Winning A Fight For Your Life!

How do I win a fight for my life?


Be Ready to Inflict ‘Unspeakable Violence’
Some die because they didn’t use the appropriate amount of force early on. Know what your state laws say about when you can use deadly force so you can act with confidence without hesitation. You shouldn’t have to think about what’s permissible or whether you’ll get sued. That just puts you farther behind the curve. Remember the importance of retreat if possible. Be prepared to go in an instant from being calm to inflicting unspeakable violence on those who would take your life...and then back to calm again. Commit mentally and physically to doing whatever is necessary — with hyper intensity — to prevail. You won’t have time to think or warm up. You have to have that subconscious willingness to hurt dangerous people right there, and turn it on like a switch. As you would if someone was trying to snatch your child or someone else you love from you.
You can condition yourself for that through stress-inoculation scenario training. The more you train under stress, the less stress you’ll feel when it’s real. Don’t depend on adrenalin to energize you and get you through a crisis. It may drain your strength instead. When gunfire starts, there are those who just shut down. They couldn’t even call 911. They thought they were ready for a gunfight, but they weren’t.

Mentally Rehearse
Integrate hours of mental imagery into your training regimen. I’ve had people ask me, ‘Did it bother you to shoot the enemy?’ And I say, ‘No, because I’d already done it in my mind thousands of times.’

Your mindset to win has to be constantly honed or you’ll lose it. Mental rehearsal is one way to hone it. Imagine yourself confronting and defeating every kind of challenge you can conjure up. Imagine yourself getting shot and how you’ll react. Don’t just imagine the stereotypical bad guys. The assailant you have to kill may look a lot like you. They’re not always gangbangers or hardened felons. Anybody at any time may try to hurt you.

Just be certain that in real life you can employ the skills you imagine yourself using to win in your mental scenarios. If candidly you have doubts, then that should identify your training challenges. In a crisis you will go as far as your level of training.

Stack the deck. In most cases, moments arise when you can gain the upper hand. But these windows of opportunity open and close quickly, you have to be ready to go. Be watchful and be ready. Act decisively. You may not get another chance.

Don’t be gear-dependent
Be prepared for any weapon to fail or not get the results you want. A failure may surprise you, but it shouldn’t shut you down. Know the immediate action that may fix the problem. Drill that over and over and over, so your hands can go through the manipulations subconsciously while your eyes and mind are concentrating on the threat. In the military, immediate action drills were constant. “Slap, rack, and bang.”

My wife always says to me and our kids, “Always have a Plan B. Or C, D, E, F!” Don’t get stuck in a Plan A that isn’t working. Be your own weapon. If you train in multiple skills, what won’t fail you is you. But you have to have some training. You can’t draw from an empty well.

Be Prepared
Being trained is a big part of winning a fight. It doesn’t have to be “Professional grade Ninja Special Forces military law enforcement tier 3 number one Recondo” training. Learning simple tactics like shooting from cover, shooting and moving, reloading on the move, and others, will help you to start your attackers OODA loop over and over again. A famed football coach said:
“It’s not the will to win but the willingness to prepare to win that makes the difference.”
Being honest about your skills and knowing where your weaknesses are will help to you to prepare in areas where you are weak.
I was teaching a group of Sheriffs’ deputies for their annual qualifying requirement when a young, cocky, deputy told me he couldn’t see the point of qualifying every year. I told him that one way to ensure a trained force was to test their qualifications annually. With this requirement I could tell who has been practicing and who has not. He challenged my expertise in this so I had him shoot the first round. Then I had him lay down and do it. Then I had him shoot from beside a trash can. He did pretty bad. He balked at my methods saying that they were never tested like that before. I asked him if he thought a criminal was going to be standing 15 feet away while he stood in a Weaver stance and shot the scumbag? He said obviously no. I asked him if he thought he could take out an attacker if he could not qualify with his course of fire? I told him this kind of shooting only tells me if you can do the bare minimum. If you can pass this qualification then you would have the basic skill to shoot. After that, tactical shooting was his responsibility to practice. My job was to test his basic skill and the rest was up to him.
Preparing with mastering the basics is important before you can shoot from all kinds of crazy positions that you may be required to shoot from in a real life scenario.
Work on things you know you’re not good at.

Staying in shape
This is a sensitive subject. Americans are not very fit as a rule. I speak from my own roundness. Staying in the best shape you can always means exercising and eating right. Being able to move and out maneuver your attacker is another way you can stack the deck in your favor.

Never give up
No matter what your situation keep fighting. If you’re shot keep going. As long as you’re conscious keep going. If you can only fight with one hand keep fighting. Some people quit when they are not even out of the fight. I saw a guy get hit twice in his chest plate. The plate completely stopped the bullets but the guy was on the ground and out of the fight. It took someone screaming at him “You’re all right! Get up and shoot!” before he realized he was fine and could keep going. Go through this in your head. Never give up! Don’t stop! Stay in the fight!

Learn medical aid

I carry a first aid kit in every vehicle I own. In addition, I have a homemade “trauma kit” for treating gunshot wounds specifically. I was trained in the military how to treat gunshot wounds. Seek out this training and learn self-aid. Do you know how to use a tourniquet? Do you have experience with a clotting agent? Do you know how they work? Chest seals can save lives. Shooting someone because they are threat is fine but if you also get help for them or do first aid it will go a long way in court and in your own life. Killing another human is not very fun. It’s something you will have to deal with the rest of your life no matter that it was self-defense or combat. If I could avoid that by simple first aid treatment I would do what it takes to make that happen.

Don’t let an attacker win from the grave
If you end up in the hospital from injuries or being shot, work with all your might to recover. Don’t let your attacker keep you down. The same goes for terrorism. If you successfully fought of an attack and the attacker ran off, don’t let that terrifying experience change you. The criminal wins if you are paranoid or afraid. Being vigilant is not being afraid. Being prepared is not being paranoid. Don’t let the scumbag win!

Winning a fight is always a challenge. Since we are not on the offensive we can’t use surprise or ambush. But we can make sure no attacker can use those things either. Mindset and envisioning situations is a big part of that win. Training and preparedness is the other part. Between these things you too can end up the winner of a gunfight!

Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn