Preparation – You have all the time in the world . . . . right now.

 
There is a single instant for an individual when time runs out . . . . that moment when the situation changes things forever. In the realm of the individual that has chosen to carry a weapon for personal protection, it happens during the draw stroke – the time it takes for the hand to grip and draw their defensive weapon. They must transition from a mom, dad, neighbor, friend – into a warrior that is entering mortal combat. Someone will live and someone will probably die once the transition is complete and combat is engaged. Until that instant . . . . you have all the time in the world.

So, what would you do – with all the time in the world?

Obvious things, of course: tell those around you that you love and care about them. Work less, enjoy life more. More work on the old bucket list – less behind the grindstone. While these may be reflected on as your light begin to dim and your life’s spirit drains, perhaps a bit more time in preparation was in order.

You have all the time – right now – to do your absolute best to prepare yourself for a deadly encounter, to give yourself the very best chance to go home on your feet rather than in a box. I thought that perhaps a “preparatory inventory” might be helpful. If I was going to evaluate all the things that would be helpful to pay attention to – what would those items be? Let’s start on the “inside” and work our way “out”.

Mental Attitude: This can have many descriptions: “Warrior Mindset”, “Combat Mindset”, “Tactical Mindset” – basically it means that you have decided you are willing to do anything it takes to insure that you, your family or your friends will survive a deadly encounter. This is the most basic requirement for survival – you have to decide that you want to. Obviously the true test comes at the moment you chose to begin your draw stroke – yet training can do a great deal to get you past that point. “Target Practice” will not get you there; making holes on the range will not get you there. It takes more – much more; we’ll address that in a bit. But, without the proper mental attitude nothing else matters from here on – if you are unwilling to defend yourself, your family or your friends – you will not survive a deadly encounter.

Clothing: This is such a simple and easily overlooked part of preparation. It’s so easy to compromise your ability to carry your EDC gear because of how you want to look. Less clothing means less gear. Flip-flops, loose sandals, spike heels – all these mean less mobility and less stability. “Sturdy shoes”, “casual” rather than “skimpy” clothing, a “practical purse” rather than a “clutch purse” all provide you a better starting point to defend yourself. While a tube top and micro shorts may be sexy – while a muscle T-Shirt and Cargo Shorts may be comfortable and attractive – they may leave you weaponless.

Pay attention to your wardrobe. Could you run flat-out for a block? Could you transition from concrete to rock to grass and not loose traction? Can you conceal your weapon, a couple spare magazines along with a knife, flashlight and cell phone? Will you meet death today? Probably not, but if you do - go dressed to put up a fight and not to go along willingly.

Your Body: Your most basic weapon. So how are you doing staying in shape? Could your run for 15 minutes to escape an attacker? What does it take to get you winded? How does your body react when stressed? How strong are you? Could you climb a tree, ladder, house or fence? Could you absorb an array of body blows? How would you defend yourself? What I’m getting at is – take care of your primary defensive weapon – your body. Learn some basic hand-to-hand, work on your strength and cardio abilities. Honestly, I’m the last one to talk here. 21 years in the military, 62 years of life, a round of cancer has definitely degraded my physical abilities. Not an excuse, simply a reality. So, I adjust my training to make the best use of the strength, endurance and mobility that I do have.

Your Weapon: Let’s focus on your handgun first. Do you carry each and every day? Are you fully locked and loaded when you leave your bedroom? Do you remain that way until you disarm to go to bed? Does it fit you? Can you conceal it easily and draw it quickly? Can you use it? (and I mean more than simply punching holes on an IDPA target at 21 feet) Can you quickly clear malfunctions? Can you use it if one arm is shot to pieces? Can you quickly field strip your weapon, clean it and reassemble it without referring to youtube or the manual? Is it loaded with the most deadly ammunition you can find? Do you carry at least two spare magazines or speed loaders? When you face a deadly encounter – are you willing to place “metal on meat” and kill whatever is in front of you?

EDC: What do you carry each and every day? Is it useful? Will it help to protect and defend you? I’ve posted on this earlier so I won’t rehash it here. Develop yours, make carrying all of the items a habit.

Situational Awareness: Have you learned and do you practice methods to become aware of your surroundings? Whether you adopt Jeff Cooper’s “Color Codes” or the NRA’s levels of awareness, are you observing your surroundings, evaluating people and environments, determining what threats you may be facing? An unaware person is a much easier to attack than an individual that is alert and observant.

Are you still learning? Have you settled into a comfortable training regimen that revolves around range visits and target practice? Are you satisfied with a range visit a couple of times a year, sending a box or two downrange, punching holes in paper? Or do you push yourself, find new instructors, different shooting techniques and do everything you can to ensure you get the first hit, the best hit and that you put your attacker down quickly. Training should push you, stress you, introduce an environment that would be similar to a real-life encounter. It should include movement and engagement while moving – if you stand still you die, as simple as that.

Do you read on the topic of self-defense, weapons technology, training techniques, shooting techniques, military encounters, LEO shoot-outs? Are you spending at least some time every day adding to your skill set that will ultimately keep you alive?

First Aide? Have you taken a first aide course? Can you do CPR, stop you or your friend from bleeding out? Have you built a “Boo-Boo” kit and a “Blow Out” kit? Do you know how to best use them both? Do you carry them at all times?

As you scan my list, have you noticed some things that prompted an “I should really work on that” response? We all have areas of weakness – that’s not unusual. And, those areas of weakness will do us no harm until that moment comes when you reach for your weapon and draw it to defend yourself.

You have all the time in the world – right now – at this moment in time - to fill in any blanks. Make use of it, embrace it, be thankful for it – and use it wisely.

Because tomorrow, or next week, or next year . . . . it may be your turn to make use of all your skills to save your life, or your children’s lives or the life of your closest friend.

RANT ON – VOTING FOR OBAMA TO TEACH THE REPUBLICANS A LESSON

Gun Blogger Borepatch has endorsed Obama.  He’s afraid of Romney, feels like the Republicans aren’t listening – time to teach them a lesson.  The thing his post implies is that this has not been tried before – sadly Obama makes the 3^rd time folks like BorePatch embarked on a mission to teach the Republicans a lesson in my political lifetime.

My first experience was Carter. Gerald ford couldn’t drive a golf ball straight you know, he was from the Washington crowd – frankly, the Republicans in DC just weren’t listening. What better lesson to send that a “nice”, quiet spoken governor from Georgia?? Never mind those little incidents that followed later – Iran’s Islamic revolution, the Arab oil embargo, purchasing gas only on odd or even days, 17% inflation rate, a decimated military, fireside chats in cardigans as we were all asked to turn our thermostats down to a government approved 68 – we taught those damn Republicans a lesson.

My second experience was Clinton – TWICE FOR F*#@KS SAKE!!!!. Nothing to see here either, “booming economy” (thanks to Reagan), little things like the Cole, Kenya, World Trade Center I, Somalia and Blackhawk Down with a military so neutered we had to tow the landing craft off the beaches as we retreated, the crash of March 1999 as Clinton attacked the largest software company in the world in an attempt to break it up, passing on sending Osama off to his 72 virgins, and finally the moral deprivation of a President unable to stop himself from utilizing an intern’s vagina for his own personal humidor. Yep, we sure taught those Damn Republicans a lesson – by subjecting the country to two terms of Clinton.

(WRAPPING MY EXPLODING HEAD WITH AN ENTIRE ROLL OF DUCT TAPE JUST TO GET THROUGH THIS RECAP OF TEACHING THOSE DAMN REPUBLICANS A LESSON)

My current experience in this whole process – the Obama administration. Honest to god – where to start? The destruction of our reputation over seas (if you screw with us the fires of hell will rain down on you to bowing low enough to give every major world leader a quick blow job), the systematic destruction of our military capabilities and the continued reduction of forces in active war zones – endangering every soldier on the ground, the enslavement of our children as their tax burden becomes equal to their income, the utter destruction of the best healthcare system in the world that will lead to a closing of 30% plus of all hospitals and the early retirement of up to 40% of all doctors, the systematic destruction of the oil industry to be replaced by an utterly failed policy of alternative energy sources, the broad attack on America’s core job producers – small business through outrageous tax policy and a draconian IRS collection, an ongoing attack on the “rich” who are paying 70% of the tab (top 10% of wage earners) while 49.7% PAY NO F&#*!&G taxes at all . . . . . . . WE SURE SHOWED THOSE DAMN REPUBLICANS BY VOTING FOR THE ‘CLEAN, ARTICULATE BLACK MAN’ SPOUTING “HOPE AND CHANGE” OUT HIS A$$.
I HAVE A GREAT F&$@ING IDEA – LET’S DO IT AGAIN!!!

For those who are all smug and self righteous in their belief that re-electing Obama will teach the Republicans a lesson – I would simply ask you to let go the hate: your hate of America, your hate of those who have succeeded, your hate of those risking all in an attempt to succeed at their personal dream, your disgust of your own children and grandchildren, your hate of your neighbor, your doctor, your banker, your car salesman, your college graduate . . . . . . . that you NOT TURN YOUR BACK ON AMERICA AS IT TEETERS ON THE EDGE OF DECADES AND DECADES AND DECADES OF DECLINE . . . . . and simply vote ABO – Anyone But Obama.

Were there a poodle with massive diarrhea on the national Presidential ballot as the Republican vs the current Marxist that occupies the Whitehouse . . . the poodle could be assured of my enthusiastic support!

So, with all due respect to Borepatch – I disagree.

RANT OFF.

NBC Warfare – the perfect “delivery” system.

Long ago, in another life, I was a NBC warfare officer.  I’ve spent more time in chemical suits, working on decontamination methods and reviewing different delivery systems and how to defeat them than I care too remember.

Well, there is one system that is particularly deadly – actually it has successfully infected me in the past, and now – it has compromised my defenses yet again.  In this particular instance it was a dual delivery system.  One was a cute little 6 year old granddaughter by the name of Ms. A, the second a 4 year old bundle of cold virus called Ms. E.  Their virus package was particularly effective and I found myself this past afternoon and evening attempting to recover in my recliner.

Beware these highly effective little critters – impossible not to love them, yet they can surly take a toll on grandpa!

Looking forward to a quick recovery, they’ll  be here this weekend!  :)

Commentary – The riots of summer . . . . July 23, 1967

 
Historical memory is short – sometimes painfully so. It would do our culture well to remember our past just a bit better . . . .

The future Mrs. Bill and I had been truly dating for not quite a year. It was our first full summer together. My mind is flooded with memories of the crispness and earnestness and newness of that summer. I was genuinely, stupidly, deeply in love. We both worked, we talked for hours on the phone, held hands continuously, spent as much time together as we could . . . . . .

Other factors were in play as well – society felt frayed and tattered. Kennedy dead only 4 years, Vietnam ramping up, the evening news awash in body counts and images of a jungle warfare. No lottery yet, simply “the draft” with all of us healthy males having little doubt we would see this place soon enough.

The great marches of the South continued – lead by an articulate and spellbinding man by the name of Martin Luther King.  In less than a year he would lay dead on the balcony of his motel.  When the news wasn’t focused on our new fight against communism in Vietnam, it was filled with white on black, and black on white violence. A race, “kept in its place” in the south was determined to breakout and truly become equal under the law. A fearful south was determined to maintain the status quo. This tension was spreading nation wide. While white/black relations were much less stressed in the north – large cities were anything but quiet in the summer of 67. The frayed and tattered quilt of 67 was about to tear.

Our church had a tradition of going to a Detroit Tigers game each summer. My mom always felt bad I was fatherless. As I’ve said before, she did her best to fill this gap – hunting, some fishing, making sure Uncle Ted took me “north” each summer for real “man” time. The baseball game trip was part of that process – “takin’ in a game” with the church bus. The future Mrs. Bill was on this trip as well. The Tigers were wrapping up a 3-day series with the Yankees, it was a double header. Honestly, I remember little of the game – just the time with Susie. And, during the game, we began to notice smoke rising from different areas around the stadium. Nothing was said, nothing announced, nothing curtailed. The game ended – Tigers split that day – and we headed home – quickly.

There were lots of crowds on the street – they did not appear happy. We saw men on the rooftops of their homes with rifles and shotguns. And as we exited Detroit and the sun went down . . . . Detroit exploded! As did much of America – the “long hot summer” of 67 saw riots in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Tampa, Birmingham, Chicago, New York, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Britain, Rochester, Plainfield, Newark, and the “Twelfth Street Riot” of Detroit. Large cities were filled with disillusioned blacks that reached a point where the felt that violence was their next best solution.

And I read today’s headlines – once again filled with violence – American on American, race on race, poor on wealthy . . . . I see a much broader frayed patchwork quilt of society. People who have been promised everything quickly realizing the promises were lies. I see a society where half pay no taxes, where 10% pay 70% of the tab, where college students now see it as their right to borrow heavily and have society cover their loans, where unions – strong in the 60s, are withering and fighting to live, sacrificing the very companies that provided for them. I see police forces over taxed, stretched thin and “making do” while those with little respect for the law seemingly are gaining ground. I see folks in my classes flirting with fear – enough so that they have purchased a weapon to defend themselves, their families and their friends. And so I wonder . . . .

Is it once again the summer of ’67?? Only this time it’s not black and white . . . . it is “have” and “have not”. It is the 1% and the 99%. It is the rich and the poor. It is those responsible for their own lives vs. those who demand to be taken care of.

I pray for a peaceful passage of this summer and this election season.

I fear all hell will break loose . . . . .

DPI Class – After Action Report

Finally!!  After taking two NRA Instructor courses and the Suarez PSP course, on Saturday it was time to hit the classroom / range again with my own Defensive Pistol I course!  It really felt good!!

The DPI course is my answer to what comes after the NRA Basic Pistol course, but before their Personal Protection courses.  It teaches the next level of basic skills (past the NRA “parts of a firearm” and “firing first shots”) that I believe a shooter needs to learn – draw from a holster, speed reloads, tactical reloads, clearing malfunctions, use of cover, “slicing the pie”, “roll-out”, sighted fire, intro to point shooting – to name just a few topics.  Most of the folks that attend this class have never worked through these skill sets – yet I believe they are the foundation to a solid shooting skill set that every person who carries a weapon must have.

We also covered a multitude of examples of “shoot/don’t shoot”, “when do I draw”, the OODA Loop, the difference between practicing target shooting and “combat effective” shooting, what do I carry in my EDC kit, a number of different “rules of three” pertaining to gunfights and basic survival and much more.

After the intro lecture to get us all on the same page, we worked all drills inside with dry fire (nice because it was in the mid-40s and misty) for another hour and a half on the same silhouette targets we would use on the range.

Lunch!  (ya gotta eat!)

OK, short lunch!

A few more dry fire drills, then it was off to the range.  I was very please on how the folks used their range time and performed all our drills.  From sighted fire to point shooting, from single to multiple round engagements, from concealment, speed reloads, tactical reloads – and of primary concern – safe practices on the range.  They did a great job, got solid hits and were drawing smoothly, engaging accurately and re-holstering accurately and gently.

Another 45 minutes finish up after the range time and all were on their way home a little after 5PM.  A good day!

I am going to share this post with all the folks that attended and ask that they post their own AAR here.  It should provide folks thinking about the course some idea of what the students thought of my DPI class – or, I’ll have my butt handed to me!  :)

Train hard, get good hits – win.

Training – Suarez International – Point Shooting Progressions with Roger Phillips

 
Fair warning . . . this will be a very, very, very  long post . . . . . . . . . . .

Point shooting is nothing new. From the days of the Old West, when there were far fewer really good gunfighters that you may expect, there were a double handful that were simply machines that allowed them to get solid first-hits with devastating follow-up hits in what appeared to be the blink of an eye. They didn’t acquire a solid stance, take a firm grip, attain a good sight-picture and press the trigger straight back . . . . they just drewpointedshot . . . . and dropped their enemy. Point shooting is nothing new.

In today’s training community the Modern Technique is king - modified weaver or isosceles stance, firm two-handed grip, focus on the front sight, blurred image of the target with the front sight center mass and a trigger press straight to the rear is what’s taught. And, frankly, there’s nothing wrong with that as part of a shooter’s skill set. It’s what I teach my students - virtually all are brand new shooters, some so frightened of a weapon it is difficult for them to even pick one up and hold it. The Modern Technique is a solid technique that is great for many shooting situations.

However, with the rise in interest in personal defense, the search for “new”, faster techniques of evading, drawing and getting the first hit on an attacker is growing. While “sighted fire” is certainly desired, the vast majority of attacks occur at very close range typically obeying a “rule of three” of . . . . 3 meters, 3 rounds, 3 seconds. This is the landscape for most gun fights. There is one additional ingredient – a stationary target has an 85% chance of a center mass hit while a moving target has only a 25% chance of a hit. Think about that very carefully . . . . . . . if you simply “stand and deliver” you stand an 85% chance of taking a round to your center mass. However, if you move, if you “get off the X”, your chances of a center mass hit drops to 25%.

So, is there a way to marry point shooting and movement that would allow me, as a person defending myself, my family and my friends to accurately engage an attacker and to reduce my chances of being shot? The answer is “yes” – and Roger Phillip’s PSP course is my first exposure to this type of defensive shooting.

Let me link to a very “unfair” video of Roger and his shooting techniques on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnrIdpo9odA

I say this is unfair because what you see is 1:04 minutes of our 16 hour class. It’s so easy for a traditional shooter to blow off what you see in this video because it is so radically different from the traditional “stand and deliver” type of defensive shooting. That said – here is the reality. If you are NOT the guy moving, then you are the target Roger is shooting at. All 24 of the students that took the weekend class did these exact shooting drills. My own experience was that I experienced around an 80% hit rate, minimum, while moving as fast as I was capable of. Let that sink in just a bit . . . . an 80% hit rate while running my butt off. I was shooting a Glock 17, magazines loaded with 15 rounds each with an average of 5 rounds per engagements. That means that while moving I could draw, engage and hit the bad guy’s center mass with 4 of the 5 rounds without “aiming”. Ya know, I’ll take it!

So, how did I get from a typical “Modern Techniques” shooter to a PSP student/shooter in 16 hours? It’s easier than you think.

As I stated in an earlier post – I hate the idea there is only one way to do something. If a trainer says he’s got the only answer – look for someone else. As a trainer of new shooters I believe I simply have a responsibility to search for new techniques that may help them survive a run-in with a bad guy. I want them to go home to their family and anything I can learn that helps them I need to learn. The key to Roger’s course is two-fold – leave your ego in the car (I have a jeep, it barely fits!!) and flush your mind of what you know and be willing to learn a new skill.

The mechanics:

My dealings with Suarez International were very professional. I found the PSP class from their website. The information displayed was fairly complete and accurate. My phone conversations with them were pleasant. I was assured a seat was available in the Searsboro class in Iowa, I filled out the info online, shared my CC number and received confirmation of the order quickly.

I also ordered Roger’s PSP DVD. I am a data hound and wanted a glimpse of what the hell I was getting into. It’s a great video but, again, without actually doing the exercises that he shows, it’s hard to really grasp their value. And, without seeing live demonstrations, on a very secure range, honestly they could be dangerous to the new shooter.

I followed up the DVD viewing with a general internet search of Roger and his courses. The findings were mixed. Shooters at the Warrior Talk Forum that had actually taken the course certainly found value and had great things to say. Folks that seemed to have viewed the youtube videos only but had never taken the course – not so much.  Overall, the positives far outweighed the negatives in what I found in my research.

My preparation for the class was primarily just my usual drills – all using the Modern Technique shooting. I took my standard range gear to the course – a Glock 17, Serpa holster, two magazine pouches and 10 magazines. I also took a second Glock 17 in case of a catastrophic weapon failure. I purchased 1,000 rounds of ammo – barely enough, I’d take a minimum of 1,200 to my next course. Range food (jerky, cliff bars, a bit of hard candy), WATER and a bottle of ibuprofen (unless you are one of the 20 to 30 somethings) are a must. Ears, eyes, baseball cap, light fleece and rain coat (rained for a portion of the class each day), sturdy shoes. 

The classes started promptly at 8 AM with virtually all the shooters there by 7:30 AM. The hosting instructor for Suarez was Greg Nichols. By 7 AM they were setting up the course and stapling the targets, by 7:30 AM the “meet and greet” was underway. Everyone there truly had their “head in the game” – they all came to work, to learn and to enjoy the process as well. There were cops, ex-military, a couple Vietnam vets (myself included), GWOT vets, a retired grade school teacher, a computer jock (I’ll include myself in this category as well), folks who had taken Suarez trainings in the past and newbies like my self. We ranged in age from I would estimate the late 20s to the mid 70s - quite an interesting bunch of experience and personalities.

The course started out with about an hour lecture of the Roger’s history with point shooting, the evolution of the course, the arguments for this approach to personal defensive shooting and the mechanics of the body that make so much of what we were about to learn just a natural extension of our physical abilities and capabilities.

On to the good stuff!!

Our first exercise was the “dot drill”. There was a small dot beside each ear of the silhouette. Five rounds, do your best to make a single hole from 15 feet. There were 12 shooting lanes and two shooting groups – tier 1 and tier 2. This other shooter in front or behind you was a loose partner for the two days. The dot drill bled off some of the initial tension I think we were all feeling – the “let’s get started” feeling. And then . . . . it was simply non stop!!

Brief pause here – I had 6 magazines on my person at all times. One in the Glock, two in my magazine pouches and three in my rear left pocket. Then, I would dump a box of 50 rounds in my left pocket when I had a chance. While I was waiting to shoot or listening to Roger lecture I would reload or top-off my magazines. My thumbs are still sore today. If you take a class, and don’t develop this habit VERY EARLY, you will waste too much time off the line and miss drills. The class never stops, never breaths, never ceases except for about a 20 minute lunch eaten while you top off magazines and chat about what’s next. It is a very fast course, it is a very intense course.

Second pause – safety. This was a hot range – weapons loaded at all times, topped off when you were not shooting and weapons handled in some fairly non-conventional ways. Roger reminded us over and over to “keep your head in the game”!! This is actually one of my favorite phrases for my students – a thinking shooter is a safe shooter – period. Everyone kept their head in the game, even when some of the drills were high adrenalin producers.

We began with a quick exercise in aimed shooting. Traditional shooting stance and engage with 3-5 rounds. No surprises here, especially when I look back on how I did that. The words “front sight, front sight” echoing in my ear. Next we moved to focusing on the target and allowing the sight picture to blur. We were changing our attention to the actual threat. The results were the same but we were changing our focus to the threat.

We progressed to what was called “metal on meat” where you used the rear of the weapon as the “sight” and simply placed in on the center of the target and engaged. Even here, while if you were “bull’s-eye-centric” and you could easily be flustered with the “misses”, the reality was that all rounds typically were solid combat-effective hits.

Each exercise was run multiple times, each time a bit smoother and a bit faster with safety being of primary concern. Most shooters drew from concealment as well – one more added piece of the whole experience.

Once past this, we worked on an interesting drill known as the “zipper”. The purpose of this drill was to quickly put multiple hits on the threat while simultaneously trying to take out their central nervous system – shoot out their spine. You would run a group of 3-5 rounds right up their middle, bottom to top drawing and engaging as quickly as you could while trusting that your body would aim for you. The result – by the end of the day combat effective hits were a very easy thing to attain.

Yet another interesting drill – that gave tremendous confidence in the whole idea of point shooting – was to draw to the ¾ postion (just prior to engaging your support had in a grip, elbow down, weapon parallel) put 3-5 rounds in the pelvic area and then switch focus to the head and do a head shot with a simple move of the wrist. By the end of the day this – too – was completed by virtually every student there.

There were repeats of these drills, some others that I’m not going to detail simply because I notice I’m on four pages already!!!

The day ended with everyone pretty tired, kinda sore (ok, honestly I was truly hurting – mainly my feet) and ready for supper. We ate as a team at a nearby steak house - very, very, very good food!!!
And so ended Day 1.

Morning two began with breakfast at the motel. I was fortunate enough to walk into the elevator at the same moment Roger came out of his room. We took gear to our cars and had a round of biscuits and gravy – is there a better possible way to start the day? It was a great conversation, learned a lot of the background of the course and could easily see his passion for his work. I enjoyed the time a great deal.

Again, everyone was at the range by 7:30 AM. Weapons loaded, magazines loaded, rain gear on (yep – raining lightly) and ready to rock by 8:00 AM. The first hour was used to teach how to “get off the X” just as fast as you possibly could. This is where the training begins to diverge radically from most training I have received. I suspect there are many reasons for this:

It’s dangerous. If you do something stupid while running full tilt with a loaded weapon you could shoot yourself (most likely) or shoot a team mate. Not good.

The raw liabilities that go with this type of training. Few ranges are willing to allow it on their grounds.

It takes a lot of energy. I have been to many courses, loaded with fat guys (hey, gotta be honest, I’m one of them) that are unwilling to push their bodies to their individual limits. It’s much easier to stand on a firing line, in a static position and be happy with making as small a diameter group of holes as possible.

But, survival lies both in accurate hits and . . . . . in not being hit yourself. And that is truly what the second day is all about – moving off the X.

All the static drills of Day One were repeated while the shooter moved, as fast as they could – directly towards the target, or to their 2 o’clock or 10 o’clock direction, or to their 5 o’clock or their 7 o’clock direction. These drills were run in two columns with the shooters moving closer together while shooting away from each other.

So by the end of the day I can confidently say I can engage a threat, running flat out (for me) while running directly at them, at oblique angles running towards them or at oblique angles running away from them – and achieve an 80% combat effective hit rate.

I’ll take it . . . . with many thanks to Roger and Greg!

If you can get a solid hit on an attacker first – if you can “move off the X” – and if you can place combat effective hits while doing it – you will go home at the end of the day.

In virtually any training circle this would be considered an advanced course. It’s a very intense course. And, it is very much a course that can save your life.

 

Training – Day One Suarezinternational PSP Course

Pass the vitamin “I”, need a double dose!!  :)   Holy cow, what a busy day – too whipped to do  a full report, will do that on Monday.  Today was static – learning the full range of point shooting techniques.  Tomorrow – more of the same but at a dead run??????    Should be interesting.  Gonna be a busy day!