Floridaguns

Online Forums

al.lipscomb — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:33:20 +0000

I have been looking at some of the forums that focus on self defense, some even focus on information for Florida residents. What is funny is that you need to pay attention to who the sponsors are. These forums don’t provide objective information on a subject, instead they are just used by some of the second and third tier instructors who can’t drum up enough interest in their own private forums.They buy some advertising space and then have free reign.

Now I contrast these with the forums that are clearly owned by an organization. Everything there is out in the open and the owners branding is right there. The forum lives or dies based on the owners ability to deliver the goods. The pressure of the market tends to kill off those who have nothing to offer.

The need for tools

al.lipscomb — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:38:43 +0000

I was looking at the pictures from one of those “unarmed self defense” seminars. It was the typical mythology of canned attacks and clever solutions. Too bad nothing I saw in the pictures would solve the problem when used against an attacker that was not following the script. One picture had some elderly lady in an electric scooter being shown how to deal with a two-handed choke from the front (as if a bad guy would contort himself to obtain such a silly position to make such an attack in the first place). But people spent their money and I am sure they feel safer. Too bad as their time and resources could have been spent learning something that had a chance at working.

If you get targeted for a physical attack the odds are the attacker is already sure they are not only going to win, but dominate. Predators don’t last long if they get hurt taking down their prey. Sixty year old (and older) females don’t stand a chance against an aggressive male. Parlor tricks labeled “self defense” won’t help at all.

The only solution that has a chance at being workable is to take advantage of the tools available to us for self defence. Chemicals, knives and firearms make a big difference when deployed with the proper skill set. Anyone telling you otherwise is just after your money.

You have two hands, plan on using them

al.lipscomb — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:49:21 +0000

Many times I see example of a self defense technique that involves some form of attack being countered as the student plaing the role of the attacker stands there waiting to be told what to do. The student is frozen in the moment with no instructions on what is expected of him and is easily defeated. In most cases the student is being manhandled by the instructor who is using both hands to deal with the attack while the student has one arm stuck out in the attack pose and one arm at his (or her) side.

When you see this stupidity always remember that you have two hands and two feet. If somone is foolish enough to put “two on one” and leave their head open then step in and give them a present.

Knife work

al.lipscomb — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:10:06 +0000

I had the pleasure of training under Tom Sotis at one of the recent Suarez International events. This was the second time I trained in the AMOK! system and found it to be useful information. Tom is the real deal for knife work. Many claim that they can teach you knife defense, Tom just does it. Not a lot of fancy technique, just good sense and hard work.

What I like about the AMOK! system is that there is no posing for a technique. The student does not stand there as he was told while the instrucor dances around. With Tom you hit and get hit. Tom has a set of arms that are as hard as rocks. If he blocks your unprotected arm you will feel it. I have trained with a number of quality knifers over the years, Tom is one of the best. Don’t miss any chance to train with him.

Test everything, hold onto what is true.

al.lipscomb — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:13:56 +0000

I find what is being offered at some of these “unarmed self defense” classes just plain comical. Now I sure don’t have all the answers, and what I have came from someone else, but I sure can do better than a lot of what is being sold in the State of Florida.

I would make this offer: Did you pay money for some kind of “Unarmed Self Defense” or “Edged Weapon Self Defense” class? Do you want to know if what you were taught will help you survive a violent criminal? Get in contact with me and I will work with you to see if what you were shown will hold up to common sense evaluations.

If the instructor ever tells the student playing the aggressor “you are attacking me wrong” then you may have a problem.

Reading a resume

al.lipscomb — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:07:41 +0000

I love the way some “instructors” put together a resume. They can sure make things sound impressive to the uninformed. Now any idea should be able to stand on its own, so this is not about the validity of a technique, it is about somone using credentials to try and sound impressive. Using Google you can take a posted resume apart and see what the claims actualy tell us.

One thing to look out for is the claim of being “certified” in a technique. For example “Some impressive sounding school: Certifed tactical leader”. All that may mean is the person attended a 8 hour class and passed a multiple-guess test. A big difference from something like “Florida Department of Law Enforcment: High Liability Instructor, Handgun Instructor, Rifle Instructor, Shotgun Instructor”. Being a certified instructor is a lot difference in being certified to perform the technique.

Starting up

al.lipscomb — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:07:33 +0000

Just what the Internet needs, another blog!

Well in looking at what is going on in the “self defense” world I figured it was time to at least try to improve the signal to noise ratio a little bit.

What brought this on you ask?

I was looking at the photos from a “self defense” class that was held in central Florida. All I can say from looking at the posted pictures was “what a load of crap!” I can’t believe that someone would still be teaching such nonsense: “Escape from a front choke” , “Knife to the throat” and other such nonsense. Stuff sold at “traditional martial arts” dojos for the last three decades. Attackers are not one-handed idiots who will stand there and pose for you to try out your technique.

Just about everyone can fall to the ground in the fetal position and scream for help. It is possible to teach people worse techniques. This was the case here I am sure. People please don’t belive everyone with a web site and a long list of “credentials”!