Jeff Cooper

Stumbling across the interweb, I came across this piece written in 1992 by Barry Needham about his first visit to Gunsite to take the API 250 General Pistol course.  This was at the time when “The Guru”, Lt.Col. Jeff Cooper, was at the helm.

It’s a good read with some great personal insight towards what the experience of studying under Cooper was like.  You’ll also learn the definition of “Tricyclephobia”.

I believe this week I’m going to focus in on more firearms stuff.  Remembering the gunfighter rule book; mindset is the most important thing.  I’d just felt it necessary to throw out a few common sense things that all of us see people do and we do ourselves when walking around.  Life is temporary, live until you’re supposed to die, not before hand.

Get off the damn phone when your walking down the street.  You are a soft creature in a hard world.  The front bumper of a car vs. you in a fight, the car wins.  Cell phones are the most rudimentary form of security, portable to everywhere you go, the ability to call your friends to meet up for drinks after work is just as important as being able to call 911.  Just don’t walk and talk; that how accidents happen and people get hurt.  The same applies to text messaging.  Some states are now writing don’t text while drive laws because it’s such a problem.  Really folks?  Are our collective minds like steel traps that have rusted shut?  These states are also the same states that had to ban people from talking on the cell phone when they are driving.

When you do stop to make / answer a call; take the opportunity too look around before reaching into your person to grab your phone.  I have a rather expensive iPhone and in no point in my life will I ever be in the mood to chase someone down to retrieve it if the would be thief decides they think they want my phone more than I do.

Additionally, when making a call, but your back to a hard surface; like a brick wall.  No point in leaving your backside exposed while your attention is elsewhere.  Not only is this a wiser choice for your personal security, you stay the hell outta everyone else’s way when your on the phone.  It’s called a sideWALK for a reason, not a ’sideobstruct’.  Common sense – it’s still free.  On a related note, don’t walk outta the house with a cell phone that wont hold a charge longer than you’ll be outta the house plus a couple extra hours added on as a ‘fuck-up’ factor.

Take the headphones outta your ears when your walking around.  Recently I ran down a woman who left her purse on the bus.  Despite running after her and calling out to her (I’m not at all subtle when I yell) she proceeded to keep walking.  It wasn’t until I ran her down, still yelling at her the whole way, get in front of her and obstruct her path did she realize what was going on.  It’s worth noting I wasn’t the only one trying to flag her down either.  What if I wasn’t trying to return her purse, what if I wanted to hurt her?  If you insist on wearing headphones while traveling, leave one ear free.  Yes, the music is not as immersive - but that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

When you’re out and about, keep your head on a swivel.  Not not only possible risks, but police presence in your area.  It can be more than slightly unsettling to discover how few there really are in our communities from budget cutbacks recently.  Also note how the local police react to crimes.  Is it cool and professional, or do they throw the entire force at a problem, thus pulling patrol units off their regular rounds.  Modify your lifestyle on what you see.

Wear clothes that make sense.  I admit I’m far from fashion conscious.  I have my preferred style of dress that I can be seen in 99% of the time I’m out and about.  Long sleeve collared shirt, rolled to the elbows and untucked from my slacks.  A sort of very relaxed buisness casual with supportive shoes.  By no means trendy but it is discrete.  I can tuck in my shirt, roll my sleeves down then scrounge a tie and jacket if need be to dressed up in a hurry.  I wear what I wear because it’s modular.  I also wear what I wear because I can run like hell if the mongol hordes come screaming o’er the hills.

I acknowledge that a girls legs look a bit better in heels.  I also acknowledge that a girl who’s prepared for anything probably has her head screwed on straighter than the girl in heels.  The luxury of the purse is that you can bring a big one if you like.   Hell, pack an extra pair of shoes in there.  You can see this done at offices in every city of most of the world every single business day.  Woman walks to work in running shoes, transition to heels, goes to work and on the way home, adapts back to sneakers.

Look around you from time to time.  You don’t need to keep a running head count of who is around you in every room you walk into; just keep a general idea of what’s going on; if it looks wrong, it probably is.  Furthermore; know your exists, just like the flight attendant tells you on the airplane, your closest exit may be behind you.

Another word about exists; how many times have you seen a group of burly looking thick-necks walk in and demand they get a booth in the back of the restaurant so they can ‘keep an eye on things.’ Okay, fine; be that way, just don’t put your head down when your food comes and suddenly expect danger to not arrive when your eating suddenly.  When I go to a restaurant I just pick a space where I have easy access to the exits.  If trouble brews I can get my friends and family outta range of whatever the bad guy’s feel like doing.

Don’t go to places that have metal detectors if you don’t need to.  Sure, everyone inside the club is unarmed; but everyone outside the club with a baseball bat and a desire to harm you knows this as well.  Furthermore; if a club has enough of an issue with violence that it needed to spend the money to buy the damn metal detectors, isn’t it a safe bet that that isn’t the best place to be consuming alcohol and loosing your better judgement intentionally?

Be aware of your surrounding’s.  You’re rarely out of reach of a blunt object to ward off an attacker with wherever you are.  In the gym? grab a few 5lb plates and throw them at your attackers head, close the distance and then hit them in the throat with one.  In an office? grab a letter opener or a simple pen.  It’s amazing how deep a pen can go into the body with just a little bit of force.  In the kitchen?  A frying pan full of hot liquids or food makes a great start, then take the pan directly to the brain pan of you assailant.  One more work about kitchens: cutlery.   Need I say more?  At the library or newsstand?  A tightly rolled newspaper can be used rather effectively as a club.  Additionally; what witness statement would be framed at the precinct with the words “… and then he beat his about the heads and face with my copy of ‘Lucky’.”  In a bar, grab a bar stool, there not bolted down you know.  In the Library; use a hard cover book’s binding edge and swing for the fences.  Your ability to damage an attacker is limited only by your creativity.  Keeping your keys readily accessible gives you lets of nice pointy things to go for the eyes with.

An attacker is not going after his prey because he wants a fight.  If you put up a fight they’ll probably make a break for it rather then try to fight it out.  A little bit of spine will get you far in this world.  A bit of spine and a dash of courage will get you farther.

I close with two simple guidelines;

a.) look around you from time to time; you’ll never know what you start seeing

b.) be a sheepdog; start by reading Jeff Coopers book “Principles of Self Defense” it’s more of pamphlet that can be read cover to cover in only an hour or two and it’s certainly not dull.  Everything will flow from this.

Last minute addition, not really related to this blog directly, but good motivation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plk8fRSsrgc&feature=related Team America, fuck yeah!

The following was drawn from my years of personal experience of carrying a rifle, often an M240 as well, on behalf of Uncle Sam and the Untied States Cavalry.  Besides that, I’ve worked many years as a battalion and company level as both an armorer and Master Gunner – small arms, where I trained a fair number of people how not only how to shoot, but how to fight – two very different things entirely.  I’ve also established a fairly descent library on all things related to MIndset, Skills, Tactics and Gear.  I draw from modern writers and all the way back to classical Japanese literature like ‘The Hagakure’ and ‘The Book of Five Rings’.  Finally; I expose myself to people who are better gunfighters than I am on a regular basis.  

I’ve borrowed heavily from Mr. Yeager and the ‘Tactical Response’ doctrine from doing things.  I did so in Iraq multiple times and I’m still alive; some people that have tried to kill me are not.  I don’t need much else to convince me that they’ve gone and done something right in the way they present their material and teach it.

1.) The root word of gunfight is not ‘gun’, it is ‘fight’.  Plan accordingly.  Guns are merely tools and a means to an end.  In a fist fight the cat that brings a ‘Bic’ pen to the fight has a significant tactical advantage.  A gun is no different.  No matter what the critical incident is; it will always be a fight, regardless of the accessories to the desire to kill.

2.) If you know your walking into a fight; walking the other direction is a MUCH, MUCH safer choice.  The best way to survive / escape unscathed a fight is to not attend.

3.) If you have no choice about whether or not your fighting; bring a weapon.  Everything in the world need friend.  If you carry a knife everywhere you go, a back-up knife is great idea.  The same advice applies to firearms.  Remember those camping trips as a kid where you took your poncho every year even if it never rained once?  Wanna bet it woulda rained every day if you hadn’t brought a poncho?  In short: Two is one and one is none; bring a back-up.

3a.) Bring a back-up person.  There is NO reason to get in a fight by yourself when you can get into a fight all your friends.

4.) Be polite, professional and prepared to kill every mother-fucker in your AO until the fight is resolved.  I didn’t say hurt, I didn’t say restraint, I said kill.  Every fight that starts outside of the dojo, the octogon or the ring is a fight to the death.

5.) Have a plan.  Much like a back up knife; a back-up plan can really save your ass.  Remember the old adage: “No plan survives contact with the enemy.”

6.) Whatever you choose to carry to defend yourself with; whether it’s a firearm, a knife, OC spray (e.g. ‘mace’ or pepper spray) make sure it works EVERY SINGLE TIME you present it to your assailant, or if your unfortunate enough assailants.

7.)  Bullets are like bubble gum in fifth grade.  If you didn’t bring enough to share with everyone you’re in big, big trouble.

8.) When the hammer comes down act effectively at a pace that reflects the fact that your life depends on the speed of your actions.  This doesn’t mean overreact without thought.  Calling for an MLRS mission on a ‘grid square mission’ (rocket jockey’s and 13F’s will know what I’m talking about) is overkill when someone’s trying to grab your wallet / purse.  Granted this is a overly colorful reaction to a theoretical situation, but the advice is sound.

9.) If your not under cover, you should be moving towards it.  The immediate is a great time to put a barrier capable of absorbing heavy caliber munitions between you and your attacker(s).

10.) Anything worth killing is worth killing a lot.  If one bullet will do the job, a dozen will do 12x a better job.  If slashing your assailants throat will stop them; slamming your blade into their sub-corated artery after you slash their throat will induce fatal blood loss faster, thus preventing them from having the blood pressure to kill you right back.

11.) Only hits count.  Connecting with your enemy slowly is much a vastly superior alternative to missing quickly.

12.) Your ass IS responsible for everything you connect with.  Don’t be surprised if bystanders feel they have the obligation to sue you because you hit them with a knife slash follow through or a missed bullet.

12a.) If you carry a firearm; load it with bullets that will stop inside of a person.  Ball ammunition is not a defensive carry ammunition; hollow points are.  Only carry an ammunition that you have range-proven to have feed thru your weapon with the least number of malfunctions.  Again, only hits count.  A 147gr 9mm round that doesn’t feed as reliably as a 124gr 9mm round is inferior to the lighter weight round because that particular lighter weight round will go ‘bang’ more reliably.  If the bullet never leaves the gun, it never hits what the gun is pointed at.

13.) All those high speed, low drag stances you learned in a martial arts class, knife fighting course or at the range are a study in academics.  A fight is visceral; adjust accordingly.  Additionally; if your able to stand in a textbook correct stance, you have failed to observe rule #9 – finding cover and getting your ass under it.

14.) Give your enemy dilemma’s, not problems.  A problem is one form of attack, a dilemma is two mutually supporting attacks.  If your enemy is skilled they might know how to defeat X, your enemy might know how to defeat Y, but if they are on the receiving end of X and Y simultaneously; well now, they’re pretty much screwed now aren’t they.

15.) Only the dead have tried to fight fair.  Winner’s cheat.  Then they go home and write the history books about how they didn’t cheat.  Your first fair fight will be your last, either the experience will be a terminal one for you or you’ll survive and you’ll learn to cheat next time your confronted with a dynamic situation again.

16.) If given the opportunity to detain your assailant; assume they have a back-up weapon (or many for that matter).  Have them keep their hands high above their head, it’s to easy to tape another knife or extra gun at the base of the neck to grab when they get instructed to ‘put their hands behind their head.’

17.) I trust everyone – after they have zip cuffs on there wrists, thumbs, ankles and have been kicked in the stomach a few times.  A taser will substitute nicely.

18.) All of combat is slaughter and maneuver.  The greater your skill at maneuver, the less the need for slaughter.  In short; attack the flanks and protect your own.

19.) Assume the bag guy’s brought friends.  After you fight one, scan your entire area while incorporating as much lateral and diagonal movement as possible to cover 361 degrees of territory.  Why 361?  To reenforce the concept of scanning completely.  Why the movement?  You don’t know if someone’s lining up on you for a shot that you can’t see yet, stay mobile and unpredictable to stay alive.

20.) When scanning for hostiles look for body parts.  E.g. look for feet  or rounded shoulders of bad guys hiding behind cover or concealment.

21.) the sooner you win the fight, the sooner the bad guy’s have the opportunity to hurt or kill yourself, your family, your team, or your friends.  

22.) If you haven’t read “The principles of self defense” by COL Jeff Cooper, you are wrong.  If you’ve read it, take time to re-read it occasionally, to be frank; ’shit-may-save-your-ass-one-day.’

22a.) If you haven’t read ‘The Hagakure’ by Yamamoto Tsetsunomo you are wrong.  

23.) Investing in a instructional DVD or book for dealing with fighting is a good first step.  The second step involves actually going to professional coursework.  

24.) Mindset is the most powerful thing on the battlefield.  The man with intent and a hammer is far more dangerous then a man with a howitzer and no desire to use it.

24a.) The hierarchy of important things to have is as follows;

1.) Mindset

2.) Skill

3.) Tactics

4.) Gear  (this has been placed last on purpose, because once again the story of the man with the hammer versus the man with the howitzer and who had the mindset to do harm)

25.)  After a Critical incident your not weak for wanting to ‘talk it out’  Therapists are there for a reason.  Some times all you may need are a few friends and a case a beer to sort out what just happened, other times you might need an extended set of sit downs with a professional head doc.

26.) Win first, questions later.  It’s better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.

27.)  If you go to a place that has metal detector to get inside, everyone on the outside knows you don’t have a weapon on your person as they wait for you to come back out.  Furthermore, any place with metal detectors has had enough of a history of violence that they needed to install metal detectors.  Ask yourself how badly you need to get inside that facility and whether it’s worth it.  If it’s an airport, that’s one thing, if it’s a night club it’s probably not.

Thank’s to (in no paticular order) David Kenick, FM 7-8 (a.k.a 3-21.8) James Yeager, the highly enlighted members of http://www.getoffthex.com ; Massad Ayoob, Col Jeff Cooper, The Drill Sergeants of I Troop, 6/15 Cavalry – class of January 2005.

Apologies if credit is missing where it is due.  Any mistakes the author takes full credit… uh, I mean responsibility,  for.

Jeff Cooper of H2Outfiffers shared with me a simple analogy to explain weather cocking. A common definition of weather cocking is that “a boat moving forward points into strong winds”. I have heard some people say that wind pulls the front of a kayak. I have never felt wind pull me. Then I have heard that wind pushes the back of the kayak, and a lower volume stern will decrease its surface area. Wind pushing the back of a boat is an interesting idea when the paddler is of average size.  On a sailboat, wind pushes the sail, and a person in a kayak is more apt to catch the wind than their stern due to their increased surface area.  Unless the surface area of the stern is greater than the paddler’s torso. All of these aforementioned ideas can make a person’s head spin.

Thankfully, there is the picture of an icebreaker that can make weather cocking easily understood.

The front of an icebreaker is static. Behind the ship is a smooth waterway. The back of the boat glides free and this is where boaters steer their craft. Forward motion of all sea going vessels produces this effect. Wind always has the most push against the tallest and most exposed surface. The body is what wind pushes. The stern of the kayak slips downwind due to the push on the paddler. The person moving the kayak forward is the cause that produces the effect of the back of the kayak to slip downwind.

To compensate for this natural action use a: rudder, skeg, stern draw, and have your forward stroke looked at.

And then there are the other variables that can increase the apearence of weather cocking: current, flowing seas, hull design, paddler’s weight, how gear is ballence within the hull, the length of the paddler’s paddle, and the paddler’s forward stroke.  All of these variables can increase the apearance of weather cocking.  And we will explore each variable in future posts.

—Jeff

]]> http://kennethedwards.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/jeff-cooper/ Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:51:34 +0000 Kenneth Edwards http://kennethedwards.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/jeff-cooper/

A friend of mine. Amamzing Pianist.

Who’s new?

Back in June I did a round-up of how Sheffield people and organisations are using the micro-blogging site Twitter, which became the basis for the Sheffield Twitter users page.

I’ve had another look to see who or what else from the city has popped up in Twitter. Some of these accounts seem a bit stagnant, but then you never know when they might spring back into life…

radio2XS (Sheffield-based online radio station, set up by Jeff Cooper, formerly of Hallam FM)
http://twitter.com/radio2xs

RPG photography (award-winning Sheffield photographer; this may be a personal Twitter account)
http://twitter.com/arepeejee

Studio dust (a small, creative studio specialising in design; also on Flickr)
http://twitter.com/dustcollective

UK logo design (the design studio of Taylors graphic design, offering logo, web and print design)
http://twitter.com/designforum

Joining more dots (a Twitter account in its infancy; the website says that this company ‘looks to imaginative ways to use digital media and web services to enhance communication and collaboration, in business, education and health care’)
http://twitter.com/joiningmoredots

Plain advice (boutique marketing agency; looks quite new – the impression I get is that digital marketing is not their background)
http://twitter.com/chrisbell

Learning, teaching and assessment in higher education (again, looks like a personal Twitter account, however the accompanying blog features and interviews about innovation in learning and teaching from Hallam university)
http://twitter.com/amiddlet50

I won’t paraphrase, I won’t analyse, I will just bask in the light of progress…[wow, that sounded profound]…links to the story are at the bottom as well as a revisiting of the actual project in question!

The one person who didn’t vote for it is worried that the Collinsville School District will be completely overrun by new students coming from the potential addition of over 1,600 new homes. The fear is legitimate, but ultimately a 4-1 vote won over and we should see attorney and lead investor of Saint Louis Soccer United get his expansion team within 90 days or so.

Clearly, if there is no team – the deal will most likely be off. This is exciting stuff either way!! Congrats to you St. Louis fans, I hope it continues to move in your direction.

Read it up. 

The proposed Collinsville Soccer Complex.