“There’s no
room for ego...
Protect your
face; defend
yourself. This
isn’t MMA.”
participants gained in themselves and in
each other.
Detective David McQueary, who
regularly attends the UPD classes, said,
“Nothing is given away. You earn it.”
Maldonado shared his philosophy
toward self-defense and the importance of
learning through doing.
“There’s a natural fight or flight
response, but you can learn to control it,”
he said. He explained that practice allows
you to think and behave rationally, even in
the midst of your body’s natural, physical
reaction to crisis – racing pulse, massive
rush of adrenaline. The UPD classes are
specialized. They provide scenario work,
forcing officers to respond to threatening
situations in a controlled environment so
they can test themselves under pressure
but without the danger.
“This is about self-preservation,” Maldonado said. “There’s no room for ego...
Protect your face; defend yourself. This
isn’t MMA [mixed martial arts].”
He continued, “I tell people, ‘Be here
now.’ When you’re hit, you have to accept
it and move on. You can’t get angry. Say
to yourself, ‘I made a mistake.’ And get
over it.” He warned that getting angry and
losing focus is dangerous and ineffective;
remaining cool and in control is the safer,
more effective way to handle confrontation. “Success during a fight often depends
on surviving the initial attack,” he said.
As officers get better at responding to
attacks, they gain confidence in themselves.
As they watch their colleagues improve,
they gain confidence in them. As they all
support each other through the hard work,
they become a more cohesive team.
30
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And sometimes that confidence is
enough to avoid violence all together.
When an officer has excellent command
presence, he or she doesn’t have to say a
word but the perpetrator can almost hear
the officer saying, “If you come at me, I
will defend myself. If you hit me, I will respond with power and precision – and you
will go down.” That confidence enough to
dissuade some would be offenders from
resorting to violence.
“And, the stress relief is huge,” Officer
Long said. Many officers include exercise
on to-do lists, but having a class like this
ensures that an officer’s schedule includes
exercise. “This class is awesome,” Officer
Long said, as everyone in the class nodded
enthusiastically in agreement. ■