Modern Warrior

01/09/2023

Just a final announcement that Modern Warrior has officially closed. The building was sold last week and has been vacated as of today.

We want to give a huge thanks to all who helped in that difficult process. And, thank you to the entire community of people who attended and taught at Modern Warrior over the years! It's been wonderful training alongside you all! Stay safe out there.

05/03/2022

We will be having a tag sale this Friday (5/6) from 9 am-7 pm and this Saturday (5/7) from 9 am-3 pm!

If you're interested in low prices on a wide variety of martial arts equipment, gym mats of many sizes, MW shirts/hats, office furniture, shelving units, filing cabinets, lockers, assorted tools/hardware, or a medley of other goods, come on by!

01/30/2022

WEATHER UPDATE: due to the ongoing snowy conditions and lousy roads, there will be no Sunday classes at MW tomorrow. Stay safe!

01/28/2022

WEATHER UPDATE: due to the snow, MW will be closed tomorrow (Saturday 1/29). Stay warm and safe, if possible!

12/12/2021

Hi everyone--

Starting this Monday (12/13), by NY State regulation, we as a business are obligated to require either masks or definitive proof of full vaccination for all staff, students, and anyone else who comes to the school. The local health department will be doing spot checks and issuing hefty fines for violations.

As such, we are simply returning to a schoolwide mask requirement for the time being. From tomorrow onward, please bring and wear a mask. Thanks in advance!

12/12/2021

Hi all—our apologies for the ongoing issue with the MW website. Although it says it expired as of mid-November, it was in fact renewed then. The problem is on the end of our web host, who said yesterday that it should be corrected soon. Obviously that’s of no help to anyone trying to access the web calendar today, though.

For this week, the ABCD intergroup sparring classes will be on:

Sunday (today) 12/12 at 11 am

Tuesday 12/14 at 7:15 pm

Thursday 12/16 at 7:15 pm

Saturday 12/18 at 11 am

Hope that helps!

11/15/2021

Pin Downs: Article #4:

Triple Officer Pin Downs.

A three officer pin down is, in this author's opinion, the most efficient, effective, and safe way of holding a resistant subject down, with a minimum risk of accidental chest compression, spinal injury, neck trauma, or head trauma to the subject.

Of course triple officer pin downs do not become practical until three officers are available to achieve them.

For the sake of clarity, we will identify the three officers as...

Alpha Officer: the officer who makes initial contact and brings the subject to the ground.

Beta Officer: the officer who takes responsibility for preventing the subject from placing their free arm into a pushup position and turning their body into the Alpha officer, in an attempt to overpower that officer and defeat the pin down.

Gamma Officer: the officer who (when available) takes responsibility for preventing the subject from turning their hips, curling their knees under them, or kicking out with their legs.

This article will concentrate on the Gamma officer's responsibilities.

The first thing the Gamma officer should do is to separate the subject's feet by at least six inches, turn the subject's toes outward, and compress the subject's feet to the ground. This will prevent the subject from twisting their hips, curling their knees under them, or kicking out at other officers.

The Gamma officer should free up his or her hands as soon as possible and have instant access to his or her firearm and other equipment. In most cases, they will be the first to disengage to protect the Alpha and Beta officers in the event of sudden attacks from people in the crowd.

The Gamma officer should also be ready to hand over their handcuffs to either the Alpha or Beta officer to expedite the handcuffing process. With larger, resisting subjects, it will often be necessary to initially link two pair of handcuffs together in order to secure the subject's arms behind their back. In some cases, it may also be necessary to secure the first pair of handcuffs to the back of the subject's belt, to prevent them from slipping their legs under them and through the cuffs.

These options will be discussed in a future article.

In today's anti-police climate, it is essential that 360 degree visibility be established as soon as possible during any pin down procedure and that Contact and Cover procedures be utilized in all police/public interactions. Whenever possible, try to avoid using more than three officers to achieve a pin down, as more than three officers will tend to cause officers to obstruct each other's view and get in each other's way.

And most of all, remember that it is better to lose a subject than to lose your life. Stay safe.

Phil Messina
Sgt. NYPD (Retired)
President and Founder of Modern Warrior

11/11/2021

Pin Downs: Article #3:

Double Officer Pin Downs.

For obvious reasons, Double Officer Pin Downs are much safer than Single Officer Pin Downs.

As stated in the previous article, the Single Officer versions have three major flaws:

The first is that a single officer cannot always apply enough leverage to prevent the resisting subject from placing their free arm into a pushup position and rolling into the officer trying to contain them. This is especially true if the officer is much lighter than the subject, or if the subject has superior upper body strength.

The second flaw is that, in order to maintain enough leverage on the subject, a single officer must sacrifice some ability to quickly disengage and get to their firearm or other tools in case of a sudden attack by secondary attackers.

And, the third flaw is that a single officer cannot maintain 360 degrees of awareness while trying to control an attacker without assistance. Too often officers ignore this third disadvantage even when they have assistance, because they assume other officers are covering their backs even when they are not. This author has witnessed--on multiple occasions--multiple officers trying to pin down a subject, with ALL the officers facing the same direction.

For clarity's sake we will refer to the second officer assisting the primary (Alpha) officer as the Beta officer. The Beta officer has three major responsibilities while assisting in a pin down:

First, the Beta officer must prevent the subject from placing their free arm into a pushup position. This can be done with a modified arm bar, primarily using the officer's legs rather than his or her arms.

Secondly, the Beta officer should make sure that one foot stays firmly on the ground, to allow for a speedy disengagement in order to protect the Alpha officer.

And, finally, the Beta officer should make sure they are facing the opposite direction of the Alpha officer, to maintain 360 degrees of visibility between the two officers.

The photos below are a good representation of a two officer pin down.

On a final note, both officers should be aware that extremely flexible subjects (especially females) may still be able to raise one of their legs high enough to kick either the Alpha or Beta officer, and it will be the Beta officer's responsibly to intercept the subject's leg if it comes up high enough, because the Alpha officer won't see it coming.

The next article in this series will further address this possibility as we move on to the Three Officer Pin Down, which is the ideal tactic to employ when enough manpower is available.

Your comments and questions are welcome. Stay Safe.

Phil Messina
Sgt. NYPD (Retired)
President and Founder of Modern Warrior

11/03/2021

Pin Downs: Article #2:

Single Officer Pin Downs.

Single Officer Pin Downs are inherently dangerous, because in order for the officer to maintain control of the subject, without the risk of head trauma, neck compression, breathing irregularity, or spinal damage to the subject, the officer must sacrifice 360 degrees of awareness. Modified arm bars and shoulder locks are the best ways to achieve and maintain control while minimizing the aforementioned risks to the subject, yet both limit the officer's ability to see and protect themselves from secondary threats.

The photos below give an example of a modified Level One arm bar takedown, into a shoulder lock pin down. Note the lack of 360 degree visibility for the officer.

These single officer takedowns will often have varying degrees of success, based on the relative mass and strength between the officer and the subject--and, if the subject can get their uncontrolled arm into a pushup position, it will require a great deal of energy for the officer to maintain control until backup arrives. Also note that the officer's ability to recover quickly is not severely, but is nevertheless moderately, limited.

I personally do not recommend that an officer attempt a single officer pin down when there is substantial risk of secondary threats from unruly crowds or from the subject's family or friends. These techniques should be reserved for cases where the officer already has backup or is isolated from potentially dangerous bystanders. Under those more dangerous circumstances, it would be better to use a Level Two takedown and let the subject limp away in hopes of making the arrest on another day, under safer conditions.

Your comments and opinions are welcome.

Phil Messina
Sgt. NYPD (Retired)

10/30/2021

Pin Downs: Article #1:

When to and when not to.

First of all, keep in mind that every takedown does not have to lead to a pin down.

The purpose of a takedown is to make a subject less mobile and to reduce the risk to yourself and others. A pin down is used to hold a person in temporary custody until they can be safely handcuffed or until sufficient backup arrives.

There are basically three categories of takedowns:

A Level One takedown is the type of takedown that rarely causes injury to the subject, but requires at least a minimal level of compliance from the subject. A typical arm bar would fall into this category.

A Level Two takedown requires no compliance from the subject, but commonly causes injury to a subject's leg. The most common injury is a sprained or broken ankle, or on rare occasions strained or torn ligaments on the inside of the knee (ACL). These takedowns are appropriate when the subject is actively resisting arrest or trying to assault the officer.

And lastly, a Level Three takedown is the type of takedown where the subject's feet literally are lifted off the ground, and how they land is largely determined by gravity--and is very unpredictable. Level Three Takedowns should be limited to the most dangerous situations, such as multiple attacker events, because the injury to the subject can range from slight bruising to death.

Level Three takedowns require a high degree of training and frequent practice. They also require a great deal of energy. Hip Throws and traditional Shoulder Throws would fall into the Level Three category.

When I was in plainclothes as well as when I worked a Conditions Post, where crowds would gather quickly, I depended heavily on Level Two takedowns, because I simply did not have time to concentrate on restraint or handcuffing tactics until sufficient backups arrived. It was not uncommon for my most violent aggressors to be picked up by detectives when they limped into an E.R., or for me to arrest them several days later and add an Escape 2 charge to their original crime.

The point I'm trying to make here is that, although the rest of these articles will focus almost solely on pin downs, the fact is that pin downs are not always the smartest or safest strategy to employ when in situations where a crowd is likely to gather before sufficient backup officers arrive. Putting a subject in handcuffs at the scene of the crime should NEVER take priority over going home to your family.

Your comments and opinions are welcome.

Phil Messina
Sgt. NYPD (Retired)

10/27/2021

This excellent article contains a variety of facts and takeaways useful both to school administrators and law enforcement--as well as to any parents considering relevant emergency training for their children, especially those of high school age.

School active shooter incidents are a unique phenomenon. When preparing for or responding to one of these horrific tragedies, officers should consider how their training and tactics should differentiate between these attacks and […]

10/26/2021

Modern Warrior will be CLOSED this evening (Tuesday 10/26) due to inclement weather. All classes are canceled, as instructors have determined there to be a travel safety issue. Please stay home and stay safe if possible. See you later this week!