Indiana SWAT Officers Association Conference 2015

Just came back from teaching at this conference.  It has been my second year there and it did not disappoint.  I truly enjoy teaching at these conferences, because even though we do not get paid, we get the opportunity to reach and share our lessons with those who typically may not be able to attend our classes.  Those who attend these conferences are the motivated few who take the three days to network with other professionals, attend classes, and see what is at the cutting edge of the industry.  These are the people who can truly benefits from our lessons and the ones we want to share it with.

It was not without its glitches.  We wanted to offer a sixteen hour class covering several Israeli Counterterrorism Tactics, but the organizers preferred splitting it into two distinct classes.  Although not ideal in terms of providing officers with the complete package, it made sense from a logistical standpoint to allow officers to take classes by various instructors and be exposed to more classes.  as it stood, on day one we covered movement to objective, entry techniques and room clearing, while on day two we covered Israeli point-shoot with handguns and shoulder mounted weapons.

We had a total of 36 people go through our classes.  Eight on day one and twenty-Eight(!) on day two.  It was a packed class load.  Awesome!  All said and done we had a chance to introduce our tactics and skills to a bunch of officers that now have new means of addressing the threat of urban terrorism, which no doubt will be hitting our streets soon enough.  Most importantly we made some new friends...including one Cuban from Kentucky...go figure.

We hope all the officers we trained benefited from the training and have some more tools in their toolbox now.  We hope they stay safe and we look forward to seeing them all again next year.

And for those agencies interested in hosting our Israeli Approach to Urban Counterterrorism, please see the flyer below and reach out to us.

Stay safe and watch your six!

BK Blankchtein
Masada Tactical

Conditioned to be De-Conditioned

We live at the most technologically advanced times, which means that most of our needs are fulfilled without having to move a finger...or maybe only a finger.  We have remote controls, smart phones, online shopping, and drive through kiosks to assure we don't have to get off our fat a$$es.

I am not telling you anything you don't already know, but here it is again: your life style is likely going to kill you.  And I am not even talking about the alarming increase in cases of diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, and orthopedic issues associated with sedentary life styles, but the fact that the one time you will ever need to move more than a few feet to save yourself you won't be able to.  Essentially you committed suicide and you don't even know it.  You know what is worse?  You won't be able to help those you care about the most either!!!

Let's face it, we all had this conversations with people, or maybe you are that person, who go on to tell you that even though they don't work out regularly, or train in any self-defense or any other skill that could increase survivability in an emergency situation, they would kill anyone trying to hurt them or their family.  They think that their inner animal will just emerge at that point and take over, making the rolls of fat turn into muscle, and that reflexes that can change channels on the TV in fractions of a second when commercials come on will all of a sudden be put into use to deflect bullets and overcome the aggressor.  BULL$HIT!  If all you know what to do is work your jaw and index finger, then guess what?  When the time comes no amount of adrenaline or endorphins will suffice to keep you safe.  It just doesn't work that way.  

So next time you reach for that Twinkie think about the danger you are putting your loved ones in by doing so.  Because even though the Zombie apocalypse may not happen any time soon, reality is that urban civil unrest is unfolding around us, environmental disasters are a daily occurrence, and pandemics are no longer a thing of the past.  When, not if, but when, your family will need you to be there to defend them, save them, and protect them, will you be able to?  Or will you be too busy catching your breath from the seven stairs you just had to run up to reach them...just enough to make you a casualty instead of a hero.

So train.  Anything is better than sitting around doing nothing.  Go for a walk, lift a weight or two, learn self-defense, learn CPR.  One day it may save someone's life...including your own.

Stay safe!

BK Blankchtein

Masada Tactical Protective Services