Threat Continuum?

[ubervic]

I am a regular guy who lives in the suburbs with wife and kids, and I work less than five miles away from my home. Pretty staid, quiet lifestyle.

I have been a firearms enthusiast, more or less, since 1978, when I took my first course of study in Hunter Safety in junior high (now known as middle school) in a weekly after-school class. Fast-forward, I picked up pistol roughly 6 years ago, acquired my CCW, and practice/train mostly for the purpose of refining this form of what I consider a martial art. Shooting a pistol consistently well is difficult, and I have grown to enjoy the challenge. That is, I enjoy the challenge of refining my pistol skills further and further, and the acquisition of such skills are quite rewarding though I hope I never have occasion to be tested on same in real life.

What, then, is the real threat continuum that I should be preparing and training for? I have not been in a physical altercation of any kind since, oh, probably the age of 14. Really. While I am decent with my gun handling and marksmanship skills, I have zero training in hand-to-hand or medical or managing unknown contacts. What do the experts recommend for a middle-aged dad in terms of the skills and training that he should undertake to be prepared for likeliest real-world threats?

[Duelist]

I'm not an expert at much, but I look at all of this pretty pragmatically.

Physical fitness, diet, and exercise. Whether or not you ever take a martial arts class, can you run a mile? Two? Can you walk the five miles home, if you had to? Can you pick up and move your child to safety, without hurting youeprself? Are you at risk for heart disease, hypertension, or diabetes? Do you know how to immobilize a broken limb, treat for bleeding and shock, or evaluate for the most common injuries and illness?

The likeliest real-world threat is that your heart will blow up while climbing a flight of stairs, or sucking down a shake at the mall. Next are the common injuries and illnesses your kids will get. Then, car accidents. So, get thee off the couch and out running, on a bike, or to the gym. Take a beyond basic first aid class - find one that is at least at the level a grade school teacher has to certify at, and get an FAK. And maintain your vehicles in top condition - brakes, tires, etc.

If you want to certify as a first responder, start rolling in BJJ, or whatever, that's cool, but make sure you've hit those other things and have an FAK you know how to use.

[ubervic]

I'm not an expert at much, but I look at all of this pretty pragmatically.

Physical fitness, diet, and exercise. Whether or not you ever take a martial arts class, can you run a mile? Two? Can you walk the five miles home, if you had to? Can you pick up and move your child to safety, without hurting youeprself? Are you at risk for heart disease, hypertension, or diabetes? Do you know how to immobilize a broken limb, treat for bleeding and shock, or evaluate for the most common injuries and illness?

The likeliest real-world threat is that your heart will blow up while climbing a flight of stairs, or sucking down a shake at the mall. Next are the common injuries and illnesses your kids will get. Then, car accidents. So, get thee off the couch and out running, on a bike, or to the gym. Take a beyond basic first aid class - find one that is at least at the level a grade school teacher has to certify at, and get an FAK. And maintain your vehicles in top condition - brakes, tires, etc.

If you want to certify as a first responder, start rolling in BJJ, or whatever, that's cool, but make sure you've hit those other things and have an FAK you know how to use.

Yes, I can do all of that. Thanks for these important points.

I should have clarified that my children are no longer little, and in fact the older is completing her first year of college. What I'm trying to do is identify the most practical training for real-world threats outside of hereditary or congenital threats and in addition to (my hobby of) pistol training.

[Drang]

First Aid
Wilderness First Aid
Trauma/Gunshot Care

Has the rest of the family taken at least a Home Firearms Safety class?

[ubervic]

First Aid
Wilderness First Aid
Trauma/Gunshot Care

Has the rest of the family taken at least a Home Firearms Safety class?

Thanks.
No, rest of the family is not trained. I've been focused on what I can train on as a first phase of developing my skills; perhaps I've relied to much on the "Dad/Husband protects all" dynamic and should open things up to training the family unit.

[77grOption]

"What, then, is the real threat continuum that I should be preparing and training for?"

Interesting question that you have posed. Unfortunately, bad things happen to good people. Evil resides amongst us in various forms, not all of which are easy to recognize. Criminal violence can happen to any one, any where at any time. Everyone must prepare to protect themselves accordingly.

Looks like you already have gotten some good advice here. Your questions and your plans to attend training seem to be a good path to progress for you. I would encourage you to develop your interests amongst your family. You wil not be every where they are. They need to be self reliant and able to protect themselves.

Looking forward to seeing you at a Green Ops class.

[11B10]

First Aid
Wilderness First Aid
Trauma/Gunshot Care

Has the rest of the family taken at least a Home Firearms Safety class?


This ^^^ is great advice. Sad truth - very few have even basic First Aid training.

[scw2]

Already have tactical/trauma first aid lined up for next weekend since I figure I'm around guns enough it is worth known. Is the general recommendation for basic first aid just to take the red cross class?

[Cookie Monster]

I would recommend a wilderness first responder class from NOLS Wilderness Medical Institute. It's a commitment of 7 days or so but scenario based and I found it fun with lots of good people in the class itself. I think I have been to 6 of them over the last 15 years.

I would find a gun shot wound class as well.

I would put together trauma kits for house and vehicles. And figure out some EDC medical.

I would add fire extinguishers in vehicles (5 to 10 lbs) and several to the house with one 20 lbs'er. Check smoke detectors and co2 sensors.

I would re-enforce entry doors.

I would store water for everyone for a week and beyond to your comfort level.

I would store food for a week and beyond to your comfort level.

I would have a way to stay warm/cool when power is down and way to cook.

I would store two weeks to a month of any prescription drug that is relied on.

I would store other items I use so there would be no need to hit the store for two weeks.

I would have things together or figured so I could leave my house in a short time frame - for me it is evacuations for an incoming wildfire.

I am in the same place with hand to hand, I am unsure how to fix that myself. I am currently working on fitness and weight, trying to get in an hour a day and take care/figure out all my crazy joint pain.

Will follow with interest.

[xmanhockey7]

1. CPR/AED
2. Trauma class and/or Wilderness First Aid class. Dark Angel seems to be the gold standard in the tactical community.
3. Judo or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Both are solid. Judo is a little more throw focused, but on the ground it's similar to BJJ.
4. Intermediate force class if that's available. Sometimes that involves the use of force not deadly. MDFI is local to me and offers an excellent one day class.
5. Southnarc's ECQC class

[Drang]

First Aid
Wilderness First Aid
Trauma/Gunshot Care

Has the rest of the family taken at least a Home Firearms Safety class?

Add: CERT (http://www.fema.gov/community-emergency-response-teams)

[ubervic]

Great stuff.

[SteveB]

I've lived and worked in relatively affluent suburbs for the last 30 years. I don't avoid cities, but don't spend much time there either. I stay out of bars. In the early '80's, I had a couple of armed encounters (in "bad" areas of cities); since then, nothing. I would say the biggest danger of this kind of lifestyle is complacency. Even in a low-threat environment, it's important to routinely work on basic stuff. Re-read Cooper's "Principles of Personal Defense". Work on situational awareness daily. When I drive to work, I memorize license plates, note details of cars and drivers. It's like PT, exercise for my ability to see my environment. My wife used to kid me about this: We'd leave a nice restaurant and I'd be scanning parked cars, eyeballing other people or choosing a seat that allows me to see the door; now she does it. This needs to be a habit; if you live in a low-threat environment, you need to create threats in your mind in order to exercise the ability to manage the real thing. Besides Cooper's PPD, Southnarc's "Managing Unknown Contacts" is a must-have experience. Think about the home-invasion scenario, work out the angles in your house, spend some time moving around the house with a pistol, with a long gun. Do you carry a knife? Better learn how to use it; same with unarmed combat. I'm not saying you need to be a black belt, but learn some simple combinations and practice them routinely so that you can call on them, without thinking, in an emergency. Bottom line, though, is to resist complacency by making awareness a habit.

[ubervic]

Lots of good input to help me broaden my view of sources of potential threats.

What prompted me to question what is a realistic threat continuum is that I do NOT want to (ultimately) excel only in gun handling without having any significant skills in addressing unwanted encounters that are equally or more likely to occur. In other words, I want my toolbox to be as well stocked as possible for likely threats, and I want to attain a decent skill level in utilizing/deploying each tool well.

[xmanhockey7]

Absolutely. It's not just about the gun. I could write a pretty long article about getting into martial arts, avoiding bad situations, and getting medical training, but you seem to get it.

[David S.]

I would recommend a wilderness first responder class from NOLS Wilderness Medical Institute. It's a commitment of 7 days or so but scenario based and I found it fun with lots of good people in the class itself. I think I have been to 6 of them over the last 15 years.

I would find a gun shot wound class as well.

I would put together trauma kits for house and vehicles. And figure out some EDC medical.

I would add fire extinguishers in vehicles (5 to 10 lbs) and several to the house with one 20 lbs'er. Check smoke detectors and co2 sensors.

I would re-enforce entry doors.

I would store water for everyone for a week and beyond to your comfort level.

I would store food for a week and beyond to your comfort level.

I would have a way to stay warm/cool when power is down and way to cook.

I would store two weeks to a month of any prescription drug that is relied on.

I would store other items I use so there would be no need to hit the store for two weeks.

I would have things together or figured so I could leave my house in a short time frame - for me it is evacuations for an incoming wildfire.

I am in the same place with hand to hand, I am unsure how to fix that myself. I am currently working on fitness and weight, trying to get in an hour a day and take care/figure out all my crazy joint pain.

Will follow with interest.

Defensive Training: I think John Murphy would be a great place to start. I really wish I would have dragged my wife down to train with him when we lived in NoVA. Tom Givens, Craig Douglas, Cecil Burch, Greg Ellifritz, and William April, for instance, all do very practical training in your area. Craig and Cecil can probably help you select a BJJ school that focuses on what you're looking for.

Medical: I just took my first medical class last weekend with Caleb Causey (http://lonestarmedics.com) and thought it was great. I'll definitely be going back for more. I see that Dark Angel running a NoVA 2 day class in June (https://darkangelmedical.com/product/direct-action-response-training-warrenton-va-25-26-june-2016/).

Diet and Exercise. They're controversial, but I'm a believer in the paleo/primal/slow-carb type diets. Get in the gym. Cardio is cardio: There's a million ways to do it. I like Starting Strength (http://startingstrength.com) for a beginners weight lifting program. Regular rolling (BJJ) or boxing may satisfy your exercise requirement.

Hardening your home. Upgrade locks, reinforced doors and jams, lighting cameras, window films, alarm system just buy you a little bit of time during an invasion. If you own you home, develop this over time.

Food and water preparedness. The Survival Podcast has a very practical guide to food storage in this episode (http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/basics-of-food-storage-1673). Skip ahead to the 9 minute mark to bypass the advertising and housekeeping stuff. Basic water prep is pretty inexpensive and easy. Containers make out of milk jug plastic are flimsly and not meant for long term storage, so consider better plastic. We choose to keep a water cooler in the house with a couple 5 gallon bottles. You can take things up a notch with water filters. If "prepping" interests you, I can't recommend The Survival Podcast highly enough for keeping your "prepping" realistic and sane. Here's a more general episode on basic, practical prepping. (http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/basics-real-world) Skip to the 13 minute mark.

Financial. Get out of debt, live well below your means, and save, save, save. Our process is kind of a cross between the Dave Ramsey baby step (https://www.daveramsey.com/baby-steps/) program and the program laid out in our budgeting software. (http://youneedabudget.com)

Cheers,
D

ETA: I have no affiliation with any of the above listed resources. Just a satisfied customer.

[deputyG23]

Defensive Training: I think John Murphy would be a great place to start. I really wish I would have dragged my wife down to train with him when we lived in NoVA. Tom Givens, Craig Douglas, Cecil Burch, Greg Ellifritz, and William April, for instance, all do very practical training in your area. Craig and Cecil can probably help you select a BJJ school that focuses on what you're looking for.

Medical: I just took my first medical class last weekend with Caleb Causey (http://lonestarmedics.com) and thought it was great. I'll definitely be going back for more. I see that Dark Angel running a NoVA 2 day class in June (https://darkangelmedical.com/product/direct-action-response-training-warrenton-va-25-26-june-2016/).

Diet and Exercise. They're controversial, but I'm a believer in the paleo/primal/slow-carb type diets. Get in the gym. Cardio is cardio: There's a million ways to do it. I like Starting Strength (http://startingstrength.com) for a beginners weight lifting program. Regular rolling (BJJ) or boxing may satisfy your exercise requirement.

Hardening your home. Upgrade locks, reinforced doors and jams, lighting cameras, window films, alarm system just buy you a little bit of time during an invasion. If you own you home, develop this over time.

Food and water preparedness. The Survival Podcast has a very practical guide to food storage in this episode (http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/basics-of-food-storage-1673). Skip ahead to the 9 minute mark to bypass the advertising and housekeeping stuff. Basic water prep is pretty inexpensive and easy. Containers make out of milk jug plastic are flimsly and not meant for long term storage, so consider better plastic. We choose to keep a water cooler in the house with a couple 5 gallon bottles. You can take things up a notch with water filters. If "prepping" interests you, I can't recommend The Survival Podcast highly enough for keeping your "prepping" realistic and sane. Here's a more general episode on basic, practical prepping. (http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/basics-real-world) Skip to the 13 minute mark.

Financial. Get out of debt, live well below your means, and save, save, save. Our process is kind of a cross between the Dave Ramsey baby step (https://www.daveramsey.com/baby-steps/) program and the program laid out in our budgeting software. (http://youneedabudget.com)

Cheers,
D

ETA: I have no affiliation with any of the above listed resources. Just a satisfied customer.
I would add an advanced driving course to this list. I sent my college age son to MSR in WV a couple of years ago. This training has saved him on multiple occasions.

[OnionsAndDragons]

Some sort of training for Managing Unknown Contacts will get you a massive return on investment. It's a super valuable skill that you can pass on yo the family with just some maintenance exercises.

Craig isn't the only guy that does it, just one of the best. Tarani teaches a great class on this stuff and has a book out about it called PreFense. There are other smaller guys teaching it too, mostly built around what they have learned from folks like Craig, Tarani, etc.

Everybody in the house needs to know basic first aid stuff. How to clear an airway, arrest bleeding, immobilize and stabilize a limb are at the top of my list of need to know.

Everyone in the family having that as a baseline will get you 95% ready, imo. Fight/conflict skills can come after, because with decent MUC and not going stupid places with stupid people to do stupid things, you get to avoid trouble. Most of the trouble that comes to people can be solved with that basic medical.

I also heartily second the advice on some basic prepping. Just a few weeks of food, heating and a good source of water puts you in a much better spot than most when that unexpected disaster comes knocking. You want to be keeping your people on track and happy if a freak storm wrecks the power grid for a week, not fighting idiots at the local megamart.


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[ubervic]

Defensive Training: I think John Murphy would be a great place to start. AGREE. I took one of his courses a few years ago and will return this year for another.


Hardening your home. Upgrade locks, reinforced doors and jams, lighting cameras, window films, alarm system just buy you a little bit of time during an invasion. If you own you home, develop this over time. AGREE. Been in our house for close to 20 years now and feel we have this fairly well covered.

Food and water preparedness. AGREE. This is an area where I have huge room to improve.

Financial. Get out of debt, live well below your means, and save, save, save. AGREE. Thank goodness I met my wife, who changed my life regarding spending vs saving. We'll be married 20 years this June. We have no debt other than our mortgage and a car payment.

Cheers,
D