Need to get more buff

I am at a law enforcement conference representing my company, and being around all these young guns is making me have to suck in the gut. Not cool!

What metro area has the most martial arts schools?

I'm voting for Boston. I have been working in the Boston area for a few days, and have never seen so many storefront studios. Amazing!

How to Be A Good Victim

Finishing up some reading that I will be posting on soon, but I came across this in my work feed:

NYPD unions say bill would blindfold officers, "It will ban cops from identifying a suspect's age, gender, color or disability" — or risk being sued for profiling"

I have to say that this is disappointing on many levels, even the idea that someone should withhold information that could lead to the arrest of an assailant or criminal due to accusations of racism or, when that charge is leveled at law enforcement, "profiling."

My take:

Every victim or witness should make every effort to give as complete and accurate a description as possible of everything that was involved in the commission of a crime. If it's early evening, and you see three guys in light blue shirts and faded jeans breaking into a business across the street with a white Ford F-150 parked out back, describe exactly what you saw. Those are the facts! If you happen to notice that all three are Hispanic males wearing light blue shirts with faded jeans, one is approximately 5-foot, four inches, the other two about average height, and one had a red bandana in his back pocket, and there was a white F-150 running with NJ plate XXXXXX, then that's what you should report.

In a previous life, I did some part-time police dispatching (rather amateurishly, in fact), and was trained to get from victims, then provide to my officers all descriptors that could identify a perpetrator, so I did. If you don't the chances of them getting the wrong guy (whoops, I just profiled!) go way up, and it could be you that becomes a victim, and the real criminal may never get caught.

So how do you be a good victim?
What should you provide if you witness, or are the victim of a crime? Everything. Some suggestions:

First of all, when you call 9-1-1 (in the US), make sure you give you number, in case you get disconnected, and your location. Not every dispatch center can obtain that information all of the time - systems fail, and can be inaccurate.

Of the subject (as accurate as you can, and tell the authorities if it's a guess or estimate):

• Sex
• Race/ethnicity
• Age
• Height
• Weight
• Build
• Hair color (or baldness)
• Facial hair
• Any distinguishing scars, marks, or tattoos
• Head covering/hat
• Shirt type and color
• Pants type and color
• Shoes
• Anything else that could narrow it down, like missing teeth/eyes, limps, language, etc.

Of the situation and environment:

• Where did the crime occur? 
• What happened? Be succinct, but complete.
• Is the danger still present? Is there a person there with a knife/gun or other weapon? Is the fight still going on?
• How many people are involved?
• What time did it happen?
• Which way did they go?
• What kind of vehicle were they driving? Did you get a plate number?

Please don't think I am making light of, or minimizing racial profiling. I am not. All factors must be included in reporting a crime, both to protect the innocent, and to catch criminals.

Disagree? Agree? Please tell me what you think, and why in the comments.

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Must read: How to Protect Yourself from Date Rape Drugs

Defend University has a great post on protecting yourself from date rape drugs.

They are odorless, tasteless and they are intended to incapacitate you while producing enough amnesia that you’ll never remember him attacking you.

They are called “date rape drugs” and can be put into drinks or food. And they can kill you.

Before you think this can never happen to you, read about this real case of one of our friends being date rape drugged. Leslie in this story still does not know specifically what she was drugged with, but a few of the most common ones are Rohypnol, GHB and Ketamine. There are a number of different street names they are known by, but all three have similar effects — they impair you to the point that you are unable to refuse sex or defend yourself.

Read the rest, including practical steps here.
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Wanna see this? 300: Rise of an Empire

Yes, I know there is questionable historical accuracy, a style that glorifies violence, a storyline that, well, not sure what it is right now, but I want to see it. How ‘bout you?

Technorati Tags: 300

How to Win a Bar Fight For Realz

Okay, maybe not for real. Sorry, I just had to post this.
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Best Training Apps: Impetus Interval Timer

 
How do you push yourself in training? What are you training for? Fitness, self-defense, the ring, the Octagon? In all of these cases interval training is key to being able to fight or compete. I remember reading something to the effect that, you may be a world champion, but if you’re tired enough, your abilities decrease to the point where almost anyone can defeat you. Not such a big deal in the gym or dojo, but in competition? How about in a real fight for your life? That’s where interval training comes in, and great training aids like interval timers.

As some of you might recall, I’m a little old-school, but I am also a little past banging on pots and pans to signal the start and end of a round. Since the mid-80’s, I have had some sort of timer. In fact, I just retired the old one about 3 years ago (see the museum piece on the right? Still have it!) . Since then, I have played with several apps on iPhones and Android, and have now settled on the Impetus Interval Timer.

What do I like about it? Many things! It’s easily configured for whatever you want to do in terms of timing activities. You can set the number, duration, and rest period between rounds. You can set up multiple presets for training, for fighting, and for bodyweight or other training. For example, if you’re going to do some grappling for technique, and want to set up 8-minute rounds, followed by 3 minute sparring rounds, and then two-minutes of just kicking, you can do that, and save it for later. It can warn you before the end of the round, and you can even set it to text-to-voice for all of the warnings and tones, or your own tones. Plus, it lets you play music from your device at the same time, and will pause and silence the music during warning tones or sounds. Finally, it’s optimized for phones and tablets, and looks great on both. All of this, and it’s free for Android. There is an unlocked version for less than $2.00, but I used it for about a year with the free version and loved it.

How about you? What do you use for interval training? Please let other readers know in the comments what you use, what platform (iOS, Android, browser-based), and what you like about it.

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Technorati Tags: boxing,MMA,UFC,training,interval,apps,reviews

Rashad Evans is now training Rocky-style

Bloody Elbow on Rashad Evans' new training, same as the old training. What do you think of Evans' contention that all the different, modern training can sometimes get in the way of what your really want to achieve? What do you really need to get results?

SGT says: Shoot back

In some good advice, the SGT Says: Shoot Back. I taught the same to my students. In all aspects, and all ranges, NO ONE can survive a battle on defense. "Turtling" is a sport tactic in Judo and BJJ which doesn'lt work in MMA because you just get beaten down. In standup, "covering up" is a temporary survival tactic which really doesn't work. In a real, unarmed attack, the same is true, but the stakes are higher - fight back!

Outstanding post by an Honest Philosophy

Read Stop Apologizing

So, I guess this should not be the post where I apologize for the lack of posts? Heh.