I took ECQC here in Colorado this weekend, and obviously it was awesome, but I'm resisting the urge to write another glowing puff piece about it. So I'll necropost instead.
As SLG says in the OP here, I went in expecting a lot, and got more than I bargained for. Craig was easily the best teacher I've ever trained with. He worked us students like he was programming a VCR - on everything from managing the firing line to getting those AHA! moments, to whipping us into attention at hour 22 under a hot sun.
I won't rehash the content in any detail. In my mind, I have a crude organization of the skills involved:
1. Fitness - you can muscle through a lot of fighting situations with some strength and conditioning. As I get older, I find I can't just get off the couch and successfully suffer through a weekend like this. I need to maintain a minimum baseline of fitness even during times when I'm not "working out."
2. BJJ - I learned real quick that all those hours spent watching Samurai Sunday did not, after all, imbue me with any martial ability. So I'll join a BJJ gym and spend 6 months or a year getting some kind of minimum baseline there, as well.
3. Shooting - I am reasonably comfortable with a pistol, but I have a lot of work to do on safe and effective manipulations at very close range.
4. ToastMasters - Sometimes, words really can solve the problem. And given how much even the best fighters got shot and stabbed last weekend, my incompetent ass would do well to avoid going mano-a-mano with anyone remotely dangerous. MUC, SA, quick feet and a quick wit can go a long way - I'm pretty proud that my 3-on-1 evo was the only one in this class that didn't end up in some kind of scuffle. So I'll see what kind of ToastMaster events there are around here and maybe show up to a couple. That was Craig's recommendation for working those verbal skills.
I got slayed pretty easily on all fronts, so I have plenty of work to do. I look forward to getting after that stuff, and to learning from Craig again.