You're Gonna Do What?

Defensive Concepts

 

   The president made his announcement, Saddam has less than two days, as I write this,to get out of Dodge. I scanned the news over coffee this morning and decided to check out some of the on line forums. There was a lot of theorizing on anti-war protests

becoming violent. What I read was truly depressing. Many of them posed a question like this; You're out and about, maybe by yourself, maybe with a loved one, and you find yourself in the middle of an anti-war demonstration/riot. What do you do? So far, so good, playing the 'What If___?' game is a good mental exercise, as long as the answers

are operationally sound.  Most of the replies were statements like this "I always carry a (fill in the blank or blanks), I may die but I'll take as many of these scum with me as I can before I'm beaten to death!" One, let me say that again, ONE, person stated that they would escape and evade.

    Think about what I just said, especially you tactical minded types out there. In our training we have to prepare not only to fight, but to recognize when we should RUN. The mindset of "I'm goin' down swingin'" is needed in SOME circumstances, not all. If

you're trapped and your back is to the wall and some really bad dude(s) are going to make a meal out of you then, by all means, have a sandwich. If, on the other hand you are faced with overwhelming odds and have an avenue of escape take it! Standing there and trying

to slug it out is foolish as well as tactically unsound. Think I'm wrong? Consider the Apache. When faced with superior forces, that'd be the United States Cavalry. They would run like hell into the mountains. They would run their horses until they died, clean out the intestines and fill them with the horse's blood, then continue on foot. They knew

the land and had nourishment to survive. The cavalry? They died of thirst, hunger and exposure. What about Special Forces? During the the Vietnam War when the Special Operations Groups would run into large numbers of either VietCong or NVA regulars would they stand and go toe to toe with them? No! They'd run, set up hasty ambushes and run some more.

    Let's go back to the question that got this all started. You find yourself in the middle of a demonstration. Let's keep it simple and say you're alone. There's maybe a hundred or so demonstrators, more or less. The police are there and it's getting ugly. If you are, in

fact, a tactician or better yet a strategist, you've already scanned the area for ways out. In fact, if you're really heads up you've already gotten out of there, if possible. Cars start getting overturned, windows are getting smashed, looting is taking place. No one is threatening you directly. Who are you going to shoot? More importantly, why? If you

start opening fire, expect to get shot by whoever is responding to the riot.  If you aren't shot by the police then the crowd which was previously focused on smashing objects is now going to focus on smashing you. Yes, you may get some of them, some may break

and run, but don't expect all of them to. Some won't due to mob mentality. Also, consider this, your actions can be viewed in a court of law as being those of an aggressor. The law recognizes restraint and, in many cases, demands you retreat, if possible. YOU weren't being targeted by the mob, remember? Your property wasn't being destroyed either. Think about it. Now, throw a loved one into the mix. You're supposed to protect them, right? By putting rounds into the crowd and focusing it's attention on you, you are putting yourself and your loved one in more jeopardy.

    Before you start writing in about Reginald Denny during the L.A. riots, I'm not talking about that. He was assaulted by a mob. I'm talking about you being in the crowd when the riot starts and you are not a target. If you drive into a riot area and the mob starts attacking

you while you're in your vehicle I'd suggest that instead of shooting, DRIVE! Running someone over sounds extreme, but we are talking about an extreme, unusual situation. Remember also, a handgun is something we carry when we don't know there's a fight

coming. It is a reactive tool. If you know you're going into a fight, grab a shotgun or a rifle.    

    One of the criticisms leveled at many of the martial arts schools nowadays is that they only teach the student from the neck down. Physical skills are it, none of the tactics and strategies needed to prevail in the real world are explained. Normally, this criticism,

while it's true, is stated by folks who train hard with empty hands, knife and gun in a less traditional environment. The weakness I've seen from both groups is that they are too willing to engage. They train to confront constantly and never think about looking for a way out.

    Escape and evasion are as vital as punching, kicking, snap cuts and a flash sight picture in the combative arena. In this time that we are living, we need to sharpen these defensive tools along with our offensive ones.