iChokePeople
Master
- Feb 11, 2011
- 4,556
- 48
I had the pleasure of spending this past weekend on the range with cedartop in his Close Range Gunfighting class and thought there might be others out there who would like a brief review, both on this course and on cedartop as an instructor, in case you're considering other classes from him. I won't give away too much on course content, just an overview.
Close Range Gunfighting:
For the official course description and propaganda, go here: Suarez International Close Range Gunfighting
This course was conducted at Sand Burr Gun Ranch, outside Rochester, IN. When we arrived, cedartop introduced himself and made us comfortable to go through the administrative stuff -- a little about the course, about him, a few questions for each of us, etc. Familiarity and comfort. We quickly moved on to a good, thorough safety brief. One thing I liked about this was the level of detail and preparations/plans for contingencies. Once we had covered all of that, we moved downrange.
It's difficult to do a good job of describing the course and some of the things I really liked about it without giving away more information than I feel comfortable giving away, and I'm going to tend to err on the side of protecting the course material. With that in mind...
We started off with some focus drills to get our heads in the right place, loosen up a little, and probably to let Mike assess our fundamentals. We did that for just a bit until Mike was either satisfied or had decided that all hope was lost and he'd be lucky to survive the weekend, and then moved forward into a course of study that would gradually demand more of us, drill by drill, each building on the previous drills and adding something new.
Using the course description as a guide for what I'm safe to mention a little more specifically, by the end of the weekend, we had trained in everything from bad breath distance to about 50 yards, though the 50 yard stuff was just for fun -- most of the real work in the class is, as the name suggests, much closer. We worked on manipulations with both hands and with each hand individually. We worked on After Action Assessments, spent a little time with lights, even almost got to shoot a few holes in Mike's truck.
As the title would suggest, it was a great look at fighting at close range. The other part that maybe the title doesn't suggest was movement -- this class was heavily built around movement. Not the kind you typically see in gun classes or youtube videos with cute little sidesteps or slow, robotic sideways movements, but dynamic, explosive movement intended to improve your chances of survival.
By the end of the weekend, we were doing things that changed the way I feel about my abilities, my 'path', and pistols, in general. As I was driving home at the end of the weekend, I KNEW that I'd improved over the two days there, that I'd really learned new, valuable things, and that I was more comfortable with the pistol, more confident in my abilities, and more capable of defending myself or people I care about. I am absolutely convinced that my chances of surviving a gunfight or other life-threatening encounter are significantly better today than they were last Friday. The feeling I had leaving that course was unlike anything I've felt in any civilian "gun" course (quotations because a "gun" course isn't necessarily just about the gun.) Saturday was good -- when the day ended on Saturday, I was pretty happy, felt that I'd gotten value from the course, thought I'd improved some. By the end of the day Sunday, though, everything had changed. Sunday took all of the pieces from Saturday and really put it all together, and by the end of Sunday, I was born again. Sunday was *excellent*.
I've never left a gun course before and even considered terms like "epiphany" or "paradigm shifter" or "life changing", and all of those terms crossed my mind on my drive home... And I seriously do not use those terms lightly.
Without question, I will attend more of the Suarez courses in the future. I got more value from this weekend of training than I would have imagined. I completely get how it's easy to say, "well, that's a lot of money, and I could practice on my own", or similar thoughts, but you're lying to yourself. Invest in yourself. The money you spend with a GOOD trainer is the best money you'll spend in this hobby/passion/obsession. Stop cheating yourself. Do your homework, select a good course and a good trainer, and invest in YOUR skills and knowledge -- something that can never be taken away.
On Mike/cedartop:
Mike is a friendly, personable guy who can make you feel comfortable very quickly -- even someone like me, a definite introvert who doesn't really do well with meeting new people. He takes what seems to be a genuine interest in his students. He listens. He mixes in just enough interesting stories and amusing anecdotes to make points, reinforce ideas, or lighten the mood, as the case requires, without being one of "those guys". He teaches things gradually -- crawl, walk, run -- starting with things you can do, gradually building skills and confidence until you're doing things you couldn't do and wouldn't have even tried earlier. He's not a screamer -- if you like the Drill Instructor type, maybe he's not your guy. If you like the really intense types, again, maybe not your guy. He keeps it pretty light, fun, creates a good learning environment. He's very open to questions, comments, discussion. He doesn't push his way or the Suarez way as the only way. He shows you new ways to do things, encourages you to try them, explains why he and/or Suarez believes what they believe or does it that way, and encourages you to figure out the way that works for you. He WILL call you on it if you're just stubborn or reluctant to change something that clearly is NOT working for you and you don't seem to realize it, but if it's working, it's good. Mike is friendly, helpful, has a quiet confidence that doesn't come off as arrogance, seems to genuinely care about his students, has a passion for the material, and inspires confidence. Really an excellent instructor, and if you're serious about this gun thing, about improving yourself, you should look him up.
The bottom line: This is an excellent course, and Mike/cedartop is an excellent instructor. I'd strongly recommend both or either to anyone who's serious about this gun thing and wants to improve. I will definitely be attending more training with cedartop and Suarez.
Disclaimer: Any inaccuracies or misstatements are mine -- don't assume that they came from Mike or from Suarez, but that I bork'd it up on my own.
Close Range Gunfighting:
For the official course description and propaganda, go here: Suarez International Close Range Gunfighting
This course was conducted at Sand Burr Gun Ranch, outside Rochester, IN. When we arrived, cedartop introduced himself and made us comfortable to go through the administrative stuff -- a little about the course, about him, a few questions for each of us, etc. Familiarity and comfort. We quickly moved on to a good, thorough safety brief. One thing I liked about this was the level of detail and preparations/plans for contingencies. Once we had covered all of that, we moved downrange.
It's difficult to do a good job of describing the course and some of the things I really liked about it without giving away more information than I feel comfortable giving away, and I'm going to tend to err on the side of protecting the course material. With that in mind...
We started off with some focus drills to get our heads in the right place, loosen up a little, and probably to let Mike assess our fundamentals. We did that for just a bit until Mike was either satisfied or had decided that all hope was lost and he'd be lucky to survive the weekend, and then moved forward into a course of study that would gradually demand more of us, drill by drill, each building on the previous drills and adding something new.
Using the course description as a guide for what I'm safe to mention a little more specifically, by the end of the weekend, we had trained in everything from bad breath distance to about 50 yards, though the 50 yard stuff was just for fun -- most of the real work in the class is, as the name suggests, much closer. We worked on manipulations with both hands and with each hand individually. We worked on After Action Assessments, spent a little time with lights, even almost got to shoot a few holes in Mike's truck.
As the title would suggest, it was a great look at fighting at close range. The other part that maybe the title doesn't suggest was movement -- this class was heavily built around movement. Not the kind you typically see in gun classes or youtube videos with cute little sidesteps or slow, robotic sideways movements, but dynamic, explosive movement intended to improve your chances of survival.
By the end of the weekend, we were doing things that changed the way I feel about my abilities, my 'path', and pistols, in general. As I was driving home at the end of the weekend, I KNEW that I'd improved over the two days there, that I'd really learned new, valuable things, and that I was more comfortable with the pistol, more confident in my abilities, and more capable of defending myself or people I care about. I am absolutely convinced that my chances of surviving a gunfight or other life-threatening encounter are significantly better today than they were last Friday. The feeling I had leaving that course was unlike anything I've felt in any civilian "gun" course (quotations because a "gun" course isn't necessarily just about the gun.) Saturday was good -- when the day ended on Saturday, I was pretty happy, felt that I'd gotten value from the course, thought I'd improved some. By the end of the day Sunday, though, everything had changed. Sunday took all of the pieces from Saturday and really put it all together, and by the end of Sunday, I was born again. Sunday was *excellent*.
I've never left a gun course before and even considered terms like "epiphany" or "paradigm shifter" or "life changing", and all of those terms crossed my mind on my drive home... And I seriously do not use those terms lightly.
Without question, I will attend more of the Suarez courses in the future. I got more value from this weekend of training than I would have imagined. I completely get how it's easy to say, "well, that's a lot of money, and I could practice on my own", or similar thoughts, but you're lying to yourself. Invest in yourself. The money you spend with a GOOD trainer is the best money you'll spend in this hobby/passion/obsession. Stop cheating yourself. Do your homework, select a good course and a good trainer, and invest in YOUR skills and knowledge -- something that can never be taken away.
On Mike/cedartop:
Mike is a friendly, personable guy who can make you feel comfortable very quickly -- even someone like me, a definite introvert who doesn't really do well with meeting new people. He takes what seems to be a genuine interest in his students. He listens. He mixes in just enough interesting stories and amusing anecdotes to make points, reinforce ideas, or lighten the mood, as the case requires, without being one of "those guys". He teaches things gradually -- crawl, walk, run -- starting with things you can do, gradually building skills and confidence until you're doing things you couldn't do and wouldn't have even tried earlier. He's not a screamer -- if you like the Drill Instructor type, maybe he's not your guy. If you like the really intense types, again, maybe not your guy. He keeps it pretty light, fun, creates a good learning environment. He's very open to questions, comments, discussion. He doesn't push his way or the Suarez way as the only way. He shows you new ways to do things, encourages you to try them, explains why he and/or Suarez believes what they believe or does it that way, and encourages you to figure out the way that works for you. He WILL call you on it if you're just stubborn or reluctant to change something that clearly is NOT working for you and you don't seem to realize it, but if it's working, it's good. Mike is friendly, helpful, has a quiet confidence that doesn't come off as arrogance, seems to genuinely care about his students, has a passion for the material, and inspires confidence. Really an excellent instructor, and if you're serious about this gun thing, about improving yourself, you should look him up.
The bottom line: This is an excellent course, and Mike/cedartop is an excellent instructor. I'd strongly recommend both or either to anyone who's serious about this gun thing and wants to improve. I will definitely be attending more training with cedartop and Suarez.
Disclaimer: Any inaccuracies or misstatements are mine -- don't assume that they came from Mike or from Suarez, but that I bork'd it up on my own.
No, really, I seriously appreciate the positive review and the feedback. In all honesty, this is an easy class to teach due to great material, and the fact that I really like it. What made it even easier was having good students. I mean that, students who are safe, who listen, and who ask good questions really make an Instructors job easier. To know if I am actually a good instructor, you need to see how I handle problem students.
