To Carry Or Not To Carry
I found myself wondering where the familiar ever-present weight was while I was meeting a friend for barbeque. I had become complacent in my duty to carry, relying on my martial arts background which doesn’t mean I can “Kung Fu” a bullet out of the air. If this situation sounds familiar, it means you should look inward at yourself.
If I find myself thinking I have a responsibility to myself and my loved ones to be at the top of my game, it can happen to you. It all starts about the same, it’s hot outside, or you are just making a quick stop to the neighborhood store, no big deal right? Wrong! It’s exactly these scenarios that lead to tragedy. Training everyday may not be achievable for the average person with day to day life happening non-stop, but everyday carry is.
The old adage of, “It’s better to have and not need it, than need it and not have it.”, comes to the front of my mind. Imagine walking out to your car in a parking lot and you see an armed person abducting a little girl and you are unarmed yourself. No amount of martial arts training or experience can stop a bullet fired from a gun. The firearm closes distance on the quick and that can be a life saving advantage when in a tense situation.
While my day starts with martial arts and dry firing exercises no amount of badassery can stop someone from getting a lucky shot off if I’m unarmed. When the seasons change so do my carry options, holsters, and attitude towards situation awareness and training. Don’t be a victim, become proficient with what you carry, train how you fight and train often as you’re able. Make goals and achieve them one at a time until you aren’t even aware you are doing the things you were struggling with earlier.
Enter the need for professional training. Just because you got your CCW permit doesn’t mean you won’t do more harm than good if faced with a tough spot or active shooter in your neighborhood. Just because I instruct shooters and give hand to hand close quarters training to novices and pros alike doesn’t mean I’m above it all. I make efforts to take classes many times a year to train myself and improve on my shortcomings. We can all stand to learn something, and taking a cavalier attitude of “I already know all that.”, means you have shut yourself off to learning. Learning to use the tools you have at hand and how to manage your workspace will only help you become more proficient at being the best person you can be, don’t ever let your ego dictate.
For more information, try taking a class and be the better person for taking that first step towards proficiency. Complacency kills, don’t be that person who woulda , shoulda but didn’t.
Contact Mike (503)320-4733 to schedule your tailored class today.