TCinVA
03-03-2011, 09:58 AM
A little-read AAR I wrote some time ago about a superb handgun class with Ken Hackathorn:
I was excited to see this class announced because I had been trying to find my way into a Hackathorn handgun class for years. To have the opportunity to take an “advanced” class with Ken was a rare opportunity and I jumped on it as quickly as humanly possible. I had exceptionally high expectations for the class.
I was not disappointed.
TD1
Day 1 began with a lecture from Ken on the realities of using a handgun for its intended purpose…namely serious social interaction with people who want to hurt you. The information in his lecture was based on decades of experience with that subject area and countless hours of research and analysis of real life incidents to find lessons that can be learned. The main points are highlighted on the target seen here. I’ll briefly flesh out the outline presented in the picture:
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Kens_Law.jpg
I. Most gunfights happen at ranges of 10 yards or less, with a heavy emphasis on the “less” part of that statement.
II.Most fights involve between 1 and 3 bad guys.
III. There are two types of incidents traditionally classified as a “fight”:
A.Shootings – a situation where generally only one person fires shots. Generally this involves one party producing a weapon and shooting on average between one to three shots. These incidents are more common than gunfights and generally carry a higher risk of legal liability than true gunfights.
B.Gunfights – a situation where gunfire is being exchanged between at least two actors in the fight. These situations generally see the involved individuals shooting their weapons until they are empty. These incidents are much more rare and generally carry a lower risk of legal liability as the incoming gunfire makes it pretty clear that the outgoing gunfire was the only reasonable alternative left to the good guy.
IV. When bullets start flying, people start moving.
V. The vast majority of shootings and gunfights happen in conditions of low light. Note that “low light” can be at night at the ATM or inside a parking garage at noon. Bad guys tend to use the cover of darkness to prey upon others.
VI. If you watch video of actual shootings you will see that often even relatively well trained shooters fire their weapons one handed under stress.
Given that these are the realities of how fights work, it is Ken’s belief that training should be structured to reflect these conditions. Much of what is considered “training” out there does not live up to these standards.
Ken spent the first chunk of TD1 working on the basics. It wasn’t necessarily to teach us the basics as everyone in the class already had the benefit of a solid foundation in the basics…it was more of an instructor development segment showing us how to teach the fundamentals to others. Ken showed us several tips and tricks to communicate important fundamentals like trigger manipulation, sight management, grip technique, and other basic manipulations. Ken ran us through several drills giving standards we could use to assess both our skill level and the skill of any students we might teach. I won’t describe the drills in detail as I’m sure others will do that for us. Ken mentioned that when he goes to various places to train he is often told “My guys are good!” The drills and standards he showed us helps to quantify what “good” really is so people have a good read on where they really are.
We were given heavy doses of shooting on the move in this course, which is a reflection of his earlier lecture points. Ken outlined the importance of being able to shoot while moving in *any* direction. Some out there are convinced that if they aren’t part of a SWAT team or a Tier 1 military unit that they will have no need to ever shoot while moving forward toward a threat. This is, of course, utterly silly. The box drill and the figure 8 drill (different than the figure 8 wobble drill) are excellent for teaching and practicing shooting on the move. The drills can be changed up to get people used to moving in all directions.
After returning from dinner we did some low light work focusing on using the light in a tactically sound manner so as to avoid being prolifically perforated by some bad guy out there in the dark. Ken even took us through the shoothouse in the dark to give us some opportunity to apply the lessons on light use taught earlier in the evening. Yet again my previously lamented training scar of charging targets manifested itself in the Fort Harmon shoothouse.
The weather was wet and rather cold and the hours were fairly long…but it was a most enjoyable day despite all of that.
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Ken.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Ken1.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Todd.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Ken_Wobble.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Ken4.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Line_Shooting.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Box_Drill1.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Ken_offline4.jpg
I was excited to see this class announced because I had been trying to find my way into a Hackathorn handgun class for years. To have the opportunity to take an “advanced” class with Ken was a rare opportunity and I jumped on it as quickly as humanly possible. I had exceptionally high expectations for the class.
I was not disappointed.
TD1
Day 1 began with a lecture from Ken on the realities of using a handgun for its intended purpose…namely serious social interaction with people who want to hurt you. The information in his lecture was based on decades of experience with that subject area and countless hours of research and analysis of real life incidents to find lessons that can be learned. The main points are highlighted on the target seen here. I’ll briefly flesh out the outline presented in the picture:
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Kens_Law.jpg
I. Most gunfights happen at ranges of 10 yards or less, with a heavy emphasis on the “less” part of that statement.
II.Most fights involve between 1 and 3 bad guys.
III. There are two types of incidents traditionally classified as a “fight”:
A.Shootings – a situation where generally only one person fires shots. Generally this involves one party producing a weapon and shooting on average between one to three shots. These incidents are more common than gunfights and generally carry a higher risk of legal liability than true gunfights.
B.Gunfights – a situation where gunfire is being exchanged between at least two actors in the fight. These situations generally see the involved individuals shooting their weapons until they are empty. These incidents are much more rare and generally carry a lower risk of legal liability as the incoming gunfire makes it pretty clear that the outgoing gunfire was the only reasonable alternative left to the good guy.
IV. When bullets start flying, people start moving.
V. The vast majority of shootings and gunfights happen in conditions of low light. Note that “low light” can be at night at the ATM or inside a parking garage at noon. Bad guys tend to use the cover of darkness to prey upon others.
VI. If you watch video of actual shootings you will see that often even relatively well trained shooters fire their weapons one handed under stress.
Given that these are the realities of how fights work, it is Ken’s belief that training should be structured to reflect these conditions. Much of what is considered “training” out there does not live up to these standards.
Ken spent the first chunk of TD1 working on the basics. It wasn’t necessarily to teach us the basics as everyone in the class already had the benefit of a solid foundation in the basics…it was more of an instructor development segment showing us how to teach the fundamentals to others. Ken showed us several tips and tricks to communicate important fundamentals like trigger manipulation, sight management, grip technique, and other basic manipulations. Ken ran us through several drills giving standards we could use to assess both our skill level and the skill of any students we might teach. I won’t describe the drills in detail as I’m sure others will do that for us. Ken mentioned that when he goes to various places to train he is often told “My guys are good!” The drills and standards he showed us helps to quantify what “good” really is so people have a good read on where they really are.
We were given heavy doses of shooting on the move in this course, which is a reflection of his earlier lecture points. Ken outlined the importance of being able to shoot while moving in *any* direction. Some out there are convinced that if they aren’t part of a SWAT team or a Tier 1 military unit that they will have no need to ever shoot while moving forward toward a threat. This is, of course, utterly silly. The box drill and the figure 8 drill (different than the figure 8 wobble drill) are excellent for teaching and practicing shooting on the move. The drills can be changed up to get people used to moving in all directions.
After returning from dinner we did some low light work focusing on using the light in a tactically sound manner so as to avoid being prolifically perforated by some bad guy out there in the dark. Ken even took us through the shoothouse in the dark to give us some opportunity to apply the lessons on light use taught earlier in the evening. Yet again my previously lamented training scar of charging targets manifested itself in the Fort Harmon shoothouse.
The weather was wet and rather cold and the hours were fairly long…but it was a most enjoyable day despite all of that.
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Ken.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Ken1.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Todd.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Ken_Wobble.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Ken4.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Line_Shooting.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Box_Drill1.jpg
http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/M4C/Hackathorn_Pistol09/Ken_offline4.jpg