I Want This Shirt

That's the simple, uncomplicated, uncomfortable truth.

Shirt Text:

Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own pantyhose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound.

Aliveness, or Why I Keep Thinking About Guns

Aliveness, it's a strange term. It's even more difficult to explain in the context of Martial Arts. A art should be alive, it should be changing, evolving, and growing. However an art that grows, changes, and evolves may not subscribe to the principle of Aliveness.

matt Thornton of Straight Blast Gym (SBG/SBGi) is the godfather of this term, and has done much to bring it to the forefront. His own words can be found here.

So, what does this have to do with me? Simple. I began my martial training in earnest in Wing Chun. A system espousing deadly efficiency. As I spent more time in the club, and more time sparring I realized that when I fought (badly) I used very little of my training. So I began to look at what I was doing wrong. Around this time I was introduced to the concept of Aliveness. I was shown that in order to use something it had to be practiced and not just in forms. I was introduced to the three I's. Introduction, Isolate, Incorporate.

Take a subject dear to my heart, programming. I wish to learn a new language, I am Introduced to it. This introduction is most likely dead, as in there is no resistance. I read, I ponder but I do not do any coding.

Next I begin looking at same code, writing toy examples, playing around. I debug bits of code, deal with errors and push a little bit. I want to learn the control structures, so I work with just control structures. This is the Isolate stage. I'm writing code, I'm playing, but it's still on a toy scale.

Lastly is the Incorporate phase. In this phase I begin writing code. I begin internalizing the language, making comparisons with what I already know, making it "work" for me. At this point I know the language, or at least parts of it, and can build from there.

So, back to Martial Arts. Wing Chun was stuck in the Introduce and Isolate stages. A technique was shown, and drilled in a non-resisting fashion but it was never tested, it never because an intrinsic part of my game.

I then switched to BJJ, and in doing so found the way things "should" be done. A technique is shown, drilled with increasing resistance then I would attempt to use the technique in free sparring against a resisting opponent. I would fail, get feedback, adjust and try again. My current art, Judo, works the same way.

So, why guns?

Because in training Alive, in competing, and fighting it is eventually natural to realize that there are limits. There are situations that no matter how good I am, no matter how conditioned I am I simply will not be fast enough, strong enough, good enough. So, I look for tools to improve my chances. At first I looked at Kali, and thought that a blade would be the natural equalizer. However, even good Kali is mostly dead. There are few groups willing to train a weapon based art in an Alive manner simply because it hurts!

So why would I carry a blade if I'm not 100% sure that when I need it I will know how to use it? I wouldn't.

So I looked elsewhere. Time and time again I came back to IPSEC and firearms. IPSEC is a competition format where a shooter moves through a course with preset targets, both good targets, and "bad" targets. The shooter is scored based on speed and accuracy, with penalties for shooting the "bad" targets.

It is as close to an Alive weapon art that I have found and frankly, it just sounds like fun!

I don't plan on pursuing a pistol permit any time soon, but it keeps bouncing around the back of my mind and like an itch will one day have to be scratched.

She Surprises Me Sometimes.

My Missus has been trying to get into the Rochester Police Department for some time now. Her and I have talked about plans, preparations, training, the usual discussions I'm sure any couple would have when one of the members wishes to do something different, and potentially dangerous. I support her, I figure if this is something she wants then I should support her in any way I can.

However, we had an interesting conversation, a surprising conversation the other day and I wonder how it will pan out. She started looking at guns. Whats more she started talking about guns, about learning to shoot as a way to get ahead in her academy training. She asked about martial arts, and expressed a desire to begin training. I honestly was shocked. She had always maintained a no guns, no way mentality and I had despaired in ever changing that view. Even her looking to join the police and carrying a gun did not seem to change her perspective. Now this. Her interest in martial arts is not anything new, she has watched many of my Judo classes, and had commented in the past that she might enjoy it. Yet she had never actually initiated a conversation on the subject. I will admit the thought of her training with me excites me more then the thought of her wanting to learn to shoot. I enjoy Judo, and it's something I want her to enjoy with me.

I thought I had her all figured out, yet she manages to surprise me yet again. It's a good feeling. Let's see if it pans out.

Whistles

I read a blog post yesterday. I can't find it today, I tried looking, checked my history, checked all my usual haunts online and simply can not find it.

It wasn't anything huge or epic or awesome, but it made me think. In fact I was still thinking about it hours later and when I realized that I had to ask myself why. Let me recount the story to the best of my ability.

There was a woman, a nurse if my memory serves me, and she had some ex-boyfriend issues. She asked her friends for advice and one of her friends, the person who's blog I read this on, suggested she get a gun and carry concealed. Her other friends suggested a rape whistle. Several weeks later she was found beaten to death in the parking lot, rape whistle still between her teeth, filled with blood. She blew it till she died and it did her absolutely no good.

I don't know if the story as it was related is true. neither do I care. Details don't matter, but the moral of the story does matter.

A few weeks ago The Missus asked me why I had a sudden interest in guns and I couldn't think of a good answer. I knew why, sorta, but I couldn't articulate what I was thinking, what I was feeling.

I stood outside an IHOP several months ago and watched a man drag his girlfriend out of the restaurant by her hair, spend minutes in the parking lot yelling at her, then hit her and toss her in a car before driving off. I stood there, and watched. I stood there because I had called 911, and the cops were on their way. They arrived minutes too late. Like always.

I ran that night through my mind a number of times, should I have fought, should I have intervened, what if... what if.... what if. At the end of the day I know that my skills might have kept me alive in a fight, he might not have a knife, he might not have a gun, it might have been ok. or it might not.

Let's go back to the nurse in the parking lot. She chose to not arm herself, to not be able to defend herself, to accept that if she were attacked the best she could hope for was someone else to willingly intervene on her behalf, and save her. This decision cost her dearly. It cost her her life. Had I been there, would I have intervened? I didn't in the IHOP parking lot and I'm trained to fight, I know how to strike, throw and grapple yet I did not intervene. neither did anyone else in that parking lot that night.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is I have an interest in guns, I want those around me to have an interest in guns, so if something should happen, if I need that weapon it's there. I want to know that those in my life who matter to me don't resort to a whistle. I want to know that if I ever have another chance to get it right.... that I won't stand there scared to fight, that I would do what was needed.

I'm a sheep, all be it a sheep with eyes open, I don't want to be a sheep any more.

Cause I Can

This post brought to you be the following Idiocy.

I'm not one for causes. I don't jump on the petitioning bandwagon, and if the Democratic National Committee would stop sending me e-mail I wouldn't mind. Yet there are several organizations I do think have a point, and an aim that I can agree with. First, is Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, their website is located here. It's circa 1995 GeoCities but it works.

Simply put they believe that students should have the right to keep and bear arms on college campuses, specifically concealed handguns. Those allowed to carry would have had to have a concealed carry permit already, and be in a state that already allows concealed carry. Their thought process is simple. Students on campuses without the ability to protect themselves are sheep. Gunmen know this, and advertising a weapons free campus is at least not deterring violence, if at worst, encouraging it. History shows us that schools are not safe from the threat of violence, so why would we not allow our students and teachers the tools to defend themselves?

Second is the Pink Pistols. A group dedicated to fostering gun ownership and firearm self defense for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered population. They seek to inform, and teach a high risk population. A population all too often targeted for acts of violence.

I just figured I would give them both a nod. Take a look if you like, if not, that's fine too.

Thoughts on the 2nd Amendment

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

This is the 2nd amendment as passed by the House and the Senate. Given the current political climate I've been reading a lot of debate about the place of the second amendment, is it still valid in a modern context? What did the founding fathers truly intend when they drafted the second? What rights does the second guarantee an individual citizen? Etc.

Now, it seems to me that there are two very distinct interpretations of the second amendment.

1) The second let's citizens of the United States keep and bear arms, period. This is an absolute right and should not be infringed.

2) The second let's citizens of the United States keep and bear arms, as part of a militia, and as we no longer require a militia the second is no longer an absolute right and therefore can be regulated by acts of Congress and by local law.

These views hinge on whether you view the first part of the amendment "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State..." or the second part "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." as gospel.

Let's look at the first view point. people in this camp feel that the second line in the amendment is most important. They feel that the right to bear arms should not be regulated, in other words any "Arms" they want they should be able to purchase, keep, carry, etc.

Persons ascribing to the second view point look at the right to bear arms as anything from antiquated to dangerous to a nuisance. often this camp feels that strong gun control is the only way to curtail gun violence and that there are certain classes of weapons that no citizen should own.

I find myself stuck in the middle. I strongly believe that gun control does no good, and the only way to control violence is with violence. I firmly believe that if students could have carried concealed then the school shootings of recent years would be mere footnotes in the paper as opposed to national tragedies. Yet I can see little to no need for a citizen to carry a fully automatic weapon. Yet I also see no need to regulate single shot, or even semi-automatic firearms be they pistols or rifles. I could even see a rigorous screening process enabling a citizen to purchase fully automatic weapons, I just see little need.

So, I find myself torn. I believe that the right to keep and bear arms is an important one and one that should be carefully preserved. I feel that gun control is ridiculous with a proven track record of failure. Yet I find that voicing these same opinions is unpopular at best. I guess all I can say at this time is I'm going to keep watching and hope that the politicians realize the same truths that seem so plain to me.

Tough Question....

I have been thinking about applying for a concealed carry permit for months now. I've more or less decided to go ahead with it and am currently waiting for the funds. However I was talking to a friend of mine this past weekend and she asked me a tough, yet interesting, question.

Could I kill another human being?

If I decide to begin carrying, and I have a need for the weapon could I in fact kill someone. I knew my default reaction was to say "of course" yet I bit my tongue and actually thought about it.

I think I could. I understand that what I train in does enable me to do serious harm to another human being however I know that with my bare hands I can regulate the amount of force applied, do I want to pin, submit, choke? How long do I want to hold a choke? I can make these decisions and regulate the effects better in an unarmed situation.

I also know despite my training I'm not comfortable carrying a knife. I know I would be unable to stab someone if the need arose. So is a gun all that different?

I took a moment and reconsidered my desires for wanting to carry concealed. I want to be able to defend myself should the need arise, I distrust the police and do not wish to be wholly reliant on them for my protection. Lastly, I fear loosing the right without ever exercising it.

I feel I would be able to shoot if the need arose, yet the thought worries me. I plan on training, and hopefully competing to make sure I am as wholly comfortable with my chosen firearm. I plan on seeking out the advice of professionals in both what firearm I carry and how I carry, the holster, the position etc.

I hope all these measures will make me as comfortable and sure of myself as possible.

However, Until I have reached that level of comfort I think I would hesitate to carry concealed 24/7. Yet only time will tell.

So to answer the tough question, I think I could kill in self defense though I hope to never have to find out.