I got my first Aikido belt under Fumio Toyoda, so I'm pretty familiar with it. When I became an instructor-trainer in defensive tactics (Monadnock's MDTS system) I was surprised to find most of the control holds were either straight from Aikido, or based firmly on Aikido principles.Weapons retention isn't some dark art that requires a full time martial arts study although each type of self defense does compliment the other (armed and un-armed..). This thread pretty much moved towards all the various martial arts that might pertain (although for some reason no one mentioned aikido...) while weapons retention is a combination of situational awareness, maintaining as much distance between yourself and a possible opponent, and a very few very specific techniques that allow you to hold onto your weapon while breaking away from someone attempting to take it...
I'll let someone who actually teaches weapons retention to follow up on this, but once again the martial arts are a very good idea for anyone determined to defend themselves with or without a firearm... Weapons retention is not something that requires constant study and practice once you learn the basics... Periodic practice of the basics is all I'd advocate for any armed citizen - as well as an awareness of what factors make you vulnerable to being disarmed....
I would prefer to just jump in and see what's what...Find out if they will let you sit in on a couple classes. Just to see if its a good match. I refuse to train with someone rude or full of themselves.
Had an interesting phone conversation with a local combat sports gym.
I am interested in learning things like no gi Jiu-Jitsu and Mauy Thai so I called and asked about pricing/schedule etc.
Anyway the guy asked me what I was looking to get out of it and I mentioned that I am a firearms instructor and wanted to bridge the gap in my hands on skills for self defense and general fitness purposes.
He tells me, "well, without fighting skills, you are just a walking holster, right? You need to learn how to retain that gun."
I let the comment go, but it rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think this guy knows much about the kind of shooting people interested in self defense are engaged in.
Is this a common attitude in the combat sports?
Either way I go to check it out on Monday.
The same as yours, probably.Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding the premise here, but how did the instructor's underscoring the importance of retention training rub you the wrong way? What's your position on weapon retention?
So you would marry a woman or man. Sight unseen? To me its the same. If you are not compatible then training will suck. The reason I dropped my personal trainer. We didnt click.I would prefer to just jump in and see what's what...
If I am going to be there anyway, I may as well get my hands dirty
Hardly comparable.So you would marry a woman or man. Sight unseen?
How long was the training?Hardly comparable.
I've signed up for defensive pistol training without having audited a session.
So you would marry a woman or man. Sight unseen? To me its the same. If you are not compatible then training will suck. The reason I dropped my personal trainer. We didnt click.
Hardly comparable.
I've signed up for defensive pistol training without having audited a session.
Signing up for a class is comparable to marriage?He's not wrong at all.
I suggest that the issue was with the terms of the contract, and not with your not having audited the class.I signed up for lessons from a really crappy Tae Kwon Do school in Colorado Springs. I think it was a 6 month contract whether you came to class or not. The instruction was sub par to say the least and I quit going. He sent a collection agency after me.
Signing up for a class is comparable to marriage?
I suggest that the issue was with the terms of the contract, and not with your not having audited the class.
I would never enter into a six month contract without an escape clause.
Cue the famous scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in which Indiana Jones just shrugs and shoots the guy who's threatening him with a big sword.
That's what "martial arts" really amount to, in the real world. Empty gestures. When so many people are carrying guns, anything less is just liable to get you killed.
Craig Douglas (Shivworks) has assured me that older students are welcome to train with him. He travels, to locations where someone will host his classes. I drove from the Houston area to near the Dallas area, in Texas, in 2005 and 2006 to attend ECQC. (Extreme Close Quarters Concepts.) I remember that we worked around some infirmities and injuries, that some students had.
Michael deBethencourt is best-known for snubby revolver training, but he has a strong background in blade and bare-hands training. I only attended his sample-length mini-class, about two hours, while at the Snubby Summit, in 2005, but I think that his classes are age-neutral. His site is snubtraining.com .
... Real world crisis situations never play out according to any plan, you can't anticipate them beyond a few moments in time, and you need to be able to adapt quickly to deal with them without having to think it through. ...