Knife Defense Seminar with Marc ‘Animal’ MacYoung
Where: 171 Magnolia Blvd. Burbank CA 91502 5 Hours: 1pm – 6pm Only $50 – PreRegister Now for this Price!
Okay incredibly short, crazy notice, but…
I’ll be teaching a 5 hour long “Surviving a Knife Attack” seminar Sunday August 12 in Burbank.
It starts at 1pm (that’s the earliest we could get the Aikido dojo) and goes until 6.
****Even if you’re not in L.A. throw a rock at someone you know who is and let them know****
Read MoreFlorida Neighborhood Watch vs Guardian Angels
The Boston Herald this morning said, “George Zimmerman, the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who fired the shot that claimed the life of Trayvon Martin on a rainy night in Sanford, Fla., last month, has been painted as a racist, a vigilante and a murderer.”
As Guardian Angels, we are very proactive, with a hands-on crime deterrence action. How are we different from Zimmerman on Neighborhood Watch in Florida?
It’s important to know that our words, actions, gestures … anything we do is probably recorded somewhere these days. Traffic cameras, home surveillance systems, recorded phone calls (especially to emergency services like 911 in the United States) – every detail matters. And, everything really does get brought into question:
Read MoreAre You Training Yourself into Jail?
Source: Keloland Television Author: Ben Dunsmore
Peter’s Note: Train Smarter than you do now. There is NO excuse for training that will condemn you. Now we know better. If you belong to social media groups with “tough-guy” labels and proudly walk around with more “tough-guy” t-shirts, and post internet photos and videos of your “tough-guy” skills … then defending yourself in court is going to be whole lot more difficult than defending yourself against violence.
WATERTOWN, SD – An early morning bar fight in Watertown two weeks ago has resulted in a murder investigation.
A mixed martial arts instructor is accused of beating 26-year-old Justin Jaton outside a Watertown bar. Jaton, who was hospitalized in Sioux Falls, died Thursday morning.
28-year-old Jerrin Stulken is now facing murder and manslaughter charges.
Read MoreTony Blauer Interview with Guardian Angels
I recently had the awesome opportunity to speak to Mr Tony Blauer. His advice and philosophy will directly impact how you think about self defense training.
We cover a lot of topics, and this is a fairly long interview. We had originally scheduled a ten minute talk, with the expectation that some potentially boring parts would probably get edited out. Well, it turns out that an interview with Tony Blauer doesn’t really have any boring parts! He’s a great speaker and presenter, and this interview is no exception.
I should mention that Tony travels A LOT and teaches workshops and seminars around the planet. He is a dynamic teacher, with awesome concepts: everything I’ve ever seen him teach is directly useful for the Guardian Angels. If you have the opportunity to attend one of his workshops, do it.
Tony mentions in this interview that he is open to audience questions. If you have any questions, ask them: He will answer your questions in the next interview … so please send some questions!
Read MoreWhat Fullerton Can Teach Guardian Angels
Fullerton police officer Manuel Ramos (AP Photo/Paul Rodriguez)
In a previous blog post, called Good Guys Cause Trouble, I’ve already recounted some of the local problems we find in Hollywood from the clubs and some of the less trained doorstaff/bouncers.
Non-Compliance with Verbal Commands is NOT a Good Enough Reason, and having a long record of success (10 years+ each) is not keeping these officers from facing prison terms. From the Daily Breeze article:
Ramos’ attorney, John D. Barnett, called Rackauckas’ charges “unprecedented.”
“I’ve seen the video and Officer Ramos is not guilty of murder, manslaughter or any other crime,” Barnett told City News Service. “He was a peace officer in the lawful performance of his duty.”
Barnett said Ramos was trying to “de-escalate” the situation when he allegedly shook his fists at Thomas.
“All Kelly Thomas had to do was comply and it would have been a normal arrest, but he didn’t comply,” Barnett said.
Fullerton May Change the Rules
This time, we’re seeing the same kind of story, gone much much worse over the edge. This isn’t our Hollywood, but at only about 30 miles away, this is not exactly a different planet, either. From the Daily Breeze article:
“Ultimately, Thomas died because of the force of the officers on his chest, which made it impossible to breathe, Rackauckas said. He lost consciousness, slipped into a coma and died when he was taken off life-support five days later.”
You can expect another huge set of evidence that Prone Restraint may be off the “ok” list for a while (again). I’ll be looking for news, and would appreciate ANY helpful information in that regard.
A Suggestion
While that one gets figured out, let’s recall that there were SIX police officers on scene. That’s far more than enough for a simple maneuver like the STAR control found in the “General” section of the Online Training site: GuardianAngelTraining.com
You’ll need to create a FREE account, but it may be the most important account you create online this year.
Please take a look at that video, shown on purpose with only four Angels, all of whom are individually smaller than the Subject. In the Fullerton, CA case, at the very least the two officers brought up on charges are each significantly larger than poor Mr Kelly Thomas. I’d also like any other suggestions you, your training, or your Chapter (if you’re an Angel reading this) has to offer – anything is better than what happened in Fullerton, but let’s try to work together to find the BEST chance at making this the last event of its kind.
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Judge Tells People to Buy a Gun: Really?!
Everyone wants to be safe. Certainly, many of us go out of our way to help keep ourselves safe. And, some of us even go further, and try to keep other people safe, too.
The Guardian Angels have done a lot, of course, to help improve community considerations of helping each other stay safe.
Consider this article: http://bit.ly/cFdnhQ
Pay particular attention to this passage:
Ashtabula County Common Pleas Judge Alfred Mackey was asked what residents should do to protect themselves and their families with the severe cutback in law enforcement.
“Arm themselves,” the judge said. ”Be very careful, be vigilant, get in touch with your neighbors, because we’re going to have to look after each other.”
I am not particularly excited to see the main advice being given is the lowest common denominator, lowest required skill set: gun ownership. I certainly DO think that it belongs on the list, but I think there should be a list.
Somehow, I am drawn to doubt that the sentiment behind the suggestion to “arm themselves” was given in the spirit of education about community affairs, or learning about Broken Windows Theory, etc. I am much more likely to believe that this means, “Go buy a gun to stay safe.”
That is NOT the only solution. This may strike some folks as strange: I own a firearm, and I’m a huge supporter of the right to carry a gun. I strongly believe that a legally armed populace will be safer.
However, I also strongly urge you to consider the implications of having immediate recourse to lethal force. First, I don’t believe there are that many law-abiding citizens willing and/or able to shoot someone, even in self defense. Just by that one consideration, I think alternatives need to be considered – for their safety first and foremost.
Allow me to clarify: I’m thrilled to be able to say that I don’t think most people are comfortable shooting at someone. I think that’s terrific. The trouble is, if lethal force (in this case, a gun) is the only immediate solution available, I think people are more likely to become armed victims, which may actually increase the violence aimed at them.
On the other hand, I am a huge proponent of self defense training in unarmed AND armed methods. Heck, we offer free self defense training through the Guardian Angels, and I own and operate a martial arts school in Los Angeles. I think it’s a wonderful thing for people to do with their time.
So, I’m curious: what do you think people should do? I have my opinions, and I look forward to sharing them more in upcoming posts, if there’s enough interest. But, I’m VERY curious to learn about your ideas. Please, for the good of the many, share them here.
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