Mindset for Wheelchair Self-Defense

All right now we're gonna talk about mindset. In my opinion, this is the most important piece of information in regards to wheelchair self-defense the reason for that is my personal experience in dealing with my own injuries, being a, a strong, capable warrior type with the Marines, and then being reduced, you know, to wheelchair status, if you will, and dealing with other people in similar circumstances, and since meeting people who were born to those circumstances or who have dealt with those circumstances for long periods of time. There is a mentality that is bred into the circumstance that if you're in a wheelchair, you are a victim already. There are already things that you just can't do. And that's really not the case. All this is everything that we've talked about, our methods of problem solving, a gunfight is just a problem or a series of smaller problems where we seek to find answers for them. Sometimes the answer is shooting, sometimes the answer is running away, sometimes the answer is covering yourself in a bulletproof blanket and hope waiting for it to pass over. But, you know, it's clearly identifying the problem and then finding solutions. But the first thing that you have to address is where these holes are in your mentality and regarding your own disposition. This victim mentality that's bred into the wheelchair mindset. And that it's many ways handed to us for those of us who were able-bodied and then put in a wheelchair due to circumstance, due to accident due to a certain injury or medical condition a big part of this recovery process, that many of us go through breeds a victim mentality. It says there's things that you can't do, things that you will never be able to do again. And the answer is that it's simply not true. Identifying that in yourself and saying that I'm not going to be that way and saying that I'm gonna take personal responsibility for those things that need to get done regardless, is the first step in establishing a solid mindset for this type of work. You have to say that I'm going to do this, I'm going to, this is now my responsibility, I'm not gonna rely on other people's defensive capacities to protect me. When you make that mental shift then we can start to really proactively work and say and give you the tools you need to take matters into your own hands to protect yourself. The first step in applying this problem solving mentality to this dynamic is establishing the ability to clearly identify what our individual problems are. For those in the wheelchair, some of the problems we've already discussed mobility, where can you go? What can't you go? What's blocking you? What are your physical limitations? And what you can do in that situation? Once you have clearly identified what is it that you can, can't do? What are you physically capable of? How well can you handle your firearm? Can you manipulate it one hand? Can you multitask? Like we talked about being able to push yourself around being able to pull yourself around with one hand being able to fire with the other hand what is it that you can do? What is it, can you do? What is it that you can get done? When you have really given yourself an honest assessment of yourself and where your physical capabilities are, then you can start applying those possibilities to your training. Your training has to be marked appropriately, you have to be able to challenge yourself and real life scenario type scenarios. You have to be able to induce stress what you should most importantly be doing is be training in that environment. Do you live in an urban environment? Where you're crossing parking lots a lot? Are you outdoors a lot? Do you live, you know, out in more of a rural area? What are you practicing on the right terrain? Is your wheelchair set up for that? You know, your training has to reflect the reality that you live. And then you have to constantly reassess honestly both yourself and your training regimen. Are you, you know, are you starting to go down this training route? And we start to establish these techniques, and these methods, and these tactics, these strategies for you as an individual, but, you know maybe we start getting too abstract and it stops applying to your reality. Something you have to do is constantly go back and reassess your training capacity. What am I doing this the right way in my my training accurately reflecting my reality? Am I building myself up to protect myself or am I developing techniques that are just gonna hurt me? Like we talked about some of the flat range techniques just sitting still and, you know pointing a weapon shooting. That's not gonna help you in the long run. So taking responsibility for your training is not just taking responsibility for you know, saying that I'm gonna protect myself now, you have to constantly say, this is working for me this is not working for me. I can do this, or I can't do this. The most important thing I want you to take away from this is all of these things. Clearly identifying problems, applying your training to those particular problems and abilities constantly, honestly, reassessing yourself. All of those have to do in the end with empowering you as an individual we talked about taking responsibility for your own life, for your own protection. It's not about going to a class and having an instructor hand you techniques and hand you these tactical concepts that may or may not work for you. You know, here's a pill, take this pill and, you know call me in the morning. It has to be you that identifies what's relevant to your life and where you're gonna take it. What's you're gonna do with it. Is it working for you? Is it going to keep working for you? You know, constantly be honest with yourself and do what you need to do to build yourself up and take responsibility for your own life and your own protection.