We Fight Monsters

I talk about need for boys and men to have a Vision Quest. In some native America cultures a vision quest is part of a rite of passage. Vision quest in Lakota translates to: crying for a dream. I talk about what a vision quest is, and how to do one. A sincere quester will find what he's seeking.

Andy and I discuss fake news. What is it and how what do we recommend in order to deal with it?

John Valentine is joined for episode 32 of Spotter Up by nationally recognized personal defense instructors Steve Moses and Guy Schnitzler. They sit down to discuss the impact of riots and how they have changed the way personal defense approach interpersonal violence and uninitiated violent encounters. Use code "VET15" to support the show: https://bit.ly/37Gj7Hs Follow our regular channel at Spotterup on YouTube, Follow our site at https://spotterup.com/ Follow on Instagram as https://www.instagram.com/spotterup/ Visit my store at https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/ Book: We Fight Monsters https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/books/products/copy-of-book-we-fight-monsters-signed-copy-with-stickers-2nd-edition Shirts: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/spotter-up The Saint Factory Shirts: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/the-saint-factory Playing Cards: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/playing-cards Wall Art: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/apparel Green Ops: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/green-ops Flags and Patches: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/patches Drinkware: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/drinkware Headwear: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/headware Stickers: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/stickers

John is joined by Paul T. Martin to discuss rational preparedness. Paul graduated from The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. He earned a degree in Public Policy Studies from Vanderbilt and a law degree from the University of Miami. He is admitted to practice law in Tennessee, Florida and Texas. Paul works in government relations for a reinsurance trade association. In addition to having successfully tried a number of jury and non-jury cases to verdict, he has also worked as in house counsel for a Fortune 50 insurance company. During his professional career, he has helped developed incident response and business continuity planning and training programs for law firms and insurers. In September 2015, Paul published Pivot Points: Creating A Culture Of Preparedness And Resiliency In America. Paul examines the current state of the preparedness movement and suggests various strategies to inculcate a preparedness mindset into American culture. His first book, Bracing for Impact: A Practical Guide for Preparing for Disaster came out in 2011. Bracing for Impact provides law firms and small businesses with practical guidance on developing disaster plans to improve workplace safety and business continuity after a disaster. Paul lives in Austin. He previously served on The Webb School Board of Trustees and is a former commissioner of the Austin Animal Advisory Commission. His wife, Kendel, is a certified public accountant and the vice president of accounting for an Austin-based biotech company. His stepdaughter, Delaney, is a student at the University of Mississippi and serves as chief critic of Paul's wardrobe decisions. Preparedness Certification and Experience: - Certified Emergency Medical Technician-B by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and the Texas Department of State Health Services - Certified Range Safety Officer and Firearms Instructor by the National Rifle Association - Certified License to Carry Instructor by the Texas Department of Public Safety, including certification to teach the School Safety Officer designation - Former volunteer firefighter - Licensed amateur radio operator - General Class - Licensed private pilot with instrument rating - Certified Storm Spotter for the National Weather Service - Speaker on preparedness topics at various seminars and conferences - Author of several magazine articles on preparedness issues Follow him at https://paultmartin.com/ Book: We Fight Monsters https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/books/products/copy-of-book-we-fight-monsters-signed-copy-with-stickers-2nd-edition Shirts: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/spotter-up The Saint Factory Shirts: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/the-saint-factory Playing Cards: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/playing-cards Wall Art: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/apparel Green Ops: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/green-ops Flags and Patches: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/patches Drinkware: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/drinkware Headwear: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/headware Stickers: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/stickers

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, grit in the context of behavior is defined as firmness of character; indomitable spirit. I discuss what is grit with Green Beret B originally of Operation RSF. I bring up the books and ideas behind The Culture of Pain, Man’s Search for Meaning, and The Death of Ivan Ilyich.

This is an episode from 2020. We posted this earlier on Spotterup YouTube. As of 2023, I am migrating everything to WFM due to being shadowbanned, and a host of other reasons. Please enjoy this episode.

I discuss behaviorism and the weaponization of psychology against the global population with Andrew Curtiss a former US Army Green Beret. We speak on media, propaganda and more.

I discuss MK Ultra, Transhumanism, Religion, Madame Blavatsky, Cecil Rhodes, Albert Pike, Communism and other items with my good friend, Andrew Curtiss a former US Army Green Beret

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFn_EN18w3Z4a0DaPhGfZBA/store The bullpup rifle is becoming more popular as the variety increases and the designs advance to incorporate similar operating features as more familiar weapons such as the AR15 style rifles. But as a concept, the bullpup requires a unique mindset and willingness to accept certain changes from the familiar concepts that have become a subject of dogmatic loyalty. One such criticism many bullpups encounter and are bombarded by is the lack of an intuitive method of reloading. The bullpup reload requires nothing more than a little practice to develop a familiarity with the manual of arms. I have had a wide range of experience with different types of bullpups and have found that as long as you adopt a method that is universal, the reloads will become more intuitive to the shooter.

https://spotterup.com/ptr91-gi-best-value-battle-rifle/ It has almost been three years since I got my PTR91 GI. I had been looking around for a .308 rifle that really matched my style of usage. I needed to be able to run it hard and fast, but not have to spend thousands on proprietary magazines and a down payment. I had already looked at the most common .308 rifles and had an M1A already. But the M1A was not exactly that great at holding off the heat of rapid fire, and a single good Checkmate magazine cost more than 100 rounds of ammo. Something had to be out there that was affordable and usable. After scouring one of my favorite sites, I saw that they had PTR91 rifles in stock for less than $1000. Now for me, I figured that this was too good to be true. In my mind, a .308 rifle under $2000 could not be high quality. I mean, why would FN charge $3000 for the SCAR17, and why would Springfield charge $2000 for the M1A? Price always dictates quality, right? Well I had to check this out for myself. The PTR91 GI fit the bill perfectly after doing a little research on it. The rifle initially only cost $900, and the magazines only cost $3-$7 each. Not to mention that the parts availability and modularity of the rifle was outstanding. So I laid in my order for a GI model and have not regretted it since. After about 4000 rounds, the PTR91 GI still runs well, and has functioned flawlessly for me. I have a feeling that this rifle is going to continue to work flawlessly for a long time to come.

This recording is from 8/28/2019. I found it today as I was cleaning out my files, but can't find the video. From Guns.com, here: James Yeager, one of the most recognizable figures within the firearms training community and the gun industry in general, passed away Sept. 2. Yeager was a voracious firearms trainer – with a career stretching back to 1994 – and forged a lengthy course history that reads not unlike the genealogy in the Book of Genesis. Boasting a student roster reportedly somewhere in the tens of thousands, he worked with everyone from military special forces units and elite law enforcement teams around the world, not to mention self-defense and tactically-inclined American civilians. Indeed, his last “Big Mission” was just this last spring, when Yeager set off for war-torn Ukraine to train 150 Ukrainian soldiers as Russian forces knocked on the doors of the capital Kiev. But he is perhaps best known to the broader firearms community for his role as CEO of Tactical Response, the kind of firearms and tactical training company that proudly boasts the motto, “We teach good people to kill bad people.”

Read my full review at Spotterup.com Anytime I can cut down on the amount of junk I carry the better. What do guys actually put in their wallets anyhow? I carry ID, credit cards, business cards and cash. That’s it and anything else means I need a hipster purse. If you’re not going to downsize then you might as well upsize, right? A wallet should fit to your lifestyle and not the other way around. What do I mean by that? If you see yourself as a pipehitter than you better be carrying a slim-profile wallet rather than a handbag for your stuff. Bills, coins, and cards are the things we have to handle. I’m a very active person and find myself walking distances or running everywhere. I do a minimum of 5 miles a day just by walking. Like I said before, “the less I have to carry” the better. A slim wallet is ideal for me. When I spoke to Ryan, founder of Celtic Shield on the phone, we talked about the creation of his company. Celtic Shield came to life because Ryan had his credit card information stolen; how’s that for motivation to build a detterent against future scumbags? Western consumers live in the day and age where some are fearful of their credit or debit cards info, housed in a tiny computer chip and a radio antenna to transmit account information from within their card, will fall into the hands of badguys. Book: We Fight Monsters https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/books/products/copy-of-book-we-fight-monsters-signed-copy-with-stickers-2nd-edition Shirts: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/spotter-up The Saint Factory Shirts: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/the-saint-factory Playing Cards: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/playing-cards Wall Art: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/apparel Green Ops: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/green-ops Flags and Patches: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/patches Drinkware: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/drinkware Headwear: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/headware Stickers: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/collections/stickers

“We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man I give my thoughts on the movement to control people. I talk about C.S. Lewis, Eric Blair (George Orwell) and the new modern movement that is trying to stifle free thinking. We see a new world cut from old ideas to push this agenda of subjective thinking by using feelings or instinct until the modernist rules over others. Puppet-masters use their position of power, manipulation or violence to rule over those who challenge them (this is just a few of their tools) all while insisting what’s good for the geese is not good for the gander. Pol Pot, Mao, Hitler, Stalin you name it, they’ve come and gone. They excited the public by telling them something wonderful was coming! We saw how those stories played out. Madmen who interpreted the world in their own fashion and pushed it upon the unsuspecting world. Thank God for champions who saw it coming, and did something to stop its spreading. Manipulation is back in vogue though, through a lot of the modern cultural movements.

Full review here: https://spotterup.com/laserlyte-reactiontyme-training-system-upping-your-dry-fire-game/ Purchase: https://amzn.to/3nwMAAs

When I was in Afghanistan, it was common to have to maintain a low profile while exposing yourself to engage the enemy. Usually this meant that we would either expose ourselves around corners, or set the rifle on top of a wall. Either way, we ended up presenting a higher profile that made us into easier targets without realizing it. Wouldn’t it been nice to have something that can give good stability while shooting at ranged targets without compromising on exposure or time to stabilize and respond? Well that is what the “Fang” shooting stabilizer offers. It was designed and is manufactured by a veteran who understands the needs of maintaining a steady sight picture while offering the shooter good support against pretty much any barrier.

Lionheart Industries came out of the woodwork a few years ago with their LH9 series of pistols. These pistols were imported from South Korea and were made specifically for the civilian market here. But the kicker is that the design and specifications for these pistols are about 95% the same as the pistols used by the South Korean military. BTW, the LH9 series of pistols are basically just the DP-51/K-5 pistols. Since Lionheart started selling the LH series of pistols, magazine availability had always been an issue. They would get separate shipments of the magazines, but the numbers and frequency were just never enough to keep up with the consumer demands. When people shoot an LH9 or any variant of it, they become believers in the platform, as I have. This leads them to seek ways to use the pistols in more ways than just range time. Since the beginning, Lionheart has been working to create local partnerships in Washington State in order to directly supply things like holsters to the consumer. This, I think, led them to where they are now with their magazines. Business is all about connections, and Lionheart Industries has a good history of making good connections with some amazing companies. One of which is MecGar, who is the primary connection that makes these magazines possible. Previously, the only other option for the LH9 or DP-51 was to use S&W 5906 magazines. Most of this came from MecGar. With all the variety that they had in the magazines, they were an obvious choice, plus the price was right on them. But these magazines were not exactly reliable. I would get tons of failures to feed, and failures to lock the slide open. This made it hard for me to use the LH9 for carrying, no matter how bad I wanted to. Basically, MecGar supplies the magazine body, spring, and follower, while Lionheart makes their own base plate that will make it fit flush with the LH9. MecGar is just handing over newer generation S&W 5906 magazines, which really suck if you don't have a way to secure them. The base plate that Lionheart designed and are producing in-house has made it so that they can supply magazines to the consumer now and meet the demands.

The company is operated by law enforcement and military veterans who know firsthand what a good optic can offer in the field. This focus and customer orientation is evident in their service, and the drive to make thing right (ON) from the start of manufacturing process to point of sale, and throughout utilization of the product. Again, from a budgeting and resource-strapped agency perspective this is huge. When an instructor or a range master can call the company directly any time for product support, specifications and ordering and get an answer. When the company is also open to customer feedback to continue improving their product, instead of offering the customer what the company thinks is right, the balance is as good as the result. It is unlimited lifetime warranty at its best. Like so many veteran-owned businesses, Riton chooses to give back and support the veteran and public safety communities. They kindly donated a Mod 3 riflescope to be raffled off at one of the charity shooting events promoted through the Spotter Up Shooting Team #spotterupteam. Read more at Spotterup.com https://spotterup.com/riton-optics-bu...

This movie was made with zero dollars by former USMC Scout Sniper Matt Victoriano and the help of friends, who played the actors. It was a proof of concept for a potential advertisement. We injected veteran owned brand products into the movie made in 2016. Please enjoy!

The movie Bladerunner, starring Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, came out over 30 years ago but still has one of the most profound monologues spoken in celluloid. I use a clip of it to kick-off my view on life and death, and how contemplating these things can help men grow. Future Noir Revised & Updated Edition: The Making of Blade Runner Paperback: https://amzn.to/3VkNufE

Some men who speak strongly with words may be weak in action. Today we’re a world filled with critics who’ve never done a damn thing. The creation of social media makes it easier for a million men to complain about what they dislike, while many make no movements to create solutions to problems that many people would like. Reading literature is often a poor substitute for doing something useful when it’s done by people who don’t take real steps to make good change in this world; in fact, we are dumber and less brave for it. One of my favorite movie scenes comes right out of the movie Little Big Man. While the movie was an anti-establishment movie it had some great moments in it that I love. One of those great moments is when actor Chief Dan George gives a moving speech while actor Dustin Hoffman stands by and observes him. The Chief shouts up to the sky, “Come out and fight! It is a good day to die! Thank you for making me a human being!” The Chief stares at the sky and his life doesn’t end as he expects it to. It begins to rain and they walk off to have dinner. There are real men today who possess the character of the Chief. They have lived a long time, experienced much, seen the world change and are ready at any moment to go. The movie ends with Jack thinking about the coming of the modern world (the 20th century) and the ending of the era of the open plains. He looks at the situation with sadness. He is a man who cannot change. He lives in the past like most warriors who live in the past of a heroic, bygone era and the world changes without them moving in it. The pen replaces the sword, preaching replaces action, cowardice replaces heroics and liking a post replaces throwing our physical weight behind a movement. The cultural pushes come from lunatics and we can only watch in dismay at the stupidity of suburban rebels who’ve never experienced a nation in destruction yet want one destroyed anyway. We cannot just sit and watch the passing of the trains, or the falling of the rain.

On this episode of SPOTTER Up COMBATIVES, Jeff Mau sits down with John Valentine to discuss building a holster for fighting. Jeff Mau is the Head of Strategy & Development as well as the Founder of Tenicor LLC. Tenicor is a tactical products design, development, and manufacturing company. They believe that your mission drives your equipment. Based on this, they develop intelligently designed products to for law enforcement, military, and private citizens. Enjoy! Follow our regular channel at Spotterup on YouTube, Follow our site at https://spotterup.com/ Follow on Instagram as https://www.instagram.com/spotterup/ Visit my store at https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/ Book: We Fight Monsters https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/coll... Shirts: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/coll... The Saint Factory Shirts: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/coll... Playing Cards: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/coll... Wall Art: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/coll... Green Ops: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/coll... Flags and Patches: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/coll... Drinkware: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/coll... Headwear: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/coll... Stickers: https://spotter-up.myshopify.com/coll...

https://spotterup.com/keltec-pf-9-best-value/ https://spotterup.com/kel-tec-pf9-carry-pistol-innovation/

Here is an unpolished presentation. Please enjoy! I talk about rites of passage in literature, and cinema. I give my opinion on specific characters in movies, such as A Man Called Horse. I also talk about the Spartans and Hollywood actors. Why do boys need a rite of passage? Listen and find out. If you’re in a leadership role and have never mentored young men then keep in mind that many young men look like adults but are still operating as teens. They are still trying to figure life out and a good mentor can help point the way. Trying to figure out how to be responsible, how to be a man in a world with changing definitions and concepts, and how to fit in a group is difficult for a youth on his own; whether you are a company commander or a team leader doesn’t matter. Youth needs good leaders to give them structure. Learning how to navigate through life should first start at home. Father and son hunting rituals are a good place to start. Father and daughter events can prepare a young lady for more challenging events in life such as being away at college while under the demands of her sorority or life in the military.

Follow Spotterup and We Fight Monsters writer and shooter Two Bravo Solutions on Instagram and YouTube For those unexpected hauls from work, school or the campsite, the 5.11® MOLLE Packable Sling Pack answers the call. This durable sling pack stores compactly in an integrated self-pocket, but when needed expands to a full ten liters of carrying capacity. A clamshell opening on the main compartment makes getting to gear a breeze. The ambidextrous sling mesh shoulder strap includes MOLLE for additional gear. A removable crossbody strap keeps the pack in place when you're on the move. External water bottle pockets and hydration compatibility make the MOLLE Packable Sling Pack the perfect carry companion. Packable in integrated self pocket External front stretch woven water bottle pockets (unpacked) External front stretch woven pockets (packed) Ambidextrous sling mesh shoulder strap with laser-cut MOLLE and removable crossbody strap Clamshell main compartment opening Minimal MOLLE strap system for attachment capability Hydration compatible Gear Loops 70D Recycled Nylon Ripstop PU 16.25"H x 8.5W" x 5"D Capacity: 610 cubic inch / 10-liter total Weight: .3 kg