V.I.P.A Tactical Training

Well first off; no they don't - Myth Busted

Have I been 'On the ground' ? YES
Have I knocked people to the ground ? YES

In those instances did I or my enemy also follow to the ground and conduct a ground fight ? NO

So the above title while false could read something like 'Not all fights end up on the ground, but SOMEONE will certainly finish up on the ground'.

So with that in mind we are going to look at ground defence. Notice I said ground defence and not ground fighting. Big difference.

Sure I have seen guys rolling around on the ground, not in any trained sense. One or both slipping, tripping or falling over each other, and I have seen guys in the mount position, usually only when the target has been subdued, given up and the capitulation offers the chance for the other party to assert dominance from this position without fear of any sort of counter attack. But these have been very few and far between occasions.

The Mount Position - Photo credit Wikipedia

There are not many of our enemies who are going to want you on the ground. Two of these who will though are the street fighter (and his mates) and the rapist.

The street fighter (and his mates) want you on the ground so you are less of a threat and so they can also so kick the shit out of you at their pleasure; and I don't think I need to explain what the rapist wants you on the ground for do I.

So considering this, why then would you want to learn ground fighting? When this is the last place we want to be.

Since the emergence of the UFC and MMA ground fighting is seen to be the be all and end all answer to the above title, which we know to be false.

I remember on a British Combat Association seminar way back in the early 90s when the subject was ground fighting; I asked a question about an ankle lock, 'Would this work on someone wearing high leg military style boots, which gives support in that region'? The answer was a truthful 'Not sure', and what are his mates doing while I have the ankle lock on?

Definition - Ground Defence:
Protect yourself and gain your feet as soon as possible.

Getting to your feet A.S.A.P is the one and only objective of ground defence.

My Ju Jitsu is part of my back up system and as such is only applicable when I am in a stand up grappling situation or if I am on the ground. Its used to create space to be able to engage with my main weapons and also to create space to get up off the ground.

In some circumstances you may not be able to get all of the way up onto your feet in one go, you may have to go from a lying position to a kneeling position; one or both knees and then get to a standing position. All the while making space to get to the next phase. Yes offensive techniques are going to be thrown but again only to create space to get to the next stage, if they do damage then that is a plus.

For those who have read my other blog posts you know I am all about specific training and the same applies here. For ground defence applications for the citizen there is no need to learn arm locks, leg locks or submission holds, remember most attacks are by multiple enemies, the longer you are on the ground the more danger you will be in. It is dangerous enough with just one guy kicking you repeatedly on every part of your body.

Yes where applicable holds and restraints are required, but not for the citizen. Law enforcement of course need to be able to arrest criminals when it is safe to do so and the close protection operator who works on an RST (Residential Security Team) will also need to learn locks and holds as will anyone in any sort of security environment.

First off; you have to be able to hit the ground safely and be in a position to immediately protect yourself. While training with and watching a group of guys training in ground defence recently I noticed that when they practiced standing up they just collapsed back down to perform the same technique.
Collapsing like a pile of shit, landing on the palms of  your hands is no way to practice hitting the ground. You cannot defend yourself with broken wrists. 

NOTE:  Everyone was practicing getting up, but none thought that at the same time they could practice hitting the ground. Think outside the box at all times, even in training.

Next you need to be able to move while in your defensive position. How many of you practice body movement while on the ground?
Body movement is essential, without it you cannot get into positions to either protect, attack or create space.
Good body movement also allows gives you the ability to safely transition to the next phase.

NOTE: There are two main areas of physical fitness that you will need to be competent at ground defence. Flexibility to allow you to move around smoothly and a solid core.

How many fat instructors do you see who would struggle getting up out of bed never mind getting off the ground competently? make sure that is not you!

Combat posture, how many of you have or practice in a combat posture while on the ground?
Standing, sitting (in a chair), kneeling and lying down all require a combat posture to be effective. What is yours?  Do you even have one?

Protecting yourself while all parties are unarmed is hard enough, now throw into the mix weapons, knives, machetes, axes, sticks, in fact anything that you can be hit with; if it is there you will be hit with it. You may laugh but machetes and axes are being used more and more in the UK in attacks. Now do you still want to be on the ground?

This is what you are going to see, get used to it. Single and more importantly multiple attackers must be trained for. Its not a pretty place to be but you have to be comfortable down there to be able to disengage, get to your feet, escape or fight back.

We will revisit ground defence at a later date and look at applications that are more in line with ground fighting, in relation to a rapist. But again with only the one aim - GETTING TO YOUR FEET!

Stay Dangerous

Rock

As Fiona and I received questions regarding the first blog post on home invasions we have decided to address some of these in this second blog.

Fiona -
In a home invasion, why would you (or your character) want to have a landline? Won't a mobile phone do the trick?

With a landline -
* You know where it is.
* You don't have to worry about it being charged.
* You don't have to worry about the call being dropped.
* You don't have to worry about having a good signal.
* The 991 / 999 operator will immediately know where you 
   are and get someone headed your way. So even if you dial
   and don't speak, help will come.
* Your heroine should either have an extension in every room
   or have a cordless landline that you can move about with.
   Again here, check that your heroine gets reception in all
   areas of the home and that the phone always sits in its
   carriage and is on charge. Ha! When does that ever happen?

A house owner has a lot of options to secure the premises that may not be available to an apartment dweller. As a writer you need to decide just how savvy your heroine was when she signed the lease. This area is rife with plot opportunities. Everything from forethought in planning for an emergency to simply the lay out and general safety of the apartment building.

See more security and related tips from Fiona and here guests at:
www.thrillwriting.blogspot.co.uk

Rock -
Apartments, houses, mobile homes, it doesn't matter. You have to work with a plan for where you live. But as you asked about apartments we will stick with that.

Security is all about ever decreasing circles, the more circles (obstacles) you can put between you and an enemy (I will clarify 'enemy' at a later time) the less likely you will be a target.

Without knowing the specifics of the apartment or the building I will go over some general points.

There are two areas that need to be looked at:
* The apartment building itself.
* The apartment from your point of view.

APARTMENT BIULDING 
Is the apartment block secure with:
* Electronic / key code / key for the apartment building entry door?
* Does the apartment block have a night porter / concierge / security in main foyer?
* What type and where are the fire escapes situated?
* What security procedures are in place from the building owners (should be checked
   prior to living there).

If the apartment block is open access with lifts (elevators) and stairs to the public from the street - 
* The first line of defence is already non - existent.
* Threats can move directly from the street to your apartment.

APARTMENT
* Is the apartment front door outside on a walkway or inside in a corridor?
* Not only good locks on the door, but one without a letterbox.
* If the threat is great, you can also get fire resistant doors and glass.
* You can also get good door jams (floor bolts) that can be engaged at night.

Defend and secure or defend and escape are the two main objectives, not in that order as it depends on the tactical situation at that specific time. Bear in mind that defend may also mean going on the offensive.

SECURE
* Is there a defensible room for all family members (safe room) what you in the
  States call a panic room?
* Is the door to the safe room strong enough to withstand a battering or fire? what
  are the hinges like?
* How long can you stay in the safe room?
* Your safe room may also be the one that you escape from - so fire escapes and 
   fully opening windows for egress is a must.
* Remember it will be a room that is also used for everyday living, so packing it out 
   with kit to survive for long periods is a no-no.
* You are not going to be there that long before LE arrives (Emergency services)
   Again though this depends on the situation at the time.
* Thinking about firearms:
   'What are your walls like?
   'What cover is available in the safe room?

ESCAPE 
If you are in a high rise block and live high up, getting out of the apartment may be difficult especially if you only have a front door. Does you apartment have a side or rear door leading out.

For living on lower levels escaping out of windows to the ground may be easier if you are prepared. Do your windows open fully so an adult can get out?

If your fire escape is not at a rear or side window but down the hallway then the window may be your only option.

Now dropping from a second story floor or higher may prove damaging when hitting the ground (obviously) so
* Do you have a knotted climbing rope in place and secured?
* Can all family members climb down the rope, have you practiced?

As part of my job we carry a piece of equipment called a Rescuematic.





* It is really used in case of fire but the idea is to get us out of the building.
* It is a wire harness that is secured to a wall and the weight of a person being
   lowered to the ground is countered by internal mechanisms.
* Only good for about 5 floors up but ideal in that situation.

Hope that covers some basics.

Stay Dangerous

Rock

This blog post is going to briefly look at home invasions and joining me this week is Fiona Quinn. Fiona is a thriller novel writer and also hosts her website ThrillWriting. ThrillWriting is a great website mainly aimed at writers but there is also an immense amount of information for anyone involved in security in whatever capacity and the information is provided by industry professionals who give specific details enabling writers to write their thriller novels with realistic insider information.

You can find Fiona and her ThrillWriting website here:

www.thrillwriting.blogspot.co.uk

Fiona
This week, I posted an article on FB/T about a recent home invasion and Rock Higgins and I thought it would be an excellent blog topic.

Rock
Although I have written on this subject in my book, Meditations of a Modern Warrior, there is a lot more that can be discussed on this issue and here, Fiona Qiunn and I will shed some more light on the subject of home defence.

Fiona
Let me just that my remarks are geared towards writers who are trying to write their scenes right, and Rock is the professional who will keep real humans alive and well.

Lets take a minute first to explain the difference between a burglary and a home invasion.

A Burglary
* Happens when there is no one at home.
*Usually happening during the day or when you are out of town (So please don't put your fab plans for going to Paris out on social media networks or make your plans generally known - you can share afterwards when you have the photos).
* While some burglaries are done by opportunists, typically they are planned and the criminal/s know quite a bit about you, your set up, your schedule, and your defences.
* If you get home and find something off - do not go in and investigate it alone. Call the police. Maybe you think one of your kids broke the window or left the door open. Minimally, you can get a neighbour to hang outside with your kids and the phone ready to call the police while you go do room -by-room.


Home Invasion
* Happens while someone is at home.

*A criminal who is coming into your home at night will assume there is going to be a confrontation.

*Confrontations are to be avoided when possible. So it is important to be a hard target.

*Reasons they might choose a home invasion:
'There plan may be to get someone to open safes or to give pin numbers.
'They plan a rape.
'They plan to inflict harm / kill the people inside.

Being a hard V soft target
* Lock your solid core doors with quality locking systems.

* Drill peep holes at your level and the children's level so they can see who is there, too.

* Lock your windows on all levels of the house not just the ground.

* Plant thorny bushes under your windows- and trim other bushes so that criminals cannot use them as shields to hide behind.

* Motion detection lighting covering the whole yard.

* Dogs.

* Consider a security system especially one that includes cameras. But if you can't afford a whole house system that is monitored, you can purchase stickers and yard signs to put up. There are also portable alarms, designed for hotel stays, that are very inexpensive and can be used where alarms are not allowed (a dorm room, and apartment). Remember noise and light make you a hard target, dark and quite make you an easy target.

* A safe room set up.

'Simply a designated area to retreat to in an emergency.

'The children are taught to go there.

'The hinges are placed so the door swings out.

'Some things that you might include:

A land line

Water

Weapons

Fire extinguisher

Escape rope or ladder

Flashlight

OUR HOME INVASION STORIES:

Rock-
I was a young boy before my teenage years, my dad worked a shift system. My mom hated the night shift. At certain times when my dad was at work, someone would ring the front door bell or bang on the front door. As my mom went to answer the door, someone would climb over the rear wall and bang on the back door. When my mom went to the back, the front door bell would chime again and so on. This went on for quite some time. The local police were unable to catch whoever it was and the neighbours never saw anything.

My mom took to sleeping with a carving knife under her pillow. My younger brother and I had no idea what was going on. Would I liked to have been forewarned of events? Yes, definitely. Anyway one night my mom had had enough. When the front door bell rang (remember this was the early hours so no one was coming round for a visit) she went to the front door and waited. On the next ring, she threw open the door; with knife in hand she lunged. The guy had already taken a couple of steps back, and as he was confronted with a screaming woman wielding a blade, he legged it and would have been an Olympic sprinter according to my mom.

They never did come back after that and were never caught. When I learned of this story from my parents years later I asked my mom what she would have done that night, 'I would have killed them' she said and left it at that.

Are you trained in the weapons you have and are you prepared to kill if it comes to that?

Fiona-
One day, I was home with my four small children when the bell rang. I went to the door and looked through the peep hole to find a man in a phone company uniform. I went to the window and saw that there was a company vehicle parked in front of my house. This was odd because we weren't having an issue with our phone.
So I called through the door, "May I help you"
"I'm here to fix the phone line..."
My radar was up - something wasn't right. "We're fine. No issues with the phone. Thank you, anyway."
He explained to me that it was my husband who had called, and he told me my husbands name. My instinct was that something was not right. I used my cell phone to call hubby to ask him what the issue was with the phone. My husband explained that he had switched our phone service, and we didn't even use that company anymore. My next call was to the police. I yelled through the door that the guy should get off my property, and he started kicking the door in, cursing at me, and ordering me to let him in. I had one of my children go press the panic button on our alarm. With the sirens wailing and the whole house flashing red lights, I announced that the police were en route, and I had my gun aimed at the door, one more kick and I would shoot. He sprinted away, and the police congratulated me on not becoming a statistic.

Firearms and Home Defence

Rock -
Fiona has done a great piece on choosing a firearm for a heroine in a novel, and you can see it here:

www.thrillwriting.blogspot.com/2013/07/choosing-handgun-for-your-character.html

There is an inordinate amount of literature on firearms for home defence: rifle, shotgun, pistol. With the amount of choices, how do you really decide what is right for you? Well let me say this from the start, stick with the pistol, or a short barrelled pump action shotgun at the most. Why? well the tactics and training to use a 'Long' effectively is far more complicated than using a 'Short'.

In this post I am going to ask more questions than give advice. This is because I do not know your circumstances. It's your life, your home, your family. I can help point you in the right direction with questions you can answer.

Before you purchase your firearm get down the range and have a go with a few different types. Your hand size, strength and where you live (I will explain that a little later) all have an effect on the weapon of your choice. Also, take into consideration weak hand drills, that's your none dominant hand, the weapon should feel comfortable for use in both hands with mechanisms that suit both dominant and weak hand firing.

But as you will see you may to purchase two weapons, one for home defence and one for personal defence while out of the home.

Once you have chosen your weapon and are comfortable firing it on the range, the next step is to plan how you are going to defend your home.

Where you live will have some way to go in your weapon of choice and the rounds you use. Do you live in a block of flats, a house on a street, a semi or detached house?

What are the walls like in your house, solid brick, plaster board, wooden or other? I ask this because in a block of flats with thin walls, you don't want a round hitting your next door neighbour while they are reading Virginia is for Mysteries, do you?

www.amazon.com/Virginia-Mysteries-Sisters-Crime-ebook/dp/B00HMFCRIE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393956345&sr=8-1&keywords=virginia+is+for+mysteries

So two firearms: home defence may need .22 or a subsonic frangible round whereas a CCW (concealed carry weapon) would employ a standard round for your weapon of choice.

Bullet Tutorial - www.thrillwriting.blogspot.com/2013/07/bullet-tutorial-for-writers.html

I have planned home and night clubs for violent encounters. Why? Most home invasions happen at night and night clubs are dimly lit.

What is the first thing that most people do on hearing a noise either outside, downstairs or in another room? You guessed it. They put the light. This has now put the home owner on an equal footing with the intruder. You must get used to fighting in the dark. In the house it may be pitch black, or there may be ambient light coming in from outside. Either way, this is where the combat must take place, here you have the advantage.

When planning on low light combat, here you will have to think about any attachments for your weapon:

*Torch (flashlight)? Not a good idea in my book. Remember you want the advantage, giving away your position is not having the advantage.

* Laser Dot Sight? Good if trigger activated, and you are already on target.

Your home must be planned with combat in mind.

*Can you move around your house in the dark without tripping over furniture, kids toys, cats or dogs? you  should be able to.

Fiona - Gosh Rock, and here I've been using the kids debris to make us a hard target. There's no way you could steal quietly through the room - and the thousands of Lego pieces and marbles are special bonuses.

Rock - Yes toys make great noise traps when placed at points of entry.

* Can your partner or kids move around in the dark to a safe room or escape from the home.

*Do you have a plan for where you should meet up to count heads in any emergency, be it a home invasion or fire? Not next door for obvious reasons.

* What about those who either don't like guns or live, as I do, where firearms are illegal? Well you are going to have to train in other weapons, knives, sticks, batons... Weapons can be placed around the home either as ornaments or as purposefully located weapons.

Fiona -
Ha! Don't break in a to Rocks house. It will go badly for you. Here's hoping you all stay safe and sound.

Stay Dangerous

Rock