 
DEFENSIVE
TACTICS
From the series "Basic Education for Reserves"
by
NRLO Director of Training, Captain Chuck Mantkus
Training in
"defensive tactics" is just as vital to the Reserve/Auxiliary
Officer as it is to the full-time Officer. It is as vital
and necessary as any other
training received. Through competent training,
scheduled refresher courses, and practice, Reserve Officers can
successfully cope when facing dangerous situations. Through
repetition training, tasks become automatic. The first
encounter with physical resistance and/or personal attack can be
resolved in your favor by referring to and automatically applying
your hours of training. Those who have not received defensive
tactics training will not be prepared to handle many of the
situations which sooner or later are bound to occur.
A thorough knowledge of the
principles upon which defensive tactics is based is an absolute
necessity in order to effectively use this system.
-
Confidence is a by-product
of skill and is developed directly in proportion to skill.
The more "skillful" the Officer becomes in
performing defensive techniques, the more "confident" the
Officer will be in defending himself/herself against physical
resistance.
-
Defensive tactics training
will teach an Officer how to defend and protect himself/herself
against "common" types of attack.
-
It is vital that each
Officer be capable of gaining and maintaining control of a person
being arrested or restrained. In making arrests, Officers
are permitted by law to use only that amount of force necessary to
overcome the resistance being offered. This varies from one
situation to another. Defensive tactics training should
enable the Officer to control a person without using excessive
force (presuming that the Officer is not being threatened with a
lethal weapon). Being a Reserve/Auxiliary Officer, you might
believe that due to your "status," nothing like this will ever
happen to you. A person about to be placed under arrest or
detained sees only your weapon, badge, and uniform; and you
will not have time to tell him or her that you are not a
full-time Officer and that you are just helping out the
Department.
-
Training in defensive
tactics not only teaches an Officer what he/she should do, but
also points out certain positions and movements which increase the
risk of the Officer being injured, embarrassed, or both. By
being more aware of such "pitfalls," an Officer can and should
avoid them.
-
In defensive tactics, it
is not a matter of an Officer matching strength and power
with an opponent's "strength and power;" but rather, it is a
matter of directing all strength and power towards the
opponent's "weaknesses." The human body has numerous weak
spots, or vulnerable areas. Even an exceptionally
strong person has "chinks in his armor." When defending
himself/herself, an Officer should always presume that the
opponent is physically stronger. If an Officer operates in
this presumption, the Officer will pit his/her strength against
the opponent's weakness. Quite often the application of this
principle enables a person of limited physical prowess to gain the
advantage over a bigger and stronger opponent.
-
Every Reserve/Auxiliary
Officer should maintain a level of physical fitness which will
enable the performance of defensive tactics techniques
with minimal injury.
-
A Certified Defensive
Tactics Instructor should teach all classes. Each
Officer should faithfully "practice" defensive tactics and become
"proficient" in the use of the techniques as taught by the
instructor.
-
Defensive tactics cannot
be learned just from reading a manual. It is a hands-on
training operation; and repetitive training and practice of
technique is imperative to the safety of an
Officer.
######
Be sure to check out NRLO's
"Survival / Defensive Tactics"
Series
written by
Instructor Jon Felperin
A
native of Los Angeles, California, Felperin has is a high ranking
black belt with over 30 years of experience and
specializes in the application of Police defensive tactics including
weapons retention, disarming, tactical ground fighting, multiple
assailant defense, edged weapons defense, and the use of impact
weapons. The first in the series is titled "Preventing an Attack
on Your Life."
11/2002
Updated 01/2004
NATIONAL RESERVE LAW OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
P.O.
BOX 6505 SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78209
(210)
805-8917 FAX (210)
804-2463 | 
