26Dec05

Lion Hunting:

John Taylor referred to himself as "Last of the Ivory Hunters. =9D An adventurous Britisher, from the 1920s through the 1950s, John was on a more -or-less continuous safari in South and East Africa, hunting mostly elephant. The native Chinyungwe gave him the nickname, "Pondoro," which t ranslates to, "Lion." In such remote areas did he spend most of his adult life, that he didn 't even know WWII had broken out until he read about it in old newspapers used to wrap supplies he had arranged to be sent to him in the bush! Upon returnin g to London in the 1950s, he discovered, too late, that civilization represented a lethal snare. Owing to politics, he was unable to return to the Africa he loved. He died in London, penniless, in 1969.

He has interesting comments about lion hunting:

"... what rifle to use for lion? See to it that you have plenty of power. The lion's tenacity to life is something you can=80=99t possibly appreciate until you have had actual evidence of it. You can drill him through and through..., and he'll come on..., and he will still be able to kill you fir st. It's happened many and many a time.

... the British seem to have a mania for featherweight, smallbores, throughout Africa, and when I hear of one of them getting killed or mauled, I just can 't shed a tear.

... You may shoot many lion without being charged; but sooner of later you ' ll have to face one. I consider it the acme of foolishness to tackle a lio n with a low-powered rifle.

... when lion hunting, I strongly recommend you carry a good handgun, in an

open-top holster. When a lion gets you down... he will chew on an arm or l eg for a long time and appear to be quite satisfied. Men have tried to get hold of the lion's tongue, only to have their hands crushed to pulp. Had they a handgun... they could have blown out the animal's brains a few seco nds after being brought down."

Comment: "Tenacity for life" represents a challenge no matte r what you are trying to kill! In fighting, it is a matter of being more tenacious than your opponent. When you raise the ante high enough, most human opponents w ill break it off, rather than risk losing the only life they have.

His comments about fast pistols in open-top holsters are also interesting.

He apparently had scant interest in wimpy rifles and slow pistols. When carrying a rifle, you should always be carrying a pistol(s) too. When the lion charges, it is too late to "get ready!"

/John

26Dec05

From my friend who works at a "Gentleman's Club" in TX:

"We had the 'wrong dogs' loose in the club on 22 Dec! At midnight, the upstairs bar reported a fight in progress. Sure enough, two male customers were swinging at each other, exchanging verbal threats. As I arrived, one of th e combatants suddenly lunged backwards holding his wrist and screaming, =98He's got a knife!' The other combatant was, indeed, brandishing a (now bloody) blade at his opponent, and the rest of us.

I closed in, yelling 'police' and struck the arm holding the knife with my ASP expandable baton. The arm immediately went limp as the knife fell to t he floor. The suspect was completely confused from that point forward, and we

had no trouble getting him cuffed and out of the area.

Within moments, we received another frantic call! It was a different fight , this one in the downstairs bar. When I arrived, a fight was well and truly

in progress, and several others were doing their best to join in. The situation was getting out of hand!

It was so loud, verbal commands were unproductive, so, once again, I used m y baton to make a path through the mob to the original, two combatants. When

even that was not working well, I defaulted to my Panther Stun Gun. I bega n continuously discharging it as I moved toward the fight, making physical contact with the few who did not want to move.

I remembered 'The Four Ds.' Not only did this weapon (in co mbination with movement and verbal commands) 'divide their focus,' it certa inly also ' disrupted their plan!' Everyone finally started moving back. I had decisively seized the agenda, and all now stopped and looked to me to see what I would do next.

I wasted no time! We moved in, seizing the original combatants, who were both cuffed and evacuated immediately. The show was over almost as quickly as it had started, and the rest of the customers, seeing that there was no mor e excitement, went back to drinking and socializing as if nothing had happene d.

As for the few who came into contact with the Panther, reaction was immediate and dire. No one expressed interest in a second episode! I reco mmend this ERD for the kind of close-in work we do, where non-lethal weapons are indispensable!

I cannot stress the importance of being able to assess situations quickly, develop of plan quickly, as well as the ability to move smoothly from one weapon to the next. Verbal commands are paramount, but one must be prepare d to up the ante when necessary. When you carry only one weapon, and you are unable to think and speak clearly, you won't do much good in this business! "

Lesson: If you can refrain from panic, when all about you have given into it; when, despite chaos surrounding you, you can still think clearly and m ove quickly and deftly; all will eventually move back and let you take control. This is literally the definition of decisive leadership: a benevolent meateater, among grasseaters. Good show, Bud!

/John