M&M’s of Self Defense
by Scott Vaughn
I’ve been teaching Concealed Handgun License classes in Arkansas for 9 years, not as long as some but generally with a LOT more enthusiasm and information than most (or any that I have been told about in the area). I attribute most of my success from the lack of information available in my original class to get my license, my desire to research the information I felt I was looking for (following a few forums on the web, reading the books mentioned here and there, video’s, etc.) and especially seeking the best training I felt was available for me. This all takes a substantial amount of time and I didn’t want the public attending my class to feel the same way I felt about the class I had attended! Sure, they all receive their license to carry but, is this all you are looking for? Enter Mindset—the first M.
Mindset….we have all heard this term. It is a re-conditioning of the mind. A different way of thinking about our personal safety, the way we think about self-defense, our surroundings, how we look at our preparedness. “The hardest thing to get people to do is to prepare for what they think/hope is not going to happen to them.” How many people do you know that are prepared for a major disaster like an earthquake? There are a lot of fault lines across the USA. (The fact is most states are at risk of major earthquakes, with 39 of the 50 states in moderate to high risk areas for seismic activity, ABC News reports). Does this mean a major earthquake is going to happen in our lifetime? No. Is it a possibility? Absolutely! Isn’t it just like self-defense with your gun? Are we going to need to use our gun for self-defense in our lifetime? We don’t know. Is it possible? I believe this is why we choose to carry a handgun. Yet, approximately 99.5% of the people I get in my renewal classes DON’T practice their draw or practice ‘probably not enough’. This is just one piece of the puzzle that you can do to help prepare yourself, and it doesn’t cost any money! The most important achievement in practicing your draw is the building of Muscle Memory. Muscle memory is the stuff that works when other things don’t—lights, lasers, sights, thought processes. “My Sargent said ‘In combat you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink the level of your training”. (U.S. Marine in Iraq.) Enter Muscle Memory—the next M.
Muscle memory is what we develop from repetition. Repetition is what we do when we train and practice. Practice is what we do if we enjoy doing something or want to learn it well. Training is what we do when this mindset starts to develop, the mental conditioning starts to change, the desire to prepare for that ‘worst case scenario’ kicks-in and we understand that just having a license and a gun may not be enough! It is proven that trained people survive more often than those that do not train. When is it time to start training? The time to start training is NOT in the fight! The training I have taken at Suarez International IS the best training available! I use some of the info I learned at those classes in my classes for CCW. The people attending the FOF classes I have put on in the past say they can’t believe how easy, enjoyable, real, useful and totally awesome it was! Professional training is where you lean the proper techniques, mechanics and some of the mindset values to help you build your mindset and muscle memory for that time you believe/think/hope will never happen to you.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“I want a small gun so I can conceal it well”
By Scott Vaughn
How many of you have heard someone say this? Said it yourself? I hear it a lot, having been instructing Arkansas concealed carry classes for over 9 years. I’m also not surprised when someone says, during or after the live fire section of the class, “I don’t really like this gun! My friend has one and said this is what they carry all the time but I think I need something bigger to control it better”, or “This gun kicks worse that I thought it would! It’s only a .380 and I didn’t think they kicked like this”
In reality, the small ‘Mouse Gun’ (MG) is definitely better than a sharp stick! IF you can get it out, quickly and safely, it can stop most situations without being fired. Many a woman and man have told me they only like shooting/carrying a .22 caliber pistol. (Most .22 pistols do not fall into MG status) I would rather see someone carry a .22 pistol than NOT carry something more powerful. On the same hand I would rather see you carry your MG than NOT carry your more powerful, bigger, easier to control pistol. But IF you have to fire it, can you hit what needs to be hit? I believe this is the question you need to ask yourself.
Proactive Gunfight:
If you have time to get your pistol out, have time to line up the sights, have time to take time…you’ll probably be ok and do well, as long as the adrenaline, fear or conscience don’t overtake you.
Reactive Gunfight:
When at first you notice your bad-guy (BG) from the corner of your eye and he is charging you from 20 feet when you start reacting, you may be able to stop BG by simply producing your mouse gun with a flick-of-the-wrist-spring assisted holster injecting the small pistol instantly into your hand and just pointing the pistol toward his face!! Just might do it. If your BG is a blood-shot-eyed, slobbering, snarling, whacked-out-for-your-a$$ PIT BULL terrier, either charging or stalking you… just pointing your double barrel 12 gauge shotgun into his face is NOT going to help you! You are now going to have to be able to hit what needs to be hit when you shoot. Stopping this BG may take more than 1 shot! (12 gauge shotgun here would be much better than a mouse gun, just not a practical CCW piece)
So let’s examine more reasons for and against carrying only a ‘mouse gun’, and what defines a ‘mouse gun’?
A mouse gun is not necessarily a .22 caliber pistol. Generally speaking though, size, caliber and weight are all considerations to be listed in the ‘mouse gun’ category.
Size: A pistol of small size that can be carried inside a pants, shirt or vest pocket or concealed with only the hand. These sized guns are easy to conceal but generally don’t fit the hand very well and to get 2 hands on the pistol is a challenge which can result in less accuracy/controllability.
Weight: The lighter the pistol the more felt recoil is perceived. You will feel more ‘kick’. A pistol that is heavier absorbs more of the recoil. The weight makes it more difficult for the fired cartridge to push the pistol backwards into your hand.
Caliber: We all know a .22 caliber pistol ‘kicks’ a lot less than any larger caliber. A .25 caliber kicks a little more, even though the energy in foot pounds is about 67 from a .25 caliber, average .22 long rifle foot pounds of energy is around 90, because it is lighter yet faster than the heavier, slower .25. A .380 fired from a Ruger LCP produces more felt recoil than a a little larger and heavier .380 like a Bersa Thunder, or a 9mm fired from a Glock 26.
Bullet weight: The heavier the bullet weight the more kick. A 9mm in 115 grain bullet weigh will have less felt recoil than a 9mm in 147 grain bullet weight. The heavier bullet will generally penetrate more but not an absolute. A +P cartridge will kick more in the same gun, with the same weight projectile and penetrate more because it is faster.
Friends, the reality is this… you can carry and conceal a Glock 19/23 or 17/21 size pistol if you WANT to. A pistol that holds 13 to 20 rounds of fire POWER (FN FiveseveN holds 20, which is almost same size as Glock 21) generally have less felt recoil, can be controlled easier and more accurately by simply pointing, has the power when you need it to not just start, but finish the job more reliably than your mouse gun.
I don’t carry a gun to be comfortable. I carry a gun for comfort.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conditioned Response
By Scott Vaughn
Have you ever wondered why we train in and with weapons, tactics and combatives? The reason is to learn the best techniques for our application and how to train and develop the muscle memory, those instinctive values, so we ingrain into our muscles and minds the Conditioned Response! What makes or allows us to respond/react to a given stimulus? If a car slams on the brakes at a distance of 500 feet ahead of you and you are travelling at 60 MPH, how do you react? If you see this as it happens, you probably start braking to a controlled stop, if necessary. Of course, if you are not paying attention at the time the car slams on the brakes and moment you realize this has occurred, the car is at a distance of 50 feet in front of you and you are travelling the same speed as above, what is your reaction now? Most likely you stomp on your brake pedal while trying to veer the car into a path to avoid the crash. Maybe you don’t try to veer but only slam the brake. Maybe you only veer and no brake. However you handle this crisis, it will most likely be different than the response to the first mentioned situation. Agreed? The response taken is conditioned, whether from years of driving experience or a new driver lacking the driving experience to help make snap decisions. The difference in the response will be from experience, training, instruction or maybe yesterday’s movie. Yes, we have all been mentally conditioned all of our lives from media, school, peers, family, the neighbors, etc. How deeply fixed in your subconscious the conditioning is will help determine how you respond/react.
These are all typically conditioned responses of a variety of people. The first instinctive reaction from the stimulus comes from the mid-brain and depends on 1: experiences we have been through in our life. 2: the wrong type of information instilled in our mid-brain (where our instinctive reactions are housed) for given stimuli. 3: the lack of training, experiences and mental conditioning. 4: ingrained/habitual reactions that we have developed through repetition of training and practice.
Remember when we were kids? We were indestructible, we could do anything given the right chance, we would never get ‘old’ but always get stronger, faster, better, smarter and would live forever! We had not experienced life but only a fraction of it. Then most of us started driving and learned dangerous situations could happen fast, our fault or not. Some never made it through their first year of driving, but those of us that did, understood driving could be dangerous and not as easily done like we assumed from watching our parents or from television. Some continued to take chances and others didn’t. Some took drivers training to learn to be a better/safer driver and most others didn’t. Of those that took the driver training, did it ensure the successfully safe driving experience for life? Of course not as there are no guarantees in life, period! But it did help condition them with, hopefully, better responses to more stimuli while driving and faster reaction time from not having to think all the way through the response. In highly stressful situations, the fore-brain (the part of the brain that we use to think rationally) shuts down and the mid-brain takes over to instruct us to react from our mental conditioning. –Conditioned Response-
When we were kids we started developing reactions or habits. Some of these habits we carried with us to adulthood. These conditioned reactions, habits, are hard to unlearn sometimes. If you don’t develop better, safer, quicker habits and just continue to feel what you do is ‘OK’, you will never reach your potential and ALL of the bad habits/responses/reactions can get you and/or yours killed! I’m reminded 4 times a month by those that attend my concealed carry classes. Most have been around guns a long time and have developed habits from their parents and friends for things like the grip, the way they look through the sights (one eye closed ) and how to stand while target shooting. Even though they are shown the best way to do some of these, once a pistol goes into their hands, their old habits automatically take over! They also are reminded repeatedly throughout the class of gun safety rule # 3, yet when they finally get to handle their guns….finger goes to trigger for too many of them.
When our men and women of our military go over a technique once, they are soon convinced they will revisit this particular lesson numerous times, sometimes until some are sick of it! Repetition is necessary to build the muscle memory for a conditioned reaction to combat that can save their life, and/or the lives of their friends. Most of this training is done under circumstances to build the best response to the situations they may face on the battle field. These consist of training in the rain, the cold/heat, with the sound of guns firing and bullets buzzing overhead! Conditioned response! Some martial art students learn maneuvers and techniques for combat. They train these moves repeatedly to develop the muscle memory it takes to use the moves automatically. Most of the training and techniques are new to these men and women but they still learn it, just like you can. Occasionally they fight under controlled circumstances to help develop the ideal conditioned responses to the stimuli shown to them via opponent.
It is proven that training and experience can be developed properly and with it, conditioned responses for certain circumstances, i.e. FOF, CRG, 0-5 feet GF, etc. That trained and experienced people generally survive more than those who are not, is a given. My brothers and sisters at SI understand this and I think most others would agree. The difference is this: We study and train to develop the techniques that are proven to work under combat. We work to build the muscle memory and habits for those reactive situations we all know can happen anytime/anywhere. We put ourselves in the Lion’s Den to help condition the mind and body. The ability to make immediate decisions under stress needs to be developed. To fine tune the OODA Loop.
If you can see the threat coming toward you from 100 feet away, how would you react? Think about this for a few seconds, but I think you already have a plan of some type for this situation. Maybe you get set in mind and body for the fight. Maybe you take off to avoid the fight, if you have this option. Possibly you move to cover or just haul ass out of there. Whatever you decide will depend on the situational elements: Inside or outside- Family with you or not- Dark or light- Raining or not- Armed with gun or knife- or not…. If, when you first realize the threat is there, you are 25 feet apart, how will you react? Maybe you freeze! Maybe you bust a ‘GOTX’ to cover or to avoid the BG’s attack or shot, possibly to line up the 2 BG’s to make your defense easier (yeah, we know multiple advisories are anything but easy). The relative distance between you and the threat will definitely make a big difference in the immediate level of necessity to respond with the best decision. If your BG is standing behind you holding a pistol to the back of your head and says “Get in the car and drive or die right here”, how will you react? Freeze and give-up? Or mess up your BG’s OODA Loop by explosively moving your head to one side while turning to wrench his shoulder and arm to control his pistol while you bash this POS in the face, knees, ribs, etc. to keep yourself/your family safe! You got it, Conditioned Response.
Training is what we do at Suarez International. When is the best time to train for your fight? Yes, before the fight! Where is the best place to learn how to fight? You got it, Suarez International! Training people to fight with their hands, knives, guns and minds like Warriors. Helping to understand and develop the muscle memory, to build the mindset to think, act, train and fight like Warriors!
We won’t teach you how to drive, but we will teach you how to fight with your gun from your ride! We want you to win your fight as bad as you do! Come train with us to help develop and/or sharpen your skills with SI. You are never too old or too young to become a warrior in mind, body and spirit.
I have written a few aricles for help others understand the importance of the physical and mental training and conditioning I feel a person needs to achieve to be successful in their training. To reach higher levels of awareness, confindence, skill and ability, one must train. I believe the type of training we need for self defense needs to be reality based, life or death, combat derived training. This is what I teach along with all my instructor family at Suarez International.
I just wish I could write as good as I can shoot :-)
Enjoy!
