If you’ve been following ITS Tactical for any amount of time you can tell that we are big advocates of being prepared. For some reason though, it takes a massive disaster, natural or otherwise, for people to be shaken into even just thinking about being prepared let alone actually taking the steps.
Much of the Pacific is being rocked by this most recent earthquake/tsunami and Japan is getting the brunt of it. The death toll continues to rise and this is no laughing matter. Now is the time to be prepared. Actually, yesterday was the time to be prepared. [Read More…]
We’ve all heard that the first rule of a gun fight is to have a gun, but what about the first rule of living? I propose that the first rule of life is “Have the right mindset.”
An important part of mindset is situation awareness, or the way it was always told to me growing up, pay attention. Being aware of our surroundings can do many things for us. It can help us notice our buddy as he trips on something allowing us a quick chuckle. It can help us notice a big smile on a kid’s face, brightening up our world a little bit.
Situational awareness can also help us notice the gun barrel pointed at us. Or, if you are not situationally aware it might not, which is exactly what happened to me… [Read More…]
In the event that things go bad, skills that are considered on-the-job training in Infantry and Spec Ops units are handy to know.
Today we’re going to go over 42 of them that you should commit to memory. While this was a collaboration with Doc from RSKTKR, none of us can take credit for this list, but felt it was important enough to share.
These are tips we’ve collected over the years from various sources including Gunnys, Chiefs, our lessons learned in the service and comments made around the net. [Read More…]
If you remember a few months back, I wrote an article about Dealing with Violent Confrontations, which mentioned a new Ballistic Striking DVD Series that I was asked to participate in.
That DVD series has now been officially released and I’d encourage everyone to check it out. My recommendation has nothing to do with you seeing me get my ass handed to me by Val Riazanov in the Dealing with Armed Opponents DVD and everything to do with how effective his techniques are.
Whether you’re well versed in Systema, or you know absolutely nothing about it, you won’t be disappointed in the quality and effectiveness of Val’s teaching. He has a unique way of breaking down each movement into instruction that everyone can understand.
If you haven’t read it yet, take a few minutes to peruse the Dealing with Violent Confrontations article, and send in any questions you might have for Val, we’re still taking them.
I had a great time learning from Val during the filming of this DVD series and am grateful for the opportunity to work with him.
Dealing with Armed Opponents Vol 4 from Val Riazanov on Vimeo.
It’s safe to call Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman a legend in the military and law enforcement community. Col. Grossman is the author of “On Killing” and “On Combat.” Arguably two of the most advanced and influential books on the psychology and physiology of the down and dirty business of making the world a safer place.
I had the honor and pleasure of attending one of Col. Grossman’s seminar’s earlier this month; after years of hoping for a geographically reasonable distance for one of his popular training sessions my expectations were high, and I can honestly say they were met and exceeded on every level.
A reasonable review of the seminar is simply not possible in a short post, but I’ll attempt to capture some of the flavor and essence of the subject matter for those who may have an interest in attending one of Col. Grossman’s training seminars. [Read More…]
If you’ve been following our articles here at ITS Tactical, you’ve no doubt heard my good friend Jack of The Survival Podcast being mentioned.
I was invited by Jack on Monday, to take part in the filming of the Advanced Ballistic Striking DVD Series that he and his business partner Neil are producing. They flew Systema (Russian Martial Art) expert Val Riazanov in from the UAE to film the DVD’s, and I was asked to assist Val during the weapons disarming portion.
Assisting Val basically meant drawing weapons on him, getting disarmed and thrown to the floor. I’ve trained in Systema before, a few years back when I lived in California, but have never trained with anyone quite like Val.
I learned an incredible amount of information in just the few hours I spent with him Monday, and would like to take this opportunity to share some of that knowledge. I’m also going to heavily note the incredible Podcast that Jack put together that prompted me to write this article of the same headline.
I’d like to encourage every one of you to get over and listen to Jack’s Podcast from yesterday. I feel this is one of his best and most applicable podcast’s to what we do here at ITS. [Read More…]
Hopefully everyone has had a great start to the New Year!
While it’s unbeleivable that nearly a month has past us by, we’d like to throw out ideas for some last minute New Years Resolutions.
We’ve compiled a few of our own, and a few based on an email we received from Neil Strauss’ (author of Emergency) mailing list. He’s got some great insight, and we always enjoy reading what he sends out.
So, if you’ve yet to make your resolutions, or have forgotten them already, give these a read… [Read More…]
Gates of Fire
by Steven Pressfield is another one of those books on the top of our list here at ITS Tactical. We’ve all talked about how this book should be on the required reading list for anyone attempting any type of Spec Ops training. Pressfield gives an in depth look into the Greek’s way of life and their suicide mission at Thermopylae.
Gates of Fire is all about brotherhood, camaraderie, integrity and grit told through the Spartan’s perspective. Anyone that’s ever been around a group of hard charging knuckle draggers can relate to Pressfield’s words, and the sick, twisted and warped sense of humor that comes in the face of adversity.
While it’s been a little over 10 years since it’s first publishing, the words still ring true… [Read More…]
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