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NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JULY 2014
TRAINING STATION
Products, Services, Classes and Seminars for On The Job
The value of weapon retention training
Whenever an assault on a police officer makes
the news, self-defense expert Robert Dell’Aquila
takes notice.
Dell’Aquila, owner and chief defensive tactics
instructor of Haddon Township-based Mission
MMA (www.missionmmaonline.com), is a certified and well-respected instructor of the Israeli
hand-to-hand combat system known as Krav
Maga. Since becoming a certified instructor in
2010, Rob has trained hundreds of students ranging from civilians looking to protect themselves to
corrections and law enforcement officers to U.S.
soldiers, sailors and airmen deploying to areas of concern around
the world.
The unassuming “student of violence,” as Dell’Aquila puts it,
understands the inherent and somewhat overlooked factor that
law enforcement officers face.
“Every altercation has the potential to become a gun fight,
because you bring the gun,” Dell’Aquila says to his police students.
“And when things go wrong, they go wrong really fast. Depending on whose statistic you reference, anywhere from 10 to 25 percent of the officers shot in the line of duty are done so with their
own firearm.”
As a post-Father’s Day gift to police officers, Dell’Aquila offered
a free seminar entitled “Weapon Retention in Response to a
Dynamic Threat.” For the day, Mission MMA was closed to the
public and opened to members of the law enforcement community to cover the simple-to-conceive but critical-to-comprehend
topic of how to respond when a “bad guy” makes an attempt to
control your firearm.
Dell’Aquila hopes that the information and techniques provided by his seminar will serve the officers, providing them with tools
to ultimately keep them safer on the job.
Tom Peric’
“While one seminar cannot cover every possible scenario, regular training and exposure to creative self-defense techniques can
make the difference in a life-or-death situation,” noted Dell’Aquila.
Post-seminar interviews shed light on why some police officers
continue their combative training beyond that which the police
academy offers.
“In law enforcement, you never know what unpredictable situation you might face,” says Lindenwold Patrolman Kyle Keating,
“and this type of training helps you prepare for that unknown.”
Keating, a former high school wrestler, hopes to someday also
become a self-defense expert like Dell’Aquila, and if a recent tournament is any indication, Keating is on his way. He studies various
martial arts and he and Dell’Aquila demonstrated their sporting
skills recently by taking first place in a local jiu-jitsu tournament.
Keating fights as a lightweight, while Dell’Aquila fights as a middleweight.
Keating purposely chose the Lindenwold Police Department
because of its modest size (about 40 officers) as well as his personal
connection – he grew up in the town.
“I believe that as a police officer you can give back to the community, especially if you understand it the way I do,” Keating said.
“I really wanted to get involved in my community and focused on
working in my hometown.”
When pressed whether there were any other reasons for joining
the police force, Keating added, “Every day is different. I like some
variety in my daily routine and this self-defense training prepares
me for those unexpected situations that might turn violent or ugly.
Every police officer should consider it.”
For Camden Patrolman Kevin S. Smith, being a police officer
is a matter of blood. His father, Kevin J. Smith, is also a police officer in Camden, and the younger Smith grew up around cops all
his life.
“I liked the camaraderie and knowing that I can go out and help