Girl with a Gun: A Challenge from Regis Giles

{by REGIS GILES}

Described as a "loud mouth, young conservative focused on promoting self-defense and hunting," in the bio on her website titled, "Girls Just Wanna Have Guns", Regis Giles is passionate about protecting gun rights as well as encouraging women to take action to prepare themselves for "any threat they may encounter." She has been a featured speaker at CPAC, columnist for the NRA, and host of the new T.V. show, Primal Urge. And here is what Regis has to share with us at InsideOut Girl:


Being a self-defense and gun advocate did not randomly come to my mind as a lifetime pursuit.  As a child, age nine to be specific, I became active at the gun range and on the blue mats of the Valente Brothers Jiu-Jitsu academy.  My parents decided they wanted my sister and me to learn how to defend ourselves and operate a gun.  They understood that knowing these techniques were not only important for defending ourselves, but also in building our self-confidence and living a disciplined life style. 

Hunting eventually came along as well.  When I was thirteen I shot my first animal, a wild boar, with my granddad’s 30/30 Marlin.  I have never missed an opportunity to go hunt since then.  Being outdoors and active is one of my favorite things; however, place a gun in my hand and a hunting license too, then I am happier than a girl with a new pair of shoes.  The adventure, danger, and being in the wilderness, is what I love so much about hunting.  The outdoors are uncontrollable and learning how to handle what it throws at you and being able to adapt is another aspect of hunting I adore. 

Learning Jiu-Jitsu, how to shoot and hunt wasn’t easy. It was sometimes even uncomfortable; however, that didn’t prevent me from pursuing these skills.  Because I enjoyed doing each activity so much, I learned how to persevere through the hard times, which inevitably taught me the life lesson you must go through the bad to get the good. I have never stopped learning how to hunt, shoot and fight, and I don’t think I will ever stop.  Each field offers something new and different to discover every time.  I believe that is why I am so obsessed with them.

So, InsideOut Girl here is my challenge for you.  If you do not know how to protect your own life, go out and learn!  It is your life after all and learning how to protect it is what I like to call a “safe investment”.  Preferably, I would suggest learning how to shoot a gun, operate a knife and do Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (self-defense Jiu-Jitsu, not sport).  Learning each of these skills will make you a well rounded butt kicking individual, which would make any attacker sorry they picked on you. 

Lastly, go hunting.  Get yourself out of the mall and place yourself in God’s glorious playground.  You will learn the way the world operates away from society and if the zombie apocalypse really does happen, you have a head start on surviving it.

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One Thing Every Girl Needs to Know

{by Natalie Torbert}

There are a few things that I feel strongly about: some aspects of politics, my Redskins, and self-defense. Many of my soapbox speeches tend to revolve around the fact that I believe every girl needs to have some kind of basic self-defense training. Rocky Balboa puts it best when he says, "The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place..."

The world has evolved past the Leave It To Beaver place that it was where six-year-old kids would ride their bikes to the soda shop. Now, not only are there a shortage of kid-friendly soda shops, but six year olds are used to holding hands with their parent just to cross the street. Back in the day, the “bad” parts of town were usually confined to one area. Now the “bad” parts of town are our streets, our parking garages, and even our malls. Every day we read of people getting taken. While I am not a nay-saying pessimist, I am a realist. I see that we live in a broken, dangerous world.

About three years ago, I decided that I was not going to be complacent with my personal safety. I didn’t want to become another statistic, rather I wanted to be able to intelligently defend myself if my personal wellbeing was ever in question. I knew that the odds of a 13 year old getting a concealed carry permit were slim, so I decided to learn self-defense. I took the plunge and joined an MMA gym, studying the discipline of Krav Maga, which is the self-defense system for the Israeli military. It is  is basically a melting pot of a large number of Martial Arts disciplines and is specially designed to be applicable to victims of unexpected attacks such as at an ATM, a car jacking, or in a parking lot..

Now, I was blessed with finding a gym that was not only reputable in the MMA training community with a high caliber of coaches, but was also a safe training environment for me both physically and spiritually. Most of my fellow trainees are former marines who are big and tough and they are rough with me because they want to make sure I will be able to escape an attack, should one ever occur. I understand that many of you who are reading this will not have such ready access to a “MMA” gym or would simply not consider entering one,  and that is fine. The scope of this article is self-defense; it is not “Every Girl Needs to Become a Pro Fighter”!

There are great options available to all of us.  Kickboxing classes at the YMCA and wrestling classes at the Gold’s Gym are just a start. L.A. Boxing franchises are popping up everywhere.  And if a live-gym is not for you, there are fabulous DVD’s to teach beginners to the most advanced athletes..   In Part 2 of this article, I will share some ideas on how to get started.  But before I do that, let me suggest you watch Miss Congeniality and begin practicing SING on your little brother.  (I’m only kidding about the brother part; a pillow will suffice!)

Sadly, the world has changed. Gone are the days of kids running around outside apart from the watching eye of a parent, and gone are the days of nearly guaranteed safety for teenage girls. Also gone is the luxury of complacency. As young women, we need to be able to intelligently defend ourselves if put in a circumstance that would require it. I am not advocating fighting or recklessly placing ourselves in danger, but I am advocating self defense training (whether basic or in depth) for girls everywhere. 


Natalie Torbert has been homeschooled (and loving it) since the fifth grade. She loves sports, almost to a fault, and maintains that the Redskins are going to win the Superbowl at least once in her lifetime.  Her favorite birthday present was tickets to see the Washing Capitals hockey team play (and win!) and her dream job is to be a color commentator for the UFC. She has trained MMA for the past 3 years and has an amateur record of three wins and one loss.

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