Tuesday, December 27, 2016

CWP, 27 December 2016 Anno Domini

Greetings Sheepdogs,

***** Mindset *****

     "Thus, the great irony:  the person who is
prepared to kill if they must to stop a murderous
transgression by a human predator, is the person
who is least likely to have to do so." 
-- Massad Ayoob

     "Yet my pistol is more than just security. 
Like an Orthodox Jewish yarmulke or a Christian
cross, it is a symbol of who I am, what I believe,
and the moral standards by which I live."
-- Finn Aagard

     At Front Sight Firearms Institute they teach
that you need training because you don't know what
you don't know.
     The wise person is constantly striving to
expand his knowledge.  He is a lifetime learner.
     One of the things we were taught in the Marine Corps
was to be working on a correspondence course at all times. 

***** Training *****

     "Shooting well is simple,
it just isn't easy."
~ Ray Chapman, first world champion
of the combat pistol
 ---
Unintentional Discharge (UD)
http://defense-training.com/2016/ud/
 ---
Drawing From Concealment
http://www.thetacticalwire.com/features/231344
 ---
     Failing to properly focus on the front sight
is a widespread problem among shooters.  Every
good shooter with iron sights (as opposed to red-dot
optics or telescopic sights) whom you know can
probably remember when he or she experienced "the
epiphany of the front sight."  The realization,
"So that's what the coach meant when she said to
watch the front sight!"
     Watch the front sight hard.  Apply your
primary visual focus there.  Look at it until
you can see every little scratch in the machining
on its surface.  . . .  Then you, too, will
experience the epiphany of the front sight, and
will see your shot groups tighten as if by magic.
~ Massad Ayoob
 ---
     "The beauty of competitive shooting, and
the real reason it did far more to prepare
soldiers like McBride and Marines like Hathcock
and cops like Cirillo to win gunfights, was
that in this seemingly sporting environment,
handling their guns swiftly and surely under
significant pressure had caused that expert
handling to become a reflexive norm."
~ Massad Ayoob
References to:
World War I veteran Herbert W. McBride,
Vietnam War veteran GySgt. Carlos Hathcock,
New York Police Department Officer James Cirillo.
 ---
     So, for those of you planning a career in
the military or law enforcement (or charity
work with the A-21 campaign rescuing sex slaves),
your time in competitions is being well spent.
     I attribute all of my one shot kills to
my training in my high school rifle team,
because that is where I first learned the
fundamentals.
     Before my son left for Marine Corps recruit
training at Parris Island, I took him to Front
Sight Firearms Institute to do a 4-day M-16
course.  He had already shot smallbore competitively
for several years, but full auto M-16's are a
little different, and I didn't want his first
experience with one to be at boot camp, where
the pressure is high.
     Learning in a club or team environment
with a coach to guide you, taking courses at
gun schools, and competing in tournaments
makes all the difference in the world when
the time comes to use your skills in combat.

******************************************************

[Excerpt from an email to my junior rifle team.]

     If you can't do a pull up, you can't shoot standing.
That's the truth.
---
     Tutorial on how to do your first pull up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-e4mV0RN1o
Starts at 1:19.
---
     "Exercise.  Strengthen your hands and forearms particularly.
The usual warnings about checking with your doctor before beginning
any exercise regimen apply.
     I know this may seem odd in a low intensity basic class,
but grip strength is one of the most important, and overlooked,
factors in the ability to shoot well.
'Well' as in quickly and accurately."
-- Steve Cooper, Paladin Training, Inc.
http://paladintraining.com/
---
     Motivational pull up video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-aB7xRVltg
     All of these little girls are older than you and
heavier than you. [Talking to my junior shooters.]
     Notice the slow downward release of tension,
negative pull up.
     Notice that some of them are doing their pull ups
with weights.
     In case you don't recognize the animal, it's a pig.
---
     "But Coach, I'm too heavy to do a pull up."
     Then lose weight by running 3 miles every day.
     "But Coach, my knees are bad.  I can't run."
     Then swim 2 miles every day.  (Your knees aren't
bad.  You're just lazy.)
     "But Coach, the chlorine hurts my eyes."
     For a minuscule fee, you can join the
Gordon Jewish Community Center,
http://www.nashvillejcc.org/
801 Percy Warner Blvd. Nashville, TN 37205
(615) 356-7170
They have a salt water pool, no chlorine.
Pool schedule,
http://www.nashvillejcc.org/fitness-2/aquatics-schedule-at-a-glance/
(Or, you could wear goggles.)
No more excuses, just do it.
     "I could just eat less to lose weight."
     No, that would be stupid.  Don't do that.
You will pass out and perhaps die.
---
     A few decades ago after going to Kaiser Hospital for
a check up, my father and little brother were walking
along the pier by the hospital in Waikiki.  My brother
fell into the water.  My father jumped in to save him.
In order to get out of the water my father had to do
a pull up with my brother clinging to his back (including
wet clothes).  [This was a pier, not a beach one could
walk out of.]
     Being able to do a pull up was the difference
between having something funny to talk about over
dinner and a tragic death in the family.
---
     Statistically speaking, several children die every
day.  Often with the parent or guardian present.  I'm not
talking about the mother or baby sitter smoking meth.
I'm talking about the adult unable to rescue the child
because they lack basic physical strength (not even
basic first aid skill, just strength).  [I used to
look at this data all day long every day as part of
my job.]
---
     If you are out of shape, you won't be able to
run down those 43 flights of stairs to escape the
burning building where you work.  And you certainly
won't be able to carry your child if you brought
her to work with you that day.  The others in the
stairwell mean you no ill will, but they are
scared and panic.  So, don't take it personally
when they trample you.
     Or, you could be leading them to safety.
The choice is always yours.  Failing to train
is choosing to be a victim.  Neglecting to do your
pull ups is just as much an act of volition
as is the self discipline to work on your
pull ups daily until you can do 20 on demand
at any time.
---
Who Dares Wins!

******************************************************

     "When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady.
But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still,
and the yogi achieves long life.  Therefore, one should
learn to control the breath."
-- Svatmarama, Hatha Yoga Pradipika

******************************************************

***** Tactics *****

     "If you need to get to one side or the other of the
car when you're [seated] on the wrong side or in the middle,
lean forward and then pivot your upper body "gun turret"
toward the threat!  This can give you more range of
movement and allow you to safely extend your handgun
past a passenger on either side of you.
     Use your feet, extending them sideways.  This will
allow you to push much more toward the window on either
side, and give you far more range of movement with which
to engage the threat."
-- Massad Ayoob

***** Techniques *****

     The single most likely place we're going to be hit
may well be somewhere in the gun arm.  It is imperative
to a "full survival skill set" to be able to shoot fast
and effectively "weak hand only."  Kudos to IDPA for
making that "part of the program." 
-- Massad Ayoob

***** Gear *****

Carry what you practice with
https://sofrep.com/69386/concealed-carry-ammo-carry-shoot/

SIG Sauer MCX Recall
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/12/22/breaking-sig-sauer-mcx-recall-mandatory-replacement-required/

***** Instructors *****

"Trainers:  Have you trained lately?" by Tom Givens
http://rangemaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2016-12_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf

***** Pedagogy *****

     Share your skills when the opportunity develops,
it will make you a better practitioner yourself.
Teaching is instructive in both directions.  At the
Society of Law Enforcement Trainers, our motto was
qui docet, discet.  From the Latin, it means
"who teaches, learns."  When you deliver hands-on
training in particular, you quickly lean which
techniques are the most intuitive and the fastest
to pick up, and which are so complicated that only
the most dedicated student will be able to master
them.  Teaching forces you to delve deeper into
the source of each concept or technique, and to
deeper research its validity and applicability.
When you learn to diagnose technique failures in
others, you better grasp how to perform those
techniques yourself.  Teaching sharpens the
instructor's own skills as a practitioner, as
double-stamping sharpens the imprimatur on a coin.
~ Massad Ayoob

***** Education *****

Gun Digest has many free downloads for you.
http://www.gundigest.com/free
     "Essentials in Firearms Training: Safety, Practice and Getting Started"
is good for beginners and has lots of high resolution pictures. 
No author is cited, but I suspect the author is a student of
Front Sight, based on the techniques he teaches and the people
he chooses to quote.
     "Concealed Carry Guns"
The first page has some interesting history.  The rest of
the book describes pistols suitable for concealed carry. 
A bit dated, 2014, but lots of good information.

***** Legal and Political stuff *****

“Capitalism harnesses human self-interest. . . ."
http://defense-training.com/2016/as-long-as-im-on-the-subject/

---

     My mother said she took me to the opera to balance out
my "Mad" magazine reading.  She took us to church to
balance out all the lies we are exposed to in worldly
cultural.
     May I invite your attention to
http://defense-training.com/quips/
to balance out all the propaganda you are exposed to
in the media and the government schools.  Church
may not be sufficient, because many pastors are
scared of the IRS and so won't speak out on cultural
issues for fear of losing their tax exempt status.
     The tax collectors abuse their power under color of law
today just as they did in Jesus' time.
http://www.bhttp://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/23/woman-convenience-store-owner-irs-agent-choked-sexually-abused/
http://www.inquisitr.com/2400974/irs-agent-charged-with-sexual-battery-during-audit/
Several of the Republican presidential
candidates had promised to abolish the IRS if
elected, and for good reason.  The Democrats use
the IRS to oppress their political opponents (Ever
heard of Lois Lerner?).  So, the conservative Republicans
are always trying to reign in the power of that bureaucracy.
President Reagan cut all funding to the IRS,
but could not make it permanent.

***** Survival Tips *****

     "If you live where a CCW permit is available,
get the damn permit.  If you don't, move to someplace
that does.  Yes, it IS that simple." 
-- Massad Ayoob

***** Miscellany *****

     Lesson plans may be found at
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474513
or send me an email requesting the latest
version.

Cheers,
Jon

Jonathan Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

CWP, 7 December 2016 Anno Domini

Greetings Sheepdogs,

***** Mindset *****

Steve Cooper of Paladin Training, (843)618-1381,
paladintraining@sc.rr.com, www.paladintraining.com,
sends us the following --
This narrative is from a friend who has worked overseas
security details multiple times. He has seen the future,
first-hand, and confronts us with this specter:
     "I was personally involved in an extended gun-battle
in January of 2010, in the heart of downtown Kabul,
Afghanistan, in the middle of Masood Circle.
     My driver and I were ambushed by Taliban thugs.
For the next half-hour, we had to run and shoot
simultaneously, using what cover we could find
along the way. It was mainly poor marksmanship
and the inherent disorganization of the Taliban
(and expert marksmanship on our part) that kept
us alive!
     After a short time, we exited our vehicle,
as it was drawing too much fire. We, both now on
foot, started shooting them as they were trying
to get out of their cars. We fortunately killed
a bunch before they could effectively shoot at
us. That slowed them down a little.
     The Taliban were shooting at Afghan Police,
Afghan National Army, and just about everyone
else, including children, women, and us.
Beslan-style, Taliban gunmen attempted to protect
themselves with human shields they grabbed off
the street, and then they advanced on us, pushing
their human shields out ahead of them. We had no
choice but to shoot them all!
     I was forced to use both my pistol (G19) and
AK. I shot as many of them as I could, and ended
up at the Serena Hotel, 1km away, after expending
nineteen magazines of 7.62X39! At the Serena Hotel,
other contractors were shooting over us (with
covering fire) from the inside as we entered
through what was left of the glass entry-doors.
     I don't know how many people I shot, but I
do know, of twenty AK magazines in my kit, I had
only one (partial) left when shooting finally
stopped. I was nearly hit so many times, I lost
count. By the grace of God, both my driver and I
lived through it!
     The point is this: These people are coming
to the USA. In fact, they are here now, thanks
to our non-borders! And, when they pull something
like the foregoing here, in an attempt to ambush
our police, and others, this is what we need to
keep in mind:
     1) There will be no time! No time to 'plan,'
no time to establish a CP, no time to cordon-off
the active area, no time to coordinate, no time
to control traffic, no time to get SWAT there.
In my experience, action is sudden, fluid,
rapidly developing, not likely confined to any
one area, extremely violent, and starts with
no warning. We should not be surprised when they
take innocent hostages, including children, and
then use them as human shields. They will use
military rifles and explosives, maybe RPGs.
They'll likely be poorly trained, but there
will be a lot of them. They have absolutely no
morals, and they all know that their mission
is 'one-way!'
     2) Every patrol officer must have instant
access to heavy firepower, and it matters not
where you work. You will desperately need it.
Mark my words! Shotguns are no longer adequate.
We need high-capacity, military rifles in the
cab-portion of our patrol vehicles, not the
trunk. You won't have time to retrieve your
rifle from a trunk. Ask me how I know this!
     3) For each rifle, we need at least a
dozen fully-charged magazines, in easily-carried
bandoleers. For each pistol, we need at least
six fully-charged magazines, on the belt and,
again, in bandoleers. In an intense, protracted
gun-battle, you won't believe how fast you will
go through ammunition!
     4) We probably have far less time to
prepare than any of us think. We can't,
at our level, confuse political symbolism
with reality, just as 'restraining-orders' and
'warning-signs' are not to be equated with a
bullet. 'Treaties' and 'understandings' mean
nothing to these thugs.
     Brothers and sisters, the time to prepare is now!"

     Comment:

     "The Art of War teaches us to rely,
not upon the calculated likelihood of the
enemy's coming or not, but on our own
readiness to receive him . . . no matter what he does."
-- Sun Tzu

     "Revolution is not a dinner-party.
It is an act of violence through which
one class overthrows another"
-- Mao Zedong

/John

***** Training *****

    Paladin Training
"Paladin Training" <paladintraining@sc.rr.com>
is conducting Urban Break Contact,
an advanced three day two person team tactics class.
     Details at
https://www.facebook.com/events/1540599076214357/
     If you think it could never happen here, you're wrong.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-bernardino-shooter-planned-deadly-bombing-shooting-on-91-freeway-records-show-20151217-story.html

---

     If you're struggling to do something,
you're wrong.  The Taoist philosophy is
that everything is done easily if done
correctly.  So, search for the proper
technique.  Everything can be done easily
if the correct technique is applied.  You
never have to revert to brute force.
Strive for elegance in your solution.
Strive for simplicity in your solution.
     Alexander cutting the Gordian Knot with
a sword, was a brute force solution.
(Knot Theory is a well developed branch of
mathematics.)  Comparing encrypted forms
of words in a dictionary against the
encrypted form of your password, is a
brute force attack.  (Cryptanalysis is
a well developed branch of cryptology.)
Such "solutions" are unbecoming of the
sophisticated persons that we are.
---
     You will correct most errors
automatically with practice.  That's why
we practice.  The correct technique will
become obvious to you.  The correct
position will feel natural and comfortable
to you.  With practice.
     How much practice?  This varies from
person to person, but generally 2000
correctly executed shots (dry or live)
will put you on the first plateau.
     If you're still making baby errors,
you're not practicing enough.  (The errors
that I have repeatedly cited in the notes
that I give you after every match.)
     The shots fired in your matches
should be a minuscule fraction of your
shots recorded in your journal.  If your
match shots are a significant fraction
of your total shots fired, you are not
practicing enough.
---
     Prone shooting is a vast body of
knowledge.  But, I can't teach it to you
unless you practice prone shooting (a lot).
Because, without experience, it won't make
sense to you.  We will be exchanging English
words without semantics (meaning).  Because,
we would share no common experience.
     I am observing the SCATT traces and
ask the prone shooter, "Are you breathing?"
He responds, "Yes."  But, the SCATT trace
shows no up and down motion associated
with breathing.  In prone, assuming you
have a correct natural point of aim, your
sights will be on the center of the bull
during your respiratory pause between
your exhale and your inhale.  When you
inhale, your sights will move down,
(hopefully straight down) below the center.
When you exhale, the sights will move
up (hopefully straight up) to the center.
And stop dead-center on the bull at your
natural respiratory pause.
     So, the shooter was not breathing
during his shot process.  He was not
aware of what correct sight movement
looked like while breathing during
the shot process.  He believed that
he was breathing.
     What we think can be completely
disconnected from reality.  (For instance,
all of liberal ideology.  Listen to
Barry Soetoro (also known as Barack Obama)
talk.  As President Reagan said,
"The trouble with our Liberal friends is
not that they're ignorant; it's just that
they know so much that isn't so.")
That's why you have coaches.  The coach
will point out to you what you are doing,
even if you are sure that you are doing
something else.  But, in order to get this
coaching, you have to show up to practice
and ask the coach to watch you.  You have to
make a reservation for the SCATT system,
so the coach can observe your traces.
     Yes, you have to do this.  You have
to initiate.  "Reaching out to the coach"
by email is not sufficient.  You have to
follow through.
---
     "My sights are wobbling all over
the place."
     No, that is false.  Your movement
is very smooth and controlled.  Any
movement under extreme magnification,
which is what the SCATT system is doing,
will appear to be jerky and jagged.
Look at the smooth glass of a mirror
under a microscope and you will see a
rough surface.
     Even the surface of a neutron star
will appear rough under sufficient
magnification.  It has to, if you
believe in the Heisenberg Uncertainty
Principle and Perturbation Theory.
(Einstein did not believe in Quantum
Mechanics.)
---
     A national level coach said to me,
"What are you doing spending money on a
SCATT system for a high school team?
Even some college teams don't have such
systems.  You should be spending your
money on . . . "
     I disagree.  When I was in grad
school, some of the students were
complaining to the professor that the
tests were too hard.  It was impossible
to finish the test.  It was impossible
to do some of the problems on the test.
(Prof. Lee Lady liked to give take home
tests that were due a week later.)
To which Prof. Lady explained that the
tests contained problems that his C students
could do to give them a sense of
accomplishment.  There were problems
that challenged his B students to make
them feel they were getting their money's
worth in this class.  And there were
problems to keep his A students
entertained, so he wouldn't lose them.
(A good grad student is useful as slave
labor for the professor.)
     In a similar vein, our rifle team is
normally distributed (a mathematical
distribution, not a colloquial term)
with respect to skill (as are all large
populations).  At the high end of the
distribution are those who could make
a national team.  (This has nothing to
do with potential.  This is purely a
matter of dedication.)  But, the SCATT
system is not just to keep the dedicated
shooters entertained.  It is a diagnostic
tool to see the things that are not
visible with eyeball observations.
     So, if you are on the team and
not making regular use of the SCATT
system, you are wasting a valuable
resource.
     Besides your daily practice, you
should be on the SCATT with a coach
once a week, at least once every other
week.  You'll find out all kinds of
things that you're doing that you didn't
know that you were doing.  You'll discover
all kinds of things that you're not
doing that you thought you were doing.
---
     I'm planning on taking Rangemaster's
Instructor Development Course
http://rangemaster.com/training/instructor-development-course/
Friday, 9/29/2017, 09:00 to
Sunday, 10/1/2017, 18:00 in
Franklin, TN (just south of Nashville on I-65)
     Let me know if you plan to go. 

***** Tactics *****

Swift, Short, Violent. Realities of CCW
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/11/30/swift-short-violent-realities-ccw/

***** Techniques *****

Reloading: Essential or insignificant?
http://handguncombatives.blogspot.com/2016/11/reloading-essential-or-insignificant.html

Man Dies Attempting Appendix Carry Reholster In Milkwaukee
http://bearingarms.com/bob-o/2015/08/23/man-dies-attempting-appendix-carry-reholster-milkwaukee/
     Appendix carry violates our safety rule,
"Never cover anything you are not willing to destroy."
How are you going to avoid muzzling yourself?  Some
awkward contorted presentation and holstering
technique? 
     Shoulder holsters also violate our
safety rule.  How are you going to avoid muzzling
your support side arm?  Again, some awkward contorted
unrealistic technique?
     "If I practice it enough, I can make it work."
     What a ridiculous waste of practice time and
effort.  The sensible thing to do is to carry on
your belt at 3 o'clock for right handers and 9 o'clock
for left handers.
     There is quite an industry of trainers teaching
appendix carry and manufacturers making appendix
carry holsters.  That does not mean it's correct or
even makes sense.  For instance, the U.S. Army has purchased
millions of Blackhawk SERPA holsters.  But, the
Department of the Interior and the Department of
Homeland Security have both banned the holster
for good reason. 
(See previous postings for the primary source documents.
Or, send me an email and I will send them to you.)
     Stupidity runs rampant, and will in any free
society that has freedom of the press and freedom
of speech.  It is your responsibility to figure things
out for yourself.

***** Gear *****

     A friend gave me a short sleeve shirt.
So no, I did not buy it.  But, I did not
receive it free of charge from the dealer
either.  It is a Propper Tactical Sweep,
manufactured by Propper in Haiti and the
Dominican Republic. 
https://www.propper.com/
It is designed for civilian concealed carry. 
The features are:
     reinforced neck (subtle, but effective),
     pockets to hold pens on the sleeve (so
they are out of the way of a shoulder holster
presentation, as they would be on the left
breast for a right handed shooter),
     two front pockets with magnetic closures,
     front buttons are visible but fake (front
closure is by hidden snaps),
     Velcro side closures to allow easy
access to a pistol carried on side of the hip
without tearing the shirt or getting stuck
on anything,
     underarm gussets to allow lifting the
arms without pulling the shirt up to reveal
the pistol on your hip.
     There is also a zippered pocket on the
lower left front of the shirt that the
manufacturer advertises as a feature, but
I have not found it useful.
     I recommend this product.

     May I invite your attention to Life View Outdoors,
2844 Logan Street
Nashville, TN 37211
www.lifeviewoutdoors.com
     Mr. Mike Merryman is the proprietor.
mike@lifeviewoutdoors.com
     I went just to look and spent way too
much money there.  You have been warned.
I bought a
Pelican 7600 LED USB Rechargeable Flashlight
for $89.95.  It is way too complicated for
combat use, but it was just so cool I couldn't
resist.
     He recently sponsored sniper training for
law enforcement at Nissan Stadium. 
https://www.tacflow.com/course%20fliers/PSRPV%20Nashville%20Training%20Announcement.pdf
See the photos on his Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/LifeViewOutdoors/

***** Instructors *****

11 Ways To Help a New Shooter Succeed
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2016/3/26/11-ways-to-help-a-new-shooter-succeed/

***** Pedagogy *****


***** Education *****

Greg Ellefritz's
Weekend Knowledge Dump
is always very informative.
http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/

     Sterotypes may be politically incorrect,
but they are true.  Otherwise, they wouldn't be
stereotypes.  Trust your intuition when looking at someone.
     For those who don't want to do the heavy reading of a peer
reviewed journal paper, here is the Pscychology Today magazine article.
"Criminals Look Different From Noncriminals"
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/201103/criminals-look-different-noncriminals
     The cited link to the primary source is obsolete. 
The journal got taken over by another organization. 
The correct link to the primary source is,
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/ebs/5/1/66.pdf&uid=2011-14970-005&db=PA
The abstract is at
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/ebs/5/1/66/

Vision and Shooting and Aging (Part 1)
https://chrissajnog.com/vision-shooting-aging-part-1/
Shooting, Vision, and the Effects of Aging (Part 2)
https://chrissajnog.com/vision-shooting-and-aging-part-two/

How Close Is Too Close?
(Original article by by Dennis Tueller )
http://www.theppsc.org/Staff_Views/Tueller/How.Close.htm
     The original experiment was done by Mike Waidelich. 
Tueller wrote up the results of the Waidelich study, and
published in the March 1983 issue of SWAT magazine.

***** Legal and Political stuff *****

State Gun Laws
https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/
     State constitution provisions.

***** Survival Tips *****


***** Miscellany *****

     Lesson plans may be found at
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474513
or send me an email requesting the latest
version.

Cheers,
Jon

Jonathan Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com