NTI XIX: John Farnam's Quips - 29May09

[Wendell]

http://www.defense-training.com/quips/29May09.html

NTI, 2009

29 May 09 NTI, 2009, Harrisburg, PA: This year's NTI is winding down. I shot Main Events yesterday. Team, scenario-based Events are on Saturday morning. Lots of good presentations by familiar sages, including Tom Givens' wonderful review of actual shooting involving his students. Not to be missed! This year, I fired the first three stages with my S&W 386NG, a scandium, seven-shot revolver, tuned for me by Master Revolversmith ( and good friend) Denny Reichert. Backup was my Taurus Judge, carried in Blackhawk's wonderful shoulder-holster. S&W Revolver was loaded w/Cor-Bon DPX 38Spl. I carried a single HKS speed-loader. Judge was loaded with Federal 410 000 Bk (four pellets). Guns and ammunition all ran fine. Live-fire stages this year were: Country Kitchen: You enter a Country Kitchen in response to a call from your wife to meet her there. I encountered several lethal threats upon entering and gunned them all down, but ran out of ammunition quickly. While behind cover and reloading my revolver, another threat emerged from a side-room and advanced on me. With no time to complete my reload, I abandoned my 386 and drew the Judge. A single discharge of 000 Bk instantly terminated the threat! I then complete the reload I had started and, with no time to reholster the Judge, took it into my left hand, with my S&W still in my right! As I started moving once more, I encountered yet another threat at close range as I rounded a corner. I'm not sure exactly why, but I extended both revolvers and shot them simultaneously. The target crumpled precipitously! A moment later, I confronted a man armed with a large knife at a range of ten feet. However, he was wearing a logo apron, and I concluded that he might just be a cook and thus represent no threat to me. A verbal interchange quickly confirmed that, and I commanded him to run out the back door and get out of my life, which he was more than happy to do! In the restaurant, there were many non-targets, some seated and some standing. All had to be quickly scanned and evaluated as I was moving from cover to cover. The lesson here was that one must keep moving, keep his head up, and, even when disposing of threats, always be looking for the next threat. I love that smooth-shooting 386NG, but a seven-shooter runs out of ammunition pretty fast! Once again, I was reminded of the inherent advantages of sixteen-shooters!

Skills Demonstration: In this Drill, each Practitioner is required to engage multiple targets from point-blank to six meters. All segments start from the draw In one segment, when repeated hits to the torso are not forthcoming with good results, one must shift the point of impact to the head. Again, I shot all segments with the S&W revolver. On one occasion, after running out of ammunition, I was compelled to default to my back-up pistol.

Office Party: Here, you are invited to an office party, but you have no weapons on you. The rooms are full of party-goers, and suddenly there are loud, threatening voices and a single gunshot. There are two rooms. One is brightly lit and one is dim. You enter through the dim room. The exit is in the lighted room. I saw one party-goer with a baseball bat. I shoved him aside and took the bat. No one else appeared to represent a threat, but there was a dead body with a pistol in his mouth. Likely suicide. It was simply a matter of moving through minglers and getting to the exit. Upon exiting, I encountered a police officer who commanded me to drop the bat, which I did! On the floor, there was a discharged Taser (non-police version). I decided it would be of no use to me, forgetting that I could still use it as a contact weapon in an effort to move people out of the way.

Gold Course: You arrive at the Gold Course for a lunch-meeting with your wife. She is in a wheel chair. As I approach her car, I saw an RPG rocketing toward it! I moved as fast as I could away from the car and then ran toward the clubhouse in an effort to find my wife. Upon arriving, she is seen in her wheelchair, flanked by two Kalashnikov-wielding terrorists. Around the corner of the building, and at a range of eight meters, I gunned down both terrorists. This time, I was using my SIG P250 (9mm) and Cor-Bon DPX 115gr ammunition. I then see three more likewise-armed terrorists at a range of fifty meters and carefully engage each. It is a long shot, but my SIG had no difficulty. Fifty meters is a long shot for most pistols and a skill that we ll need to practice now and then!

Casino: In this challenge, you enter the casino alone and try to, once again, rescue your wife from thugs and terrorists. In this drill you are in a multi-room building, set-up on a 360 degree range, so you can move and shoot in any direction. Several times, I had to opportunity to shoot a armed thug in the back, as I saw him before he saw me. I did not hesitate! One terrorist, bearing explosives, I was compelled to shoot in the brain-stem. A number of my shots were one-handed, as I had to find, and then carry, my injured wife. At one point, while moving backward, I tripped over a body and fell. No way to do this gracefully! I got up and continued. This Drill always gets me in a high state of vigilance and aggressive movement. A door flung open to reveal a man with a pistol in his hand. Catching sight of his gun out of the corner of my eye, I spun and shot him instantly. Only then did I see that he was a uniformed security guard. Such mistakes are easy. Too easy!

Train Station: Finally, I am compelled to rescue another family member, this time at a train station. This is a rigorous and exhausting cover-and-movement drill, again 360 degrees! At one moment, I was confronted by three lethal threats at once. As fast as I could, I moved and fired until I took out all three. At another moment, I leaned against a wall, only to discover it was actually a door! It fell open, dumping me unceremoniously into the adjacent room. I rolled, recovered, and drove on. Again, in a fight, there is no time to feel sorry for yourself! Be careful what you lean on!

Scenario-based Exercises: In ATSA Village, we are exposed to four, confrontational incidents. Each Practitioner is equipped with a revolver and Simmunitons cartridges. In most confrontations, aggressive verbiage and movement will suffice to get you successfully disengaged. In one case of the four, I was compelled to shoot my way out. I got shot once in the process. No matter how skillful you are, once shooting starts, there is a good chance you will be hit! Tom Given's advice rings true: Be armed! Sometimes, lethal force is the only viable option. Have at least one high-powered pistol (loaded with high-performance ammunition) and at least one reload with you all the time. Deliberately not having that option available is equivalent to painting yourself into a corner. Be alert! The sooner you get into the loop, the better choices you are going to make. Hit! Hit first and hit fast. There is no substitute to personal competence and practiced weapons skills. Indecisive ditherers have no chance. More later! /John

created by dti@clouds.com

Copyright © 2009 by DTI, Inc. All rights reserved.
created on Friday May 29, 2009 23:59:1 MDT​

http://www.defense-training.com/quips/29May09.html

 

[Wendell]

John Farnam's Quips - NTI XIX, 30May09

http://www.defense-training.com/quips/30May09.html

NTI, 2009... continued

30 May 09 NTI, 2009 The NTI is over for another year! This morning, we all participated in two scenario-based exercises where we were teamed-up with another Practitioner. Several husband/wife and father/son teams went through. I was teamed-up with long-time friend and gun-writer, Marty Topper. In the first drill, you're picking up your friend at a train station. The one who is there to pick up is armed. The one who just stepped off the train is not. I was the former. Marty, the latter. Marty witnesses a murder just as he steps off the train. It happens right in front of him! A local thug, using a pistol, shoots a woman on the train platform. Unarmed, Marty is confronted by the suspect, but the suspect makes the mistake of waiving his pistol in Marty's face. Marty quickly disarms him. I hear the shot, but can't see anything from where I am, so I draw my pistol and proceed in the direction of Marty's voice. Upon making contact with Marty, the two of us hold the suspect at gunpoint, as Marty calls 911. The suspect has his hands up and is not overtly threatening, but will not respond to our questions about other weapons and accomplices. Both Marty and I are paying too much attention to him and not to our surroundings! Suddenly, a second suspect appears around a corner and shoots us both. Neither of us saw him in time! Lesson here is: Don't relax too soon! I thought Marty and I had the situation well in hand and thus failed to remain alert. Just about the time you think the crisis is over is the exact time you need to be most aware and quick-witted! In the second exercise, the two of us go into a casino to apply for a job. Both of us are armed, but go into separate interview rooms. As I'm being interviewed by the casino's human-resources manager, a disgruntled former employee bursts in and shoots him right in front of me, then runs away. I draw my pistol as I grab the now-wounded human-resources manager with my other hand and drag him past the wall and to relative safety. I thin pie the corner and see a number of people running about and screaming. A casino security guard, pistol in hand, appears, but himself is immediately shot by someone and goes down. I can't determine where the shooter is. Marty calls to me and we link-up and proceed toward the exit. Marty leads the way, and I cover the rear. Unfortunately, I did a poor job of rear-security! The shooter appears in a corridor and shoots me in the back, just as I exit the door! Lesson: Once again, Don't relax too soon! In addition, partners have to work as a team! My job was to watch the rear as we moved toward the exit. Instead, I spread myself too thin and thus failed to see the threat until it was too late. As always, this year's NTI was a wonderful learning experience for all of us, and we profusely thank Skip, Jim, Hersh, and the entire NTI Team for their tireless efforts in putting all this together. It is important to me to run myself through drills like those at the NTI, drills I didn't set up and know nothing about in advance. It provides me with opportunities to honestly test and refine my personal tactics, experiment with tape-loops and tactical nuances, and actually fight with a variety of commonly-carried pistols. The NTI is no place for the smug, narcissistic, nor ego-maniacal. However, all serious trainers, practitioners, and Students of the Art need to attend! Google "American Tactical Shooting Association" /John

Copyright © 2009 by DTI, Inc. All rights reserved.
created on Saturday May 30, 2009 23:59:2 MDT

http://www.defense-training.com/quips/30May09.html

 

[yyyyy]

Great posts. Lots of talent and knowledge to be found at NTI if you ever get the chance to attend.

 

[Wendell]

NTI XX - Invite Instructions

National Tactical Invitational - Would you be subjugated?
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=414950

 

[Wendell]

Square Range Training In a 360 Degree World

ATSA Teddy Talk
http://www.teddytactical.com/Redesign/TeddyTalk/squarerange.html

Teddy Talk

Square Range Training In a 360 Degree World

By: Steve Silverman​

Due to many limitations, the vast majority of shooters are forced to do all their training on a square range utilizing square range techniques and protocol. This is a shame, as it doesn’t allow the serious practitioner to learn and to practice skills and techniques that might be needed to one day save one’s life.

What are the limitations of square ranges? First, for safety, the 180deg rule must be enforced. It is deemed unsafe to allow those on the range to scan 360 degrees, when practicing to look for more threats. Likewise, many facilities don’t allow drawing from the holster, moving off the line of attack while drawing/engaging the threat targets and shooting multiple targets. Some ranges even have rules about how fast one may shoot – for example, “no more than one round fired every 3 seconds.” I understand the rationale behind these rules, but they cause the otherwise serious tactician to be lacking in necessary skills.

Also, many go to the range and simply put bullets downrange. They have no plan before they get to the range. What they are doing is NOT, in my opinion, training; they are simply slinging lead. For it to be training, a specific training regimen must be in place prior to arriving at the range. To help alleviate these shortcomings, many have gravitated toward the gun games (IPSC and IDPA). This isn’t a horrible idea. It allows them to get trigger time, to move and shoot, to draw from a holster, to reload under time constraints, etc. However, there are many less than optimal aspects of these games. First, they are games and therefore, there are winners and losers. Too often this causes bad techniques to be learned/used, shooting to be too fast, too many innocents (no-shoots) to be shot, etc, all in the name of winning. Additionally, the 180 rule still applies, so movement (for safety concerns) is always lateral or forward. Many matches allow a walk through, so that the participants can decide, IN ADVANCE, what’s the best way to shoot the course of fire. Also, many courses of fire are scripted – the shooter is told who to shoot, when to shoot them and how many times that they need to be shot. None of this is realistic nor does it help build the mental skills that we want when faced with a lethal encounter.

Enter the NTI Study Group. What Skip, Jim, Hersh, et al have done is give the serious practitioner a place to REALLY learn proper techniques/skill sets and a place to practice these newfound skills. The live fire range exercises are designed to TEACH something, not merely to send ammo downrange. They have determined the training regimen for the day and the Team Members simply have to participate to learn valuable techniques/skills.

Even more importantly, the Team Members REGULARLY participate in force-on-force exercises. This is, I believe, what sets them apart from the average gun carrying person. They are able to practice in a 360deg environment. They are able to think on their feet, when the proverbial feces has hit the fan. They are taught how to think, not simply told what to think. And, by regularly participating in force-on-force, they are much more prepared to conquer whatever confronts them.

My advice? If you are within reasonable distance of West Shore, make sure that you join and attend the monthly study group meetings. If you are not local, you owe it to yourself to help start a similar group in your area. Your life might just depend on it.




Mr. Silverman is the owner of Firearms Research & Instruction located in Dover, PA. His company has been providing firearms & self-defense training nationally since 1989 and has trained over 5,000 individuals. Additionally he provides legal advice & expert testimony in use-of-force/self defense cases.

http://www.teddytactical.com/Redesign/TeddyTalk/squarerange.html

 

[Wendell]

Mental Training

ATSA Teddy Talk
http://www.teddytactical.com/Redesign/TeddyTalk/mentaltraining.html

Teddy Talk

Mental Training​

By: Richard Wright​

We have traditionally been taught that they best way to learn something is by doing it. Get some basic lessons in the fundamentals and then go out and practice. The world of sports is full of examples where this is true. Whether it is skiing, surfing or the all American sport, baseball, we are all taught the basics, and then we rush out to play, to put what we have learned to the test. If we continue putting into practice, the basics of what we learned early on, then our skill advances and we get better.

But does that translate to the field of fighting with a handgun? Well some of us may venture forth and engage in a number of running gun battles and emerged unscathed, bloodied, but victorious and a seasoned, experienced gun fighter. I am afraid the rest of us mortals may not fare so well. This is akin to being given a test, before you have been presented the lesson. You may pass…but then again you may not. And failing here is unacceptable. So how do we get experience in something as dangerous and complex as this?

Some suggest visual imagery. We have all observed this as we have watched the Olympics, the gymnast standing ready, eyes closed, body swaying as he pictures himself going through a perfect routine. This came about as sport physiologist and psychologist worked together to learn how athletes could improve their performance. What they found is that the chemical that stores memory does not know the difference between real or imagined events. It is just another chemical interaction that stores this memory in the brain. The enhanced value to mental imagery is that they could perform this imagined task perfectly. In a similar discipline, such as an IPSC event, where the participants have had a chance to walk through a stage, they will close their eyes and imagine themselves shooting this event. Eyes closed, waiting for the beep. On the signal moving and drawing their gun as they step towards cover, engaging in multiple targets, ejecting the magazine and reloading as they sprint towards the next target. All performed perfectly in his mind! Imagine, perfect practice!

Another example of the power of the mind to believe what you tell it. Twice a year, every airline pilot goes through flight training mandated by the FAA. Even though they know that the flight simulator is just a box, planted on the floor, incapable of flight. Within minutes of being put into this stressful environment, his mind believes what he is seeing, and reacts to the various stimuli as if it they were real. On the conscious level, they know that it is not real, but on a subconscious level, it is as real as it can possibly be. Often leaving the training white knuckled and shaken by the experience. I suspect that this can also serve as an inoculation therapy. What that means is if this stressful event should ever happen again, somewhere in the rolodex of his mind, he will be able to recall that it did, and what steps he took to rectify the situation, and emerge successful. The key here, I believe, is to have emerged from the ordeal successfully, while under stress.

We now know this this type of visual imagery is invaluable in all kinds of training. In fact, the more detail and content that we can enter into our minds, the more real it becomes. Close your eyes. See the serrations on the front sight as you swing the gun onto the target, start the trigger press, feel the trigger move smoothly backwards till, BANG(!) the gun goes off in a perfect surprise break, the bullet striking the target exactly in the center of the target.

So how does this type of training help us “on the street”?

A good friend and mentor of mine, Tom Givens of RangeMaster in Memphis, TN. Tells how he prepares for violent encounters every day. If you do not subscribe to the local, big city newspaper, you should. In it, as in most papers of today, there will be a section that details various criminal acts that occurred in the city during the past 24 hours. Tom suggests that over coffee each morning we read each and every one of these and then ask ourselves the following question. What would I do if I was in a similar situation? Picture yourself in that scenario, what emotions would you be feeling? What sights and sounds would be there? How would you react? And most importantly, picture you surviving this confrontation and emerging unscathed! This is vitally important! You must see yourself emerge victoriously!

Now the lesson is not yet complete. Ask yourself why did this happen? What would you have done differently to avoid being put into this position in the first place? This becomes negative reinforcement. If you are ever in a similar situation, don’t do that. Remember the old adage, How do you win a gunfight? Don’t get into one in the first place!

If you do this every morning, and only do 2 or 3 a day, within 1 year you would have mentally been in 700 to 1,000 conflicts and emerged victoriously from each one! Better yet, you will have learned what people did wrong to place themselves in harms way, and what you could now do, in a similar situation, to avoid the fight in the first place.

Now we can take this to the next level. Imagine being in your home or your car or at work. These are places that we visit every day. Doesn’t it make sense for us to preplan what we would do when the Boogey Man comes? Well now we can. By utilizing the mental techniques discussed in the article we can picture a scenario where someone comes in and accost you. Where are the doors and windows? What furniture or office equipment would act as cover? How would I get out of here? How can I survive! How can I win!

Good reading!

Note: The author has been a law enforcement officer in South Carolina for 8 years and is a state certified CWP Instructor as well as NRA certified. Additionally, he is an affiliate instructor for OPS and DTI. He has personally trained with Mike Voigt, Bennie Cooley, Gabe Suarez, Jim Crews, Ken Hackathorn, Mas Ayoob, Greg Hamilton and several others. Since 1996, he has been an NTI practitioner.

http://www.teddytactical.com/Redesign/TeddyTalk/mentaltraining.html

 

[Wendell]

Shoot ‘Em to the Ground

Teddy Talk
http://www.teddytactical.com/Redesign/TeddyTalk/ground.html

Teddy Talk

Shoot ‘Em to the Ground​

By: Richard Wright​

What happens when someone is shot? Typically they will do 1 of 3 things; first, they may run away. Second, they may just give-up and stop what they were doing, and third, they keep on doing what they were doing before. The third person is the one that we want to address. Why he stays in the fight does not matter. He may be extremely focused and motivated. He may have on body armor or he may be full of drugs. It doesn’t matter. He has to be stopped. Years ago, this situation was addressed and ended-up being called the Mozambique Drill; two in the body and 1 in the head. This was accepted doctrine for decades and typically went like this. Upon seeing the threat and being in immediate fear for your life, you draw you gun and fire 2 quick shots into the cardiac triangle and even though he has not reacted, you drop to a low ready to assess. Then seeing that he still poses a threat (incoming rounds perhaps?), you present the gun and fire the head shot hoping that you hit the ocular window

Question? How much time does it take to lower the gun to low ready, assess the situation, and then raise the gun to fire again? The rest of your life perhaps?

We are all familiar with the term follow-through. That is the act of always preparing to fire another shot. For example, you fire three rounds but follow-through has you prep your gun for a fourth shot. You fire 1, you prep for 1 more. You always prep the gun to fire an additional shot should the need arise.

Regarding the failure-to-stop drill above, why not instead do the following. Upon the threat of someone trying to kill you, you draw and fire your gun 3-4 times into the cardiac triangle (CT) and on the 4th or 5th shot; your follow-through is to the ocular window (OW). If you see his face, you execute the shot. If not, then follow him to the ground. How much faster is that?

Doesn’t it make sense to keep firing as long as he remains a threat? If after 3-4 rounds into the CT he is still there, will additional rounds to the same area help? Maybe, but while you are doing that he is still trying to kill you. This is a classic failure-to-stop situation. If after firing 3-4 rounds in to the CT and he is still standing, let your next follow-through give you an OW site picture.

Front sight, press!

http://www.teddytactical.com/Redesign/TeddyTalk/ground.html

 

[Wendell]

Lessons learned

(From http://www.defense-training.com/quips/08Feb10.html)

Marksmanship!

08 Feb 10

Follow-up comments on genuine shooting skill, from friends at the NTI:

"During the first decade of the NTI, we rarely saw participants with marginal shooting skills. We all, including you and me, considered ourselves Professional Gunmen, and, as a point of honor, we would shun excessive dramatics, and all else that distracted us from the honest and humble pursuit of the Art.

That all began to change during the second decade, and 'excessive dramatics ' (mostly engendered by too much television-watching) is presently epidemic!

We now regularly see aspiring participants engaging surprise targets, at a range three meters, with at least half dozen rounds from their high-capacity pistols, of what can only be described as 'panic-fire.' Bullets that actually strike the Critical Zone (cardiac area) rarely account for more than ten-percent of rounds expended. Many embarrassingly notice the target still calmly standing after such 'engagements,' having failed to hit the critical zone even once. Only a few competent marksmen are able to consistently hit similar targets at a range of fifty meters, even fifteen meters!

At the dawn of your and my LE careers, we learned to routinely make accurate hits at fifty meters, using double-action revolvers in trigger-cocking mode. It can be done! Today, all of us dare not forget founding principles of disciplined, controlled, accurate fire. It is fundamental!

Continue to be bold, my friend and colleague, in your assertion of that these critical skills are primary to our Craft."

Comment: When training as an Infantry Officer in the 1960s, I was told that new and wonderful technology had reduced the roll of Infantry to little more than mop-up duties. "All you'll ever have to do is step over bodies, " I was told, more than once!

Young Infantrymen at the beginning of WWII, and even WWI, were told the same comfortable lie. And, all of us subsequently discovered, the hard way, that it is indeed a lie! For now, and the foreseeable future, heroic Infantryman will be required to shoot and kill the enemy, employing precise fire from their rifles and pistols, at ALL ranges he can be effectively engaged.

Today, critical, practical marksmanship skills, with rifles and pistols, are suddenly being "remembered."

We never "forgot!"

Teaching "fundamental marksmanship," I am told, is "coming back"

We never "left!"

And, as long as I am able, never will!

/John

created by dti@clouds.com

Copyright © 2010 by DTI, Inc. All rights reserved.
created on Monday February 8, 2010 23:59:1 MST​

http://www.defense-training.com/quips/08Feb10.html

 

[Slavex]

I'm kind of failing to see the link between these quotes and Action Shooting sports?

 

[Wendell]

Farnam is talking about the NTI. The NTI is an action shooting sport.

If you'd go, you'd know.

 

[Slavex]

Oh I know about it, but is less a sport than a tactical showdown. As well the write ups are kinda strung out don't you think?