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Cobra Self-Defense Mesquite Newsletter
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| COBRA NEWSLETTER | JULY 2011 |
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YouTube
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 | | C.O.B.R.A. Self Defense in Dallas / Mesquite |
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Greetings!
I hope this finds you well. We are gaining lots of attention from our COBRA Reality Self-Defense programs. With the classes, speeches, demos and presentations we've done lately, people's eyes are truly being opened to just how vulnerable they, and their children, are to random acts of violence.
One of the most enlightening moments is when a parent watches as I play the role of a predator and demonstrate how easy it is to abduct their child, and how quickly it would happen. We timed the abductions at less than 3 seconds. In each case the child could do "nothing" about it.
I could see the horror in the parents' eyes as they mentally placed their child in a real situation such as the ones we demonstrated. Our COBRA for Kids program gives children the techniques and tactics that can actually stop the predator from taking them.
Another eye opener are the demonstrations of an assailant approaching an adult, with violent intentions, and how quickly and easily the assailant could overtake them as they desperately attempt to retrieve their cell phone to make an emergency call.
I hope these articles are helping you to become more aware of your environment and those around you. Many times things are not as they seem, so stay on alert. Sincerely,
Keith Gorham
972-222-2880 |
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Concealed Handgun
More and more adults have a concealed handgun license these days, which means that many of them carry a firearm for self-protection. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't really solve the dilemma of personal assaults. Not every situation would require the deadly force of a handgun. However if a person is reliant on their handgun for protection, they generally have only 2 options in a self-defense situation. To get pushed around, or to kill. There is a large gap between the two, where self-defense tactics can come into play.
I was speaking to a Police Officer several days ago during our local crime watch meeting, and he was relating to me that in every incident that a police officer responds to, there is at least one gun present. And any time there is a firearm present the risks become much higher for everyone at the scene. Of course, he was talking about the officer's own firearm. This means that even police officers consider their own weapon as a heightened security threat, even for themselves. As we all know, many officers are killed with their own handguns, when the bad guy manages to take it from them.
I would venture to say that many citizens that carry a firearm feel much safer than even a police officer feels with their firearm. This, of course, does not mean that they actually "are" safer, but that because of their lack of real-world experience, they tend to feel that because they carry a firearm, that they are in complete control and may become a little too confident. And as we've discussed before,"When you feel safe, you become more vulnerable."
Another element usually missing from the citizen's concealed handgun mindset, is training in real-world scenarios under adrenal stress, that primal fear that suddenly pops to the surface when we encounter a real threat. It isn't as easy, or as cut and dry, as "If a bad guy jacks with me, I'll just shoot him!" Even just retrieving your firearm, though it may be on your person, is quite different when there is a real threat.
In our COBRA Academy, we cover weapon retrieval under stress. This always proves to be quite different than CHL carriers thought it would be.
Carrying, and relying on, a concealed weapon without training in adrenal response scenarios would be a bit like tossing a football around in your back yard. It doesn't really prepare you to be on the field of the NFL.
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KidSafe
We've spoken before about child safety. If you have children, this must be a top priority for you. Even if you don't have kids, I'm sure you can understand the necessity for a child to know how to defend themselves, not only against a schoolyard bully, but against a full-grown predator. Nothing is more horrifying than the thought of someone abducting our children.
As a professional martial arts instructor for 25 years, I have taught thousands of children. The parents of these children will generally tell me why their want their child to study martial arts. Here are the most common reasons parents give:
- Confidence
- To be Active
- The Kids wants to do it
- Self-Defense from bullies
In my 25 years of teaching, I cannot think of a single time that a parent has told me, "I want my child study to the martial arts so that he/she will know what to do in case a man attempts to abduct them."
Yes, "Zero" is quite a startling number! Now, I have taught my young martial arts students "stranger danger" strategies; Don't talk to strangers; Have a secret code; Scream for help; Drop & kick, etc. And these are good things, but it just isn't nearly enough. A martial art is a fantastic thing for a child to be involved with. However, the martial arts really do not prepare them for the horrifying threat of a predator. I have seen many martial arts instructors teach children to use kicks and punches against a "stranger" (predator). And just as many that teach children how to flip the stranger over their shoulder and then finish them off with a punch or kick. These tactics simply will NOT work! There is just no way a 5 year old, or even a 12 year old will kick and punch a fully grown man hard enough to stop them. And far more impossible that the child "flips" the predator. I recently watched a youtube video featuring a young boy, maybe 5 years old, demonstrating his martial arts skills against his instructor, a fully grown man. It played out as a bit of a Jackie Chan fight scene, with the instructor attempting to grab the boy, punch him and kick him. The boy was simulating defending himself by kicking, punching, flipping around, running between the man's legs, etc. The man's attacks were very slow and sloppy, almost as if he were drunk. Now, I know that this was just a fun demonstration and I enjoyed watching it as much as the next person. The boy was cute and the audience was laughing at the antics put on by these two. However, this is typical defensive tactics that instructors tend to teach children. If, within this demo video, the instructor were to change character and act like a real predator, he could have snatched up this kid and be out the door within 3 seconds, regardless of the child's skill.
Here's the real deal. You don't want your child attempting to "fight off" a predator, you want them to stop the predator from taking them. There is quite a difference. As an example, if a predator approaches your child, would you rather your child square off with him and start kicking and punching? Or would you rather your child immediately run away and tell a parent/teacher? The first would be to fight, the latter would be to stop the event from happening. The obvious problem is that your child may not have the opportunity to run if the predator gets his hands on them. This is the heart of the COBRA for Kids lies. Running away, if possible, is truly the best thing to do. However, the COBRA for Kids program teaches children effective tactics in case the bad guy has grabbed them and is attempting to take them.
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 Jaycee Dugard11 years old, walking to school, car pulls up beside her, hand reaches out. Held captive, physically, sexually, mentally, psychologically abused for 18 years!
Yes, this is a story we are all hearing about on the news; The "one" we are hearing about! There are thousands of others that we never know about, but they happen none the less. 20,000 children are abducted each year which is a startling number. |
CLOSE TO HOME
A few weeks ago I held a free live demo & discussion on COBRA Self-Defense. In attendance was Sonja, the president of our local crime watch group here in Mesquite. During the session, I discussed being faced with a knife-wielding assailant and demonstrated tactical maneuvers for such a situation. Just a few hours after this demo, Sonja's nephew was murdered by a knife wielding assailant.
You just never know when and where danger will strike. But there is no greater motivator than personal experience, or the emotional experience you have when a loved one suffers personal trauma. It is important to heed these signs, as they are a harsh reminder that it could happen to any one of us.
It is said that it is a "Smart" person who learns from his/her mistakes, but a "Wise" person learns from the mistakes of others. Danger lurks and bad guys are out there. We hear of it almost every day, but most do nothing to learn to protect themselves. Yet if/when they have the personal experience of being in a dangerous and violent situation, it is too late, it is already happening. No do-overs, not for this situation.
Be wise and learn from the experiences of others, don't wait until it happens to you. take measures to help insure your safety and the safety of your loved ones.
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