User:Joe Doakes

Hello All,

Please allow me to introduce myself; I am Ken a.k.a. kilogulf59 a.k.a. Joe Doakes.

For a bit about me, I am just a typical middle-aged gent who is, and always has been, interested in all forms of weaponry (from lapel daggers to ICBMs) and their usage, integrated close combat methods with and without weapons, self and home defense, general and reasonable preparedness, and all things of that nature.

In addition, my wife and I love animals especially dogs (we have three adoptees), maintain a great fondness for history, the written word, classic films, and little hunting and fishing tossed in as well. Oh and I love to cook (and eat).

I am also somewhat of a constitutionalist and nationalist (they are not dirty words, I believe in the Republic), furthermore, I am a life member of the Gun Owners Of America and the founder and administrator of the Integrated Close Combat Forum.

For an insight into my mindset and, therefore, my thought process; I believe in simplicity, the common sense approach, and the importance of “the basics” in all arenas and fields of endeavor to include preparedness and confrontational management. It is my express opinion that true combat is not esoteric nor is it convoluted…it is unpretentious, fleeting, and extremely brutal and that “man is THE weapon, everything else is simply an object”. As founder and administrator of the Integrated Close Combat Forum, which is a free and nonprofit site dedicated to the education of the layperson and professional-at-arms alike, I have striven to emphasize this methodology.

As far as my personal background is concerned, I was born and raised in Chicago so, by default, I unfortunately learned a little “confrontational management” the hard way; on the streets, mainly in what not to do…like bleed. My training experience includes Modern Arnis, Miyama Ryu Jujutsu, and FSA style combatives. Formal firearms/handgun education was initially through the Chicago P.D. Explorer Program in my youth, later as an adult I attended classes taught by a retired Chicago P.D. Firearms, NRA Certified, and Chapman Academy Instructor and the FSA combat shooting skills that I have learned on my own and with the guidance of a few select instructors in the field. Formal rifle training with the American Legion as a youngin’ and as an adult with the great Appleseed Project, which is the best marksmanship training around. All this was in addition to the outstanding primary instruction I received at the hands of knowledgeable family members, first and foremost my Dad, a WWII combat vet.