I had a great experience in Mindset Lab's "intro to force on force". To those of you who haven't done force on force training, like the name implies, it's equivalent to sparring instead of just doing kata. This is an essential supplement to square-range, live fire, training.
Shay VanFlyman (I'm sure this is on his website) has a 'civilian' perspective on armed self defense, influenced by martial arts and having been on staff at Tactical Response
The first 1/2 of the day was lecture on subjects ranging from safety and mindset, to details like managing a call to '911'. There was a heavy emphasis on keeping defense in perspective, comparing it to the odds of death from heart attacks, car wrecks, etc. Accordingly, the need for medical equipment and knowledge was emphasized.
After we finished lunch (BYOF--there aren't any eateries nearby) we worked on The draw stroke, 1 and 2 handed, and worked it into shooting. The shooting methods shown were:
1) elbow up and off hand shielding the side and back of the head for contact distance, pistol pointed at the assailant's groin. The rationale being to avoid sending missed shots down the street, or hitting oneself, and not getting knocked out
2) pistol held in a 'compressed ready' position, chest high, below the chin, for close distance
3) pistol extended in isoceles for distance--beyond the reach of an assailant
Using UTM cartridges (Simunitions' competitor) we did an exercise where we shot an "assailant" and were to remember to assess, scan, and 'top off' (and move to cover). The protocol was:
F: fight
A: assess
S: scan
T: top off
There were 5 of us taking the class. 3 of us had prior training/experience, the other two were a couple who had bought their first pistol and were taking their first class. Being an introductory class surely helped, but Shay did a good job of "bringing them up to speed" while leaving the class open to discussing our questions.
My new "take away" was expanding my scan to include more than just assailants. You see what you look for, and the assumption that you'll "see" important info might be wrong if you're limiting you're focus to one thing.
Like I said earlier, this kind of training isn't a substitute for live fire marksmanship practice but marksmanship practice by itself can create a "training scar" in that there isn't a lot of decision making to be done. Force on force is a good fix.
Thanks to Shay, his staff, and the other students for a good class and fun time
Shay VanFlyman (I'm sure this is on his website) has a 'civilian' perspective on armed self defense, influenced by martial arts and having been on staff at Tactical Response
The first 1/2 of the day was lecture on subjects ranging from safety and mindset, to details like managing a call to '911'. There was a heavy emphasis on keeping defense in perspective, comparing it to the odds of death from heart attacks, car wrecks, etc. Accordingly, the need for medical equipment and knowledge was emphasized.
After we finished lunch (BYOF--there aren't any eateries nearby) we worked on The draw stroke, 1 and 2 handed, and worked it into shooting. The shooting methods shown were:
1) elbow up and off hand shielding the side and back of the head for contact distance, pistol pointed at the assailant's groin. The rationale being to avoid sending missed shots down the street, or hitting oneself, and not getting knocked out
2) pistol held in a 'compressed ready' position, chest high, below the chin, for close distance
3) pistol extended in isoceles for distance--beyond the reach of an assailant
Using UTM cartridges (Simunitions' competitor) we did an exercise where we shot an "assailant" and were to remember to assess, scan, and 'top off' (and move to cover). The protocol was:
F: fight
A: assess
S: scan
T: top off
There were 5 of us taking the class. 3 of us had prior training/experience, the other two were a couple who had bought their first pistol and were taking their first class. Being an introductory class surely helped, but Shay did a good job of "bringing them up to speed" while leaving the class open to discussing our questions.
My new "take away" was expanding my scan to include more than just assailants. You see what you look for, and the assumption that you'll "see" important info might be wrong if you're limiting you're focus to one thing.
Like I said earlier, this kind of training isn't a substitute for live fire marksmanship practice but marksmanship practice by itself can create a "training scar" in that there isn't a lot of decision making to be done. Force on force is a good fix.
Thanks to Shay, his staff, and the other students for a good class and fun time
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