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Thread: AAR - Paul Sharp/Sharp Defense Handgun - May 2016 IL

  1. #1
    Member Sal Picante's Avatar
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    AAR - Paul Sharp/Sharp Defense Handgun - May 2016 IL

    Intense

  2. #2
    Smoke Bomb / Ninja Vanish Chance's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Les Pepperoni View Post
    Intense
    Uninformative.
    "Sapiens dicit: 'Ignoscere divinum est, sed noli pretium plenum pro pizza sero allata solvere.'" - Michelangelo

  3. #3
    Member Sal Picante's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chance View Post
    Uninformative.


    All kidding aside - trying to get photos posted... Gimme a minute.

  4. #4
    Member Sal Picante's Avatar
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    This AAR is LONG overdue. To quote Belushi, “I ran outta gas… I had a flat tire… I didn’t have enough money for cab fare… my tux didn’t come back from the cleaners… an old friend came in from outta town… Someone stole my car… There was an earthquake… A terrible flood… Locusts… It wasn’t my fault I swear to God!”



    Moving on… I met Paul at the Super Dave class in December ’15 at Alpha Range in McHenry - he was a totally cool guy and I we hit it off right away. I heard from a few mutual friends that he was doing a class at an outdoor range in my neck of the woods, so I jumped at the chance to check it out.

    The weather could not have been more perfect: Partly cloudy and low-70’s, dry. There were about ~22 people in the class - a real mix of cops, other instructors, training junkies, and beginners like me. The class included 3 women, 2 beginners and 1 LEO/advanced shooter - just mention it because, let’s face it, most classes are total sausage-fests and seeing more women attend classes is just awesome. Most people were running striker fired pistols of various sorts, one or two tricked out Agency Arms Glocks with Trijicon optics. There was some dork with a Beretta. Holsters were a real mix of IWB, AIWB, duty gear, etc…



    The good news is that Paul’s method seemed to work for any setup; this was not a “hardware” oriented class, but rather, a “Software” class. Specifically, this class was all about the mechanics of handling recoil, the ability to work with outside forces affecting you and, finally, the ability to be able to make the “other guy feel like he swallowed a microwave”, (or, as normal boring people would say, “deliver fast accurate hits.”) It was an interesting realization that this wasn’t exactly a beginners class, i.e. participants were expected to be able to shoot a gun/work the trigger, but most of the material explored the fundamentals and the extension of fundamentals under some duress.

    Personally, I like this as I feel like there is a large gap between people starting out learning the fundamentals and thinking that there must be something that “better shooters” are doing differently. The focus on understanding fundamentals and their application is the difference…


    (When he isn't busy hitting things with his sight, he thinks the "front one" is somehow used for aiming...)

    Paul’s teaching style is embodied by the SODOTO method, common among medical practitioners. SODOTO stands for “see one, do one, teach one”. Paul would discuss a concept, demo it live fire, then use an inactive SIRT pistol to demonstrate concepts for the class from different angles. After that, he’d march tirelessly up and down the line to see each student try it out. After that, students were expected to be able to help/correct any stragglers. This was a very effective format for teaching a larger class format. (Interesting to note that Rogers’ has the very similar approach…)



    Handling Recoil:
    The course material was an extension of the D.R. Middlebrooks “Fist-Fire” system. This was my first exposure to the method and it seems very sound. Essentially, the grip/stance is treated in a layered method: Learn a solid grip, learn how to tension the arms, learn how to tension the body/legs.

    Dissecting the grip was worth the price of admission alone. The system is big on the application of a consistent grip, using the pinky to lock the “toe” of the grip and act as a first class lever to counteract the rise of the muzzle. This is pretty huge and is something that is missed in a lot of “how to grip” tutorials. Specifically, I see a lot of people talking about using the chest to apply pressure to the sides of the pistol, which still allows the gun to slip/rotate (the force isn’t in the direction of travel) or just reciting to “get the hand high under the beaver tail - bore axis”.
    The idea of gripping a pistol like a Samurai sword (I speculate, because I’ve never held Hattori Hanzo steel…) is huge.


    (Working on grip/wrist tension)

    From the grip we moved on to being able to activate the shoulder and being able to roll the elbow slightly towards the underside of the gun. Again, I see a lot of tutorials espousing locked arms and “turtle” pose where the shoulders do the brunt of the work, but that isn’t really necessary. A shoulder/arm position like what Paul demonstrated helps “diffuse” recoil and keep the gun where it needs to be without excess tension. Personally, I liken the gripping process more towards being able to maintain a “grab” with my forearms: If my arm is extended, my grip weakens, so therefore it is necessary to have a slight elbow bend/shoulder activation.

    Lastly, we covered the stance and how a “action stance” works with an activated arm/shoulder and good grip to really mitigate any recoil.

    This discussion, presentation, and drilling took up most of the first half of the day - most students were able to quickly fire a several shot group rapidly into a close ~5 yard target and keep the group in a roughly hand-sized group. Impressive work when dealing with a large group of mixed skill sets.

    After breaking for lunch we discussed disruptions to stance and how this affects stability through discussion and a series of partner-drills. This is easier to describe as: just allow your arms the flexibility to do their thing while the lower body is getting wrenched around and forced in some direction.



    Through the class, Paul shared his experience with us in unforgettable ways - Next time you see him ask about the theater shooting while taking his daughters to see Beyonce’s “DreamGirls”. I can’t do it justice - which is helluva touch. Being able to make a connection with so many people during a class is cool to see. One of the biggest things I keep thinking about is Paul’s recommendation to “Think street, practice sport, live the art”: truly good words to heed if one wants to grow in a martial endeavor.

    What are the things I liked the most?
    A class that presents the fundamentals and really takes the student through a progression is sorely lacking… Everyone wants to do high-speed shit without realizing that the basis for that is solid mastery of the fundamentals.

    What could use improvement?
    I really really really really like a general class that presents a written syllabus. I find myself constantly looking back on so many things from Rogers, Spartan, Stoeger.


    I can’t recommend this class enough… More of what you need, less of what you don’t.
    Last edited by Sal Picante; 11-09-2016 at 01:04 PM. Reason: Nudie Pics

  5. #5
    Member Paul Sharp's Avatar
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    Thanks Les!!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    "There is magic in misery. You need to constantly fail. Always bite off more than you can chew, put yourself in situations where you don't succeed then really analyze why you didn't succeed." - Dean Karnazes www.sbgillinois.com

  6. #6
    Member Sal Picante's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Sharp View Post
    Thanks Les!!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    No, sir, Thank you! Awesome stuff!

  7. #7
    Paul is a great instructor/coach. I learn a ton every time I am around him.

    Great material, and the class is just fun to take, so even better!
    For info about training or to contact me:
    Immediate Action Combatives

  8. #8
    Site Supporter Clobbersaurus's Avatar
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    Greta AAR Les, thanks for posting.
    "Next time somebody says USPSA or IPSC is all hosing, junk punch them." - Les Pepperoni
    --

  9. #9
    I really want to take a class with Paul.

    I really wish Illinois didn't hate me for not living in Illinois.

  10. #10
    Member Sal Picante's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OnionsAndDragons View Post
    I really want to take a class with Paul.

    I really wish Illinois didn't hate me for not living in Illinois.
    You know... You can bring your gear to Illinois and take classes. Hell, you can purchase ammunition with your IN DL... (Though, I'd recommend not buying ammo in Cook Co. - $0.05 tax per bullet on centerfire and $0.01 on rimfire)

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