The Tactical Life

Great quote, and I am just glad to see you here. Sometime you should write about that terrible injury you suffered and all you went through to get back to work. That was a hard road, all my respect, plus, I dont know anyone here with your Judo background and expertise.

*Thought for the day:

Do you know enough to save a life?

I just finished 3 days of Combat Casualty Care recertification. I usually have a brief refresher about every month, but, this was a 6 month recert and the SF medic teaching the class was excellent.

Take this time to examine your own training and gear. I encourage everyone who shoots, whether indoor or outdoor, does any type of construction work, wood working, uses a chain saw or power saw, ect., to buy at least 2 tourniquets and carry them with you . I carry 3 everyday on my gear. Now, my working environment is unstable, so, that’s why I carry three, but, you should always have at least one.

It’s a fact of life that you will daily face the threats of a terrorist attack, active shooter, or self-inflicted or accidental injuries. Unless you have some experience dealing with massive hemorrhaging, you will be amazed at how fast a body can bleed out. When I am in the states and go to the range, I always have a small med kit with 3 tourniquets, at least 4 packs of self sealers and gauze. It takes up no space and is an investment in your survival.( Important: learn how to put a tourniquet on yourself, both arms and legs)

Hunters and fisherman who journey into the wilderness, especially bowhunters, need a good solid kit. Calling 911 is not an option in many wilderness areas.

Finally, I am going to post a couple of pictures of the tourniquets I carry here and one picture in particular needs to be studied. That is a victim from the Boston bombing. Notice those are not first responders treating her, but, two citizens who stepped up to do their duty. One is putting pressure on the wound and the other appears to be getting ready to roll her into a more feasible position.

Now, if that was your woman, wife, or daughter, do you have a least a working knowledge on what to do?

From past posts, I know that Uncle Gabby is a firefighter and SJoconn is a medic. I would like both of you to comment on what you think needs to be carried on a daily basis, either in the vehicle, backpack, shoulder bag, bug out bag, etc. Thanks.

T-Two

chest

Boston

The key to endurance is to pace yourself. You don’t Sprint 10 miles. You relax, your arms, you relax your face, and you Pick em Up and Put em Down. Conserve energy in the beginning, to save something for the end. Like the Air Borne Shuffle. You train yourself to exert the minimum force. Ultimately, you’re trying to practice doing nothing.

Training to Bust Out 20 rep squats is the same way. You’re building endurance. You’re trying to use the least force in the beginning, to make it to the end.

When you blast up 2 reps in the squat, you are training yourself to exert maximum force. You are generating maximum power. Then you take a short rest. Then produce maximum force again. By repeating this again and again you train to Blast Away, then recover quickly, and do it again. Instead of endurance, you build capacity.

This makes you stronger. Each step up the mountain is more forceful. If you are stronger, each step up the mountain is easier. Do you want to carry 50% of your max capacity up the hill, or be stronger, and have the same load be 25% of your max capacity. Who’s going to last longer?

I’ve never run up a mountain in Full Battle Rattle, but I have carried a bunch of gear up a couple big hills in a race at Fort Knox (Agony?, Heartbreak?). The skinny cross country runner dudes were handing me their riffles half way up. Their was a team from West Virginia. Those dudes brought ropes, and tied the small guys to the big guys, so the big guys could drag them along.

When you are doing something tough, you want to be super strong. Especially if you can develop that max strength with 20% of your time/effort.

Here is a super strong training genius for more info

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I just read this article and repost a question I had a while back that got no response.

My current living arrangement does not allow for suspending a heavy bag, and really the only training I can do is in the back yard. there is a concrete deck of reasonable size, and a grassy area behind it. I also walk longer for shopping, maybe that in a little way helps.

I thought to post this because mention was made of functional training. I also have been using the last few months intra workout BCAAs, but I think my current training regimen hits the nail on the head.

Ideally about 3 times per week I will do about a 30 minute session each day. first, 4 rounds of shadow boxing in kickboxing context on the concrete. Before the 4th round I drink the BCAAs. I rest 3 minutes and go hard at using my old 100lb bag as a grappling dummy (I was trying to sell it, the prospective buyer kept waffling, I moved anyway and then figured If I molder it with backyard grass moisture it isn’t my primary bag anyway).

I do 3 rounds starting with running at it, explosively pick it up, run a few steps, slam it on the grass and ground and pound it with elbows, knees and fists. Then at some point I explosively pick it up to shoulder height and run and slam it again with the same routine. Nowadays I guarantee myself 18 slams over 3 3 minute rounds, 1 minute between.

I have distinctly I think improved my fitness level with this and half ways feel like a beast.

Once in a while I will have an intermediate level workout. 3 minutes on the skipping rope, drop immediately, 10 pushups, 10 situps, 10 body weight squats. then immediately start back at the same thing with rope again. 3 circuits of this and I am usually, too pooped for useful shadowboxing.

Anyone’s thoughts on this routine?

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Kind if feel this is related.

This weekend we had a family friend stabbed to death in a bar fight. 23 years old. Good kid, although has been in a bit of trouble with the law in the past year with football hoolagism.

Highlights to me how short life is.

Anybody train knife defense? To me it sounds time consuming. If I see any weapon I will be doing all I can to run, although that’s probably not always possible.

tweet

Sorry for your loss. Edged weapons are among the worst scenarios to train for and most martial arts offer frankly shit solutions that do more harm than good most often.

If you have any option avoidance/flight is virtually always the safest response to violence, all the more so when weapons are involved. One thing with knives is that most who sirvive knife attacks report that they thought they were being punched until they saw the blood.

Anyway, it’s a crap situation and some solutions are better than others, but none are good. Anyone who says otherwise is delusional and/or selling something.

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If you cannot hang a bag, then along with your regular routine, add in ground and pound: punches, elbows, and knees.

Do you have someone who can hold mitts for you? A heavy set of MT pads would certainly up your skill and conditioning level.

Can you invest in either a set of dumbells or Kettebells? lots of routines with them.

Can you invest in a large tire and sledgehammer? one of the best drills for power that I use.

Can you invest in a single bar and several 45lb plates? Landmine presses can be done anywhere there is a corner. good power move.

Just some suggestions and the article I posted earlier “Fit to Fight” has several routines you could use.

Nothing wrong with what you are doing, just some suggestions. Cannot advise you on the BCAA’s, maybe someone else here can.

I am assuming you goal is GPP?

FlatsFarmer,
Thanks for the reply and posting the videos of Matt Wenning. I did not know who he was, since, I live in a bubble and really know very little about the powerlifting world. Interesting perspective and training. Will study him more in the future. Thanks, again.

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Bird,
My condolences on your loss. There is some good information in this thread, especially Sento’s responses.

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Motivational Monday

Angels

“From past posts, I know that Uncle Gabby is a firefighter and SJoconn is a medic. I would like both of you to comment on what you think needs to be carried on a daily basis, either in the vehicle, backpack, shoulder bag, bug out bag, etc. Thanks”

I would like to go further indepth, but I am typing this out on my phone. I am kind of “old school” for a medic. I think several triangle bandages are essential. Using them I can tournequet, bandage, pressure dressing, sling & swath, splint, or improvise and abdominal dressing. Great to have in your pack and I would say essential for wilderness/austere environment medicine.

Just a note: Because I do firearms training, carry everywhere it’s possible, and am sometimes out in BFE. I carry a trauma kit everywhere. Recently snagged one from USCCA, and they’re many pre-packaged ones available.

Wanted also to give my condolences about the young man who was killed. Frickin blades are extremely hard to defend against. That’s partly y I carry 2-3 as part of my EDC, plus they’re paramount for utility purposes. The only thing worse than a guy attacking you with a knife, is a guy who knows how to use it attacking you, obvious exceptions for firearms apply.

As for defense training against a blade, available instruction is typically substandard. Martial arts instructors will teach blocks that may or may not work, and very few civilian instructors for anything to do with self-defense teach emergency first aid that includes traumatic injuries beyond using pressure points to slow bleeding.

First, a great thanks that you responded with wisdom to my post. Of course, anyone else in my situation might read this and benefit. Great to get some affirmation that my routine has some value, I already sensed it myself.

I have since before I got my first heavy bag bought a weight set: spinlock longbar and spinlock dumbbell bars, 420lbs of plates ranging from 2.5lbs to 50lbs, standard hole, not olympic. It was at the time my weight bench’s seat broke off I viewed a shout out to rope skipping that Big Boss posted and got the idea to get that first bag, and gradually transition to fight training. It may seem strange, but recently I have made a return to using a basic metal frame walker for feeble people to do dips, at least body weight. Noting with your post to hold off on reaching failure.

I already ground and pound the heavy bag I use as a grappling dummy in between picking it up onto my shoulder and slamming it.

I am alone until such time as I organize myself into a fight gym, I know they exist in my area, I just need the money and at the same time the time and energy for it.

sledge hammering a tire I have known about for a long time, my old fight gym had professional fighters slamming away at one. I just don’t know if I want to get one myself. Maybe more a matter of getting one home, I suppose one goes to an automotive shop and save them otherwise disposing of theirs.

The BCAAs were a pleasant awakening for me, I am also using a more powerful preworkout, a 3/4 scoop of Mr. Hyde by Prosupps. I am at the age that I figure it is a good idea to get that extra zing from it.

I forgot what GPP stands for. I desire all of the physical fitness of such a high intensity routine, the physical direction skillset that comes with the shadow boxing (reading, mathematics, problem solving are not the only mental training that are important), and yes, some practical combat capability. Yes, I know civil society is important, but really (due to a complex set of factors in my life to date) I have always sorely lacked on the spot capability that there is really no replacement for.

I hope you find something useful in there!

The idea of training not to get injured has helped me make progress and not get banged up in the gym this year.

Excellent thread. Very informative and insightful.
I have only recently become more aware of my surroundings and also how my current skills fit into my context. I live in a rougher neighborhood where police take quite some time to respond, have been the target of “intimidation” by some folks in the neighborhood, and am also a teacher at an inner city school. Not to mention I have a family I am responsible for.
I have recently started taking MMA/JKD classes that seem to focus a lot on Muay Thai striking and standing Jiu Jitsu/judo.
Just introducing myself as I have been lurking for a bit.
Thanks all

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Thought for the day

“If wishes were fishes, we would all cast nets” , Dune by Frank Herbert

Yesterday was all fucked up because I got pulled off my regular job to help provide security for a dipshit Congressman visiting from the states. Due to his schedule, I knew that I would be spending time that night making sure the Mongol hordes didn’t come over the wall. So, the daily workout schedule got screwed up and when that happens, I always fall back on two things: either work the heavy bag for 30 minutes or beat the tire for 30 minutes. I chose the tire.

There is a small area behind the communications hut that several of us have confiscated for an open workout area, it’s not much, about the size of a basketball court but has a couple of 18 wheeler tires, sledges, a pull up post, and a few bars with plates. Since it is open, hardly anyone goes there because it is dirty, dusty, and hot. I had previously painted several red spots on one tire, because, I believe you always need to focus on your target and it’s a cheap way to Zen out.

I was working the tire when a technician came out the back door and walked over. Since I was doing 10 hard swings, with about a 15 second rest, he caught me during a rest period. "Hey, "I wish I could do that", he said. “Why can’t you, I asked”. "Oh, you know, “I got a bad shoulder and my back hurts”. Looking him over, I estimated he was about 40 pounds overweight and looked as soft as a baby lamb.

“You have to have a medical clearance from DoS to be here, how did you get clearance”? “Oh, it’s not that bad,” “I just can’t do any heavy exercise” (Bullshit). “Oh, Ok”, “well good luck with that” as I went back to beating the tire.

Now what’s wrong here? How many people do you know “wish” their life away? There is an old saying in life, “wish in one hand, shit in the other, and see which happens first”. Wishing is an amateur move. I wish I was a better fighter, stronger, faster, and smarter and the list goes on.

Well, I wish my mother didn’t die a horrible death from brain cancer and one of the best men I ever knew didn’t get his brains blew out in Mosul, but, it happened and that’s it.

Pick a goal, make a plan and FOCUS. You will never ever be anything until you drop the “wishing” part of your life. You make a plan, focus on the objective and work and work hard. Sometimes you will get what you want, a new PR, win a match, or finish that collegiate degree. No one is ever, ever, going to give you anything; you must work for all your victories and your failures.

Read the article listed. Do you think this father wished for his son to be “normal”? Do you think the son wished to be like everyone else? Of course they did, but, showing the courage rarely seen today, accepted their situation and made the best of it, living far richer lives than most. Read the article, admire their courage, and then decide to stop “wishing” your life away.

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I think everyone does cast nets. Big, useless nets with huge gaping holes into parts of the ocean where there are no fish. If more people went to a place where there are fish, found out what the fish eat and than throw their fishing line in the water, they may have more success.

That article is insane. I couldn’t imagine doing a triathlon full stop, let alone dragging my son on an sled through it all. It really does put things in perspective.

Dude that’s a great article!
Am very impressed with both the father and the son, as well as the supportive wife/mother.

It kind of reminds me of soldiers who carry a wounded brother through rough spots so both can survive a fight. And life is a fight. You can puss out and run away, leaving a brother to better your own chances, or put yourself in that brother’s shoes and think how you’d want him to behave if the tables were reversed, and DO what you’d want him to do.

The pudgy guy you talked to sounds like a lamb in more than a physical way. Sad but there’s plenty like that. I’m guessing he’d be the type to tell a buddy, “I just can’t carry you because my shoulder hurts, try to get @idaho on the radio.”

I’m not the best source, but number 1, 2, and 3 in my kit are GLOVES! And that’s not for the victim’s sake, but for mine and my family’s. You don’t know what people have. Those I’ve been carrying for the last 4 or 5 years. I used to have a pocket mask for CPR, but the compressions are what count, and I’ve seen enough folk’s dinner come up during CPR to know that I’m not sticking my face near the patient’s face.

I have a nice kit in my backpack that I made up myself, a compression bandage/tourniquet that I haven’t gotten to use on a person yet, some quick clot gauze, tape, some 4x4 bandages, more compression bandages and more gloves! These go with me hunting and on kayaking/fishing trips. I have a very similar kit in my truck. Thanks to whoever brought up the old school triangle bandages. These I’ll add to the kits when I stock up.

All this I’ve just added in the last year, the same time I started to CC. The CAT tourniquets are awesome, and what we use at work, but have some weight and cost more than I had in the budget when I set up my kits. However, they work, so next time I order medical supplies for myself I’m going to add a few.

I am looking for a better way to carry to carry a tourniquet and some quick clot gauze and gloves in my pocket all in a little kit, or pocket organizer but I’m not ordering shit sight unseen, I need to get my hands on it to make sure it’s quality and will work for me. Next time I visit a store that has a lot of 5.11 and other gear it’s on my list.

I never found a pre-made first aid kit I liked, most were over priced and full of filler, like 1x3" bandaids. If you’ve got a whittle boo-boo and need a bandaid, you’re on your own homie. When I have kids this will probably change.

I’ve actually been shopping for a fanny pack to help carry some of this. I’m not worried about getting laid. I probably won’t carry my pistol in this bag, except maybe on the kayak. I like to wear swim trunks, and those don’t work well with a holster.

Congrats, you’re the only man on earth not worried about getting laid :wink:

A pistol on a kayak could be tricky. Am thinking a waterproof container of some sort cause ya sure as hell won’t be doing any quick draws.

The fanny pack thing - let us know what you find- the other girls will want to know bwaahahahaaaaa Naw, seriously, I’d like to hear what u come up with. Am guessing there’s a decent solution out there somewhere. My God if they build holsters into underwear, surely a fanny pack system exists. Personally I would never carry off body like that but I don’t kayak either. I know the little plastics guns whose name starts with a G & ends with inaccurate will tolerate submersion…and modern ammo will for a while as well.

Best of luck .