I just had the pleasure (and pain) of spending some time training with Pendekar Richard Crabbe DeBodes and was very impressed with his Harimau.

It was quite different from the previous styles of Silat that I’ve been exposed to and personally trained.
For some background, Pencak Silat is basically an all encompassing name for the Indonesian martial arts. It is considered a brutal and vicious art while at the same time resembling an intricate dance.

But don’t let that dance similarity fool you. It is anything but. All the fancy arm moves and wide stances and jumps represent a martial move. Be it a leg/arm break, a tiger claw slap or a truly impressive array of sweeps and bisets those moves have meaning. Use you imagination!

Pendekar DeBordes is a very soft spoken man, modest and skilled almost beyond belief. If you get a chance to train with him, I highly recommend it.

Guro Tony Torre gives us some insight to Improvised weapons!

Actually holding onto a handgun seems to be a severe issue for many beginners. Even many who have been shooting for years can have issues with it.

In this video, I help out a young lady with her grip. The pistol is a Glock 23 initially. I later changed out to a full size Glock 17 to help her get the basics and for a tad less recoil.

She improved her shooting almost 100%! Initially she was all over the target, by the end of the video she had three bulls eyes!

Please forgive the quality of the video & sound, it was filmed on a helmetcam!

Today I’m going to do something different. I’m going to write about another gun trainer. Maybe I should just call him a trainer as he does more than gun work.

His name is Gabe Suarez. I have never, personally met Mr. Suarez, I talked to him once on the phone years ago. I’ve not taken one of his classes either, altho I would love to and it is on my “to do” list for the future.

Mr. Suarez is a controversial figure in the gun training industry, as was/is Andy Stanford. More on Andy Stanford in another article.

Mr. Suarez has been called everything from “insane” and other less nice things on one side and “controversial” on the very least side. What’s the problem?

I feel that it is because many of the things he espouses go against the established current “Gun Gurus” and what current gun society establishes at the “truth”.

Yes he had some legal issues. He was injured on duty while a police officer. He was also a firearms trainer at the time. Forced to “retire” form the PD, he found he still needed income as the pension was not enough. The PD he worked for thought this was fraud and put him thru the ringer, saying if he could train people he could still do his job as a cop. Let me tell you it is quite different to stand on a range and instruct people, resting as needed than it would be to ride a beat car, run down perps and wrestle people around on duty.

He also seems to have had some less than adequate legal counsel. Either way he was able to overcome.

I know and understand this situation very well as my father went thru almost exactly the same thing in the late 60’s early 70’s and was forced to retire as well. Police departments can be very cliquish and they are ALWAYS full of Alpha males. I’ll leave it at that.

As Bruce Lee established decades ago, truth comes in many forms and varies a great deal from person to person. Bruce Lee is today hailed as the creator/inventor/father of Mixed Martial Arts, but back in the 60’s he was a considered a pariah.

No one took him seriously, most especially the established “traditional” martial arts, and he was slandered, ridiculed and ostracized, by both Eastern and Western martial arts.

Why? Because what he learned was people like to stick to traditional ways. There really is nothing wrong with traditional ways, BUT they were created and/or came from particular ways of dealing with certain problems. Example: How to deal with a horse mounted armored knight.

Unless you have pissed someone off at a Renaissance Festival, there is really very little cause to train on how to deal with a situation like that.

More common in certain parts of the world than in the USA, is how to deal with an opponent armed with sword. Now I love swords and swordsmanship and even train it myself. A sword is a devastating weapon, but let’s face it, not a whole lot of people can pull off carrying one in our day to day society. Those who do are normally taken away by the police.

Martial arts needs to be alive with the times, as well as expand and evolve with the times. Firearms training is the “modern” martial art and really should be included in current curriculums.

Very few people think this way, it seems, anymore. Diversely, that is. A few examples of those that do, off the top of my head are: Dan Inosanto, James Keating, Andy Stanford, Bram Frank and yes, Gabe Suarez.

If you do not know who the above mentioned people are, you should do yourself a favor and find out. Google them. They are there.

Back to Gabe Suarez. He’s made mistakes in his life; we all have and don’t tell me YOU haven’t. If you believe you haven’t I suggest you take a good long look at your past and see those moments that you could have done differently. They are there. You live with it and you move on. Learn from your mistakes because you are the only one who can.

Does Mr. Suarez have some controversial ideas? Yes he does according to established gun lore thought. Then again so did Miyamoto Musashi going against traditional Japanese sword lore.

I’m using these famous names of famous warriors to prove a point. Is Mr. Suarez like them? Only time will tell. Is he misunderstood? In my opinion yes, he is.

I’m willing to learn from just about anyone. Why? Because the chances are pretty good that they have something of value. Even if I only take away a single thing from a class or training session, I’m ahead of my game. If it goes against established doctrine, I’m willing to listen, try it out and make my own decision.

A wise woman, Barbara Young, once told me that everyone has something they are good at. It can be a small thing or it can be a big thing or it can be in between, but wisdom should not be dismissed because of where it comes from.

I feel Mr. Suarez has something to say and people should listen. Does this mean I’m saying don’t study the traditional, established ways, that they have no merit?

No. I am not saying that at all, in fact, you should start off traditionally. Learn the basics, first.

Because if you don’t, you won’t see the merit of the non-traditional ways. You won’t learn for yourself what works for YOU.

I’ve been asked this I can’t tell you how many times. I’m always at a loss as to how to reply.

I realize they mean, “Do you have a weapon/pistol/gun/knife on you?” but what they don’t seem to realize is that those things are just tools.

I don’t mean to sound cliché, but I am the weapon. Those tools are nothing without me to use them. By themselves, they don’t “DO” anything, being inanimate objects.

I know you’ve heard this before too, “mind set”. It’s really as simple as the Nike commercial that says, “Just do it.”

Many times, even if you don’t have the skill, simply having the “will” to survive, to say to yourself, “I’m going to get thru this!”

Now imagine that will combine with skill.

There is the old military saying that goes, “Be polite, be professional, but ALWAYS have a plan to kill everyone you meet.”

Disclaimer here: I’m NOT saying to Do this! I’m merely pointing out the preparedness aspect of the saying.

So I could be stark naked and as long as I have the ability to think, I am, for all intents and purposes, armed.

Will training help? Yes. Most emphatically yes, but without the will to implement it, it is worthless.

So train and don’t ever feel “unarmed”, because you’re not.

The other day on the range, I was one of the range masters that day. One of the shooters calls me over. His brand new AR-15 rifle is jammed.

This happens from time to time on a brand new firearm, especially during the break in period. So I went over and looked at it. The fired case was stuck in the chamber.

The extractor would not pull it, out even after repeated tries and judicious use of the forward assist. It took running a rod down the barrel to get the case out. Once we had the stuck case out, I inspected it. It was split down the middle.

Ok, I thought, bad ammo/bad case. We loaded him up again and nothing. The rifle refused to fire. I ran the charging handle, this time the round came out and once again we inspected it. Nothing. No indent on the primer indicating a light strike and no problem extracting…yet the previous case showed a very strong primer hit and we had to run a rod down the pipe to get it out.

I took the bolt out and inspected the firing pin. It looked pristine. Now I’m really puzzled!

We reassemble the bolt and reinstall it. Load up, point downrange and fire. The round goes off…but fails to extract again!

Once again the rod goes down the barrel, once again the case is split!

A suspicion arises…I ask the owner, “What caliber is this?” “.223/5.56”, he answers. I look on the receiver. Yep. .223/5.56 is stamped clear as day.

We go thru the whole thing again with the same results. Now I am REALLY beginning to doubt my sanity! Another idea pops into my head. I make sure the rifle is unloaded and look for the roll stamp on the barrel…

Well, guess what? That stamp says, “6.5”!! It was a 6.5 SPC barrel! No wonder the damn thing wouldn’t work!

I looked at him and told him my findings. He looked stunned! “I didn’t order a 6.5! I ordered a 5.56!!”, then he turns to the loading table behind us and picks up a box and he says, “Look here’s the box!”

Sure enough the FACTORY box is labeled “.223/5.56”!

So what does this little story mean?

It means double check everything! Even the factory can and does make mistakes!

It was a good thing this incident happened in a controlled environment or things could have turned out much worse!

Does what you read at an early age influence you?

I will say right here and now that I have NOT done any in depth study on how the psyche is developed in children and young adults. Or, dare I say it, in adults?

Aren’t we still growing as we get older? Still learning?

I know I am.

I pray that you will be open enough to be as well.

I tell you with great insight that I was a child and a young adult and that certain books did, in fact, influence me, and I can honestly say that they made me the man I am today.

I was having a conversation with one of my students the other day and we were discussing Frank Herbert, the author of the Dune series of books. Somehow, many people think that because I have tattoo’s and am a martial arts and firearms instructor and am in pretty good shape for my age, that I am not well read, or a reader at all. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact it is because I read that I went on the path to the martial arts.

In the conversation, my student and I turned to ERB’s John Carter books and how he was having a difficult time getting into it due to the Victorian writing style. I mentioned how the book had influenced me and he stated that he then had to finish it, if I recommended it. I truly hope he not only enjoys it, but that he will get something from it.

Dune itself was a tremendous book, even tho technically, it wasn’t even all that big a book page wise. I have found that many books that have an impact are not huge tomes.

Authors like Michael Moorcock, Lin Carter, Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, Barbara Hambly, L.E. Modesitt, George R.R. Martin, Jim Butcher, Stephen King, Steve Perry, Steven Barnes just to name a few off the top of head.

Books like “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan, also by Burroughs. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings,  Issac Asimov’s Foundation, Arthur C. Clarke’s works. Robert E. Howard was a huge influence and not just with his better known Conan character. One could hardly do better than to emulate Robert B. Parker’s Spencer.

I know what you are going to say. You will say those are not real people. You should emulate people like Jesus, Ghandi, Mother Teresa , Abraham Lincoln, George Patton to name a few. Great people who lived once and changed the world. And who is to say I do not? I do.

But let me give you this:

Just because a character does not exist in real life does not invalidate that character or their beliefs and morality. He/she DOES exist in your head, and if you believe in those values, in your heart.

You should find out for yourself.

Read a book

Ernest has prided himself for years that his knives are made right here in the USA. He’s never been one to produce thousands of knives at a time like some of the other big knife companies but he does make quite few knives.  As his knives are always in large demand, it’s always been an issue to get blades out to the public.

As the saying goes, his knives are famous in the worst places. Why? Because his knives are made for fighting men (and women!) and the military is a large segment of his fan base. His knives are literally used and carried everywhere around the planet.

Well, such demand requires building space, and in Emerson’s case it also demand training space. Ernest Emerson is also an accomplished martial artist in his own right, having trained with many of the great Masters in the world. Names like; Dan Inosanto, Richard Bustillo, the Gracie Ju-jitsu clan and many others.

His knives are a reflection of that training, retaining many traditional characteristics while having a traditional core and modern materials. He has also improved designs, take for example his patented Wave.

The Wave is a hook on the back of the blade that on a folding knife, deploys the blade on taking it out of your pocket. A design that came about in conjunction with the US Navy SEALs.

Back to the space issue. He required more room, so a large warehouse was located and modified and a factory/training center was created. Ernest decided that a Grand Opening was in order, but only to his most devoted fans and VIP’s.

I hazard to say that his most devote fan base is the Usual Suspects of UsualSuspect.net. A forum/community started in 2001 for custom knife enthusiasts and especially custom Emerson knives. From the initial startup this has been a small forum, initially just over a 100 members that has now ballooned to over 33 thousand!

Of those 33k not all are Usual Suspects. Suspects are held to a higher level than standard member. In fact, only a fraction are. Suspects are vote on by other Suspects and must be nominated by a current Suspect. I have been a Usual Suspect since the inception of the USN, as it’s come to be known.

After receiving the invitation, I spoke to my wife Virama and we decided to make the Pilgrimage to California for the event. Our daughter Amber came along as well.

It’s been awhile since I’ve flown anywhere and TSA doesn’t make thing easier, but this flight on Virgin America was excellent and I cannot recommend the airline enough.

After landing at LAX we took a shuttle to Hertz and after my wife’s initial protestations, upgraded to a vehicle with a GPS. A strange city and me with no idea how to navigate it, I felt a GPS was in order, we’d tried to use our iPhone’s GPS to find the parking lot in Ft. Lauderdale with less than stellar results.

To her credit she later on said that it was a very good idea that we’d done so as Los Angeles is easily 5 times larger than Miami. Traffic was truly impressive! It was a like a Miami rush hour ALL the time! And due to size it took at least an hour to get anywhere.

We stayed in a pleasant place in Rancho Palos Verdes, just a few miles from the Emerson factory. We’d been invited to a “pre grand opening” by Steel Flame jewelry, you’ve seen their beautiful bling on such stars as Sylvester Stallone and Mickey Rourke in the movie The Expendables.

I’m here to say that these folks made my family and me feel right at home! Derrick and Leonard are true gentlemen of the old school and I cannot thank them or praise them highly enough for the way we were treated. We came there as strangers and left as family. A true pleasure!

Ernest had pulled out all the stops for his Grand Opening. A shuttle bus from the parking area to the factory, food, drink and entertainment, even a tattoo artist was on hand…and his signature lottery, where everyone gets a chance to buy one of his custom hand made by him, knives.

These custom creations can literally be turned around on the spot for twice or more of what you pay for one. They are in VERY high demand!

We walked into thru the gate and entered the training area. Heavy bags, speed bags and mats against the wall. Weight lifting equipment made this a full service training area/gym. Most of this was pushed up against the walls to make room for tables and chairs for attendee’s to sit and catch up on old times and make new times and just plain meet folks you’d talked to on the forums but never met in person. Pictures of past knives and knife shows with a very young Emerson at the table lined the walls. Glass cases with prototype blades and memorabilia also lined the walls.

The lottery knives were in a glass case to be viewed and a vendor area was set up further towards the factory area, with Emerson t-shirts and mugs. The Steel Flame guys had a table as well, blinging people out and spreading their love.  Outside a BBQ had been borrowed form LAPD and the food was cooking.

Yes, I added to my ink that day! My daughter Amber scored some Steel Flame bling of her own, Thank You Derrick!! A demonstration by Sifu Richard Bustillo and his superlative students was done and a very impressive one it was! A former Navy SEAL spoke about his training and his experience, both in his life and with Emerson knives.

And then Ernest Emerson spoke. He told of his humble beginnings and his road to where he is now. He thanked us, his faithful friends and customers, the USN in particular, for getting him to this place, that he couldn’t have done it without our support and friendship. Emerson Knives is a family run business and his entire family was, of course, in attendance. A nicer bunch of folks you’ve never met.

It was actually with sadness that we boarded the bus at the end of the day; we’d had such a great time making new friends, BS’ing with old friends and just hanging at such a cool place.

Ernest Emerson is a true gentleman and a class act. I am proud to have him as a friend.

Police officers have changed quite a bit since then both in technique and in dress. Long gone are the full flap holsters and regular, non-breakaway dress ties!

Enjoy!