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View Full Version : Kyle Defoor 2-Day Advanced Handgun October 20-21 (2012), Frostproof, FL



Attila
11-27-2012, 03:28 AM
Uh, it's a little late but I got distracted. :( Hopefully this will help advise someone who's looking for info on Kyle's classes.

First, big thank you to Kyle for teaching me. I liked learning from Kyle because he is a software guy - it's the the skill that makes the shooter, not the hardware. He's running everything from concealment with an old Glock, a small knife and flashlight, instead of a multi-thousand dollar custom pistol and looking like a gear commercial. He is a really approachable and patient instructor, and I'll take another class from him. If I get stuff out of order here or conflate days, please forgive me. This is more a sampling of class topics and my take-away.

Day 1:

Shooting pistol from standing, kneeling and prone.
What do you aim at when you are shooting?
Reactionary gap, or why you don't let people get near you.
Shooting from the draw and relevant manipulations, which led to working with strong hand only and other strong hand. This part was huge. Kyle emphasizes strong hand manipulations so your other hand is free to do whatever it needs to be doing. His flashlight technique relies heavily on this. He didn't discuss the term "other strong hand" much but the point was that your non-dominant hand is useful for more than just supporting the dominant hand. Kyle is also a proponent of combatives so the knife gets some love too.
Shooting on the move, lateral movement and reloading while you move.
Cover and how to work a barricade.
Finally, we did in low light and darkness everything we did in daylight. Kyle's flashlight technique is simple and it works.



Day 2:

Shooting faster - it's more than just pulling the trigger faster. Another huge "whoa..." moment, and it works.
How to hold a gun safely while running and still have it ready to use. This is where it started to get really challenging. It led directly into a series of drills or exercises where we assembled into teams and covered the advance and retreat of the others in the team while working barricades.
The mindset brief - almost every AAR of a Kyle Defoor class I have seen mentions the mindset brief. I will not go into detail here, because it is worth hearing from him.
Kyle introduced us to a drill specifically designed to maximize useful practice and we ran it (I think) right after the mindset brief.


Day 2 was shorter than Day 1 because of the low-light work on the first day. I still managed to burn the entire case of ammo I brought and dumped a mag's worth of Gold Dot as well. Kevin @ Streamlight, if you're reading this, thanks for spotting me ammo at the end of day 2. I owe you! The LE guys in the class were awesome too. They (in addition to Kyle) advocated competition and using competition timers to push yourself to improve.

My observations/take-away:

Striker fired and kydex holsters are the way to go. I shot a Sig from concealment with a leather holster. Any shortcomings or failures are my own, but the plastic guns without hammers are simple, consistent and fast, and kydex doesn't drag the way leather does.
A good fixed blade knife is on my short list.
I need to get involved in competition.
I did have a goofy grin on my face Monday back at work. It was not an easy course but it was good and I enjoyed it a lot.

Cheap Shot
11-27-2012, 11:48 AM
Thanks for posting! Great AAR and very helpful