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affect their focus
and performance in a negative way.  With anger, once the emotion comes up—or
boils up!—real champions make a deliberate choice to use the energy but not
allow themselves to lose control to it and fall victim to it.”
    “How?”
    “They ask themselves, “Who is
in charge here?—Myself?  Or this fury inside myself?”  By that simple act, the
warrior spirit begins to regain control.  And that control begins with a simple
choice, a decision.  The warrior decides to channel the anger into making his
resolve stronger still.  He redirects the anger into tough play.  He creates a
stronger resolve to beat the competition and to raise his own level of play. 
Rather than losing control to the anger, he becomes like a smiling assassin;
he’s mad, yes, but it’s a cool, calculating mad.  He is using the intensity and
the passion of the emotion, yet he doesn’t lose control to it.  The champion
knows that in order to perform well he must stay in control.  How else can he
expect to control his performance?”
    “OK, so how does one manage the
intensity of the emotion?”  I asked him.
    “It always starts with a choice
to not let it control you.” said Leo-tai.  “Concentrate and use focused
breathing to help manage the intensity.  Use internal self-talk with suggestions
like: Stay Cool; Relax; Be Calm—to help you stay in control.  Imagery and
relaxation techniques are also powerful tools that can be used to manage the
intensity of an anger reaction.  All of these—worked on and practiced—will
help.  But there must first, always be a choice.
    “And Danielsan, if you should ever
feel that you must vent your anger, remember that it's better to do it
privately, so that you do not shake the confidence of the team’s trust in you. 
To let them see you lose control, even if you felt you needed it for yourself,
can only hurt that trust.”
     
    Remember:  If anger arises,
make the decision to not let it control you.  Redirect its energy; use it to
make your resolve stronger.  Become like the smiling assassin that sees his
mark.
     
    The
Art of Mental Training

Chapter 10:  Shots Fired
     
    All the typical, normal radio
traffic was abruptly shattered.  “Shots fired!  Shots fired!  Agent down!  One
Zero Eight to Control we need help!  Agent down!”
    On calls like that the
com-center responds with a three beep burst that signals everyone to clear the
airwaves.  Three loud “Beeeeeps”, and then:  “All units standby—Shots fired,
Shots Fired.  One Zero Eight say your location.”
    “One Zero Eight near the Northwest
corner of 5th and Hines - Location 3, we’ve been ambushed!  Agent down with a head
wound!  "Agent down!" You could hear gunfire over the radio, while
the emotion in his voice sent chills down my spine.
    “Repeat—we are pinned down, we
need backup, we need paramedics at Location 3.  Two Zero Nine is down with a
head wound. Oh my God - hurry - send help!”
    “All units, all units, shots
fired, agent down, location 3, all units respond,” directed the voice from the
com-center.
    The call struck me like a punch
in the face.  I shook off my disbelief and jumped into action.   I was
partnering with the case agent that night—an experienced and highly respected
veteran.  Jake and I looked at each other.  Those were our guys on the radio. 
This was really happening to us.  A routine surveillance had turned deadly
without warning.
    Within minutes other agencies
of our Federal task force and the local police were responding. They began to
as quickly as possible set up a perimeter barrier around the area in order to
keep the shooter contained.  Paramedics and all available units were on the
way.
    The idea is to close the
perimeter.  No one gets in or out.  One of the task force agencies began to set
up a command post at nearby parking lot.
    High-level narcotics
traffickers can be ruthlessly violent.  Tonight they’d proved it once again. 
My heart