I started to learn close-quarter combat (gunfighting)as a five-year-old kid. From Roy Rogers and Matt Dillion, I learned the rules. Never shoot first! Always, Protect the weak! Always be faster on the draw than your opponent. From John Wayne, I learned, Stay cool, Have a Steady Aim, and Steel nerves. Every toy I asked for was a gun. Santa once got me a big red metal truck. I thought he must have dropped it off by mistake. When I got my first cap gun I ran around the house shooting with my brother, friends, or anyone who also had a cap gun and would join in on the game. If I wanted to appear to be the winner I learned to make cognitive decisions quickly and decisively. The mental schema evolved into (1) If you are going to be attacked choose to either get to cover and you may be able to yell "No you didn't get me!", "I was behind the bed!" (2) Open the Gap by running away out of sight and the person's aim (hopefully to find cover) (3) I'm already gonna hear "I got you!) and I couldn't argue with it because they had a clear shot, therefore I was gonna run at them shooting until I could yell "No, I got you first!" These combative tactics have been with me even when I was a police officer. Following these tactics and rules I knew in my mind that I would always be justified in using deadly force and my mentality was that I would survive the encounter. What are your thoughts on Cover-Open-Close?
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