Getting up after being knocked down.
It was a very hot and humid summer night in 2001.
I remember the air was thick and breathing was easier if you did it slow. The paramedics blamed what happened on a combination of stress, adrenaline, having my gear too tight around my torso, etc... I blamed it on being scared, nervous and new at something that I did not expect.
We responded to a fight in progress in the early morning hours in June of 2001. It was my very first night on patrol as a police officer and I was under the supervision of my 15 year senior field training officer (F.T.O.)
While en route to the call, I remembered what they had trained us to think in the academy, "Every call has a man with a gun...you." This meant that anything can happen and even the little old lady who called because her cat is missing may turn around and want to kill you.
I remember my heart racing as my F.T.O. shut off all the lights on the squad, including headlights, as we rolled up blacked out with 4 other squads. This had been fight involving 10 people in one of the worst parts of the town.
By the time we got there, a state trooper was on scene with one of the victims from the fight. The trooper had stated that the main offender had run off west bound. After gathering basic information, we accessed that the offender had actually lived in the immediate area.
Myself and 3 other officers went to the offender's house and knocked on the door...when I say knock at the door, I mean that I watched as the female officer with us kicked the door frame to get the person inside to open up. Now, I was accustomed to knocking on doors with your knuckles to get the home owner's attention...but apparently at 2am, kicking a door to wake up the household was acceptable when looking for a bad guy.
So, those initial actions had my heart rate jacked. Hearing the dispatcher say, "fight in progress involving 10 subjects", driving blacked out down the street, seeing people scatter upon our arrival and having a fellow officer pounding on a door with her boot.
I stood by in the front lawn of the house and watched as the officer spoke with the homeowner in regard to the subject we were looking for. After about 3 minutes I looked (for some reason) toward my left and down to the ground...and low and behold there he was!
The entire time I was standing there, this "bad guy" was lying in the bushes just a few feet from my left leg!
In an instant I jumped on top of him, cranked his arms behind his back and handcuffed him as he attempted to struggle... It was my first night and my first arrest.
I stood up, picked him up with help from my F.T.O. and started to walk him toward our squad.
As we were escorting him back I remember saying, "Hey...Um Greg...I, I..."
Next thing I remember I was sitting up against a wall and there were firemen all around me. One of them was taking off my bullet proof vest and telling me to breathe.
I had passed out!
As it turned out, I was told I had an adrenaline dump from the call, it was hot out, I was dehydrated and my gear was too tight around my waist. All of that combined equalled me passing out on my first night as a cop.
None of that info mattered to me though. I spent the next few hours in the squad wondering, "did I make a mistake? Can I really do this job? Is this for me?" Mentally I had been knocked down...and out.
From the ride home until the next day's roll call, I was thinking the whole time about other career options. I was afraid to face my new fellow cops, thinking that they would look down on me as someone who couldn't cut it. The smallest thing and I was defeated.
But then I remember the time and effort I put in to get to this point. I remembered the massive risk and career change I made to get to this point. I remembered that there are warriors out there who get hit and then get their asses back up to get into the fight again.
The adversary in this fight was my ego and embarrassment and I had let it get to me.
For me, the best part of getting back up was knowing that when I walked into the squad room the next day, I was going to catch hell from everyone there. Honestly, knowing there was a warped sense of humor amongst cops made me want to get back into the fight. I got knocked down...and it was the "want" that drove me to get back up.
For me, that was a strong moment in my life where I know that I am able to get up no matter what my downed circumstances are. It was a great "me against me" issue and showed me that most adversarial issues are.
So this was my short story of how we are all capable of getting our asses up and back into the fight. I have known many others who have had greater personal struggles than I and I respect them for it as I have seen them get back into the fight.
Don't quit. Embrace getting hit and even knocked down. If you don't you will never have fun stories of personal success to talk about!
Dominick Izzo
Lead Instructor
Izzo Training Systems
www.izzo-training.com
Self Defense and Personal Training in Chicago
I remember the air was thick and breathing was easier if you did it slow. The paramedics blamed what happened on a combination of stress, adrenaline, having my gear too tight around my torso, etc... I blamed it on being scared, nervous and new at something that I did not expect.
We responded to a fight in progress in the early morning hours in June of 2001. It was my very first night on patrol as a police officer and I was under the supervision of my 15 year senior field training officer (F.T.O.)
While en route to the call, I remembered what they had trained us to think in the academy, "Every call has a man with a gun...you." This meant that anything can happen and even the little old lady who called because her cat is missing may turn around and want to kill you.
I remember my heart racing as my F.T.O. shut off all the lights on the squad, including headlights, as we rolled up blacked out with 4 other squads. This had been fight involving 10 people in one of the worst parts of the town.
By the time we got there, a state trooper was on scene with one of the victims from the fight. The trooper had stated that the main offender had run off west bound. After gathering basic information, we accessed that the offender had actually lived in the immediate area.
Myself and 3 other officers went to the offender's house and knocked on the door...when I say knock at the door, I mean that I watched as the female officer with us kicked the door frame to get the person inside to open up. Now, I was accustomed to knocking on doors with your knuckles to get the home owner's attention...but apparently at 2am, kicking a door to wake up the household was acceptable when looking for a bad guy.
So, those initial actions had my heart rate jacked. Hearing the dispatcher say, "fight in progress involving 10 subjects", driving blacked out down the street, seeing people scatter upon our arrival and having a fellow officer pounding on a door with her boot.
I stood by in the front lawn of the house and watched as the officer spoke with the homeowner in regard to the subject we were looking for. After about 3 minutes I looked (for some reason) toward my left and down to the ground...and low and behold there he was!
The entire time I was standing there, this "bad guy" was lying in the bushes just a few feet from my left leg!
In an instant I jumped on top of him, cranked his arms behind his back and handcuffed him as he attempted to struggle... It was my first night and my first arrest.
I stood up, picked him up with help from my F.T.O. and started to walk him toward our squad.
As we were escorting him back I remember saying, "Hey...Um Greg...I, I..."
Next thing I remember I was sitting up against a wall and there were firemen all around me. One of them was taking off my bullet proof vest and telling me to breathe.
I had passed out!
As it turned out, I was told I had an adrenaline dump from the call, it was hot out, I was dehydrated and my gear was too tight around my waist. All of that combined equalled me passing out on my first night as a cop.
None of that info mattered to me though. I spent the next few hours in the squad wondering, "did I make a mistake? Can I really do this job? Is this for me?" Mentally I had been knocked down...and out.
From the ride home until the next day's roll call, I was thinking the whole time about other career options. I was afraid to face my new fellow cops, thinking that they would look down on me as someone who couldn't cut it. The smallest thing and I was defeated.
But then I remember the time and effort I put in to get to this point. I remembered the massive risk and career change I made to get to this point. I remembered that there are warriors out there who get hit and then get their asses back up to get into the fight again.
The adversary in this fight was my ego and embarrassment and I had let it get to me.
For me, the best part of getting back up was knowing that when I walked into the squad room the next day, I was going to catch hell from everyone there. Honestly, knowing there was a warped sense of humor amongst cops made me want to get back into the fight. I got knocked down...and it was the "want" that drove me to get back up.
For me, that was a strong moment in my life where I know that I am able to get up no matter what my downed circumstances are. It was a great "me against me" issue and showed me that most adversarial issues are.
So this was my short story of how we are all capable of getting our asses up and back into the fight. I have known many others who have had greater personal struggles than I and I respect them for it as I have seen them get back into the fight.
Don't quit. Embrace getting hit and even knocked down. If you don't you will never have fun stories of personal success to talk about!
Dominick Izzo
Lead Instructor
Izzo Training Systems
www.izzo-training.com
Self Defense and Personal Training in Chicago
posted by Izzo Tactical Combat Martial Arts at
10:22 AM
1 Comments:
Just think, if it weren't for that you wouldn't know what sweet lovable teddy bears firemen are!
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