Tactical Conference 2009 AAR

[HoustonGrey]

On April 24-26, I attended the Rangemaster annual Tactical Conference at the United States Shooting Academy in Tulsa, OK. USSA has one of the largest and most modern shooting range complexes in the country, and it was a great venue for the event. About 150 defensive arts practitioners from all over the United States attended this year. 18 well known trainers conducted instructional blocks at various locations throughout the complex. I have listed all the classes to give you an idea of the variety and quality of instruction that was offered. I will give you my review of the classes I attended below.

Massad Ayoob, “Shooting Incidents, Managing the Aftermathâ€

John Farnam, “Urban Rifle, the AR and its Alternativesâ€

Rob Pincus and Paul White, “Combat Focus Shooting†(live fire)

T.J. Pilling, “Defensive Shotgun†(live fire)

Glenn Meyer, PhD, “Modern Psychology and Firearms Usageâ€

John Hearne, “The Newhall Massacre and its Training Implicationsâ€

Steve Moses, “The AK-47 as a Pick-Up Weaponâ€, (live fire)

Southnarc, “Managing Unknown Contacts†(hands on)

William Aprill, “Violent Actors, Violent Acts, an Overviewâ€

Marty Hayes, JD, “Reducing Firearms Instructor Liabilityâ€

Karl Rehn, “Force on Force Scenarios with Airsoft Munitions†(live)

Mike Brown, “Weapon Access in a Clinchâ€, (hands on)

Skip Gochenour, “Criminal Psychologyâ€

Paul Gomez, “On Scene First-Aid for Traumatic Injuriesâ€

Hany Mahmoud, “Islamic Terror Groupsâ€

Will Andrews, “Shooting on the Move†(live fire)

Mike Seeklander, “Wounded/Disabled Shooter Drillsâ€, (live fire).

There was also a tactical shooting match. The match consisted of a very realistic problem in the Shoot-House, with reactive, 3D mannequin targets, bystanders, movement through a structure, distraction devices (loud explosions) and other stressors. The outdoor stages included Standard Exercises, a classic Dozier Drill, and a stage in which the shooter had to rescue a toddler. The child rescue stage involved rapid movement, carrying a heavy three-year old (a dummy), engaging targets en route to cover, and engaging threats from cover without hitting bystander targets in the line of fire. I did not participate in the match this year because the classes I wanted to attend interfered with my squad times.

Did I mention that the cost was $149.00! This has to be one the best if not the best values in firearms training I have ever seen. The facility was outstanding and Tom Givens really took care of the participants. He must have given away 50 or more door prizes during the awards ceremony. I won a range bag that was probably valued at half the cost of my admission.

Classes I attended:

Southnarc, “Managing Unknown Contacts†(hands on)

Southnarc is an undercover narcotics agent from the gulfcoast area. You can find more info about him on shivworks.com and other places online. I believe this class should be required training for all CCW holders. This two hour session really gave me new skills in managing an unknown contact. I have an office in downtown Nashville and I am constantly approached by someone asking for money, a smoke, etc... I quickly realized that I have handled these situations completely wrong. This has completely changed how I view someone approaching me and how I handle these situations now.

Without going into too much detail topics covered were - Distance, Positioning, "Letting the Tape Run", Visual cues to an imminent attack. After the instruction time we spent considerable time role playing to develop the skills that were taught. Outstanding class...

Mike Brown, “Weapon Access in a Clinchâ€, (hands on)

This class was designed to be a natural follow up to "Managing Unknown Contacts" What happens if the encounter was not avoided? What happens if their multiple opponents?

First a footnote - I have trained in JKD concepts most of my adult life. I trained MMA back in the early nineties when the Gracies were first making splash with UFC. I have had 4 amateur MMA matches back in the day. I tell you this so you know that I feel I have a solid martial arts background. Even though this is true I received some very key learnings from this class that were worth the travel expense and admission price to the conference.

This two hour session is physically demanding. We spent the first hour working one-on-one on what I call pummeling or standing grappling skills. We traded partners for application after each skill was demonstrated. We would work willingly at first and then added some resistance for our partner. Some guys had the testosterone flowing and each session turned into a mini-match for superiority. Mike had to tell several to tone it down from time to time. These skills were not new to me but I was paired with two officers that had extensive training that were able to help me really work hard during these drills. We then spent some time on multiple opponents and how to use the clinch and positioning to our advantage. In the last half hour Mike Brown had Tulsa police officers suit up in full padding. They were something like the suits that Tony Blauer sells. Mike told the class that now we were going to go full out on a two against one scenario. We started the class with 12 people and by the time the officers were all suited up 9 of the participants had an appointment or another class to get too. That left 3 of us to work the drill. Funny how some people want to get the theory so they feel good but never really test their skill...

I was placed with my back to a berm with both opponents at arms length facing me on a 45 degree angle. When the signal was given I thought I was really being confronted by a couple of gang members. These guys played their part very well. The idea was to use your new skills to help you reach an advantageous position to pull your weapon. You could use a training knife or pistol. I did not know this going in so I did not have a training knife but I had brought a red gun so that is what I used for the drill. The first run went pretty well for me and I was able to draw and shoot both assailants. I was also coached on a better way to use the retention technique while in close quarters. Since there was only three of us we had plenty of time so I asked if I could do another run.

This is the run that really gave me new insights. This time I was more aggressive and immediately elbowed the first assailant, drew my firearm and used the new retention technique I had just been shown. The first assailant was down quickly but I was hit from the side by the second assailant and the firearm quickly became a liability. Now were fighting for control of the firearm and the damn thing went flying to the ground. I was so focused on that pistol that it completely changed how I normally handle a physical confrontation. We both scrambled and grappled for the weapon and the officer reached it and tossed it to the first officer. Luckily he felt that I had truly taken him out of commission and did not pick up the weapon. If not, I surely would have been dead. During the scramble I was mounted but reversed the position and ended up in the officers guard. Unfortunately I was completely gassed... I couldn't finish him and we finally stopped the drill.

Key Insights:

1. I am not in shape. After an hour and a half of grappling I could not make it through a 2 or 3 minute confrontation without being completely out of air. It doesn't matter what you know or what skills you have at that point. I need to get in better shape again.

2. I believe the pistol was a liability at this close range. My focus was on the weapon and not on taking out my opponent.

3. I would have been better served with a knife. That being the case the folder I usually carry would not have been the ideal weapon. The odds of me pulling and deploying a folder while grappling with two individuals is not something I would bet my life on. I have had extensive blade training but it has always been with a fixed blade training knife facing one opponent with a knife. This is not even close to the experience that I had during this drill. My training needs to change from a mano a mano thought process to a more realistic scenario based process. Criminals just want to get paid. They are not looking to have a face off with you as we so often train in the dojo.

4. I believe the ideal weapon in this case would have been a small fixed blade carried appendix style on my belt in a kydex sheath. This way I could have accessed it with either hand depending on how I found space. It would be much simpler to deploy compared to a folder. The knife could have been used very effectively in close quarters. I would have pulled it initially and moved to the pistol if I could have made considerable distance.

Great class... The instructors were outstanding.

Massad Ayoob, “Shooting Incidents, Managing the Aftermathâ€

Mas made two hours go by so fast. The class was interactive, entertaining and educational. His experience with court cases has really taught him the do's and dont's after a shooting. I think this class should be also be required for anyone wanting to carry a handgun in public.

I also caught a couple of classes at a distance while moving to different venues. It looked like the two classes that Rob Pincus and Mike Seeklander did would have been outstanding to attend.

Yes- I actually did not fire one round of ammo at this conference. Although there was plenty of opportunity to do that... I do not feel like I missed anything by not shooting at a class or during the match. I have spent much of my time training on the actual act of shooting somebody in a defensive situation. I would guess most of us do that and go to classes that focus on that. This weekend gave me an opportunity to explore issues before or after an incident that were priceless for me.

I would highly recommend this conference. I will be attending again next year.

Mick Houston

[deerslayer]

I was all set to go to the Tac Conference this year until I found out it was in OK. Hopefully it will be back in Mphs next year.

[Cruel Hand Luke]

Thanks for finally posting that. That was a well written review.This event (along with the National Tactical Invitational) is the premier training event in the US. Unfortunately I had to miss it this year, but plan to make it next year. One comment you made about not shooting a single round, but learning a lot about other areas was spot on.This is something that anyone SERIOUS about their complete personal defense package would be wise to consider. Shooting is not the only skill we need to master. We need to work the other skills too, not just trigger finger and we need to engage in interactive training, not just all square range cardboard target marksmanship training...most people spend 95% of their time working on the LAST 5% of the solution. Good on ya for getting some excellent integrated multi dimensional training at a very low price.

Edited July 20, 2009 by Cruel Hand Luke