Home Defense Tactics course – A Review

The Home Defense Tactics course by Jeffrey Anderson consists of a manual, DVD, and two CDs. It is sold by Anderson’s company and is part of the “ISCQC Extreme Survival Series.” I found the course to have some very good information, but heavy on the marketing which I will address shortly.

The Manual: Home Defense Tactics

The manual is a little over 100 pages with a spiral binding. It seems larger because only one side of each page is used. But let’s get to what’s important, the content.

The book starts out with some scary stories to emphasize the seriousness of home invasion, and then describes the difference between home invasion and burglary. It continues with a bit about home invaders, their game plan, and more to convince (or scare) you into believing that a home invasion will be your worst nightmare and you better prepare for it.

The book then has you assess your own situation and ask yourself some questions related to your preparedness.

Next, the book contains home defense lessons arranged in different zones of defense: Outer Perimeter, Inner Perimeter, Entry Points, Home Interior, and Safe Room. The manual then has some brief descriptions of home-defense weapons (Firearms). While this gives some very basic information, I’d encourage anyone wanting a firearm for home defense to seek out the proper training and further resources to be adequately prepared. Other gizmos and gadgets are mentioned such as light mounts, securing weapons from children, and a few improvised weapons.

The book advises on having a survival blueprint and points you in the right direction by discussing things such as an escape plan, drills, and actions during a home invasion, including when to escape. There is also discussion on clearing your home, escape techniques from handcuffs, tape, rope, and a car trunk. (I’d have liked a little more on these, but there were a few good tips.)

The book concludes with a little on rape survival, if help comes, and a short closing message.

Marketing

The author follows a common marketing strategy used for this type of product. If you are familiar with the company TRS and the four page ads they ran in martial art and shooting magazines, along with the long e-mails and web copy, you have seen the type.  The marketing is heavy on scare tactics and strong promises. I personally don’t care for this marketing that much, but understand what the author is trying to accomplish, so it’s okay. I mention it here in this review because some won’t care for it and will make an issue of it.

Part of the manual and products continue to include marketing messages.  For example, the author recommends his “Street Fighting Uncaged” program because you never know when you won’t have anything to defend yourself with. But rather than a simple sentence or footnote, there is a page worth of the same kind of marketing included in the manual’s text.

The DVD: Home Defense Tactics

The accompanying DVD is a half hour long and was filmed in a class room and is taught by Steve Mosley at the Combat Hard Training Center. The lecture, which is presented to a few students, starts out with a promotion of Anderson’s “Home Defense Tactics” book. As I mentioned above, the author is heavy into marketing, which I do understand. But I also realize some will not like this and felt it should be included in the review so people expect it. The lecture covers the topics of Mindset, Tactics, Skills, and Equipment. The production quality is very good.  It was filmed in good light, sound is clear, and it is edited well.

Under the mindset section, Mosley covers the three battles (you, opponent, legal system) that Tony Blauer teaches. (Mosley does give credit to Blauer.) Good basic information. Also under the mindset section is the color codes of awareness as taught by Col. Cooper. (I have to like these, I teach them too.) He gives a quick overview of them. He concludes the mindset section discussing the hunter mentality.

For the Tactics section, Mosley mentions the OODA loop, but then the DVD goes right to the Skills section. The was done in the editing of the class. It didn’t really warrant the “Tactics” section and heading when he didn’t talk much about anything.

With the Skills section, there are a few basics on hand to hand combatives shown: Ax hand, chin jab, hammer fist, and a low line destruction kick. He then mentions an improvised weapon mentality, which is a good mindset to have. He then shows how to use a Sky Mall magazine from an airplane as a weapon, and mentions a couple others.

The next part of the DVD discusses preparation and provides a bit on grounds and landscaping, exterior of home, interior of home, and a safe room. Like the other sections of this DVD, the advice is good, but basic and short.

The DVD concludes with a brief talk on use of force and moving through your home before a very quick summary. For a half hour video, there is some good very basic information that compliments the manual.

CD 1. Family Protection Strategies: An ISCQC Interview with Glenn Hairston

This 68 minute CD contains an interview between Anderson and Hairston that discusses the scenario of being attacked when you are with your family members, and keeping loved ones safe. I enjoyed listening to the CD and found that it contained some practical tips and advice on the topic, the most important being to realize that you should think about this beforehand and discuss these things with your family members. Preparation really is the key.

CD 2. Home Invasion Survival: An ISCQC Interview with Louis Awerbuck

This 72 minute CD contains an interview between Anderson and Awerbuck that discusses home invasions. Awerbuck discusses being careful, but not paranoid, when he talks about preparing and doing things to prevent home invasions. He also discusses measures you can do if you are a victim of a home invasion. The interview contains a lot of good practical suggestions and tips. I enjoyed it, and think again the key is preparation, and this interview contains good advice on how to prepare.

Bonus 1. How To Improve Your Shooting Accuracy in One Evening

This is a short 12 page guide by the USCCA (United States Concealed Carry Association) provided electronically. It is a good little primer on grip, trigger control, and practicing. Obviously there is much more to know about shooting, and the guide even says this is just the tip of the iceberg on page 12 before sharing the benefits of joining the USCCA.  However, it does give some solid advice and is worth reading, especially if you are new to handgun shooting. Good little addition to the course.

Bonus 2. How To Improve Your Home Security

This is a simple little guide of around 25 pages that is delivered electronically. There is an introduction, seven short chapters and a conclusion. The chapters include: Just how secure is your home, Steps to help improve your home security, Ways to prevent a break in to your home, Fit locks to help make your home more secure, How to make your windows more secure, Lights are a good deterrent, and Some simple door alarm systems. While there is a little repetition, this short guide provides some very basic information on securing your home. It should get you thinking about how you can make your home more secure. Good little addition to the entire course.

Bonus 3. Citizen’s Defense Strategies

This is a 90  minute audio recording that you can down load. It was a live recording by Anderson talking about home invasion with the listeners, and asking those listening to share tips they have for keeping homes safe. It is what you would expect from a call like this. Some callers I disagreed with completely. But, there are some good tips and you might pick up a thing or two that you hadn’t thought of, but there is also a lot of “stuff” that may not interest you. (and some I wish wasn’t on there) Worth listening to once and a good bonus to the course. If nothing else, it gets you thinking about the topic and things to consider.

Conclusion

When you look at this course in its entirety, there is a lot of useful information here. Yes, much of it is basic, but that is the audience this program is for. This isn’t designed for law enforcement and military trained personnel, but rather those that have no training at all in these matters.  And while I would do and teach some things differently, I do believe this course provides some good suggestions and advice to follow.

I would prefer that it had less of the “scare tactics” and “extreme marketing,” but that is a personal preference.  And while it will turn some off, it will increase sales to others, so I understand it. You need to look past that, and pull out the useful information that will help you stay safe. And there is information here that will help you stay safe.

As an instructor in the self-defense and personal security field, I continually study and train to make myself better. Not only do I want to be prepared to protect myself, family and others, but I want to be able to help people stay safe through my writing, speaking and teaching. I feel the “Home Defense Tactics” course provided information to help me better prepare, and that will make me a better instructor.

Statistically, home invasions are rare. Unfortunately, when they do occur, they can be devastating. They are low-probability, but carry high-consequences. If you want to increase your preparation and knowledge of what to do to help keep you safe, the Home Defense Tactics course will aid you in that preparation. It’s a good addition to your self-defense and home safety resources.