Point Shooting Course with Roger Phillips (Sweatnbullets)

[Sweatnbullets]

Point Shooting Progressions - May 12-13, 2007 - Boulder City Nevada
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May 12-13, 2007
Point Shooting Progressions
Boulder City, NV

Force on force training has proven beyond any argument that the traditional shooting range methods are simply not suitable for reactive gunfighting. In this course, Suarez International Specialist Instructor Roger Phillips will teach you the "Fight Continuum". Roger has studied extensively with Suarez International. He has also researched virtually every threat focused shooting system for many years. This course distills it all into one well thought out and extremely applicable system that dovetails neatly into the regular Close Range Gunfighting matrix, presenting the full aspect of the integration of sighted and unsighted fire at CQB distances.



Duration: 2 days 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Ammunition: Approximately 1500 rounds (Minimum)
Requirements: Pistol, Carry Holster, 3 Magazines and Magazine Pouch, Range Safety Gear
Instructor: Roger Phillips
Location: Boulder Rifle & Pistol Club, Boulder City NV. http://www.brpc1.org/

$350.00 ENROLL HERE http://www.suarezinternationalstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=313

Point Shooting Progressions Course Overview

The “Fight Continuum” React as you need to react, see what you need to see, and move as you need to move.

This course comes directly out of my experience in Gabe’s “Interactive Gun Fighting” course. Immediately after the course I went out looking to train with the very best point shooters in the country. This course is a direct link to my findings while training with Gabe, 7677, and Matt Temkin. This course is designed to make a shooter the very best that they can be in regards to point shooting with dynamic movement. It is designed to make the shooter more well rounded and completely versatile inside what is now being called “The Fight Continuum.” After this course you will be able to use your hand/eye coordination to make combat accurate hit from any angle, from any position, throughout your one and two handed draw stroke, with whatever movement is necessary. This course is designed to fill in the gaps in prior sighted fire training so that the shooter can seamlessly integrate sighted and unsighted fire into one “simply shooting” concept.


Precision sighted fire

Flash sight picture shooting

Ten elements to threat focused shooting

Alternative line of sight sighting methods

Quick fire

Introduction and benefits of below line of sight point shooting

Mid point of drawstroke point shooting

Count Three point shooting

Zippering throughout the two handed drawstroke, integration of sighted fire

Focal transition drills

Two handed “Hammer,”

Two handed multiples at appropriate distances with appropriate extension, integration of sighted fire

Introduction and benefits of one handed point shooting

Completely versatile drawstroke, elimination of stance dependence, and the use of the visual centerline

Line of sight point shooting (FSA point shoulder)

One handed below line of sight point shooting

FSA three quarter hip

FSA half hip

Elbow up/ Elbow down

Progression of elbow up/Elbow down

One handed zipper, integration of sighted fire

Focal transition drills

One handed “Hammer”

One handed multiples at appropriate distances with appropriated extension, integration of sighted fire

Introduction to controlled movement and sighted fire

Fluid Situational Response

Get the heck out of Dodge movement and the use of cover with sighted fire

Get out of the “Kill Zone” drawstroke

Four elements of accurate shooting with dynamic movement

Movement must have “purpose” lecture

Preparation for movement to “sectors”

Dynamic movement while fighting in all directions from varying distances with varying extension

Introduction to feints, jukes, cutbacks, and elliptical movement

Put it all together “S” drills

Plus a lot more……1500 rounds minimum…..if you want to shoot more, bring more!

[Sweatnbullets]

Fluid Situational Response

In the world of the gun there are two types of responses to a life threatening event. The first and most popular is the conditioned response. A few examples of conditioned responses would be stand and deliver, the controlled pair, and to always make use of your sights. These are responses that we train into ourselves with the hope that when the SHTF we will default to our training and this programming will save the day.

While I was learning the Modern Techniques, (MT) I constantly questioned the logic behind many of the conditioned responses. To me, there was very little common sense attached to these conditioned responses. Even as a newbie I knew that I would never fight in this manner. It went away from the logic of all of my past experiences. As I trained and trained in the MT, I always held on to the realization the MT was just going to be a foundation, a foundation that I built my fighting style on top of.

As I progressed, I began to incorporate what I thought a common sense fighting style would entail. I began to seek out people that thought as I did. My observations were confirmed again and again by highly respected "been there done that" guys, most notably a Federal Agent that went under the handle 7677 and firearms instructor Gabe Suarez . They would write posts of their real world experience that coincided with my thoughts and observations. As my suspicions were verified, my training progressed into an area that very few people have explored. I began to embrace the second type of response, the concept of natural human response.

As I participated in and witnessed FOF encounters while training with Gabe, it became very clear that the vast majority of the people that trained on a regular basis, cast aside their training when the action was fast and close. They would default to their natural human response. They solved problems at a sub-conscious level. I witnessed many people doing things that they had never been trained to do. After the encounter I would talk to them about their response. Many of these students actually did not know what they had done to solve the problem. As I told them what they did, they would often look at me in disbelief that they reacted in that manner. This furthered my interest in the subject, which lead me to my next level of enlightenment.

I call this level fluid situational response. The concept is that you can incorporate your natural human response and your conditioned response and use them fluidly in the appropriate situation all along, what 7677 calls the "fight continuum" and what Gabe calls "progression of the fight." I know some of you will say that this does not stay within the KISS (keep it simple stupid) principle, or that it does not conform to Hicks law (the more options you have, the longer it will take to access an option). IMHO this is just not so. Hicks law applies to conditioned responses, that is why you should have a mastery of a few essential techniques. Hicks law does not apply to natural human response. There is no lag time to access these responses. Your body will choose the solution to the problem in a microsecond at a subconscious level. Accepting this to be fact opens up a world that very few have explored.

My training is now geared to my fluid situational response. The response is dictated by time, distance, and where you find yourself in the reactionary curve. The position on the reactionary curve is the most important factor to your response. This is where natural human response of "fight or flight" takes over. IMHO you should embrace the "fight or flight" response and train within that response. One thing to keep in mind, when it comes to firearms "fight or flight" is also "fight and flight." The direction you move, the speed of your movement, the necessary visual input to maneuver and to comprehend the problem, the necessary visual input needed to make the hits, and the necessary visual input to recognize the situational changes in your position in the OODA loop, are all dependent on your position in the reactionary curve.

There is no doubt that at certain distances, going hands on before you access your handgun is the very best response. But for now, let's take a look at responses that are outside of hand to hand ranges.

If you have succeeded in being ahead in the reactionary curve due to awareness, deception, distraction, or metsubushi (throw something in the face of your adversary) you are in a dominant position. Conditioned responses are excellent for this situation. Stand and deliver, sighted fire, aggressively advancing to your 12:00 are all appropriate responses.

If you find yourself even in the reactionary curve, your response will have to be different. Conditioned responses may not get the job done as well as natural human response. The fight and flight response will kick in and you will want to get out of the kill zone. Move as you draw, put hits on the adversary as soon as you can using target focused skills, work towards getting inside of the adversaries OODA loop by your movement, ballistic effect, and acquiring his flank. Once you have turned the OODA loop in your favor, embrace your fluid situational response and shift from a reactionary position to the dominant position and eliminate the threat.

If you find yourself well behind the reactionary curve, your response will have to change even more. A conditioned response could be suicide, your best hope is a natural human response. A surprised response can be use to your advantage and you must train to be comfortable within your surprised response. Flight may override fight, because you must survive the initial contact so that you can get into the fight. Explode out of the kill zone while drawing your weapon, move to cover if near, put hits on the adversary using target focus skills, look to turn the tide, if the situation changes, flow into the next appropriate response.

Once you embrace your fluid situational response you will go places that you never thought were possible, where your mind is the weapon and the gun is just an extension of your mind, and everything flows with no conscious thought.

The inevitable question arises, "what is more important, to get the hits or to not get hit?" The fluid situational response helps answer that question. When you are ahead of the reactionary curve, it is more important to get the hits. You are in the dominate position....ELIMINATE THE THREAT! If you are even on the reactionary curve the importance are equal. Use a balance of speed (of movement) and accuracy to solve the problem. If you are behind in the reactionary curve it is more important to not get hit. Get out of the kill zone by "thinking move first." Sprint to cover if it is near or access your handgun on the sprint and put hits on your adversary. Always look to get inside of the adversaries OODA loop and progress through your fluid situational response until you are either dominating the confrontation or have put yourself in the position to terminate the confrontation.

[Skyguy]

I call this level fluid situational response. The concept is that you can incorporate your natural human response and your conditioned response and use them fluidly in the appropriate situation all along, what 7677 calls the "fight continuum" and what Gabe calls "progression of the fight."

Good post Roger!

Back in the day we called it 'instinctive' and 'stress' training.
People with combat experience would teach the trainees what to expect and tell them how they'd likely react. We taught the importance of control of the situation and how that control or non-control would affect their responses to a firefight.

As for FOF, it definitely rocks....at first.
It's great 'tactics' training. But it loses its stress-training effect as the players soon realize that there is no real threat or fear of dying and they attempt maneuvers that they probably wouldn't do in reality.

I say, take off all the protective gear. Use the BB guns against only a tank top, shorts and goggles. That might put a bit of fear/pain in the game and produce more realistic reactions.

IMO, one should constantly train in the basic skills that remain useable in very high stress encounters.
Train in the fear-of-dying physiological and mental responses that one 'will' default to in a sudden CQ gunfight....such as 'instinctively' move as they face the threat, assume a combat crouch, focus with both eyes on the threat and not the sights, extend arm/s, one-handed, tight grip and squeeze off multiples......because that's how most people will react to the fight.

Instinctive training for close point shooting draws on the predictable reactions to one's life-threat and is incredibly easy to master.
Little to no muscle memory needs to be ingrained, no special grip, no sights method needs to be practiced. The reflexes of crouch, movement, threat focus, binocular sighting, arm/s extension, one-handed, tight grip, multiples, etc are automatic.

Trainees should learn that the X stands for the 'directions' of preferred movement. They should understand the importance of the pre-emptive draw and one's reactions to positive-negative situation control.

And I think it is unconscionable and unforgivable for trainers to ignore the latest technological advantages that enhance training and the accuracy of low light and/or old eyes sighting.
.

[Sweatnbullets]

Thank you skyguy! My course covers everything that you just mentioned.

The laser is something that might be added in my night courses. But for now I just can not find a place to fit it in to a two day 1500+ round count course.

But that is ok, I'm still progressing, learning, and evolving. Plenty of time in the future to expand on what I already do. Since it is my course, it takes about one second to make changes to it.;)

[LawDog]

And I think it is unconscionable and unforgivable for trainers to ignore the latest technological advantages that enhance training and the accuracy of low light and/or old eyes sighting.

Which trainers are doing this?

LawDog

[Sweatnbullets]

Point Shooting with Sweatnbullets (aka, Roger Phillips)

I recently had the great pleasure to spend 2 days (16 hours) with Roger in Las Vegas, NV. for some excellent 11 training and wanted to pass along my impressions of it.

Some of you may know me on other forums under the same name (oregonshooter) and if you were here in 2003 you may remember me as Day5creations on this forum. I have not been around for ~4 years for personal reasons, but decided after talking to Sweatnbullets about some of the conversations he was describing in this sub forum that I would hang out in this forum only and not miss out on anymore good information.

Anyway, I'm back and just wanted to say that Roger has some good stuff going on in Nevada that people should get in on before its too late!

You probably know already that he is now a Special Instructor for Suarez International and will soon be running regular classes instead of what I got which was a completely tailored learning experience.

He said he still wants to teach this way when he can, but I'm gonna warn ya now, in a few years he will be very busy and getting 11 for a complete weekend is not going to be easy IMO so get the training while its available and inexpensive!

Perfect Host
Roger was the perfect host and went way beyond what should be expected of an instructor without a second thought.

One example would be the fact that he volunteered to pick me up at the airport when my plane was late saving me the cost of a cab to the dinner we had planned on having that night to get aquatinted.

Another was that he also picked me up and dropped me off at my hotel each day which was not mentioned in our arrangements and assumed that I would have a car or (as I planned) would pay for cab fares each day.

But the extra effort that I appreciated the most was on the second day of training when he brought twice the amount of coffee when the previous day's shortage was THE ONLY complaint I could muster up.

Filling the Gap
Roger is the first point-shooting teacher that I have trained with but the one thing that I really liked was that everything he taught me filled in spaces that my modern technique training had left gaps in and did not require that I unlearn a previous method of solving a problem.

My training until last year was all based on MT and had been developed through competitive shooting sports. From 10 yards and out, I felt I had a handle on the sight continuum from years of IPSCIDPA and went in search of filling my training gap that I saw as 3 yards and in, or what is commonly called ECQB techniques.

That range was covered very well in my recent class of the same name with SouthNarc of httpshivworks.com in Portland, OR.

SouthNarc's class covered the close in stuff but there was still a hole in the training when it came to the middle ranges of 2-7 yards or that area that is too far for hands on yet not far enough for MT applications. This area is where Roger's material really shines and where point-shooting fits nicely into the complete fighting package IMO.

Easy Style
Roger is a very detail oriented person and it shows in his postings on the internet, but I was happy to see that he is not one of those instructors that get lost on tangents while teaching.

His instructions of techniques and his explanations of why something works the way it does were so thorough that I can not remember asking for further explanation.

I remember Roger asking if I understood because I was not asking questions at one point and I reassured him that he was explaining it so well that every question I may have entertained was being answered before I proceeded to doing the technique. You can't ask for more than that (as a student or teacher) can you

More Bullets More Time
I was really impressed that Roger never ran out of material in the 2 days I was there. I mean we covered every angle and movement you can imagine in the 2-7 and sometimes out to 9 yard range, and I never felt like I was doing one rep more than was needed to own the technique.

I hesitate to even mention the round count because I fear people will not believe that you can shoot 3K rounds in 10 hours without resorting to throwing lead, but it is true in this case. The 3K was suppose to last all weekend, but went fast because each drill Roger would push me to MY limit via speed or distance or a combination of the two until we saw the limit via the groupings spreading out. I then would run another rep of the drill, taking just a little off the speed to make sure I had the right combo and could walk away from it knowing where my limitation was and having confidence in my hits at it.

Move!
The first day was spent developing a limited visual input sight picture in static positions. The second added movement and with the additional 1K of 9mm we got from Wally-World the night before, I began learning how easy it is to get combat hits with rapid movement while maintaining a 98%+ hit ratio.

I'm not sure one can appreciate the speed factor unless they do a little FoF with it, but a fraction of a second and the terminal effect that a hit can have should not be underrated when developing your shooting continuum, again IMO.

Lots More
There is a lot more that I could describe about the weekend, but I won't go into the specifics of the course or the extra curricular training (rifle) that I really appreciated getting from Roger, because this post is getting long already.

Suffice it to say that I am very happy with the new found skills and highly recommend that anyone able get out to Vegas and train with this man!!!


PS. I first considered Roger for training this year when during a heated review of DR. Middlebrooks FistFire book I made the statement that an instructor should be able to backup his teachings. Roger challenged me with something similar to the following... if after training with me you do not feel you got your moneys worth, you can pay me what you think it was worth.

He was true to form and asked me on the way back to town the second night if I needed any money back My response was no, but that I was not going to pay him what the class was worth either, meaning I got a bargain and then some!

PPS. I took one video during the class for reference. It was a right step off and to the rear movement that turned into an arc. At this point I was visualizing an opportunity to close and did so with two sighted head shots in the first run. I ran it again (went to SL this time) to see if the group would stay consistent and it did.

Don't let the video bias you, it's just one drill and this is after 14 hours of the only PS training I've ever done.

httpvideo.oregonshooter.comvegas1.mpg (10 body, 2 head)
httpvideo.oregonshooter.comvegas2.mpg (5 body, reload, 6-7 to body)


__________________


-Jim

[Sweatnbullets]

Visual Input

When it comes to vision, I see things a little differently than a lot of other people. There is the necessary visual input to make the shot (see what you need to see) and there is another aspect of vision that people tend to ignore. I believe that the subconscious mind will choose the height and the extension of the gun due to the amount of visual input that the brain will require too solve the entire problem.

The visual information the brain requires is as follows

(1) The ability to make the hit.
(2) The ability to ID the threat.
(3) The ability to have a field of vision to comprehend the entire problem.
(4) The ability to have a field of vision that facilitates movement that has purpose.
(5)The ability to have a field of vision that facilitates maneuvering through and around obstacles.
(6)The ability to recognize the changes in your position in regards to the OODA loop.
(7)The ability to eliminate visual interference or negative visual input.

In my opinion, the dynamics or the chaos of the encounter will dictate the height, the extension, the position, and whether you use one hand or two hands, in regards to your HG. This is why I feel so strongly about the ability to shoot throughout your drawstroke and from every angle and position. It is my opinion that this natural act (the subconscious mind picking the best position of the handgun so that the brain can take in the necessary visual information) is a much better idea than a conditioned act (always bring the gun to line of sight) that is not as well rounded or versatile and has many negatives connected with it.

I think that the ability to put your bullets right where you are looking is a very natural and important ability. This is not some skill that takes time to develop. I could introduce anyone, to their natural ability to do this in a day or two.......and you would own that natural ability for the rest of your life with very little need for maintenance.

I believe that natural abilities should go hand in hand with your conditioned abilities. If your conditioned abilities fail you (such as not being able to get to your line of sight) your natural abilities can take over. All your bases are covered due to being well rounded so you just keep rolling right along.......as opposed to being flat sided.

[BlueTrain]

I think something like this would be of great value to a law enforcement individual, less so to ordinary people who rarely if ever find themselves in serious trouble and up against other armed people. However, I wonder what other policemen think of officers who have attended training sessions like this, on their own time and with their own money? That question is not intended to be taken as sarcasm, just as a matter of curiosity.

I found the discussion of behavior under stress to be of great interest, especially regarding the aspect of conditioned or trained behavior versus natural behavior or reaction. That debate will no doubt continue but there are certainly examples where training, or more likely experience, is required for survival or at least continued functioning. For example, it could be said that a car with a manual transmission requires more experience than one with an automatic transmission. Yet anyone who has one soon gains enough experience to both be able to operate a different car with a manual transmission and to operate a manual transmission during a period of stressful driving like in a near collision or bad road conditions. In the same way, it should go without saying that an armed individual should be able to "manipulate" their weapon without thinking, changing empty magazines, clearing stoppages and so on. How much training and experience is a different quesiton but you get my point. But then, those are just the basics.

[Sweatnbullets]

Blue Train, I have found that their three distinct areas where point shooting skills are extremely helpful.

(1) Dynamic movement

(2) Low light

(3) For those with physical limitations

Here is something for the low speed/high drag among us. Remember, this will eventually be all of us.

Training and Physical Limitations
Dedicated To Bobby (Geezer) Weismann

As a student over the years, I have seen this question arise again and again, the very first time I saw the question posed was from my friend Bobby (Geezer) Weismann “What about us?” What about the students that may not be in perfect health. Those that may have physical limitations due to injury, illness, health issues, and something that we will all have to deal with……age. This is an extremely valid question. Is it not a fact that predators seek out those that appear weaker or that may appear to be softer targets? Since this is a known fact should there be more training opportunities open to those students? Is it not a fact that these students may be in more of a need for training than those in good health.

I believe that the answer is….Absolutely!

I believe that a good instructor should be able to work with whatever the student shows up with.....even if this is poor health and physical limitations. As someone that is paid to improve a student’s knowledge base and skill level, an instructor must tailor his teachings to the students needs. Group courses can be a bit difficult and may not produce the optimal results. But an instructor should be able to adjust drills so that the learning process is still moving forward for all of the students....no matter the skill level or the physical ability. If there are limitations in some students the instructor should devise a plan of action that would work best for those students.

As has been set down before…. situations dictate strategies, strategies dictate tactics, and tactics dictate techniques. As we see the “situation” is the defining element. A student’s physical limitation would be a key component inside of that student’s personal “situation.” A good instructor needs to realize this and make adjustments to the curriculum that will benefit these students. One of the biggest adjustments would be in the emphasis on awareness. Being able to identify the threat as early as possible would be of utmost importance for those that have physical limitations. Avoidance is always the main goal and even more so for those with physical limitations. Along with this increased awareness, there needs to be a complete understanding of the concept of “disparity of force.” Physical limitations will have a direct effect on the ability to defend one self. There needs to be an emphasis on knowing ones personal limitations and the “mental trigger” that takes these limitations into account. Their “line in the sand” on when they are willing to use deadly force to protect themselves and their loved ones needs to be very well defined. This trigger needs to be placed in a situational and logical position inside of the threat assessment. Since this mental trigger is set earlier, there needs to be an ability to articulate your actions inside of a self defense encounter that highlights your understanding of the disparity of force of the encounter.

Since this trigger needs to be set earlier for those with physical limitations, there needs to be an emphasis on acquiring the tools of self defense earlier. This relates to the “react as you need to react” portion of the fight continuum. The tools need to be tailored to the individuals needs and the method of carry needs to take the physical limitations into consideration. We all know that a gun in the hand is much better than a gun in the holster. This is even more so for those that have physical limitations. The tactic of having the gun in your hand whenever there is any possibility of danger is a very sound one. This alone can cut your response to the threat in half. The methods of carry and the tools that fit this niche are the key. Small framed guns with an adequate self defense round (.38 and higher) make this tactic not only feasible, but absolutely solid. The ability to have a small frame gun in a pocket, with the hand on the gun out in the general public is about as prepared as you can legally be. If this tactic is working hand in hand with good awareness you will be in as good a position as possible. You have now adjusted your strategy and tactic to fit into your situation….as it should be.

The shrouded J-frame revolvers are very popular. One of the biggest pluses to this weapon is that you can shoot them from inside of a jacket pocket. This option is the very fastest way to respond to a threat, short of walking around with a gun in your hand at full extension. If you are confronted by a potential adversary, you can have the gun indexed on the targeted area, and possibly with your finger on the trigger, (there are no rules in a fight for your life) all while still concealed. This option cuts out many of the physical aspects of self defense that are hampered by physical limitations that may be present. You do not have to worry as much about being slower, having poor reflexes, having a slower thought process, not having good mobility, or having poor vision. You have placed yourself in the most advantageous position as is legally possible. This “stacking of the deck” is something that absolutely needs to be considered and addressed due to the disparity of force issues that arise out of having physical limitations.

This brings up the topic of, as Anthony puts it, the roving gun. Having a primary gun with a primary position is always a very good idea. This is the gun that you go to when there is time. It will usually have a higher round capacity and be more accurate at distance. We can call it the primary gun due to these reasons, but the reality is that it may not be the gun that you go to first. The gun that you may go to first may be the small J-frame (or similar type) that is in your hand and inside your pocket. Which pocket will once again be situationally dependent. We have already discussed the jacket pocket and its benefits. This may not be a possibility for some due to weather, or even necessary due to physical limitation evaluation. Carrying with the handgun in your front pants pocket can also be excellent as a convert ready. Once again this gives you “hand on gun” potential and could possibly cut your response time in half. The “cut” of the trousers would be very important in regards to the ability to quickly draw from the front pocket. Jeans may not be your best bet, unless they are adequately “baggy” enough. Trousers with pleated pockets (such as Dockers) facilitate a very fast and sure draw. What is nice about the roving gun concept is that the gun can be placed where ever it may be needed or that makes the most sense. I also carry my J-frame in the appendix position while driving and in my rear pocket for those “give me your wallet” type confrontations. But these forms of carry are not purely dictated by physical limitations.

The small frame guns can also be palmed when the need arises. The palming may be dictated by the size of ones hands. As a person that has smallish hands, I really like the palming technique out of the “Secret Service” position. The gun is held in a firing grip and the support side hand is used to hide it. The hands appeared to just be folded together at the centerline of the belt line in. Checking of your positioning in the mirror will lead to confidence in your ability to pull off this position. For larger hands, palming with the arms hanging or slightly behind the leg can be a very successful tactic.

With the course that I offer, I am consistently asked about the “movement” portion of the course. The students are concerned with the physical demands of the course after they read my writings on the subject. I have trained young strong men, young women, and elderly men. Each of them had a unique physical ability. Each of them had a certain comfort level inside of these abilities. My job is to tailor the concept of movement to each student’s ability and comfort level. Basically everyone gets the same instruction and the same concepts, it is the application that varies from student to student. This is not just about “move as you need to move” but move as you are capable of moving. Everyone needs to know exactly what they are physically capable of and tailor their training to highlight their strengths, while mitigating their weaknesses. If you are limited in your mobility then adjustments need to be made inside on the movement continuum.

[Sweatnbullets]

From my experience the biggest problem with those with physical limitations is that they are not able to move dynamically. If those with physical limitations work to improve their awareness, set earlier mental triggers, along with using a carry method that facilitates very quick access to their weapon, they are in a much better position to not have to rely on dynamic movement off of the X. This leaves “stand and deliver” skills and “controlled movement skills.” The stand and deliver skills, inside of the fight continuum, can be extended. If trained correctly, those with physical limitations may find themselves in a lower percentage of “reactive” situations. Along with this lower percentage of reactive situations, there is also the benefit of not finding themselves as far behind in the reactionary curve. Stand and deliver skills become a much more viable defense to those that have no choice but to accept their limited mobility due to their physical limitations.

Controlled movement skills may be the most that some can hope for. In Quartata, side stepping, and “just walking” are skills that can get one off of the X, without the need for athletic ability. As Geezer has said many times, the direction of the movement may also be adjusted to fit with ones physical ability. Moving aggressively forward can possibly take on a much more predominate role. If displacement off of the line of attack is hampered, the aggressive forward drive may be enough to get inside of the adversaries OODA loop. I have witnessed Geezer perform his aggressive forward movement, and when you see it, you know that you are going to have your hands full. This tactic along with the mindset that comes along with it may be exactly what is needed to overcome the physical disparity of force.

Vision is another element that often deteriorates as we age. Alternate sighting methods may be just what is needed to be able to prevail in a life threatening encounter. As my good friend Geezer would say “focus on the threat and ruthlessly destroy it.”

[Skyguy]

Re:Training and Physical Limitations

Excellent and informative post, Roger!
Everyone should reread it, learn from it and save it.

This below is the exact setup that I strongly recommend to the oldsters, the infirm and those with poor eyesight.
All bases are covered!

http://photos.imageevent.com/leemutlee/colt/642%20laser.JPG
.

[BanginMusket]

This is a very mice post! We all have to learn to shoot properly whether we are training or we are faced in a real-life shooting situation.

__________________
Musket Cap Nipple (http://www.who-sells-it.com/cy/midwayusa-inc-1854/blackpowder-guns-accessories-7633.html) - Download the Blackpowder Guns & Accessories Catalog by MidwayUSA, Inc

[Groundhog]

For us new to this, what is OODA loop? It's not in the FAQ.

Also, the vid links in Jim's letter don't seem to work. Any way to fix?

[Sweatnbullets]

Groundhog, here is the information on the OODA Loop. It is basically Observe, Orientate, Decide, and Act.

http://www.mindsim.com/MindSim/Corporate/OODA.html

I have asked oregonshooter about the links. He assures me that they work if you have all of the latest updates on your computer. Since he is a computer guys and I am a lowly gun guy.....I am just going to have to take his word for it. I have never been able to bring the links up .....but others have.:confused:

[EJJR]

Here are the correct links:

http://www.oregonshooter.com/video/vegas1.mpg


http://www.oregonshooter.com/video/vegas2.mpg


Also, need Quicktime flash viewer to view vids; can DL the latest version here:


http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/win.html




From the write-up, so far, this seems like an excellent course. Im seriously considering moving to Nevada in the next year or so, and if still offered, will deff. keep this in mind.

Keep up the good job. :cool:

[Groundhog]

Thanks guys, links work and acronym education enhanced.

Edit - after watching, both video's look exactly the same. Were they supposed to be?

[Sweatnbullets]

Edit - after watching, both video's look exactly the same. Were they supposed to be?

We only pulled out the video recorder one time and yes, the drills were very close to being the same. At this point we are setting up our movement to work the 5:00 to 9:00 sectors. Jim was encouraged to explore every aspect of these sectors. There is a lot of encouragement to visualize the encounter and to react to this visualization. What you see is Jim transitioning from a completely reactive situation of being behind in the reactionary curve, through to an equal initiative, all the way to a dominate position where he has taken the initiative back.

Groundhog, this is where the OODA loop comes into play. At the begining of the encounter the adversary was inside of Jim's OODA loop. At the end, Jim was inside of the adversries OODA loop.....always the goal when you start out without the initiative.

[Sweatnbullets]

How to Make Hits “Below Line of Sight”

I feel that it is very important to be able to make accurate hits all the way through your draw stroke….whether that be one handed or two. For those that are just starting out, I prefer to teach two handed first because those are the skills that they usually show up to my course with. When I speak of “all the way through,” that is exactly what I mean……at every single point of the draw stroke, due to the fact that it is a continuum. This requires that we try not to freeze or label the points, but we simply have to do this if we are actually going to discuss it with the written word. Also, while these are only points in the draw stroke, they are also shooting positions….positions that are dictated by the specifics of the situation that you are dealing with.

The points that I teach in my course are as follows.

(1) Line of sight
(2) Nose level
(3) Mouth level
(4) Chin level
(5) Mid point (of the draw stroke)
(6) Compressed ready (count three)

The first four points are dictated by the necessary visual input of the situation. Whether you use one through four is dictated by how much visual input that you need on the gun and how much visual input you need in regards to the other factors of the encounter.

Points five and six are based on retention issues and/or the urgency of the shot.

Before we get into the points, we must understand the basic geometry of point shooting. There are four main factors to this basic geometry that gives us the hand/eye coordination that we are looking to establish.

(1) Focal point
(2) Visual centerline
(3) Parallel to the ground
(4) Parallel to the line of sight

The focal point is very important! This is very much like the “aim small, miss small” concept. When point shooting, your bullets will want to go to the exact spot that you are focused on. By focusing on a small spot instead of a large blob (COM) your hits will be much better and your groups will be much smaller. While teaching a course, if I see the groups start opening up, all I have to do is say “focal point” to bring the hits right back where they need to be. Very often as soon as I say “focal point” the hits will drill through the quarter size spot that the student focuses on. I have had students label it “the magic two words” it works so well and is that important. This goes right in line with motorcycle/snowboarding safety courses. In these courses, you are constantly taught to never focus on an obstacle. Instead you are taught to focus on the escape route to avoid the obstacle. If you focus on the obstacle your body/mind will drive into the obstacle. This is the exact same concept with point shooting, but in this case we want to focus on where we want our body/mind to go.

The one factor that is absolutely constant is your visual centerline. For *most* the visual centerline will be right off of your master eye. But depending on your dominance, your visual centerline may be anywhere in between you dominant eye and your nose. To find out your visual centerline try this test. I got this from Jim Gregg's book that you can find here http://jimgregg.net Get someone to help you and have them stand ten feet away and cover one of their eyes, so you can focus on the other. Take a pencil and hold it up in your fist like a big front sight at full extension. Focus on you helpers eye, with both of your eyes open. Raise the pencil up and line the pencil up with their eye.

Your helper will see exactly what your visual centerline is because the pencil will be lined up with it. Jim has found something like 49 different eye combinations. You could have a right/left master eye, which puts the visual centerline right at the pupil. You could have a right/left dominant eye which will put the visual centerline in between the right/left eye and your nose. Or you could have equal dominance with would give you a true nose indexed visual centerline.

Whenever you are point shooting or shooting with sighted fire with both eyes open you must work off of your visual centerline. This “baseline” factor gives you the horizontal alignment of the basic geometry of point shooting.

The easiest way to facilitate the vertical alignment of the basic geometry is to understand and have the ability to orientate the handgun “parallel to the ground” and “parallel to line of sight.” This understanding and ability is simply another baseline that helps you refine your hand/eye coordination.

To teach nose level threat focused shooting, I simply have the student shoot at line of sight while focused on the exact spot that they want to hit (focal point) I then have them lower the gun to the nose level and ask them to keep the gun aligned on the focal point. Now this requires a very slight bit of wrist articulation, as you lower the gun you must articulate the wrist slightly upward. How much wrist articulation is the question and this is where the all important hand/eye coordination is really nailed down. Using the basic geometry, hand/eye coordination will come very quickly. Peripheral vision verification is very important here. Seeing the handgun on your visual centerline, seeing the gun indexed on the focal point, very close to parallel to line of sight will have a very definite “look.” This peripheral vision index is a huge part of the hand/eye coordination. It is also a continuum that changes due to elevation and extension. At the beginning levels, taking mental note of your peripheral vision index helps cement you hand/eye coordination.

Once the shooter has the nose level down, we move onto mouth level and then onto chin level. The concepts are the exact same, wrist articulation due to elevation, basic geometry, and peripheral vision index. This is all a continuum that will solidify your hand/eye coordination and have you move onto the next skill set, which is shooting from mid point of the draw stroke and the compressed ready.


Shooting from partial extension is now easy as can be. All of the ground work has already been put in. All of the concepts have already been learned. Hand/eye coordination is taking over. Everything is coming together at a subconscious level. This is the point in the course where my students simply can not believe what they are really physically capable of. This is the point that they know why they wanted to take the training. I have consistently seen my students getting hand span groups from the mid point out to seven yards and from compressed ready out to five yards. This is from students that have never used threat focused skills before after only a couple of hours of instruction.

They have now covered the entire draw stroke and are ready to move onto the zipper. The fun has just begun and things will never be the same!

[Sweatnbullets]

The very easiest way to understand the need for below line of sight would be from the "contact ready." The contact ready is a position taught to me by Gabe, where you have a very likely threat, but the ID has not been made well enough to shoot yet. This would mostly be a LEO ready, but will easily show the need for below line of sight for everyone.

Give this a try.

Unload your gun and double check that it is unloaded. Stand one yard from a mirror and point in at your reflection, at line of sight. This gives you two yards from your reflection. Notice that your hands and gun block the view of the adversary’s waist band and possibly the hands. Obviously, this is very bad!

Now lower the gun while keeping it indexed on the targeted area until you can clearly see the waistband and hands of the adversary. For me this at my chin level, approximitely five inches below line of sight. By taking the gun out of your face you are able to take in the needed visual input for the encounter.

Now back this up to two yards (that makes four yards to your reflection). You will notice that the gun does not have to be lowered as much to see the waistband and hands. For me it is at mouth level, aproximately three inches below line of sight.

Now step back to three yards (six yards from your reflection.) My gun only needs to be below line of sight at my nose level, approximately one to two inches, to see the waistband or the hands.

While this is an extremely simple example, it is still a very good example of why the ability to make hits fluidly from below line of sight is a very important one. The necessary visual input of this little test is a perfect example of the necessary visual input of an encounter, whether it be static or dynamic.

The ability to make the hits from below line of sight are laid out in "the ten elements." Most important would be visual centerline, parallel to the ground, peripheral vision verification, and the confidence in knowing exactly what you are physically capable of. This will very quickly lead you to the hand/eye coordination that makes point shooting such an excellent tool. Hand/eye coordination is always the ultimate goal.

Anyone can do this and when you can, you need to be able to do it from the holster, from the low ready, and with movement.

[Sweatnbullets]

Hand/Eye Coordination, Confidence, and the Path to its Discovery and Refinement

Whatever you prefer to call it, point shooting, instinctive shooting, index shooting, reactive shooting, continuum shooting, blah, blah, blah does not matter at all. The bottom line is that it is the use or ones natural hand/eye coordination to puts hits onto a targeted area. It is the ability to make the bullets go to the exact point that your eyes are focused on, from any angle or any position. Hand/eye coordination is simply a teaming up of the mind, the body, and the eyes. The mind simply directs the body to align the gun so that the point of aim intersects the line of sight at the focal point. This is easy to understand, but not all that easy to make happen on your own.

We all know that the basics of point shooting has been broken down and taught into specific positions and stances (much like the four count draw stroke.). Now these “specifics” help facilitate in the teaching of basic point shooting and are a very important key to unlocking the door to your hand/eye coordination. But we need to understand that these are only the basics. It is my opinion, that if you were to stop here you have only glanced at 10% of this piece of the puzzle. To get the most out of point shooting you need to break away from this “basic breakdown.” Point shooting is not a stance, grip, position, or angle dependent skill set. It is a fluid, well rounded, and completely versatile concept.

But, the basics are the basics and they are a necessary part of the learning progression. When we look at the basics we, usually look at the basic geometry of the body position. We teach to square up to the target with the nose and toes pointed at it. We teach to put the gun on our centerline and to hold the gun parallel to the ground. This basic geometry is virtually “fool proof.” It is nearly impossible to not get hits when the basic body geometry is put into place.

It is my opinion, that there is another part of the basics that have been ignored by some of the old timers. I believe that this is done because most of the older books just deal with the absolute basics. Once you move outside of the basic body geometry and take the skills into fluid and dynamic FOF, you find that another very important basic piece of the puzzle comes into play. This would be the visual input of the hand/eye coordination equation. Enos and many other firearm instructors saw the importance of visual input to facilitate making the shot at varying distances, difficulty levels, and under time constraints. I firmly believe in the concept of integrating the old with the new to become the very best that you can be.

With that said, I firmly believe in the teaching of alternative indexing methods (as Randy Harris calls it.) These methods fall squarely into the “see what you need to see” concepts. By using gun focused skills such as, hard focus on the front sight, flash sight picture, front sight only, and threat focused skills such as type two focus, aligning down the slide, and metal and meat you are teaching your brain to see what it needs to see and laying a solid foundation for your hand/eye coordination and the seamless integration between hand/eye coordination shooting and sighted fire. As I have said many times, just having the knowledge of these alternative indexing methods, your brain will know which part of this information it will need to make the hits. That is what hand/eye coordination is all about.

Once we drop the gun to below line of sight, the visual input of the shot takes on a whole new meaning. We are now working with our peripheral vision outside of our cone of vision. Now once again, this is something that is completely ignored by some of the old timers, but let us face the facts. When it comes to hand/eye coordination, when your mind takes in the peripheral vision from the eyes, the mind will attempt to align the body/hand off of that information…… whether we want it to or not. That is simply the way that it works. To understand and accept this peripheral vision verification as fact is not a bad thing. It is a very good thing. This understanding and acceptance just leads to more confidence. When it comes to hand/eye coordination shooting…..confidence is the king!

As we push the movement continuum with our point shooting skills, we eliminate more and more of the basic body geometry to the point that it is almost non-existent. We can no longer rely on our centerline due to the fact that it is just too limiting to our movement options. We now have to work off our visual centerline with our hand/eye coordination. Now, any direction that we look gives us our basic geometry. Add to this our line of sight alternative indexing methods and our use of peripheral vision verification below line of sight and we have an amazingly versatile hand/eye coordination aiming system. This system is as simple as can be, works off of the subconscious mind, and also has the advantage of absolutely excelling with dynamic movement.

A few hours of conscious though and discovery will lead to a level of confidence in the subconscious minds ability, that will truly amaze most people. Once you have put in this small amount of work at the conscious level, you will never have to visit this level again. You will have a full understanding of your hand/eye coordination. You will never again have to ask yourself what you need to see to get the hits. You will just instinctively get the hits that you need within the correct context of the fight.

And things will never be the same!