Quote:
Originally Posted by Mister X
I'm primarily referring to integrated unarmed skills, which so many seem to completely neglect. Being able to avoid taking severe punishment resulting in significant injury, while getting the gun into the fight and getting off shots without having the gun taken away. An elderly individual will have slower processing of environmental stimuli and activity(less effective situational awareness), limited physical ability: mobility, reflexes, strength, quickness etc...
Due to this, it is more likely they will not be able to create and maintain distance and separation as effectively as a younger individual against a physical assault.
Obviously there is a great deal of variation in general physical ability among the elderly, so the degree of intensity of training they can safely engage in varies significantly, as does their odds of success in an actual defense encounter since we don't get to choose our assailants.
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That's still pretty broad. IMO, unless you're in the .001% of the over 60 crowd that's still rolling on the mat, your chances of success in an entangled fight with a 20 year old criminal are pretty much nil. From my perspective, I think that only gives you four options...
1) Up your SA game. If possible, keep your distance and react first with your weapon.
2) Some type of deterrent like pepper spray to create some distance so you can react with a weapon.
3) If you get caught standing and entangled, immediately inflicting severe, disabling pain and create distance to draw your weapon. The only ways that seem reliable are eye gouge, throat chop, or attacking the groin.
4) If you get caught on the ground with a young, enraged attacker on top of you, you're in trouble. Your best hope is to pull a George Zimmerman, but it's going to be a challenge.
I'm not sure any of those things require any special skills or specific BJJ/MMA training.
Us old guys have sort of a limited number of physical tools in our tool bag. You talk quite a bit about all your experience evaluating and practicing these types of attacks. How about providing some very specific suggestions that you've found fit the "old guy" paradigm.