Self Defense Terror

WELCOME TO THE NO BS ZONE (Thanks Jim S.)
I have thought about armed and unarmed defense since I was a young kid, which was a long time ago. Where I grew up, life could be very cheap if you did not become street wise at a very young age. I grew up knowing a number of well know organized crime people because they had businesses and a restaurant within walking distance of where I lived in Brooklyn, New York. There was some honor among the old timers before the drugs took over the streets. I used to see the GALLO brothers and there crew all the time, they lived in a violent world that is hard to explain to the average person.

Sooner or later most of them were killed in acts of extreme violence and bodies turned up everywhere, not always theirs. The old saying is true, live by the sword and you will die by the sword, but in this case it was done by a handgun and or a knife that was used for street survival.

I started practicing using a Remington rifle model 550 when I was 9 yrs old. I did not know much about handguns then, I had an uncle named MURPHY that had a revolver but he refused to show it to me. When I got older I had extensive training in the Police Academy using 7 different kinds of weapons. The hard lesson I learned and you must also learn is that you can take all the handgun defensive shooting courses you want, you can get very good with your handgun but shooting at a paper target is not the same as being face to face in a real live life and death confrontation. It will not help, if you have your ex wifes picture on the target even if she has taken you to the cleaners.

The mental outlook you must prepare for is more important than the actual target shooting, that you will practice at a range or a defensive handgun facility. Preparing mentally is the key for survival, the rest is important but unless you come to grips within your own mind that you are prepared to take a life for protection of life and property you are waisting your time. DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A VICTIM ??? I have asked many people especially women after they have purchased a handgun if they are prepared to use it if they are attacked, and many of them had doubts. They tend to look at a handgun as a security blanket.

I have been in a number of very bad situations and I became bitter after being exposed to the violent world most people never see or dream of except on TV. I became mentally prepared to protect myself and the officers that were with me. There is no way anyone can just train you at shooting paper targets and turn on that switch in your head to give you the green light saying you are ready. Do not believe some of the BS you hear or read. I do not care how much these instructors keep talking and explaining street reality or whether they even are the real deal or just getting a paycheck.

Only you can make the final decision when the time comes that you are prepared to be tried by 12 or carried by 6. The fun games at these defense schools are over. Remember, every shooting goes before a Grand Jury, it does not just disappear, you must go thru legal procedure before any criminal charges will be dropped even if it was a justified shooting. Your handgun will be confiscated and the case number will be engraved on the frame. You will be sued in a civil court of law regardless of the criminal charges.

There was one night I remember when I was in an ambulance (working as a Police Officer) with a white male about 55 years old, being treated for a severe knife cut and blood was spurting from an artery everywhere, even all over me. The medics were trying to stop the bleeding on route to the hospital and this man begged me to shoot him and tried to grab my colt 45. It was a very bad situation. To sum up if you do not have the mental capacity to react to almost every situation you are waisting your time, effort and money by keep taking courses in handgun defense. These defense places make a living trying to teach you how to shoot and react but can they turn on that switch in your head, the answer is "NO" only you can do that. The rest is all BS. They are just working to make a living.

I will give you a parallel, I once had a student in a Karate class I taught that was very, very good under controlled conditions of the class, but when it came to a fist fight with a bully on the street, he froze and I was furious because I knew he had the ability to destroy this street thug in 60 seconds. He just lacked the mental confidence.

AUTHORS PERSONAL NOTATION: This commentary as well as all my previous commentaries are my personal opinion only and my personal viewpoint only. What I have written today is very real and many of you are taking courses and reading what people are telling you what to do in a moment that may come once in a life time. ONLY YOU CAN REALLY MAKE THE FINAL DECISION TO BE PREPARED TO PULL YOUR TRIGGER, REGARDLESS OF ALL THE BS THEY TELL YOU.

Teddy Jacobson / Pistolsmith www.actionsbyt.com 281 277 4008 tjacobson@houston.rr.com www.actionsbyt.blogspot.com/