Avoid, fight, avoid

[mercop]

My first calendar year of teaching MCS is coming to a close. This year I would say we have trained approximately 100 students. Many of them are repeat students. We have staged hundreds of force of force scenarios for open hand, impact weapon, edged weapons, and firearms. Many I came up with and many students came up with. Here some general observations as well as those specific to edged weapons-

I would say that the "average" MCS student is 35-45 yrs old, most are usually dedicated knife or gun guys, seldom both, at least in the beginning. Because they are weapon dedicated they focus on the weapon before the situation and during initial contact.

The progression we teach is- Awarness, Avoidance, and Agression. The first two work for two out of the three types of threats to your personal safety- Accidents (all types), Attacks (all types), Natural Disasters (all types). In the case of Attacks you can transition to Agression.

The problem seems to be that if you feel that you are prepared for a particular type of threat then you may be less inclined to avoid it. Example- people who live in Florida and have supplies and plywood are less likley to evacuate even when others do. So if you carry a dedicated self-defense knife and have some training you may be less inclined to avoid situations that you would if you were not armed or trained. The longer you wait to avoid after becoming aware of a threat the less options you will have. This is what we see in classes, students are there for a knife or gun class and during FOF are easily drawn into a "fatal funnel" and as they do there world closes in behind them and they are unable to see the rest of the world. Once they put themselves in the situation they feel obligated to use their weapon.

Here is the rub, the majority of carry/deployment options for guns and knives are primarily designed to be used under the best case circumstances where you are static and standing. When you do force on force you quicly realize how some of the following things play a huge role in the outcome of the altercation-

Inside/outside
Light level
Footing (wet grass, gravel, and tile floors are not your friend)
Balance (many students end up falling backwards because of crossing their feet)
Clothing ( nothing like watching someone trying to deploy a folder from a sweatpants pocket)

And the list goes on.

The more I look at my lab rats AKA students the more I see the need of awareness and avoidence skills. The problem for many people is "aware of what". It is about perception, you need to know what subtle things to look for. Too many people concentrate on learning to look for the things that happen right before something bad happens, not the clues that lead up to it. By that time you are sucked in.

Next is avoidence, you need to be willing to change your path in spite of tools, training, and confidence. The way we drive this through to students is by taking them through the same scenarios but making the responsible by another student playing their wife or child. That is the level of avoidence you need to use for yourself. When you alert to a specific threat and begin to avoid you consider your tools. You have to have tools that you can have in your hand while avoiding that will not unnessisarly alarm others. On the lowest level this is a pen or flashlight. For me the next level is the Gerber Artifact with Inverted Edge Tactics in mind. I don't want to "knife fight" , I want to use my pen, flashlight, or Artifact to inflict damage that allows me to escape and continue to avoid. If I cannot continue to avoid it may be time to upgrade to a purpose driven weapon like a gun or a knife if I have the room to do so. Don't get stuck on the aggression and "winning" the fight. When there is no other choice and avoidance has failed you overwhelming force of violence to move through your attack until you are safe.

Beyond bridging tools like pens, flashlights, and the Artifact, decide what is most appropriate for you to carry and how to carry it. Then get some training. You will also have peace of mind knowing all the layers of your Personal Protection Plan that were breached prior to you having to use your Primary Deadly Force Option. This is a thinking game, not a hardware game.- George

[TonyF]

George,

Good stuff. Unfortunately, trying to "buy competence" is allot easier.

[SilentRage]

Very good Sir , you sound like my old Martial Arts teacher .

He also taught the "Avoidence" and "Awareness" in his classes .

[Hawk]

I recently had a discussion with a handful of guys that carry. I asked at what point of aggression do you pull the trigger? I gave them a scenario of an unarmed guy who surprises you by slapping you across the face or pushes you once (like a bully) and the follow up aggression is just verbal. I wasn't surprised when one or two said they wouldn't hesitate to shoot him.

As you pointed out (and I'm glad you did), most people focus their defense on what weapon they might be carrying. This "single minded solution to all confrontations" is a major pitfall for those who choose to carry a deadly weapon. Many people who carry a gun have the mindset that "they will not be taken advantage of...regardless" and this locks them into their response.

I think its imperative for anyone who carries a gun to rethink why they are carrying and how they will use it. It's not the only solution to the problem (as you stated). They need to change their mindset. I think those of us who do carry a weapon need to think (first) of alternatives to deploying said weapon.
Ask yourself what would your course of action be if you were unarmed?

I'm fortunately old enough and wise enough to let my ego go. If running away was an option, even if I'm armed, I'm taking it. If handing over my cash, even if I'm armed, I'm handing it over. Doesn't avoiding escalation make more sense?

[LittleRedToyota]

I recently had a discussion with a handful of guys that carry. I asked at what point of aggression do you pull the trigger? I gave them a scenario of an unarmed guy who surprises you by slapping you across the face or pushes you once (like a bully) and the follow up aggression is just verbal. I wasn't surprised when one or two said they wouldn't hesitate to shoot him.

As you pointed out (and I'm glad you did), most people focus their defense on what weapon they might be carrying. This "single minded solution to all confrontations" is a major pitfall for those who choose to carry a deadly weapon. Many people who carry a gun have the mindset that "they will not be taken advantage of...regardless" and this locks them into their response.

I think its imperative for anyone who carries a gun to rethink why they are carrying and how they will use it. It's not the only solution to the problem (as you stated). They need to change their mindset. I think those of us who do carry a weapon need to think (first) of alternatives to deploying said weapon.
Ask yourself what would your course of action be if you were unarmed?

I'm fortunately old enough and wise enough to let my ego go. If running away was an option, even if I'm armed, I'm taking it. If handing over my cash, even if I'm armed, I'm handing it over. Doesn't avoiding escalation make more sense?

yep. even leaving ego, justification, etc. out of it. it seems many of the "i'll just shoot him" crowd can't really say exactly how they are going to accomplish that. they often seem to think the other guy is just going to stand there and allow himself to be shot. they also seem to think the other guy will be alone or, if not, his buddies will just stand there and let him get shot.

they have never done any FoF and really don't get the dynamics that can come into play in such a confrontation.

like col. cooper said (paraphrased)..."thinking you are armed just because you have a gun is like thinking owning a piano makes you a musician".

[mercop]

Actually using a weapon is so very low in the grand scheme of personal protection it is unreal. Every weapon you carry is on you can use, and have to keep from being used on you. - George