Monday, August 25, 2008 Rama: Unarmed and dangerous By Karlon N. Rama Stage Five
ARMED, so the saying goes, beats unarmed all the time. I agree. But what if the bad guy grabbed you by the hand before you could reach for your holster?
Firearm owners asked themselves that question and decided to attend the advanced shooting class headed by firearm instructor Rey Abad and co-sponsored by the Kamagong Gun Club over the weekend.
The class covered firearm safety, the laws on justifiable homicide and a course in unarmed self-defense conducted last Saturday by Romy Kho Sensei of the Musubi Aikido Dojo and three other instructors.
The scenario is that the victim is armed but caught by surprise.
The participants were taught how to overcome the so-called freeze reflex by instinctive striking, called Atemi.
They were then taught to create distance or Ma Ai and, in some cases, forcing the attacker away by manipulating his joints or nerve points, to allow the would-be victim to draw and neutralize the threat.
Neutralizing the threat, of course, doesn’t mean having to fire the drawn weapon; but to control the would-be attacker and force a change of heart. Sometimes, the best way to do that is at gunpoint.
Romy Sensei, himself a gun owner, explained that a firearm is most efficient at certain distances. If the defender, albeit armed and trained in the use of the gun, remains at contact distance with the attacker, he or she cannot take full advantage of the firearm’s efficiency.
“The attacker can always try to disarm you,” he said.
But if the defender is able to move away from the attacker, the superiority of the firearm as a defensive weapon then comes into play.
“If necessary, we have to force that distance by throwing the attacker to the ground or pushing the person back. And unarmed self defense training gives the modern warrior that capability,” he added.
The participants were taught two simple techniques–Shiho-nage, or the four-corner throw technique, and the Ni-kyo, the second basic technique of Aikido.
The Shiho-nage is an effective but simple form of a wrist lock that can end with the defender throwing the attacker to the ground or pinning the attacker into submission.
During yesterday’s class, the students were able to perform the technique against an unarmed attacker and on one armed
attacker with a knife.
The Ni-kyo, on the other hand, is another simple form of wrist lock that, if done correctly, is so painful that it can easily immobilize an attacker.
“We chose this particular technique because it is easy to execute while being grabbed,” Romy Sensei explained.
A handful of women took the class.
Chief instructor Rey said women learning how to use firearms is becoming a trend in the classes he holds here in Cebu. Rey is also the Chief Firearms Instructor of the American Shooting Centers based in Houston, Texas.
“This is good because women often fall victims to violence. Perpetrators choose them because they appear to be the easier targets. After our trainings, they are going to be easy targets no more,” he said.
Jules, real name withheld, was among those women.
She said she doesn’t have her own firearm but added that her father keeps one in the house.
And while somebody once tried to snatch her mobile inside a crowded jeepney, an attempt she foiled by telling the would-be thief that she has seen his face and will report him to the police. Fighting back wasn’t her only motivation in learning the way of the gun.
Instead, she recalled an incident involving one of the security guards in a team that went to their establishment in Cebu City to pick up their deposit for their bank.
“He was fumbling with his shotgun and it suddenly went off. We were so scared because we thought we were being robbed,” she said.
“After that, and knowing that there is a weapon in the house, I decided I had better learn how to handle it and handle it safely,” she said.
