On this page:
Defensive Tactics: A Critical Review | Conflict in Training | Angles | Distance| End it NOW | Force| Gun retention| Muscle| Mushy Movement| Pain And Submission | Patching| Power| Takedowns Unnecessary Movement | Yellow Tinted Back Up And Other Aggravations |

When it comes to stuff not working, police/correctional officers aren't alone. In fact, it's a problem across the board. Any kind of combative training runs the risk of decay.

By decay, we mean something specific. We often joke that, in combative situations, FIAAO. (Failure Is Always An Option)(1). While nowhere near as inspiring or macho as Failure Is Not An Option, this is real life. Things don't always work out. Over and above the ever present Mr. Murphy and his law, there's the fact that a uncooperative opponent makes things difficult. The raw truth is anyone can be beat, and this is especially true if you are facing -- with restrictions -- a larger, younger, stronger or more physically fit opponent -- who doesn't have any restrictions. And of course, either yellow tinted back up or back up that gets in your way doesn't help either. But those aren't what we mean when we say 'decay.'

What we're talking about is: When what you have been given as defensive tactics have been intentionally watered down, poorly explained, not properly executed and/or not integrated into how you move.

An analogy we often use is a car with no engine and flat tires. Technically it's still a car, but it isn't a useful vehicle.

You'll get a lot of useful information how to fix your defensive tactics on the Martial Arts, Self-Defense, Defensive Tactics Training page, but on this page we want to address issues specific to officers and their use of arrest and control or restraint tactics.

Defensive Tactics A Critical Review
There's an old scientific maxim: You can't get an accurate answer if you don't ask accurate questions. This page will help you understand that there is a bigger problem than a defensive tactic not working. That IS a problem, but that isn't THE problem. This page will help you start asking accurate questions about problems with your control tactics.

Conflict in Training
Have you ever considered that there is a conflict between your shooting training and your defensive tactics? Shooting and defensive tactics require different types of body movement. This can create a conflict in how you want to move. One training says to do this, another says do that -- and you end up stuck in the middle (see also Mushy Movement).

Angles
Did you know the human body is designed to withstand force from the front? Equally bad news is the kind of force we deal with the best is horizontal, parallel to the ground. If you aren't using angles you're working way too hard ... and allowing him the best chance to effectively resist.

Distance
Recognizing when you are in attack range is a very important aspect of Control Presence, however, many officers don't realize the importance distance plays in effective defensive tactics.

End it NOW
Your best chance of NOT being injured is to achieve a quick and effective victory over a resisting suspect. Our attitude is that no conflict should go beyond three moves. You heard us right. By the third move, he's down and you've moved into restraint. This requires both a very specific mindset, strategy and an understanding of effective movement.

Force
Face it, not everyone is compliant. In fact, sometime you have to tangle with someone who decides he wants to use you as a bowling ball. In our book at least, as equally important as being able to generate force is being able to keep the force he is offering from breaking you in half. After all, it is called 'defensive tactics.'

Gun Retention
You know in any situation there is at least one gun present ... yours. Once you understand effective movement, then gun retention becomes much easier.

Muscle
One of the bigger problems with trying to use muscle in defensive tactics is that you have to be standing still. That not only increases your chances of getting hit, but it allows the person you are trying to restrain to fight you harder.

Mushy Movement
Imagine you have two vehicles, one has a regular engine, the other a diesel engine. In order to run, each need a different kind of gas. Different tactics are like these different engines. Each has a required type of movement (fuel) Mushy Movement is what occurs when you end up blending different types of body movement. The result is like mixing gasoline with diesel, you get something that doesn't work for either.

Pain And Submission
Ever notice that when you hurt someone, they fight harder? Apparently some policy makers -- who'd been out of the field for a while -- didn't undestand that. Here we take a more practical approach for officers to the subject of inflicting pain in hope of getting submission.

Power
The problem with trying to apply force in a situation isn't that you don't have enough. By simply moving you are generating incredible power. The problem is if you don't know how to maintain it, it's not unlike trying to bail out a boat with a spaghetti strainer. You're losing most of it. This page teaches you how to effectively deliver your Power.

Patching
Yes we know we're not in alphabetical order by putting patching after power. The reason we did this is to get you to read the power page first in order to understand how the most common ways people try to patch their movement ... and in doing so, increase their energy loss and destroy their effective movement.

Takedowns
Ever felt like a bronco rider? How about a five year old being dragged around by a huge dog on a leash? There are some subjects that it seems no matter what technique you try on them, they just don't go down. This page will help you understand why takedowns go wrong and what to do about it.

Unnecessary Movement
Pick a destination fifty miles away that you are going to race someone to. When the flag is dropped, the person you are racing starts off immediately. You on the other hand, drive your car to a destination 50 miles in the opposite direction. Then go speeding back again to where you originally started and still try to win the race. That's what unnecessary movement is to your defensive tactics.

Yellow Tinted Back Up And Other Aggravations
There are all kinds of problems that can result from working with someone. Here we discuss various back up problems and how they can affect what you are doing tactically.

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1) Pronounced Fie-aye-O Return to Text