BLUFF: absolutely excellent.
Quality of instruction: excellent. I litterally poached a few more “craigisms" and put them into practice the next day during my own teaching, as I have after each Douglas course. I’ve made no secret of my respect for Craig’s teaching here before, and EWO did nothing to change my feelings. Plus, the dude moves like he was born with a knife in his hand. Name the handfull of dedicated knife guys who’ve been on the cover of more than one magazine, and I’ve probably done a clinic with half the ones that are still alive (except Vu... maybe a few others, including Craig’s old pal DM). You know that joke about Chuck Norris being born with a beard? Craig was born with a short fixed blade, diagonal, under the umbilical. VERY fluent.
Quality of content: excellent. See other AARs. What I like about EWO is the constant proof of concept against resistance. I’ve always had a moderate toolbox of traditional self-defense techniques—ever since puberty—but pulling off some of the EWO POI against a few present individuals that nobody in their right mind would want to mess with is another level. Folks, I was standing 10 feet away from a 38-year career Marine Colonel who did this stuff for a living for decades when he flat out said that Craig’s stuff was the best he’s seen. I’m happy to let that gentleman’s opinion supercede my own, same though it may be.
Quality of people in attendance: excellent. From now-old friends to stay at home mom, to active danger dudes, to retired put-the-hurt on Marine hunter and combatives icon: I REALLY enjoyed the people. To an individual. Even the elementary school teacher who knocked me the fuck out, by all accounts...
I’ll be back again with a short addendum on how I managed my own health and professional obligations, since the topic has come up in other Shivworks AAR threads. Work beckons: for now I’ll sign off by noting that this is one of my top one or two favorite classes that I’ve ever taken. Highest recommendation for those with the interest in such things.