The Importance of practice

I have been an active person all my life. From a young age, I played  many different sports. My wife and I have 3 kids, and they too have  taken part in many athletic endeavors. Our family has been involved in  baseball, basketball, soccer, football, track, cross-country, Judo,  Gracie Jiu-jitsu, adventure racing, triathlons, and a host of other  activities. Do you know what they all have in common? Practice… 

Everyone  one of these activities include some form of competition and to have  the chance to perform well in those competitions, each of those  activities have a consistent practice schedule. No one shows up to do a  triathlon having never practiced swimming, running, or biking (at least  no one that probably did very well).  They practiced and probably a lot.   

Many years ago, I had Judo Legend Sid Kelly at my  martial arts academy in Connecticut to teach a seminar. During the  seminar he said something that I have lived by ever since. He asked the  group, “Practice makes what???” And of course, everyone enthusiastically  answered aloud, “Perfect!” He paused, and he said, “No, it does not.  Practice makes permanent.”  

He further stated that  someone could practice something 1000 times, and if they were not  practising correctly and with proper instruction, they would perfectly  know it wrong. I have heard many coaches repeat this saying since that  day (my own students are sick of hearing me say it), but it is 100%  true. Preparation is key. It is essential. Without it you must be lucky  and lucky every single time… 

What does this have to do  with law enforcement? Glad you asked! In my 25 years of policing, I can  attest under oath that the majority of law enforcement agencies do not  practice defensive tactics and other lifesaving skills with enough  realism, quality instruction, and frequency to adequately face the  dangers of our profession. Most agencies/officers are literally playing  the odds. The odds that it won’t happen in our town, to our department,  or to “me”.  

No youth, high school, collegiate, or  professional team in any sport would take the field, court, or mat with  the same level of recent practice hours that many (if not most) agencies  provide their police officers. Our profession needs to start training  weekly. We must invest in quality and professional training. We must not  just rely on sending the favorite child to an unrealistic 5-day course  and having them teach a 4-hour in-service block once a year so we can  “check the box.” 

We are facing the highest trained, most  resistant, and most politically protected criminal population of our  time, and very few agencies are providing training to match what their  officers are facing. If we want to reduce injuries and deaths to  officers and the public we serve, we need to practice, and we need to do  it correctly.  

This responsibility does not only fall  upon the agency. If you want to wear a badge, carry a gun, and intervene  in some of society’s most dangerous situations, you need to live the  lifestyle of being a professional police officer. We owe society, our  families, and ourselves the same effort in preparation to match the  authority level with which we have been granted.  Part time effort 

will  give you part time results. “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but  of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” Albert Einstein 

Rob Magao www.officersurvivalseries.com