Starring: Louis Awerbuck
Publisher: Paladin Press, 2001
paperback, $39.95
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Paladin Press' new
video, Safe At Home, vividly shows you the realities of defending
your home. Famed firearms instructor Louis Awerbuck walks the viewer through
several scenarios, and covers what you need to know in each example. Awerbuck,
formerly Chief Rangemaster at the renowned Gunsite shooting academy, knows
his stuff, and teaches in a straight-talking style.
Awerbuck tackles subjects like movement with a weapon, using shadows and reflections, and tactical positioning. One of the more enlightening segments shows how much reaction time you have against a guy standing in your kitchen, holding one of your knives--not much. Even if you're armed with a handgun, he'll be slicing you well before you can acquire a target, confirm your backstop, and pull the trigger. Time to learn those escrima knife drills!
One thing I hadn't considered before watching this tape was just how slow you have to go when "clearing" your house--that is, checking out the proverbial "bump in the night". Even when armed, you can't cover all the potential threats at speed--is the bad guy in the closet? under the kitchen table? under the stairs? Real-life house clearing isn't like TV, where Starsky and Hutch barrel through doorways, not bothering to take cover.
This video is a good companion to Awerbuck's book on tactics, Tactical Reality. Tactical Reality, a compilation of Awerbuck's articles and columns on tactics, covers much of the same ground as Safe At Home, but in more detail. While both the book and video focus on firearms combat, the principles of awareness, mindset, and tactics are universal, and important to all martial artists.