Today, there is a great deal of data on the dynamics of an armed confrontation. Some of it comes from the first hand accounts of guys and girls who have been there done that. Their stories, whether in Costa Rica, Colombia, or Los Angeles are all dramatically similar.
Much information can be found at the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, whose points have changed very little in the time its been available. The one problem with the FBI UCR is that it focuses exclusively on law enforcement personnel. Suarez International, USA is not a police training organization. Sure, we train soldiers and cops, but we also train private citizens in the same exact stuff. Although the dynamics of encounter for civilians are similar to those for law enforcement in some areas, they are different in the sense that police officers often know they are going into dangerous environments whereas private citizens would avoid such situations. Thus the element of surprise against the private citizen is often greater than for the officer.
Moreover, the statistics shown by the FBI are based on officers that were killed. Thus, as harsh as it may sound, potentially they are the statistics of failure. At this time, I am not aware of any agency or study group maintaining the statistics of fights that were won. A comparison of the two would be an invaluable source. Alas, the nature of American Policing is that they focus on failures and ignore success. Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics and training.
Another viable source of information is the timeless Armed Citizen column penned in the NRA magazine on a monthly basis. This describes situations where citizens successfully used a firearm to defend themselves and their homes. Notice I said "defend", not just that they shot. In the real world many more attacks are prevented by the ready presence of gun, than solved with gunfire. Finally, your daily newspaper and the nightly news can provide you with valuable trends in the patterns of attacks. Today the enemy may just as easily be a Jihadist looking for the magic carpet ride to Paradise, as the meth addict looking for a few bucks, the child molester looking to kidnap a child, or the urban gang member looking to expand his turf.
The dynamics in all of these situations are very similar. In most cases a private citizen will not be purposely going to a fight. The only instance that I can think of where this is a likely choice is the pre-emptive ambush, or a family hostage-rescue when one is protecting against home invaders and in essence taking the fight to them before they can overpower the household. In most other cases, a private individual will seek avoidance and disengagement as the first option. An alert attitude and the ability to disengage and evade has ended many more fights (before they've begun) than any fast and accurate shot.
Thus the armed private citizen (henceforth referred to as APC) if he fights will find himself in the fight with little or no warning. He may have been selected for a number of reasons.
1). He looked like an easy mark and had something the bad guys wanted. Solution - don't look like an easy mark.
2). He was targeted by the terrorist/kidnapper/robber for socio-political reasons. In some parts of the country, a male white businessman venturing out after dark might as well have a bullseye painted on his chest. Hey, that’s reality folks. If it offends you, perhaps you are being too naïve about modern life. Double that for a woman. The solution is obviously to remain aware about where you are and what is going on around you. Additionally, do not rationalize away things that concern you or seem out of place.
In Combative Perspective we spoke of Situational Awareness. The topic applies here. Don’t assume anything. Most of all remember where you are and who you are. Realize who is around you. The combination of those three factors can often create a very hazardous situation. Am I suggesting that you profile those around you? Absolutely yes!! Without getting into specifics, we all know what the bad guys look like, how they act, and how they dress. Profile the hell out of everyone. Anyone who does not profile today is stupid.
3). He stumbled into an in-progress crime. How many guys have walked right in to a robbery in progress or another type of crime? Hundred of thousands of folks all over the world get in trouble every year for just that reason, walking into a problem.
All of the above situations may possibly be avoided and evaded by being alert, noticing the tell-tale clues that may signal some potential trouble, and when possible, disengaging. But disengaging isn't always possible. We'll talk about that too.
The dynamics of a confrontation that starts out as we described have remained virtually unchanged for decades. Why? Because men have not changed the way they fight against each other. The fight will be close range. I don’t mean seven yards (the distance where most shooting schools prepare you to fight), but more like seven feet. Often it may begin at arm's range, beginning as a fist fight, or a "mad dogging" session. There will often be at least two adversaries, sometimes more. The bad guys know here is strength in numbers. Low light confrontations are very likely. Because we venture out after dark so often in urban areas, and the bad guy seeks its cover, the lighting conditions may be poor. How dark is your house at 3 AM? There is a good chance that you may be totally unprepared, that is, not expecting a fight. If you have a pistol with you, it will probably be carried concealed, thus the one second draw you routinely do on the shooting range may be a bit slower.
While some of these dynamics can be prepared on a shooting range, or simulated in a shoothouse, the incident itself can only be duplicated safely by using training guns such as Airsoft. To replicate the dynamics seen in a real event, many of the artificial “range safety” rules that we must observe when training on a shooting range must be set aside. The basics, such as keeping the finger off the trigger until a conscious decision to shoot has been made, or being certain of your adversary before firing, etc., are easily maintained in combat. Other rules specifically designed to run a safe firing line may seem essential on the range, but are ludicrous in a gunfight. They are essential on the shooting range because a mistake with a live loaded weapon can have tragic results. On the other hand, in a fight, winning it takes precedence over notions like not covering suspected adversaries with a gun muzzle, not breaking the 180 degree line, etc.
Square range marksmanship training is important to develop necessary skills, to learn how to hit with speed and accuracy, and learning how to run your gun. But training exclusively on the shooting range for the development of marksmanship is not sufficient to prepare you for in-your-face arm’s length combat against a live human being bent on your destruction.
Some trainers and schools realize the deficiencies of exclusive square range marksmanship training and seek to devise ingenious target systems and exhaustive technical drills in the hopes of replicating what the real world will bring. Unfortunately, they fall short in replicating what your actual enemy will do and act like. I have seen dummies dressed up in clothing, plastic guns taped to their hands and mounted on springs in hopes of simulating movement. Unfortunately, no inanimate piece of plastic or paper will ever truly replicate a human adversary. No matter how you dress it up, how you position it in a shoot house, what you tape to its hands, or how you make it bob and weave, nothing can truly duplicate a human enemy. Your real “target” is not an inanimate piece of plastic or cardboard but rather another man like you, who for some reason has selected you as his target. Its about fighting, not just shooting.
Another area where mistakes in training are made is in the design of movers, or moving targets. There are elaborate machines designed to run a target toward you at high speed. The student is told to try and outdraw the rapidly advancing target, but they are not permitted to move. Why not? Well, because it would cause shots to go into the mover's machinery or otherwise be outside the intended impact area, etc. Range Gizmos like these reinforce incorrect tactics (such as holding your ground under attack instead off moving offline) that could potentially get you killed. Avoid them!
So how do we train realistically enough to be able to fight well in the real world? The answer lies in leaving the square range, leaving the live fire training method, and leaving the actual firearm and moving into the world of interactive training (aka Force on Force). If yu have only done live fire on the range and no force on force, your training is not complete!
__________________
Gabe Suarez
Suarez International USA, Inc.
One Source Tactical
info@suarezinternational.com
Office 928-776-4492
Much information can be found at the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, whose points have changed very little in the time its been available. The one problem with the FBI UCR is that it focuses exclusively on law enforcement personnel. Suarez International, USA is not a police training organization. Sure, we train soldiers and cops, but we also train private citizens in the same exact stuff. Although the dynamics of encounter for civilians are similar to those for law enforcement in some areas, they are different in the sense that police officers often know they are going into dangerous environments whereas private citizens would avoid such situations. Thus the element of surprise against the private citizen is often greater than for the officer.
Moreover, the statistics shown by the FBI are based on officers that were killed. Thus, as harsh as it may sound, potentially they are the statistics of failure. At this time, I am not aware of any agency or study group maintaining the statistics of fights that were won. A comparison of the two would be an invaluable source. Alas, the nature of American Policing is that they focus on failures and ignore success. Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics and training.
Another viable source of information is the timeless Armed Citizen column penned in the NRA magazine on a monthly basis. This describes situations where citizens successfully used a firearm to defend themselves and their homes. Notice I said "defend", not just that they shot. In the real world many more attacks are prevented by the ready presence of gun, than solved with gunfire. Finally, your daily newspaper and the nightly news can provide you with valuable trends in the patterns of attacks. Today the enemy may just as easily be a Jihadist looking for the magic carpet ride to Paradise, as the meth addict looking for a few bucks, the child molester looking to kidnap a child, or the urban gang member looking to expand his turf.
The dynamics in all of these situations are very similar. In most cases a private citizen will not be purposely going to a fight. The only instance that I can think of where this is a likely choice is the pre-emptive ambush, or a family hostage-rescue when one is protecting against home invaders and in essence taking the fight to them before they can overpower the household. In most other cases, a private individual will seek avoidance and disengagement as the first option. An alert attitude and the ability to disengage and evade has ended many more fights (before they've begun) than any fast and accurate shot.
Thus the armed private citizen (henceforth referred to as APC) if he fights will find himself in the fight with little or no warning. He may have been selected for a number of reasons.
1). He looked like an easy mark and had something the bad guys wanted. Solution - don't look like an easy mark.
2). He was targeted by the terrorist/kidnapper/robber for socio-political reasons. In some parts of the country, a male white businessman venturing out after dark might as well have a bullseye painted on his chest. Hey, that’s reality folks. If it offends you, perhaps you are being too naïve about modern life. Double that for a woman. The solution is obviously to remain aware about where you are and what is going on around you. Additionally, do not rationalize away things that concern you or seem out of place.
In Combative Perspective we spoke of Situational Awareness. The topic applies here. Don’t assume anything. Most of all remember where you are and who you are. Realize who is around you. The combination of those three factors can often create a very hazardous situation. Am I suggesting that you profile those around you? Absolutely yes!! Without getting into specifics, we all know what the bad guys look like, how they act, and how they dress. Profile the hell out of everyone. Anyone who does not profile today is stupid.
3). He stumbled into an in-progress crime. How many guys have walked right in to a robbery in progress or another type of crime? Hundred of thousands of folks all over the world get in trouble every year for just that reason, walking into a problem.
All of the above situations may possibly be avoided and evaded by being alert, noticing the tell-tale clues that may signal some potential trouble, and when possible, disengaging. But disengaging isn't always possible. We'll talk about that too.
The dynamics of a confrontation that starts out as we described have remained virtually unchanged for decades. Why? Because men have not changed the way they fight against each other. The fight will be close range. I don’t mean seven yards (the distance where most shooting schools prepare you to fight), but more like seven feet. Often it may begin at arm's range, beginning as a fist fight, or a "mad dogging" session. There will often be at least two adversaries, sometimes more. The bad guys know here is strength in numbers. Low light confrontations are very likely. Because we venture out after dark so often in urban areas, and the bad guy seeks its cover, the lighting conditions may be poor. How dark is your house at 3 AM? There is a good chance that you may be totally unprepared, that is, not expecting a fight. If you have a pistol with you, it will probably be carried concealed, thus the one second draw you routinely do on the shooting range may be a bit slower.
While some of these dynamics can be prepared on a shooting range, or simulated in a shoothouse, the incident itself can only be duplicated safely by using training guns such as Airsoft. To replicate the dynamics seen in a real event, many of the artificial “range safety” rules that we must observe when training on a shooting range must be set aside. The basics, such as keeping the finger off the trigger until a conscious decision to shoot has been made, or being certain of your adversary before firing, etc., are easily maintained in combat. Other rules specifically designed to run a safe firing line may seem essential on the range, but are ludicrous in a gunfight. They are essential on the shooting range because a mistake with a live loaded weapon can have tragic results. On the other hand, in a fight, winning it takes precedence over notions like not covering suspected adversaries with a gun muzzle, not breaking the 180 degree line, etc.
Square range marksmanship training is important to develop necessary skills, to learn how to hit with speed and accuracy, and learning how to run your gun. But training exclusively on the shooting range for the development of marksmanship is not sufficient to prepare you for in-your-face arm’s length combat against a live human being bent on your destruction.
Some trainers and schools realize the deficiencies of exclusive square range marksmanship training and seek to devise ingenious target systems and exhaustive technical drills in the hopes of replicating what the real world will bring. Unfortunately, they fall short in replicating what your actual enemy will do and act like. I have seen dummies dressed up in clothing, plastic guns taped to their hands and mounted on springs in hopes of simulating movement. Unfortunately, no inanimate piece of plastic or paper will ever truly replicate a human adversary. No matter how you dress it up, how you position it in a shoot house, what you tape to its hands, or how you make it bob and weave, nothing can truly duplicate a human enemy. Your real “target” is not an inanimate piece of plastic or cardboard but rather another man like you, who for some reason has selected you as his target. Its about fighting, not just shooting.
Another area where mistakes in training are made is in the design of movers, or moving targets. There are elaborate machines designed to run a target toward you at high speed. The student is told to try and outdraw the rapidly advancing target, but they are not permitted to move. Why not? Well, because it would cause shots to go into the mover's machinery or otherwise be outside the intended impact area, etc. Range Gizmos like these reinforce incorrect tactics (such as holding your ground under attack instead off moving offline) that could potentially get you killed. Avoid them!
So how do we train realistically enough to be able to fight well in the real world? The answer lies in leaving the square range, leaving the live fire training method, and leaving the actual firearm and moving into the world of interactive training (aka Force on Force). If yu have only done live fire on the range and no force on force, your training is not complete!
__________________
Gabe Suarez
Suarez International USA, Inc.
One Source Tactical
info@suarezinternational.com
Office 928-776-4492
