NEW AMERICAN TRUTH: October 2007

Citizens of Liberty: Staying Sharp
Jeff Houghton

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

Is it just me, or does life seem to be perpetually accelerating? Wasn’t I married just about a year ago, and the kids born a few months ago, and school was out and summer started just this morning? Then there was summer camp, vacation, the family reunion, football practice, and just like that school started again. And how could I forget mowing the yard, keeping up the house, intense rounds of parenting, dates with my spouse, meetings and deadlines at work, projects and programs at Church, Boy Scouts and 4-H, etc., etc., etc? The next thing I know, it has been six weeks – or more – since I have been to the gym or to the range.

It has been said that the enemy of the best is the good. I certainly find that true in my life. All the things I intend to do or are asked to do are good things – done for the benefit of my community, my family, or myself. But are they the best things I should be doing? If I do an honest assessment, I find my activities break down like this: mostly good, sometimes harmful, and occasionally best.

So the challenge we all face is, as Steven Covey put it, putting first things first. For the purposes of this column relating to protecting ourselves, our families, and our communities, are their practical ways I can keep first things first? What are some of the ways we can stay sharp? How do we remove complacency and eliminate boredom and routine? These are challenges we all face in varying degrees, regardless of our vocation.

Here are some things – 10 to be exact – that I came up with to help us stay focused. Some of them I have tried, some of them I want to try, and some of them I know are probably not for me. I welcome your feedback on how you stay sharp and focused in your preparations. Feel free to send me an email with what has worked for you at citizensofliberty@newamericantruth.com. So here we go, in no particular order:

Find a training partner (or two) – This is probably the single best solution and one of the hardest. It is best because you can keep each other motivated and accountable. You show up specifically not to let each other down. And you gather information and process it differently, sharing with each other what you have learned. There are a few challenges in finding someone. Probably the most difficult part is finding someone that you can synchronize your schedule with. It seems like the first few guys I found were night owls, and I’m an early riser. And they invariably belong to a different gym than I do. Or they practice a different form of martial art than I do. Sometimes you have to make a few sacrifices – like sleep or a convenient location – in order to stay sharp.

Put it on your calendar – Just like a regular appointment, schedule it. You probably all know the story of the professor who had a large glass jar and several containers on his desk. He dumped one of the containers, containing gravel, into the jar. He then asked if the jar was full. “No” was the answer, so he tried to put the contents of another container, containing large rocks, into the jar. Only one or two would fit, leaving several out of the jar. So he pulled the big rocks out and dumped the gravel back into the container to start over. This time he started with the big rocks, and this time they all fit easily. Next he poured in some of the gravel. Most of it went in, then he had to stop and shake the jar to distribute the gravel around the big rocks. Eventually it all fit. Then he grabbed the next container – sand – and started to pour it in. This time it took more shaking but eventually all the sand was also in the jar. Again he asked the class if the jar was full. By this time the students weren’t as sure of themselves so they stayed silent. Smiling as he looked around the room, he pulled a jar of water from under the desk and proceeded to pour it into the jar until it was completely full. The moral of the story? Put the most important things into your calendar, that way you will be more likely to get them completed. If you try and schedule all the little things, they will displace those things that matter most.

Meet once a month – This is a group of like-minded individuals that might not train together, but get together to share learnings, tactics, adverse trends, etc. It may be a group of people from different agencies or departments who have become friends, or it might be a citizens watch group. Either way, the rhythm of a regular meeting time gives a consistent deadline to always be ready with new information.

Attend a training class – We have previously looked at identifying areas where skills need to be acquired or maintained. These training classes could be in weapons, martial arts, medical care, technology, or a wide variety of other areas.

Purchase videos – This is probably not as good as attending a training class, but often more convenient as you can watch them on your timetable. Some will be good, some won’t, but you will always learn something from them. Perhaps you can find a group of folks that you can share / swap videos with to extend and leverage the reach of your own financial limitations.

Buy books – In a similar comment as videos in that they are probably not as good as live training, but they are readily available whenever you have a moment. I also include fiction writers in this such as Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, or Joel Rosenberg as I usually learn something from them, too. As with videos, you might be able to find folks to share / swap with.

Subscribe to magazines / online emails / forums / etc. – There is some great info out there in a variety of sources. Verifying these sources and their backgrounds or qualifications is sometimes difficult, so be careful. As you check them out you can figure out which ones have mostly straight info and people wanting to help others, rather than ego maniacs out to prove their value to the world by how quickly they can belittle and denigrate others. When you do find a good forum, ask a couple of questions and you will generally be amazed at the willingness to help and the variety of solutions offered.

Practice at home – This is one of the easiest to do and one that I have the most difficulty doing. This might involve something as simple as unloading your weapon – verify it, and then verify it again – and practicing drawing from your holster. It might be dropping a training device such as a Bullite into the chamber and performing 30 minutes of focused dry fire practice. It could be grabbing your AirSoft gun and practicing drawing and moving to cover when startled by a threat. Or it could be as complicated as a simulated emergency involving the entire family. In this realm, you are only limited by your imagination – and I am confident we have a creative bunch of readers.

Involve your spouse – Some of us have spouses that are fully engaged on this front – they love to workout, practice martial arts, go to the range, etc. The rest of us don’t. Usually, but not always, our spouse will have at least one aspect of their safety that will resonate with what we train for. Make it a point to include that aspect regularly in your training. They will often see it as a good thing, that you have listened to them and really care about them. Who knows, you might even get approval to purchase that new piece of gear you have been wanting! ?

Re-commit – Think back through why you think and act in the manner you do, and why defense of yourself, your family, and your community is a priority for you. One of the things that does it for me is to go back and read Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s article titled “On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs,” which is an excerpt from his book On Combat. In this one superbly crafted article I am reminded of this ‘calling’ on my life. http://www.killology.com/sheep_dog.htm is where the article is located, but do yourself a favor: buy and read the entire book.

So there you have it, 10 methods of keeping your safety on one of the front burners of your mind. Until next month...