Class #92 Hell Week: Day 2 - Taser

Today was Taser Day! After what they went through yesterday, I think they all felt they could take anything :) They had their lecture in the morning, and they were scheduled to have “the exercise” in the afternoon. Well their teacher surprised them with a change of schedule! They had all been tased by noon. I was slightly disappointed that I couldn’t offer any more words of encouragement, but I was glad that Josh came home with a smile :) Typically the taser probes are shot at the suspect. However, every single shot costs $25, so they picked 5 names out of a hat to be “shot”. The other students were tased with a clip on attachment. They are like a fishhook, so they stick into the skin. (There was a lot of blood being shed today.) As long as there is a connection (aka 2 probes are attached to a person), there will be a jolt of energy causing temporary paralysis. Josh was hoping to be chosen out of that for the experience and the shock of the shot. Weird right! That’s what I thought, but I guess the instant shot is better than the suspense! Maybe??  Anyways Josh had one clip on his belt and one on his shirt/opposite shoulder. The clips generate the same amount of energy as the fishhook probes, but the teacher just chose the exact points to clip to the students. All of the muscles between the probes (in Josh’s case, his entire back) convulse for 5 seconds! Yikes! Two students held each of them as they were being shocked so they wouldn’t get hurt from falling to the ground. As Josh was being lowered, he yelled “Oh God, Oh God, Oh God”. Some of the other students yelled much worse things, and some of them were literally speechless! As soon as the 5 seconds was over, the pain stopped immediately! After yesterday, this was a walk in the park! Josh said, “I would be tased any day!” I am glad day 2 of Hell Week wasn’t so bad, but now he is resting up for his ground tactics scenarios tomorrow.

Class #92 Hell Week: Day 1 - Pepperspray

Today is day one of Hell Week. Class #92 meets pepper spray! The proper term is oleoresin capsicum (OC). They were told to close their eyes and mouth. The instructor sprayed across their eyes and down their nose and mouth with a concentration of about 1.65% pepper spray solution, the strongest you can get. The typical concentration is about .65%. They were then required to punch & knee a punching bag while yelling “Get Back, Get Back”. After completing multiple punches (side note: they say, “Throw your punches in bunches like you buy your grapes!”), they had to perform an “Arm-Bar Takedown”, a form of arrests in which the suspect resists arrests thus requiring use of physical force.  They started at the end of the alphabet, so Josh was second in line. After completing the requirements, he had to step in to hold the bag for others. A few of his quotes about the experience include…

“I would not wish that on my worst enemy.”

“That is like eating a ghost pepper (the hottest pepper known) times a thousand.”

“It was like a sunburn on steroids.”

"My face feels like a terrible sunburn being heated with a sun lamp, and someone rubbing sand all over it!"

“Unless I get pepper sprayed again, that WILL be the WORST pain I ever experience in my life.”

Another student said, “My tears are like fire.”

Every time their peppered skin comes in contact with water for the next 24 hours, the pepper is reactivated. Although Josh posted a “FunFact Sunday” about the history of pepper spray, I don’t think any of them expected such a bad experience.  They used baby shampoo to literally wash their eyes out. Many of them were drooling, spitting up, coughing, sneezing, burping, and anything else to attempt to find relief. Water was their best friend & worst enemy combined. They have to use it to get the solution off, but every time they use it, it reactivates the burn. It sounds like they did a good job helping each other get through the exercise. I saw Josh about an hour after the experience, and I felt so bad for him I couldn’t even laugh. I have no desire to EVER come in contact with pepper spray! Needless to say, we went for margaritas to celebrate the end of that journey!

Josh about 11/2 hours after being pepper sprayed

Margaritas make everything better!