Green Ops: Practical Pistols Skills/Competition Skills Clinic I
Last night I attended the Practical Pistol Skills/Competition Skills Clinic hosted by Green Ops at the NRA Range. Mike Green and his assistants (Josh, Josh, and @Kyle Reese) put together a solid four hours demonstrating the valuable link between competition and defensive skills. Mike shared his personal experience about how competition shooting had directly translated to improving his skills as a soldier in combat. There was heavy emphasis on continuing to practice all the skills learned in both live and dry fire, and Steve Anderson's Refinement and Repetition: Dry Fire Skills for Dramatic Improvement was often cited as a reference.
The meat of the class was based around the first two stages of the standard IDPA classifier, itself heavily influenced by the revered Hackathorn Standards. As the classifier tests transitions between three targets, head shots, strong hand only, weak hand only, shooting on the move, and the famous "El Presidente", there's plenty of knowledge to be gained by dissecting these strings of fire. The Green Ops team demonstrated each string, and then each student was given the opportunity to fire multiple timed runs and receive individual coaching and feedback. I left with some homework on my draw, and some insight on stance that I plan to incorporate into my next SHO/WHO practice.
Nearly ten years ago I started attending some Sunday evening 'Practice Sessions' hosted at the NRA Range by another instructor named Green. Todd's Practice Sessions would incorporate elements of his Aim Fast Hit Fast curriculum, as well as special subjects like low light. These were my first forays into attending more intensive private firearms training, and were great opportunities to get newcomers into the mix, maintain proficiency, and build new skills. Work and family commitments mean that I can't get away to as many two-day classes as I used to, but I can free up the occasional Sunday evening.
Glad to see Mike and his crew have revived this format.
