Sunday With Blackthorn -- Today David James Discusses "You Attacked Me Wrong"

 And today's video even includes the Classic Jim Carrey Comedy Clip. 

 

So, Ahem.... Pay Attention!! 

 

 

From The Fight Science Channel -- Mistakes People Make Who Have Had Little Or No Experience With Violence

 I don't agree with everything in this video, but several parts are similar to a brief article done by Jim Grover close to 20 years ago. Mostly it concerns a lot of people's failure to comprehend the level of violence bad guys are prepared to use to achieve their ends.

 

 

Workout Wednesday -- DR. Stuart McGill And The Big 3 Core Exercises

 I'm not going into some big dissertation about core Strength and Stability.  If you don't know Who Dr. Stuart McGill is, just do a search on your Search Engine of Choice and you'll have no problem getting information. most routines for strengthening your core involve a lot of bending and twisting, moving weight. if you're young, you should avoid all that bullshit. If you're older or just plain old, REALLY need to avoid it. The abdominal area of your body ia designed for stability, and to connect your lower and upper body in order to generate the full force of your body without hurting yourself.

The Link below is a PDF of what's come to be referred to as the McGill "Big 3 Exercises". 3 bodyweight exercises that are done in low reps, but using an isometric hold for each rep.

I first tried this routine over 20 years ago but didn't think much of it. Well, to put it simply, I made stupid mistake. Age and damage have caused me to re-evaluate some training methods that are now actually working because I've learned to pay attention to the finer points and nuances of various training methods. I've been doing the McGill Big 3 for almost 4 months now, and I have no complaints., or reservations in recommending it. 

So give it a fair try, and pay attention to the details. Your core, and your lower back in particular, will thank you.

https://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~mcgill/fitnessleadersguide.pdf

 

Some Monday Morning Humor For The Blog

 

Sunday With Blackthorn -- Today James Reeves Of TFB TV Disucsses The Legal Ramifications Of OC Spray Pro &Con

 While providing some humor and Sarcasm into the discussion, James uses personal observations and reviews of relevant legal cases to provide you with some practical, commonsense thinking on both the positive and possibly negatives of using OC Spray.

And yes, he is actually a lawyer.

Real Life Does Not Work Like The Dojo

Once again, David James is here to tell you about Reality..... So Pay Attention!

How You Train Depends On You

 Another Post from regular guest contributor Steve Forester. As always, well worth the read.

 

 How You Train Depends On You

by Steve Forester

I thought I would write tonight on a Basic Truth I have discovered. "No one way works for all people".

Even in training just Fairbairn's Defendu, one will discover some techniques that work better for them than others. Discover those 2-3 techniques, then need to train them into the ground and forget the rest.

NO one can give these to you, you must discover them for yourself in your training.

Same way with one's personal style. For example, I prefer hand strikes and elbows. The only kicks I use are (sparingly)  knees and finishing kicks. I am rarely going to pick a foot off the ground in a real situation.

BUT, that is just me. Might be totally different for others.

Why this is important is because most martial arts and combat sport training is based on "hero worship", or "systems worship".  Both are bad.

This is my contention. It doesn't really matter - so much - WHAT one studies. As long as they do it correctly. Meaning, to find what works for them.

Any street worthy system will eventually evolve into certain basic principles and methods. Distilled into it's essence, many street-worthy systems looks similar, no matter where they were originally derived form.

People that become "masters" are those that are successful in distilling whatever this or that system is down into something they can execute well.

If one is blindly following a system or a master than you will never really discover your true potential, IMO. You are only engaging in ego-masturbation.

I think how one knows when they are on the right path is when they start having a deep-seated feeling of self-confidence.

REX Applegate wrote on self-confidence saying that an average individual can obtain great self-confidence IF they have been correctly trained. A big IF.

 In "The Close Combat Files..." book, Applegate touches on what is correct training: "...the average American lacks the time and  patience...but can quickly be turned into a dangerous, offensive fighter by concentrating on a few basic principles... and advocating principally the use of blows...”

Applegate goes onto say that: "Fairbairn added not to consider yourself an expert until you can carry out every movement instinctively and automatically".

So, OK! So what?  Just empty words unless one knows what they really mean. Twenty five years ago, I read these same words and thought: "OK, sounds good. I guess".

But, I didn't know what they really meant. Just words until my training made me understand.

Only through your training, I found, that you really learn to understand.

The litmus test, I believe, is "self-confidence" Do you REALLY feel able to take on a REAL attack? As Ralph G. (one of my instructors) once said: "Not your grandmother or an aging college professor, but a big man trying to kill you".

If you don't have this level of confidence then something is lacking in your training, IMO. When you has it, then you'll know it. If you have to wonder, then you don't.

When you go out of your house, do you reasonably feel you can respond to a violent criminal attack? Given, of course, that nothing is 100%. You may do everything right and still die. May just not be your day.

But, do you feel like you’re ready to respond to a violent criminal assault?

If the deep seated answer is "not sure", then maybe it’s  time to revise your training. This is the litmus test.

Only you can answer that question for yourself.

I would just recommend to be honest with yourself.

Martial arts and combat sport are filled with those with stars in their eyes and "believe" in a system, or person.

But, that will not save you when a thug who doesn't care about any of that attacks you. Stories abound of "black belts" whose training failed in a real attack.

You must be honest with yourself.

I first started formally training in martial arts more than 40 years ago. Informally, much longer than that.

It wasn't till I discovered Carl Cestari over years ago that I found a path worth following.

It wasn't until a couple of days ago I felt that I was getting a handle on it.

A path of continuous self-discovery, and day-by day, I continually get just a little better. With every day of training, the fog of confusion dissipates just a bit more, and the certainty of knowledge grows.

I'd better stop now before I start sounding like a zen master.

Workout Wednesday!

 Seeing as how interesting videos or articles about Wheelguns are getting a bit harder to find recently, I've decided to help those of you who think your Unarmed Training or your Defensive Carry Device  of choice are all you need.  For those of you who are already in shape, feel free to pass on this weekly advice. 

On the other hand, for those of you who, if you're being honest about it, know you're not in at least moderately good physical condition (which includes those of you just think you're in good physical shape), you may want to try out some of the material here. 

Now I'm not going to tell you that you have to get a Gym membership, or start slinging heavy iron around. But bodyweight, light to medium weight dumbbells/kettlebells, resistance bands, and some cardio, which may not turn you into greek gods, but should provide you with at least a baseline level of fitness which will enhance your ability to defend yourself, and possibly even improve your overall health.

Or you could just go down to the local Krispy Kreme and add a few notches to your beltline. 

The choice is yours.

 

Sunday With Blackthorn -- Unarmed Against The Knife

 There are an innumerable number of Books, DVD's and Online Videos on the subject. So many of them offer these complicated techniques that look flashy, and require a lot of physical co-ordination. 

The demos always look good as you see the defender rushing in  with a confident look on his face, and takes control of the situation. But then again, when your training partner is using a rubber or plastic knife, it's not quite the same thing as dealing with a street criminal, a drug addict or a mentally deranged EDP.

These 2 videos from Michiel Mulder, the  instructor for Lee Morrison's Urban Combatives system in the Netherlands. His take is less 'Defensive' and more 'Offensive'. But you can decide for yourself.

 

 

The FBI "Double Action Snap Shooting Course"

 A couple of weeks ago I put up a 2 videos about the old FBI Shooting Qualification courses from the 1940s up until the 1980's. Now to be clear, those courses were not meant to be Combat Shooting Courses, they were just basic Qualification courses.  The PDF's below are from the the Jan. 1949 Issue of The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. This was the Defensive Shooting Course that had been around since the early 1940's, based on the Shooting methods of FBI Agent Delf Bryce, often referred to as "Jelly" Bryce. You can do search on your Search Engine of choice to get more information on his law enforcement career.

Essentially the method shown below was his particular version of what is referred to as Point Shooting.  Or was referred to as 'Offhand' or 'Snap Shooting' by the FBI. Hopefully you'll enjoy this piece of history.

NOTE: These PDF's can be a bit difficult to read, so I'm including  a link to the whole edition of the Jan 1949 FBI Bulletin where the text is a bit more legible.

 https://leb.fbi.gov/file-repository/archives/january-1949.pdf/view

I Know It Should Be Wheelgun Wednesday, But...

I really couldn't find any interesting videos or articles about revolvers today, so I decided to go with David James as he explains the value of simple movement in a self defense situation. Nothing flashy or complicated, just basic body mechanics, good balance, and a little speed.

So if you want to learn something......  Pay Attention!!

 

 

 

 

More Bare Knuckle Work From Carl Cestari

 

Sunday With Blackthorn -- Today Carl Cestari Goes Really Old School With Bareknuckle Boxing

 

Wheelgun Wednesday - Today Chris Baker Brings Us Part 2 Of 'Can You Outshoot An FBI Agent'

 Now this particular installment of this series of videos is only 1/2 Wheelgun related. The first portion is about how the methods and qualifications changed over the decades from the late 40's and into the early 80's. For those that don't know, in 1986 there was an incident in Florida involving the FBI and a pair of bank robbers that resulted in what became known as 'The FBI Miami Shootout' . This incident resulted in the beginning of the switchover from Revolvers to Semi-Auto Pistols for Law Enforcement.

 

 

Sunday With Blackthorn -- Today We Let Carl Cestari Demonstrate Advanced Close-Combat Strikes (Elbow Strikes, Hip Checks, Hip Bucks).

 

Remember to click on the 'WATCH ON YOUTUBE' Icon to watch the video. Don't send me any dumbass comments about "But the video isn't showing!"