“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?
There are rules for combat. There are rules for waging war. What are the rules for defending one’s home? The Nations of the world created the Geneva Convention to protect soldiers on the field of battle.
Having a law or a set of rules makes good sense, but it only works if both sides of a conflict abide by them. When we watch modern day combat on the football gridiron, two teams battle for victory. Referees call out violations, the playing field fair and balanced. More times than not, the best team of the day wins, that works great in a game.
In the complex reality of civilized life it is comforting to know that we have laws in place aimed at protecting the innocent, but what happens when and if you are forced to protect your home or loved ones.
Scenario 1
An intruder is in your home at 3:00 am. He is armed and is threatening your family. You get access to your home defense firearm and shoot the intruder. The armed thug later dies at the scene. As the drama was unfolding your wife called 911. The screaming, confusion and terror was all clearly caught on the recording. The intruder had a history of violent home invasions and by all accounts you just saved your family from “hell on earth”, so what happens now?
The police arrive and they find a dead body in your home. They don’t know what happened. Whether this was self defense or a premeditated murder, it cannot be determined. You are not the hero who saved his family; you are now a target of investigation. If you use deadly force and kill, you will absolutely need an attorney immediately to protect yourself from the very system that was designed to protect you in the first place. This is, in short exactly what will occur. There are numerous documented cases on this topic but rest assured your problems are just beginning. It would have been easier to just be victimized, all society would be behind you including many that would say, to the effect; too bad he could not have killed the intruder.
Scenario 2
As an example, the Petit family murders in Cheshire, CT. Two parolees who met at a half way house just out of prison stalked and followed Mrs Petit and her daughter home while out shopping. The two perpetrators followed them into their house. They beat the husband senseless, eventually raped and murdered the wife, raped one of the daughters and then tied the two Petit girls to their beds, doused them with gasoline and set the house afire. The daughters age 17 and 11 were burned to death, the house destroyed. Dr. Petit survived to see both men convicted and sentenced to death. Dr. Petit is now speaking out about his story, the ultimate victim who lost everything in his life. Like Beth Holloway, a pseudo celebrity, brought on by a loss too incredible for most of us to comprehend.
What if Dr. Petit had owned a firearm? What if he shot both of the intruders (who were unarmed). Saving his family from what is known as one of the worst crimes in American criminal history? The headlines may have read, “Doctor shoots two unarmed men to death the details are still under investigation, both men were shot multiple times”.
We can spin these a million ways as would the press. Dr Petit would have been transformed into the villain, his reputation and life would have been torn apart as a result. Remember Bernie Goetz, the NY subway vigilante, he most assuredly would have been better off as a beaten victim then a man who defended himself against four thugs.
We have to ask ourselves, where would we fit in? How would our friends and neighbors treat us if we killed to protect our families? This is a worthwhile mental exercise. We often don’t consider the results of our actions until after the fact.
The question remains, when can you defend yourself and what are the rules of this form of combat?
The answer is purely personal. No one can tell another when you should protect your home and family. If your instinct kicks in and you sense real danger, real fear out of control almost an out of body experience that unfolds instantaneously, you will have no time to think and ponder what if.
You must act. You must act decisively, immediately and hopefully your skill set and training will kick in and the outcome will be successful. The details of a given scenario are unimportant as no one can predict, how, when or why some terrible tragedy might occur.
All anyone can do is to be prepared, mentally, physically and have the mindset and ability to recognize danger before it is too late. Avoiding the problem is always the best defense. No one wants the total disruption of life that crime brings with it. It is as stated previously and cannot be over stated enough “winning without fighting is best” – from the ancient text of Sun Tzu.
If you have to fight and you have absolutely no other options, remember that rules are designed for fair play. Remember a fair fight is one that you can lose.
There are no rules save one. Always cheat, always win and give no quarter to those that would destroy all you hold dear. If that is a bothersome simplification, I would suggest speaking with Dr Petit or other victims about their lives today.
In the end, this is a personal choice that only we can make as individuals, understanding all of the implications, socially, morally, religiously and with full public scrutiny that is sure to follow.
The consequences will be ours alone to bear. We owe it to ourselves to become educated on all aspects of self defense.
However, we owe it to our loved ones and ourselves as well, that we should never become a victim.
A special thank you to John Lucarelli for editing.
Hopefully never, being in a position to take the life of another person is the last thing that any of us should ever have to experience, thankfully most never have to find out. There is a chance however that a situation could escalate to a point where the use of potentially deadly force is not only required but essential.
The question asked then has only one feasible answer, since no one can predict when a life threatening situation will arise, becoming educated, properly trained in both tactics and legal conformity leaves only one answer. Always carry, easier said than done as in the normal course of daily life we almost certainly enter establishments where firearms are prohibited.
The risk and responsibilities rest squarely on the individual, no one is above the law, even the most duplicitous and ridiculous laws must be adhered too, less you lose the right to carry.
Just having a proper permit however is not enough, legally it is all that you need, but in truth an untrained individual with a firearm may be just as dangerous as a criminal with intent to harm, accidents and the inability to protect the firearm from theft represent a unique problem in themselves.
It is always a good idea to seek additional firearms training and building up your skill level.
The price for training is far outweighed by the price of inaction and inability on the street.
Society does not need a bunch of Rambo’s or Jason Bourne wannabes running around, but there is a distinction between those who have had proper training and those that have not, like any other activity or pursuit knowledge is power and in the case of firearms, that notion cannot be over stated.
There are several highly sought out training centers available as well as regional instructors that have also made a name for themselves, Firearms training is a highly personal endeavor, individuals need to feel comfortable, it is okay to shop around and find a program and or individual that suits your comfort level.
Qualified instructors will have their own credentials and lists of references for you to check before you jump in, one of the most effective ways to find an instructor is through referral.
If you have a permit for your jurisdiction or if you want to attain one, now would be the time to act while the 2nd amendment is still intact. Just having a firearms permit does not require you to purchase a firearm, but it will allow you to make a purchase, if you decide too.
If you wait until you need one, it will most assuredly be too late.
There was a series of incidents recently involving the release of a new pair of sneakers by Nike, which created frenzy among shoppers, fights broke out in some locations and other forms of civil unrest if you will and this crossed over to a variety of retails establishments this was all about the people.
I wonder has online shopping increased only due to price points or are some people just tired of being out in public and dealing with the marauding crowds. I have been seeing a rise in concern about long term survivability during a crisis, given the state of the economy, the insecurity of what the Government has been doing and the nature of people, it is not surprise that these questions are starting to surface again.
In the event of a terrorist attack or a major natural disaster, where infrastructure and travels hubs are impacted there will be the potential for several issues to materialize especially in well populated areas and large cities.
In the event of a significant event, most food emporiums will be stripped bare in 24 hours, with 48 hours there will be nothing left to buy and if roads and travel is curtailed there could be no resupply for days or weeks.
One question that should be asked if that should occur today, how long can you survive in your home if you could not acquire anything going forward?
A week, two weeks? Do you have a plan, do you know what you need to sustain life and how to manage food water intake, what about prescription drugs that may be essential or other items that are just important, feminine hygiene products for example, diapers if you have small children.
There may not be heat or electricity; phones may be down as well. People tend to panic when they don’t know what is going on and they are out of touch with their families, children possibly away at school or just living on their own.
There are many considerations here is a list of a few:
Emergency Evacuation and Preparedness (if forced to travel)
n First aid kit, (aspirin, anti histamine, Dramamine)
n Cell phone and car charger and solar charger
n Glow sticks
n Extra medication (prescription)
n Contact lists – address books, (In case your cell phone dies)
n Maps or GPS
n Fire extinguisher
n Sleeping bags and blankets or “emergency blankets”
n Insulated ground pad
n Saw and axe. (Chain saw (in case you have tree blockage on roads or need to build temporary shelter)
n Jumper cables
n Tow strap
n Rope, zip ties, plastic bags or tarp.
n Flashlights and locator strobe
n Signal mirror
n Five gallon water jug or bottled water (for consumption and sanitization) – 2 quarts per day per person and 4 quarts per day in the summer
n Food (dry goods, dehydrated fruits or “M.R.E.’s”)
n Pot for cooking or melting snow
n Spare toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, body soap, shampoo, laundry soap, feminine products.
n Small shovel
n Ice scraper
n Candles and matches (waterproof and windproof), magnesium fire starter or butane lighter
n Spare gas can (five gallon)
n Small battery powered radio w/ extra batteries
n Ponchos or large garbage bags
n Toilet paper and tissues
n Hand sanitizer and dish soap
n Extra money and change (in case ATM’s are down, cell phones aren’t working) small bills people won’t have or make change.
n Sunscreen
n Pocket knife
n Canteen
n Small tool kit or tool box
n Books and toys for the children
n Pet needs
An extra set of car keys
n Important paperwork, (Insurance, Bank statements, Marriage certificates, Birth certificates, Passports) there could be martial law declared.
n Cooking supplies, spices, freeze dried food, peanut butter, crackers, pretzels, cans of tuna, canned soup, anything that will keep, treats for kids, pet food if you have a pet with you.*
n Camping supplies, fire starter, matches, utensils, camping stove and fuel.
n If you own a firearm, carry it with you. (Protection .357 magnum or larger) .22 caliber for hunting small game, 30/30 for deer, Shotgun for fowl.
Keep in mind, There is being prepared and the illusion of being prepared, which are you?
The above is fairly generic, the next question is how many people and for how long a period of time, the list now becomes a small investment of space and money, this can be accomplished by rotating food as you consume just replace, obviously during an actual crisis should that occur, you would consume all perishables first as they dwindle then you start breaking out the canned produce and food, depending on the information you are able to acquire, you may have to ration food and water to stretch out your supply for a long period of time.
Again this is just food for thought as this will never happen here and those fine young people that assault each other for a pair of sneakers will most assuredly make sure that you get what you need from the convenience store in a crisis.
“When the going gets tough, they call in the sons of bitches”
Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King USN (Ret) 1878-1956
People fear the unknown, people fear being out of control and the dark, both literally and figuratively. Whenever there is a crisis, we reach for some method of communication, so we can make sure those we care about are okay and unaffected, to find out the details of what is transpiring and what is being done about the situation.
We want answers and assurances that we are going to be okay and that help is on the way, no matter what the issue.
If you break that down, it tells the tale of modern society and that we are virtually lost without information and our ability to think for ourselves and to act accordingly has been virtually eliminated.
Two hundred years ago Americans absent of the convenience of timely information were largely left to their own devices, we had to fend for ourselves, hunt, gather, think and act, life was difficult and lacked any of the creature comforts we now take for granted, but our survival was up to us, our freedom protected by us and our lives largely directed by us.
As we have progressed and grown we have become weak in the mind and spirit, while we have become intellectual in some respects we have become incapable in others. The number of individuals who can live off the land and fully support themselves is only a fraction of those alive today.
In contrast the number of people who are dependent on others to live on a daily basis is staggering, we are no longer a Nation of pioneers, even our last frontiers, space and deep sea exploration, America no longer has programs for either, we have become dependent on others for those technologies.
There is much we can do and many areas that America could thrive, but it is our so called leadership that keeps us down, we are a rudderless ship with no wind in our sails and no current to follow, blinded by the darkness of ineffective leadership, we are foundering and may soon be lost.
We need to collectively want improvement, to identify a solution and have a collective response come next November, we cannot be divided over trivia, we cannot be led down the path of indecision based on what the media dictates or what polls are showing, we have the ability to connect with ourselves, real Americans in the world of social media.
We must prevail, find a direction and stay the course and not falter, not deviate and not fail.
Our Future and those of our Children depend on this, enough of this nonsense; we have been dragged through the mud far too long.
2012, Change we must have…