An Army staff sergeant and Iraq war veteran on leave from his overseas posting is being hailed as a hero after a would-be bank robber pulled a gun on his family.
This is a great story, with a great ending, with great lessons for everyone. I will share two lessons later. Watch the following video (compliments of NBC News with Mark Potter reporting).
Lesson Number Two: Don’t Panic, Stay Calm. Albeit this Dad is a trained professional soldier with 5 tours of duty in Iraq. However, the lesson here is that we parents MUST do all that we can to be prepared and ready to move to action –and the right action– to protect our children.
This takes a calm and clear mind. The father stayed calm (by the way he moved the chairs in position to shield his children, the perception could be he did not panic).
This is a learned skill –staying “calm” and not panicking– which can be acquired through proper training. Training ourselves to remain calm in stressful situations is key. For example, Verbal Self-defense (Verbal Judo) teaches a philosophy of how to stay calm and look creatively at conflict and use specific strategies and tactics to find (peaceful) resolutions.
Martial arts and self-defense programs, or at least the right programs (and teacher) is the key.
For me and my family, it’s not an option!
As an education activist and self-defense expert, I highly recommend self-defense and martial arts! For me and my family, it’s not an option. Everyone in my household MUST train in martial arts and learn self-defense!
If you do not know of a martial arts school or self-defense program in your community, please contact me at 856-235-0414 (ask for Peter Liciaga!)
Your Mount Laurel Martial Artist,
http://www.peterliciaga.org/
