Ladies, it’s important that we control our bodies in a stressful encounter and not the other way around. The ability to do so may certainly make the difference between life and death.
Photo c/o hoboken411.com
For example, when a woman sees a gun pointed at her, her natural instinct is usually to scream and put her hands up in a manner of surrender—not keep them hidden and think. On the contrary, I have literally practiced handing my purse over to someone, PRETENDING to be a weak basket case and shooting my gun through my purse. That’s presence of mind that can protect your life. (Obviously, you would NEVER practice shooting a gun AT a human being. There’s no such thing a dress rehearsal for that.) I’ve also practiced pulling my asp from its hiding place as well as being prepared with other defensive devices.
Secondly, much like the Pink Panther movies, my husband regularly gives me practice of self-defense by startling me around the house. I have learned not to scream, throw my hands up flailing, and back away. I’ve instead learned to instinctively to go into “fight” mode, rather than “flight” mode. As a preferred target of criminals, it’s critical that we hone our natural instincts. After seeing many a woman fight viciously to protect their own child, I’m convinced that we were not programmed to flake out and crumble in a confrontation.
Austin thieves caught on a webcam. Photo c/o austinist.com
We also have practiced and thoroughly discussed what will happen IF someone were to charge unwelcomed into our home, or even our bedroom, at night while we are sleeping. We have practiced our efforts many times so that we know where the firearms are, where the strongholds are, playing possum when appropriate, etc.
This is called training. You don’t need to go to boot camp to accomplish this level of skill and awareness. You simply need to create your own disciplined mental and some physical training scenarios to better prepare yourself.
As you hone your natural instincts and run through these kinds of real-life scenarios, you will find that you’ll surround yourself with a stronger sense of peace and confidence rather than “whatever happens, will happen.”
Copyright 2009 Women of Caliber and Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Women of Caliber and Kellene Bishop.
The term “fog of war” is heard frequently amidst the fighting terrain of our soldiers. In the middle of a shoot out between our forces and enemy combatants, time seems to warp, speed up, and just plain stop, depending on which soldier you speak with. This phenomenon is a result of the mind assimilating all that is going on around them at the time of a high adrenaline state. This altered state doesn’t just occur on the battlefield however. Fog of war will affect us any time that we are threatened or surprised.
Tunnel Vision photo c/o groundglassmenagerie.com
When fog of war affects us, it automatically brings with it an uncertainty regarding our own capabilities. It also fogs our perception of the intent of any adversary or their capability during an engagement of self-defense. We tend to have tunnel vision which inhibits our ability to see the whole picture. How many times have you heard a witness say, “time just seemed to stand still,” or “I didn’t see anything else except that gun”? This is the result of the alteration of perceptions such as time and depth. In fog of war we also lose our fine motor skills in such a scenario and we certainly have an alteration of our sensory perception. Another perfect example: how many times have you heard of a person being shot or severely wounded, but not aware of it until after the climax of the battle was finished? Considering that all of this is bound to happen when you need to save your life, it doesn’t sound like the ideal time to be handling a firearm, right? The point of this article is to be sure you’re aware that just because you have a firearm doesn’t mean it’s all you need for protection when you hear glass breaking in the middle of the night.
Most gun owners do not take into account the fog of war effect. They presume that since they have a firearm and have practiced with it a couple of times that they are safe. While some may call me “paranoid” because I have rehearsed again and again what I will do when walking to my car in the event of an attack, I try to explain to them that I’m training my mind to act in a specific manner rather than jumping back, swearing, and losing my senses. I am well aware that shooting at the range, indoors or outdoors, no matter how realistic the shooting exercise is, still does not make me an expert in battling a real attack. Only my mental and physical practice can appropriately overcome my initial instincts of fear and flight.
The only way to successfully overcome the effects of the fog of war is to practice. Practice mentally AND physically. Don’t rely on having to remember specific actions. Practice with your firearm so much that it’s completely second nature. Practice so much that you know the feel of that firearm as well as the outline of your child’s hand. Mentally rehearse multiple scenarios in your home so that when it happens, your brain has already embraced the sequence of actions that you will take. Walk through those actions. Practice, practice, practice. Particularly under fog of war and the stress of an attack, you must have the mindset to defend your life—even if that means the loss of the perpetrators life—the ability to deliver the target shots necessary to STOP your attacker, and to do so in a manner in which you will not be emotionally altered for the rest of your life. This only comes with education and practice. So, will you schedule the time it takes to defend your life, or will you just hope that it just happens?
Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.
When I was still learning of the importance of the use of a firearm for self-defense, I attempted to take my proactive self-defense steps in teeny-tiny degrees—much like trying to ease myself into an ice cold lake on a hot summer’s day. I’m sure that many women can relate to these steps. You know:
First shoot a firearm a couple times, only to immediately relinquish the scary thing back into the hands of someone else when you’re finished.
Then get your concealed carry permit, but that’s it.
Next, perhaps owning a firearm, but store it away, unloaded. Then actually owning bullets. (Yup—as crazy as it sounds, for some that’s actually a completely separate step.)
Then practicing with your firearm a couple of times. And then, maybe, keeping it LOADED in a safe, with a trigger lock.
Then, getting comfortable enough to carry it in the car, unloaded, with the rounds close by.
And then perhaps the gun migrates to your purse, still unloaded.
Then, the next step (and final for some) in self-defense is to actually carry the gun, loaded, in your purse.
And then there’s the ultimate step typically thought to be taken only by zealots—actually carrying the loaded firearm on your person. (I hear some folks waffle about whether or not they carry with bullet in the chamber.)
Ultimately, these steps are necessary for many people—male and female—in order for them to gradually become mentally comfortable with the possession of a loaded firearm on them in such a way that it would be most effective for self-defense. And I would never discount the merits of such steps for the mental strength of a gun owner. However, in an effort to get you to your ideal state of self-defense preparedness, I’d like to point out a couple of critical considerations.
Contrary to what you may see in the movies, it’s not likely that you will have a lot of time in a confrontation with an aggressor to stall, get your gun, load it, and then use it for self-defense. (Even less likely is for you to be able to convince the aggressor to “get in your sites, pretty please.”) As I’m sure the rational part of your mind will tell you, criminals use the element of surprise, combined with their disregard for human life and safety, to their benefit. Criminals don’t intend to give you warning. They don’t intend to allow you to defend yourself. With that in mind, expecting that you’ll be able to even load a magazine in your firearm fast enough to use it defensively is wishful thinking.
If you believe that you need a firearm for self-defense (and I pray to God that you do realize this at some level) then you need to be sure that your actions do not disable this valuable tool with faulty logic or rationale watered down by emotion.
Perhaps some of you remember the horrific multiple victim shooting which took place in Killeen, Texas at a Luby’s restaurant. One of the women in that shooting reports losing her parents in the shooting because she had failed to have her firearm on her person that day. Instead, it was sitting out inefficiently in her car (due to state laws at that time). She was helpless to fight back, even though she was in a perfect strategic position to do so otherwise.
The key aspect in this account is that the woman wasn’t in a dark alley, or alone on the streets late at night. She was in a public, family restaurant enjoying a meal with her family. But the accessibility of her means of self-defense was out of reach.
The police did not arrive until long after 23 individuals were killed and several more wounded. The police didn’t stop the gunman, rather he committed suicide. Out of a jam-packed restaurant, no one was prepared to stop this madman.
When my husband was teaching me the need to be ready with a firearm in the event that I needed to use it for self-defense, he orchestrated an example. He provided me with a practice gun and a magazine clip to go with it. He then walked to the other side of the room, and told me that he was going to pull his practice gun on me at the count of “three.” Even though I was proficient with the practice gun and how to load it, AND I had the practice gun in one hand with the clip in the other (where it most certainly would NOT be if I was surprised by an attacker) and KNOWING what was going to happen didn’t make a difference. I couldn’t load that firearm, cock it, and prepare to shoot prior to my husband lifting his shirt, pulling his gun and pulling the trigger. Repeatedly we did this exercise, and no matter how “ready” I was, I couldn’t load the firearm fast enough. After that exercise I realized the need to be prepared at all times to use my firearm immediately if my life, or someone else’s, was threatened. (Warning: Please don’t try this exercise with real firearms.)
Photo c/o concealedcarrypursestore.com
This moment was a huge shift in my feelings about being ready with a loaded firearm on my person at all times. I also realized that a firearm on my person was a lot safer than leaving it in my purse, where I didn’t always have access to it while visiting a friend or at a family gathering, where prying little hands might get ahold of it. I also realized that if I was going to take the responsibility to use a firearm, I needed to also take the responsibility of being proficient and skillful with that firearm as well. Consequently, my practice time increased dramatically, and as a result, my concerns of having a loaded firearm subsided with the newly acquired skills. I also had peace of mind knowing that I would never wonder “what if” in the event my life did encounter a moment in which I could have acted to save someone else or my own life “if only I had been ready, truly ready, to fire.”
As such, I not only practice shooting the firearm, but I also practice lifting up my clothing expeditiously so that I can get to my firearm. I practice rotating the firearm from the holster towards my target. I practice exactly when my finger goes on the trigger. I even practice shooting from my hip as opposed to extended in front of me. I practice shooting one handed. I practice shooting with my weak hand, in the event that’s the only angle I have available to me while maintaining appropriate cover. And lastly, I even practice a quick magazine change as well. I decided a while ago that I wasn’t going to let what’s portrayed in movies, on television, or the evil that lurks in men’s hearts frighten me from being truly prepared to defend myself, my loved ones, my nation–because then the “bad guys” have already won.
So, for the record, yes, I carry my firearm on my person anywhere it is legal to do so. Yes, I carry it fully loaded WITH one in the chamber. I don’t indulge in a mechanical safety to disengage (as I carry a Glock). I have made all of these personal decisions so that if an occasion arises in which I need to pull out the firearm, I can use it precisely for what it was intended—to save a life—and never have to live with the regret that I could have done better.
Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.
First shoot a firearm a couple times, only to immediately relinquish the scary thing back into the hands of someone else when you’re finished. 
Contrary to what you may see in the movies, it’s not likely that you will have a lot of time in a confrontation with an aggressor to stall, get your gun, load it, and then use it for self-defense. (Even less likely is for you to be able to convince the aggressor to “get in your sites, pretty please.”) As I’m sure the rational part of your mind will tell you, criminals use the element of surprise, combined with their disregard for human life and safety, to their benefit. Criminals don’t intend to give you warning. They don’t intend to allow you to defend yourself. With that in mind, expecting that you’ll be able to even load a magazine in your firearm fast enough to use it defensively is wishful thinking.
