PULSE Magazine | November/December 2018 Issue

and if necessary how to protect ones self.

And lastly, it's proven . Coach Blauer has been training law enforcement and military personnel since the early 90s, but actually formed the base of what is now the Spear System back in the 1980s. He and his staff have been training LEOs, military, and civilians around the globe.. The system has been field tested and proven in many departments and agencies throughout the world. At the end of this article I will provide links to studies and information on the safety and efficacy of the Spear System including medical information and scope of technique on use of force. Yet another reason we leaned toward the Spear System is the amount of research and self analysis Tony Blauer and his company do. One unexpected bonus to this training Andre and I found came in the form of the gentleman who taught our class. James Pierson, who is the recent- ly retired Police Chief of Henderson, in East Texas. Chief Pierson spent 29 years in law enforcement before retiring this past July. Although these days he's an Adjunct Professor for the Police Academy and does occasional work as an investigator for the DA as well as expert witness work, he's been teaching the Spear System since the mid 90s and has been with the Spear Mobile Training Team training instructors since 2016. His experience in law enforcement was certainly helpful but it was his teaching style, his breadth of life experience, and his life long quest for learning that really brought another dimension to the class. Whenever you come across an instructor that cares about the knowledge they are passing on and is able to look at that knowledge from an open- minded vantage point, it speaks volumes. Many people in any community of training will make whatever it is they do, teach, or practice a dogma. Often not opening their mind or body to any other disciplines or thought processes. RELEVANT FOR THE EMS ENVIRONMENT

Walt & Andre with Instructor James Pierson

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