Traveling to the Unknown

A friend of mine is headed out on a mission trip so I gave him some advice about how to carry important documents and money. 

Cash is king everywhere.  So you should have some to travel.  When I was working overseas I carried enough to get me out of the country if need be.  It’s a worst-case scenario, but it gave me some peace knowing that I could always get out on my own if I needed to.  That much money needs to be hidden some where out of site and preferably on your body.  I kept the money, my passport, and ID in a neck wallet.  At work I was required to show it, but once I left work I kept it under my shirt.  Spending money should be kept in multiple pockets so you never pull out a big amount of cash. 

When traveling overseas you should also have copies of all your IDs, Passport, Social Security Card, Birth Certificate and important numbers like credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and important phone numbers (make sure the info is safe).  This is probably over kill, but if you keep copies of all this stuff it’s easier to prove you are you if somehow you lose the originals.  The US State Department will help you if you lose your passport and ID, but it will take them time to prove you are you.  During that time you are stuck at whatever location you are at.  If you have copies of your IDs it will help speed up the process.  I kept copies in my bag at my hotel/living quarters and copies on a thumb drive.  I also gave copies to my wife and kept them on an online server (DropBox, it’s free).  I never had to use any of those, but it was nice to have just in case. 

When I was going through the airports I kept my money and IDs in my neck wallet and didn’t take it off.  I kept my ticket and passport in my front shirt pocket, a little spending money in my front left pocket, and the rest of my spending money in my other front pocket.  For me it’s more comfortable to sit with things in my front pocket, but it’s also harder for someone to pick your pocket if things are in the front. 

Let people know where you are going, whom you are going with, and when you are going to be back.  If you can, have an evacuation plan in place before you leave.  In the evacuation plan add a way to communicate with family that you are having an emergency.  Have your family watch out for scams.  A popular scam in the last couple years is contacting family members and telling them you are in trouble, but they can help.  All your family has to do is send money to make sure you are safe.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Worried to Death

A long time ago in a state far, far away (California) I volunteered at the Placentia Police Department.  Placentia is a small city in Orange County California, one city over from Disneyland.  I loved my time there and learned some great lessons from some really good police officers.  As far as I know, Placentia PD was the first to implement Megan’s Law.  Megan’s Law is the California law that started the sex offender registration and then was expanded to allow local police to notify the public of a sex offenders in the area.  Most states have the same law now.  I thought for sure that the Supreme Court would strike the law down because of rights to privacy, but it hasn’t happened yet.

It was 1996 or 97 when the PD decided that they were going to implement this and pass out fliers to the neighborhood a paroled child molester was moving into.  I helped pass out fliers with pictures of the guy and information about his MO (Modus Operandi), parole conditions, address, some other personal information I can’t recall, and a time and place of a public meeting.  I had a special connection as I was a teenager still living with my parents two blocks down form this guy.  My youngest sister was only a couple years older then his last victim.

People were outraged.  How could the police department let a sex offender move into their neighborhood?  To the police department’s credit, they were trying.  They even had an expert in child molesting come in to talk about keeping kids safe from being molested.  Some of the uniformed cops talked, and the investigator in charge of the case spoke.  They all talked about keeping kids safe from potential molesters.  The crowd was almost ready to riot.  All they cared about was getting rid of the one molester they knew about.  The investigator tried to give states, tell people how many kids had been molested by people that no one knew about.  The crowd didn’t care.

The meeting broke up without anything constructive getting done.  But I learned something.  People will always focus on one perceived threat and completely ignore everything else.  This guy was a threat, but not much after the fliers were put out.  His neighbors pretty much spit on him anytime he left the house, there was always a cop driving by, and his parole officer was there daily.  A couple weeks later he moved a couple miles away, and then couldn’t get a job because of the publicity.  A job was on his conditions of parole, so he went back to jail. 

After he moved everyone went back to their lives like there was no danger anymore.  I know for a fact a couple years before this kids had been molested at a day care out of someone’s home a block away and I’m sure kids have been molested in the area since. 

So what did I learn?  People will worry about small things they can see and forget about everything else.  People use to call it being an ostridge, if I can’t see the evil it can’t see me.  Now it’s being called being a sheeple.  People that act like sheep and follow the person in front of them and have a sheep dog to protect them from the wolves.  People are still the same.  They want other people to take care of them and will only look at danger if you force it upon them.  Then they will be outraged.  Outraged that there is danger in our lives and just as outraged that it was shown to them.  They would rather live in ignorance then reality. 

Don’t be part of the Sheeple.  Learn what dangers are in your life and then take reasonable precautions to avoid them.  If you ignore them they just might come crashing down on you and your family.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Wet to Wild

Last week I had a quite a day.  I got caught in the weather in south Texas.  The rain was incredible.  Roads started flooding out less then an hour into the storm.  I was trying to get in and out before the weather but didn’t make it.  Then when it started raining (and I had to work outside) I realized I forgot my jacket.  It was at home drying form the day before.  Nice! 

Anyways here is some video and pictures I took.  I wanted to get pictures but my iPhone isn’t waterproof and pictures weren’t coming out taken from inside the truck.  I also wanted to take more video but the conditions where almost impassible and I had to put the camera down and drive at the parts that would have made great video.  If I knew it was going to be that bad I would have stayed home.  The rain was worst then the Typhoon I lived through in Japan. 

Here’s a picture of the road conditions at the beginning of the storm.

This video was taken on the dirt road heading out to the main road.  I had to use the trees to make where the road was.  And the trees where already collapsing in.  The road was wider when I went in.  I had to stop filming to pass a truck going the other way.  Yes the road was a river of running water.

This is when the storm started to get back.  I was wondering if there was an ark around I could use to get home.

Then it got worst.  I couldn’t believe it got worst.  The video through my iPhone was actually better for visibility then looking out the window.  This was the only time I’ve actually been scared driving a truck.  I wasn’t sure if the trailer would blow over while attached to the truck or if the road was still there.  Going the opposite way I could see places that the road had already been washed away.

Things I learned or was reminded of; check the weather before you leave, be prepared to stay some place if you have to, have an extra jacket in your vehicle, have extra clothes in your vehicle, let people know where you are going and when you are going to be back, and sometimes you just have to keep going.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Happy Mother's Day

I hope you didn't forget, and if you did it's never too late.  Drop a card in the mail.  Your Mom will assume the mail was slow.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Follow the Money

Bank of America has been all over the news since McMillan Firearms posted about a meeting they had on their Facebook Page.  The bottom line of the meeting, after 12 years of working together B of A no longer wanted McMillan’s business since they were now making firearms instead of just accessories.  There are conspiracy theories running wild, from full on tin hat people to take over the government people.  They are kind of funny.  I’ve got a lot of respect for Kelly McMillan who just keeps say this is what happened.  He won’t speculate or bad moth B of A except to say that they won’t be doing business with them anymore.  I heard rumors that McMillan was going to stop excepting B of A credit cards and bank cards for transactions.  I hope that is true. 

Here’s my take on the situation and why you should care.  B of A is making an excuse to get rid of McMillan as a customer.  B of A wants customers that are not in good with money.  Major banks have been getting more and more money from fees in the last couple years.  If a customer pays off his or her credit card balance every month the bank doesn’t get any interest (banks call these people dead beats behind your back).  If you keep your free checking account balanced then they can’t fee you for overdraft.  According to other sources McMillan actually keeps up with its finances and keeps its revolving debt down.  Translation, B of A is unable to charge McMillan more for the accounts and McMillan was locking up money that B of A could loan to someone else that they could charge more.

I think B of A made a financial analysis of the McMillan accounts and determined that the money McMillan was using could be given to another customer that would yield the bank more profit.  All the bank needed was a reason for McMillan to close its accounts.  If you don’t think the major banks in America would do this, I ask you why not?  Currently there is no recourse to them.  If they blow it and lose all their money our Government will just give them any money they need. 

So why should you care?  B of A sets policy for most banks.  Where B of A goes most other banks follow.  You have to watch your accounts with the attitude that the bank is trying to steal money from you (because they are trying to do it in the ways of interest and fees).  If you are getting charged for having an account, move your accounts.  Every bank will take your money initially.  If that bank doesn’t behave, move to another one.  The days of our grandparents having money in the same bank for 30 years is over.  Banks see you as a way to make money.  They do figures like profit per costumer to see how much money they can get from you.  Banks can make plenty of money off you the traditional ways and now in the digital age they can make more profit then in the past. 

The banks will try to slip a $1 charge for something in, or a $5 per month charge to every customer.  The most common times for bans to change their terms of service is at the beginning of summer and at Christmas time.  They have found that people pay attention the least during these periods. 

The bottom line is that you need to be prepared to move your account every two or three years.  Most smaller banks will help you change all your electronic debts and deposits.  It seems like a daunting task, but you can do it online in less then an hour.  The last time I changed banks it took me about 3 hours to complete everything because I went down and opened the account in person.  I’ll be changing banks again next month because mine has a horrible online bill pay and it doesn’t always work right. 

Top three reasons to change banks (all from personal experience); 3 You feel like you work for the bank, 2 You spend more time dealing with them then you would at a part time job, and the number 1 reason, you start paying them to have the privilege of giving them money.

Keep your money yours and pay attention to what the banksters are doing.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Wholesale Ammunition

At the end of last month I got a really cool email from Lucky Gunner.  Lucky Gunner is an online ammo company and Russ wanted to know if I wanted some free ammo to shoot.  My first thought, of course!  Who wouldn’t want free ammo.  But I had to write him back and say I’ll do the test as long as I can write about exactly what I found, good or bad.  I also told him it’s been almost 10 years since I ordered ammo from the Internet.  He said that was fine and wanted to know what I shot.  I gave him my list of what I train with the most (9mm, .32 ACP, 5.56mm, and 7.62x39).  I also told him I could get rid of some .45, .44, .22, or .38s.  He sent me two boxes of .32 ACP Magtech 65 GR JHP.  I carry a .32 Kel-Tec P32 as a back up and when I can’t carry my Glock. 

I received an email order confirmation that an order had been placed for me with a gift card.  The next day I got another email saying my order had been shipped.  Two days later I got an awesome little box in the mail.

It looks like they just put an order in for me and didn’t treat me special.  In the military and as a contractor my company was sent things but they just showed up in the mail.  I never got any order confirmations.  So it appears they have enough faith in their system to get things out on time. 

I wanted to do a pour-man’s ballistic test on the ammo along with my current .32 carry load (Speer Gold Dots).  So I was going to test Lucky Gunner for sure and buy extra Speer Gold Dots.  The price was right, until shipping was added.  Ammo is heavy and expensive to ship.  20 Rounds is $26 (I love that they put $26 instead of $25.99), which is about the going rate.  Then I added shipping and it was another $13.49.  Too expensive for my blood, so I started looking at other prices on the site. 

Lucky Gunner comes into something when you start looking at buying in bulk or buying things you can’t find at your local store.  Since I shoot a 9mm (because it’s the cheapest center fire handgun round) I looked at 9mm in bulk.  The following is an accountant’s analysis of Lucky Gunner’s prices.  I pulled prices from the Lucky Gunner and Academy Outdoor web site on May 7.  I’ve been buying ammo from Academy for the last couple years and found that their online price matches what I find in the stores.  I used the cheapest ammo each had and then compared prices on ammo they both stocked.

If you look close, Monarch steel case ammo is the cheapest stuff I can find.  For practice it doesn’t bother me to shoot.  It does recoil noticeably more then Federal, Sellier & Ballet, or Winchester.  Before I found Lucky Gunner I would buy Winchester White box to shoot competitions, but I think I’ll start shooting Blazer.  I’ve shot tons of this stuff in .45 and never had an issue.  (Special Note: Lucky Gunner has brass cased Blazer 9mm ammo on sale for cheaper then the aluminum stuff right now).  At the bottom of the chart you can see if you are going to buy large amounts of defense ammo Lucky Gunner is considerably cheaper then my local Academy.

The Lucky Gunner site says it keeps everything up to date and it looks like it’s true.  In the time it took me to finish this post, Hornady Critical Duty ammo is no longer listed on the site. 

I’m saving my pennies and next month will be ordering a case of Blazer ammo.  I’ve looked at the Lucky Gunner site for a couple weeks now and they rotate sales almost daily, so check them out and find something you like on sale.  When looking at ammo prices, sit down and do the math.  Remember to factor in sales tax and/or shipping costs.  I would also say that paying a little more to a place that is in the firearms business and that will continue to help you in the future is worth it.  Lucky Gunner is a new player but after dealing with them I think they will be around for a long time to come. 

Hat tip to Russ at Lucky Gunner that set all this up, found my web site, and sent me some free ammo!

Stay Safe,

Ben

Car Accident! Now What?

Last week I saw two car accidents.  One I stopped to help, the other I couldn’t get to.  Seeing two in a week is a lot, but chances are sooner or later you will see an accident happen in front of you.  The decision to help or not is up to you, but I try to help as much as possible (what goes around comes around).  Here are some things to think about if you are going to help someone else in a traffic accident.

Call for help.  Don’t assume someone else has already called.  If you can’t call, tell someone else to call.  Chances are pretty good that you won’t be the only one that stopped to help.  Make sure more help is on the way before you continue.

Your first concern has to be your safety.  You can’t help anyone if you are hit by another car driving by.  An old cop gave me some great advise for directing traffic that applies here, “assume you are invisible and no one sees you.”  If you are standing in the roadway where cars drive, someone will hit you.  Make sure you and your vehicle are out of the way of other motorist.  If you have to stand in lane to help, put your vehicle blocking the lane and turn your wheels away from where you plan to be.  This way someone has to go through your car to hit you, and if someone is looking at the accident and rear-ends your car it should (in theory) turn away from you.

Next look at ensuring the safety of those involved in the accident.  Again you can use your vehicle to block traffic from running into the smashed cars or running over the person if they are lying in the road.  It’s been my experience the most needed thing to ensure the safety of those involved is to tell them to get out of the road.  People will do quite a few crazy things after an accident because they aren’t thinking straight.  The two things I’ve seen a bunch are the people want to stand in the roadway and look at the damage to their vehicle.  For some reason it doesn’t bother them that they are standing in the middle of the freeway with cars flying by at 70 MPH.  The other thing I see is someone standing behind the accident trying to direct traffic around his or her disabled car.  For either of these situations, stand in a safe place and tell the person involved to get out of the road or to come talk to you.  I’ve done both with a command voice and every time people listen to me.  They just don’t know what to do after an accident and are in a state of disbelief.  

Once everyone seems safe, ask everyone if there are any other people in the vehicles.  If someone is suffering from a head injury they might not remember that their friend was in the back seat.  If those involved won’t/can’t answer questions, look for yourself.  Remember to look out for your safety. 

If people are still in vehicles, look hurt or can’t get out of the car by themselves, and there isn’t any immediate danger (like the car is on fire), encourage them to stay put.  A couple reassuring words will go a long way.  Try to stop other from “helping them” out of the car.  If someone isn’t getting out on their own there could have major injuries.  If they are moved improperly it could be life threatening or cause permanent damage.

If you find multiple injuries that look bad, call 911 back and tell them what you see.  If your hands are busy helping someone don’t stop, have someone else call 911 and describe what you see.  The operator is going to need how many people are involved, how bad the injuries are, and if the road is blocked for emergency vehicles.  After that they will start asking you questions, if you are not busy actively helping someone, answer the questions. 

When help arrives, give them a quick overview of what you know.  It needs to be short (like 2 sentences).  Example, there are four people hurt, the worst is this one with… the others have…  Then wait.  The emergency personnel will tell you if they need anything else.

If you can, stick around to answer more questions and give a witness statement.  The cop will just ask you what you saw.  If it’s a minor accident it doesn’t matter.  If it’s a major accident where people were hurt, the police will have many questions.  If you have to leave and still want to help give the cop one of your business cards, or just write down your name, phone number, and “Witness” on a piece of paper and give it to the cop.  If you have to leave, watch out for cops asking for your driver’s license.  No they aren’t going to write you a ticket or charge you with anything, they just know you won’t leave without your license.  If you are going to help the police with their investigation/report, be patient.  It takes forever to figure what happened at a traffic accident.

Stay Safe,

Ben

Loading Your Kids, Continued

The BMW of Car SeatsYesterday we talked about loading your kid first and some options if someone attacked you after you loaded the kid.  Today I want to back up and talk about where you park the car.  Set up is one of the best things you can do to stay out of trouble. 

Busy and deserted parking lots are both dangerous for the same reason.  If there is one car there is a place for a person to hide.  Where you park your vehicle can be important.  Don’t park next to big vans or trucks that hide your car.  You want to be able to see around your car when you walk out.  You can’t control who parks by your car when you are inside, but you can start out right.  I like to park next to a planter or a cart return thing.  That way no one can park next to me, at least on one side.  It’s also super convenient to get a cart and to return one when I’m next to the return.

Also think about parking in a row that allows you to check out your vehicle before you get to it.  I like to walk up the row next to the one my car is parked in.  If I can’t see around my vehicle clearly, I’ll walk past the car and then come back to it. 

When you are going to leave the store, plan to leave.  Get all your stuff together, finish that phone call, and have your keys in your hand before you walk out the door.  Take the cart with you, don’t carry three bags in each hand.  Keep your head up and walk with confidence.  Look around and don’t be afraid to meet other people’s gaze.  If someone approaches you that you don’t know, tell him or her to stop and go away.  Don’t be afraid to be rude to someone.  A good person will understand that you are alone with your child and won’t hold it against you. 

If someone asks you if you want help, tell them no.  No is a complete sentence.  If the person ignores the no and continues to talk, that person means you and/or your kid harm.  Yell at them, scream for help, tell people to call 911.  That person will most likely leave.

As you are walking towards your vehicle and looking for anyone out of the ordinary, remember that your safest place is probably back in the store.  Most people think their car is safe, and it is.  Once you get inside, lock the doors, and get the engine running.  The problem is that it takes a lot of time to get into the car.    

Once you get to your car and start loading the kid and your stuff, keep looking around for people approaching you.  With your stuff and kid half in the car is when you are most vulnerable.  That said, it’s not a race to put your kid and stuff into the car and get out of there.  Criminals are trying to pick the victim that is the least likely to give them a problem.  Most are lazy and looking for the easy score (check out Violence as a Deterrent to learn more about criminals).  If you already look scared by rushing to put your stuff in, the criminal will use that to his advantage.  He doesn’t want someone looking around and that notices him walk up.

Increase your personal space boundaries when you are putting your kid in the car.  If someone walks up that doesn’t own the car next to you, challenge him or her verbally.  Use an accusing tone and something like “What do you want?” or I use an annoyed loud voice and say “can I help you?”  If they don’t mean you harm the worst that will happen is someone gets mad.  If that person is trying to get to you, he may say “sorry I was only trying to help…” and continue with some long-winded reason he wanted to help you.  Tell him “I don’t need help.  Leave!”  Use a command voice and don’t add a thank you or I’m sorry.  This person is looking for a way to get close to you and your kid.  If that person ignores you, start yelling for help, screaming at them to get away, and yelling for someone to call the police.

Once you’ve opened your car and started loading it, you are pretty much committed when you have your kid.  So if someone does approach you and looks weird and does or does not follow your verbal challenge, forget your stuff, grab your kid hop in the car and lock the doors.  Don’t worry about what door it is, just get in.  Ever if you are in the back you can crawl over to the front.

My normal loading drill when it’s just the kid and me looks like this; I put the kid in the basket before we walk out.  I’ve got my keys in my hand and am looking around as I walk to my truck.  As I come up to my truck I’ll throw my stuff in the bed, push the cart into the return (because I parked next to it), grab the kid and only unlock my driver’s door.  I put the kid on the center counsel and jump in the truck after him.  I pull the door closed, lock it, start the truck, and then turn around to help my kid into his seat and strap him in. 

It’s not a perfect solution and is changing almost monthly as my kid gets older (he doesn’t want to ride in the cart anymore).  He’s three now so my load plan won’t work if you have a newborn.  Think about how you load your kid(s), when you are at the most danger, and think of what ifs.  If someone approaches me while I’m at this point, what will I do?  If I’m going to challenge someone, what will I say?

Stay Safe,

Ben  

Loading Your Kids

The BMW of Car SeatsRecently I had someone ask about loading his infant into a car seat in the parking lot safely.  I can’t believe I haven’t talked about this.  The question comes up all the time and I have been working on this for the last three years (I have a 3-year old son that still needs help getting into the car seat).

You should always be looking around even in your driveway while walking to your car and before loading your kid.  In big parking lots you should be looking around even more.  Large parking lots are dangerous places.  Criminals use parking lots to find their victims.  Keep looking around, looking for anyone that is paying attention to you.  If someone is paying attention to you and wants to do you harm, you don’t have enough time to get you and the kid into the car.  Go back into the store and wait.  If the person doesn’t leave, call the police.

One of my favorite places to shop here in Texas is HEB.  They will always ask you if you want help out to your car (they offered me help even when I only had a candy bar).  If you have lots of stuff or it’s dark and you are alone, take advantage of it.  Generally there is more safety in numbers.  They HEB person can watch your cart while you load your kid, and you have short-circuited one of the most common ways for someone to get into your space in a parking lot.  They will come over to help you with your groceries. 

You need to learn how your car door locks work.  The best thing you can do is only unlock the door that you are loading your kid into and have the rest locked.  You should also consider putting the car seat in the middle (back middle is the safest seat in the car, generally) so you can swing the kid into his seat and jump in next to him.  Once inside pull the door closed and lock the car (yes this may not be possible in the summer in South Texas).  Then strap the kid in.  When you load your stuff you should have all the doors locked except the door you are working out of. 

You can also load your stuff first and then put the kid in.  I generally put my kid in first so I know he isn’t going to get ran over or snatched.  The downside of putting my kid in first is that now if I’m mugged or attacked I can’t give up my car.  On the plus side my kid is in the vehicle and safer then in the middle of a mugging.  If all the person wants is your wallet consider giving it to them, so you don’t put your kid in the middle of a fight.  If someone demands your car after you put your kid in, you have to fight.  Consider locking the vehicle with your key fob and then throwing the keys.  Yes this will anger your attacker, but you have made it that much harder to get to your kid.

To be Continued Tomorrow…

Stay Safe,

Ben

Best Self Defense Weapon

My personal favorite self defense weapon is the one that I can use the most, carry everywhere, and doesn’t require a lawyer every time I use it.  My favorite weapon is my flashlight.  Right now I carry a Surefire Lumamax .  It’s super bright and big enough to stick out both sides of my hand when held in my fist.  I’ve used a couple other Surefire flashlights over the years and been happy with all of them.  I’ve also used a Feniox TX10 (which is now theFenix TK11).  I’ve used it as a weapon mounted light and it now lives in my go bag as a backup.  These are great lights and you won’t go wrong buying something from either company.

Now that you know the what, how about the how and why?  I’ve already told you about taking the light anywhere.  I have carried my Surefire onto planes, into federal and state building, and into courthouses.  When I walk through the metal detector I simply drop my light with my keys in the little bin. 

I also use my light all the time for practical uses as well as self defense.  No one knows how much they need a light all the time until you carry one.  I let other people use my light as much as I use it.  For defense I carry my light in my hand anytime something looks funny or feels weird.  During the day I have a striking weapon in my hand and no one will give it a second notice.  At night the light is awesome.  If someone walks towards me that I don’t like, I’ll just shine the light into their face.  It always makes someone look away.  If they have ill intent they will keep coming towards you, if they don’t you’ll get a harsh word and they’ll walk away.  I just found out someone’s intent without having to call the police because I pulled a deadly weapon like a knife or my gun.

That’s why I like a light so much.  The how is harder to explain in text but here is a quick overview for you to start practicing.  At night use the flashlight to blind and disorientate people.  Lots of people suggest using it like a strobe light turning it off and on real fast while holding it on your aggressors face.  It works exceptionally well.  In fact it works too well for me to use.  I get almost as disorientated as the other person, so I don’t use a strobe effect.  Try it, you may like it.  And then you can buy a light that has that feature built in.  The technique I use all the time is to flash the light into someone’s face (for about a second), turn the light off, then move to the side three or four steps.  After moving then I’ll evaluate the person’s intent. 

If the person had no ill intent and leaves, or they did have ill intent but leaves that is the best outcome of all.  Now if the person does have an ill intent and wants to push and attack, use the light again to disorientate them and then (if at all possible) get away.  If you can’t get away, here are some tips on using the light as an impact weapon.

Hold the light in your fist with the bezel (the part that lights up) facing the bottom of your hand and then your thumb should be on the on/off switch.  Use strikes commonly called a hammer fist blow.  Bring your fist up towards your face and then strike down using your entire body, not just your arm.  Strike at the head, face, and collarbones of your attacker.  You should be impacting with the bezel side.  Most lights have steal around the lens and create a great striking surface.  Don’t worry about breaking the light.  Most good lights will take the abuse, but if it does break, it’s a cheap cost compared to what might happen.

Try these techniques by yourself or with a friend, just don’t hurt each other.  It would be best for you to find a local instructor to learn the proper technique (take a friend while your at it).  That way both of you will learn the right techniques and now you have a training partner.

 Stay Safe,

Ben