There is a better approach. This is a holistic approach dealing with the synergy resulting from a combination of the two approaches above. Synergy is defined as “the interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce an effect different from or greater than the sum of their individual effects”. Instructors should consider teaching and students should consider learning this approach. By combining a strong castle with a well-trained and equipped knight, the net effect is enhanced.
I recall a television commercial with a woman at home, the burglar breaks in and the alarm goes off. He sees her and runs. Maybe this happens and maybe it does not. What will guarantee his running away is the alarm going off, and her meeting him in the hallway with a pistol and a determined look on her face. That is different. Imagine our home as our castle, our vehicle as our armor and our firearm as our sword. Train with home defense in mind with one weapon and vehicle defense and concealed carry in mind with another. Look at where in the home we store our firearms. How do we secure them when we are gone? What do we do with them when we get home? When in public or in our vehicle, where is our firearm? A pistol “way over there” in the glove box when someone grabs us at the door does no good. An ankle holster “way down there” when you are being robbed at the ATM is not much better. Consider how we harden the castle to better help the knight defend it. If you are sleeping in bed at night and the predator sneaks in, you wake up to a surprise and not much time to prepare for the fight. Disoriented, in the dark with someone on you is no way to start out a fight. An alarm or at least hardened doors will make noise to wake you up and give you a chance to prepare a proper welcome. We wouldn’t want to be impolite to our guest. What type of holster do we carry when driving long distances in our car and if we take it off, how do we get it on once we get there. Too often people will find it inconvenient and just toss it aside before going in to pay for gas. The issues are endless. Think about them ahead of time.
A proper mindset will help in this regard. Train your mind. Integrate your training and your environment. Think outside the box.
The point is; harden the castle, train the knight, just do one with the other in mind.
