Review of Suarez Int. Defensive Pistol Skills in Chattanooga

[Guest Chuck McDaniel]

Just wanted to put in a good word for the Defensive Pistol Skills course as taught by Randy Harris. As a former teacher, I recognize instructional talent when I see it, and Randy deserves a lot of credit. The course went something like:

Day 1 - After the safety briefing, we started with a short discussion on different handgun platforms strengths/weaknesses in a fighting context, caliber selection/wounding factors (no heavy handed stuff here... just good information) and basic information on holster selection and positioning for concealment and access. Randy presented the fundamental skills of marksmanship (grip, stance, sight picture/alignment, etc.) with very good demonstrations, discussed eye dominance problems and established which dominance each student had. This was followed by the presentation of the four point draw with proper indexing and clearing of different concealment garments. Next, he discussed threat recognition and situational awareness/conflict avoidance (very good presentation and material on this). Finally, he gave a conceptual presentation of the OODA Loop and classroom demonstrations of the necessity of off-line movement when a fight is unavoidable. After a short break, we headed for the range.

At the range, we started with a one-shot, "aim small, miss small" drill from close contact ready at short distance while Randy made corrections to our grip, stance, trigger press, etc. He was very patient, especially with me and my "low-left Glock syndrome". We moved on to 2, 3, 4 and 5 consecutive shot drills, respectively, with incorporated dot drill "head shots". After he was satisfied enough with everyone's performance and we reviewed the draw from concealment, we moved on to the draw and shoot one, then draw and shoot two (with similar progression as before) while Randy checked out our draw/use of index and diagnosed problems. We continued with similar drills but began to incorporate movement to 3 o'clock. At the end of day one, Randy allowed us to individually take 25 and 50 yard shots on steel "midgets" to emphasize how good shooting on small targets at short range translates to ability to hit human torsos at distance.

Day 2 - We started with a review of what went right/wrong from the previous day while Randy answered questions and gave demonstrations to explain the "why" parts of the questions (actually did a great job of this througout the entirety of the course). Afterwards, Randy covered handgun wounding factors in greater detail. Next, he covered malfunction types/solutions and typical problems/solutions with specific platforms. We then individually drilled on all malfunction types while Randy set up the problems for us. This was followed up with a discussion/demonstration on cover and moving around cover; and, before our force-on-force primer, Randy discussed the OODA Loop in more detail, added the formal language, and discussed movement to different parts of the clock while engaging an adversary.

The Airsoft force-on-force drills were an eye opener for a few people. Even at a distance of 21 feet it was obvious that, unless you are moving off-line in a hurry, you are clearly going to get shot or stabbed. If you bobble a draw while moving laterally or to the rear, you're a goner. Randy emphasized the importance of moving to the forward angles and demonstrated this at much closer distances.

At the range, we started with short distance dot drills while presenting from the holster and follwed a similar multiple-shot drill progression as on day one. Then we started speeding things up just a bit when using sillouhette targets while shooting and moving to three o'clock, followed by move/shoot drills to nine o'clock. After Randy moved us back a bit to do the same drills with distance, some weapon malfunctions prompted a mini-lesson or two from Randy on malfunction clearance (also one-handed). We then followed up with two-handed/one-handed shootings drills and did some "wrong-handed" shooting drills to round things out. Finally, we began to incorporate an after action assessment into the drills. Again, at the end of the day, Randy allowed us to shoot some steel at 25 and 50 yards to prove that we could hit at distance.

I know that I left some things out of this review; but, to wrap it all up, I don't think that you could ask anything more from a basic, defensive skills course or from an instructor. Sorry this was so long winded, but I just wanted prospective students to have a good idea of how well Randy teaches, building interrelated skill sets as he goes. He is a "show" and "tell" teacher who deals with students in an informal but very professional manner (no drill instructor garbage). Hope everyone has the opportunity to train with him sometime. Randy, keep up the good work.

[TGO David]

Sounds good, but am I reading it correctly that the exercises consisted of shooting and moving laterally (3 o'clock and 9 o'clock) while he then showed why moving along a diagonal plane (2 o'clock, 4 o'clock, etc.) was the better choice?

[Guest Chuck McDaniel]

I'm guessing that controlled movement on the lateral plane is about the only safe way to have a group of students move and shoot at the same time on a live fire range, at least with a group of beginning shooters. The focus of this course was to develop and ingrain basic hangunning skills while introducing more advanced real-world fighting concepts. You can have more realistic training and unlimited movement with force-on-force Airsoft gun drills and some basic safety gear (hooded sweatshirts, face masks and gloves).

I would bet that the Airsoft exercise was a primer to the Suarez Int. Force On Force class and the more advanced Close Range Gunfighting courses.

[TGO David]

Gotcha. Sounds educational!

[Cruel Hand Luke]

Thanks for the kind words Chuck.

And you are exactly right about the movement issues with a basic class.Limiting the movement to 3 and 9 is just to keep it simple and get the guys (and gals) used to moving as they draw.Most basic classes allow NO movement.We just feel it is so important that we incorporate it on day 1. In the Close Range Gunfighting class we explore all the other angles of the clock.