In this Memorial Day weekend I had the privilege of participating in a personal protection and home defense course. It was a great course organized by my friend, Tommy Gibson and his company Sure Shot (Tommy’s child also trains at Sampa); the course was taught by Charlie Moser, a former Navy Seal that now has a company, called Swat Concepts, which teaches civilians personal defense.
The course was great and taught many things that people are not aware of. By becoming aware of those things you will not be an easy target, forcing the predator to choose another target.
Coming from a country that the crime and homicide rates have the same numbers as countries in war, many things were not new to me; but it might be new for the majority of the people that live in this country, so I recommend this course to everyone.
Now on the second day, I had a blast because I was most looking forward to having the experience of dealing with guns and learning how to maneuver them with safety and control.
Now differently than Brazil, many people here have had a chance to see a gun or have some sort of training because of the military culture and history USA has. In Brazil, to possess a gun legally is almost impossible and the law-abiding citizens usually have not had a chance to use or see a gun. I will not go over the political side of this discussion, but I will say that on the second day I was a newbie and have learned a lot. It was definitely an eye opening experience.
The instructor said that the learning curve of how to shoot and deal with guns is way faster than learning any martial arts like jiu jitsu and I agree 100%. “If someone breaks into your house, they threaten you and your family, but somehow they evade because the cops showed up. I guarantee that next day you may move out or buy a dog or a gun. You will not greet the punching bag and start kicking it.”
During our time at the gun range we experienced situations were the gun did not go off. The instructor Charlie Moser told stories about how at the shooting range you might see people that think they know what they are doing, but in reality they are not taking much care for the safety procedures everyone should be.
Then I came away with this thought: “It is the same everywhere, people start training BJJ or shooting and after a little learning they might feel cocky and lose the respect for others, which is a shame. When it comes to guns because the learning curve is faster the numbers might be even greater.” And the conclusion is that no matter what you do or try to accomplish please do not do it yourself, always look for a coach, and never ever be overconfident or cocky about anything (even driving), because it might injure you or cost you your life or the lives of others. This is when a well-taught jiu jitsu comes to play, because this art humbles you and helps you to be more respectful for others and make the world we live better. I am very happy that now I am closing this cycle on my self-defense skills and I will continue to learn with proper safety and respect.
They Have Two More Courses Coming Up – Let the know if you are interested or if you have more questions:
