markdl000
06-16-2011, 02:29 PM
TL;DR : Train with Paul, he's like a shooting engineer.
Who: Taught by Paul Gomez. Hosted by Shane G. of the Americus PD.
When:6/11-12/2011
Where: A blast furnace in the woods of Americus
Gear:
-G19 with grip force adapter, Heinie straight 8 sights
-about 600 rounds of ammo, tula
-Ran Ludus Magnus' MMA holster appendix the first day, then switched to the leather arsenal Gomez mod. of the DDC to make the manipulations harder on day 2.
-Used the Kolbeson canted mag plus TDI sheath. It proved a good place to rack the slide for one handed work, and a fast reload. I like it more and more as I use it.
I have started measuring the worth of classes by how much of a dunce I feel like as I take it. If my ego is bruised, I know it was worthwhile. This class passed that test. It didn't contain the sexy drills that makes gun-camps so appealing to weekend warriors. It was a compilation of all the gun-handling skills that Paul noticed were either completely missing or poorly taught in other circles. This class was a large missing piece for me.
EVERY SINGLE thing he teaches has been thought through and plugs in very tightly to the overall 'fight' game. You can take a class with Paul, then go train with SouthNarc, and then Claude Werner and the general mechanics are congruent.
We started with intros, medical brief, the gun-handling rules, Ayoob's Priorities (Mindset,Tactics,Skill,Equipment), and diagnostics.
Then came the minutia that I hoped would be involved. It didn't let up for the next 14 hours of class time.
The 'shooting platform' is that of any athletic endeavor. Nose over Toes, ready to fight/move/sprint/jump/etc. I often times end up getting a weight back/ straight back posture when I get tired. Paul pointed that out to me a few times, I'm becoming more conscious of it as I continue to train. If I take my muay thai stance, I shoot MUCH better.
Grip was taught with detail. I felt I was mitigating recoil pretty well, and able to watch my sights lift and return after each shot. I've had an ongoing issue with the slide not locking on the last shot of the mag. I had about 60% of my last shots lock the slide, 40% didn't. My thumb is still resting on the slide release enough that it's causing that inconsistency. I'm going to continue racking the slide to release it. I don't see a choice, and I feel my grip is correct. The only grip improvement thing I could improve is cam my left hand forward a little more.
A great point Paul made about manipulations and time to complete them: If someone says something is "faster", one should average HUNDREDS of reps of that motion, while doing all sorts of things like running, squatting, sitting in a car, getting bashed on the ground, and so forth. As well as the probability of it being successful (robustness). For instance, running the slide on a reload. Yes on the clock it's faster to hit the button when just that motion is isolated, but when you include the severity of an empty chamber... You get the idea. Being honest in what you're trying to do is important. I've been bogged down in all of this for the last few months, trying to balance speed of manipulations with probability of success. I'm still mulling it all over.
The drawstroke was taught as a 4 count.
1)the full firing grip on the gun in the holster
2)a tight, well indexed retention position
3)gun under dominant eye, referenced at the edge of the visual field, where both hands come together, if needed.
4)the gun, at appropriate extension, based on proximity of threat
Reloads were interesting to me. Paul didn't teach an 'emergency reload' when the gun runs dry. Instead we worked the 'reload with retention'. This applied to partial mags being taken out as well as fully empty ones. The mag is released into the WeakH and stowed in the belt at centerline. The hand swipes back for the spare mag, where it reloads as standard practice. The logic of not doing the 'speed reload' where the partial is jettisoned onto the deck, where you can then cover the downed threat and retrieve it is that you probably should be about 30 yards from where you started shooting at this point, and the mag simply isn't at your feet anymore. Forming the technique around a firing line atmosphere can be rife with problems (Newhall incident, empty brass in pockets of dead agents). The stowing of the magazine gives you maximum bullets if you should need them, and having the mag secured in the beltline does away with any fumbling that can happen if you're trying a tactical reload at full sprint, where you're just as likely to end up dropping both the partial and fresh mag.
Reloading one handed included running the gun dry, since shit is bad enough for you at this point, jettisoning the empty, and reloading it. This was the only disconnect (as I saw it) in the reloading progression. The 2 handed empty is stowed, the one handed empties are dropped. The principle reasons given for stowing the empty was that during Katrina, the mags were lost in the waters and left behind in running gun fights, and cops were coming back with no mags and empty guns. Apparently Canada sent down a conex box full of g22 mags to try to keep everyone armed. I haven't fully accepted this is a huge risk for me, but the point was taken.
The 'ready gun' position is the 'muzzle elevated/averted 3' where you look past the front sight with the rear sight dropped a few inches. It is a way to keep the muzzle off of something that you're not SURE if you have to shoot or not. It's a great scanning and cover position, you can press out very quickly from here, and you don't have the same chance of someone getting between you and the gun if you get broadsided like you could with a 'low ready'. A consideration garnered from lots of FoF, I'd wager. Paul doesn't teach it as part of the drawstroke, but something to fall back into from the regular drawstroke as situation dictates.
Also, Paul made a very good point that the 'muzzle up' is not a ready position, as it is taught by some, but is good for rapid movement or scanning. You have to break your grip and the gun leaves it's usual presentation path, which you have thousands of reps moving through.
We had a discussion on trigger manipulation. The recurring theme was the 'press out'. The goal being to begin to take the slack out of the trigger as soon as the gun was visually referenced and on it's way to the target, and for the shot to break just as the gun reaches pull extension. It makes for smoking fast first shots (see Todd Green's FAST videos).
The drawstroke was always performed one handed. There was no assistance from the off hand to help rip the shirt out of the way. This is a crucially important lesson that I learned from ECQC. Take BOTH hands out of the fight, and it probably won't end well for you. We then did one handed draws, with either hand.
We worked immediate action drills with both hands, and then with one hand. Likewise with remedial action. A few methods were taught to clear a type 3 one handed. Let me just say, I'll be further modifying the frame of my gun for one handed work.
We did positional shooting. Supine as well as seated, where you have to contort your shooting platform because you can't square to the target. The draw stroke is the draw stroke.
We ended the day with Paul's 'Task Oriented Qual Course' which is a set of 12 drills that have par times (some of them very hard) which allow you to get an idea of how bad you are at that manipulation, and a benchmark to work off of to track progress.
Again, this class is well worth attending and Paul is a truly a great instructor. My classmates were a great group and fun to train with. Thanks to Shane for hosting.
Who: Taught by Paul Gomez. Hosted by Shane G. of the Americus PD.
When:6/11-12/2011
Where: A blast furnace in the woods of Americus
Gear:
-G19 with grip force adapter, Heinie straight 8 sights
-about 600 rounds of ammo, tula
-Ran Ludus Magnus' MMA holster appendix the first day, then switched to the leather arsenal Gomez mod. of the DDC to make the manipulations harder on day 2.
-Used the Kolbeson canted mag plus TDI sheath. It proved a good place to rack the slide for one handed work, and a fast reload. I like it more and more as I use it.
I have started measuring the worth of classes by how much of a dunce I feel like as I take it. If my ego is bruised, I know it was worthwhile. This class passed that test. It didn't contain the sexy drills that makes gun-camps so appealing to weekend warriors. It was a compilation of all the gun-handling skills that Paul noticed were either completely missing or poorly taught in other circles. This class was a large missing piece for me.
EVERY SINGLE thing he teaches has been thought through and plugs in very tightly to the overall 'fight' game. You can take a class with Paul, then go train with SouthNarc, and then Claude Werner and the general mechanics are congruent.
We started with intros, medical brief, the gun-handling rules, Ayoob's Priorities (Mindset,Tactics,Skill,Equipment), and diagnostics.
Then came the minutia that I hoped would be involved. It didn't let up for the next 14 hours of class time.
The 'shooting platform' is that of any athletic endeavor. Nose over Toes, ready to fight/move/sprint/jump/etc. I often times end up getting a weight back/ straight back posture when I get tired. Paul pointed that out to me a few times, I'm becoming more conscious of it as I continue to train. If I take my muay thai stance, I shoot MUCH better.
Grip was taught with detail. I felt I was mitigating recoil pretty well, and able to watch my sights lift and return after each shot. I've had an ongoing issue with the slide not locking on the last shot of the mag. I had about 60% of my last shots lock the slide, 40% didn't. My thumb is still resting on the slide release enough that it's causing that inconsistency. I'm going to continue racking the slide to release it. I don't see a choice, and I feel my grip is correct. The only grip improvement thing I could improve is cam my left hand forward a little more.
A great point Paul made about manipulations and time to complete them: If someone says something is "faster", one should average HUNDREDS of reps of that motion, while doing all sorts of things like running, squatting, sitting in a car, getting bashed on the ground, and so forth. As well as the probability of it being successful (robustness). For instance, running the slide on a reload. Yes on the clock it's faster to hit the button when just that motion is isolated, but when you include the severity of an empty chamber... You get the idea. Being honest in what you're trying to do is important. I've been bogged down in all of this for the last few months, trying to balance speed of manipulations with probability of success. I'm still mulling it all over.
The drawstroke was taught as a 4 count.
1)the full firing grip on the gun in the holster
2)a tight, well indexed retention position
3)gun under dominant eye, referenced at the edge of the visual field, where both hands come together, if needed.
4)the gun, at appropriate extension, based on proximity of threat
Reloads were interesting to me. Paul didn't teach an 'emergency reload' when the gun runs dry. Instead we worked the 'reload with retention'. This applied to partial mags being taken out as well as fully empty ones. The mag is released into the WeakH and stowed in the belt at centerline. The hand swipes back for the spare mag, where it reloads as standard practice. The logic of not doing the 'speed reload' where the partial is jettisoned onto the deck, where you can then cover the downed threat and retrieve it is that you probably should be about 30 yards from where you started shooting at this point, and the mag simply isn't at your feet anymore. Forming the technique around a firing line atmosphere can be rife with problems (Newhall incident, empty brass in pockets of dead agents). The stowing of the magazine gives you maximum bullets if you should need them, and having the mag secured in the beltline does away with any fumbling that can happen if you're trying a tactical reload at full sprint, where you're just as likely to end up dropping both the partial and fresh mag.
Reloading one handed included running the gun dry, since shit is bad enough for you at this point, jettisoning the empty, and reloading it. This was the only disconnect (as I saw it) in the reloading progression. The 2 handed empty is stowed, the one handed empties are dropped. The principle reasons given for stowing the empty was that during Katrina, the mags were lost in the waters and left behind in running gun fights, and cops were coming back with no mags and empty guns. Apparently Canada sent down a conex box full of g22 mags to try to keep everyone armed. I haven't fully accepted this is a huge risk for me, but the point was taken.
The 'ready gun' position is the 'muzzle elevated/averted 3' where you look past the front sight with the rear sight dropped a few inches. It is a way to keep the muzzle off of something that you're not SURE if you have to shoot or not. It's a great scanning and cover position, you can press out very quickly from here, and you don't have the same chance of someone getting between you and the gun if you get broadsided like you could with a 'low ready'. A consideration garnered from lots of FoF, I'd wager. Paul doesn't teach it as part of the drawstroke, but something to fall back into from the regular drawstroke as situation dictates.
Also, Paul made a very good point that the 'muzzle up' is not a ready position, as it is taught by some, but is good for rapid movement or scanning. You have to break your grip and the gun leaves it's usual presentation path, which you have thousands of reps moving through.
We had a discussion on trigger manipulation. The recurring theme was the 'press out'. The goal being to begin to take the slack out of the trigger as soon as the gun was visually referenced and on it's way to the target, and for the shot to break just as the gun reaches pull extension. It makes for smoking fast first shots (see Todd Green's FAST videos).
The drawstroke was always performed one handed. There was no assistance from the off hand to help rip the shirt out of the way. This is a crucially important lesson that I learned from ECQC. Take BOTH hands out of the fight, and it probably won't end well for you. We then did one handed draws, with either hand.
We worked immediate action drills with both hands, and then with one hand. Likewise with remedial action. A few methods were taught to clear a type 3 one handed. Let me just say, I'll be further modifying the frame of my gun for one handed work.
We did positional shooting. Supine as well as seated, where you have to contort your shooting platform because you can't square to the target. The draw stroke is the draw stroke.
We ended the day with Paul's 'Task Oriented Qual Course' which is a set of 12 drills that have par times (some of them very hard) which allow you to get an idea of how bad you are at that manipulation, and a benchmark to work off of to track progress.
Again, this class is well worth attending and Paul is a truly a great instructor. My classmates were a great group and fun to train with. Thanks to Shane for hosting.