Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Friday, July 19, 2019
Details of How The USN & The USMC Downed the Iranian Drone
No Missles launched or shots fired, just new technology in the form a high tech electronic weapon designed to scramble the long range signals controlling the Drone. It wasn't even ship mounted, it was mounted on a land vehicle that was part of the armament of the Marine Detachment on board the USS Boxer.
Iran shoots down one of our UAV's, and then make the mistake of giving us the opportunity to return the favor.
Such is life.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29063/marine-anti-drone-buggies-on-uss-boxer-knocked-down-threatening-iranian-drone
Information on the Drone Killer system used
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2018/09/19/the-corps-just-slapped-a-counter-drone-system-on-an-mrzr-all-terrain-vehicle/
Iran shoots down one of our UAV's, and then make the mistake of giving us the opportunity to return the favor.
Such is life.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29063/marine-anti-drone-buggies-on-uss-boxer-knocked-down-threatening-iranian-drone
Information on the Drone Killer system used
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2018/09/19/the-corps-just-slapped-a-counter-drone-system-on-an-mrzr-all-terrain-vehicle/
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Shoot Down A U.S. Drone, And What Happens?
You get one of your own (Iranian) Drones shot down when you get too close to a United States Naval Warship.
C'est La Vie!
https://apnews.com/10a56574703d43799a3f3a0cc8ddeb29
C'est La Vie!
https://apnews.com/10a56574703d43799a3f3a0cc8ddeb29
Monday, July 15, 2019
Update On Legal Challenge to NYC Gun Regulations
This is a follow-up to a post I put up in January of this year pertaining to a NYC rule that prohibits NYC Licensed Handgun owners from taking their firearms out of the city. You know, as in outside the City's jurisdiction? The City and the State as well were worried about a SCOTUS decision striking the regulation would open other regulations to Judicial scrutiny as well.
https://wwwblackthorn.blogspot.com/2019/01/new-york-city-gun-owners-may-get-some.html
Accordingly the The City and the State have modified the existing regulation to "give the plaintiffs relief" from the existing situation. They have also now requested that SCOTUS declare the issue moot and refuse to review the case.
As with the repeal of the Gravity Knife Law in June of last month, the last thing the City and State need is to have a precedent set that could result in some of their other laws reviewed by SCOTUS.
The link to the article below explains the current status of the lawsuit.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-asks-supreme-court-to-drop-gun-case-11562618240
https://wwwblackthorn.blogspot.com/2019/01/new-york-city-gun-owners-may-get-some.html
Accordingly the The City and the State have modified the existing regulation to "give the plaintiffs relief" from the existing situation. They have also now requested that SCOTUS declare the issue moot and refuse to review the case.
As with the repeal of the Gravity Knife Law in June of last month, the last thing the City and State need is to have a precedent set that could result in some of their other laws reviewed by SCOTUS.
The link to the article below explains the current status of the lawsuit.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-asks-supreme-court-to-drop-gun-case-11562618240
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Review of W.E. Fairbairn's WW2 'Gutterfighting' Combatives Training Videos
This is an edited version of a short review I did back in 2011 (how time flies) of two remastered copies of original training films made during WW2 that show W.E. Fairbairn demonstrating both the unarmed and knife fighting techniques of his ‘Gutterfighting’ course. The audio is not in English, but the subtitles are well done, and the quality of the video is very good. Since I originally purchased this DVD the company offering it is, to my knowledge, no longer selling copies of the DVD. Copies are hard to find these days, but they do turn up once in a while for a somewhat high, but not unreasonable price.
Aside from the historical value, this DVD offers a visual insight into the actual execution of the techniques, as well as to the physical abilities of Fairbairn himself who was well into his 50's at the time. Whether you are a WW2 buff with an interest in the hand to hand combat practices of the American OSS, the British SOE or the US Marines Raiders or an practitioner of these methods for self defense, this Video is worth having.
Now on to my actual review.
To put it succinctly, this DVD was most definitely worth the money. If you already practice Combatives for self defense, there is nothing earth shattering on it that you probably haven’t seen before in books such as Get Tough. But to actually watch Fairbairn doing this stuff on a film that wasn't falling apart due to age was a real treat.
To cover the Unarmed section first; This section was distilled by Fairbairn down to 4 basic moves. The Tiger Claw, the Chin Jab, the Edge Of Hand, and the low kick. No fluff, no bullshit. And he also brought up something that my Combatives Instructor Carl Cestari always talked about. The need for speed, deception and violence of action. Fairbairn says flat out in the film that if you wait for the boxer, or the judo expert to make the first move, unless you're better than them at their own game, "you're sunk".
No ifs, ands, or buts!
One thing I’d like to mention is that Fairbairn himself says on the video is that most of his approach to kicking came from Chinese boxing. This debunks the claims of the Tenshin Ryu people.
The Fighting Knife section. Again, pretty much what has been shown before in the old manuals. However there were a couple of things that stood out, and one took me by surprise. While the thrust or lunge was covered as the endgame, or killing blow, he actually emphasized using slashes and cuts to the hands and face of your opponent to psych him out, or disable him so that you could get in the finishing blow. There were even a couple of pieces showing Fairbairn "shadow boxing:" with the FS dagger. Let me tell you, for a guy who was in his late 50s, the man could move.
One thing that did surprise me was Fairbairn shadow boxing with an FS dagger in reverse grip.
Also, in Yeatons book about the FS daggers, he quotes Fairbairn as saying that to go unarmed against a knife he "would use a lightning like kick" to disarm his opponent and then attack him. In this film however, he states that if someone attempts to use a kick against you, while you're armed with a knife, pretty much all he would get for his trouble was to have his legs cut up.
Why the discrepancy, I have no idea. I'm just telling you what's in the film.
As for the actual quality of the DVD itself; The two pieces together are just a little over 25 minutes in length (just over 12 minutes each). The quality of the film is excellent for a wartime training film that is well over 60 yrs. old. as advertised, the Knife section is dubbed in Greek, and the Unarmed in German. Now the next point is something i need to tell you. When you start the DVD up, you will see a prompt to go to the "Subtitles" area. You are then given the option to put in the English subtitles or not. On my DVD, I was able to have the Subtitles work when I played it on my PC. However I was unable to get the Subtitles to work when I played the DVD on my DVD player. Now maybe it has to do with my particular player, either the make, model or age, however it is a glitch that I feel you should know about. so if you guys try to watch the DVD on your players and don't get the subtitles, try dropping it into your PC.
Overall though, as I stated up at the beginning of this mini-review, I still feel that this DVD was well worth the cost, and is most definitely a keeper in my collection.
Aside from the historical value, this DVD offers a visual insight into the actual execution of the techniques, as well as to the physical abilities of Fairbairn himself who was well into his 50's at the time. Whether you are a WW2 buff with an interest in the hand to hand combat practices of the American OSS, the British SOE or the US Marines Raiders or an practitioner of these methods for self defense, this Video is worth having.
Now on to my actual review.
To put it succinctly, this DVD was most definitely worth the money. If you already practice Combatives for self defense, there is nothing earth shattering on it that you probably haven’t seen before in books such as Get Tough. But to actually watch Fairbairn doing this stuff on a film that wasn't falling apart due to age was a real treat.
To cover the Unarmed section first; This section was distilled by Fairbairn down to 4 basic moves. The Tiger Claw, the Chin Jab, the Edge Of Hand, and the low kick. No fluff, no bullshit. And he also brought up something that my Combatives Instructor Carl Cestari always talked about. The need for speed, deception and violence of action. Fairbairn says flat out in the film that if you wait for the boxer, or the judo expert to make the first move, unless you're better than them at their own game, "you're sunk".
No ifs, ands, or buts!
One thing I’d like to mention is that Fairbairn himself says on the video is that most of his approach to kicking came from Chinese boxing. This debunks the claims of the Tenshin Ryu people.
The Fighting Knife section. Again, pretty much what has been shown before in the old manuals. However there were a couple of things that stood out, and one took me by surprise. While the thrust or lunge was covered as the endgame, or killing blow, he actually emphasized using slashes and cuts to the hands and face of your opponent to psych him out, or disable him so that you could get in the finishing blow. There were even a couple of pieces showing Fairbairn "shadow boxing:" with the FS dagger. Let me tell you, for a guy who was in his late 50s, the man could move.
One thing that did surprise me was Fairbairn shadow boxing with an FS dagger in reverse grip.
Also, in Yeatons book about the FS daggers, he quotes Fairbairn as saying that to go unarmed against a knife he "would use a lightning like kick" to disarm his opponent and then attack him. In this film however, he states that if someone attempts to use a kick against you, while you're armed with a knife, pretty much all he would get for his trouble was to have his legs cut up.
Why the discrepancy, I have no idea. I'm just telling you what's in the film.
As for the actual quality of the DVD itself; The two pieces together are just a little over 25 minutes in length (just over 12 minutes each). The quality of the film is excellent for a wartime training film that is well over 60 yrs. old. as advertised, the Knife section is dubbed in Greek, and the Unarmed in German. Now the next point is something i need to tell you. When you start the DVD up, you will see a prompt to go to the "Subtitles" area. You are then given the option to put in the English subtitles or not. On my DVD, I was able to have the Subtitles work when I played it on my PC. However I was unable to get the Subtitles to work when I played the DVD on my DVD player. Now maybe it has to do with my particular player, either the make, model or age, however it is a glitch that I feel you should know about. so if you guys try to watch the DVD on your players and don't get the subtitles, try dropping it into your PC.
Overall though, as I stated up at the beginning of this mini-review, I still feel that this DVD was well worth the cost, and is most definitely a keeper in my collection.
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Do You Want To Know What A Two Legged Cheeseburger Is?
"If you look like food, you will be eaten"
The following article is From Claude Werner's 'Tactical Professor' Blog. It;s amazing how many people these days fit this description.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
The Definitive Motherload Of Combatives Videos by Carl Cestari
I have no idea who the guy 'Bill' is that wrote these reviews and detailed descriptions of Carl's Instructional Videos (some of which I never even knew about), but this is the single most complete listing I have ever seen. The breakdowns, descriptions and his opinions are quite comprehensive.
However I must make one note. In the leading paragraph he states that Carl was a former Army Ranger. That statement is not correct and is most likely a misunderstanding of the fact that Carl Cestari was leaving his job with his Law Enforcement Agency to enlist.
Other than that, gentlemen, prepare for a long reading session on your PC monitor.
http://calledtoalwaysbeready.blogspot.com/2018/08/defendu-by-carl-cestari-review.html
However I must make one note. In the leading paragraph he states that Carl was a former Army Ranger. That statement is not correct and is most likely a misunderstanding of the fact that Carl Cestari was leaving his job with his Law Enforcement Agency to enlist.
Other than that, gentlemen, prepare for a long reading session on your PC monitor.
http://calledtoalwaysbeready.blogspot.com/2018/08/defendu-by-carl-cestari-review.html
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Curses, Foiled Again! It's Tough Being The Iranian Government These Days
Not only are the sanctions against them really fucking up their Economy, but their attempt to get even with the British for seizing an Iranian Oil Tanker attempting to bring oil to Syria has not worked out as well as they had hoped.
While the British government may have become inept at many things, apparently the Royal Navy still knows how to do their job.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/iranian-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-boats-tried-failed-to-seize-british-oil-tanker-in-persian-gulf-senior-us-defense-official-says
While the British government may have become inept at many things, apparently the Royal Navy still knows how to do their job.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/iranian-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-boats-tried-failed-to-seize-british-oil-tanker-in-persian-gulf-senior-us-defense-official-says
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Functional Psychopaths And The Lines Of Work You Find Them In
Two interesting articles about Psychopathic behavior that doesn't involve Homicide, and how Functional Psychopaths (Talk about a counter-intuitive term) are drawn to, and excel in, particular fields of Employment.
As the Quote goes, " Always be respectful when you speak to someone. You never know who's a Psychopath"
https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-perks-of-being-a-psychopath/
https://www.inc.com/business-insider/where-what-psychopaths-work-do-for-a-living-kevin-dutton-wisdom-of-psychopaths.html
As the Quote goes, " Always be respectful when you speak to someone. You never know who's a Psychopath"
https://psychcentral.com/blog/the-perks-of-being-a-psychopath/
https://www.inc.com/business-insider/where-what-psychopaths-work-do-for-a-living-kevin-dutton-wisdom-of-psychopaths.html
Saturday, July 6, 2019
"Run, Hide, Fight" My Ass.
This is how Schools in Utah are handling the possibility of an Active Shooter situation. And they're not just giving permission for the teachers to carry guns, they're actually being trained by local Law Enforcement.
How well will they be trained, and will all of the teachers actually be able to deal with an Active Shooter if it happens? Time will tell if the situation should unfortunately develop in a Utah school. However at least Utah is not just discounting the arming and training of teachers. Even more telling is the fact that half of the 30 teachers referenced in this news article already had Utah CCW licenses and brought their own sidearms.
While having a CCW does not automatically confer gunfighting skills, already having one and submitting to pprofessional training shows a willingness to make an actual effort to do something other than be just another unarmed victim.
https://apnews.com/f5968f1050d1493db8ed781b91120384
How well will they be trained, and will all of the teachers actually be able to deal with an Active Shooter if it happens? Time will tell if the situation should unfortunately develop in a Utah school. However at least Utah is not just discounting the arming and training of teachers. Even more telling is the fact that half of the 30 teachers referenced in this news article already had Utah CCW licenses and brought their own sidearms.
While having a CCW does not automatically confer gunfighting skills, already having one and submitting to pprofessional training shows a willingness to make an actual effort to do something other than be just another unarmed victim.
https://apnews.com/f5968f1050d1493db8ed781b91120384
Friday, July 5, 2019
Now This Is REALLY Old School...
...Seriously!
Be sure to double-click on the image to get a really good look at these late 19th century beauties.
Be sure to double-click on the image to get a really good look at these late 19th century beauties.
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
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