Shoot to Kill

"Shoot to kill". You will hear this phrase hundreds of times when learning tactical firearms. Police, Soldiers and civilians are taught to "shoot to kill."

The reasons for this are simple. You are trained to shoot at center mass because you have the greatest chance of hitting your target and more important, stopping your target. This is a decision that has to be made in seconds and you don't have a lot of time to save your life or the life of someone else.

Shooting to injure lowers your chances of stopping that threat dramatically. Trying to aim at the leg of someone attacking you and probably running at you at the same time would cost you your life. If deadly force is required then you want to end the situation as quickly as possible with minimal loss of life and injury. The only time you will be shooting is if you feel deadly force is required.

Also, if you did shoot and injure them they still can attack can still attack and kill you and others. There are many accounts on youtube where a subject has been hit several times and still kept attacking.

The key here is when you decide to defend yourself, you must attack in such a manner to end the conflict as quickly as possible to avoid injury to yourself. This is the same way you must approach all self defense. Especially hand to hand and close combat where the risk of injury is even GREATER.

The only logical and practical solution is to adopt the "shoot to kill" attitude which means to do what is ever necessary to stop the threat as fast as possible with minimal injury to you or others. When you attempt anything less you leave yourself extremely vulnerable. One reason you don't see wrist locks and pressure points in the UFC is because they don't work against a non-compliant subject. In the real when you attempt those tricks it will do two things: 1. Signal to the target that you have some training and let him know you're trying to hurt him and 2. Give him the opportunity to do something more vicious and violent.

Honestly, I don't know a real martial artist who in the real world would ever take such a risk as to not end the fight as fast as possible. The only conceivable reason anyone would ever want to do this is because they don't want to hurt another human being. After almost 30 years I have heard every conceivable argument on the planet from the moral to the religious. And while my good nature wants me to agree with you, the practical SOB knows better. I know the idea of hurting another human being is unappealing. I agree. I'm not a sociopath, but I dislike the idea of being hurt or injured a lot more than I do the welfare of anyone who decides to cause me or my loved ones bodily harm.

Moral decisions are made BEFORE you act. Just like the "shoot to kill" policy, don't engage in any use of force unless you feel you're life is threatened and you STOP when you feel the threat is no longer an issue.

I get criticized for being too violent? OK, all I say is that do whatever it takes with the methods that have been proven to have highest percentage of success and stop when you feel you are safe. These are the same people who after they demonstrate a self defense technique will stomp on a downed target's head. I'm too violent?!?!

I will never tell you WHEN to fight, only HOW to fight. The only way people survive is when they are willing to do whatever it takes to survive. DON'T think about hurting another person, concentrate on doing whatever is needed to get home safely. This is at the core of The Self Defense Training System. This is the driving force of The Self Defense Company.


Train Honestly,
Damian Ross, CEO The Self Defense Company


Damian Ross is CEO of the Self Defense Company and developer of The Self Defense Training System, the most lethal and effective self defense system in the world, The Guardian Defensive Tactics Police Combatives Program, 60 minute Self Defense and the Family Safe Program. Mr. Ross also founded the Self Defense Instructor Program that helps people develop their self defense careers from the ground up. Mr. Ross is originally from Ridgewood, NJ where he was a High School Hall of Fame Athlete in football and wrestling as well as a varsity wrestling coach. He then went on to Lehigh University where he was a varsity wrestler and football player. Mr. Ross has 3 black belts, 4th Degree in Tekkenryu Jujutsu, 2nd Degree in Judo, 2nd Degree in Tae Kwon Do. In addition to his martial arts experience, Mr; Ross spent 8 years in the professional security and personal protection business. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities in reality based self defense.