International Personal Self-Defense Blog by Robb Hamic

Self Defense...... Get Real!

Read the headlines, watch the news, the escalation of violence and theft is apparent. It seem as the economy struggles, people get to be more and more desperate. Some of the most unlikely people are turning to crime as a way to make ends meet. Recently there were several bank robberies and convenience store hold-ups in Albuquerque, NM being perpetrated by elderly criminals. What are the odds of that? As a result of this escalation, the self-defense industry has seen growth.

More and more ordinary citizens are seeking training in different areas of self-defense and martial arts. The firearms industry has also seen a rise in the purchases of new guns and likewise the concealed carry and other training opportunities are growing. Consumers need to be aware of some of the options and avoid some of the pitfalls out there. The most important factor should be the realistic nature of the training. Is the instructor going to teach you anything or simply show you what they know.

There are significant differences in the choices that are available and the investment required in most modern self-defense programs. If the consumer is interested in self-defense (home defense, personal defense) and does not intend to commit to months and possibly years to the art, then most martial arts should not be considered. Typically, martial arts classes are taught an hour or two once or twice a week on an on going basis.

They are great as a part of a fitness regiment and for flexibility and if practiced consistently, can be useful in a self-defense situation. In most cases however, many years are required to advance in skill and level. There are programs available to the public that are based on a military model with the emphasis on teaching to the unskilled person in an accelerated format. These programs are most often considered Close Quarters Combatives. An example of one of these types of programs is SPEAR or Personal Defense Readinessfrom Tony Blauer at Blauer Tactical Systems.

The situation with firearm training is similar in that there are many schools and training opportunities to choose from. If the consumer does a simple search on the internet, there are classes to take offering everything from basic NRA introductory courses to post apocalyptic survival and sniper training out to one mile or more. I think that those classes would be interesting, don't get me wrong. Most of us find it necessary to be choosy about where we spend our training dollars. If you want to carry a small handgun concealed for defense of yourself and your family and have no intention of taking it any further, there are classes for that. Choose the courses that relate to your specific situation, practice diligently and master those skills, then move on if you so choose.

If you are seeking self-defense instruction, you need to do some homework and decide what you are really looking for. Do you want hand to hand fighting, a shotgun behind the door, a small pistol and a concealed carry license, or maybe a combination of all of the above. Once you make that decision, do some more research and find the appropriate instructor/facility. It is very likely that as you continue the process of educating yourself that you will want to attend other seminars and programs. This is a good thing. Self-defense is a very personal thing. lets face it, we are learning how to defend our own life. What could possibly be more personal than that?

 

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Ryan Fellows resides in Albuquerque and Taos Ski Valley, NM with his wife and their three daughters. Ryan is the co-president of Summit Self Defense and is a nationally accredited Certified Law Enforcement Trainer. Ryan holds many instructor certifications from the NRA and NRA LE, he is an Israeli Combat Shooting Instructor and is certified as a Close Quarters Combatives Instructor. Ryan is a FFL and is certified by Glock as an armorer. He regularly provides firearms training and hand to hand tactics to civilians, military and law enforcement. He has also been a professional action sports photographer for over 24 years. Please visit is website for more information.http://www.summitselfdefense.com.

 

Ground Fighting Instructor Development in Virginia Beach

 I recently attended a great ground fighting instructor development course in Virginia Beach taught by Tony Torres or Blauer Tactical Systems™.  This was an advanced coach certification and taught at the same time as the PDR ™ certification course for new coach candidates.  I have been involved as a fundamentals PDR coach for some time and I always enjoy training in Virginia Beach.    

 This was the third ground fighting instructor development school that I attended in the last 18 months and I found it to be the most useful and out of the box curriculum.  The days were long and we all had the usual soreness associated with ground fighting for three days but it was well worth it.  I attended with course with a host of interesting people from all over the world from different skill-sets.  I was happy to meet up with several friends that I hadn't seen in awhile.  

I am integrating this learning into my own curriculum that I teach to my students.  The training included more research about the way that fights really happen and it offered some useful ways to deal with these devastating situations.  The close in work from the ground was particularly interesting to me because it worked so intuitively.  Again, different from wrestling, jujitsu or krav maga.  Out of the box.  I think it will be well received by my students.    

Please don't forget that fights happen fast and are usually ambushes.  It is far better to detect a threat early rather than have to deal with a bad situation that you can't avoid.  Tony Blauer, CEO of Blauer Tactical Systems ™ research shows that attacks are sudden and ground attacks can be deadly for protection professionals or individuals.  Bad guy behavior dictates that once a victim is knocked down the bad guy will close distance and deliver more close in devastating blows from his primary strong hand. Thus, the "big right hand.."    

Robb Hamic is the Founder of Summit Self Defense ™ based in Austin Texas.  Robb provides hand to   hand combatitives training and specializes in Krav Maga, untraditional methods, PDR™ and gun deployment.  Specifically, Robb teaches Combat Focus Shooting ™ and several other copyrighted weapons deployment systems to women, law enforcement, military and men.  Robb is a full-time self defense teacher and travels nationally an internatioally to deliver up-to-date training to people who need it.  Contact him for scheduling: robb@summitselfdefense.com. 

   

An interview with the people at Blauer Tactical..

January 16, 2009- I recently attended another instructor development school at Blauer Tactical in Virginia Beach, VA.  This is an excerpt of an interview that was done while I was there.  Take a look at the Personal Defense Readiness (PDR) Blog.  

Contact Robb Hamic of Summit Self Defense for PDR training.

Give yourself permission to fight back..

By: Instructor Ryan Fellows

 

We as a society are taught from a very young age to be nice to people and to ‘treat others as you would like them to treat you’. These aren’t bad traits; in fact it would be a much better place if everyone adhered to the rules and to these ideals. Unfortunately, as we all know that is not necessarily the case.

There are those in our society who prey on good people. They like to target the ones who think that ‘it will never happen to me’.  There are people who are unwilling to respect others and expect us to give in to their demands. Those of us who aren’t thugs or thieves, who respect others, need to understand that it isn’t a bad thing to say ‘enough is enough’. 

If you were walking down the street and see, for instance, an elderly person being harassed, would you lend assistance? If your family member were being assaulted, would you get involved?  Of course you would! Most of us would absolutely help in these situations. Why then won’t you stand up for yourself? You must have this conversation with yourself, giving yourself permission to fight back.

We all have an obligation to be proactive in our own self-defense. It is an important decision that must be made personally, by each of us. Make a conscious decision to say ‘no more’. ‘No longer am I going to be the doormat to every body who wishes to take advantage of me’. You must decide what is important and is worth living for and use that for motivation. This may be your spouse, your children, your home, your car…. etc. You have to decide what it is that will make you get up if you are down on the ground and being injured by someone.

One of my instructors and mentors, Tony Blauer, talks about “being your own body guard”, I think that this is profound. We all need to think about this and act on it. If you don’t protect yourself, who will? If you are seriously injured in a violent confrontation in the grocery store parking lot tonight on your way home from work, who is going to take care of your spouse or your children or those most important to you in your absence? These are the things we must come to grips with.

Self-defense is an obligation we must all make. I train people of all ages to defend themselves in a violent confrontation. I train law enforcement, military, and civilians in close quarter combatitives and firearms use. I have studied several forms of martial arts and continue to train with many of the best instructors in the world. I am committed to teaching good, law abiding people to defend themselves and their loved-ones. I teach regularly all over the country and am a certified concealed carry instructor for New Mexico and a Personal Defense Readiness Instructor. I specialize in training women and love to teach. I am available for private, semi-private and group lessons in your area or at our facility in Albuquerque.

Ryan Fellows is a Senior Instructor for Summit Self Defense and he is based locally in Albuquerque New Mexico.  He also trains locally in Taos New Mexico.  He is a certified Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor and a Personal Defensive Readiness (PDR) Fundamentals Coach.  He can be reached by the following means:

ryan@summitselfdefense.com

505-463-7820 (cellular)

Summit Self Defense Website 

Personal Defense Readiness and SPEAR prevail against an ambush

Austin, TX- October 9, 2009- Many of my students are seeking more than just my lectures on Personal Defense Readiness, PDR and the SPEAR system.  This Youtube features Tony Blauer, who invented the system, describing startle-flinch and the SPEAR.  It is a fantastic view and worth your 4 minutes.

My students can direct questions to me through my e-mail: robb@summitselfdefense.com or call me.  Anyone interested in learning the a simple and easy to use self defense system contact me.  PDR (www.pdrteam.com) takes nothing away form anyone practicing a martial art, law enforcement or military training.  It is just a another tool for your tool box and it allows you to weather an ambush from an attacker so that you can stay in the fight.

Check my website for more information.   

When you train scenarios- "be a good bad guy."

Austin, TX- September 18, 2009- Scenario training is vital in any discipline to see if a tactic or technique works.  Force on force training has become increasingly popular to test combatitives.  I am not referring to sparring but actual working a scenario as it is instructed.  This is not a demo (demonstration).

"Demonstrations always work and they are used to make the instructor/ system look good," says Robb Hamic, founder of Summit Self Defense.

Do you want to look good or train for a real fight/ situation?  Most of us strive to improve and that can only come with stress in our training.  Additionally, if we don't train with an actual 'bad guy' we are cutting our training short.  What is a bad guy (in training)?  Be a good bad guy is a phrase and Trademark coined by Tony Blauer.  This is what he says:

BE A GOOD BAD GUY
The BAGBG principle was developed to teach the importance of realistic resistance in scenario training. Not to be confused with sparring, scenario and simulation training requires a strict focus from the Bad Guy to provide 'scenario appropriate' energy and tactics. Examples with and without High Gear are provided throughout.

In short, during most demonstrations or training both parties know the technique being practiced.  The 'bad guy' often provides a mechanical attack with little force and allows the 'good guy' to fly through the response with accuracy.  Do you think things change if the bad guy resists and fights back using aggression and power?  Do the responses of a good guy change and does the actual technique being practice work?  

If you are not training for reality then just go through the motions and make it look pretty.  If you are training for skill, proficiency and reality then get real.  Make sure that when you practice- have a good bad guy to resist and use the appropriate resistance to make the fight as realistic as possible.

Look at the two videos below.  Focus on the bad guy.  One is weak and one is not.  You decide..

Sorry- this didn't make it to Youtube.. CLICK HERE for the video.

Contact Summit Self Defense for your realistic training needs.  877-260-3773 

What makes Personal Defense Readiness (PDR) so different?

Austin, TX- August 24, 2009-  Get PDR training locally in Austin, from Coach Robb Hamic- Certified PDR Fundamentals Coach.  He also teaches locally in Albuquerque and provides seminars nationally and internationally.  Contact him directly for an immediate response: 512-284-0087.  

The core of our method is based on the S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM™ which is the first genetically & behaviorally inspired self-defense course of it's kind. It is the only self-defense method that fully integrates the body's reflexive responses and instinctive survival mechanisms making the S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM™ the easiest, most natural way to protect yourself. Our program also includes unique and patented learning models but most importantly, we have pioneered research on how to manage and overcome fear.

Strategically & tactically speaking, our courses are based on how real confrontations actually occur! We have been leading the scenario approach to training for over 20 years. Our curriculum is based on a '3-Dimensional' theory that creates confidence on emotional, psychological and physical levels.

We only teach realistic self-defense skills that are street applicable. Students are exposed to aggressive as well as defensive role playing to simulate encounters and to prepare them to react ethically as well as decisively to real-life aggression. Our curriculum covers verbal defusing tactics, choice speech principles and a host of other behaviorally researched strategies.

Training in our system engenders personal evolution: Our breakthrough research on fear management is the foundation of our program and understanding and directing fear is the key to overcoming any obstacle in life. We've had many individuals participate in the program and experience transcendent applications in their businesses life and in intra-personal relationships.

Our system fosters respect for yourself and others by developing virtues like self discipline, humility, assertiveness and character. Since our program is so focused around the managing of one's fears, it directly works the 'esteem' and 'ego' centers of anyone sincerely working the system, ultimately this process helps lead one to greater self- knowledge and personal evolution.

Check out Summit Self Defense for more information on PDR courses.

Robb Hamic becomes certified as a Personal Defense Readiness (PDR) Fundamentals Coach under Tony Blauer

August 23, 2009- Virginia Beach, VA-  Robb Hamic, President of Summit Self Defense attended Tony Blauer's Summer Camp and Personal Defense Readiness (PDR) Coach certification at Blauer Tactical Headquarters.  Mr. Hamic became an PDR Fundamentals Coach under Tony Blauer, who is a martial arts and tactical training expert.  Mr. Baluer invented the SPEAR and PDR systems for self defense.  These techniques are taught to citizens, military and law enforcement.

It was a great fit with Summit Self Defense and its training curriculum.  "I wanted something that I could teach to everyone regardless of their size or training experience.  I heard that the SPEAR and PDR system was easy to learn and I was surprised that most people can defend themselves with this concept after only one repetition.  It is truly unique," says Robb Hamic.  PDR is the ultimate tactic for self defense and fending off an ambush.  PDR combines the body's natural instinctive response with some additional tactics to become practical for everyone in self defense situations.      

Summit Self Defense will teach Personal Defense Readiness to its students in Austin, Albuquerque and San Francisco.  Robb Hamic will conduct PDR seminars at locations across the United States.  Contact Robb for more information about classes and seminars at 512-284-0087. 

For more informaiton on the PDR program please visit www.pdrteam.com.