My iPhone Can Kick Your iPhones Ass

How To Make A Stab/Slash Proof Vest Using Two Common Household Itmes

Here is a simple way to make a homemade slash/stab proof armor using a couple of items that you have in your home.



There's no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one

Norm Bettencourt

Urban Survival Tip: How To Keep Water Fresh For 4 Weeks Refrigeration

When it comes to retaining water during a natural disaster it should be your first priority. If you haven’t done so already start stock piling water. Also stockpile other supplies such as food, first aid supplies along with weapons to defend yourself with if things go from bad to worse.

But if at this very moment an earthquake were to happen there is a way you can immediately begin storing water and a lot of it. If water is still running after a natural disaster fill up all sinks and tubs in your home. You can also obtain water from toilets and hot water heaters but there is a proper procedure in obtaining water from these locations which I won’t get into in today’s post.

With obtaining water from your bath tub you can also purchase a waterBOB Emergency Drinking Water Storage kit with collects up to 100 gallons of fresh drinking water and keeps it fresh for 4 weeks

waterBOB Emergency Drinking Water Storage (100 Gallons)

    Includes siphon pump to allow you to dispense the water as you need it

    Fits every standard bathtub

    Stays within USFBA guidelines

    Keep style packaging sealed in plastic

    Constructed of heavy duty food grade plastic

    Store up to 100 gallons of fresh drinking water

    Keeps water fresh up to 4 weeks

Remember the human body can only go without water for 3 days.

Norm Bettencourt

Preception Is Everything In Self Defense

When it comes to law the color of the day is grey. Law is not about right or wrong, it is about loop holes and how well your lawyer can defend your case for you. Keep this in mind on how you represent your views on personal protection for it could bite you in the ass and land you in jail when it comes to protecting yourself and loved ones in a self defense situation.

I am all for one in protecting my loved ones and definitely agree with the signs that are displayed below I just wouldn’t display them on my property.

In reality these are the last signs that I want posted on my property for the simple fact that if I ever use force to protect my family in a self defense situation they could backfire on me. The reason they could back fire is due to the fact that they can possibly make me look pro violent in the eyes of a jury and the courts. They instill the idea of two eyes for an eye mythology that I believe in.

Instead you want signs like these.

 First these are the two signs that most often deter your home in being targeted in the first place. Second even if they don’t they make you look neutral so if the day comes when you have to justify your actions of using force before the courts you don’t look like a hot headed pro violent thug. Instead you are seen as a law abiding citizen who feared for his and his families’ safety and that your actions seemed proportional and justifiable in the circumstances.

Remember self defense is not only about protecting yourself and loved ones physically but also protecting yourself psychologically and legally as well.

There’s no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one.

Norm Bettencourt

Understanding Ballistics In Home Defense

Super Survival Food

Here are the two top survival super foods in my books which have a super long shelf life and can be ordered anywhere. 

The first one is honey which never expires and has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties and also has large amounts of friendly probiotic bacteria 

Order it here

The second is leaves from Moringa Drumstick Tree. This tree can be grown pretty much anywhere so regardless of the climate you live in or if you only have space on a small patio balcony in a condo you can plant this hearty tree there. Apparently the leaves grow quicker than weeds and the tree can grow up to twenty feet in height.

The leaves are rich in protein, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C and minerals and also contain vitamins B1, B2, and B3, as well as chromium, copper, fiber, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, and zinc.   

•2 times the protein of yogurt

•7 times the vitamin C of oranges

•3 times the potassium of bananas

•4 times the vitamin A of carrots

•4 times the calcium of milk

The seeds remove from more mature pods and can be eaten like peas or roasted like nuts. No wonder people call this a miracle tree. This is perfect for a survival situation and getting the nutrients that you need for your body to function properly especially during high stress situations. Planting instructions are simple and easy to follow as well.

Order it here

There's no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one.

Norm Bettencourt

Love This Image

You've Won The Battle But Did You Win The War?...Quick Body Survey

Here is a video post on how to do a quick body survey after you have been in a violent altercation so you can buy some time if you are shot or stabbed and get to medical aid if need be.

Hey Suck On This SAWYER!!

We have all heard of the quote “Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink” that is exactly how it is in an urban survival situation after a massive disaster. Water supplies are usually shut down or contaminated in some way and unsafe to drink. Remember the human body can go weeks without food but only days without water. That’s why knowing how to obtain clean, safe, drinkable water should be well thought out before a disaster strikes.

Here is a simple and easy product by Sawyer that you can use without thought which I have personally use and own. 

 Sawyer Personal Water Bottle Filter 1 Liter

    0.1 Micron absolute hollow fiber membrane inline filter

    Removes 99.99999% bacteria and 99.9999% Protozoa

    Polypropylene and polyethylene material is easily field maintainable

    No residual chemical tastes

    Comes with manufacture's 1 million gallon guarantee

There’s no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one.

Norm Bettencourt

Knife Attack Myths

Here is a great video regarding knife attack myths. Valid info up to 3:28.




There's no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one.

Norm Bettencourt

The Secret To Tactical Breathing

Learn tactical breathing skills to help control the affects of adrenaline during a violent altercation.

Spin The Bottle Self Defense Style

Here's a simple training exercise to ingrain the "feel" of your self defense weapon into your muscle memory without using your visual aid.




There's no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one

Norm Bettencourt

Self Defense Conan O'Brien Style

 Self Defense Conan O'Brien Style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDp2iIdLGG4

Recommended Combat Reading

Sorry it’s been a while since my last post I have been busy researching, teaching and training. Hopefully I can get my butt in gear and make more frequent posts in the near future.

In today’s post I would like to endorse a few books that I have read which are written by world renowned psychologists’ and author Lt. Col. Dave Grossman on the topic of the psychology of killing and combat.

I am a firm believer that combat is 90% mental and only 10% physical. Most people who fail to recognize this fail when it comes to protecting themselves or loved ones.

The person who has not mentally trained themselves to harm or take another persons life will not be able to when crap hits the fan, it’s that simple.

This has been well documented throughout history during the war, and with law enforcement personnel who hesitate firing there weapons when they are legally justified to.

There have been some great advancement’s in the last decade when it comes to training law enforcement and military personnel with combat psychology training.

As for training civilians in the psychological aspect of combat many trainers still lag in this area or have the naive idea that physical tactics alone will get the job done.

  

Many trainers as well believe that you cannot mentally prepare or train someone to harm or kill another. This can be proven false by just looking at the new training procedures which have been implemented by law enforcement, FBI and military agencies within the last decade and how it has increased kill ratio stats.

Regardless of where you stand on the subject I would like you to give these few books a try. Now before I give you the links for these let me explain that I do not endorse anyone that I don’t believe in. I have personally read these books and have found that they have a wealth of information inside them. In my personal and humble opinion I believe they should be in everyone’s personal protection library.

I have also used these books as reference guides in my “How To Control Fear Special Report” which you can purchase at http://tactselfdefense.com/tact-fear-management/ for only $7

Click on the links and you will be directed to Amazon.

Warrior Mindset

Mental toughness is essential for elite human performance and especially in high stress situations. While mental toughness is a singular value in both military and law enforcement training and missions, too often, there is a disconnect between talking about and actually training it. Warrior Mindset defines mental toughness and describes its critical need and function in the face of the performance degrading effects of combat, mission or response stress. Warrior Mindset provides the psychological skills that comprise mental toughness to optimize performance, success, safety and survival in the field.

On Killing

The good news is that most soldiers are loath to kill. But armies have developed sophisticated ways of overcoming this instinctive aversion. And contemporary civilian society, particularly the media, replicates the army's conditioning techniques, and, according to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's thesis, is responsible for our rising rate of murder among the young.

Upon its initial publication, ON KILLING was hailed as a landmark study of the techniques the military uses to overcome the powerful reluctance to kill, of how killing affects soldiers, and of the societal implications of escalating violence. Now, Grossman has updated this classic work to include information on 21st-century military conflicts, recent trends in crime, suicide bombings, school shootings, and more. The result is a work certain to be relevant and important for decades to come.

On Combat

On Combat looks at what happens to the human body under the stresses of deadly battle the impact on the nervous system, heart, breathing, visual and auditory perception, memory - then discusses new research findings as to what measures warriors can take to prevent such debilitations so they can stay in the fight, survive, and win. A brief, but insightful look at history shows the evolution of combat, the development of the physical and psychological leverage that enables humans to kill other humans, followed by an objective examination of domestic violence in America. The authors reveal the nature of the warrior, brave men and women who train their minds and bodies to go to that place from which others flee. After examining the incredible impact of a few true warriors in battle, On Combat presents new and exciting research as to how to train the mind to become inoculated to stress, fear and even pain. Expanding on Lt. Col. Grossman s popular "Bulletproof mind" presentation, the book explores what really happens to the warrior after the battle, and shows how emotions, such as relief and self-blame, are natural and healthy ways to feel about having survived combat. A fresh and highly informative look at post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) details how to prevent it, how to survive it should it happen, how to come out of it stronger, and how to help others who are experiencing it. On Combat looks at the critical importance of the debriefing, when warriors gather after the battle to share what happened, critique, learn from each other and, for some, begin to heal from the horror. The reader will learn a highly effective breathing technique that not only steadies the warrior s mind and body before and during the battle, but can also be used afterwards as a powerful healing device to help separate the emotion from the memory. Concluding chapters discuss the Christian/Judeo view of killing in combat and offers powerful insight that Lt. Col. Grossman has imparted over the years to help thousands of warriors understand and come to terms with their actions in battle. A final chapter encourages warriors to always fight for justice, not vengeance, so that their remaining days will be healthy ones filled with pride for having performed their duty morally and ethically. This information-packed book ploughs new ground in its vision, in its extensive new research and startling findings, and in its powerful, revealing quotes and anecdotes from top people in the warrior community, people who have faced the toxic environment of deadly combat and now share their wisdom to help others. On Combat is easy to read and powerful in scope. It is a true classic that will be read by new and veteran warriors for years to come.

Remember There’s No Such Thing As A Dirty Fighter Only An Educated One.

Norm Bettencourt

Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect, Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

How you train is how you will respond in a real life violent situation but remember just because you have trained for a situation doesn’t mean you’re necessarily prepared for it if you’re training habits are self defeating.


You are also only half as good and smart as when you are training when it comes to defending yourself in the real world. You have to make your training realistic and you have to make it count.


Like I stated in the previous chapter I have done countless research when creating the L.E.A.C.H System and have learned through my own experiences with violence how important training fits into the equation.


Here’s what I mean. Years ago I trained with a retired police officer who I will call Bill. He told me a story of what happened to him while training at the police academy. In the scenario, Officer Bill had to chase a subject who was on foot while he was driving his cruiser. During the chase the subject turns down a narrow alley where the police car could not fit through, so Officer Bill had to immediately get out of his cruiser and chase the subject by foot and arrest him. This scenario was practiced countless times at the academy without a problem.



“Just Because You’ve Trained For A Situation Doesn’t Mean
You’re Prepared For It”


After graduating from the academy, Officer Bill found himself in a similar situation in real life. He was driving his police cruiser, saw the suspect on foot and proceeded to chase him. 
                                                                                                                                    


The suspect began running cutting through lawns.  Officer Bill couldn’t chase him with his cruiser, so he decided to proceed on foot. Officer Bill slammed on the brakes, put the cruiser in park, then opened his cruiser door and tried to get out but he couldn’t.  He tried again and again with no success.

                                                                                                                                      
After 5 seconds of struggling to get out of his cruiser, he realized that his seat belt was on and that was what was preventing him from being able to leave his cruiser. The problem was that when he trained at the police academy trainees never had a seat belt on but in reality officers wear their seat belts. Notice how a little change in the conditions could cause a dangerous situation to occur. What if he had to immediately leave his cruiser because he was under heavy gun fire? It would have been a training mistake that could have cost him his life.



“In The Real World You Are Only Half As Good & Smart As How You Train, So Make Your Training As Realistic As Possible”


Remember how you train is how you will respond. There are countless cases such as these with much worse outcomes, such as death or serious injury regarding police officers, civilians and security personnel all due to improper training habits. It’s about how you train not about how often you train. So how do you get more realism out of your combat training? Well here are a few simple suggestions.


Instructors: Having a teacher who has had firsthand experience with violence and understands the effects adrenaline plays on the body is whom you as a student want to learn from. Individuals such as bouncers, bodyguards, military personnel and ex-convicts will give you realistic tactics that will work in a full out violent attack because they themselves have experienced violence and know what works and what doesn’t.


The last person you want to be taught by is from an instructor who runs a strip mall martial arts dojo. They focus on technique, tournaments, and trophies, and usually have had little or no experience with real violence.



"You don't rise to the occasion, you sink to your level of training"
                                                                 Michael J. Ashen Ph.D


Clothing: Train wearing clothing that you would normally wear while going about your everyday life. You don’t have time before a street fight to take your shoes off, put on a white martial arts uniform and stretch before your enemy attacks you. Clothing will restrict your range of motion and the speed of your techniques. You should be practicing your techniques while wearing jeans, boots/shoes and a jacket on to give you a realistic feel of what it’s like to fight with restrictive clothing on.

                                                                                                                            
Visualization:  Many people don’t have time to train, so use visualization techniques when you can’t physically train. The subconscious cannot distinguish what is real from what is imagined.


Athletes have used visualization techniques for years to up their game. As an example, a study was done on a team of basketball players. Half the team was told to practice free throws for two hours each day while the other half were told to visualize making free throws only for two hours a day.


After two weeks each team was tested on their abilities in making free throws and the team that physically practiced had a considerable improvement. The team that visualized also had a considerable improvement which was almost as much as the team that physically practiced, so this shows you the power of visualization.





If you do not have time to train during the day, just before going to bed at night visualize the worse case scenario that can happen to you in a violent situation and see yourself being confident, fearless, powerful, destroying the targets that you attack on your prey’s body, improvising and successfully destroying your victim.
 
      
Combined physical & mental training exercises: You can use this format or re-arrange it so it works for you.

10 fast reps of a tactics on a training partner immediately followed by, 10 reps in slow motion (feel every movement your body is performing just like if you were practicing a slow tai chi movement then immediately followed by, 10 reps of tactical mental imagery that's in real time (sit or lay down when doing so).

View the violent encounter in the first person 4x's, then as a third person 4x's (externally) and 2x's from above like viewing the situation from a sky camera.

Tips when using mental imagery training:
Imagine with all senses: What you would see, hear, feel (both physical and emotional), smell and taste.


Use the best perspective: Imagine as a first person, third person or from above like viewing the situation from a sky camera or combine all three perspectives.

Image correct responses: When you mentally rehearse a response sloppy or incorrectly, you will also physically respond sloppy and incorrectly, make sure you are mentally performing the tactics correctly with precision, speed, power and accuracy.

Image in real time: When you begin imagery training start imaging in slow motion but your objective is to imagine in real time or use both time frames if it works for you.

Practice and imagine problems and success: Imagine not only positive outcomes but negative outcomes such as using your primary weapon on your enemy with no response from your enemy then immediately following through using your back up weapon that way you have answers to your "what if this happens questions".

Make the images vivid: You want to feel that you’re actually experiencing violence for real, feel the warmth of your enemies’ blood on your hands, hearing cars go by, experiencing tunnel vision etc


"Cry in the dojo laugh on the battlefield"

Simulation Training: This type of training is becoming quite huge in the law enforcement and military industry where just like with flight simulators which teach you how to fly a plane so can simulation training give you the tactical edge when it comes to your marksmanship when using firearms. Simulators are quite expensive but you can still use this type of training using a video game component that gets you to aim and fire at moving targets in the first person.

Note: When you take a look at the school mass murders who’s firing rate was very successful in terms of hitting there targets the most amazing thing about there accuracy was that most of them never fired a real gun before. They learned how to shoot playing endless hours of video games


Visual/Audio Exclusion Training: Tunnel vision is a major issue with most people during violence this can be dangerous because you exclude stimuli that could harm you during a violent encounter such as your enemy having friends coming to his aid.


You want to have situational awareness, scan your environment for any dangers or items you can use as an improvised weapon (scanning helps prevent tunnel vision). You can practice this in your everyday life by scanning as your driving.

Another exercise you can do is to sit down and focus on any object while also focusing on what is around you using only your peripheral vision also clue in on the noises that are in the background. Begin at 45 second intervals then proceed up to 2 minutes intervals, perform 5 sets.

You can also practice auditory concentration in a noisy room by concentrating on the conversation you are having with the person in front of you while at the same time zoning out the back ground noise.

Tactical Breathing: Breath in through your nose (abdomen should go out) for a 4 count as you say "calm" in your head or whatever your word of choice may be to create the feeling you choose to feel, hold for 4 seconds, then let it out through your mouth for 4 seconds (abdomen should go inwards), and hold for 4 seconds and repeat (mental reminder BREATHE). You can also do this on a different count if it works better for you. This will regulate your body's reactions to adrenaline and help you to remain calm.


You can also breathe abruptly and deeply four deep breathes in (breath in through your nose as abdomen goes out) and out (out through your mouth, abdomen should go inwards). This will help you psyche yourself up. Try to do this discretely if possible.

 Self Talk: As you walk around during the day listen to what your thoughts are telling you. During the day say to yourself affirmations such as "I'm feeling pumped", I'm feeling ready", "I trust my combat skills", "I can defeat any threat against me" this will help avoid negative self talk that leads to insecurity.

Be a positive thinker, avoid negative thinking and self talk this only leads to anxiety, stress and destroys your confidence levels. Instead be solution orientated/task focused.

Example: Negative talk. You use your stun gun on your enemy and it doesn't affect him. The negative self talk in your head says "Shit I don't believe this he's going to kill me"

Instead use positive talk "Grab my back up weapon and stab into the son of a bitch he's not stopping me".

Bottom line your attitude (thought processes) will determine how you feel, respond and react to situations.


Cue Words: When training each time you strike the bag, dummy or training partner yell “kill” or “destroy” that way you not only dehumanize the criminal but change your “fear to hate”.

Cue Images/Sounds: See yourself as a machine, or see your muscles growing. You can also use images such as a wild animal like a lion going for the kill and hearing the sound of his roar. Play music in your head which psyches you up.

To read the entire chapter visit http://tactselfdefense.com/secrets-of-street-combat-ebook/