Review: “Unthinkable” - April 11 & 12, 2015 - William Aprill & Greg Ellifritz

I had the great pleasure of being able to attend the “Unthinkable” course at Elite Shooting Sports in Manassas, VA. The course is the brain-child of William Aprill and Greg Ellifritz (Detailed Bios) The two day course had six topics which covered various life changing situations.

Day 1:
The Psychology of Violent Criminals Actors
Armed Citizen Response to Terrorist Bombing Incidents
Weapon Retention and Disarming

Day 2:
Hostage Survival Techniques & Escaping Restraints
Tactical First Aid for Gunshot Wounds
Using the 5W’s of Risk to Construct an Effective Defense Paradigm

William and Greg each brought their own experiences and expertise in developing the topics, so it was very natural when they took turns instructing on the topics. As each topic was presented, the necessary knowledge and history was explained to understand the topic. From there things lead into how to identify the situation and then also the possible actions to take.

The topics presented some hard choices that really need to be thought through prior to ever finding yourself in a similar situation. The course made it extremely evident of how important it is to align your beliefs and your behavior, or else you might find yourself compromising one or the other in the moment.

Some of my personal learning highlights are: overcoming the initiative deficient in interpersonal violence, the importance of setting up a collection point for first responders to a mass causality incident, being handcuffed is not as fun unless there are endless 50 Shades of Grey jokes, chest seals are “burped” when exhaling, and the concept of Risk-Awareness.

I think this is a valuable course to take for those who are concerned with self defense and would certainly recommend it. And I’d be remiss without thanking John Murphy of FPF-Training for coordinating the excellent course and the excellent facility.