Eye Square Martial Arts

Cultural Preservation… with Bruises (sometimes).

Tag: self-defense mindset

  • Training, Safety, and Mindset: What Responsible Carry Really Means

    Training, Safety, and Mindset: What Responsible Carry Really Means

    It’s one thing to own a gun. It’s another to carry it daily. And it’s something else entirely to be prepared—mentally, physically, and morally—to use it.

    A gun doesn’t make you safe. Training does. Judgment does. Self-control does. Without those, a firearm can turn from a life-saving tool into a liability.

    Mindset First, Always

    Before you think about tactics or gear, you need the right mindset.

    • Carrying a gun means you’ve accepted a level of responsibility most people will never understand.
    • It’s not about being the hero—it’s about avoiding trouble whenever possible and stopping a threat only when there’s no other option.
    • The gun is the last resort, not the first move.

    If your ego is driving you to carry, you’re doing it wrong.

    Training: More Than Just Marksmanship

    You don’t rise to the occasion—you fall to the level of your training.

    That means:

    • Drawing from concealment under pressure
    • Moving and shooting with awareness of your surroundings
    • Target discrimination (knowing when not to shoot)
    • Scenario-based decision-making under stress

    Dry fire practice, range time, and force-on-force training are all part of the puzzle. And if you haven’t trained since your concealed carry class? You’re overdue.

    Situational Awareness > Speed

    Most violent encounters are won—or avoided—before the first shot is fired.

    • Can you spot a threat before it’s too close?
    • Are you tuned into your environment, or buried in your phone?
    • Do you know where the exits are when you walk into a store, restaurant, or parking lot?

    Awareness buys you time. And time buys you options.

    Safe Storage = Smart Ownership

    Not every threat is external. Especially if you have children, roommates, or visitors at home, safe storage matters.

    Options include:

    • Lockboxes or safes with quick-access
    • Trigger locks for backup storage
    • Keeping carry guns on your person—not loose in a drawer (or in a purse)

    The goal isn’t paranoia—it’s preventing tragedy.

    Closing Thought

    Carrying a gun doesn’t make you dangerous. But carrying one without training, discipline, and humility just might.

    In the next post, we’ll dive into the common arguments for and against civilian gun ownership—and how to respond with respect, logic, and facts.

  • The Smart Monkey

    The Smart Monkey

    Prepared, Not Violent – Part VII

    I was listening to a podcast hosted by Colion Noir where he interviewed a defense attorney with experience in self-defense cases involving firearms. Around the 40-minute mark, the attorney mentioned advice he gave to his son: avoid ego-driven conflicts.

    The advice boiled down to this: when dealing with a “typical jerk,” don’t escalate. Instead, offer a sincere apology—even if you feel wronged.

    That idea reminded me of something from Rory Miller’s work—either Facing Violence or Conflict Communication. He talks about the “Smart Monkey,” a concept rooted in the Triune Brain Theory of human evolution.

    According to this model, the brain evolved in three layers:

    • The Lizard – The medulla oblongata, responsible for survival instincts
    • The Monkey – The amygdala, concerned with tribal identity, emotion, and social behavior
    • The Human – The neocortex, home of logic, language, creativity, and reason

    Most interpersonal conflict—especially social aggression—happens at the Monkey level. As we’ve discussed in earlier entries, that’s because The Monkey lives in the world of emotion, ego, and social status.

    When someone violates The Monkey’s rules, it screams for satisfaction. This looks like insults, chest-thumping, and other forms of ego posturing—basically, flinging metaphorical feces. And if both monkeys keep flinging, things tend to escalate… until someone throws a punch.

    The problem is that outside a controlled environment (like a dojo or training gym), violence is illegal, no matter how ritualized it feels in the moment.

    Even worse, if you’re dealing with someone who has real experience with violence—especially criminal violence—they may not follow the same “rules” your monkey expects. They might skip the yelling phase entirely and go straight to weapons or a brutal preemptive strike.

    So… what do we do?

    As we’ve mentioned in earlier posts, the most reliable tool for de-escalation is a sincere apology.

    But here’s the hard part:
    Your monkey does not want to apologize.
    It wants to emotionally punish the other person. It wants to dominate. It wants to win.

    And the pull is powerful.

    Enter: The Smart Monkey

    The Smart Monkey knows how to manage these emotions.

    You’re not “giving in.” You’re soothing your own ego by choosing strategy over impulse.

    You can tell your monkey:

    “Yes, that guy was a jerk. But you’re smarter. You just outmaneuvered him. You got out safe, and he’ll be the one still raging at the air while you’re enjoying your evening.”

    Apologize. De-escalate. Walk away.
    Maybe even buy the jerk a beer.

    Not because he deserves it…
    …but because you deserve to survive.