Category: Profession

How Police Training Got It Wrong: The Failure of Wrist Locks & Armbar Takedowns

Click here or click the image above to watch the video.

00:05 – Intro
01:44 – Citizens arrest a man – what methods do they use?
02:21 – What are wrist locks and armbar takedowns?
03:36 – How do they differ from other methods?
04:10 – Arm drags are not equivalent to armbar takedowns
04:28 – Performance in combat sports
04:44 – So why do police train this way?
06:08 – Why do we teach police this way if it doesn’t work?
07:17 – Fighting is impossible to understand without doing it.
08:14 – Discussing examples
09:41 – Safety concerns
11:43 – Do wrist locks and armbar takedowns have any use at all? 12:41 – What should we teach instead?

Bystanders: the critical aspect of self defense and policing we don’t talk enough about

Click image to watch video on Youtube.

Bystanders, brawls, and the court of public opinion

The narrative surrounding an event can often be as influential as the event itself. Public opinion and the perceptions of bystanders can significantly shape the narrative, even if they do not have full context or understanding of the situation.

This is particularly true for police, who in recent years have seen worsening results in the public discourse.

The “court of public opinion” is now increasingly magnified, where social media and online platforms can amplify and distort narratives. Our actions, especially in public situations, can have far-reaching consequences beyond the immediate confrontation; despite millions of interactions where nothing noteworthy happens, a single bad police interaction can even lead to protests and unrest in other countries.

My message here is ultimately simple – give some consideration to how you might appear to bystanders in any given situation. Facts are subservient to emotion.

Russian soldier surrenders to drone after his comrade commits suicide

Footage like this has never existed before now.

Russian soldiers are bombed by drones, while attempting to shoot them down and find cover. One Russian is injured badly and commits suicide by dropping his own grenade next to his head.

Another Russian negotiates with the drone via body language and hand signals, before a pamphlet which explains how to surrender is dropped by another drone.

The Russian then makes his way across the battle field, following the drone and barely escaping death several times over.

Ultimately he reaches the Ukrainians and is able to surrender and survive.

Simply astonishing footage.

Police officer shows how skills and fitness prevent injuries during arrest

This police officer demonstrates how fighting skills – grappling skills in particular – and physical strength and fitness translate to less harm for both suspects and officers in the real world.

The officer uses a body lock lift and takes him to the ground carefully, without slamming the head, then applies pressure and controls the suspect on the ground before applying handcuffs.

Note that the officer kneels on the head area for a moment during cuffing – this does not cause any harm to the suspect as no pressure is applied to the neck, and it is used for only a short time in transition.

The suspect does not appear to have any injuries, and does not appear to be suffering any pain or discomfort when he stands up.

No pepper spray, no batons, no Taser, no strikes, no gun.