Rockwall County Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Strange remembers going to the boxing gym as a young child to watch his father train for Golden Gloves matches.
“Even at 4 or 5 years old, I used to go to the gym with him and put on boxing gloves,” he said. “I would work out with some of the guys, and he taught me everything I know in boxing, but I’m kind of a natural.”
A two-time winner in the annual Guns and Hoses charity boxing events held in Allen, Strange said he’s never had other organized boxing experience but does spar with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters at a gym in Dallas. That talent for self-defense made him an excellent candidate for an even more serious training endeavor – assisting Collin College Law Enforcement Academy (CCLEA) cadets as a member of the Collin College Law Enforcement Academy Force Team.
Explaining Strange’s role on the team, Reality-Based Skills Training Coordinator Peter Hoh said the purpose of the Force Team is to teach officers how to recognize danger at the earliest possible moment and to react with the appropriate level of force with little or no hesitation. While cadets are also trained in non-escalation techniques, defensive tactics are necessary for law enforcement training.
“Officers learn to defend against assailants using personal body weapons, headlocks, blunt objects, edged weapons, and handguns, including when the assailant takes the officer to the ground,” Hoh said.
Team members are identified by their talent and dedication to the profession; most have had prior martial arts experience. They attend a 40-hour Defensive Tactics Instructor School and are mentored by Hoh, the chief instructor of the Defensive Tactics Team.
Now a deputy with the Rockwall Sheriff’s Department, Strange was asked to join the Force Team as a volunteer just before graduating from the 107th Basic Peace Officer Course in 2019. Before that, he was a Corrections Officer course graduate from CCLEA in 2016. As a member of the Force Team, he spars with the cadets, critiques them as needed, and shows them that you can’t be scared.
“You have to put that behind you,” he said.
For Strange, training cadets on how not to overreact to a situation is as important as the physical aspects of self-defense. Strange said that officers must communicate well with the people they are interacting with and learn to gather as much information as possible. He pointed to teachable moments when cadets draw their weapons unnecessarily while interacting with “the bad guy.”
“I tell them, ‘I didn’t do anything. I am just coming toward you. I am unarmed, and you are already pulling your gun out,'” he said. “That’s what I am talking about. They have to shake that fear because, at the end of the day, they are out there serving and protecting people.”
That commitment to serving others was one of the reasons Strange fought in the Guns and Hoses boxing event for the past two years. The Guns and Hoses Foundation of North Texas is a 501(C)3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing immediate financial assistance to the families of fallen police officers and firefighters lost in the line of duty. The foundation also contributes to children’s charities supported by local police and fire departments.
For the Guns and Hoses match, Strange dropped from his normal weight of around 260 pounds to 230. He jogged two to three miles a day, did mitt work for about 30 minutes, hit the heavy bag for another 10-20 minutes, and sparred whenever possible.
“I thought I was in pretty good shape, but no,” Strange said. “Boxing workouts are a whole different monster.”
Strange sees some parallels in training for boxing and the cadets training in defensive tactics beyond the physicality of the activity. Like boxing, police training is designed to prepare you for any situation and teach you how to react if it comes.
“With boxing, you can’t take any shortcuts,” he said. “If you do, you could get yourself seriously injured or knocked unconscious. As a police officer, you are not always in a controlled environment, so you always take training seriously because you want to make it home to your family.
“We want to do things the right way so that we have all our ducks in a row and everybody goes home safe at the end of the day,” Strange said.
For more information about CCLEA, visit www.collin.edu/department/lawenforcement.