During wartime, the military’s job has been described as to “kill people and break things.”

However, in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the global War on Terror soldiers often find themselves carrying out missions that blur the line between military and law enforcement. This involves tasks like capturing and arresting suspicious people-which often must be accomplished while dealing with angry populations-while retaining the ability to move up the force continuum if necessary.

Here we see parallels to law enforcement officers, who must routinely deal with people violently resisting arrest and must also be able to defend themselves against armed and unarmed attacks from spitting distance. Unarmed attacks from close distance are also the most common threat faced by private citizens. Compare the number of people shot or stabbed to those struck by empty-hand blows, and it becomes apparent that unarmed defensive skills are a must for everyone. Even ...

Defensive Program for Law Enforcement Offers Valuable Lessons for Civilians

by E. Lawrence

“You need to have been hit. You need to have been put under the pressure of someone trying to tear your head off and know that you can deal with it and it’s not gonna kill you.”

These are the words of veteran police officer and Straight Blast Gym coach Paul Sharp. He, along with Straight Blast Gym VP Luis Gutierrez, spent years developing the ultimate physical control and self defense program for law enforcement, private security, military personel, and civilians. Called the ISR Matrix, it draws on Sharp’s time as a street cop, tactical team member, police trainer, and bodyguard, along with Gutierrez’ decade of experience in nightclub security for a variety of punk rock establishments.

ISR stands for intercept, stabilize, and resolve. Those three actions represent stages of a physical conflict, along with the techniques and strategies to employ ...

ISR Matrix Response Australia

October 2009 Issue #12
by Doug Nicholson

Aenean dictum ligula quis turpis lacinia iaculis. The lights were off. I could faintly see the shadows moving quickly. The annoying sound of the loud music made it difficult to concentrate on what was happening, and I wondered how the shadows themselves were able to concentrate. As my eyes adjusted, the shadows gained some substance, and I watched one dark form throw a series of hard punches at another dark form. The punches were hard enough for me to wince slightly. Even with boxing gloves on, I knew no Police Defensive Tactics Instructor would allow that amount of force to be used in training. Mainly because the students would not be able to defend themselves from it, as current DT’s training is of little use with aggressive noncompliant offenders.

Not only that, but with the darkness reducing student’s vision, the loud, (and really ...

Subject Control & Foundation Skills Program

www.ninjutsu.co.nz/Training+Resources/Maai+Hyoshi+Overseas.html

by Sensei Stephen Clark

On March 11th 2010 I travelled to Brisbane, Australia to complete the ISR Matrix Hostile Subject Control, Foundation Skills Program. This was being run as part of Tactical Week in Brisbane for Military, Law Enforcement and Security Staff to upgrade their knowledge and skills in a variety of areas, I was only going for the ISR Matrix Program.

What is ISR Matrix?

It is an integrated Defensive Tactics Program for Law Enforcement, Military and Security staff that can also be used for self defence by civilians as well as by professionals. The course I attended was Foundation Skills, which is suitable for civilians, with other courses available for specific Military, Police applications.

I.S.R. stands for Intercept, Stabilize and Resolve.

It was designed by coaches from the Straight Blast Gym in the USA, and contains tactics taken from ...