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Monthly Archives: June 2015

Lessons from the Pine Ridge Shootout

25 Thursday Jun 2015

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tacticalprofessor

On June 26, 1975, FBI Special Agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler were murdered on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. While attempting to serve a Federal arrest warrant, a massive gunbattle ensued. The Agents’ cars were hit with 125 bullets and they were severely wounded early on in the gunfight. Eventually, they were overwhelmed and executed.

Details and the sequence of events of the shootout are available in my article on The Tactical Wire.

Be wary of driving or walking into an ambush. The situation the Agents faced in this case was referred to as a ‘firesac’ in Soviet military doctrine. This is an ambush that occurs from multiple simultaneous directions. Initially, they encountered a blocking position. Then, they began to take fire from multiple angles. The only way to escape a situation like that is to retreat as quickly as possible. Retreating is a tactic…

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The Cane Self-Defense of Maitre d’Armes Justin Bonnafous

22 Monday Jun 2015

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Speak softly and carry a big stick.

Martial Arts New York

“Few persons who carry canes or umbrellas realize that they have at hand at once an effective and, in the hands of a skilled fencer, a formidable weapon for protection against assault. Even in the hands of a novice it may be so wielded as to stand off and subsequently subdue a “gang” of roughs when no other weapon, except possibly a revolver, would avail.”

Of interest to the student of self-defense is the short 1898 treatise of Justin Bonnafous, a fencing master who taught in the Philadelphia area during the late nineteenth century. Fencing masters of this period often offered instruction in the use of the stick or cane, including formal systems of La Canne or Royal Cane, as well as other practical self-defense techniques for use against criminals or toughs in “street” scenarios. We find an example of this in New York City as early as 1827, when a fencing professor named…

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A Grand Assault-of-Arms in Old New York, directed by Col. Thomas Monstery

22 Monday Jun 2015

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Out of This Century

“A Knightly Tournament”

 

In early March, 1876, a “Grand” tournament of arms was announced, to be held at the Lyceum Theater in New York City, that would involve “all kinds of weapons that are used in fencing.” The event was organized and directed by Colonel Thomas H. Monstery, a noted New York fencing master and teacher of pugilism, who had reportedly participated in more than fifty duels, and fought under twelve flags on three separate continents. By all accounts, this Assault-of-Arms would be the largest, the most interesting, and the most ethnically diverse ever held in the city. It was noted that the contestants would include Danes, Germans, Spaniards, Frenchmen, Englishmen, and Americans, and that the tournament would embrace the following weapons:

Foil
Saber
Broadsword
Small-sword
Rapier
“Bowie knife”
“Spanish knife”
Cane
Sword-cane
Lance
Bayonet
“English single stick”
“German schlager”
“Sabre against bayonet”
“Knife against sabre”
“French quarterstaff” or “Bâton”
English…

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The Importance of Target Identification

15 Monday Jun 2015

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More thoughts on common home defense scenarios from a mentor, and homework.

tacticalprofessor

Deputies found a 32-year-old man who said that he and his wife were sleeping when they heard a noise in the kitchen.

The husband took his handgun and walked in the kitchen area, where he shot the victim.

After the shooting the husband recognized the victim as his younger teenage brother.

Man shoots, kills brother thinking he was burglarizing home

Yet another tragic example of why I stress target identification so much. These situations are absolutely preventable. As I’ve said before, if you live with anyone else, my analysis is that there is a 97 percent probability that the ‘bump in the night’ is a member of your own household. With those kinds of numbers, gunowners cannot take the risk of shooting someone at home without establishing a positive ID.

This kind of situation is a further example of why I say we have to be very cautious of what…

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Gallery

What skills should we train and practice?

12 Friday Jun 2015

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This gallery contains 1 photo.

Originally posted on tacticalprofessor:
“What is the best use of my time right now?” —How to Get Control of Your…

America’s First Globe Maker

08 Monday Jun 2015

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Something we take for granted today.

Lost Art Press

james_wilson_rfh_1810

James Wilson, who has the honor of being the maker of the first pair of terrestrial and celestial globes ever made in America, was a native of Londonderry, N.H. He was born in 1763. He early felt a strong love of knowledge, and gave proof of talents of the right stamp for acquiring it, but felt constrained by circumstances to devote himself to the laborious occupation of a farmer.

Up to the age of thirty-three he pursued that employment in the place of his nativity; not, however, without reading, observation, and reflection. His inclination and genius turned his thoughts and studies especially to geography and astronomy, with the means of their illustration.

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Gallery

A Steampunk Teardrop Camper

06 Saturday Jun 2015

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This gallery contains 9 photos.

Originally posted on Preindustrial Craftsmanship:
Some of you Teardrop aficionados out there have undoubtedly seen photos of Dave Moult’s spectacular build. …

Gallery

Some Steampunk Home Decor Ideas from Homedit

06 Saturday Jun 2015

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This gallery contains 3 photos.

Sorry I haven’t been more active lately, dear readers! I’ve begun running, biking, and lifting again so that’s where my …

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