Self-defense the Right Way — Concealed carry versus violence awareness

Few things in life are as commonplace as human violent behavior and yet manage to remain so thoroughly misunderstood by the average self defense student. The reasons are many and varied. Our use of fiction as a tool for addressing problems we don’t fully understand, our relentless desire to distance ourselves from uncomfortable realities, and the sheer diversity of human violent interactions rank high among them. Perhaps that is why firearms training classes like Illinois Concealed Carry are commonly sought out by good intentioned adults seeking self-defense solutions. Don’t get me wrong, I think that any self-protection strategy is preferable than none but if you asked my opinion as a former dignitary protection specialist if a shooting class should be a first step to address violence my answer would be an emphatic no! Violent behavior in humans isn’t very complicated, but the ways in which it manifests itself can be quite diverse. While the effectiveness of a handgun to halt an individual threat has not been superseded by any other tool yet known to man, there can be some significant problems with that approach. The most glaring drawback is the adage that if the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer then many problems begin to look like a nail. Paradoxically, most adults choose to arm themselves with the ultimate problem solver while remaining largely ignorant of the problem itself, and that is violent behavior. Doctors and mechanics are problem solvers too. Could you imagine either one of them not studying the causes of the problem they are seeing and making decisions on how to solve them based upon those causes? Prudently addressing the reality of violence requires a managerial approach. As a dignitary protection specialist, my team used a holistic approach when it came to minimizing the risks to our principal and so should you. From its inception the mission of Castle Defensive has been to make cutting edge personal protection strategies accessible to everyday families like yours and mine. If you think about it, you should accept nothing less. You and your family are the VIPs in your lives right? A more enlightened path would be to learn all you can about the realities of human conflict and then assess what you are most likely to encounter. Castle Defensive offers education on violent interactions that are specifically designed to prepare you quickly and cost effectively. Our programs can be tailored to simply address the informational component or you can take a Managing Violent Encounters course or a Protective Applications of the Handgun course for a more complete personal protection package. I may not always be the smartest guy in the room but if I am smart at anything it is knowing who is. Read, subscribe, follow these brilliant self-defense firebrands: Tony Blauer of Blauer Tactical Craig Douglas of Shivworks Gavin DeBecker of Gavin DeBecker & Associates Rory Miller of Chiron Training Kelly McCann of the Crucible Matt Graham of Graham Tradecraft

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