Training has been the one constant in my life. I have been training literally from I was at Calabar High School. Training is a wide definition for almost any type of focused activity geared towards improvement in a particular area. So, track team training became martial arts training, which grew to training in investigation, combat, hostage negotiation, criminal sciences, and martial arts again.

Despite undergoing a wide range of combat training in a few countries, it was only when I was being trained in Israel did I get an appreciation in the area of defending myself after being hit.

I recall being halfway through the training course and being very annoyed at constantly being struck when I broached the subject with one of the instructors. I told him, “I can outshoot most of you who are teaching me, how does hitting me improve my combat?”

“No,” he replied, “you can shoot when you’re comfortable, but can you shoot while you are bleeding, while you are in pain, when you are scared, or when you are traumatised? The pain, the impact simulates stress.”

I learnt a lot from that conversation. I learnt even more during my own experiences as a competition fighter and as a police. You see, we train as police, licensed firearm holders and even as martial artists about how to defend ourselves from getting struck or getting shot, but it’s very hard to determine and to prepare for how we will behave after and if we get hit.

Will you collapse into panic, or will you surrender? Will you lose your temper? The reaction is determined by the preparation and the severity of the contact. As a fighter I had fast hands that slowed up considerably when I passed 35 years of age. So I found I was getting hit in the head hard. Before learning how to use my legs better I would actually take a knee when hit to get back my balance. In the real world that would be a deadly mistake.

So I try, when I teach, to do things to replicate trauma and dizziness to give the student some exposure to the impact. So if you are punched or kicked to the head and you are not knocked unconscious, then my advice is to keep striking the opponent to the face with multiple blows all delivered as quickly as you possibly can.

It’s important that they are multiple, fast blows and directed at the attacker’s face as this places your hands in front of your face, which will likely prevent further hits to your head. If you are armed and carrying a retention holster then the rules don’t change totally. If, however, you are carrying the gun without retention then find a way to flee to a place where you can safely draw the weapon and give instructions, or fire in defence of being disarmed or killed.

For the uninformed, a retention holster is one which requires the press of a button or lever to release the weapon.

Armed persons have no business in fist fights, but it can happen and you need to prepare. So what if you are shot, but not unconscious or impaired to the point where you can’t move? Once you can move, there is much you can do. However, it’s difficult to predict how your body will react to the injury.

The first time I was shot I didn’t know till someone told me I was bleeding. The second time I was unable to even squeeze the trigger as the nerve in my hand was hit. I was, in essence, defenceless. It’s peculiar how bullets and bodies behave when contact is made and it’s unpredictable. In my case, luckily none was even serious and I had help, but still in the aforementioned case I was rendered useless.

So if your body is shot, you will likely know and if your spine or head is not hit you can likely respond as long as the opportunity exists. Like the punches you will be required to use accuracy, volume, and it will require speed. If not, you will likely be hit again.

Taking cover whilst you respond is advisable if cover exists. If not, going flat makes you a smaller target, but limits the option of you tactically retreating. Remember though, speed is important. If you’re hit once, you need to prevent any further hits at all costs.

How do you logically train for the scenario of being hit and replicate it? It’s hard. But using paint balls can assist as they are fast and they sting. Use as little body armour as possible when using paint balls as they’re not going to injure you, but it’s important you feel the trauma and learn to respond in the appropriate manner.

Then there is the issue of medical attention. When you are shot you die because of loss of blood or the inability to access oxygen in the short run; and in the long run there is, of course, infection and organ damage, etc.

The training of any team must include persons who can administer care to fix those two earlier mentioned scenarios of blood loss and the inability to breathe. This is not only relevant to police and security response teams, but also to individuals who have to live in Jamaica, whether you are armed or not.

A tourniquet is a basic tool that should be near, but if you don’t practise with it, you will fumble or even cause serious damage if it’s applied too tight. So again, training is essential.

We are still underutilising the expertise that exists in Jamaica with available training that many of us are not participating in. As a rule I avoid private hospitals in cases of trauma. Some do offer the service, but the public ones deal with it every day.

So you have gotten your gun. It’s likely too big and you can’t conceal it properly and you have been punched in the face. Do you lose your temper and it becomes “anything a anything?” Losing your temper is a bad idea at any time and prisons are full of people who have gone the route of “anything a anything”.

Your decision to use deadly force is dependent on the justification of it. If he’s that close and has hit you and you are in fear of being disarmed then you can use deadly force. But bear in mind at the very least a coroner’s jury awaits your justification. If you are the one who initiated the contact by assaulting someone and getting hit then it’s best to avoid the use of your gun.

Avoid road rage-related disputes. Once it starts with a fight that was avoidable to begin with, it’s likely you can be charged.

I’ll end as I began; training is important, and prepare for the worst. Learn to deal with blows by getting punched in training.

If you can simulate being shot then you can train a reflex response. You have so much talented persons in Jamaica that you can learn from — from firearms to martial artists.

Feedback: drjasonamckay@gmail.com