5 days before CF and Adv Pistol

[fitebak]

Having watched the CF video and practiced some of the points, what else should I do to prepare myself for the course? I have some time to shoot and just thought it would be a good idea to concentrate on training that would help me absorb more once I get to class.

[m25operator]

fitebak, your doing what you need to do, once there, clear your head and become a sponge, soak it up, ask questions if your unsure, the teachers will not look down on you for that. Any question you ask, 15 people wished they would have. Have fun, learn and enjoy.

Ps, wish I could go too.

[Rob Pincus]

Hey Fiteback,  Glad to hear that you are coming to a course! 

m25's advice is good to go.... Just show up with as clear a mind as possible and take in the information. Doing enough shooting to make sure that your gear is good to go is a great idea, of course.

Looking forward to your AAR!

-RJP

[fitebak]

There is no way in the forum I can encapsulate everything I learned in 3 days with John Brown in Montrose, CO teaching the Combat Focus and Advanced Pistol. What I can say is that in a Dynamic Critical Incident anyone taking this course will stand a very good chance of being the one to walk away. Clearly a lot of research of human dynamics, neurology and psychology has gone into this program so that the student learns to be very efficient in their combat pistol skills via the integrity of the overall material and a consistency learned through excellent instruction and repetition (I.C.E.). John was a very thorough instructor who expects the best from his students after clearly articulated explanations, but "entertainingly patient" with those of us who had learned hard to change old habits; add just enough stress to make our new technique go to hell, then allow us to put it back together under a watchful eye and more practice to fully reconnect the neurons.

I have no doubt I achieved several higher levels of expertise in 3 days. There are no shortcuts here and any question is answered fully. Every moment on the range including debriefings I was aware we were being taught to perform our best should we ever have to meet the elephant - exactly the kind of training I was hoping for. No BS, no excuses allowed on my part.

I have read Rob's book and viewed his DVDs which helped consolidate my learning and understanding of some of the teaching points. Subsequent to the course I have worked on my weak points and reinforced the training at my local range one to two times a weak. I highly recommend this program.

[Pathfinder]

Sounds cool fitebak. We look forward to your opinions and contributions to the site after this.

[Sponsor]

[fitebak]

Thanks, still finding my way around. Seems like a great forum.

[m25operator]

Pass your experience around the campfire, It seems it made an impact on you, that is great, part mechanical, ( skill set, that you will work on from now on ) Right!! The other, situational awareness, don't escalate the situation, and avoid it if at all if possible. Escape it, if at all possible, don't hit if you don't have too, but never hit softly. Am I close??

[fitebak]

Not too close. The things you bring up are covered well in other training programs and are of course important - avoidance, de-escalation, escape, etc.

The CF course focuses more on integrating the firearm into the bodies natural response to a dynamic critical incident (ambush) and eliminating the unnecessary options that can clutter up ones response. Press and fire guns like the Glock, H&P and Springfield XD seem best suited - no fine motor skills required in a SHTF moment. Recognize, move off the X, draw, extend, touch and press is made into one clean movement usable from any position. Many drills in the 10-20 ft. range. The fully extended position allows a repeatable position that at approx. 10 ft. can be unsighted fire and individually one can determine when to pick up the front sight for longer or more precise shots. I tended to see my front sight at any range but if I didn't at 10 ft. I would probably still make the required hits. Combat accuracy is the goal so speed and precision are determined by distance, target size, conditions, etc.  Hope this gives some flavor but it certainly isn't a comprehensive description of the entire course. Robs I.C.E. site gives more background.

I faced the elephant years ago in SE Asia and I think I survived more on luck than training. Wish I'd had this type of training back then. Learned a lot from Jeff Cooper's classes in the 80s but some things have changed since then of course.

[Rob Pincus]

Thanks for the report on the class in CO and your thoughts, Fitebak.  Glad you enjoyed the course and got so much out of it.

Your descriptions of the program, both content and goals, are great.

M25,

The CFS course does not get into tactics at all. It is about skill development. The shooting drills presume a need to shoot, which, as Fitebak noted, is the subject of other courses (ours and other organizations).

-RJP