If you had been in the same place Elisjsha Dicken was in July 2022 at the Indiana Mall. In case, you are not familiar, he stopped a man with an AR that was shooting in the mall. Elisjsha took 10 shots within 15 seconds at 40 yards. If you have not been pistol shooting, that was a hell of a good distance.

But if you had been there, what would you or could you have done? Do you have first aid training to help any victims? Do you carry a bleed out kit? Even just a tourniquet?

Even if you were armed, and did not feel you could have made the shot, maybe you could have gotten closer. Or wait for the opportunity to catch the attacker off guard, and then neutralize them.

Even if you are a concealed carry permitted person, you are not legally required to engage. But with the right training, you have the ability and the option to engage. If you are not a gun person, consider taking a first aid course and or stop the bleed course, and carrying a tourniquet in your pocket. But above all, don’t be a victim.

My perspective of a victim is someone who has no options. If you have options – self defense training, carry a knife or a gun and the willingness to use it, and or first aid training, you are never a victim. You get to choose when and to what level you get involved.

From a practical perspective, the odds of being in an active shooting situation are low. But it is a good drill to at least think through what your actions could or should be. Use this as a heads up, and plan. Some might choose to never leave there house, others might increase their training activities, but .. above all, consider the scenario, and consider what you could or should do. It is much easier in isolation to preplan than to just react to a situation.

This happened in the Summer of 2020 during a very hot and humid spell. It served as a reminder that if I am not prepared to handle even minor issues with my vehicle – especially during a hot Summer – that I am not adequately assessing my risk elements.

So some summertime vehicle ideas to help you assess and address some vehicle issues: 1) fuel – attempt to never let your gas tank get below half way. This should prevent you from running out of fuel. 2) Consider a service like AAA. This is easy assess albeit not quick to a tow service. 3) Keep a spare set of clothes in your vehicle for this time of year. Keep a blanket just in case you get stuck overnight and need a little warmth. 4) Make sure you have not only a phone charger but also a charged battery with charging cord in there. Top off battery weekly to be sure fully charged. Eve. Better – get 2 batteries and swap a freshly charged one weekly. 5) Make sure your vehicle is being properly maintained. 6) buy and replace a sealed gallon of water each week. When you pull it out of your vehicle use it to water your plants – once the temperature levels out.

When it gets extremely hot or cold, the risk of a exposure based deaths go way up. So be sure you keep these ideas in mind. Add your own or do away with ones that don’t work for you. But any item you remove, be sure you have a good reason way.

Be safe, get trained, and have fun!

This is being written the day after Roe v Wade was overturned and pushed back to the states to decide and the day Biden’s gun Bill is being passed. In other words, both political spectrums are likely to be angered and possibly rioting.

I have my personal opinions on both but will not expand on then here. I will suggest that just maybe we might be being “distracted “ from the other ills facing the United States. My suggestion is not to distracted from the actual ills such as inflation and supply chain issues facing us. Avoid being suckered into a sophomoric argument where platitudes instead of facts are being spewed.

With the brewing civil unrest, it is all the more important to get training, and practice!

Allegedly once he arrived and everyone was off the boats, he ordered the boats burned so that everyone fully understood there was no way back but only forward. In other words, retreat simply was removed as an option.

Sometimes in life we have to severe ties with something in such a way as we can never go back. This is a bold strategy and can force real change. Before deploying such options, it should be thoroughly thought through because by design there is no going back.

So how does this relate to self-defense? First it is another tool in your figurative tool box. More “tools” means more options. Second if you were familiar with it and have been reluctant to do so, consider all pros and cons. Then if you decide to go forward with it, so so boldly and never look back. There are times for new chapters in our lives. YOU GET TO DECIDE WHEN!

One final piece of key information. There is never a guarantee that the new chapter will be better than the previous one. So as you contemplate a new chapter, but bold and beware!

Given the odds of needy and being able to use these skills are very high, I strongly recommend it. All skills are perishable. This is in part why you need to get re-certified every couple of years.

Next item I am planning on addy to my first aid toolbox is a stop the bleed program.

So what are you doing to increase your ability to help yourself and others that you live?

My premise is that self-defense is not limited to just potential physical altercations. When ordering online or frankly any online activity, there are a variety of risks: 1) getting a computer virus, 2) shopping on a fake site, 3) getting your payment information intercepted, etc.

Let’s start with a antivirus program for your computer and phone. If you don’t have and use one, you are having unprotecting computing and can not only get virus from others but can also give them. Apple products are more difficult than others to get virus because you have to type in the admin password and accept it, but it does not mean it is impossible. So if you don’t have one, get one.

Next, be sure you are using some kind of VPN – ESPECIALLY ON A OPEN AND PUBLIC NETWORK. An open network is some place that does not have a password to access. Be sure you home and office use a password to access the wireless network. Also do NOT USE “PASSWORD” as your password.

Bookmark sites you tend to shop with, and do directly to the bookmark to get to the website. If the site does not look right (i.g. different font than usual, misspellings, etc), do not log in or place an order. Sites can be hijacked and redirected.

Another great online safety protocol is to use something like privacy.com. This is a service that essentially allows you to create a custom debit card for a specific vendor or a single one time use. With this specific service, if I have any issues with a merchant, I can just pause any future payments via this method. This is paused until it is unpaused. This is far more convenient that having to pause your bank debit card. I have heard there are other services, but this is the one I am familiar with.

After placing orders, review the order confirmation. If there are any issues, CONTACT THE COMPANY IMMEDIATELY. I used to work for one of the top discount brokerage firms in the country, and I spent most of my time in the electronic order division. If you wait, and they are able to tell, they may hold you accountable for any additional losses that occurred because you failed to bring it to their attention.

Always check your order carefully before placing the order. If something does not look or feel correct, DO NOT PLACE IT.

We have all heard that we are not suppose to reuse passwords. Many of us still do. Using unique passwords is far more easy with an electronic password keeper. I have had great success with 1Password.

Last piece of advice, is to always review your email order confirmations. It is easier to fix something early on.

I found this website today that gets rid of all the monetary excuses. https://www.firstaidforfree.com/. I define self-defense as essentially assessing the risk around you, and having a plan of action for various outcomes. There is a higher risk of someone needing first aid or CPR than shooting the perfect group or being able to take out multiple armed attackers with with your bare hands.

Get trained! If your CPR and/or First Aid certification is not current, at least start with the free course above. It will not give you the same level of training that being in person will, but if this is all you can do right now, start here!

Point being that the best of the best have a single focus and do something every day to further their goal. This reminds me a little bit of the movie City Slickers where the character Curly said the secret to happiness was one thing. Find your one thing and pursue it.

But what if we take these concepts and combine and expand on them. My proposal – and what I usually attempt to do – it to take some kind of action in pursuit of my goals. I have more than one goal. But by taking hopefully positive action towards your goals – martial arts (practicing or at mentally rehearsing), marksmanship drills, spiritual goals, etc, we improve who we are by becoming incrementally better. No one became a master of something the first time they did it. All skills are perishable and require practice

Also remember practice has a way of becoming permanent. So be deliberate with what you are hardwiring .

The article article mentions a several rules of thumb for budgeting: 1) the 1 percent rule – putting aside 1 percent of the total purchase of the home annually, 2) the square foot rule – set aside annually a $1 per livable square foot, and 3) set aside 10 percent of your main monthly expenses (i.e. mortgage, tax and insurance).

But why limit this to just your home. What other items do you use regularly that you know will require maintenance? For many this would be a car. I highly recommend a separate savings account for repairs or maintenance for the vehicle. The amount set aside will in part be based on the age of the vehicle, and what planned maintenance you have for the year. You also want to plan on the “unplanned” items.

By putting money aside, and reserving it for the specific use, you will decrease you need to use a credit card for such repairs. There is a time and a place for credit cards, but unless you are paying them off in full each month, they are essentially a financial cancer that will consume your life. My taking a prevent defense on setting aside funds, you will be much better off.

Also by doing or having your regular maintenance done, you will delay the need for a major repair. Not only will you delay the need for a major repair, but your house and or car will run better.