Thank You Veterans!

I've always been associated with Veterans. My grandfather landed on two beaches in WWII. He brought home two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star from that war. My father spent twenty-two years in the Air Force, with two tours in Vietnam. My father's current wife spent four years in the U.S. Navy. I spent four years in the Army with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. I've known many men and women throughout my life that have served in the Armed Forces. Many have been good friends. Because of my time in the service, and my relationship with so many others who served, I know of the sacrifices made by everyone who dons a uniform and commits to serving our country.

On this special day, set aside for our Veterans, I want to thank each and every person who ever served, who is serving now, and who will serve in the future. The sacrifices made by our Veterans have been great, and all of us owe those that served.

Thank You Veterans!

Alain

An example of Attacking Back from Tucson

Tucson police: Evidence at UA-area double-shooting consistent with self defense
By Alexis Huicochea
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 10.16.2008


Evidence in the fatal shooting of two home invaders by a University of Arizona student appears to be consistent with his story that he was defending himself, police said.

The 23-year-old student shot and killed Shontel R. Early, 30, and Wesley O. Fenstermacher, 29, after the two men attempted to invade his home early Thursday morning, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.

At least one of the invaders was armed with a gun during the incident, which occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m., said Pacheco, who gave the following account:

The student was home alone in the 800 block of East Adams Street, near North Euclid Avenue and East Speedway.

There was a knock at the door and one of the men asked for someone who did not live there.
The student looked past the man he was speaking with and saw another man, who had his face covered and was armed with a gun.

He retreated into his home and grabbed his own handgun, but the men made their way in.
The student called police to report the shooting. When officers arrived they found the men two men dead just inside the doorway.

The student was questioned and is cooperating with police. His name is not being released.
There is no indication that the student is or has been involved in any criminal activity, police said.

Pacheco could not say what the men were looking for or if they had possibly gone to the wrong house.

The case will be presented to the Pima County Attorney's Office for a determination on whether the shootings were justified, Pacheco said.

Neighbors were alarmed by the events.

Ali Adelmann, a UA sophomore, just moved into the neighborhood this semester. "It really worries me," the Phoenix resident said. "All we can do is keep our doors and windows locked."

Jenny Wise also moved into the neighborhood in August. The 19-year-old sophomore said she wasn't home at the time of the shootings. She had gone to a party and when she arrived home around 2 a.m. she found her street taped off and flooded with police.

"It's really the scariest thing," Wise said. "I've lived a sheltered life. This seems like a nice little neighborhood. I don't know what I would've done if two guys tried to get into my house."

Armor Plated: The Encyclopedia of Defensive Skills for NHB and the Street with Mark Hatmaker - A Review

If you have read other reviews I've written about Mark Hatmaker, you know that I like him and the way he instructs. He has put out quite a number of dvds with Paladin Press and I have found them to be extremely instructional. That is a very high compliment, because many DVDs out there don't really instruct, they demonstrate only. When I make DVDs, I always make sure that I am teaching in them, and I want people to be able to learn from them. When I watch DVDs, I want them to teach so people can learn from them. Hatmaker's DVDs through Paladin do an exceptional job at teaching.

In this two disc set titled "Armor Plated: The Encyclopedia of Defensive Skills for NHB and the Street," Hatmaker focuses on teaching you his most effective defensive tactics from both stand-up fighting and wrestling. You must have good defensive skills to be a complete fighter, and this DVD set provides a lot of techniques to practice to ensure you can defend yourself from a variety of attacks both standing and on the ground.



Like all of Paladin's current DVDs, "Armor Plated" is indexed very well so you can find the parts you want to train with easily. Combined with the various angles Paladin films with in their in-house studio and their DVDs are easy to learn from.

Disc one includes a quick description of basics like stance and range before going into defenses for high jabs, high crosses, high lead hooks, uppercuts, low jabs, crosses, and hooks. There are multiple defenses for each of these including various parries, forearms blocks, moving, catching, pulls, slipping, and shoulder blocks. The disc ends with sections on pivoting and shifting and being caught on the ropes and shelling up. Based on boxing, this first disc provides great instruction on defense while standing up.

Disc two leads off with clinching drills and continues the stand up defenses with elbow defenses, headbutt defenses, knee defenses, kick defenses, and what Hatmaker calls pick-offs which he shows as punch pick-offs, kick pick-offs and knee drags. An example of a punch pick off is when you raise your elbow and use your other hand to guide your opponent's straight punch into your elbow. Finally, Hatmaker concludes the second disc with ground and pound defenses including coming to base, bridge and roll, and a number of others. Hatmaker already has a ton of DVDs out covering multiple areas of both boxing and wrestling, in fact he has a couple of the most complete programs out there on these disciplines. So the wrestling defenses here are a few basics that you really want to know to defend yourself if things go to the ground. These techniques will keep you from being grounded and pounded.

Boxing and wrestling are formidable for the ring and for the street. Hatmaker `s DVDs are some of the best around for learning wrestling and old time boxing and how to use them both in the street as well as for competition. Learning the skills Hatmaker teaches on these two discs will undoubtedly enable you to defend yourself better. These are important skills to know, and Hatmakers does a very good job teaching them to you.

"Armor Plated"with Mark Hatmaker is produced by Paladin Press and has a stated run time of 150 minutes. If you are looking to improve your defensive skills both standing on the ground, this two-disc set based on boxing and wrestling has a lot of excellent instruction and I recommend it highly.