Unfortunately, active-shooter incidents have become not only a frequent story on the nightly news but also a threat to people of all ages in virtually all locations.

These horrible events can and do occur at any time, so it’s important to have an overarching plan to protect yourself and your loved ones should you ever wind up in the presence of an active shooter.

If you’re reading this article, it can be assumed that you’re either a martial arts instructor like me or a practitioner. (If you’re not already a martial artist, I highly suggest you join a program — there’s nothing more empowering!)

Through your martial arts training, you have the ability to defend yourself, which means you already have a last-resort plan of action should you find yourself confronted by an active shooter. However, it’s very unlikely that you will ever face such a criminal in a fair fight because an active shooter, by definition, has the advantage of possessing a firearm — and he’s already using it.

That’s precisely why my team and I developed an active-shooter training course that teaches students to place their focus on being aware and devising an exit strategy, as well as recognizing threats before they manifest.

I started teaching active-shooter tactics because of my background in law enforcement and martial arts. Additionally, our school is a certified krav maga center that teaches all kinds of weapon disarms, so developing the course was a natural fit.

The program has garnered a lot of press because whenever a tragedy occurs, martial arts school owners scramble to find a course that will help them help their students. For several years, I’ve conducted this training around the country, as well as online.

Here, I will present it to yet another audience that may be in need of a plan for an active-shooter scenario.

How to Respond

Run

The No. 1 option is to run. If you find yourself in a situation in which shots are being fired, your priority is to get away.

To that end, have an exit strategy in place. Always be aware of potential escape routes no matter where you are. Some people mistakenly assume that the best exit is the same door they used to enter the room or building, but that’s not always the case. In a restaurant, the best exit might be a backdoor or a window.

Even a Sheetrock wall can be broken through in an emergency.

Hide

The second option is to hide. When running isn’t possible, it’s a good way to increase the odds that you’ll survive, but you need to understand where and how to hide.

Here is what I recommend in our course: Strategically position yourself in a room where the shooter isn’t so you have the best chance to defend yourself. Barricade the door(s) with any furniture that can be moved. Stay quiet and stay by yourself (unless you’re with loved ones).

If possible, darken the room. Consider using your belt, purse strap, or cellphone charging cable to secure the door.

Fight

The third option is to fight. Think of this as the last resort in any active-shooter situation.

Our course focuses on this component for obvious reasons: I’m a martial artist and I’m usually teaching other martial artists, so it only makes sense to spend time fine-tuning the physical side.

Martial arts schools that follow our method often incorporate the combatives they teach every day, along with our gun-disarm strategies. Those gun disarms grew out of my background as a National Rifle Association instructor, as well as a krav maga, jiu-jitsu, and karate black belt.

All that enabled me to create a set of disarms that are easy to learn, easy to remember, and easy to implement under stress. Of course, there are other ways to take a gun away from a shooter, but it’s always best to concentrate on methods that a person with no previous experience can retain.

Having a Gun Might Not Help

I’m a gun owner and a believer in the Second Amendment, but I caution my students — and they always find out in our course — that carrying a firearm can add a huge variable to a mass-shooting situation.

If you draw a gun in an active-shooter scenario, you might be putting yourself and those around you in greater danger. Here’s why: When responding to an active-shooter report, law-enforcement officers immediately will perceive any person holding a gun as a suspect — even if that person is just reacting to shots being fired.

There will be precious little time for the police to ask questions because ending the threat is their top priority.

The other thing you need to remember is that if you deploy your gun and the shooter sees you, you will inadvertently draw his fire, which will endanger you and the people around you. In cases in which the shooter has a semi-automatic weapon, you might cause a hail of bullets to be unleashed in your direction.

For Ongoing Training

I always advise people to find a martial arts school that includes an active-shooter training program. It’s likely you can find such a facility in your town.

By all means, consider joining — after you’ve checked the instructor’s credentials. As we all know, participating in a program is the best way to learn the real-life application of martial arts skills.

It’s one more way to get people to learn awareness skills and physical techniques that can save their lives.

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