Weekend Knowledge Dump- July 15, 2016

Knowledge to make your life better.  If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend.

 

Day of Rage Protests Are Scheduled for July 15th in These American Cities

Lots of violent protests scheduled today. Check out the article for places to avoid this afternoon/evening.  Snopes says this is fake.  It’s been spread around enough that a lot of folks might just show up thinking that it is real.  I’d stay away from any of the listed sites just in case.

 

 

(GRAPHIC) Through-and-through gunshot wound to the chest

A very detailed article about penetrating chest wounds.  If you carry a gun, you should know how to treat these.

 

 

The Best Strategy for Surviving a Grenade Blast, Backed by Science

Do you know how to survive a grenade blast?  Watch this short video and learn.  They discuss the correct technique, but I would also cross my legs to protect my groin and open my mouth to prevent damage to my ears and brain from the blast pressure wave.

 

 

Father Holding His Child Shoots Armed Robber

I’ve seen lots of videos lately of people practicing shooting while “protecting” small children or loved ones.  I think that it’s very good to consider the presence of unarmed loved ones in your defensive plans.  Take a look at this video where a man shot a robber while simultaneously holding his baby.  What would you do in a similar situation?

I’m going to go against the prevailing wisdom here.  If you are getting into a gunfight, there’s a good chance that there are bullets flying in your direction.  The safest place your loved one could be is as far away from you as possible!  I say drop the baby.  A hard fall on the concrete is better than a bullet wound.  Practice ways to drop the child in such a manner that he/she will have minimal injuries.

You aren’t “protecting” your loved one by shielding her with your own body.  You are increasing the chance that she gets hit by gunfire.  If your child or spouse is old enough to understand instructions, tell them to run away.  Instead of pulling them behind you and drawing your gun, you should be pushing them away from you or pushing them to the ground and creating distance.

 

 

The Collective Mood and You

I occasionally am asked how I assess the relative safety of the areas I inhabit when I travel to third world countries.  Different customs and language change societal norms, but these factors remain relatively constant no matter where you are in the world.  Take a look at this article and learn how to assess the baseline.  It will help you make a good decision.  The techniques are mentioned by the authors of Left of Bang, an excellent book to check out if you want to learn more about baseline behavior profiling.

 

 

20 Diversion Tactics Highly Manipulative Narcissists, Sociopaths And Psychopaths Use To Silence You

It’s wise to recognize when these tactics are being used against you and to have a plan it place to deal with them.

 

 

How to Survive your CCW Class Without Being Shot

Good tips here.  If your instructor is using real guns for demonstrations and hasn’t checked to ensure the room is sterile and no one has any ammunition, it’s time to walk.

 

 

Researchers reveal one-way shield to hide cops

Very cool science here.  My prediction is that this technology will be used by both the cops AND the protestors in the near future.  My further prediction is that this type of technology will force both sides to resort to drone technology for surveillance and weapon delivery.  We live in exciting times!

 

 

The More You Know: Living With Astigmatism When Using Red Dot, Holographic and Prismatic Optics

Great advice for seeing a red dot more clearly if you have an astigmatism.

 

 

5 Steps For An Active Shooter Situation

Simple steps to take if you are caught up in an active shooter event.

 

 

To Flap Or Not?

Massad Ayoob did some work with a shot timer to take a look at the relative speed advantages of an open top mag carrier versus a mag carrier with snapped flaps.  There is almost 1.5 seconds difference in the reload times between those two carriers.  I think my cop friends should be talking to the bosses about changing to open top magazine carriers for patrol officers.

My CCW friends shouldn’t carry flapped mag pouches unless they are engaged in such an activity where a mag might fall out of an open topped carrier.

 

 

Start Practicing More Head Shots Because Terrorists Love Bombs

Discussing the relative merits of face shooting.

 

 

Slip-Joint Knives Buyer’s Guide

Having at least one slip-joint (non-locking) folding knife is a good idea.  Lockblade folders are outlawed in many countries (especially Europe).  Having an innocuous looking slip joint will give you better protection than using your fingernails.  I prefer to carry the Spyderco UK Penknife when I’m in Europe.

 

 

The Illusion of Proficiency

“So ask yourself, are you training to BE proficient, or to APPEAR proficient? Do you train to look smooth, or do you train to engage an opponent who attacks from a foot away, in an enclosed space? ”

 

 

Skull-Stomping Sacred Cows: Sun Tzu on Dallas, Cowardice, and Training

 

“If you view yourself as someone willing to move to the sound of the guns, whether professionally or by avocation and conviction, you owe it to yourself, your family, and even your community, to be effective and efficient—professional—in your execution of the fight. You can’t afford to be blowing away non-combatant bystanders. You can’t afford to get shot, because you sucked, and tie up critical emergency medical services—putting the EMS personnel potentially in harm’s way unnecessarily, when they could be treating other casualties. You certainly can’t afford to get killed, because you sucked, and leave your family behind. If you’re a cop, and think your Academy training is adequate, you just saw a very graphic example of the fallacy of that (one of the slain officers was a three-tour veteran of the GWOT. One was a former 1^st Ranger Battalion veteran from the 1980s. One was a former Marine. Are you better in a gunfight than those guys were?). If you’re an armed citizen, and haven’t had professional-level training with your weapon, and in tactical skills, you will be doing your community a greater service by moving AWAY from the sound of the guns than by moving towards the guns and getting killed or wounded because your ego wrote a check your ass couldn’t cover.

Go. Get training, from someone who knows what the Hell they are doing.

If you are not someone who is going to move to the sound of the guns, that’s okay. At least be able to protect yourself, if the guns come to you—carry your gun—and be able to help those who have been shot—know your Tactical Combat Casualty Care methods, and carry aid gear, so you are not forced to become a fleeing, bleating sheep, running with the crowd, as people around you are being killed. Do your part to protect your community, whatever your part is.”

 

 

…moment father grabs loaded gun from policeman trying to arrest his son

For all you open carry practitioners…

Think this couldn’t be you? One dude sucker punches you. You address the threat. Dude’s accomplice (or in this case, father) snatches the gun right off your hip.

“but ‘muh situational awareness….” Right. It’s not like any of us ever get distracted in public.

 

 

Pannone, Gonzales, Vickers split from Alias Training; more to follow

I don’t think I’ll be booking any classes with Alias.

 

 

Take Our Survey and Make Your Voice Heard

With all the talk about police brutality, here is your chance to affect legitimate public change.

Police officers are required by law to use force that is “objectively reasonable” to control a situation. The problem with that guideline is that what is reasonable for some is not reasonable for others.

My friend Sam Faulkner is a police Chief and former lead defensive tactics instructor for Ohio’s police academies. He is quite possibly the only person who is objectively trying to determine what “reasonable” means in the context of police use of force.