Simulations in Training

I was able to watch some clips from the Philippine National Police showcasing anti-assault techniques. The videos show similar drills with our own Waya-an methodology. I just envy their gear and equipment. It is much easier to conduct drills with the full-body armor that they have. It would give the student more spontaneous and less inhibited response to simulated assault.

But we can again conclude that the only way to train is to simulate actual street encounters. If we can replcate not only the physical aspect of it but also the mental and emotional factors then we can produce a trained efficient response to encounters of the ugly kind.

The First Fourteen: Wayaan Class Graduation 2008

From August of 2008, we initiated the first formal curriculum of the Waya-an Self-defense Method. Waaya-an is an off-shoot of the Kinaadman Combatives System which was more on combatives and threat neutralization for professionals. We felt that there was a need for a set of instructions for ordinary civilians with an awareness of the legal implications of street violence and conflict.

Based on the Kinaadman Combatives concept of using as much natural movement and economy of motion, we designed a curriculum that has no techniques to memorize except drills to bring out the natural reaction and response preference of students. Most important of which is mental toughness and problem-solving.

Our initial class comprised of underprivileged kids prone to abuse and violence. We believed that these are the individuals who need most to learn our system of self-defense and self-actualization. Out of the 37 students who started the training in August, 14 completed the Basic Course and graduated on December 14, 2008. One special student, Sr. Alem Coching, is already under advance tuition and is a candidate for instructorship.

This year, 2009, we hope to continue teaching street kids and those who need empowerment. Those who graduated from the Basic Course will go on to study the first advance level. The second advance level would be for apprentice intructors and the third and last level would be for instructorship. Muscle jocks need not apply.

Guns in self-defense 2

We no longer live in lawless times when we need to have a six-gun on our hips while going to the saloon. In a non-war situation, civilians, especially in the Philippines, are not encouraged to carry firearms in their persons. Only authorized law enforcement agents can do so. Even soldiers outside conflict areas like Metro Manila can not just strut their M-16 on the streets of Tondo. In the same vein the PNP has reiterated why it can not grant the request of the MMDA to have their traffic enforcers carry firearms. More guns on the street means more crimes, for the simple reason that a gun has no other use but to kill. 

As I have often said here in this blog, you can not draw your weapon faster than your assailant. The idea that you will be able to recognize an ambush with spare time and therefore have enough seconds to draw and shoot it out with your attackers is a myth. Ask the hundreds of assasins or the Sparow Unit members who have gunned down armed police and military personnel in the 80s and they will tell you this to be true. In urban partisan war the element of ambush is used. As  I have said in another blog post, the only effective way to prepare for an ambush is to have your own weapon already drawn. But this is not possible in a civilized society. You cannot walk around with your gun in your hand. 

So if you cannot draw your gun efficiently all the time why carry it? A gun in a holster is slow and a gun in a handbag is much slower.  THe holdupper would have pointed and shot already before you can draw yours from your clutch bag.  A lot of off-duty policemen and other weapon carrying individuals were disarmed because of this. Their useless weapons taken away by assailants who used surprise and cunning.

There is a much cheaper and more effective way to protect yourself. Use common sense.

• keep a low-conflict lifestyle, avoid conflicts
• be friendly
• keep away from bad neighborhood
• keep away from dimly-lit areas
• assess the area where you parked your car.
• always keep your car doors locked
• always have your homes secured appropriately
• learn threat management
• learn street-smart self-defense
• learn survival techniques
• be ordinary, blend with the crowd
• keep it simple!

Agos

When we engage in physical conflict resolution (meaning duking it out with the bad guys), everything we do is transitory in nature. All strikes, trappings, immobilizations, throws, locks, etc. are not goals in themselves, but are responses "in time".  They are reactions to a particluar stimulus. Therefore they are not premeditated nor are they the "end" we seek in conflict resolution. 

The goal in self-defense is to deescalate the conflict situation or to find an escape route. We react with relentless aggression not to neutralize the attacker (that is the goal of combatives) but to immediately create a situation where the attack against us is halted and the opprotunity to flee is created.

So when a trapping opportunity comes it is not because we planned it but because the situation presented itself. We might use a throw not because we want to display our Judo skills but because it so happened that your body position made it the best option.

The interaction between you and your attacker is fleeting. It is a series of events randomly appearing. Agos therefore is about exploiting these transitory events to find an opening for you to extract yourself from threat.

Guns in self-defense

You don't need an atom bomb to flush out a single rat in your kitchen. There is such a thing as an overkill. Weapons need to be managed for safety and for deployment. The bigger the firepower the higher the maintenance and safety quotient. The law of entropy states that things tend to get sloppy as the situation gets complicated. For home defense we must deal with these variables: 

• perceived threat
• management considerations vis a vis perceived threat
• safety considerations vis a vis location of weapon and place of deployment

So if the perceived threat is a single rat, you don't nuke 'em and blow up your own house. We are exaggerating the example here to drive the point that efficiency and economics are tied together. If a rolled-up newspaper is enough to stop an annoying cockroach why shoot it?

Many weapons are designed for the battlefield rather than for home defense. A weapons buyer must clearly understand which weapon fits his purpose unless he is a gun collector. Nevertheless, a gun collector must fully understand the safety considerations, as will be discuseed later.

So do you really have to buy a Tec-9 or an UZI for your home? With children running around, that would be courting disaster. Part of the management considerations are the legal implications of your weapon based on the laws of you locality. In the Philippines, you can still end up with a charge of homicide based on the circumstances. You can't just shoot and claim self-defense even if it happened inside your home. In some countries these cases are appreciated differently. Remember the Korean student who got shotgunned by the father of his classmate when he visited their home? The shooter was acquitted based on the principle of "castle-keep". But such common law jurisprudence does not apply in other countries like the Philippines.

For the home if you are not a gangster or something, with a normal threat of a possible theft or robbery, then you might need a simple and reliable weapon. A weapon that can be deployed with relative safety and designed for such common crimes.

A home-based weapon or a personal weapon must be concealable,  easy to deploy and reliable. A .38 caliber snub-nose is a very logical choice. It does not jam. It's drawback for the home is that once loaded it is very easy to fire. A pistol can jam if not properly maintained or if not properly loaded and cocked. The ammunition also plays an important part. Afterall it is the one that actually kills. Choosing a good ammo is a necessity. For pistols, the .45 has been tried and tested to deliver. It is very easy to maintain like the revolver. Other calibers may be suited for you to buy but it must suit your hand and personality. So before buying try gripping it for comfort. If it is too heavy for you why buy it?

A lot of people buy full-sized pistols or revolvers for self-defense but these weapons are not designed for self-defense but rather for police work or combat duties. Thus, they are not easily concealable and would require an outside holster to properly carry in the person.

For self-defense therefore it must be compact enough to hide. You cannot display your weapon as if it were the wild wild west. Assasins and firearms snatchers can easily disarm you if you parade it like you were John Wayne (if you can draw it easily from your holster, it means the snatcher can draw it easily too).

At home weapons must be separated from their ammos. It is better to remove the firing pin of the weapon when not in use. They must be stored securely with only you knowing the combination. If you intend to use it on a burglar, it means that you intend to commit homicide. Security for the home must not start on your weapon but on other more sensible variables like the height of your fence, the locks you put, the alarms you installed, the security mindset of your household, etc. Your weapon must only be your last resort (that is why there is such a thing as a panic room).  Remember a homicidal burglar who enters your home enters it with the element of surprise so it is very unlikely that you will be able to deploy your weapon exactly as he enters your abode. It is not a cowboy duel so stop the macho myth. Accept the fact that when shit happens you won't be able to draw your weapon (unless you carry it around your house like a paranoid Billy the Kid). 

There is a reason why security companies sell burglar alarms, CCTV cameras,  and other gadgets and not just guns. Guns are proximity tools. As I have mentioned before, when you have to use it it means the burglar or the intruder is already near you. Why was he able to pass through your gate, your door, your garage, your window or any other entrance? Perhaps you might need to buy a better lock, a new door or a new latch to your window than resort to buying a gun. If the gun is the best anti-burglar option security companies would just be selling firearms only. 

Security therefore is not that simple. You need a complete security survey or evaluation of your home. Is your fence the right height? Is your househelp becoming too friendly with your next-door gardener? Do you live in a gang-infested neighborhood? Things like these must be considered. The gun is not a magic pill. You will also need some training to use it properly.

If you have that enough money to ever need security, then hire security guards (the rich do!). If you are subject to grave threats hire bodyguards (the rich do!). 

Battlefield conditions versus street threat

Another reason why the study of self-defense is so frustrating is the fact that a law-abiding, peace-loving citizen is expected to act civilized and expect civility from other people in street situations. This translates to a relaxed emotional state while being dangerously exposed to possible threats. You have your psychic defenses down because you expect to be treated kindly and with respect. This is a false and dangerous assumption. 

A soldier on foot patrol, on the other hand, is expecting to be ambushed and therefore has his weapon deployed and ready. His eyes are keen, observing the minutest detail of the sorroundings trying to pick out hidden enemies. At the slightest provocation he can unleash hell on anybody.

If a civilian acts like a soldier he faces possible law suits, worse even get a ticket to the death chamber. The courts use the term "use of reasonable force" and "use of deadly force" to differentiate justified self-defense from manslaughter or homicide.

A mugging is actually an ambush and soldiers know how to deal with ambushes by having their firearms and ordnances ready. But a civilian on the other hand cannot just deploy his knife or gun. The mugger will always therefore be one step ahead. The fastest, most-coordinated, athlete will have a response time of at least 2 seconds to a simulated attack.  So if the house-weary housewife who is thinking about bills to pay, etc. goes into an alley she becomes easy prey. Her dulled awareness hardly notices the guy in the shadows. With no weapons deployed and a baggage of a spaced-out mind she is literally cold turkey.

Street smarts requires soldier-like perception and battlefield heuristics. So what do we have to do? We need to balance legal parameters with life and death choices. And its a thinline between deadly force and reasonable force. If  a guy enters your safety zone with a drawn knife you can not be expected to be half-hearted about it. You respond with equal brutality. Anyway, when you are dead the courts can't bring your life back. 

As we often say in this blog, efficient threat management lessens your chances to encounters of the ugly kind. Don't act macho and tempt fate by going to dark alleys and crime-infested neighborhoods. Blend with the crowd and appear common. Avoid conflicts and deescalate macho situations. But if you are caught in a place not of your own making be ready to show the stuff you are made of. Make them pay for messing up with you.

KNIFE SURVIVAL 2.0

What happens when two boxers face each other like Pacquiao and Eric Morales? Both will score a hit against each other. The longer the bout the mutual hits increase in percentage. Imagine if both had knives? The same statistics stands, but with horrific effects. 

It has been said that when two skilled samurais face each other, both of them will be dead. Indeed, duelling has this probability down pat. In duelling, being faced squarely against each other leaves both protagonists susceptible to each other's attacks.

Lessening your mortality rate factor therefore relies on your ability to avoid being a frontal target. Some call it avoiding the "centerline". You might have seen Pacquiao shooting from the side, totally avoiding a frontal strike from his opponent. That is essentially the tactical solution.

In Kali, practitioners are trained to locate themselves in "safety zones", i.e., the peripheral side where the weaponed hand has not launched an attack or where the weapon has been "spent".

In Waya-an Combatives, we train ourselves to maneuver to the sides or the rear to avoid the enemy's centerline attack at the same time protecting our own centerline from counter-attack.