Eskrima Kombat

I’d like to thank reader Mark for sending in the following article:

A psychotic man in Albuquerque believed that the leader of a church choir was a Mason (as though that is something bad). He vaulted over several pews and attacked the choir leader, whose back was to the madman, stabbing him multiple times. Two other choir members who intervened were also stabbed. One chorister tried to bear hug the attacker, only to get stabbed in the back multiple times himself.

As I have written earlier, it is not just churches that need a security team, but any civic organization (ex. AA, Masons, Toastmasters, Sierra Club, etc.). Before the knife attack in the church, the lunatic vandalized a Masonic lodge. It’s not much of a stretch to envision him stabbing Masons before continuing his spree at the church.

In a similar incident, a Muslim attacker shouting “Allahu Akbar” wielded a box cutter to slash a rabbi and his son outside a synagogue in Paris.

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These incidents highlight to me the need for a church security team. Note that the choir leader was attacked while his back is turned. Who is (literally) watching this guy’s back? Another thought is that grappling against a knife is not a good idea, reinforcing the need for an armed, trained team.

When I was a teenager in church I attended a class to train young men in the roles we would someday play in the church. We were taught how to lead prayers and songs, how to take up the offering and make announcements, and so on. Why not train a group of young men to become part of a church security team? Certainly there are police officers, martial artists, and military men who could train and mentor these young men.

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I have just published a book, The Warrior’s Devotional, available on Amazon Kindle. It is a book that ties themes of the Bible and the martial arts, including stories about Bruce Lee, snakes, swords, machetes, flying kicks, and the best full contact fight I’ve ever seen, among others. The idea is to use the devotional as an outreach, appealing to men’s masculine values by following martial arts training with a session of reflection and sharing. At the end of each essay is a series of discussion questions, including questions that are get-to-know-you questions designed to help create a sense of camaraderie. I can see this devotional group forming the foundation of a church security team, or at least expanding the number of church members who are trained, prepared, and security conscious.