Integrated Threat Focused Training Review of March 14-15th
First off I want to thank the Range owners Tom and Robin for allowing us to hold this training session on their range. Next to thank is Doug (Sass) for securing such a perfect place to hold this Threat Focused Training weekend.
I had been highly anticipating this weekend for quite sometime. As I’ve gotten to know Brownie over the last year or two the Threat Focused Skills he has developed only made sense to me in more ways than one. . Being an old combat vet and street fighter my belief in Brownie’s system of self defense was confirmed this past weekend and then some. It was way more than even I had anticipated it would be and my faith that this stuff works was reaffirmed 10 fold.
As an Instructor/Trainer in firearms myself, my appreciation for Brownies method of instruction was greatly enhanced by observing, to their credit, the quickness the students themselves picked up and exhibited the skills being taught. Being a part of this training as an observer and support trainer/safety guy, I had the pleasure of sitting back and watching as each individual regardless of skill or previous firearm experience was brought up to speed in the skill sets and performing as well as other skilled shooters by the end of the weekend. It was an amazing thing to watch and I found myself astounded at the focusing ability of the students themselves. Much to be said about the Instructors talent and the commitment of the individuals who attended.
Starting on day 1 with a brief safety talk we immediately began drills. As everyone lined up on target Brownie started with ½ hip and progressed from there through the day. Firing one shot, then multiple shots then emptying mags as they became more proficient. It wasn’t all about speed but about developing muscle memory and using peripheral vision and proprioception. All skill sets were done from the draw stroke. As the students progressed we moved on to ¾ hip, point shoulder, 2 handed nose index etc. Taking it slow and then building speed as the groups got tighter on target.
What I did notice is students who had trained at the square range or competition shooting automatically wanted to get up on the sights when we went to the 2 handed nose index. As I watched, Brownie was correction them as we went along. Several realized what they were doing and pulled back down to chin level and immediately got faster. Not only was skill being developed on the ability to put hits on target, the speed skill was also increasing as the day went along. Practicing things like the “scoop draw” enhanced everyone’s speed on target. These were the very beginnings of people learning to “Run the Gun” and it was progressing nicely. With frequent enough breaks, giving everyone a chance to rest Brownie often held court in H2H skills, exhibiting some choke hold escapes, the infamous “Brownie Pop”, gun disarms etc..needless to say it was educational and entertaining at the same time. With our first day completion and only about 6 skills gone thru we had a full day scheduled for Day 2. We hadn’t even gotten to the Quick Kill Hip yet..
Day 2 started much like day 1, gorgeous day, wonderful weather and a great group of students who I now consider friends. Getting into the Quick Kill Hip technique was probably one of the highlights of the day as a lot of time was spent not only as a group but individuals on the line by themselves with just Brownie and getting a chance to exhibit their speed from draw to first shot with multiple shots against the Master. Not only did this skill improve performance on multiples, it helped draw speed and transition speeds while hitting COM with virtually never a miss..It was Impressive. As more skills were mastered we moved on to some tricky stuff like shooting behind the back, shooting with two guns, shooting on the ground sideways and overhead. Seems all that muscle memory had kicked in because all students were on target. From 7 feet to 20 feet all skills were practiced repeatedly. As students got better we moved back, then moved forward again start another. At the end of the day all students were asked to line up on their perspective targets and Brownie (being the Jarhead he is) ran ‘em hard through every skill one after the other, from one shot to 2 shots to empty magazine, barking commands like a Drill Sergeant, it was fun to watch as everybody came up to speed and never missed a beat. I don’t think one student out there this weekend can say they used sights on any skill nor did they need them. It was an epiphany of sorts to some I’m sure.
The most satisfying thing to an Instructor/trainer is to see the lights come on in the eyes. The smiles on the faces when they got it right, the drastic improvements made and realization that this really works and most importantly the life saving skills that Brownie imparted.
Thanks to my friend Brownie for coming out to Florida and thanks to all of you who attended…All of you were total professionals throughout the weekend and deserve nothing less than my humble gratitude and huge congratulations for a job well done..Hope to see more of you in September..
First off I want to thank the Range owners Tom and Robin for allowing us to hold this training session on their range. Next to thank is Doug (Sass) for securing such a perfect place to hold this Threat Focused Training weekend.
I had been highly anticipating this weekend for quite sometime. As I’ve gotten to know Brownie over the last year or two the Threat Focused Skills he has developed only made sense to me in more ways than one. . Being an old combat vet and street fighter my belief in Brownie’s system of self defense was confirmed this past weekend and then some. It was way more than even I had anticipated it would be and my faith that this stuff works was reaffirmed 10 fold.
As an Instructor/Trainer in firearms myself, my appreciation for Brownies method of instruction was greatly enhanced by observing, to their credit, the quickness the students themselves picked up and exhibited the skills being taught. Being a part of this training as an observer and support trainer/safety guy, I had the pleasure of sitting back and watching as each individual regardless of skill or previous firearm experience was brought up to speed in the skill sets and performing as well as other skilled shooters by the end of the weekend. It was an amazing thing to watch and I found myself astounded at the focusing ability of the students themselves. Much to be said about the Instructors talent and the commitment of the individuals who attended.
Starting on day 1 with a brief safety talk we immediately began drills. As everyone lined up on target Brownie started with ½ hip and progressed from there through the day. Firing one shot, then multiple shots then emptying mags as they became more proficient. It wasn’t all about speed but about developing muscle memory and using peripheral vision and proprioception. All skill sets were done from the draw stroke. As the students progressed we moved on to ¾ hip, point shoulder, 2 handed nose index etc. Taking it slow and then building speed as the groups got tighter on target.
What I did notice is students who had trained at the square range or competition shooting automatically wanted to get up on the sights when we went to the 2 handed nose index. As I watched, Brownie was correction them as we went along. Several realized what they were doing and pulled back down to chin level and immediately got faster. Not only was skill being developed on the ability to put hits on target, the speed skill was also increasing as the day went along. Practicing things like the “scoop draw” enhanced everyone’s speed on target. These were the very beginnings of people learning to “Run the Gun” and it was progressing nicely. With frequent enough breaks, giving everyone a chance to rest Brownie often held court in H2H skills, exhibiting some choke hold escapes, the infamous “Brownie Pop”, gun disarms etc..needless to say it was educational and entertaining at the same time. With our first day completion and only about 6 skills gone thru we had a full day scheduled for Day 2. We hadn’t even gotten to the Quick Kill Hip yet..
Day 2 started much like day 1, gorgeous day, wonderful weather and a great group of students who I now consider friends. Getting into the Quick Kill Hip technique was probably one of the highlights of the day as a lot of time was spent not only as a group but individuals on the line by themselves with just Brownie and getting a chance to exhibit their speed from draw to first shot with multiple shots against the Master. Not only did this skill improve performance on multiples, it helped draw speed and transition speeds while hitting COM with virtually never a miss..It was Impressive. As more skills were mastered we moved on to some tricky stuff like shooting behind the back, shooting with two guns, shooting on the ground sideways and overhead. Seems all that muscle memory had kicked in because all students were on target. From 7 feet to 20 feet all skills were practiced repeatedly. As students got better we moved back, then moved forward again start another. At the end of the day all students were asked to line up on their perspective targets and Brownie (being the Jarhead he is) ran ‘em hard through every skill one after the other, from one shot to 2 shots to empty magazine, barking commands like a Drill Sergeant, it was fun to watch as everybody came up to speed and never missed a beat. I don’t think one student out there this weekend can say they used sights on any skill nor did they need them. It was an epiphany of sorts to some I’m sure.
The most satisfying thing to an Instructor/trainer is to see the lights come on in the eyes. The smiles on the faces when they got it right, the drastic improvements made and realization that this really works and most importantly the life saving skills that Brownie imparted.
Thanks to my friend Brownie for coming out to Florida and thanks to all of you who attended…All of you were total professionals throughout the weekend and deserve nothing less than my humble gratitude and huge congratulations for a job well done..Hope to see more of you in September..