What does a pickle jar have to do with strength? A whole lot, and I’ll explain how it relates to your survival on the street, shortly.
The FBI’s 2015 Law Enforcement Officers Killed & Assaulted report indicates more than 50K officers were assaulted while performing their duties in 2015. Almost one-third of the assaults occurred using personal weapons, i.e., hands, fists, or feet, and the attacks resulted in injuries. It therefore follows that if you’re on the street doing your job, there’s a good chance you’ll be a victim. Given the current societal climate, cops are targets, not just by the usual thugs, but also by many ordinary citizens. Recent police involved shootings played up by the media using false narratives have whipped up folks into a frenzy. They think it’s perfectly legitimate to disobey lawful orders and disrespect the police.
That said, it’s more important than ever to maintain your defensive tactics training, as well as your personal fitness. Having a strong core is the basis for winning confrontations. The core region targets the abs and all the muscles that stabilize the spine and pelvis. What can a strong core do for you?
- Allow for greater efficiency of movement
- Improve body control and balance
- Increase power output from both core muscles and peripheral muscles such as arms and legs
- Improve balance and stability
- Reduce risk of injury as the core acts as shock absorbers for jumps and falls
Now, back to that pickle jar. I like to use a pickle jar as an example. If you’ve ever tried to open a jar whose lid is on extremely tight, you recall the difficulty it entails. When you hold that jar in front of you with your arms extended, it’s difficult to open. However, if you bring that pickle jar in tight against your body, at the junction of your chest and abs, you’ll discover you can loosen the lid every time. Why? Because all of your power emanates from your core. That means explosive power is created when it comes from a tight core. Punches thrown from in close pack more power than when telegraphed like a roundhouse punch with an arm cocked behind. Elbows and forearms thrown from a tight create devastating destruction.
Let’s face it, we’re at the point where we’re putting hands on people on a routine basis. We can’t shoot, or taze people each time - we need to use personal weapons more often than not. Thus, it behooves trainers and officers alike to keep current with defensive tactics and fitness. Many, if not most of us, have wrestled someone to the ground and become spent as a result. Physically and emotionally, a physical fight is draining. Add into the equation the need to maintain your weapon, and a 30-second fight can seem like five minutes or longer. If you have yet to be trained in ground fighting, now is the time to start. A skilled ground fighter who can execute a mount and/or guard is going to go home a winner.
So how do you strengthen your core? Simple pieces of exercise equipment such as medicine balls and stability balls are great for strengthening the core. The plank, both prone and lateral, are also excellent, as are the supine bridge and pelvic thrusts. The superman exercise, where you lie on your stomach and raise your feet and arms off the ground, is excellent for building a strong lower back. Good morning exercises and dumbbell lunges are also beneficial. Other excellent core stability exercises include: lat pull downs, squats, crunches, dead lifts, chin-ups and pull-ups. If you have access to a heavy bag, 5-10 two-minute rounds is a terrific core builder and tightener.
As a reminder, think about opening that pickle jar when you’re training. Explosive strength can be unleashed from the core. Punches and elbows launched from arms held close to the core can cause the greatest damage. Trying to hold or bring someone down can be accomplished much easier if you’re not extending your arms.
Keep training and Stay Safe, Brothers and Sisters!
