bad, threat, benign or anything else.  An analogy might be turning on the T.V. and seeing the image.  You don’t know what program you’re watching for a moment.  Every human mind, every person will experience this.

The second phase of the loop, “Orient”, is when the mind analyzes and recognizes or defines what it is that it is “seeing.”  That is when the brain says, human, dog, gunshot, punch, car running a red light, etc.  The mind cannot figure out what to do if it doesn’t know what it is hearing, seeing, or feeling.  Using the TV analogy, this would be when you see the face of an actor and recognize it, which then tells you which show it is.  “It’s Jack Bauer – must be 24.”  Orienting is “recognizing” the raw data and starting to categorize it, which leads to the next resulting phase.

Decision, the “d,” in OODA is the immediate process of the mind responding to the analysis of the stimulus according to the recognition of the stimulus.  During this phase the mind assesses the recognized stimulus and assigns a value to it. At this point a trigger is pulled which is the mind’s decision as to the nature and value of the stimulus and what must be done by the body as a result of the stimulus.  For example, gunshot = threat = duck.  A punch to the face would trigger, Danger = hands up and cover.  A honking horn and screeching tires = danger = get back on the curb or if you’re driving, hit the brakes.  Once again using the TV analogy, this is when after recognizing “24” you decide, leave it on or, “I’ve already seen this episode; change channels.”  

And the next step is reaching for the remote.  That next step is action.  This is the moment in time when Observe, Orient, and Decide have come up with a conclusion and potential response, a fire solution, to the initial stimulus.  Notice I say potential.  That’s because, to the outside world nothing would have appear to have happened yet.  Everything up to this point is internal.  “Action” is now the moment when everything previous has caused the brain to fire off an electro-chemical signal through the nervous system to trigger the proper muscles into action.  This is when you finally duck, cover, crouch, recoil, turn, jump back to the curb, or physically push the button on the TV remote.  It is the end result, the physical manifestation of the OODA loop process.

Now, the way that I’ve described it here it would make it seem like this process takes minutes to complete.  That is only because I have the luxury of saying this in the safe cocoon of after-the-fact analysis.  In fact this is the reason that so many juries, no, all juries have so much trouble understanding why a police officer drew and fired his gun.  What originally took a second to take place is presented to a jury over days, or sometimes weeks of discussion.  Whereas uneducated jurors have the luxury of long analysis and deliberations, an officer has only micro seconds to interpret, decide and act.  We’ve all heard, “Why did you shoot?  He only was pointing his cell phone at you.”

The problem is that in these micro-seconds of extreme danger when these life or death decisions are made, the mind sometimes misinterprets the picture that it sees.

Some of the real answers to that last question are the result of another process that is also taking place during the response to unexpected spontaneous stimulus.  It is commonly called the Flight or Fight response and there is much more to it than most of us know.

We’ll delve into that process in the next article – Extreme Violence Part II: Fight or Flight – It’s not your only choice.

Copyright © 2016 Ernest Emerson

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eveloping the Power Punch. There is always an interest in this subject and since I teach a specific evolution on how to develop ultimate power, I thought I would share some of my insights with you.  Let me qualify a few things first.  I have always been considered a heavy hitter, both as a boxer, a kick boxer and a no holds barred fighter.  As a life long student and instructor of combat fighting arts (over 35 years) it wasn’t until about 15 years ago that I realized that you could teach fighters, not just to hit harder, but that you could teach them to hit as hard as they possibly could.  So for the last 15 years I have studied, interviewed and trained with some of the heaviest punchers in boxing and various other fighting arts in an effort to understand and define what are the ingredients needed to hit hard – real hard.

My research has also included in depth studies of human biomechanics, anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology.

I have found that there were several things that all heavy hitters had in common and several things that none had in common. Some were tall and thin – Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns.  Some were built like body builders – Mike Tyson.  Some were light framed and slight of build – Bruce Lee.  What became important to me was what the commonalities were, and could they be categorized and then taught, encouraged, or brought out in others?  The answer was yes.

I have broken down the whole package down into 5 absolutely essential attributes that can be taught to others or enhanced in yourself that will increase your power dramatically.  They are as follows;

Body Mechanics – You must have proper body mechanics.  Most martial artists and many boxers have poor to marginal body mechanics.  Without going into too much detail, proper body mechanics must include footwork, violent hip rotation, proper shoulder/arm position and correct fist/wrist/arm alignment.  However, the most important aspect of proper body mechanics is efficiency of motion and economy of action.  In other words, no unnecessary motion or muscular action.  Think of it as your entire body being relaxed and only the muscles and motion needed to deliver the action (in this case a punch) are activated.  I am big, big on body mechanics in my instruction and I could go on here for several more pages but, I’ve got 4 more categories to cover.  Let me just say this.  If you want to see proper body mechanics in action take a look at films of Muhammad Ali or Bruce Lee.  They are both perfect examples of what your body mechanics should reflect.
Speed – This is the simplest to understand and yet, maybe the most difficult to execute.  It’s really simple physics here guys.  Newton’s 2nd Law.  Acceleration times mass equals force.  The faster your punch travels the more power it generates.  Now most people assume they are born with a certain speed.  “I wish I could be as fast as John.  John is just naturally fast.”  Well, the truth is, you are born with a certain speed.  That speed is as fast as any other human who has ever walked the face of this earth.  You just have to realize it.  The activation of the muscle cells used to move the arm or any part of the body is the result of an electrochemical reaction.  It travels at a fixed rate just like electricity or the speed of light.  Barring some physiological abnormality or disease, your ability to activate your muscles is just as fast as the fastest person you have ever seen or admired.  However, if you are a slow thinker or a slow reactor (mentally) then you will never be able to realize your full speed potential because your thinking will be a beat or two behind your opponent.  In order to be fast – real fast – you also need to start training your mind to start thinking faster.  You have to look at speed thinking just like speed reading.  The faster you force yourself to read, the faster you can read.  It’s not just your arms or legs, your brain has to start working faster also.  

There are two key elements to increasing your speed.  You gotta believe, brother.  You have to start thinking and convincing yourself that you are the fastest human being that ever lived – ever! And you have to start thinking fast.  I mean believe it – no self doubts – none.  The second key element is that you have to start moving fast, punching fast – punching faster.  Now I know it’s a little different when I’m standing in front of you screaming Punch fast.  Faster!  Faster, Damn it!  But you have to push yourself on this one.  This is where the proper body mechanics start to become evident.  You can’t be fast if you’re out of balance or clumsy.  Remember efficiency of action, economy of motion?  You can’t be fast if you’re all tensed up and adding any unnecessary motion to your effort.  Think of a world-class 100-meter sprinter.  He practices sprinting not jogging. He practices explosive starts out of the blocks, etc.  He practices sprinting at full speed.  There are dozens of drills and exercises to increase or enhance speed but the most important, really, is convincing yourself that you are that fast.  If you can do that, the rest starts to fall into place by itself.  Now, I know that some people are born with various ratios of fast twitch to slow twitch muscle cells.  Such is the difference between a sprinter and a marathoner.  However, I can still make a slow twitch dominant individual faster, after I work with him, than he was before I trained him.

Accuracy – All the power in the world is nothing if you can’t put it where you want.  The most powerful gun in the world is useless if it cannot hit the target.  Punching power is really all about the transfer of energy.  The more energy I can deliver to a target the more efficient and effective I am.  One thing you will notice is that as your speed increases, your accuracy will decline.  You must practice accuracy drills at full speed to increase your accuracy at full speed.  It’s just that simple. There are lots of accuracy drills, but here is my personal favorite. Hang a piece of paper with a small black circle on it about the size of a ping pong ball or smaller.  Hang it so it’s suspended at about chin level and practice finger jabs or punches at full speed against it.  I hang mine taped to the end of a light chain so it returns faster.  Concentrate on moving at full ultimate speed and centering the target.  It will come with practice and you will see improvement the more you do it.
Timing – You have to put your punch where the target is – not where it was.  Think of it like leading a duck with a shotgun.  You’re not shooting where the duck is, you’re shooting where the duck will be.  Timing is not accuracy.  Accuracy is accuracy.  In simple terms timing is estimation. Timing is experience.  Timing is developed by sparring.  It is developed by training against an individual who is moving in a spontaneous and unrehearsed manner.  Timing is a very perishable skill and is what boxers refer to as “ring rust” if they haven’t fought for a while.  It’s why they spar and why they use tune up fights before the big match.  There are some drills that you can do, but timing is really, only, developed by actual live sparring.
Mental Intensity – this is where it gets a little voodoo.  Any of you who know me know I do not believe in Chi or Ki or any of that Hocus Pocus.  I don’t care if anyone can bend a metal rod on their throat.  What good does that do you?  With the UFC, K1 and Pride Fight purses getting into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, I’m still waiting for some little skinny guy to step up and knock out any current champion.  Anyway, I digress.  Bruce Lee once said when asked about which specific nerve or pressure points he would hit, “I want you to hit so hard that it doesn’t matter where you hit your opponent, you will still bring him to his knees.”  Mike Tyson was once asked early in his career, “How is it that you can knock your opponents out just with body shots?”  He simply replied, “You have to throw your punches with bad intent.”  This was a simple yet perfect summation of what it takes to be a power puncher.  You have to throw with everything you’ve got.  Nothing left.  Watch a boxer like a young “Iron” Mike Tyson, Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran, John “The Beast” Mugabi, Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns or a “Irish” Micky Ward, they throw every punch as hard as they possibly can.  You can tell, you can see it and the opponent can certainly feel it.  And they have the knockout record to prove it.  

There are plenty of exercises and drills that you can do that will enhance your power but really the best – the best – is to stand toe to toe with a heavy bag and hit it like you want to rip it from the ceiling.  The heavy bag is the only place you can really hit something as hard as humanly possible.  And that is what you have to do.  Hit the bag as hard as humanly possible.  You can hit much harder that you think you can – really.  But you have to do it.  It’s the same principle as when a spotter can scream at you to put that weight up, to grind out that last rep.  Something, someone, has to push you to go a little harder.  You have to be that someone.  You have to hit harder, Harder!  HARDER!  Yes, I know you can sacrifice speed by trying to emphasize power.  But that’s for the amateurs.  A huge lumbering thump of a punch is not what I’m talking about here.  I’m talking about having a grenade detonate every time your fist strikes the bag.  And I’m talking about a grenade thrown by your arm with the speed of lightning.  Therein lies the difference – a big difference.  

Bear in mind though, that you will need all of the other attributes to fully make use of true mental intensity and see its results.  At the same time, you could fully develop all of the first four attributes but still not experience your ultimate potential, if you don’t add the magic ingredient, “Bad Intent”.  You will need the correct body mechanics, speed, accuracy and timing.  Leave any of them out and you won’t be able to hit the bag as hard as you want and you will feel it.  I practice every one of these attributes every time I train and it has paid off for me.

This is far too brief to really describe all of the attributes and drills you could do, but these are the five essential ingredients for developing true heavy punching power.  Be creative, experiment, and develop and pursue the drills or exercises that enhance these 5 attributes and you will get the extra horsepower that increases your punching power.  I hope that you find this useful to your training.

There are two slogans in the Emerson Combat Systems relevant to developing your power punch, one is: “With Bad Intent” and the other is: “Train Like a Madman . . . Fight Like a Demon.”  It’s all about how you look at it.

Copyright © 2016 Ernest Emerson

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Against the Gun : To Fight or Not To Fight

ne question that always comes up whenever we get ready to teach gun disarms is, “Can I get shot?”  The answer is yes.  The next question that comes up then is, “Why would I do something that could get me shot?”  The answer to this is, if you know someone is going to shoot you, do you want to just stand there and let him put a bullet right through your heart?  The next question is, “How do I know when someone is going to shoot me?”  My answer is; I don’t know.

Every single situation is different and unique.  The dynamics of every armed encounter carry with them a unique set of circumstances.  Some of these are the circumstances leading up to the encounter, the state of mind of the attacker, the personality of the attacker, the purpose of the attack, the events taking place around and during the attack, and how your reaction to the attack.  These are just some of the most obvious.  There are a myriad of other complexities that are involved and each one adds  to your reaction, “your gut feel” and ultimately your decision to take action or not.  For example, if a bad guy shoots the guy standing next to you and then points the gun at you, there is a high probability you’re going to get shot.  You’re going to need to do something.

Before I go any further, let me briefly touch on one point.  Very few people are ready for the extreme level of physical violence that is perpetrated during a violent armed attack.  This is a good thing for all of us in general.  But this is a bad thing if it happens to you.  The bad guy uses it to his advantage, knowing from experience that most people go into a state of denial, shock or a sort of mind numbness when confronted with extreme physical violence, whether to themselves or someone in close proximity to them.  I’m not going to go into all of the psychological and physiological details as to why, but suffice it to say that many people end up like the “deer in the headlights.”  That’s not what you want to have happen to you.

The bottom line is simply this: if you are confronted with a gun-wielding attacker, you are going to have to make a decision.  That decision is going to be based on your overall “take” of the situation and all of the dynamics involved.  No one can ever tell you what to do in any of these situations since no two are ever alike.  It will be your decision and yours alone if it ever comes down to this moment.

But if you do make the decision to act, what are some of the options that you have available.  Bear in mind though, that yes, you can still get shot.  However, if I believe that a bad guy is going to shoot me, or one of my loved ones, then I’m going to act.  Perfect techniques are only perfect in training.  In reality things are always a little bit off, out of balance or harder to execute.  But if you follow the principles of the technique and act decisively, you should be able to make it work.  The main thing especially when dealing with a gun disarming technique is that if it doesn’t work at first, you cannot stop trying.  Once you have grabbed the gun, you cannot let go.

Since there are many different scenarios that can manifest in a confrontation against a gun, we’ll just discuss several of the more statistically common situations that you may face.  In addition these techniques are chosen because they best illustrate the principles that may be applied to most other similar positions that you may encounter.

Beware of a couple of extremely important points.

The first point is this:

The gun will probably fire during the disarm.  Due to a reflexive reaction by the bad guy, his finger will probably pull the trigger.  That is why it is so important to angle, (move) out of the line of fire while also pushing the gun away from your body.  However, in the case of a semi-auto pistol, (not a revolver), by grabbing the barrel and slide during the discharge of the gun, you will prevent the pistol from cycling.  This will prevent the casing from ejecting and chambering the next round, effectively jamming the gun.  This is why you must perform the tap and rack, when and if you wrest the gun away from the bad guy.  Remember, you want to be able to fire the gun if you have to.

The second and perhaps the most important point is:

Getting shot does not mean you are going to die.  Statistically, a rather small percentage of people shot with pistols actually die.  FBI statistics prove that you are far more likely to die if you are stabbed with a knife than if you are shot.  If you are wounded, you can still fight and you can still win.  You must be aware of this because most people, as a result of being conditioned by movies and T.V., are likely to “give up” assuming that all gunshot wounds are fatal.  This is not the case.  In the end you are going to be in a fight for your survival and once this struggle has begun, you have to fight as ferociously and as ruthlessly as you can, until you are no longer in danger.  In a life or death struggle, your will to live will be as valuable a tool as any of the fighting skills you possess.

There are many disarming techniques that you can use and hopefully if you will experiment with them and apply the principles that I’ve discussed, you’ll discover that there are many more that you can develop and you will find out what works and what does not.

So, in conclusion, even though being faced with a gun may appear to be a no-win situation, it is not.  You still have options, many more than you may realize.  We all hope never to have to use these skills, but if you ever have to, you’ll be thankful to have them in your arsenal.

Copyright © 2016 Ernest Emerson

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