I thought I had this out here already and discovered I did not. This one is coming up quick and I HIGHLY recommend taking at Least the Unthinkable course (I'll post the one day Reactive Pistol by Dr. Aprill in another thread) not just for the carriers here but spouses and adult children as well. There is a LOT of learn here about noticing the events leading up to an attack that can give you some warning. Perhaps enough to mitigate or get out of the situation before it occurs.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unthin...Zwh3SeO37rFQCJkCgvz3pCj31T0gszhJe0hhAlZLR4mZM
UNTHINKABLE
Concepts and Techniques for the Gravest Extreme
Unthinkable is, in brief, a tour of the dark side of our society: criminal violence. In one very full day, attendees will undertake a fast-paced and interactive overview of how Violent Criminal Actors think as they decide whom to victimize, focusing on our demeanor and behavior for cues that we appear easily victimized. Hands-on training will introduce robust, effective techniques for managing interactions with unknown contacts, who may or may not intend us harm, including disarming an assailant armed if necessary. The day will finish with an in-depth review of the psychological and social development of VCAs, with particular attention paid to incorporating this knowledge into a powerful, adaptive mindset of self-protection.
Attendee Feedback
“I wish everyone important to me would take this class.” -UNTHINKABLE attendee, 2015 William Aprill is one of the most important thinkers in the defensive shooting world today. His insight into what makes criminal attackers "tick", as well as his understanding of the psychological aspects of training and response, are valuable to everyone who has a firearm for personal defense. -Grant Cunningham, educator and trainer (grantcunningham.com) “If I could go back in time I would trade every moment I've ever spent in a carbine course to listen to William Aprill's lectures in the Unthinkable class because THAT information was the kind of stuff I needed. -UNTHINKABLE attendee, 2014 The gun is certainly a wonderful and very powerful tool, but it’s not wise to pin your survival strategies only upon the possession of that tool. “Unthinkable” arms you with information. Critical, crucial knowledge that may not be needed every day, but if the unthinkable happens it gives you enough exposure to know there is almost always something you can do to improve your situation. The exposure opens your mind… -GunNuts.net
Course Description:
• How do violent criminals think of us, and how do they target us? • How are human monsters made, and born? • What do we do when faced with unknown threats, even against a drawn gun?
All these questions recall threats that any reasonable person would avoid at any cost. So why would anyone pay to spend a day immersed in exploration of those threats and more? Simply put, there is no way to develop an effective and adaptive defensive mindset without spending time in some fairly dark places. This course will explore the above domains and skill sets, guiding students to the next step in developing their ability to protect themselves and those they love. For participants in this course, a systematic approach to enhancing personal safety will be undertaken in an engaging and fast-paced format over a very full day of training. Since defensive awareness is rooted in realization of risk, and since defensive preparation adds the commitment to mitigation of threats, unifying those elements in defensive decision-making will be the emphasis of this course. It is the goal of the instructor to drag awareness of risk from the back of the mind to its very forefront, ensuring that an actual life-threatening scenario will not be the first time participants have honestly faced what will be necessary. Participants in this course will be presented with some challenging truths about the world as it is and asked to make serious, personal changes in how they pre-pare for that world. Classroom components will include intensive, interactive lecture including:
Fatal Choices: Understanding VCAs and Victim Selection In this fast-moving and interactive lecture participants will be led through contemporary theories and current, curated data on the process by which violent criminal actors select their targets for violent aggression. Particular attention will be paid to the internal mechanisms in play within the criminal psychology, the universe of signifiers around "good guy" behavior, demeanor, and attributes which may actually make selection for attack more likely, as well as considerations for responsible armed citizens to mitigate this risk. Previous iterations of this material have been presented to law-enforcement agencies and private citizen groups across the US as well as international LE educational events.
Violent Acts & Actors: A Conceptual and Practical Overview Many instructors present material on surviving physical attack, some address the aftermath of that defensive violence, however the preparation for being placed at risk or even physically attacked is given limited attention at best. This “pre-kinetic phase” is, in contrast, the entire focus of this course. In this wide-ranging and fast-moving program, attendees will be introduced to current understanding of the scope and scale of criminal violence, typologies of such violence, and an in-depth tracing of the developmental path of those who inflict such violence on others. Significant attention will be paid to translation from academic concepts and theories to actionable material with relevance at the street level. Attendees may hope to leave with a far greater understanding of the origins of and motivation for the seemingly senseless violence that wreaks havoc on so many communities, as well as greater insight into steps necessary to maximize their capacity for self-protection.
Practical instruction will include: Interacting With Unknowns: Enhancing Safety in Daily Life The vast majority of people encountered in our daily lives are of no interest or concern to us at all. A tiny percentage are actively malevolent and mean us harm no matter what we do and must be actively managed with applied defensive skills. However, a much larger fraction exist in an ill-defined space between: a space where interest, concern, risk, and threat exist in and emerge from a fluid universe of signs and signals. In a series of controlled exercises, attendees will learn a simple, practical, and robust method for determining the appropriate course of action with unknown subjects. No prior experience or training in defensive tactics is required, no special physical gifts are necessary and the material is presented in a from-the-ground-up approach to allow conceptual understanding and physical grasp of an intuitive skill-set in a relatively short time.
INSTRUCTOR BIO William Aprill is a career mental health professional with over 20 years’ experience across the continuum of clinical care. He presently maintains a private practice and consultancy specializing in post-traumatic interventions and other disciplines. William is a former deputy sheriff (Orleans Parish, LA, Criminal Sheriff’s Office) and Special Deputy US Marshal (Eastern District of Louisiana). He is a decorated competitive shooter and has taught civilian, law enforcement, and military personnel in various fighting skills since 1990. He maintains an active schedule both as student and teacher, having been instructor-rated by several top-tier trainers and studying under many of the most influential members of the combative arts community. Through his company Aprill Risk Consulting, William has presented his material on violent criminals and their decision-making, defensive incident aftermath, mindset development and defensive preparedness nationally, including at the Illinois Homicide Investigators Association, the Annual Conference of the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), the Annual Conference of the Georgia Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (GALEFI), Rangemaster Tactical Conference, The Field & Tactical Medicine Conference, A Girl & A Gun Annual Conference, Tactical Response Alumni Weekend, and the Louisiana Homicide Investigators Association. He is a co-founder and the Training Director of Paul-E-Palooza, the memorial conference and fundraiser for the family of the late trainer Paul Gomez.
He has conducted collaborative presentations across the country with Craig Douglas/Shivworks, Modern Defensive Training Systems, Immediate Action Combatives, Point-Driven Training, Sharp Defense, Lethal Force Institute, Rangemaster, Active Response Training, Tactical Response, Safety Solutions Academy, Defense Training International, Armed Dynamics, and others. William has recently contributed to several significant projects in the self-protection industry. He is one of the cadre of expert contributors featured in the highly-acclaimed Outdoor Network series Best Defense, including the episodes “Mass Casualty Event”, “Airport Attack”, and “Cyber Stalking”. He authored a chapter on violent criminals included in Massad Ayoob’s latest anthology Straight Talk On Armed Defense: What the Experts Want You to Know, was one subject of the recently released book Anatomy Of A Warrior, and is the subject of two Personal Defense Network DVDs of his original training material on defensive decision-making and mindset development, “Violent Criminal Actors” and “The 5W’s of Personal Defense”
In the News & Appearances William Aprill has been referenced in publications including RECOIL magazine, The Tactical Wire and The Journal of the Armed Citizen’s Legal Defense Network, and has been a regular guest in firearms/training industry media, including popular appearances on:
o Ballistic Radio
o Practically Tactical
o Downrange Radio, with Michael Bane o Personal Defense Talk
o Gun Freedom Radio o Shooter’s Nation
o Street Warrior Radio
o Civilian Carry Radio
o Real Gun Radio
o American Warrior, with Michael Seeklander
o The Safety Solutions Academy Podcast
o Armed Dynamics podcast
o Armed Squirrels Project
o GunBlogVarietyCast o “DrZ” YouTube channel, with Dr. Dave Zehrung
o “Crash & Burn”, with Allstar Tactical
o ReWild Yourself podcast
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unthin...Zwh3SeO37rFQCJkCgvz3pCj31T0gszhJe0hhAlZLR4mZM
UNTHINKABLE
Concepts and Techniques for the Gravest Extreme
Unthinkable is, in brief, a tour of the dark side of our society: criminal violence. In one very full day, attendees will undertake a fast-paced and interactive overview of how Violent Criminal Actors think as they decide whom to victimize, focusing on our demeanor and behavior for cues that we appear easily victimized. Hands-on training will introduce robust, effective techniques for managing interactions with unknown contacts, who may or may not intend us harm, including disarming an assailant armed if necessary. The day will finish with an in-depth review of the psychological and social development of VCAs, with particular attention paid to incorporating this knowledge into a powerful, adaptive mindset of self-protection.
Attendee Feedback
“I wish everyone important to me would take this class.” -UNTHINKABLE attendee, 2015 William Aprill is one of the most important thinkers in the defensive shooting world today. His insight into what makes criminal attackers "tick", as well as his understanding of the psychological aspects of training and response, are valuable to everyone who has a firearm for personal defense. -Grant Cunningham, educator and trainer (grantcunningham.com) “If I could go back in time I would trade every moment I've ever spent in a carbine course to listen to William Aprill's lectures in the Unthinkable class because THAT information was the kind of stuff I needed. -UNTHINKABLE attendee, 2014 The gun is certainly a wonderful and very powerful tool, but it’s not wise to pin your survival strategies only upon the possession of that tool. “Unthinkable” arms you with information. Critical, crucial knowledge that may not be needed every day, but if the unthinkable happens it gives you enough exposure to know there is almost always something you can do to improve your situation. The exposure opens your mind… -GunNuts.net
Course Description:
• How do violent criminals think of us, and how do they target us? • How are human monsters made, and born? • What do we do when faced with unknown threats, even against a drawn gun?
All these questions recall threats that any reasonable person would avoid at any cost. So why would anyone pay to spend a day immersed in exploration of those threats and more? Simply put, there is no way to develop an effective and adaptive defensive mindset without spending time in some fairly dark places. This course will explore the above domains and skill sets, guiding students to the next step in developing their ability to protect themselves and those they love. For participants in this course, a systematic approach to enhancing personal safety will be undertaken in an engaging and fast-paced format over a very full day of training. Since defensive awareness is rooted in realization of risk, and since defensive preparation adds the commitment to mitigation of threats, unifying those elements in defensive decision-making will be the emphasis of this course. It is the goal of the instructor to drag awareness of risk from the back of the mind to its very forefront, ensuring that an actual life-threatening scenario will not be the first time participants have honestly faced what will be necessary. Participants in this course will be presented with some challenging truths about the world as it is and asked to make serious, personal changes in how they pre-pare for that world. Classroom components will include intensive, interactive lecture including:
Fatal Choices: Understanding VCAs and Victim Selection In this fast-moving and interactive lecture participants will be led through contemporary theories and current, curated data on the process by which violent criminal actors select their targets for violent aggression. Particular attention will be paid to the internal mechanisms in play within the criminal psychology, the universe of signifiers around "good guy" behavior, demeanor, and attributes which may actually make selection for attack more likely, as well as considerations for responsible armed citizens to mitigate this risk. Previous iterations of this material have been presented to law-enforcement agencies and private citizen groups across the US as well as international LE educational events.
Violent Acts & Actors: A Conceptual and Practical Overview Many instructors present material on surviving physical attack, some address the aftermath of that defensive violence, however the preparation for being placed at risk or even physically attacked is given limited attention at best. This “pre-kinetic phase” is, in contrast, the entire focus of this course. In this wide-ranging and fast-moving program, attendees will be introduced to current understanding of the scope and scale of criminal violence, typologies of such violence, and an in-depth tracing of the developmental path of those who inflict such violence on others. Significant attention will be paid to translation from academic concepts and theories to actionable material with relevance at the street level. Attendees may hope to leave with a far greater understanding of the origins of and motivation for the seemingly senseless violence that wreaks havoc on so many communities, as well as greater insight into steps necessary to maximize their capacity for self-protection.
Practical instruction will include: Interacting With Unknowns: Enhancing Safety in Daily Life The vast majority of people encountered in our daily lives are of no interest or concern to us at all. A tiny percentage are actively malevolent and mean us harm no matter what we do and must be actively managed with applied defensive skills. However, a much larger fraction exist in an ill-defined space between: a space where interest, concern, risk, and threat exist in and emerge from a fluid universe of signs and signals. In a series of controlled exercises, attendees will learn a simple, practical, and robust method for determining the appropriate course of action with unknown subjects. No prior experience or training in defensive tactics is required, no special physical gifts are necessary and the material is presented in a from-the-ground-up approach to allow conceptual understanding and physical grasp of an intuitive skill-set in a relatively short time.
INSTRUCTOR BIO William Aprill is a career mental health professional with over 20 years’ experience across the continuum of clinical care. He presently maintains a private practice and consultancy specializing in post-traumatic interventions and other disciplines. William is a former deputy sheriff (Orleans Parish, LA, Criminal Sheriff’s Office) and Special Deputy US Marshal (Eastern District of Louisiana). He is a decorated competitive shooter and has taught civilian, law enforcement, and military personnel in various fighting skills since 1990. He maintains an active schedule both as student and teacher, having been instructor-rated by several top-tier trainers and studying under many of the most influential members of the combative arts community. Through his company Aprill Risk Consulting, William has presented his material on violent criminals and their decision-making, defensive incident aftermath, mindset development and defensive preparedness nationally, including at the Illinois Homicide Investigators Association, the Annual Conference of the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), the Annual Conference of the Georgia Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (GALEFI), Rangemaster Tactical Conference, The Field & Tactical Medicine Conference, A Girl & A Gun Annual Conference, Tactical Response Alumni Weekend, and the Louisiana Homicide Investigators Association. He is a co-founder and the Training Director of Paul-E-Palooza, the memorial conference and fundraiser for the family of the late trainer Paul Gomez.
He has conducted collaborative presentations across the country with Craig Douglas/Shivworks, Modern Defensive Training Systems, Immediate Action Combatives, Point-Driven Training, Sharp Defense, Lethal Force Institute, Rangemaster, Active Response Training, Tactical Response, Safety Solutions Academy, Defense Training International, Armed Dynamics, and others. William has recently contributed to several significant projects in the self-protection industry. He is one of the cadre of expert contributors featured in the highly-acclaimed Outdoor Network series Best Defense, including the episodes “Mass Casualty Event”, “Airport Attack”, and “Cyber Stalking”. He authored a chapter on violent criminals included in Massad Ayoob’s latest anthology Straight Talk On Armed Defense: What the Experts Want You to Know, was one subject of the recently released book Anatomy Of A Warrior, and is the subject of two Personal Defense Network DVDs of his original training material on defensive decision-making and mindset development, “Violent Criminal Actors” and “The 5W’s of Personal Defense”
In the News & Appearances William Aprill has been referenced in publications including RECOIL magazine, The Tactical Wire and The Journal of the Armed Citizen’s Legal Defense Network, and has been a regular guest in firearms/training industry media, including popular appearances on:
o Ballistic Radio
o Practically Tactical
o Downrange Radio, with Michael Bane o Personal Defense Talk
o Gun Freedom Radio o Shooter’s Nation
o Street Warrior Radio
o Civilian Carry Radio
o Real Gun Radio
o American Warrior, with Michael Seeklander
o The Safety Solutions Academy Podcast
o Armed Dynamics podcast
o Armed Squirrels Project
o GunBlogVarietyCast o “DrZ” YouTube channel, with Dr. Dave Zehrung
o “Crash & Burn”, with Allstar Tactical
o ReWild Yourself podcast
