In a suburban setting wouldn't it be a better option to escape to a neighbors house instead of retreating into the house? Even without a weapon it seems safer to be running through the neighborhood than retreating into the house with invaders. I know there are thousands of situations but I can't imagine the home invaders would chase you if you escape. Unless they know you personally and are after YOU. But for a random act of violence it seems that escape would be my families first option. If we can't escape then I will go to my handgun, carbine, etc.
Dear Scott:
Great question. If you consider the full scenario the way it was shown in the context of everything that was shot, that would have been addressed. When I choreographed the scenarios for the first episode, they went in this order:
1. Attacker at front door, escape safely out the back. Learning point = Nothing in your house is worth dying for. The best way of being safe may be to go out another exit, as long as you have a plan once you're out.
2. Attacker at front door, escape out back door, only to be surprised by a second attacker. Learning point = Look before you open the door.
3. Attacker at front door, retreat to safe room. Learning point = If you cannot exit or due to age of physical limitation can't flee quickly, hunker down.
4. Combined scenario--what you saw at the end of the show.
This is what I wanted everyone to see. Based on my background in video production (I founded Paladin Press' video department and ran it for 10 years), I was used to the "run to length" approach. In simple terms, you shoot and include as much video as necessary to present all the information. Broadcast television is very different and there's no way to cover all that in 22 minutes. I'm learning as I go.
The ultimate goal is to provide as much good information to you guys as possible. With that in mind, here's the written outline I did for episode 1. It shows the full scope of what I consider to be the basics of home defense. It will also form the foundation of what I share in the book Rob and I are working on.
The Best Defense against a home invasion is making your home a hard target
a. Your first priority should be to invest in the external security of your home
• External lighting and motion-activated lights
• High-quality, solid doors, deadbolt locks, reinforced strike plates
• Eliminate or reinforce weak points (i.e. windows in or near front door)
• Get a dog or create the impression of the presence of one
• Get an alarm system or create the impression of the presence of one
• Get to know your neighbors and work with them to support each other’s home defense plans
b. Make security rules and stick to them
• ALWAYS lock your doors
• Don’t open the door for strangers
• Don’t discuss or share exact details of your home defense plan with anyone outside your family
If someone does manage to gain entry to your home, you need to have plans of action.
a. These should include plans to:
• Escape out another exit
• Repel him at the door
• Withdraw to a predetermined location and fight
• Retreat to a safe room and barricade
b. These plans should be integrated into a dynamic and flexible flow of tactics
Staging Weapons
a. Evaluate your family’s level of comfort and responsibility with purpose-designed weapons and make your plans accordingly
b. Home-defense weapon attributes
• Instantly accessible
• Capable of causing serious damage to an attacker
• Provides reach while being appropriate to the environmental constraints of your house
• Easy to wield with one hand
c. Types of staged weapons
• Environmental improvised weapons (i.e. kitchen knives, frying pans, hammers, screwdrivers, brooms/mops/mop handles, etc.)
• Pre-positioned less-lethal weapons (i.e. sticks/canes in umbrella stands, OC staged in appropriate places (Velcro above doorways), hardwood dowels in window/door tracks, or anything else that denies unauthorized access while providing high-speed accessibility)
• Openly displayed “decorative” weapons (make sure they arm you, not the bad guy, and that they are appropriate to the physical constraints of that part of the house
• Hidden firearms (primarily reserved for safe room(s))
Develop and practice reaction plans for different rooms in the house
a. Assess your physical skills and condition and your willingness to employ extreme violence
b. Based on your assessment, develop primary, secondary, and tertiary plans of action, for example:
• Escape out another exit: Check visually first to ensure you’re not running into an ambush. Have a pre-determined safe rally point outside and away from the house—preferably a neighbor’s house.
• Deny access: If your physical security is good, you should have considerable warning. You may choose to make your stand at the front door and not allow the attacker entry.
• Arm yourself and retreat to a defensible choke point on the way to either your safe room or another exit. Use the choke point to funnel the invader to you and fight on your terms.
• Fight a retreating action as necessary to get to your safe room
Quiz and remind yourself often of your “go-to” weapons in different parts of the house
• Practice grabbing a weapon and maneuvering to a fighting to exits and safe rooms while “collecting” family members and moving them ahead of you.
• Identify projectile weapons that you can throw to cover your retreat.
• Have simple verbal commands to get everyone in the house to immediately follow the plan, i.e. “safe” for retreat to safe room, “fire” or "out" for exit.
• Stash a weapon in the bathroom as well, in the event an invasion occurs when you are using the facilities or as a last-ditch defense if you are taken hostage.
I hope this helps "fill in the blanks" and gives you an idea of our overall throught process in approaching the topic for episode 1.
Stay safe,
Mike
MBTV
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