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F16mickey

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Close Quarter Tactics Review

I took the Close Quarters Tactics course taught by the Praesidium Group. For those of you who carry a gun and only practice at the shooting range you NEED to take this course. This course opened my eyes to the real world of self defense. I was so impressed with this training that I decided to write a review of the class so that some of you who are sitting on the fence will take this course.

This course started out with a four hour block on edged weapons. This showed the importance of an accessible small fixed blade knife. It also showed how to keep some distance between you and your would be assailant and what kind of clues baddies tend to give before they strike.

The next day we started working on hand to hand techniques, these are not the types of techniques that are designed to win contests. These techniques are something that is designed to keep you from getting knocked out or knocked down and allow you to get enough control of the conflict to go to weapons or give you enough room to get away from the situation.

We also learned to shoot at extremely close range. You would think that close range shooting would be easy but guess again. If you don’t have your body aligned right and the weapon in the right position you could possibly miss and turn your weapon into our weapon (as in your adversary gets a hold on your weapon).

After several reps of these techniques we went on to using these techniques against a live adversary. The person you are going up against is in a full body suit so there is no need to go “half speed” and you are given a simmuntion firing training weapon and are allowed to use training knives in the scenarios. This is as close as most anyone is going to get to the real thing without serious injury or death.

As night fell we switched gears and learned proper flashlight usage techniques. We also integrated the pistol into the flashlight usage. After a live fire drill using the flashlight we left the range for a little off site training. The scenario consisted of a dark alley, possible multiple adversaries and possible shoot/no shoot possibilities.

The final day of training focused on the usage of cover and movement as it relates to the real world. We also spent time on weapons retention techniques that were useful against both zombie and non zombie attackers alike. Overall this class was a real eye-opener for me. What I learned from this class was about 99% of the things that I thought I would do in a confrontation was not going to work well in the real world. If you are looking for a class that is going to make you the next IDPA/IPSC super shooter this is not for you. But if you are looking for a course that will help you successfully defend yourself in the real world this is definitely for you.
 

TulsaDave

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I also attended the CQT class, and would like to second what Mickey said. What sets this class apart is that it teaches simple techniques designed to work under stress, and then runs you through force-on-force scenarios to teach you to operate under stress.

When you are in a fight, your adrenaline level rises and you lose your fine motor skills. Suddenly that precisely targeted round kick or that complex but very painful wrist lock won't work, because you just can't remember how at the critical moment. You may think this won't happen to you; but I have studied the martial arts for a long time and believe me, it happens. You'd also be amazed how easy it is to forget to breathe in a fight. The unarmed techniques that Mike and Brandon teach do not rely on fine motor skills or precise targeting, so you can actually use them when the chips are down.

Once you have learned some knife, unarmed, and close range shooting techniques, you move on to the force-on-force drills. This is about as close to a real fight as you should ever hope to get IMHO. There is a world of difference between punching half speed, half force with a training partner in a gym, and trying to get same-side arm control so you can draw your handgun with an attacker who is screaming death threats and punching you in the head. It is HARD to remember even simple techniques, your mind gets stuck in Orientation mode, bacause the situation changes too fast to decide what to do. It is HARD to keep yourself from reflexively drawing the gun too early in the fight (a real good way to get shot with your own gun). It is HARD to remember to breathe, so that after twenty seconds you are gasping like you just ran a marathon. If the first time you ever experience these things is in a real life situation, you need to be extremely lucky and probably a hell of a lot bigger than your opponent. Or OPPONENTS.

The first few times I ran force on force drills were depressing and disturbing for me. If those fights had been the real thing, I would have lost and probably died. But now I am learning to function under stress, and techniques are starting to work for me. This is a HUGE confidence builder. If you are the typical armed citizen, you are NOT ready to win a criminal assault until you have taken a reality based force on force training class like Praesidium Group's CQT class. [Not to burst any bubbles, but we all read the NRA Armed Citizen columns right? Ever notice that most of the shootings we hear about occur when someone kills a burglar or home invader in their own home? You don't often hear of an armed citizen shooting a bad guy who criminally assaults them out in the public domain. This is because the good guys usually lose in that situation.] There were two Afghanistan combat vets who took the class this past weekend, and even they learned a lot and were pleased with the class.

I sincerely believe that I was not ready to carry a weapon outside the home until I took this class. Take it, you'll be glad you did. Us Okies are very very lucky to have training resources like TDSA and Praesidium Group locally.

Thanks again to Marshall for hosting the class, to Mike and Brandon for teaching, and especially to Brandon and Trooper Stacy who took a whole lot of elbows to the head, knees to the crotch, and simunitions bullets (Ow!) everywhere over the course of the weekend. Good times!
 

tacmedic

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My wife and I also took this course. We were looking for some weapons retention training before she started to carry concealed. What we got was a class that should be mandatory for all who carry a gun, be it citizen concealed carry or as a LE professional.

Carrying as a citizen comes with responsibilities, and I don't say this lightly when I say IF YOU ARE CARRYING WITHOUT THIS TYPE OF REALITY BASED FORCE ON FORCE TRAINING YOU ARE BEING IRRESPONSIBLE AND A LIABILITY TO YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES!!! :nutkick:

Now I know that comes as a real kick in the nutz to many of us manly shooting men with our manly shooting egos but it simply is the truth. I have had military training (to include Special Forces training), law enforcement training (as a reserve deputy and SWAT Team Paramedic) and I am dumbfounded:bigeye: that none of my previous training covered this stuff. SCARY!!! I'll be the first to admit that I am probably just an average shooter, but I believe in the motto train like you fight. And both of us now have MANY new skills (mental, tactical, shooting, using edged weapons, and hand to hand) to ensure we survive to go home if we're ever the victims of a criminal assault and isn't that what really matters.

As seasoned law enforcement officers they help you understand the nature and tactics of your enemy which is vital. And what they teach you works, my wife is 115lbs soaking wet and has never had any martial arts training yet she was able to repeatedly use what she learned effectively against much larger opponents in real force on force training scenarios. We were so impressed that we are going to join the training group so that we can continue to learn.

My deepest gratitude to Mike, Brandon, Eric, and Marshall. They gave 110% in teaching and in taking shots and rounds as the bad guys. When they have their next course you better sign up fast...because everyone at this class said repeatedly they were taking it again!

A special KUDOS to Marshall who is a gifted firearms instructor. He hosted this training not being afraid to bring in other experts and expand upons his own knowledge and abilities as well as his students. That is the mark of a true professional and the type of instructor I want to train with! And to Brandon who my wife and I have dubbed the ballistics crash test dumby. He took many a licking and kept on ticking without a single complaint.
 

tacmedic

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Just got a DVD with some of the highlights from the CQT class.

I love watching the groundfighting scenario of my wife getting control of the situation and putting 4 rounds of simmunition in the back of the BG's (Brandon's) head!!! :bowdown:

I'm telling you, if you carry YOU GOTTA TAKE THIS CLASS!

Thanks again to Mike, Brandon, Marshall, and Eric. It was truely an awesome experience. Looking forward to training with all of you again.
 

kgull85

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Michael Brown said:
There should be some video of the course up here soon.

Michael Brown

It's been like 5 days already, where's the freakin videos? :P

I would really like to see some of them. Might help me convince the wife that I "can't afford not to" (I'm thinking of tradmarking that line) take the class.
 

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