Hi Sheepdogs,
The intellectual Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) said:
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority,
but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
[Hat tip to Gun Watch at
https://gunwatch.blogspot.com/
]
Dear Gentle Reader,
These blog postings and the "Defensive Pistol" book at Smashwords are meant as
continuing education for the trained. They are not meant as primary training.
I fear you will misinterpret much if you have not had competent in-person training.
You may want to cross the border into Poland or Pennsylvania if training is restricted
in your locale.
Cheers,
Jon
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from Principles of Personal Defense by
Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, (1920 – 2006 A.D.)
----- Basics -----
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
"How a Texas Gunfighter Cop Stopped the Jihadi Attack in Garland, Texas" by Dean Weingarten
https://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-texas-gunfighter-cop-stopped-jihadi.html
Excerpt:
"This is real. He needs to engage. Now!
The attackers are 35 feet away.
There is no cover.
Greg says it is good to be fast,
but better to have an angel sitting on your shoulder." [The atheist, anti-gun,
anti-police, liberal will not understand this statement. It is deep Christian
theology. -- Jon Low]
"The Hero Texas Cop Who Killed Two ISIS Terrorists Mid-Attack" by Todd Bensman
https://www.toddbensman.com/the-hero-texas-cop-who-killed-two-isis-terrorists-mid-attack/
Excerpt:
". . . after he [Officer Stevens] gunned down the terrorists, a SWAT team
rolled up with an armored vehicle. He [Officer Stevens] was told to move away
from the bodies and to take cover behind the armored vehicle. Then, snipers
made single head shots at each body to, as Officer Stevens put it, “make sure.” "
Sight alignment, sight picture, trigger control, and combat mindset.
The guy with better training and practice wins. "Good guy" / "bad guy"
doesn't matter. Everyone thinks himself the good guy. The training and
practice determine the outcome.
Consider how long it took for the whole truth to come out.
So, now we know that a .45 Auto Speer Gold Dot 230 grain hollow point fired from a
Glock model 21 will penetrate some soft body armor. (Because as Chuck Haggard
demonstrated at Tac Con 2021, the Speer Gold Dot bullets don't expand reliably.
And that's what you want for deeper penetration, for penetration of body armor.)
Lots of lessons to be learned from this incident.
"Instructor Said What? 10 Defensive Shooting Terms, Explained" by Frank Melloni
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2021/3/24/instructor-said-what-10-defensive-shooting-terms-explained
Preparing magazines. John Farnam uses the terminology, charging and voiding
your magazines to indicate putting cartridges in or taking them out of the magazine.
A bit more descriptive than preparing.
Shooting from retention. Well, if you're going to do this, your firing side
elbow should be pulled as far back as you can. The further forward the pistol,
the more likely the bad guy will be able to grab it and twist it out of your hand.
Well, "head shot" is a misnomer. The shot has to put the bullet through the
eye sockets or the nose (which is soft cartilage in front of a hole in skull).
Or, the ear hole, external auditory meatus. Or, break the spine at the base of
the skull. Because penetrating the skull or jaw bone with a pistol bullet is a
very low probability event.
Peripheral Vision Loss. Shooting with both eyes open is not going to
mitigate tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is psychological, not physiological. And
you really need to close that non-aiming eye for the fraction of a second needed
to release the shot. Otherwise, you may be shooting at the image from your
non-aiming eye. Murphy's Law is a law, like gravity.
“No possible rapidity of fire can atone for habitual
carelessness of aim with the first shot.” -- Theodore Roosevelt,
(26th President of the United States) The Wilderness Hunter, 1893
----- Mindset -----
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
"Your Tactical Training Scenario- “I’m going to kill anyone who breaks into my house” "
by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/your-tactical-training-scenario-im-going-to-kill-anyone-who-breaks-into-my-house
Excerpt:
"Being able to calm yourself down quickly and rationally analyze
the situation you are experiencing is a super power worthy of cultivation."
"Learn something new. Drop the macho braggadocio.
Be smart about who you need to shoot."
"I’d highly suggest that you read Larry Lindenman’s incredibly
informative series on “Managing the no shoot . . . yet.” "
"IN EXTREMIS COMMUNICATION" by Larry Lindenman
https://pointdriventraining.com/2015/12/08/in-extremis-communication-part-1/
https://pointdriventraining.com/2015/12/17/in-extremis-communication-part-2/
https://pointdriventraining.com/2015/12/24/in-extremis-communication-part-3/
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
"How Experts Shave SECONDS off Their Draw Stroke . . . " by Mike Ox
https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/blog/how-experts-shave-seconds-off-their-draw-stroke/
Excerpt:
"Give him a beep and he’s a world class shooter.
But with a complex, evolving situation, his visual processing speed
and situational awareness put him WAY behind the curve.
When the average self-defense shooting is over within 3 seconds,
a 5 to 15 second delay almost guarantees defeat."
"How to Establish an Effective Mental Trigger" by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2021/3/26/how-to-establish-an-effective-mental-trigger
Well, if you wait until the bad guy can reach you, it's too late.
You're going to get reached. The purpose of self defense is to prevent
the attack, so you don't get hurt in the first place. There is no
police department in this country that requires the officer to suffer
attack before responding with force. And neither should you.
It’s about prevention, not response.
-- Michael Mann
----- Safety -----
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
"Preventable Tragedies: Training Accidents" Rangemaster newsletter
https://secureservercdn.net/45.40.151.233/d74.722.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2010-11_RM-Newsletter.pdf
Page 2
Excerpt:
1. Be on time for training. You cannot afford to miss any briefing or other information,
and ALL weapons need to be cleared and inspected at one time if role play is to be conducted.
2. All guns are always loaded. If you remove a rifle from your trunk, clear it.
This is not someone else’s responsibility.
3. Don’t point your gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.
Role play should ONLY be conducted with non-firing weapons, such as red guns,
air soft guns, or Simunitions kit equipped guns, NOT live duty weapons.
As Tom points out, these were not accidents. These incidents were negligence.
You have to ensure the protocols are correct and are being enforced,
because you are the one that will get killed if they aren't.
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
Be in bed by 10 PM. Your own bed.
Don't look like a freak.
Don't fail the attitude test.
-- John Farnam
----- Training -----
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
Tid bits from TacCon 2021 (you have to register before October of the previous
year, because it always sells out)
https://taccon.info/
I paraphrase below from my flawed memory and off course my descriptions
are incomplete, because a lot of things won't make sense out of context, so
I don't mention them.
John Murphy says --
"Fight or Flight" is wrong. The correct notion is "Fight, Flight, or Freeze".
Almost universally, when asked why they froze (or didn't take any decisive
action), they respond, "I didn't know what to do." This is caused by lack of
proper training. Or, if trained in pre-assault cues, the problem is lack of
proper practice. So, they did not recognize the cues (and so did not see the
danger coming) or did not know what to do in the event of such a pre-assault
indicator (either run away if you can, or an explosive counter-attack if you
can't run away). John Murphy explained all of this and gives a long list of
pre-assult indicators with detailed explanation and examples in his class,
"Practical Concealed Carry" given at the 2021 Tactical Conference.
FPF Training
https://www.fpftraining.com/
There are 19.5 million permit holders. 3.5 to 4 million actually carry.
The average gun owner expends 300 rounds per year. People as us will easily
expend 1000 round in a class over a weekend. So, we are not the 1%. We are
more like the 0.001%.
Every interaction is armed, because you are carrying.
You must carry pre-paid legal.
Know yourself and be appropriately trained.
"Looking around doesn't cost anything and is a healthy habit." -- Joe Foss
When asked about Tasers, John's response was NO. [I concur. -- Jon Low]
John recommends POM pepper spray.
Tim Herron says --
Execute your shot process. [So, you have to have a shot process, detailed
explicit, correct. If you can't explain your shot process to someone else,
you don't have a shot process. So, all you're executing are some vague
innocuous notions. Maybe not even that. That's why you can't hit on demand
every time. -- Jon Low]
Correct grip - Firing side hand relaxed enough so that you are able to
isolate the trigger finger contraction from the non-contraction of your middle,
ring, and little finger. (this is actually very relaxed) The thumb is relaxed
and not used in the grip. Support side hand has only one thing to do, support,
so it should be gripping firmly (strong).
Concentrate on keeping the sights on target. Don't worry about trigger
control, because it doesn't matter. Don't take the slack out of the trigger
or attempt to stage the trigger. Just press smoothly through from contact
to firing.
The index finger of your firing side hand and the thumb of your support
side hand should be symmetrically on the pistol frame.
It's your "frame finger", not your "trigger finger".
A lot of people who shoot well, don't know what they are doing, or can't
explain to you what they are doing. So, when they explain to you what they
are doing, they might be wrong. Being able to analyze yourself or your students
is an entirely different skill from being able to shoot well.
Forget stance, because in the real world (of competition or combat) you
will never get a proper stance.
Tim teaches all kinds of things that contradict generally accepted theory.
Which makes his class well worth taking.
The intellectual Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) said:
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority,
but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
[Hat tip to Gun Watch at
https://gunwatch.blogspot.com/
]
Dear Gentle Reader,
These blog postings and the "Defensive Pistol" book at Smashwords are meant as
continuing education for the trained. They are not meant as primary training.
I fear you will misinterpret much if you have not had competent in-person training.
You may want to cross the border into Poland or Pennsylvania if training is restricted
in your locale.
Cheers,
Jon
***** ***** ***** Software ***** ***** *****
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from Principles of Personal Defense by
Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, (1920 – 2006 A.D.)
----- Basics -----
"Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans."
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
"How a Texas Gunfighter Cop Stopped the Jihadi Attack in Garland, Texas" by Dean Weingarten
https://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-texas-gunfighter-cop-stopped-jihadi.html
Excerpt:
"This is real. He needs to engage. Now!
The attackers are 35 feet away.
There is no cover.
Greg says it is good to be fast,
but better to have an angel sitting on your shoulder." [The atheist, anti-gun,
anti-police, liberal will not understand this statement. It is deep Christian
theology. -- Jon Low]
"The Hero Texas Cop Who Killed Two ISIS Terrorists Mid-Attack" by Todd Bensman
https://www.toddbensman.com/the-hero-texas-cop-who-killed-two-isis-terrorists-mid-attack/
Excerpt:
". . . after he [Officer Stevens] gunned down the terrorists, a SWAT team
rolled up with an armored vehicle. He [Officer Stevens] was told to move away
from the bodies and to take cover behind the armored vehicle. Then, snipers
made single head shots at each body to, as Officer Stevens put it, “make sure.” "
Sight alignment, sight picture, trigger control, and combat mindset.
The guy with better training and practice wins. "Good guy" / "bad guy"
doesn't matter. Everyone thinks himself the good guy. The training and
practice determine the outcome.
Consider how long it took for the whole truth to come out.
So, now we know that a .45 Auto Speer Gold Dot 230 grain hollow point fired from a
Glock model 21 will penetrate some soft body armor. (Because as Chuck Haggard
demonstrated at Tac Con 2021, the Speer Gold Dot bullets don't expand reliably.
And that's what you want for deeper penetration, for penetration of body armor.)
Lots of lessons to be learned from this incident.
"Instructor Said What? 10 Defensive Shooting Terms, Explained" by Frank Melloni
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2021/3/24/instructor-said-what-10-defensive-shooting-terms-explained
Preparing magazines. John Farnam uses the terminology, charging and voiding
your magazines to indicate putting cartridges in or taking them out of the magazine.
A bit more descriptive than preparing.
Shooting from retention. Well, if you're going to do this, your firing side
elbow should be pulled as far back as you can. The further forward the pistol,
the more likely the bad guy will be able to grab it and twist it out of your hand.
Well, "head shot" is a misnomer. The shot has to put the bullet through the
eye sockets or the nose (which is soft cartilage in front of a hole in skull).
Or, the ear hole, external auditory meatus. Or, break the spine at the base of
the skull. Because penetrating the skull or jaw bone with a pistol bullet is a
very low probability event.
Peripheral Vision Loss. Shooting with both eyes open is not going to
mitigate tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is psychological, not physiological. And
you really need to close that non-aiming eye for the fraction of a second needed
to release the shot. Otherwise, you may be shooting at the image from your
non-aiming eye. Murphy's Law is a law, like gravity.
“No possible rapidity of fire can atone for habitual
carelessness of aim with the first shot.” -- Theodore Roosevelt,
(26th President of the United States) The Wilderness Hunter, 1893
----- Mindset -----
"Panic is simply the lack of preprogrammed responses."
-- Tom Givens
"Your Tactical Training Scenario- “I’m going to kill anyone who breaks into my house” "
by Greg Ellifritz
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/your-tactical-training-scenario-im-going-to-kill-anyone-who-breaks-into-my-house
Excerpt:
"Being able to calm yourself down quickly and rationally analyze
the situation you are experiencing is a super power worthy of cultivation."
"Learn something new. Drop the macho braggadocio.
Be smart about who you need to shoot."
"I’d highly suggest that you read Larry Lindenman’s incredibly
informative series on “Managing the no shoot . . . yet.” "
"IN EXTREMIS COMMUNICATION" by Larry Lindenman
https://pointdriventraining.com/2015/12/08/in-extremis-communication-part-1/
https://pointdriventraining.com/2015/12/17/in-extremis-communication-part-2/
https://pointdriventraining.com/2015/12/24/in-extremis-communication-part-3/
"Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice."
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, USN
"How Experts Shave SECONDS off Their Draw Stroke . . . " by Mike Ox
https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/blog/how-experts-shave-seconds-off-their-draw-stroke/
Excerpt:
"Give him a beep and he’s a world class shooter.
But with a complex, evolving situation, his visual processing speed
and situational awareness put him WAY behind the curve.
When the average self-defense shooting is over within 3 seconds,
a 5 to 15 second delay almost guarantees defeat."
"How to Establish an Effective Mental Trigger" by Sheriff Jim Wilson
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2021/3/26/how-to-establish-an-effective-mental-trigger
Well, if you wait until the bad guy can reach you, it's too late.
You're going to get reached. The purpose of self defense is to prevent
the attack, so you don't get hurt in the first place. There is no
police department in this country that requires the officer to suffer
attack before responding with force. And neither should you.
It’s about prevention, not response.
-- Michael Mann
----- Safety -----
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
"Preventable Tragedies: Training Accidents" Rangemaster newsletter
https://secureservercdn.net/45.40.151.233/d74.722.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2010-11_RM-Newsletter.pdf
Page 2
Excerpt:
1. Be on time for training. You cannot afford to miss any briefing or other information,
and ALL weapons need to be cleared and inspected at one time if role play is to be conducted.
2. All guns are always loaded. If you remove a rifle from your trunk, clear it.
This is not someone else’s responsibility.
3. Don’t point your gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.
Role play should ONLY be conducted with non-firing weapons, such as red guns,
air soft guns, or Simunitions kit equipped guns, NOT live duty weapons.
As Tom points out, these were not accidents. These incidents were negligence.
You have to ensure the protocols are correct and are being enforced,
because you are the one that will get killed if they aren't.
Don't go to stupid places.
Don't do stupid things.
Don't hang out with stupid people.
Be in bed by 10 PM. Your own bed.
Don't look like a freak.
Don't fail the attitude test.
-- John Farnam
----- Training -----
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
Tid bits from TacCon 2021 (you have to register before October of the previous
year, because it always sells out)
https://taccon.info/
I paraphrase below from my flawed memory and off course my descriptions
are incomplete, because a lot of things won't make sense out of context, so
I don't mention them.
John Murphy says --
"Fight or Flight" is wrong. The correct notion is "Fight, Flight, or Freeze".
Almost universally, when asked why they froze (or didn't take any decisive
action), they respond, "I didn't know what to do." This is caused by lack of
proper training. Or, if trained in pre-assault cues, the problem is lack of
proper practice. So, they did not recognize the cues (and so did not see the
danger coming) or did not know what to do in the event of such a pre-assault
indicator (either run away if you can, or an explosive counter-attack if you
can't run away). John Murphy explained all of this and gives a long list of
pre-assult indicators with detailed explanation and examples in his class,
"Practical Concealed Carry" given at the 2021 Tactical Conference.
FPF Training
https://www.fpftraining.com/
There are 19.5 million permit holders. 3.5 to 4 million actually carry.
The average gun owner expends 300 rounds per year. People as us will easily
expend 1000 round in a class over a weekend. So, we are not the 1%. We are
more like the 0.001%.
Every interaction is armed, because you are carrying.
You must carry pre-paid legal.
Know yourself and be appropriately trained.
"Looking around doesn't cost anything and is a healthy habit." -- Joe Foss
When asked about Tasers, John's response was NO. [I concur. -- Jon Low]
John recommends POM pepper spray.
Tim Herron says --
Execute your shot process. [So, you have to have a shot process, detailed
explicit, correct. If you can't explain your shot process to someone else,
you don't have a shot process. So, all you're executing are some vague
innocuous notions. Maybe not even that. That's why you can't hit on demand
every time. -- Jon Low]
Correct grip - Firing side hand relaxed enough so that you are able to
isolate the trigger finger contraction from the non-contraction of your middle,
ring, and little finger. (this is actually very relaxed) The thumb is relaxed
and not used in the grip. Support side hand has only one thing to do, support,
so it should be gripping firmly (strong).
Concentrate on keeping the sights on target. Don't worry about trigger
control, because it doesn't matter. Don't take the slack out of the trigger
or attempt to stage the trigger. Just press smoothly through from contact
to firing.
The index finger of your firing side hand and the thumb of your support
side hand should be symmetrically on the pistol frame.
It's your "frame finger", not your "trigger finger".
A lot of people who shoot well, don't know what they are doing, or can't
explain to you what they are doing. So, when they explain to you what they
are doing, they might be wrong. Being able to analyze yourself or your students
is an entirely different skill from being able to shoot well.
Forget stance, because in the real world (of competition or combat) you
will never get a proper stance.
Tim teaches all kinds of things that contradict generally accepted theory.
Which makes his class well worth taking.
http://timherronshooting.com/
Greg Ellifritz says --
Use a head lamp, rather than a hand held flashlight. This allows you to keep
your hands free for important things.
When using a public urinal, use the one furthest away from the door (so
no one has an excuse for walking behind you) and assume the drunk guy posture.
Leaning forward, head against the wall. Because the typical attack is for the
bad guy to grab your head and smash it against the wall.
Prefer to use a stall that you can lock to avoid using a urinal with your
back to everyone. If you are using a stall, don't leave your purse or other
stuff on the floor for the bad guy to grab by reaching under the door.
Greg Ellifritz says --
Use a head lamp, rather than a hand held flashlight. This allows you to keep
your hands free for important things.
When using a public urinal, use the one furthest away from the door (so
no one has an excuse for walking behind you) and assume the drunk guy posture.
Leaning forward, head against the wall. Because the typical attack is for the
bad guy to grab your head and smash it against the wall.
Prefer to use a stall that you can lock to avoid using a urinal with your
back to everyone. If you are using a stall, don't leave your purse or other
stuff on the floor for the bad guy to grab by reaching under the door.
http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/
Massad Ayoob says --
Not saying anything to the police after a lethal force incident is wrong.
You have to tell the responding officer:
1. The dynamics of the situation. Why you had to shoot the bad guy.
2. I will testify against him.
3. Point out evidence. If it disappears, it never existed for legal purposes.
4. Point out witnesses. If they disappear, you won't get their testimony.
The good guy is always better served by more evidence and testimony.
5. And then say, I will cooperate after I talk to my attorney.
It takes about 0.75 seconds to react to anticipated stimuli. It takes
about 1.45 seconds to react to unanticipated stimuli. So, you have to pay
attention and anticipate the attack.
Massad Ayoob says --
Not saying anything to the police after a lethal force incident is wrong.
You have to tell the responding officer:
1. The dynamics of the situation. Why you had to shoot the bad guy.
2. I will testify against him.
3. Point out evidence. If it disappears, it never existed for legal purposes.
4. Point out witnesses. If they disappear, you won't get their testimony.
The good guy is always better served by more evidence and testimony.
5. And then say, I will cooperate after I talk to my attorney.
It takes about 0.75 seconds to react to anticipated stimuli. It takes
about 1.45 seconds to react to unanticipated stimuli. So, you have to pay
attention and anticipate the attack.
https://massadayoobgroup.com/
Lynn Givens says --
I don't carry to impose my will on others. I carry so others can't impose
their will on me.
Lynn Givens says --
I don't carry to impose my will on others. I carry so others can't impose
their will on me.
https://rangemaster.com/about/lynn-givens/
John Hearne says --
Recency is paramount. Dry practice twice a week, so that you have handled
your pistol within the last 3 days. [Practice within 3 days, John Hearne from
our industry says this, and my professor from my particle physics class says
the same thing, so it must be true. -- Jon Low] Live fire at least every 30 days.
Force on Force training at least once a year.
How not to get shot by police. Hands up, elbows locked out, fingers
spread apart. Remember the officer may be young, inexperienced, and scared
out of his wits. Obey commands, slowly. Fast or furtive moves will get you
shot.
Rule of the well dressed man. Avoid carrying a gun in public without
a collared shirt. If you look like a gang banger, you're going to be treated
as a gang banger.
In order to encourage myelination, sleep a lot and eat fats (rib eye steaks).
Fitness causes you to be deselected for victimization and facilitates
learning. So, exercise.
Exercise immediately before dry practice.
Do your eye exercises. Focus near to far, and back and forth. Exercise
the range of motion of your eyes.
Don't worry about ammunition capacity. If the smaller pistol fits your
hand better, use it. Proper fit, and thus the ability to actually properly
use your pistol, is more important than ammo capacity.
Trigger affirmation. Many studies have shown that a person will
unconsciously touch their trigger. Train, practice, and pay attention to
avoid this negligent discharge waiting to happen. Keep your trigger finger
on the frame until your sights are on the target and you've decided to fire.
(Taking the slack out of the trigger as you are pushing the pistol out may
be fine for IPSC and IDPA shooters, but it is WRONG for us.)
Eye dominance often changes to match which ever hand is holding something.
[Theatrical stage] magic is all about tricking the eye and brain. Your
visual system has a significant delay. So, your brain compensates by predicting
where the object will be, based on how it is moving. Otherwise, no one would
be able to bat a baseball (that's why a curve ball is so effective) or return
a tennis serve. So, by stepping to the side and stopping, you trick the bad
guy's brain. The bad guy is going to think that you are where you would have
been if you kept moving.
Skill vs. Skill Application. It's not how to gun, but when to gun.
Seize the initiative. Fire first. (The purpose of self defense is to
prevent getting hurt.)
Remove novelty.
Build valid mental maps / schemata. [John used the word "schemas", but
the correct word is "schemata".]
Practice to engrain your motor programs.
Keep skills current. [This is why I go to Tac Con, to find out that
the stuff I teach is obsolete, wrong, suboptimal. So, I can change to
teach best practices. -- Jon Low]
John Hearne says --
Recency is paramount. Dry practice twice a week, so that you have handled
your pistol within the last 3 days. [Practice within 3 days, John Hearne from
our industry says this, and my professor from my particle physics class says
the same thing, so it must be true. -- Jon Low] Live fire at least every 30 days.
Force on Force training at least once a year.
How not to get shot by police. Hands up, elbows locked out, fingers
spread apart. Remember the officer may be young, inexperienced, and scared
out of his wits. Obey commands, slowly. Fast or furtive moves will get you
shot.
Rule of the well dressed man. Avoid carrying a gun in public without
a collared shirt. If you look like a gang banger, you're going to be treated
as a gang banger.
In order to encourage myelination, sleep a lot and eat fats (rib eye steaks).
Fitness causes you to be deselected for victimization and facilitates
learning. So, exercise.
Exercise immediately before dry practice.
Do your eye exercises. Focus near to far, and back and forth. Exercise
the range of motion of your eyes.
Don't worry about ammunition capacity. If the smaller pistol fits your
hand better, use it. Proper fit, and thus the ability to actually properly
use your pistol, is more important than ammo capacity.
Trigger affirmation. Many studies have shown that a person will
unconsciously touch their trigger. Train, practice, and pay attention to
avoid this negligent discharge waiting to happen. Keep your trigger finger
on the frame until your sights are on the target and you've decided to fire.
(Taking the slack out of the trigger as you are pushing the pistol out may
be fine for IPSC and IDPA shooters, but it is WRONG for us.)
Eye dominance often changes to match which ever hand is holding something.
[Theatrical stage] magic is all about tricking the eye and brain. Your
visual system has a significant delay. So, your brain compensates by predicting
where the object will be, based on how it is moving. Otherwise, no one would
be able to bat a baseball (that's why a curve ball is so effective) or return
a tennis serve. So, by stepping to the side and stopping, you trick the bad
guy's brain. The bad guy is going to think that you are where you would have
been if you kept moving.
Skill vs. Skill Application. It's not how to gun, but when to gun.
Seize the initiative. Fire first. (The purpose of self defense is to
prevent getting hurt.)
Remove novelty.
Build valid mental maps / schemata. [John used the word "schemas", but
the correct word is "schemata".]
Practice to engrain your motor programs.
Keep skills current. [This is why I go to Tac Con, to find out that
the stuff I teach is obsolete, wrong, suboptimal. So, I can change to
teach best practices. -- Jon Low]
https://rangemaster.com/about/john-hearne/
John Holschen says --
You should be able to present from concealment with one hand. Because you're
not going to have two hands available. If you can't, practice till you can.
(John did a deep analysis of shooting while moving and explained his
conclusions to us. You need to take his course. I cannot do the explanation
justice in this blog post.)
Expect a visually cluttered environment. Don't over analyze.
If moving to the left, move the left foot first, because that gets your
center line in motion faster (just as in skiing). When moving to the right,
move your right foot first.
In your presentation, the hands should join by sliding along your body,
not out in front of your body.
It's moving and shooting, not shooting and moving.
Charge in, stop, and shoot. Rather than attempting to shoot while you
are moving. [So, the IDPA and IPSC rules are tactically wrong. So, such matches
are not good tactical training. -- Jon Low] The probability of you hitting
anything while moving is very low. We, good guys, can't afford to miss,
because we care.
Shooting while moving slows down your movement to an unacceptable speed (slow
enough for the enemy to easily hit you). [Some instructors (and I used to be
one of them) teach that your shooting while moving is effectively suppressive
fire to prevent the enemy from shooting at you. Suppressive fire requires the
use of machineguns. Shooting and missing because you are moving is not
effective suppressive fire. And if you are moving slowly enough to hit your
targets, you are moving slow enough to get hit. -- Jon Low]
[I had always taught right handers to transfer their pistol into their
left hand to shoot left handed when they had to shoot a target to their right
and could not turn their whole body, but rather had to twist their torso to
get on target -- Jon Low] John teaches to keep the pistol in the right hand
(because from holster to holster, the shooter should never lose the grip,
which means he should never lose control of the pistol) and to shoot in a sort
of left handed Weaver arm position with the pistol in the normal right handed
grip. Yes, it's awkward, but as with anything, if you practice, it will
become comfortable and feel natural.
Spiral around the bad guy. (You have to take John's class to really
understand this technique.)
John Holschen says --
You should be able to present from concealment with one hand. Because you're
not going to have two hands available. If you can't, practice till you can.
(John did a deep analysis of shooting while moving and explained his
conclusions to us. You need to take his course. I cannot do the explanation
justice in this blog post.)
Expect a visually cluttered environment. Don't over analyze.
If moving to the left, move the left foot first, because that gets your
center line in motion faster (just as in skiing). When moving to the right,
move your right foot first.
In your presentation, the hands should join by sliding along your body,
not out in front of your body.
It's moving and shooting, not shooting and moving.
Charge in, stop, and shoot. Rather than attempting to shoot while you
are moving. [So, the IDPA and IPSC rules are tactically wrong. So, such matches
are not good tactical training. -- Jon Low] The probability of you hitting
anything while moving is very low. We, good guys, can't afford to miss,
because we care.
Shooting while moving slows down your movement to an unacceptable speed (slow
enough for the enemy to easily hit you). [Some instructors (and I used to be
one of them) teach that your shooting while moving is effectively suppressive
fire to prevent the enemy from shooting at you. Suppressive fire requires the
use of machineguns. Shooting and missing because you are moving is not
effective suppressive fire. And if you are moving slowly enough to hit your
targets, you are moving slow enough to get hit. -- Jon Low]
[I had always taught right handers to transfer their pistol into their
left hand to shoot left handed when they had to shoot a target to their right
and could not turn their whole body, but rather had to twist their torso to
get on target -- Jon Low] John teaches to keep the pistol in the right hand
(because from holster to holster, the shooter should never lose the grip,
which means he should never lose control of the pistol) and to shoot in a sort
of left handed Weaver arm position with the pistol in the normal right handed
grip. Yes, it's awkward, but as with anything, if you practice, it will
become comfortable and feel natural.
Spiral around the bad guy. (You have to take John's class to really
understand this technique.)
https://www.westcoastarmorynorth.com/
Chuck Haggard says --
Chuck set up 16 inch long blocks of clear ballistic gelatin and demonstrated
the effect or lack thereof of various 9mm defensive ammunition (including
those from the audience). The set up was 4 layers of denim in front
(which is an industry testing standard), the 16 inch block of gelatin, and
then a folded up pair of denim jeans in the back.
I'm sorry, I did not take detailed notes, as some did, so I can't recite
all the specifics for all of the different bullets, powder loads, and pistols
used. I wasn't expecting to attend this demo and lecture.
All of the bullets stopped in the jeans behind the gelatin block or
in the gelatin block. Except one, noted below.
Barrel length makes a huge difference, as the bullets lose 175 to 200
feet per second of speed for every inch of decreased barrel length. So,
none of the bullets expanded when fired from snubbies, 1 to 3 inch barrels.
A +P HST got it's cavity plugged by the 4 layers of denim in the front
and punch through the block and the second block and buried about 6 inches
in the dirt berm, without any expansion.
Usually, if the bullet speed is too fast, the bullet fragments,
the lead core detaches from the copper jacket. This was mitigated by a
cannelure or double cannelure in some of the bullets.
If you want to get those picture perfect mushrooms, fire the bullet
through the gelatin block without any denim at the "correct" speed.
It's easy to see the track in the gelatin - the path before expansion,
the cavity caused when the bullet mushrooms, the cavity caused when the
bullet tumbles, or flips and starts traveling backwards (because some bullets
are stable traveling backward through the gelatin), the paths of the fragments,
etc. Recovering the bullets is easy.
A lot of the bullets did not travel in straight lines in the gelatin.
Rather, they traveled in curving arcs. This was an artifact of the bullet,
not the gelatin. Mass produced bullets are not perfectly symmetric.
The gelatin blocks can be reused. Just heat them in your oven at 150
degrees Fahrenheit to melt them and pour into a mold.
Chuck says frangible ammunition, which appears every few years, is just
a means for the unscrupulous ammo manufacturer to make money off idiots.
RIP, Glazer, Mag Safe, etc. (I paraphrase.)
Chuck Haggard says --
Chuck set up 16 inch long blocks of clear ballistic gelatin and demonstrated
the effect or lack thereof of various 9mm defensive ammunition (including
those from the audience). The set up was 4 layers of denim in front
(which is an industry testing standard), the 16 inch block of gelatin, and
then a folded up pair of denim jeans in the back.
I'm sorry, I did not take detailed notes, as some did, so I can't recite
all the specifics for all of the different bullets, powder loads, and pistols
used. I wasn't expecting to attend this demo and lecture.
All of the bullets stopped in the jeans behind the gelatin block or
in the gelatin block. Except one, noted below.
Barrel length makes a huge difference, as the bullets lose 175 to 200
feet per second of speed for every inch of decreased barrel length. So,
none of the bullets expanded when fired from snubbies, 1 to 3 inch barrels.
A +P HST got it's cavity plugged by the 4 layers of denim in the front
and punch through the block and the second block and buried about 6 inches
in the dirt berm, without any expansion.
Usually, if the bullet speed is too fast, the bullet fragments,
the lead core detaches from the copper jacket. This was mitigated by a
cannelure or double cannelure in some of the bullets.
If you want to get those picture perfect mushrooms, fire the bullet
through the gelatin block without any denim at the "correct" speed.
It's easy to see the track in the gelatin - the path before expansion,
the cavity caused when the bullet mushrooms, the cavity caused when the
bullet tumbles, or flips and starts traveling backwards (because some bullets
are stable traveling backward through the gelatin), the paths of the fragments,
etc. Recovering the bullets is easy.
A lot of the bullets did not travel in straight lines in the gelatin.
Rather, they traveled in curving arcs. This was an artifact of the bullet,
not the gelatin. Mass produced bullets are not perfectly symmetric.
The gelatin blocks can be reused. Just heat them in your oven at 150
degrees Fahrenheit to melt them and pour into a mold.
Chuck says frangible ammunition, which appears every few years, is just
a means for the unscrupulous ammo manufacturer to make money off idiots.
RIP, Glazer, Mag Safe, etc. (I paraphrase.)
https://agiletactical.com/about/
Jeff Gonzalez says --
If you're going to teach intermediate or advanced classes, you have to clearly
state the prerequisites and enforce them. Otherwise, your class will be
dangerous. Yes, this cuts into profit. But, your students will return for
more classes only if they feel safe with you.
Give only one instruction at a time. Simple language. Clarify, ask
questions, request a brief back.
Use visual aids, large, clear, high contrast.
Jeff Gonzalez says --
If you're going to teach intermediate or advanced classes, you have to clearly
state the prerequisites and enforce them. Otherwise, your class will be
dangerous. Yes, this cuts into profit. But, your students will return for
more classes only if they feel safe with you.
Give only one instruction at a time. Simple language. Clarify, ask
questions, request a brief back.
Use visual aids, large, clear, high contrast.
https://www.tridentconcepts.com/evolved-training/about/
Brian Hill says --
Your practice should be: deep, deliberate, and progressive.
Errors are caused by impatience and indecision.
Get up in the morning and practice.
Practice 3 times a week for 5 minutes each time. [Well, if John Hearne,
my physics professor, and Brian all say the same thing, it must be true. -- Jon Low]
Brian gave us this excellent drill. Get right up to the point where you
are ready to release the shot (sights lined up on target, slack out of the
trigger, etc.), but you don't fire. Someone else will gently tap you on your
shoulder or back. You must fire immediately on the tap. Or, someone will
trigger a beep from a timer and you will immediately fire on the signal.
Doesn't matter where the sights are. Let the signal control when you fire.
It only takes a few times to achieve the epiphany. [This is the standard
practice in Olympic style recurve archery. The archer trains to release the
string when the clicker clicks. Yes, the archer triggers the clicker, but
only indirectly. -- Jon Low]
[All through Brian's class, I was thinking, a student who has not studied
philosophy at a graduate level is going to have a hard time grokking these
lectures. -- Jon Low]
Brian Hill says --
Your practice should be: deep, deliberate, and progressive.
Errors are caused by impatience and indecision.
Get up in the morning and practice.
Practice 3 times a week for 5 minutes each time. [Well, if John Hearne,
my physics professor, and Brian all say the same thing, it must be true. -- Jon Low]
Brian gave us this excellent drill. Get right up to the point where you
are ready to release the shot (sights lined up on target, slack out of the
trigger, etc.), but you don't fire. Someone else will gently tap you on your
shoulder or back. You must fire immediately on the tap. Or, someone will
trigger a beep from a timer and you will immediately fire on the signal.
Doesn't matter where the sights are. Let the signal control when you fire.
It only takes a few times to achieve the epiphany. [This is the standard
practice in Olympic style recurve archery. The archer trains to release the
string when the clicker clicks. Yes, the archer triggers the clicker, but
only indirectly. -- Jon Low]
[All through Brian's class, I was thinking, a student who has not studied
philosophy at a graduate level is going to have a hard time grokking these
lectures. -- Jon Low]
http://www.thecompletecombatant.com/brian-hill.html
Tom Givens says --
. . . a huge thanks to all of the attendees. We had zero safety issues,
no injuries, and no drama. Given the number of attendees from all walks
of life, this is a noteworthy achievement.
Tom Givens says --
. . . a huge thanks to all of the attendees. We had zero safety issues,
no injuries, and no drama. Given the number of attendees from all walks
of life, this is a noteworthy achievement.
https://rangemaster.com/about/tom-givens/
"The real value of training and practice isn't gaining technical competence,
it's achieving confidence in your abilities."
-- Claude Werner
"How to Draw a Gun From Concealed VIDEO (or text and photos)" by Jacob Paulsen
https://www.concealedcarry.com/training-2/how-to-draw-a-gun-from-concealed/
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
John Murphy is giving a class, which I highly recommend,
"Concealed Carry: Street Encounter Skills and Tactics" by FPF Training
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/concealed-carry-street-encounter-skills-and-tactics-tickets-126327857021
OK Corral Shooting Range (near Murfreesboro, TN)
3175 Pleasant Ridge Road
Woodbury, TN 37190
Saturday, September 25, 2021, 8:30 AM to
Sunday, September 26, 2021, 5:00 PM CDT
Tiffany and Aq of Citizens Safety Academy
https://citizenssafety.com/
are hosting. John has 9mm ammo for sale to students.
If you have a female in your life that you care about, may I suggest you send
her to (as in pay her tuition, air fare, hotel, and rental car),
DTI Women’s Defensive Handgun
https://defense-training.com/store/?model_number=59493970&option=16-17%20Oct%202021%20-%20Nashville,%20TN
16-17 Oct 2021 - Nashville, TN
Because the training will allow her to avoid the tragic incident, as opposed to
being able to deal with the tragic incident.
A lot of my students are ladies who have survived incidents, who attend on their
own initiative, or are sent by loved ones. How much better would it be if they
got the training before the incident, so that they would be able to avoid the incident?
Take this seriously, because she might not survive the incident.
I am not a hypocrite. I have sent many ladies to such classes, most of whom
do not share DNA with me.
----- Practice -----
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Why You Can Always Improve Your Shooting Skills" by Tamara Keel
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2021/3/28/why-you-can-always-improve-your-shooting-skills
The problem is that in the real world, the triggering event will be
some kind of ambiguous visual cue, not a audio "beep". So, training to a
beep from a timer may be leaving a training scar.
Why practice?
"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that
which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
"Training to Draw from Realistic Start Positions" by Salvatore
https://www.usacarry.com/training-draw-realistic-start-positions/
Excerpt:
". . . a realistic training regimen for the draw stroke should involve three general
categories: time spent drawing from positions in which your hands are occupied with a
task, time spent drawing from the non-confrontational stance, and time spent drawing from
a realistic and natural-looking preparatory position. This approach will better prepare
you for drawing the gun under realistic circumstances."
"Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you
have practiced, no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Techniques -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Why the Hammer Pair?" by Darryl Bolke
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/why-the-hammer-pair
Darryl gives an example from a police academy of the idiocy baked into
institutional training. We saw it in the Marine Corps everywhere. That is
why, dear student, you must seek out expert training in the private sector.
The institutions will always be decades behind the private sector. And
sometimes the institutions will be WRONG! [I used the word "expert",
because "professional" just means the instructor is getting paid.]
"Concealed Carry: Benefits of Appendix/AIWB Carry" By Jacki Billings
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/benefits-of-appendix-aiwb-concealed-carry/
The overriding problem is that humans in our culture and society sit.
And in some cultures they squat. (So, when you're conversing with them,
you have to squat. When in Rome, do as the Romans. Don't be an ugly
American.) We spend a significant amount of time in a seated position.
(Did you notice that all of the pictures and videos in the article were
of people standing?) Can you present from an AIWB holster to the target
from a seated or squatting position without muzzling yourself?
Of course, it is possible, but can you do it? Under stress? Quickly?
Does it require contortions? as getting your pistol out of a shoulder
holster without muzzling your support side arm or the people around you.
It's a free country. You can do what you want to. But, you owe it
to yourself to think it through, and be honest with yourself.
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
----- Tactics -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
"Warning Shots in Self Defense: Considerations and Consequences" by Ben Findley
https://www.usacarry.com/warning-shots-self-defense/
Excerpt:
"Firing a warning shot is never a good idea because most states
legally treat it as the use of deadly force by the aggressor."
[Never fire a warning shot. Never shoot to wound. These are acts of
criminal stupidity. -- Jon Low]
"Tactical Moment" by John Holschen
https://www.youtube.com/user/tacticalmoment
John tells me he hopes to make more of these videos in the future.
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
----- Education -----
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
April 2021 Rangemaster newsletter
https://secureservercdn.net/45.40.151.233/d74.722.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-04_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
"Concealed Carry: Issues and Perspectives" by John Murphy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ju5GtzzgLE&list=PLkL2g0uY2GSduhVBwzGL2ROyN-TSdDGLq
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
***** ***** ***** Hardware (which includes you) ***** ***** *****
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
"Shooting Pistols and Eye Dominance: Cross-Dominance Solutions" by Col. Ben Findley
https://www.usacarry.com/shooting-cross-dominance-solutions/
Excerpt:
". . . Mixed or alternating Ocular Dominance exists where a shooter uses
one eye for certain tasks or functions and the other eye is dominant for other
tasks at different times. But recognize that eye dominance is not absolute
and your Ocular Dominance can change."
----- Gear -----
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Gun Owner 101: Holsters and Carry" By Justin
https://swiftsilentdeadly.com/gun-owner-101-holsters-and-carry/
Actually, there is a real problem with Appendix Inside the WaistBand holsters.
Try presenting from a sitting position without muzzling yourself. How about to a
target to your right? to your left? behind you? Now do it fast under stress.
Notice anything? Be honest.
I could not find the author's name.
Concealed Carry in Scrubs Pt 1 - Your Concealment Context
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5LvQIidiJI
Concealed Carry in Scrubs Pt 2 - Carry Position, Concealment Features, Comfort
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzpicZMbK4U
Concealed Carry in Scrubs Pt 3 - Visual and Social Camouflage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mga2mLcEmUY
Not just in scrubs. This analysis is pertinent to all of us.
Deep dive into AIWB concealment. Explanation of Social Camouflage.
"How to Choose the Right Leather Holster" by Shane Jahn
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2021/3/25/how-to-choose-the-right-leather-holster
I have always preferred the smell and feel of leather. I prefer horse hide,
as it is denser than cow hide. When something hard taps a leather holster, you
don't get any noise. Noise discipline is important. Plastic against your body
is always going to be hard. Leather against your body will eventually conform to
your shape, and is much more comfortable in the long run.
Most leather holsters now days are stitched with nylon or polyester thread.
But, as with tennis rackets, gut (usually cat gut) stitching is very nice.
Evidence is piling up on the Sig Sauer P320. May I invite your attention to
" ’I get chills’:
What happened when a SEPTA officer’s handgun spontaneously fired in Philly’s Suburban Station"
by Catherine Dunn, The Philadelphia Inquirer 2/27/2021
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/e2-80-99i-get-chills-e2-80-99-what-happened-when-a-septa-officer-e2-80-99s-handgun-spontaneously-fired-in-philly-e2-80-99s-suburban-station/ar-BB1e4fIJ
“Your car is not a holster.”
– Pat Rogers
----- Technical -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
***** ***** ***** Instruction ***** ***** *****
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
----- Instructors -----
Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!
-- John Farnam
Life is not fair. Get over it. Get use to it. Adapt and overcome.
Wear an undershirt or camisole. Showing underwear or skin (especially hairy
skin) when presenting from concealment is inappropriate and not in good taste.
If you are a young lady, this is a real problem. You are going to have a hard time
getting students to respect you and pay attention to you. Your physical appearance
is extremely distracting. I would recommend no make up and conservative dress.
When I was in Cryptologic Communications School, a female Petty Officer gave
us a lecture. She was dressed in the proper Navy uniform of the day. None of the
male Marines heard a word she said. None of us could rememeber the title of the
lecture nor any points made during the lecture. All anyone could talk about was
"Did you see her nipples getting erect and going soft?", which happened several
times during her lecture.
If you are some old grizzled guy, you don't have the distraction problem,
and students will assume you have something useful to say. But, you still have
to be clean and neat. Your clothes cannot smell of mildew. Bad breath and body
odor are unacceptable. Because they are distracting and bespeak of a lack of
caring. Once you convince the students that you don't give a shit, no one will
pay attention to you.
Take lessons in public speaking and practice, in front of a mirror and in
front of others. Search out constructive critisism. If you are saying "you know",
"like", "kind a", "ah . . . ", or other such words that convey zero information,
STOP. Just stop. Silence if far better than useless words. Useless words make
you sound stupid, no matter how learned you are. I have witnessed this in
many dissertation defenses. Writing is not the same as speaking. You have to
practice public speaking. If you want to see how it is done correctly, watch
a lecture (many available on YouTube.com) by Massad Ayoob.
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Pedagogy -----
"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."
-- Robert John Meehan
Hand out notes for your class. Expecting students to take notes in a shooting
class is ridiculous. Taking notes in any class with movement and physical activities
is extremely difficult for the students. Tell your students not to take notes.
You want your students listening and watching you, not taking notes.
Why did the student miss the important point in the safety briefing?
Because he was focused on taking notes on what you had previously said.
So yes, it was completely your fault that the student missed the important point,
and committed the safety violation.
Teach positive. Teach what to do. Don't talk about what not to do.
-- John Farnam
“The one important thing I have learned over the years
is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and
taking one’s self seriously.
The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.”
-- Prima Ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn
An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
***** ***** ***** Legal, Political, and Philosophical ***** ***** *****
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
“To conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens.”
-- Adolf Hitler
“To conquer a nation . . .” by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/to-conquer-a-nation/
Penn & Teller on the 2nd Amendment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GNu7ldL1LM
An explanation for those who lack a command of the English language.
“Is there no virtue among us?
If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form,
will insure liberty and happiness for an dishonorable population
represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
***** ***** ***** Survival, Medical, Security, and such ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
When it comes to survival, “just barely” beats the heck outta “not quite good enough.”
-- John Connor
***** ***** ***** Miscellany / History ***** ***** *****
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
All kinds of neat stuff at:
Practical Eschatology by Docent
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/
The Tactical Professor by Claude Werner
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/
Active Response Training by Gregg Ellifritz
http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/
Quips by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/quips/
Rangemaster newsletter by Tom Givens
https://rangemaster.com/publications/rangemaster-newsletter/
CIVILIAN DEFENDER by Sherman House
https://civiliandefender.com/
Handgun Combatives by Dave Spaulding
https://www.youtube.com/c/handguncombatives/videos
Marcus Wynne
https://marcuswynne.com/blog/
In my last posting, I made some statements, to which I received some responses.
The war gamers tell me that the ChiCom's public demonstration of being able to
destroy satellites with their killer-satellites was just theater. When the ChiCom's
decide to interdict our satellites they will bring a submarine off the coast of
California and from a submerged position they will launch missiles that will destroy
the Blue Cube (building that houses satellite command and control) on Onizuka Air
Station in Sunnyvale, CA and the Satellite Command and Control facility at Falcon
Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, CO. [Ya, I know I got things wrong. I'm not
just dating myself, I'm demonstrating that the information can't be classified,
because it is wrong. Otherwise, a certain high school classmate will bitch at me,
"You can't talk about that! It doesn't matter that it's open source. It's still
classified." I assure you, nothing I say is classified. I don't have a security
clearance. I don't have access to classified information. No one is passing me
classified information.]
In the previous posting, I was thinking how I would do it, while killing the
fewest humans. Assuming that your enemy thinks the way you do is a fatal mistake.
If they don't care about killing millions of their own people, why would they
blink at killing a few Americans? Actually, there is a difference between good
guys and bad guys. Moral relativism is false.
“In the long-run, there is no such thing as ‘luck’.
However, the short-run is longer than many individual lifetimes!”
-- Anon
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
"The real value of training and practice isn't gaining technical competence,
it's achieving confidence in your abilities."
-- Claude Werner
"How to Draw a Gun From Concealed VIDEO (or text and photos)" by Jacob Paulsen
https://www.concealedcarry.com/training-2/how-to-draw-a-gun-from-concealed/
"Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice".
-- Claude Werner
John Murphy is giving a class, which I highly recommend,
"Concealed Carry: Street Encounter Skills and Tactics" by FPF Training
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/concealed-carry-street-encounter-skills-and-tactics-tickets-126327857021
OK Corral Shooting Range (near Murfreesboro, TN)
3175 Pleasant Ridge Road
Woodbury, TN 37190
Saturday, September 25, 2021, 8:30 AM to
Sunday, September 26, 2021, 5:00 PM CDT
Tiffany and Aq of Citizens Safety Academy
https://citizenssafety.com/
are hosting. John has 9mm ammo for sale to students.
If you have a female in your life that you care about, may I suggest you send
her to (as in pay her tuition, air fare, hotel, and rental car),
DTI Women’s Defensive Handgun
https://defense-training.com/store/?model_number=59493970&option=16-17%20Oct%202021%20-%20Nashville,%20TN
16-17 Oct 2021 - Nashville, TN
Because the training will allow her to avoid the tragic incident, as opposed to
being able to deal with the tragic incident.
A lot of my students are ladies who have survived incidents, who attend on their
own initiative, or are sent by loved ones. How much better would it be if they
got the training before the incident, so that they would be able to avoid the incident?
Take this seriously, because she might not survive the incident.
I am not a hypocrite. I have sent many ladies to such classes, most of whom
do not share DNA with me.
----- Practice -----
Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
"Why You Can Always Improve Your Shooting Skills" by Tamara Keel
https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2021/3/28/why-you-can-always-improve-your-shooting-skills
The problem is that in the real world, the triggering event will be
some kind of ambiguous visual cue, not a audio "beep". So, training to a
beep from a timer may be leaving a training scar.
Why practice?
"To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment
when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and
offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique
to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if
that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that
which could have been their finest hour."
-- Winston Churchill
"Training to Draw from Realistic Start Positions" by Salvatore
https://www.usacarry.com/training-draw-realistic-start-positions/
Excerpt:
". . . a realistic training regimen for the draw stroke should involve three general
categories: time spent drawing from positions in which your hands are occupied with a
task, time spent drawing from the non-confrontational stance, and time spent drawing from
a realistic and natural-looking preparatory position. This approach will better prepare
you for drawing the gun under realistic circumstances."
"Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you
have practiced, no matter how ridiculous."
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Techniques -----
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Why the Hammer Pair?" by Darryl Bolke
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/why-the-hammer-pair
Darryl gives an example from a police academy of the idiocy baked into
institutional training. We saw it in the Marine Corps everywhere. That is
why, dear student, you must seek out expert training in the private sector.
The institutions will always be decades behind the private sector. And
sometimes the institutions will be WRONG! [I used the word "expert",
because "professional" just means the instructor is getting paid.]
"Concealed Carry: Benefits of Appendix/AIWB Carry" By Jacki Billings
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/benefits-of-appendix-aiwb-concealed-carry/
The overriding problem is that humans in our culture and society sit.
And in some cultures they squat. (So, when you're conversing with them,
you have to squat. When in Rome, do as the Romans. Don't be an ugly
American.) We spend a significant amount of time in a seated position.
(Did you notice that all of the pictures and videos in the article were
of people standing?) Can you present from an AIWB holster to the target
from a seated or squatting position without muzzling yourself?
Of course, it is possible, but can you do it? Under stress? Quickly?
Does it require contortions? as getting your pistol out of a shoulder
holster without muzzling your support side arm or the people around you.
It's a free country. You can do what you want to. But, you owe it
to yourself to think it through, and be honest with yourself.
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
----- Tactics -----
How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.
-- John Farnam
"Warning Shots in Self Defense: Considerations and Consequences" by Ben Findley
https://www.usacarry.com/warning-shots-self-defense/
Excerpt:
"Firing a warning shot is never a good idea because most states
legally treat it as the use of deadly force by the aggressor."
[Never fire a warning shot. Never shoot to wound. These are acts of
criminal stupidity. -- Jon Low]
"Tactical Moment" by John Holschen
https://www.youtube.com/user/tacticalmoment
John tells me he hopes to make more of these videos in the future.
You win gunfights by not getting shot.
-- John Holschen
----- Education -----
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
April 2021 Rangemaster newsletter
https://secureservercdn.net/45.40.151.233/d74.722.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-04_RFTS-Newsletter.pdf
"Concealed Carry: Issues and Perspectives" by John Murphy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ju5GtzzgLE&list=PLkL2g0uY2GSduhVBwzGL2ROyN-TSdDGLq
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
***** ***** ***** Hardware (which includes you) ***** ***** *****
"I would like to see every
woman know how to handle
guns as naturally as they
know how to handle babies."
-- Annie Oakley
"Shooting Pistols and Eye Dominance: Cross-Dominance Solutions" by Col. Ben Findley
https://www.usacarry.com/shooting-cross-dominance-solutions/
Excerpt:
". . . Mixed or alternating Ocular Dominance exists where a shooter uses
one eye for certain tasks or functions and the other eye is dominant for other
tasks at different times. But recognize that eye dominance is not absolute
and your Ocular Dominance can change."
----- Gear -----
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Gun Owner 101: Holsters and Carry" By Justin
https://swiftsilentdeadly.com/gun-owner-101-holsters-and-carry/
Actually, there is a real problem with Appendix Inside the WaistBand holsters.
Try presenting from a sitting position without muzzling yourself. How about to a
target to your right? to your left? behind you? Now do it fast under stress.
Notice anything? Be honest.
I could not find the author's name.
Concealed Carry in Scrubs Pt 1 - Your Concealment Context
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5LvQIidiJI
Concealed Carry in Scrubs Pt 2 - Carry Position, Concealment Features, Comfort
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzpicZMbK4U
Concealed Carry in Scrubs Pt 3 - Visual and Social Camouflage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mga2mLcEmUY
Not just in scrubs. This analysis is pertinent to all of us.
Deep dive into AIWB concealment. Explanation of Social Camouflage.
"How to Choose the Right Leather Holster" by Shane Jahn
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2021/3/25/how-to-choose-the-right-leather-holster
I have always preferred the smell and feel of leather. I prefer horse hide,
as it is denser than cow hide. When something hard taps a leather holster, you
don't get any noise. Noise discipline is important. Plastic against your body
is always going to be hard. Leather against your body will eventually conform to
your shape, and is much more comfortable in the long run.
Most leather holsters now days are stitched with nylon or polyester thread.
But, as with tennis rackets, gut (usually cat gut) stitching is very nice.
Evidence is piling up on the Sig Sauer P320. May I invite your attention to
" ’I get chills’:
What happened when a SEPTA officer’s handgun spontaneously fired in Philly’s Suburban Station"
by Catherine Dunn, The Philadelphia Inquirer 2/27/2021
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/e2-80-99i-get-chills-e2-80-99-what-happened-when-a-septa-officer-e2-80-99s-handgun-spontaneously-fired-in-philly-e2-80-99s-suburban-station/ar-BB1e4fIJ
“Your car is not a holster.”
– Pat Rogers
----- Technical -----
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
***** ***** ***** Instruction ***** ***** *****
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
----- Instructors -----
Remember, the students who require the extra effort are the ones who need us the most!
-- John Farnam
Life is not fair. Get over it. Get use to it. Adapt and overcome.
Wear an undershirt or camisole. Showing underwear or skin (especially hairy
skin) when presenting from concealment is inappropriate and not in good taste.
If you are a young lady, this is a real problem. You are going to have a hard time
getting students to respect you and pay attention to you. Your physical appearance
is extremely distracting. I would recommend no make up and conservative dress.
When I was in Cryptologic Communications School, a female Petty Officer gave
us a lecture. She was dressed in the proper Navy uniform of the day. None of the
male Marines heard a word she said. None of us could rememeber the title of the
lecture nor any points made during the lecture. All anyone could talk about was
"Did you see her nipples getting erect and going soft?", which happened several
times during her lecture.
If you are some old grizzled guy, you don't have the distraction problem,
and students will assume you have something useful to say. But, you still have
to be clean and neat. Your clothes cannot smell of mildew. Bad breath and body
odor are unacceptable. Because they are distracting and bespeak of a lack of
caring. Once you convince the students that you don't give a shit, no one will
pay attention to you.
Take lessons in public speaking and practice, in front of a mirror and in
front of others. Search out constructive critisism. If you are saying "you know",
"like", "kind a", "ah . . . ", or other such words that convey zero information,
STOP. Just stop. Silence if far better than useless words. Useless words make
you sound stupid, no matter how learned you are. I have witnessed this in
many dissertation defenses. Writing is not the same as speaking. You have to
practice public speaking. If you want to see how it is done correctly, watch
a lecture (many available on YouTube.com) by Massad Ayoob.
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
----- Pedagogy -----
"The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives."
-- Robert John Meehan
Hand out notes for your class. Expecting students to take notes in a shooting
class is ridiculous. Taking notes in any class with movement and physical activities
is extremely difficult for the students. Tell your students not to take notes.
You want your students listening and watching you, not taking notes.
Why did the student miss the important point in the safety briefing?
Because he was focused on taking notes on what you had previously said.
So yes, it was completely your fault that the student missed the important point,
and committed the safety violation.
Teach positive. Teach what to do. Don't talk about what not to do.
-- John Farnam
“The one important thing I have learned over the years
is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and
taking one’s self seriously.
The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.”
-- Prima Ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn
An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.
-- "Building Shooters" by Dustin Solomon
***** ***** ***** Legal, Political, and Philosophical ***** ***** *****
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
“To conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens.”
-- Adolf Hitler
“To conquer a nation . . .” by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/to-conquer-a-nation/
Penn & Teller on the 2nd Amendment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GNu7ldL1LM
An explanation for those who lack a command of the English language.
“Is there no virtue among us?
If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form,
will insure liberty and happiness for an dishonorable population
represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
***** ***** ***** Survival, Medical, Security, and such ***** ***** *****
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Dr. Sherman House
When it comes to survival, “just barely” beats the heck outta “not quite good enough.”
-- John Connor
***** ***** ***** Miscellany / History ***** ***** *****
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
All kinds of neat stuff at:
Practical Eschatology by Docent
https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/
The Tactical Professor by Claude Werner
https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/
Active Response Training by Gregg Ellifritz
http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/
Quips by John Farnam
https://defense-training.com/quips/
Rangemaster newsletter by Tom Givens
https://rangemaster.com/publications/rangemaster-newsletter/
CIVILIAN DEFENDER by Sherman House
https://civiliandefender.com/
Handgun Combatives by Dave Spaulding
https://www.youtube.com/c/handguncombatives/videos
Marcus Wynne
https://marcuswynne.com/blog/
In my last posting, I made some statements, to which I received some responses.
The war gamers tell me that the ChiCom's public demonstration of being able to
destroy satellites with their killer-satellites was just theater. When the ChiCom's
decide to interdict our satellites they will bring a submarine off the coast of
California and from a submerged position they will launch missiles that will destroy
the Blue Cube (building that houses satellite command and control) on Onizuka Air
Station in Sunnyvale, CA and the Satellite Command and Control facility at Falcon
Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, CO. [Ya, I know I got things wrong. I'm not
just dating myself, I'm demonstrating that the information can't be classified,
because it is wrong. Otherwise, a certain high school classmate will bitch at me,
"You can't talk about that! It doesn't matter that it's open source. It's still
classified." I assure you, nothing I say is classified. I don't have a security
clearance. I don't have access to classified information. No one is passing me
classified information.]
In the previous posting, I was thinking how I would do it, while killing the
fewest humans. Assuming that your enemy thinks the way you do is a fatal mistake.
If they don't care about killing millions of their own people, why would they
blink at killing a few Americans? Actually, there is a difference between good
guys and bad guys. Moral relativism is false.
“In the long-run, there is no such thing as ‘luck’.
However, the short-run is longer than many individual lifetimes!”
-- Anon
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Jon_Low@yahoo.com
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