The week of July 13 to 17 I had the great pleasure of taking the Force Science Institute Certification Course in Calgary. This five day course is an intensive learning experience designed to educate investigators and trainers about the science of human dynamics as it relates to dynamic encounters. Under the direction of Dr. Bill Lewinski the Force Science Institute  has done some critical research into this area.  They have also done a great job of pulling together scientific research from a variety of disciplines which has been conducted over the past 40 years and examined how it applies to … [Read more...]

In my personal journey to improve my knowledge and skills I am always seeking opportunities to hang out with people that are smarter than I am so I can learn from their knowledge and experience. Now some of you may be thinking that I do not have to go far to find those people, and you are right. There are many people in Calgary, in Alberta, in Canada, in North America that are way smarter than I am and have skills, knowledge and experience from which I can benefit. We often do not have to go far. There are so many great books, DVD's, and online resources. The public library is also only a few … [Read more...]

As you know I am a huge advocate of the power of words. One word that I often talk about is 'Victim'. I talk about people getting caught up in victim thinking and a victim mentality. This is the 'Woe is Me' mentality where we think the world is out to get us and we start thinking and acting like a victim. In fact this is the premise of the popular presentation I do called Dare to Soar: The Pursuit of Personal Excellence. Today's message is about a different use of the word victim. Today's message has to do with violent assaults on law enforcement professionals. When a citizen gets violently … [Read more...]

Over the years I have heard the expression a number of times by officers who say they would rather be "Judged by 12, than carried by 6". I am sure we are all familiar with this saying which refers to the fact that the officer would rather have their actions in a deadly force confrontation judged by a jury of 12 of their peers than lose the fight and be carried by 6 pall bearers at their funeral. The saying often comes up during discussions about the authority of the officer to use deadly force against a subject. I agree with the principle that in a violent confrontation we need to act and win … [Read more...]

Recently I was watching an interview with a football player in the Canadian Football League that had retired at the end of last season to return to the US to pursue some business interests. That did not work out for some reason so he decided to return to the CFL. His return to the Calgary Stampeders took place after training camp and one week before the start of the regular season. He was was asked by the reporter if he was going to have a difficult time preparing physically where he had missed camp. The player referred to a line in a song by rapper Suga Free as his reply. The name of the song … [Read more...]

In subject control tactics training (I do not like the word defensive in our training) the physical position where the officer is directly in front of the subject is often referred to as the Inside Position. In many systems this is taught as a position for the officer to avoid as it is seen as a position of disadvantage. The theory is that when the officer is in this position they are vulnerable to all the subject's personal weapons. This theory is built upon with the continual direction to the officer to get off the line or get off the tracks. Lets stop for a minute and think about this. … [Read more...]

For years trainers have heard the adage that we have to "teach to the the lowest common denominator" in a class, or as it is commonly referred to as "Teach to the 2's". Enough already. We have to stop this type of language and thought process among trainers. Here are just some of the flaws with this type of thinking: It assumes that because people have little or no experience in this area of instruction that they are going to struggle to learn the skill. It assumes that those that may pick up the skills slower than others are somehow at the bottom of the food chain. It makes it … [Read more...]

We have all heard the expression "There is no 'I' in Team." The purpose of this saying is to focus people on the importance of teamwork and working together to accomplish a goal. It is meant to reenforce the concept that more can be accomplished working as a group than as a number of individuals. At this point you might be thinking that this blog is about teamwork. In fact, it is not. A future blog post will be, but not today's. This blog is about you. It is about me. It is about our roles and responsibilities as individuals. While there is no 'I' in 'Team' there certainly is in the … [Read more...]

At the 2009 ILEETA Conference I had the great pleasure of meeting and spending some time with a fine gentleman and exceptional speaker by the name of Stephen Gower. At the conference Stephen gave a great presentation on leadership and perception called What Do They See When They See You Coming. Recently while reading two of his books - Traveling By Detour! and Lessons Learned From the Nation's Top Cops - I had a moment of insight that I felt I needed to share in this weeks blog. In his books Gower talks about 'making a difference' and refers to the concept as a four legged stool. The four … [Read more...]

Last night my wife was surfing the internet and happened upon the UTube video of Susan Boyle performing in the semi finals of the show Britain's Got Talent. Susan Boyle is a Scottish spinster who became famous after her first performance on Britain's Got Talent. In the few weeks since her first appearance on the show the video on Utube has been watched by millions of people, she has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and featured on news broadcasts around the world. Susan Boyle has certainly become an overnight sensation, but she is far from an overnight success. The internet has created a … [Read more...]