American Rangers Martial Law Enforcement Training Institute

07/16/2024

08/04/2022

From Violence To Tao
By John P. Painter PhD. ND

This year will be the 50th anniversary of the year we opened the Kung Fu Tao training center in Arlington Texas. The center was the first Wuguan (school) teaching Chinese martial arts to Chinese and non-Chinese alike in Texas. Today our school is called The Gompa and is in its third incarnation. Previously from 1970 to 1972 I had a short but intense career as a bodyguard. I worked for some nice honest clients but also, well let's just say people who were not the most upstanding members of the ultra rich Dallas Texas jet set crowd.

One client was head of the Mafia Texana, another was a wealthy garment manufacturer who ran sweat shops in the roughest parts of Juarez Mexico. This long and boring job punctuated with moments of intense physical situations provided a good deal of shall we say, "practical on the job experience" with martial arts and weapons of various types!

While I was raised with a deep seated respected for law enforcement in my youth I would say that these last two assignments with those mentioned above were a little left of the thin blue line! I had been taught starting around 1957 Chinese military combat arts and more by a former Chinese soldier and Baobiao (bodyguard ) skilled in real military style combat. His father and he had also served as combat trainers in the army of Chiang Kai-shek before moving to the West sometime in the 1940’s.

As a young impressionable boy I wanted to be like my Shifu (teacher) who I assumed was all about fighting with fists, feet and weapons. I did not really see the balance of violence with compassion he was showing us through his lessons and stories. Suffering from a form of bio-chemical depression, I was an angry teen and hurting others was not a big problem or foreign to me. At first I saw his methods as a way to be more effective in a fist fight. This continued to be my attitude even after opening the Kung Fu Tao Center It was all about the martial aspects. In those days almost no one knew anything in Texas about Chinese Martial arts and when the local karate and Taekwondo schools learned about the center there was no shortage of challengers on a weekly basis.

It seems we had one or two crazies come every few weeks. I had a background of what you might call street Wushu (martial art) and I knew almost nothing about polite sparring, pulling punches and the like. In my world you only fought to stay alive or protect your client. If you did fight it was because there was no other choice and it was often ugly and dirty with no rules. So with most of these "challengers" I did my best to make friends and treat them with respect. Failing that approach if attacked in the school or parking lot people got injured, some seriously. Martial arts was not a game to me, not a sport it was survival.

I knew that the arts I had been taught were called Nei Shu Zhongguo (Chinese Inner arts) and yes, the internal methods of my teacher had healed my sickly body, but they had not tamed my pugnacious attitude and violent spirit I suppose, because I was only focusing on the things that enhanced my fighting ability.

It was a good many years later after hosting Tibetan Buddhist Lama Trangu Rinpoche at the Center that I began to realize the error of my ways. Through meditation and the practice of Tibetan Buddhist ideas with a smattering of Taoist concepts thrown in for good measure that I revisited the long forgotten notes taken as a boy on the Li family philosophies Xinfu-Dao (Acceptance of the Path).

I realized that as a teacher, I not only needed to change my ways, but that I had an opportunity to help others find a better path for emotional and physical health and well being, but first I needed to do a great deal of self-work with meditation beginning with Vipassana (insight meditation) and then proceeding to deeper methods from Tibetan Dzogchen meditation and some of the more practical Taoist methods.

Spending nine years in these practices taught me a whole different perspective on the use of my martial skills. It quelled my desire for wanting to release my frustrations through fighting. It taught me that my teacher who I think had possibly realized my emotional problems had given me the way to escape from them using his Zou Quanzi Chan Baguazhang (eight diagram palm circle walk meditation) I just had not been ready to accept it, once I did years later everything changed.

It became clear to me that the teacher never really knows why someone is drawn to the arts or fully understands what the individual derives from it. In my case I was attracted by violence but what I needed was something much different. A teacher has a great influence over others, more than most realize. It is a big responsibility.
As for the teacher himself I feel it is his job to work towards his own Gong Fu (skills developed over time) and share his experience with others, what they extract from the teachings he cannot truly know.

If his art is tempered with exercises to develop mind, body and spirit many can benefit, others may see it later and some never get it. The only thing a teacher can do is his best to openly share and let the inner needs of the student hopefully absorb the lessons. I have learned that to help others martial methods should be tempered with things like meditation and philosophy to create a balance. In this way the martial ways become much more than just a better road to violence.

These internal arts concepts have been my guide ever since and an inspiration to use Li family arts for the benefit of others as well as myself in the pursuit of the attainment of higher ideals for development of mind, body and spirit! These arts that began as a method of survival on a battlefield have evolved and today are profound and many layered, to see only the level of violence and petty challenges as the whole of Chinese martial arts is to give these methods very short shrift.
John P. Painter

To know more about my interpretations of the Li family arts please visit me at www.thegompa.com

Post Script:
Some of my students at our first school turned out to be local law enforcement officers who were in need of hand to hand skills not taught in the local academy. After two of my LEO friends were killed in the line of duty a friend and I created the American Rangers Martial Law Enforcement Training Institute to serve the needs of officers for humane ways to arrest and transport suspects. So my bodyguard days had come full circle, from the mob to the other end of the spectrum.

More can be found here at www.american-rangers.com or on our page https://www.facebook.com/American-Rangers-Martial-Law-Enforcement-Training-Institute-262472740451213

And Yes, Facebook fact checkers all of this is true.

09/11/2021

What You Might Not Know About Police training

Not all police are bad people or racist! Some in fact the majority of LEO are honest, dedicated hard working men and women. The media news outlets seldom report the good things officers do every day, why, It dosent sell news papers or help TV ratings.

If you are not a law enforcment officer or involved with the business of law enforcment then you really have no idea what many officers face every day of their lives. However you have a right to your opinions even if not based on the whole picture!

Yes, there is an unwritten code that often but not always prevents one officer from reporting another's mis-doings. IT IS NOT RIGHT but it is there. Again if you are not a law enforcment officer or involved with the business of law enforcment then you really have no idea why this code exists.

It has to do with many officers believing their only safety net is another officer. Many don't even trust their superiors or the public. Hard to have someone watch your back in a deadly situation if you are labeled a "Rat". Again IT IS NOT RIGHT but it is there.

Want to help change things, educate yourself about law enforcment training, tactics and mandates then give any officer you contact respect. If he of she is doing wrong, get a badge number, film the incident and provided the footage to the department and news media.

If you see them doing good things get a badge number, film the incident and provided the footage to the department and news media. Be aware some news medias won't be much interested in good acts by LEO because it doesn't help ratings.

Reasons for Many Problems with LEO
what we found in training law Enforcment in some of the worst areas where abuse by cop (ABC) was rampant was.

1. Fear of the situation by improperly trained officers

2. Lack of retention of correct technique due to insufficient and unrealistic training. Mostly due to departments and city governments not providing enough funding for correct use of force tactics.

3. Even with funding trainers with very little if any street combat experience can be found teaching innefective tactics based on sport martial arts or things learned from books. In other words poor instruction by unqualified teachers. There are many Defensive Tactics (DT) trainers with skills and experience, but the bad often outweighs the good all to often.

4. No oversight by department heads of the type and quality of training.

5. Personal prejudices often brought into the job from family and social backgrounds or bias based on years of dealing with gangs and gang members and criminals who go through the revolving door of the court system time and time agan. Some departments ignore sensitivity training and psycholigical vetting of new recruits which in some instances results in innapropriatr behaviour by certain officers against others not of their ethnicity, sexual orentation, religion or political belief systems. The fault here lies with the department heads and those hiring and training officers.

Just by correcting 1-3 the American Rangers group was able to help lower incidences of excessive violence complaints in two Ohio counties by 40%.

What is poorly addressed and in many areas not at all is the enormous need for psychological training and the vetting of racist officers, having them removed before ever leaving the academy.

Capt. John P. Painter

07/08/2021

Our programs were geared towards training law enforcement trainers methods derived, used and battle proven from Chinese Martial arts such as Baguazhang and Xingyiquan. These methods could be used to arrest a suspect without harm or allow an officer to defend himself under the use of foce rules for his department. The same hand to hand principles were also applied to all tools on the officers belt.
I will always be grateful to Sgt. Rick Krausman of Ohio for his support and invaluable assistance.

07/08/2021

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06/13/2021

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06/09/2021

Constitutional Carry of a Firearm
What could Possible Go Wrong!
A fi****ms trainers perspective.

In the United States, the term constitutional carry refers to the legal carrying of a handgun, either openly or concealed, without a license or permit. The phrase "constitutional carry" reflects the view that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not abide restrictions on gun rights, including the right to carry or bear arms. The U.S. Supreme Court had never extensively interpreted the Second Amendment until the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008. Prior to this, a tapestry of different and sometimes conflicting laws about carrying fi****ms developed across the nation.

In deciding the case, the Court found that self-defense was a "...central component of the 2nd Amendment" and D.C.'s handgun ban was invalidated. The Court further stated that some state or local gun controls are allowed. The Heller case was extended by the Supreme Court in the 2010 decision McDonald v. Chicago, which held that the 2nd and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were "fully incorporated" and thus the right to "...keep and bear arms applies to the states and not 'in a watered-down version' but 'fully applicable'...," and limits state and local governments in passing laws that restrict an individuals fundamental right to "...keep and bear arms," for self-defense.

At the writing of this there are 20 states that have passed constitutional carry laws and Texas on September 1st 2021 will make it 21 with more to follow.

As a fi****ms instructor and law enforcement trainer with over 30 years experience, I have no problem with a trained and skilled citizen carrying a firearm for his or her own protection. The operative words here are “Trained and Skilled.” However, even in the concealed carry licensing situations most of those who take the courses are taught the state and local laws, shown how to load and unload their fi****ms, taken to the gun range and asked to demonstrate accuracy while firing their weapon at a paper or steel target. They are never exposed to actual scenarios like a “shoot house,” “street tactical” or hostage role play similar to the police and military training.

Concealed carry training is a start, but it is in no way preparing the average citizen to engage a home invader, carjacker, mugger or ra**st in a gunfight or how to deal with the situation if there are multiple shooters or armed assailants. There is no training in how to wear, conceal or draw ones firearm rapidly in a life threatening event. No training is provided in how to deal with the emotional trauma after shooting another person or taking a life. And this is these are just the problems with Licensed Carry Permit Holders training!

Constitutional carry requires no training in law, fi****ms handling or anything else except having to pass a background check when the gun is purchased. Yes, there are many skilled marksmen, former soldiers and police and citizens who are responsible gun owners and know how to carry safely and fire accurately. These people do not concern me a great deal, except for some of the fringe conspiracy types out there. What concerns me are those who out of fear or other reasons go out and buy a pistol, pass the background check and then start walking the streets with their “Iron Teddy bear” thinking it will keep them safe. These misguided untrained individuals are a threat to others and themselves. So now when you see a man or woman with a gun or his or her hip, you will have no idea who they are, what they know or anything else, until the shooting starts and by then I may be too late!

Almost all of the Police Chief’s in Texas came out against Constitutional Carry. As Austin Police Interim Chief Joseph Chacon sums it up when he said, "Guns are easier to obtain than ever before and it has become more common for people to use them. Weakening training regulations and effectively eliminating training requirements is not the direction that we should be going right now." He added, “It's reasonable and important to ask that someone carrying a firearm in public know how to safely handle and store a gun and have a basic awareness of the laws related to weapons and the use of deadly force. Stripping away those safeguards will make our streets less safe and will make law enforcement's jobs harder." I urge you that if you are going to carry a firearm then please for the sake of you and your family and innocent bystanders safety, go get proper training before you walk about armed.

Responsible well trained people with well Guns Ok!
Idiots with no training with guns, what could Possible Go Wrong?

Thank You For Your Attention
Capt. John P. Painter
American Rangers Martial Law Enforcement Training Institute
www.american-rangers.com

04/19/2021

BE AWARE
American Rangers Report
Law Enforcement and psychologists are warning that we are going into a time of escalating violence involving shootings and mass shootings. A mass shooting is described as any time a shooter targets and shoots at four or more individuals.
Psychologists are saying that the very rapid rise in these incidents may be in part but not wholly due to those individuals who are emotionally stressed or impacted by the anxiety brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, isolation, job loss, frustration with the government and its every changing policies may be playing a factor in the rise of fi****ms violence.
The statistics show that as of March 31, 126 mass shootings fit the Mass Shooting criterion, leaving 148 people dead and 481 injured, for a total of 629 total victims, some including the shooters.

I will try to begin posting some thoughts and ways to help you stay safe in the coming weeks as I continue to monitor the situation around the country. The first and most important thing for anyone to know if they are out and about in their city or town is to develop a high level of situational awareness. This means to PAY ATTENTION to where you are and notice anything that seems out of the ordinary or just feels wrong!

Should you see someone with a firearm move away from the area immediately. Call 911 and report what you are seeing. If you value your life DO NOT TRY TO GET CLOSE AND VIDEO THE INCIDENT WITH YOUR PHONE!
Stay Safe, Stay Aware!
John P. Painter
Capt. American Rangers
www.american-rangers.com

06/07/2020

Number of officers

Curretly there are
17,985 U.S. police agencies and more than 800,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States. About 12 percent of those are female.
There are good men and women sworn to protect and serve and among the 800,000 there are some who should n ever be allowed to wear the badge. I would venture to say that those who should not be allowed to serve are a very small percentage of those who are trying to perform their jobs correctly.

I cannot and do not make excuses for the bad actors or the "code of silence" both are wrong. The only way this will ever change is from within the local, county and state governing bodies take it seriously.

Most of these people at "the top" are elected officials so you can make a difference by telling them to make the necessary changes of you will work to see that they will be voted out of office. On the other hand you can just continue to bitch on Facebook and hope someone else does the work. The choice is yours to make. In some things you can make a difference.