Brian VanCise posted an interesting clip from the Gracies on his blog today.
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It's interesting... and they do have some points. But they also clearly either don't know or ignore some of the background to the cases they selected. And, in these clips, they don't seem particularly cognizant of the limitations and concerns caused by a cop's gear, especially the gun belt.
I'm going to hit on the third case shown first (female officer attacked; the officer in that case openly admits she missed several cues while dealing with the offender. However, that's beside the point. The first shot caught her completely by surprise, and she was out. All the grappling training in the world won't help you if you're unconscious. (I recently learned that she has no memory of that traffic stop, outside of watching the video. That's a clue to how severely she was beaten.)
In the second video (officer on traffic stop is assaulted by the passenger so that the driver can escape), I'll agree -- the Gracie's responses were definitely in the range of possible tactics to deal with the attack. Again, there were plenty of missed cues or tactical mistakes -- though I'll note that they're easy to see in hindsight! Not completely sure I like the idea of getting too tied up with a single guy when you don't know about others in the area. That "Good Samaritan" could as easily have been coming to help the bad guy -- and in some neighborhoods, would have!
The Gracie response to the first video (prolonged attack by ex-boxer who eventually gets shot) suffers from 20/20 hindsight -- and ignores the HUGE size difference that's readily apparent. I'd like to see them try some of that with a guy of a similar size who's not simply pawing, but seriously striking at them... The officer did a fantastic job escalating the use of force, and was clearly justified when he resorted to lethal force, having found lesser force to be ineffective in stopping the threat.
Don't get me wrong; I think the Gracies have a lot to offer, and have good material. (In fact, I'm considering trying to get my agency to send me to one of their instructor courses that's relatively nearby.) But I get tired of people trying to advertise their material by cherry-picking through events like this, without considering all the details.
{web fu failure deleted}
It's interesting... and they do have some points. But they also clearly either don't know or ignore some of the background to the cases they selected. And, in these clips, they don't seem particularly cognizant of the limitations and concerns caused by a cop's gear, especially the gun belt.
I'm going to hit on the third case shown first (female officer attacked; the officer in that case openly admits she missed several cues while dealing with the offender. However, that's beside the point. The first shot caught her completely by surprise, and she was out. All the grappling training in the world won't help you if you're unconscious. (I recently learned that she has no memory of that traffic stop, outside of watching the video. That's a clue to how severely she was beaten.)
In the second video (officer on traffic stop is assaulted by the passenger so that the driver can escape), I'll agree -- the Gracie's responses were definitely in the range of possible tactics to deal with the attack. Again, there were plenty of missed cues or tactical mistakes -- though I'll note that they're easy to see in hindsight! Not completely sure I like the idea of getting too tied up with a single guy when you don't know about others in the area. That "Good Samaritan" could as easily have been coming to help the bad guy -- and in some neighborhoods, would have!
The Gracie response to the first video (prolonged attack by ex-boxer who eventually gets shot) suffers from 20/20 hindsight -- and ignores the HUGE size difference that's readily apparent. I'd like to see them try some of that with a guy of a similar size who's not simply pawing, but seriously striking at them... The officer did a fantastic job escalating the use of force, and was clearly justified when he resorted to lethal force, having found lesser force to be ineffective in stopping the threat.
Don't get me wrong; I think the Gracies have a lot to offer, and have good material. (In fact, I'm considering trying to get my agency to send me to one of their instructor courses that's relatively nearby.) But I get tired of people trying to advertise their material by cherry-picking through events like this, without considering all the details.
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