How prepared are you mentally?

[Craftypoppa]

Did a little looking around and could not find anything about this. How prepared are you mentally for personal defense. Whether it is with your weapon, hands or any other defense weapon. When I was in martial arts teaching self defense yearssss ago and a lot younger, we taught an elevated code threat mentality green safe, yellow caution, red danger, etc. Does being a CCW make you more relaxed about this or more aware. And I am not talking about BOB, SHTF, just every day to day living out and about stuff. Also as an afterthought does the holidays make you think about it more so.

[E4 No More]

Because of a weapons ban at work I am unarmed more that armed. Being former Marine, police officer, and martial artist I know I'm more aware of my surroundings than the normal male. Whether I'm armed or not doesn't change that. The only difference that I've noticed in me when I'm armed is that I'm more controlled in how I deal with the stupidity around me. As someone else quoted, "An armed society is a polite society" - which certainly applies to me.

[LagerHead]

^^^ Yea, what he said. Except Army, not Marine. And no LEO background. But other than that, what he said.

[Guest Drewsett]

Have a plan to kill everyone you meet

I don't really do that, but I always am aware of my surroundings and as much as possible make sure that whereever I am I can make a quick exit or hold a superior defensible position. I imagine that once I get my HCP I will probably be more aware because I will have to be more aware of field of fire and penetration of rounds past the target or dealing with possible misses downrange of my target. Don't have to plan for that kind of thing when you're defending yourself with a knife and pepper spray.

[Guest SUNTZU]

I'm all out of bubblegum.

[TNTitan]

Did a little looking around and could not find anything about this. How prepared are you mentally for personal defense. Whether it is with your weapon, hands or any other defense weapon. When I was in martial arts teaching self defense yearssss ago and a lot younger, we taught an elevated code threat mentality green safe, yellow caution, red danger, etc. Does being a CCW make you more relaxed about this or more aware. And I am not talking about BOB, SHTF, just every day to day living out and about stuff. Also as an afterthought does the holidays make you think about it more so.

This is a great discussion. I have found that when carrying I have a tendency to be more relaxed than perhaps I should. I dont know if its the extra feeling of security knowing that I'm carrying or what - but I feel more confident and secure when I carry and I wonder if thats a bad thing or not.

I need to work on my situational awareness even more, now that I'm armed, than before.

[nightrunner]

I dont have training. But I think you have to be able to pull the trigger without thinking about the moral part of it right now, just the self-preservation part for now and worry about your morals later.

[saintsfanbrian]

No one person can say exactly what they will do in any situation. You can train and be more likely to perform one way or another but you cannot say that I WILL do this or I WON'T do that until you are faced with the situation. I try to be more aware of my surroundings regardless of whether I am carrying or not.

[rentalguy1]

No one person can say exactly what they will do in any situation. You can train and be more likely to perform one way or another but you cannot say that I WILL do this or I WON'T do that until you are faced with the situation. I try to be more aware of my surroundings regardless of whether I am carrying or not.

I agree with this. I was army myself, and had to have "additional training" due to the unit I served with. I know how I reacted the times that I had to actually put that training into practice, but there is no way to know how I would react if faced with a situation today. I am always situationally aware, and I preach it to my family. That is the best defense, if you ask me. If you can see the problem, you can alter the course before it even happens.

[-boatman-]

No one person can say exactly what they will do in any situation. You can train and be more likely to perform one way or another but you cannot say that I WILL do this or I WON'T do that until you are faced with the situation.

That says it all right there. I think about this a lot and other than the above all I have to add is I hope I never have to find out.

[Guest Muttling]

My state really doesn't change if I'm armed or not. I don't expect strangers to harm me, but I don't trust them not to either.

I am aware of what is going on around me and prefer to avoid crowds. I have always been a bit this way, but a year in Iraq gave it more emphasis.

I far prefer to avoid conflict, even when I'm armed. If it happens and I can't avoid it, then I hope I see it before I get hit.

[Guest dlstewart01]

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Edited December 30, 2009 by dlstewart01

[rentalguy1]

I got some real intensive training in the Ashau Valley, Vietnam, 1969. It hasn't worn off yet.....

huge difference in humping through a rice paddy carrying a M-16 than walking down the street with a ccw. Same can be said for flying over the Mog, as in my case, or street patrolling in Baghdad, as in Muttling's case. It's easy(er) to function in that manner when surrounded by like-minded, armed young men, than when your wife and child is at your side. IMHO, of course.

[Guest Muttling]

huge difference in humping through a rice paddy carrying a M-16 than walking down the street with a ccw. Same can be said for flying over the Mog, as in my case, or street patrolling in Baghdad, as in Muttling's case. It's easy(er) to function in that manner when surrounded by like-minded, armed young men, than when your wife and child is at your side. IMHO, of course.

I really don't see a difference. You watch for what might happen and think about how to respond if it does. You put yourself in a place where you can respond instead of putting yourself in a place where you will be a victim.

The only difference is the likelyhood of being hit and the difficulty of getting out of the way when it comes.

P.S. - I spent most of my time near Palidan and rarely went to Baghdad.

Edited December 12, 2009 by Muttling

[Guest dlstewart01]

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Edited December 30, 2009 by dlstewart01

[rentalguy1]

And I already know how I will react under fire.......

Thank you for your service. I'm not picking a fight, but IMHO, you know how you DID react under fire. Same as me and several others here. I personally don't think any of us know how we would react the next time. Especially when it is a one on one situation that doesn't take place in a foreign land with a "known" enemy (don't confuse that with a "uniformed" enemy. The US hasn't had a prolonged fight with one of those since Korea).

[Guest dlstewart01]

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Edited December 30, 2009 by dlstewart01

[yonkers40]

I am more aware of my surroundings during the Holiday's. Mainly in parking lots. Also my age makes me look like an easy mark. I would have no problem shooting someone that assaulted me. The need to survive would kick in.

[Punisher84]

I think there's something to the "You never know how you'll react" argument, but alot of it is BS too. You train yourself to react and achieve. You may freeze up, you may not, but I think most people who train and have the proper mindset will do what they need to do when they need to do it.

[Guest PeaShooter]

This information is provided at the Armed Citizen's Legal Defense Network, LLC. website. There is more to defending oneself. What follows after an incident needs to be considered as well. They provide many thought provoking points and assistance in the overall planning for an event.

I found it quite informative, hopefully you will as well. PS

The Lessons

To be prepared, you must prepare. If your have chosen

to exercise rights with higher powers in your life, you

must also exercise higher responsibility in your life style.

If you do not, you live life at your peril and maybe the peril of

someone else.

If you have taken the steps to protect yourself and

your loved ones from harm, you owe it to yourself and

your loved ones to protect yourself from legal jeopardy.

The three most precious things are: Life, Liberty and Livelihood.

If you are facing legal consequences all three will

be in jeopardy.

You may have done what you had to do to

defend your life or defend against serious bodily harm or

defend the life of your loved ones - but are you prepared to

defend your LIBERTY?

One of the biggest mistakes a person can make is

believing they will never be in a position to be facing these

issues and the second biggest mistake is thinking that

being innocent will protect someone and the third biggest

mistake is not being prepared.

Realize that there is a reason they send lawyers to law

school, not justice school.

Protect yourself through a high responsibility to the

higher powers you have chosen.

Our Journal

Armed Citizen's Legal Defense Network, LLC

[Guest voigts]

Ever since getting back from my trip to Kuwait in '03, I've really kept it a habit to try to be aware of my surroundings. Being armed for me actually keeps me more on my toes and alert as to who is around me as I don't want to be caught with my guard down. Having a gun does me no good if I don't have time to react before I see the BG coming my way.

[rentalguy1]

Most of the time the enemy we faced were not in uniform,(except for NVA regulars) we didn't always know who he was, and does it really matter were you are or who it is when your life, your buddies in combat life, or your family's life is in danger. I think not...... I don't think you understand the real impact of fighting in guerrilla warfare....

Back in the 70s when I worked in engineering for General Electric, I did a lot of tour guiding because I knew all the processes in the plant. We had one process we invented and had a patent on it.

I was explaining it to a group one time and this guy keep butting in telling me that is not how that works...... Every now and again you get someone who thinks they know your business better than you do...........

You're right. I'm just some kid who's wet behind the ears. Gosh...what was I thinking? I mean, you rode in tanks and APC's in Vietnam for heaven's sake. I could have never had any experiences that come even close to that. Wait till I tell the guys at mackall that our experiences didn't teach us anything. They'll be devastated!

What a pogue...

[Guest dlstewart01]

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Edited December 30, 2009 by dlstewart01

[rentalguy1]

Good for you. You want a medal? Or do you just feel a need to brag?

I told you before that I wasn't picking a fight with you, and that my comments were merely my opinion. My OPINION remains that no matter how you acted in combat in a armed conflict, it is no predictor of how you will react in another combat action in another armed conflict, be it military or civilian related. You are the one that wants to fight about it, not me. I'm not gonna have a contest about who has the most ink on their DD214 here. I have no need to.

Edited December 12, 2009 by rentalguy1

[Guest dlstewart01]

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Edited December 30, 2009 by dlstewart01