Aggressive Defensive Solutions » prey

Holiday Reminders: Safety Tips From AggDefSol

Ric. — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:15:12 +0000

Dusted off and updated last year’s Christmas message. The outside dangers have not changed much and if it helps one of our friends then its worth it.

Happy Holidays to all of our friends, colleagues and cohorts! We at AggDefSol would like to express our joy over this wonderful season and offer you some reminders as “gifts” to help ensure a safe and enjoyable season.

As I’m sure everyone knows the shopping is in full swing and as Christmas draws nearer we will all become a little more harried, stressed and complacent. Don’t let this happen to you! Just as the predators in the animal kingdom recognize the many opportunities to make a kill that occur during the great migrations and calving seasons, so do the two-legged predators in our society look forward to this time of year. Each Holiday shopping season brings new chances for the lesser predators; shoplifters, purse snatchers, scam artists and petty thieves, to do what they do best; perform crimes of opportunity. At this same time the upper tier hunters; burglars, rapists and robbers; also gear up for what are comparatively easy picking versus the rest of the year. So how do we navigate the malls, shopping centers, parking lots and ATMs with any degree of safety you may ask? Pretty easily actually, if you just do a few simple things.

Be aware! As anyone who has taken one of our classes will tell, “Look like a Predator and the other predators will leave you alone.” Keep your eyes open, your head up and your mind on your immediate environment. Scan the parking lot before you walk out into the dark. Notice who and what is around you. Criminals do not want to be recognized, remembered or confronted. Be conspicuous about looking around and at people.

Have a plan. Have your keys ready before you get to the car. Don’t juggle your bags, set them down and get the car open. Know what you intend to do if you are confronted. If you were being aware you would have seen it coming and been ready. That should take care of the top-tier critters and some of the smaller hyenas as well.

To deal with most of criminal activity during this time of year follow these easy rules:

Lock your car/ house doors/windows.
Do not leave anything valuable in plain sight in your car. Lock it in the trunk!
Put your wallet in your pocket/ purse/ European shoulder bag before you walk away from the cash register.
Do not walk to your car while talking/ texting on your phone/smartphone/laptop/iWhatever. Now there is merit to having your phone ready to call for help or talking to loved one as you walk to your car, but remember use your phone as a tool for your protection, keep your head on a swivel while walking in parking lots. Let potential perpetrators know you are watching them and they will more likely slink back in the shadows.

Obviously, we at AggDefSol are proponents of first person protective devices from quality manufacturers in the right caliber. Just remember that your safety and the consequences of your actions are your responsibility.

Feel free to comment with your own safety tips.

Merry Christmas! Happy Chanukah! Joyous Yuletide! And Happy New Year!

Be Safe, Ric.

Copyright © 2008
This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only.
The use of this feed on other websites breaches copyright. If this content is not in your news reader, it makes the page you are viewing an infringement of the copyright. (Digital Fingerprint:
ab502c58d5b228e2fadffadae7e10229)

Rating: 6.3/10 (3 votes cast)

Commonwealth Attorney’s Office Trains for Proficiency Outside the Courtroom

Lee — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:59:00 +0000

Aggressive Defensive Solutions provided an intensive two day Basic Pistol course that was modified for the unique requirement of the Virginia Beach Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. 20 lawyers from the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office joined AggDefSol in August 2008 for what was for many students their first introduction to handguns. Day one was an informative lecture series which sought to drive home the mental basics. Ric. covered the tools, the handgun, and drilled down into the functionality of both the semi-automatic and the revolver. The students were quickly throwing around gun toting terms like SA (single action), DA (double action), DAO (double action only), tang, and slide.

While the introduction to the physical handgun is very important and what most students think is the most important. The students quickly learned why they were in the course as we moved into the section mindset. This is where shooters are born or lost. We can teach the predator versus prey mentality and by using Jeff Cooper’s Color Code teach you how to not to go through life in “condition white”, but each student was there for one reason, to get training to carry a concealed firearm. With that in mind each student was posed with the question: will I use deadly force …to protect myself? …to protect my family, …to stop a violent crime? Wide eyed the students were being given a question many had never asked themselves, of course, in the classroom, in an academic setting is a much better time to mull over the question: will I, if necessary, fire a gun at another human being to protect (insert the three questions here)? than asking that question while facing one of the three situations. The lawyers learned quickly the handgun is a tool which requires a great level of commitment. you cannot carry a gun and when presented a threat think you can pull it out and wave it at the bad guy and think, oh, now he will go away. Carrying a gun is a commitment to use it, if and when it is necessary.

The class moved on to post shooting procedures which AggDefSol places in seven priorities. Priority One starts with ensuring the fight is actually over and we progressed through self assessments, First Aid, getting help, and finally, Priority Seven leads to counseling and aiding in the investigation.

As day one wound to a close a lecture on the effective placement of bullets, using the workspace, ready positions, the draw, and recovery.

Day two started by drilling the students on The Cardinal Rules of Firearm Safety and then the students got a chance to start stretching their legs as they learned the fundamentals of marksmanship. From grip to follow-through the students grasped each step and progressed until they started looking like shooters! The students ran through series after series of drills each on building on what they had learned.

They progressed from single shots to multiple shot engagements while drawing their weapon from the holster. The class spent a long day on the range and made such impressive gains that, at times, the instructors forgot this was a Basic Handgun course. In the end each student fired over 350 rounds through their respective weapon, and in turn each student passed the qualification course. They came as novices and left with a confidence and proficiency knowing they can employ the tools whenever necessary to win the fight !

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

Mindset

Ric. — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 21:35:00 +0000

One’s outlook on life and the world around them does a great many things. In some it is the source of joy, in others despair. In all though, it shapes ones actions and reactions and helps to define them to themselves and to those around them.
I certainly do not mean to infer that everyone should be narrow eyed and constantly looking for a fight or a confrontation, but I would suggest that before one leaves the safety and security of one’s home for the day they should understand that the world is a dangerous place and sometimes, bad things happen. If a bad thing happens and you have not considered that it might, then you will be caught behind the power-curve and have a great deal of ground to cover in a very short time. If however, you have a tentative plan for the things that might occur, then you will not be surprised and will at least be on an even footing when the time to take action comes.
This leads us into the subject of situational awareness. Situational Awareness, or SA for short, is merely the practice of paying attention to the world around you. We have a tendency to get caught up in our thoughts and go through our daily routines by rote. How many times have you left work after a particularly trying day and suddenly found yourself walking through the front door? Did you remember the commute home? Did you run any stop signs? We often chalk this up to “multitasking” and console ourselves that nothing went wrong so it is OK. Wrong answer! Thousands of victims of crimes have told police officers over the years, “I didn’t see the suspect approach me”. “I didn’t hear the suspect walk up to me”. “I didn’t see his clothes”. Had they kept their heads up and their eyes open they would have. In fact, if they had been practicing SA, they probably would not have become a victim in the first place. This leads us into our next mindset topic.
The Predator vs. Prey mentality concept is certainly nothing new. In fact it has been around as long as one creature decided that some other creature seemed like a tasty supper. In the animal kingdom, to which we do belong there are two distinct types of animals based on their eating habits.
Predators hunt and eat other animals. As a result of this activity they develop certain behaviors. They use their senses to locate and identify the easiest targets. This increases their probability for success and leads to a full belly. They watch, they listen, they lay in wait, stalk, strike, and pounce. When they strike or pounce they do so with a sense of determination and commitment. If they act without commitment then they will probably fail and go hungry.
Prey animals typically eat something besides other animals. They develop other survival skills. They use their senses to locate and identify threats. This decreases their chances of becoming the main course for the evening. They watch, they listen and they try to stay close to the rest of the herd. The whole “safety in numbers concept.” This works to a degree and proof positive, because there are still plenty of grass eaters around.
Human predators operate in the same manner as their animal counterparts. They watch the “herd” and select the weak and unwary. The target is the one with its head down, eyes averted and submissive posture. They are easy to stalk, and pounce upon. They probably won’t fight, and have apparently already given up. The easiest way to not become a victim is to think like a predator. When was the last time you saw a lion take on a leopard on a nature documentary? The lion would take the leopard, but it would be too costly so it just does not happen. If you pay attention to what is going on around you then you appear to be too expensive a target and will in all likelihood be left alone.

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)