mercop

Another way that we mimic the animal world is as fathers. Once we do our part and the children are born we are back at work doing out best to provide for them. The mothers are left to take care of the kids in the house, in transit, and wherever they go.



It comes as no surprise that the majority of MCS students are males, as I am sure the same is for the majority of other companies. Most guys who come in are the heads up type anyway, and as we know awareness allows you to avoid the majority of situations. They come to train for the situations they cannot avoid. Who has more of a need for realistic training, a heads up man who is well equipped, moving through life on his own, or a mother toting three kids around town? Who is the easier target? The main difference is that the man is in a self-defense role; the woman is in a protection role. I have to wonder why I am not seeing more guys bringing the mother of their children to class, or at least attending classes that provide information that is easily transferred.



I am not sure about any other husbands and fathers reading this but my family is my world. Because of that, I go to great pains to make sure that I know what hat I am wearing when I walk out the door. Am I the lone wolf or am I the caretaker?



Where does your family fit into your training? Are you going out and equipping yourself and training to defend against a few evil doers while you are alone, or the much more likely event of it happening when you have the family in tow?



Forums are full of posts of men asking what gun, knife, or whatever should I get for my wife to carry. The question needs to pose to them, not other guys, and not to single women who don’t have to hold a little ones hand everywhere they go. Moms with kids in tow just have different considerations.



Talking the wife into carrying tools she does not feel comfortable with is worthless, as a matter of fact it is more than worthless, she may lose valuable time fumbling with it instead of doing something else that may save her life.



There are two major points I am trying to get across in this article. The first is that you need to take a hard look at your training if you spend anytime being responsible for others. You doing anything besides weapons training? If you wife can’t or won’t carry a weapon, do you have training you can share with her? Can you differentiate between self-defense skills and protecting others? Have you trained to maintain physical contact with your wife and kids if attacked? Do you have an adaptable plan? Consider having your wife attend a class. You may learn she is more adept than you thought.



The second thing is to consider if your training is technique or principle based? Can you share it with others in your life, with people who have a higher likelihood of needing it than you? If not you may want to evaluate how you spend your time.


Personal preparedness and protection is a lifestyle, not a rank, certificate, or club.

__________________
2010 MCS Calander
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgb7wjh3_299f8tncbcz

threefeathers

A great question and thread. In my own family my son's are military vets and hold their CCW's. My wife is very familiar with firearms and can shoot well. We have motion lights, big dog, high intensity flashlights and firearms in a layered defense.
\Several of my neighbors aren't so prepared but all agreed to have a phone tree which works.

I have my own comjpany up and running. Gator Farm Tactical Applications LLC and we have been very busy in assisting folks in hardning their homes and giving proper firearms training. I live in a military community and one of the unintended consequences of the war is the absence of many parents into the war zone. The result is a plethora of pedophiles into the area knowing that kids will be watched by only one parent. I hate to quote Hillary, but we are in a situation that it takes a village to safely raise children.

Like many here I'm an LFI grad, military retiree, and avid reader of literature on the subject. Training by all members of the family in the behavior necessary to save lives is as important now as it was in the so called wild west.

RMS

Once again, a great post and very thought provoking.

threefeathers

mercop free some space in your I M's :-)