Plusp seems to be aggitated that everyone doesn't see things his way. He writes that anyone who says they "responded in textbook fashion is lying".
Please! I'll be happy to show you photos of shot placement as well as the DR numbers, and witness statements. Or maybe they are lying too?
Just because he, or someone he saw, went to pieces in a fight doesn't mean that everyone will act the same way! If you train your physical skill and your mental outlook thoroughly you, and anyone else, will react as they've trained.
He mentions the fact that you cannot control fright. I choose to call it a startle. Fright is connected to fear, and fear takes time to build. A startle is instantaneous. True, you cannot control the fact you've been startled, but you CAN condition your response to it. Whether you flinch and cringe, or move and draw is a matter of conditioning.
He's seen hundreds of times when conditioning has failed, and I've seen hundreds of times when its worked. Pick your method and place your faith.
He brings up the Rodney King issue. The LAPD is a very political organization and severely limited their officers to minimal response. If you've ever hit a huge aggitated man (like Rodney, an Altadena Block Crip with a rap sheet as long as your...arm) with PR-24, you know its not very effective as he says. Neither are guns,for that matter. That's why they hold multiple rounds, and we practice failures to stop, and things like that.
Those sacrificial officers acted as they were trained, and within the limits imposed on them by their agency...regardless of what the brass said later.
Regarding the inability to think analytically - I couldn't agree with you more. If you train a good response, you won't have to think.
Don't confuse Lowest Common Denominator police academy training with the ultimate effectiveness in combat. This is like comparing a private in boot camp to a SOCOM operator. Police academy training is rife with political mandates and requirements. The stuff force-fed to the masses is not (or should not be) the deciding factor on the training and efficiency of the individual operator.
I don't base my training doctrine on the LCD. I am not tasked with checking off boxes or pronouncing so many candidates "combat ready" to keep my job. I base my doctrine on what will allow you win (not just survive) a fight. To do that you have to condition the correct procedures into your brain, as well as condition the proper mental attitudes.
If you want to win by design, the way is in training. Any other way is based on luck.
Gabe Suarez
HALO Group
http://www.thehalogroup.com