Weekend Reading: New Defensive Pistolcraft Post And New Weekend Knowledge Dump

We have a twofer this week. 

    First, Jon Low has a new post up with lots of advice, links to great articles, and a link to download a book he has written on training, which is available at no cost to you and can be downloaded in several formats. Let's get to the book first. He writes: "I put the lesson plans for my Defensive Pistol class, in book form on Smashwords." The link is here. Moving on to his list of articles, all I can say is "wow". There are topics for the newbie, but a lot of deep topics as well. Just a sampling:

• You might remember that I had linked to a video showing an officer dumping a large number of rounds into a man beating the officer with a stick. Jon has found an article by Scott Buhrmaster that breaks down that incident and goes over things what happened, could have happened, and challenging you to think about what you would have done. (Maybe a head shot as taught by the failure to stop drill). Good stuff. 
• Jon cites several articles on observation and situation awareness, including one by Patrice Bonnafoux that has to do with perception of danger and that it is mostly looking for anomalies. Jon also points out that the suggestions for improving your situational awareness does not include worry and, in fact, Christ commands us to not worry. Worry (or fear) is the mind-killer. In fact, one of the greatest health crises facing us today is anxiety--we literally create worry and fear above and beyond what is necessary in our environment.
• Speaking of observation, be sure to check out the article from John Conner on Telltales which discusses some methods that crooks use to make sure someone hasn't broken into their house (or, in this case, stash house) and other things to watch (or sniff) for that might alert you to there being an intruder in the house. 
• Jon suggests a video on YouTube, "How To Master The Pistol Squat & Overcome Limiting Beliefs" by Zuzka Light, for its discussion on the psychology of failure and using beliefs to overcome behavior. Here is a tip from me: if you start to feel down, tell yourself that God loves you. Tell it to yourself over and over if you need to. And do that every time a negative thought enters your head about "I'm not good enough" or "nobody cares about me" or something similar. 
• Jon recommends an article on the skills sets necessary to become a citizen defender. There are 8 general area of skills and only one has to do with shooting a handgun. Keep that in mind.
• Jon notes that Silencer Central will not only take care of your paperwork to get your license from the Feds, but also prepare a trust to hold your silencer so you can keep it in the family. He provides a phone number. He also mentions Threading Central will thread barrels to accept a sound suppressor. 
• And a lot more....

I always try to end with one of Jon's comments, tips, or advice. I found the following story he related to be both enlightening and somewhat humorous. 

     A friend asked me to join his team for a training evolution.  (I don't know where they come up with this terminology.)  Individually, we moved down a fire escape ladder well (stair case), pulled a door open, and entered the subbasement level of a large parking garage.  As I pulled the door open, I noticed what looked like a large (12 inches in diameter) black nylon wrapped sausage lying across the doorway.  (It was a water barrier to prevent water from getting into the fire escape ladder wells.)  I stepped over it and entered the empty garage.  (The obstacle was not placed there for us.  We were using the garage as it was normally, during off hours when no one else was using the garage.) . . .

     During the debriefing, I discovered that I was the only one who did not trip over the water barrier.  Why?  Everyone should have been watching where they were going, as none of us had ever been in this garage before.  But, I was going slowly enough to alter my actions based on what I saw.  Others had seen the barrier and tripped over it, because they didn't have the time to process what they saw.  They were moving faster than they could think.  Some did not see the barrier and tripped over it.  They just need to look where they are going.  

     A lot of the officers participated in IDPA and IPSC competitions.  And they were in the mindset of racing against the clock.  They were moving much faster than they could think and process what they were seeing.  A competition, a sport, an athletic event, is artificial.  If you are running a race, there will be a smooth flat track with lanes clearly marked.  At the signal you go and run as fast as you can to the finish line.  No decisions to make.  No chance of altering what you are doing.  Such is not combat.  

Source: Daily Time Waster

    Next, it being Friday, we have a new Weekend Knowledge Dump from Greg Ellifritz. Some of the links he has are:

• A great article on AR magazines (the good, the bad, and the ugly) which goes over common signs to look for in both metal and polymer magazines, for evaluating whether it is a bad magazine or has a high potential for causing you problems.
• An article on how and when to pack wounds.
• Advice on everyday carry.
• A couple articles exposing truths that are contrary to the public perception, including a CDC study that found that wearing masks had a very minimal impact on spreading COVID, and another noting that police brutality against blacks is far lower than the impression given by the media.
• Advice on training when you are over 50.
• A couple articles on using weapon lights/tactical lights.
• A link to an Active Self Protection video about the guy in Detroit that had his open carry pistol stolen while he was engrossed in paying for his purchases.
• And a lot more....

Check it out.