{"id":61470,"date":"2016-08-01T07:04:16","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T11:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=61470"},"modified":"2016-08-01T07:04:16","modified_gmt":"2023-08-20T01:20:48","slug":"should-i-shoot-gun-free-zone-not-helpless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/should-i-shoot-gun-free-zone-not-helpless\/","title":{"rendered":"Ep. 14 Should I Shoot? &#8216;Gun-Free Zone&#8217; Doesn&#8217;t Mean You&#8217;re Helpless"},"content":{"rendered":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/KFW_1195-KW.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"should-i-shoot-gun-free-zone-not-helpless\" title=\"Ep. 14 Should I Shoot? 'Gun-Free Zone' Doesn't Mean You're Helpless\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Ep. 14 Should I Shoot? 'Gun-Free Zone' Doesn't Mean You're Helpless\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-61471\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/KFW_1195-KW.jpg\" alt=\"KFW_1195-KW\" width=\"900\" height=\"601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/KFW_1195-KW.jpg 900w, https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/KFW_1195-KW-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/KFW_1195-KW-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/KFW_1195-KW-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a>\n<p><em><strong>Editor\u2019s Note:<\/strong> The following is a post from Sammy Reese, a former Marine Corps Artillery Officer and retired police officer from California. He is a part-time range master for the police department he retired from as well as a life-long martial artist and combatives coach.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Check out the last five episodes in this series:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/should-i-shoot-ep-9-road-rage\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"should-i-shoot-gun-free-zone-not-helpless\" title=\"Ep. 14 Should I Shoot? 'Gun-Free Zone' Doesn't Mean You're Helpless\">Ep. 9 Should I Shoot? Road Rage<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/ep-10-shoot-restaurant\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"should-i-shoot-gun-free-zone-not-helpless\" title=\"Ep. 14 Should I Shoot? 'Gun-Free Zone' Doesn't Mean You're Helpless\">Ep. 10 Should I Shoot? Restaurant Etiquette\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/should-i-shoot-inside-the-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"should-i-shoot-gun-free-zone-not-helpless\" title=\"Ep. 14 Should I Shoot? 'Gun-Free Zone' Doesn't Mean You're Helpless\">Ep. 11 Should I Shoot? Inside the Home<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/ep-12-shoot-spare-parachute\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"should-i-shoot-gun-free-zone-not-helpless\" title=\"Ep. 14 Should I Shoot? 'Gun-Free Zone' Doesn't Mean You're Helpless\">Ep. 12 Should I Shoot? Spare Parachute<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/ep-13-shoot-disparity-force\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"should-i-shoot-gun-free-zone-not-helpless\" title=\"Ep. 14 Should I Shoot? 'Gun-Free Zone' Doesn't Mean You're Helpless\">Ep. 13 Should I Shoot? Understanding Disparity of Force<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The last 13 installments have revolved around the title \u201cShould I Shoot?\u201d Without beating the obvious drum, you have to be armed if you are asking that question. What if you find yourself in a well-regulated \u201cgun-free zone,\u201d and by regulated I mean you have to pass through a metal detector and are subject to search or pat-down before you are permitted to enter? Air travel is the first thing that comes to mind, but there are many more places into which even off-duty police officers are not permitted to enter with a firearm or even a knife. Pro baseball and football games, stadium concerts and supercross races are a few examples. I recently attended the supercross races and I have to say it felt very strange being completely unarmed, especially when I got a look at the event security guards. Some will say, \u201cIf I can\u2019t carry my gun, then I\u2019m not going in.\u201d This is your choice, but it limits places you can go.<\/p>\n<p>For the better part of 40 years, personal defense has been a huge part of my life. My journey started at a young age when I got tired of getting bullied and beaten up. What started as \u201clearning to fight\u201d grew into teaching others how to stay safe in an oftentimes not-so-nice world.<\/p>\n<p>Growing up, the phrase I heard the most as it related to defensive skill was something along the lines of, \u201cThat guy knows how to take care of himself.\u201d It was a given that the person in question was a good fighter and not to be messed with. During my journey, I\u2019ve trained with some guys and girls who really looked the part of someone who could take care of themselves, and I\u2019ve also been around some who, at first glance, didn\u2019t look like much but that transformed into a very devastating fighter in the ring or on the mats. Don\u2019t judge a book by the cover.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of your physical prowess, the keys to acquiring defensive skills are the dedication to train realistically and to do so in the mindset of a warrior. One without the other won\u2019t be enough. History tells us that we will fight as we have trained, and this applies to unarmed as well as armed combat. No new skills will be acquired in the middle of a fight for your life. You have to have already thought about the \u201cwhat if?\u201d questions and made the decision you will fight for your life.<\/p>\n<p>If you are going to be in an unarmed zone alone or with your family, you have to stay just as aware and frosty as you would if you were armed. The chief difference is that if it hits the fan, what you can do to defend yourself and loved ones will be limited to the empty-hand skills you possess and your ability to find and employ improvised weapons. The most heavily publicized improvised weapon is the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s\/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=tactical+pen\" campaign=\"TacticalPen\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\">tactical pen<\/a>.\u201d Don\u2019t get wrapped up in the name; it\u2019s a regular, functioning pen but built out of stronger materials. This means that it can be used to strike soft targets on the body and can also be used to facilitate some control techniques. I have a few, but I\u2019ve found that a simple Sharpie permanent marker works pretty well in a pinch (and costs a lot less).<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll never forget the beating I took in training from an \u201cold man\u201d who was probably my current age when I was about 16. I was armed with two 26-inch Escrima sticks \u2014 long rattan straight batons used in martial arts training \u2014 and he was using a rolled-up magazine. Despite the differences in our weapons, it felt like he was hitting me with a\u00a0baseball bat. Improvised weapons are only limited by our imagination. Look around the room you are in and see how many items could be used as a weapon if you needed one.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve talked a lot about software (our brains and training) and hardware (mostly firearms or some defensive skill) as well. We, as individuals, have to make the choice to do everything we possibly can to ensure our personal safety and that of our loved ones. It\u2019s never too late to work on learning that next save-your-life skill.<\/p>\n<p><em>For more critical information on the use of deadly force and other firearms and self-defense topics, visit <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscca.com\/GunsAmerica\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"should-i-shoot-gun-free-zone-not-helpless\" title=\"Ep. 14 Should I Shoot? 'Gun-Free Zone' Doesn't Mean You're Helpless\"><em>www.uscca.com\/GunsAmerica<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the better part of 40 years, personal defense has been a huge part of my life. My journey started at a young age when I got tired of getting bullied and beaten up. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":61471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,234,262,216],"tags":[132,586,291,642],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-61470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gunsamerica-authors","8":"category-columns","9":"category-defensive-use-of-firearms","10":"category-s-h-blannelberry","11":"tag-buzz","12":"tag-column","13":"tag-dgu","14":"tag-should-i-shoot"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ep. 14 Should I Shoot? &#039;Gun-Free Zone&#039; Doesn&#039;t Mean You&#039;re Helpless<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For the better part of 40 years, personal defense has been a huge part of my life. 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