B – Log

When asked, how he became a hero, President John F. Kennedy replied –  ”It was easy, they sank my boat”

There’s no surer justice in the world than that which makes the rich thief hang the poor one.

PEIRE CARDENAL,  Songs of the Troubadours

This was E-mailed to me:

While I was in a Denver gun store today, my car was tagged on the wheel in the parking lot. The gangs do this on wheels or bumpers at gun stores, shooting ranges, gun shows etc. Later when you are parked at a restaurant, hotel, or other location that’s less well guarded or under video surveillance, other gang members spot the marker and break into the car for a quick gun grab.

This is so RAMPANT in San Antonio where we were for a National shoot this summer, the police chief of that county came out to brief the 400 participants of our competition. Too bad three teams had already been victimized the first day. This is the first I’ve heard of this in Denver . Please pass this info along to your 2nd amendment list.

David A. Arieno, President, Alaska Machine Gun Association,

Benefactor Life Member,NRA www.amga.net

Abraham Lincoln had written in his own hand; “character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow.

The shadow is what we think of it, the tree is the real thing”.

In our time 140 years later the same truth holds, a person can be many things to many people

but if you are not true to your word, then you are neither worthy of yourself nor anyone else.

Those were words to the wise from a Senior Chief Petty Officer of the United States Navy to a young sonar technician during a not so friendly chewing out thirty five years ago, some things are hard to forget.

The lesson however was never forgotten, we all of us are constantly communicating, what we say, how we speak, how we look at someone else, how we appear, our actions, even the things we don’t say can be interpreted.

Like the animals on the Serengeti, where the Lion looks for easy prey, so do the predators on two legs, they too are looking for easy prey.

Pay attention to the lions in your life, they are out there and looking for someone who is pre-occupied transmitting and not receiving…

Stay Vigilant and above all Be Safe.

“Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared”  Eddie Rickenbacker

Eddie Rickenbacker was a race car driver who went on to become America’s leading air ace of World War One , he flew in the Hat in the ring Squadron and was credited with 26 air to air victories in combat.

Krav Maga is a self-defense system developed in Israel and is currently taught and in use by the IDF special forces and police. Krav Maga is a no-frills, no-nonsense approach to self-defense. It is designed to maximize an individual’s ability to defend themselves in difficult situations. Krav Maga is not a sport or a game. There are no rules, save one: survival.

Oren Faiga  - Krav Maga and Self Defense Instructor; is a Veteran of the Israeli Defense Force, a former member of the Israeli National Karate Team, Two-Time Israeli National Karate Champion, Heavyweight Division and Fifth Degree Black Belt in Shi-Heun-Krav Maga.

This instruction is similar to what is still currently taught to Elite Israeli First Responders. Oren brings a wealth of knowledge and real life experience into the classroom.

Mr. Faiga’s easy going style coupled with his full understanding of this unique craft, creates an environment that is appreciated by people of all ages and abilities.

Krav Maga, Defensive Awareness, as well as our other available services are based on years of tested and proven techniques that can help anyone improve their confidence.

If you would like additional information contact Oren Faiga directly at ofaiga@ktasecurity.com

Feel free to visit our website as well: www.ktasecurity.com

In the ancient text of Sun Tzu, The Art of War, the message of human behavior in the field of battle transforms itself over millennia, in the words of a Taoist master that are over 2,000 years old “To win without fighting is best” has never been more applicable than they are today.

To win without fighting is to negotiate, to have the battle won before any shots are fired, to ask a question while knowing the answer, to anticipate with foresight what your opponent will do and how they will react, so you can be prepared for the next move and the next move after that, the ultimate chess game.

In the art of self preservation and personal protection, the stakes may be even higher, how to anticipate and preempt any form of aggressive strike before it occurs, Awareness, Reaction and Execution, before the event unfolds, this is Defensive Awareness.

A pliable adaptability, to move without form, to transition like water and become formless to rise and strike with the fury of a wave and to disappear like a receding tide.

Bruce Lee termed this as “No Way as Way”  that there is no single solution to a problem and no single way to execute a solution, Every Way is Way, There are many paths to the top of a hill, but only one view.

There is no single answer but there are contributing factors physical condition, mental alertness and learned skills. Each of us are unique, we approach situations in our own way and often will have our own solutions. There are no cookie cutter answers, no quick fixes, no magic potions or schemes.

A combination of personal responsibility and dedication coupled with a realization that we do live in a fast paced and unpredictable environment and that no one regardless of their station in life is immune from any of life’s calamities. Life is what happens when you are planning other things, accepting that premise is one of the keys to staying out of harm’s way.

Stay Alert and be safe, if it feels wrong follow that instinct, don’t ignore yourself.

“Arms are tools of ill omen, to employ them for an extended period of time will bring about calamity –  Those who like to fight and so exhaust their military inevitably perish”

Sun Tzu

In what many believe was the first suicide attempt using a civilian airliner as a weapon Iranian Flight 655 made a direct approach towards American Naval forces in the Straits of Hormuz back in July of 1988, after repeated attempts to warn off the approaching aircraft, The USS Vincennes, launched two standard 1 anti aircraft missiles at the approaching aircraft, the airplane was destroyed and resulted in the deaths of 290 people, believed to have been civilians.

Of course there was public outcry as nothing like this ever happened, the US ended making a multimillion dollar settlement, but never admitted any wrong doing. It was a tragedy as the civilians on board the jet airliner were pawns and was sacrificed by the terrorists that orchestrated the event; whether that was the Iranian Government no one knows for sure.

On board the Vincennes as on every Naval warship is a system that requires multiple people in authority including the Captain to initiate and complete the firing circuit which will allow the weapons to be launched, the system is designed so that no single person can launch an attack.

Failsafe

This week a tragedy occurred in a Texas middle school, when a 15 year old boy brought a pellet gun to school and for some unknown reason went in to the hallway at school, waived the gun around and caused a hostage type of scenario to unfold. The Police were called in; they confronted the young man who refused to listen to the demands of the police to drop the gun.

The police whose responsibility at that point was to protect the lives of not only themselves but all the students in the school, made what was reported as numerous attempts to persuade this young man to drop the gun, apparently the young man made a threatening gesture and two of the police opened fire and killed the young man. He left the police no choice. A tragedy on every level, a tragedy that this young man undoubtedly troubled chose this route as a call for help, A tragedy as another school has become the site of a shooting, that children were exposed to the danger of gunfire and this grim reality, a tragedy as two police officers have to live with the fact that they shot and killed a fifteen your old teenager that was holding a pellet gun.

Failsafe

In Oklahoma on New Year’s day a young mom Sarah McKinley recently widowed was home with her infant son when two men repeatedly tried to enter her home, she called 911 placed a bottle of milk into her baby’s mouth and proceeded to arm herself with a shotgun and a pistol.

The 911 operator stayed with her for the entire event nearly 21 minutes, which is a long time for anyone to hold out, one may ask what kind of response time is that for the police.

The 911 transcripts included the following passages: “I’ve got two guns in my hand — Is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door?” McKinley asked the 911 operator, creating her own Failsafe equation.

“I can’t tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby,” the dispatcher told McKinley when she asked a second time. The call went on for 21 minutes as the men powered their way into McKinley’s house.

The 911 operator could not authorize the use of deadly force but did add “You do what you have to do to protect your baby” in essence giving permission to fire.

This young women just 18 years old had the presence of mind to do everything correctly, including asking whether or not she could shoot, Fail safe, this is a responsible gun owner, one who waited until the threat was imminent and despite warnings and a 20 minute call for help was left to her own devices and in this case protected herself and her child.

Failsafe

All of these example could have ended very differently, each one their own tragedy, but each one leaving no doubt that true self preservation is left to ourselves, there are no knights in shining armor coming to the rescue, each of us left with our own dilemma, what do you do when confronted with a life threatening situation.

Awareness, Knowledge, Attitude, Instinct and Skill set, there is no substitute for any of the key ingredients of this equation, some are natural and innate, some are learned, all are essential.

What is your Failsafe?