Wax on Daniel son....

Whoa... what a day. Today we had what is called a DT Scenario (DT as in defensive tactics) It played out as follows you are dispatched as a single officer to some mock apartments where you need to take into custody a person who is less than cooperative.

No problem right, ya only you arrive and the guy is dressed in a padded suit and you are not allowed to strike him in the head or neck. Oh ya and I left out the part that he either out weighs you by 100 lbs, or he is a DT instructor with some pretty wicked skills. The goal, get him down and cuff him up.

What a gut check. I ended up being one of the last people to go in our class, so I had to wait around while I watched all of these bruised, battered, in some cases bloodied recruits stumble out of the rooms. I was up next when the aid car arrived for one recruit inside (he is okay, just a case of azthma) but that for some odd reason made me just a tad bit more nervous. Waiting around for my turn was like being six on Christmas Eve, okay bad analogy as there was nothing joyful about this experience.

In true Jason fashion, I seemed to think I could ust talk the guy into submission, but after a few minutes of that the inevitable happened and I had to go hands on. We restled around a little bit, I got in a few punches, we went to the ground, he threw me off him, we danced around the room, I threw a few Thai kicks, he retreated, I followed, and then as if I was in 7th grade and sneaking up behind my buddy I went for the old knee to the thigh. Evidetially, I hit the right spot and he dropped to the ground, at which point I pounced, and got him cuffed up. Certainly sounds a lot easier in the blogesphere than it was in real living color. There were a couple of times during my cuffing where they had to stop the scene, as in the heat of the moment I seemed to think I could make his arm bend in a way the human body is not designed for. So rather than have me break it we stopped and made sure I was heading in the right direction.

I must say I am not the least bit sad to say that this day on my schedule has come and gone...

See ya next time.

Black Eye Pleaseeeeee.........

No I am not talking about your favorite band, I am talking about my latest badge of honor from the Academy. On last Friday during what was supposed to be a non striking sparing drill, my partner got a little excited and slipped in an elbow. This immediately swelled up and sent my contact somewhere into the middle of my forehead. It wasn't to bad because we only had about 20 minutes left in this drill, so I just battled through with my one good eye. I guess that is why we have two. When I came home it was a little tricky to explain to my girls how I got in a fight at school, and that was okay.

As I strolled around campus today, it was amazing how many friends I made. Everyone stopped and wanted to here the story. The timing is actually perfect as tomorrow I have to play a bad guy for some of the other classes mock scenes. I know this sounds goofy, but with some of the fight scenarios that I have upcoming for my defensive tactics it is kind of nice to know that I can take a shot and keep on ticking.

Go ahead and say it, I know what you are thinking..... LOCO

Later
J

"It takes no talent to....."

For those of you who really know me you can probably finish the above quote, because it is part of the foundation that I live by. For those of you who are still in the dark let me break it down for you, "It takes no talent to hustle, therefore you have no excuses." A little harsh for some, but perfect sense for me. Well this week at the Academy we had a couple of days of incredibly intense physical training, the kind of stuff that makes you want to go find a corner curl up in a little ball put your thumb in your mouth and call for your mommy. Unfortunately, in this line of work that is not an option. These sessions are hard to explain unless you see them in person, but they require the ability to take the pain you are feeling and replace it with some other motivating factor that will allow you to persevere. For me that is my family, I am not about to let them down by quitting as a result of a little sweat and pain. I am not saying I do not have moments where my muscles fail and I fall, but when I fall I always get right back up. To quote Winston Churchill, "If you are going through Hell keep going." Needless to say the Officers who run PT were less than impressed with our classes effort, and they had no problem letting us know how they felt both verbally and by the extra reps they had us do. It was a good reminder that we are not individuals we are a team, and if part of the team is falling behind we all feel the consequences. Yes, tomorrow is Saturday and I should probably sleep in, but instead I am off to the gym bright and early. Come Monday morning, as everyone arrives in class there will be a new quote on our community board, and I know you know what it will say.

"IT TAKES NO TALENT TO HUSTLE, THEREFORE YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES!"

Respectfully climbing off my soap box,
Jrob