I picked up a copy of The Atlantic magazine yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised to find a neutral-to-positive article there on a card carrying member of the gun culture.  John Correia (pronounced “Korea”) is a friend, and like many I follow his YouTube channel in which he reviews surveillance and patrol camera videos of gunfights and other violent encounters, presenting each with analysis and learning points.

The YouTube channel is here:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsE_m2z1NrvF2ImeNWh84mw

The article is here:  https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/09/john-correia-self-defense/565739/ .

John’s started as a clergyman, and came to focus on teaching good people to defend themselves, as approved by the Good Book itself.  He’s an advanced martial artist, and a hell of a good combat pistol shot.  When he took my MAG-40 class (http://massadayoobgroup.com), he followed the advice I give incoming students who are already highly skilled, and shot it mirror image: that is, as a lefty even though he is naturally right-handed.  He not only shot a perfect 300 out of 300 score on the final qualification, but had a tighter-grouped 300 than I shot on the demonstration, breaking the tie and winning our traditional autographed $5 bill for beating the instructor.

Check out John’s video analyses.  You’ll find good, potentially life-saving advice there. Kudos to him – and to The Atlantic for taking a truthful, unbiased look at a topic many see as “politically incorrect.” When you read it, it wouldn’t hurt to make a positive feedback comment to The Atlantic.

14 COMMENTS

  1. I also read the article, and have watched John’s videos on YouTube. If I ever bump into him on the street (we live in the same general area), a handshake and a “Thank you” await him.

  2. Great post again, Mas. Seeing this kind of coverage from an outlet like the Atlantic should not go unnoticed by our community OR those who disagree with us. I really believe this is exactly the key to changing people’s minds. Thanks for sharing!

  3. It is quite strange to read something positive concerning self defense, especially such with a firearms focus in any media publication lately! Refreshing. Also, thanks kindly for the tip concerning John Correia.

  4. The gun community is lucky to have both of you. It’s important that the non-gun community see that the vast majority gun owners are law-abiding, family men who simply wish to have the means to protect their loved ones and not the blood thirsty vigilante that the media portrays.

  5. I met John a couple of months ago at a course – great guy, very knowledgeable and insightful, and his perspective after looking at so many real life incidents is invaluable. Has a terrific sense of what happens in real life, as you would expect.

  6. That was “A Good Read About A Good Man” and I too have watched John Correia’s videos for quite some time now. Your comments and the article you referred to made me think of a newspaper article that was emailed to me the the other day.
    It is obvious that you and Correia are well trained and are very good combat pistol shooter. I have been around for many years and know many police officers. I am aware that MANY police officers are not very proficient with a firearm. What do police departments do with officers who can’t pass a basic in-service firearms qualification course?
    Does an administrator continue to work with the employee until he/she can pass? What does a department do if that employee has a history of not qualifying every year and has to go back for additional training to pass? Do adminstrators help the employee find other employment (sounds like this department did just that)? If so, what does an administration do if they can’t find employment for there employee? If the administration does keep an employee, does that open the department up to Malia retention?
    Massad, maybe you have already written about problems like this and if so please direct me to what you have written. Over the years I’ve really never given this much thought until I read the newspaper article.
    Posted is the link to the article:
    https://www.sltrib.com/pb/news/politics/2018/08/09/after-he-was

    • Alan, as a rule the officer who can’t qualify is taken off the street and reassigned to desk duty until such time as he can pass, or is terminated for failure to meet continuing competency standards. The tremor issue mentioned in this case can be remediated in most cases. From his account, it is unclear whether there was remediation. It may have been a two-sided issue; some of the commentary indicates the officer in question marched to his own drummer, and that does not always fit well in paramilitary-structured organizations.

    • John’s video collection and his analyses have been maybe the most usefully thought-provoking contribution from the Internet to my own increasing understanding of criminal violence. In the off-screen world as well, my experience has been that perhaps not always, but definitely often, “what goes around comes around.” Like the poor, some criminals will always be with us, but when evildoers study John’s videos, thinking of ways to avoid committing crimes should be given priority, rather than considering how to get away with something that may backfire even sooner than later.

  7. Just sent my letter of appreciation to the Atlantic! John is an outstanding and cerebral teacher. Covering my ASP !

  8. Thanks for letting us know about this article. I have read John’s work for some time now, and I always learn from him.
    People often bemoan the loss of out legendary heroes from the past, like Skelton, Oconer, or The Colonel. But there are many others who have both the talent and the special insight to have just as big of an effect as Cooper or one of the other writers from the past. Thanks for pointing this out for all of us to read. It is always important to continue learning from good people.

  9. Mas – I would like to suggest a topic for a future blog. Could you do one on the technological future of firearms? Perhaps address such topics as smart guns and why they have failed (so far) in the American marketplace. Their legal ramifications. Perhaps future manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing of gun parts? How these technologies might impact the firearms prohibition fight.

    I don’t recall that you have ever done a blog on this particular topic. However, I would be interested in your views in these areas. I would also be interested in hearing what some of the regular commentators, to this blog, have to say in this area. Thanks.

    • TN, the only “smart gun” that ever worked is the Magna-Trigger revolver conversion, available exclusively from Tarhhelm Supply at http://www.tarnhelm.com. He converts a Smith & Wesson to fire only in the hand of a person wearing the magnetic ring provided with the conversion. Revolvers are unfortunately out of fashion today. On the 3-D printing issue, Americans have always been allowed to make firearms for their personal use. The other side just catching onto it now and making a big issue merely shows how little they know about what they’re talking about.

      • You make the point that is exactly of interest too me. The fact that the gun-grabbers do not “know what they’re talking about”.

        The gun grabbers have tried to manipulate the firearm’s market in a bunch of ways. However, because they don’t understand guns, the gun culture or the firearm’s market, their efforts usually backfire.

        For example, they try to mandate the adoption of so-called “smart gun” technology. In several places, they have passed laws that say, once the technology becomes available, it is the only thing that can be sold. They know that (initially, anyway) such technology will be expensive and unreliable. They hope these factors will help shut down firearm sales. What is the result? The firearm manufacturers see that they would be cutting their own throats to create such technology. So, they concentrate on building new models of conventional guns instead. The end result is that the gun-grabbers have shut down progress in smart gun technology by their efforts to mandate it! A backfire effect if there ever was one.

        The same is true in California. They try to limit sales to models that pass a bunch of bogus “Safety” requirements. It is expensive to demonstrate that new models will pass. So, the result is that sales of older “grandfathered” firearms continue while new models (with safety improvements) never make the list. Once again, by mandating bogus safety standards, the gun-grabbers have bogged down future safety improvements. The backfire effect again.

        This happens in other countries too. In Australia, the gun-grabbers outlaw semi-automatic firearms. The result, pump actions become popular. The gun-grabbers then outlaw pump-actions. The result, lever-actions become popular. The gun-grabbers start to move to outlaw lever-actions. The result, the manufacturers simply design something else (straight-pull?) to beat the system.

        All this stupidity comes from the leftist’s mindset which blames the firearm, rather than the human pulling the trigger, for wrongdoing.

        I guess that I am suggesting a blog topic on the folly of the gun-grabbers thinking that they can manipulate the firearm’s market and pick and choose technology winners and losers.

  10. I also read the Atlantic article (and watched the short video documentary that accompanied it) on the Atlantic website. Way to go John!
    Of course, many of the tactical, legal and ethical points highlighted
    in the select ASP videos have been made for many years by Mas (and some other top instructors). Thanks Mas!
    In the beginning of almost all of Jon’s presentations,his use of a well chosen single short video of an actual real-time violent incident is the key to his success. On the internet anyway, what better way to find out what can happen in a given type of hypothetical violent event than to see what really does happen in similar actual events as recorded. These video records of such events,imperfect as they may be for telling the whole story of what happened, form a powerful visual reminders for key tactical lessons.
    ASP is a great website! Thanks for featuring John’s work.

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