Drill of the Week #1

Drawing is a critical part of self-defense with a firearm.

As Citizen Defenders, we don't walk around with our firearms out in our hands. In most communities this would be.....bad. Instead we have to get the firearm from our holster and get it on target quickly and accurately.

Accuracy is based upon a standard. That standard could be anything that we want, from center mass, to a half of an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper, to the "T-Box" in the CNS zone, but whatever standard of accuracy we deem as "acceptable" we have to practice being able to place the first round from your draw where we want it.

In this Drill, I'm going to do single shots from an open draw at varying distances. What this works is our ability as Defenders to engage in proper shooting fundamentals following a draw.

For many, drawing the firearm places their hands in odd places on the gun. No wrist rotation or a crappy grip, but not in the perfect body position to accurately hit the threat. When you add the complexity of a tight standard of accuracy and the increased demand for management of the shooting fundamentals that distance requires, you now have a challenging drill.

In this drill I only work on accuracy following the draw, but in other times, I've added a speed and lethality requirement (say head shots only) and you can really see that just the simple practice of drawing to a standard of accuracy can be taken in a lot of different directions.

Check it out. And if you want the PDF for this drill, just go to the PDF Downloads tab and fill it out with your name and email and code: Drill #1.

The Rhythm Drill

Look, when you shoot at the defense of your life, it's probably not going to be one bullet.

Just do a little bit of research and you'll quickly see that for the vast majority of cases, it wasn't a single bullet that stops a bad guy, it was at least 3-5 rounds on target that brought the bad guy down.

Now having a string of shots together isn't terribly hard. Getting them to all stay in a very contained area, is hard.

At SMT we steadily bring the standard of accuracy up over the course of the time you train with us. A Level 1, 2, & 3 student will have to keep all shots inside of an 8.5x11" sheet of paper area that covers the center mass of the target. But when we move the student into Level 4, 5, and especially the Warrior Mindset, it's now a half of an 8.5x11" sheet of paper (4.25x5.5") center mass and a quarter sheet of paper for a Central Nervous System string.

Here's the thing, in order to meet the time standards for each of those levels, you can't do slow aimed shooting, you have to get faster. By the time you're in Warrior, you have to do .25 splits for each shot in order to meet the time hack.

Houston! Houston! We've had a problem!

For lots of people, that kind of shot pace makes it extremely difficult to keep the bullets within the standard of accuracy.

Well, here's how we train our students to maintain high accuracy through consistent fast splits. Rhythm Drills.

A Rhythm Drill works like this. When you shoot, think about the depression, shot, cycling of the slide and reset of the trigger as the tapping of a beat on a drum. Using that "beat" we can condition our trigger fingers to release shots at a consistent pace. Initially we'll be really really really slow, but as time and conditioning goes on, we'll eventually condition those fingers to speed up, driving our split times down to what SMT calls "Combat Speed" or .25 second splits.

Rhythm Drills can be done Live or Dry, but they will use different tools to achieve the same end goal. In Dry Fire, you'll use a SIRT and a Metronome App. I personally like the one from Silver Dial. In Live Fire, you'll use your carry handgun and a shot timer.

To see how this all works, check out this video.

For the Sake of What?

Two years ago, I was at a leadership training event in California.

It was called SOEL. That is an acronym for School of Embodied Leadership, led by world class martial artist Richard Strozzi-Heckler.

Richard is the author of many excellent books, but the most famous is "In Search of the Warrior Spirit," where he spends an extended period of time teaching mindfulness to a Special Forces A-Team. A great read.

When I had the pleasure of training Aikido with Richard and his tribe at his dojo, he began every class the same way, with a question. The question was: "For the sake of what are you here?" It was a poignant question.

If you didn't understand what Richard was getting at, he really wanted to ask you, "Why are you here?" Why were you giving him this time? Why were you investing in yourself for this training? What are you getting from purchasing this time?

I had let this thought process go for a very long while. But when I was putting together the new format at the Osseo Gun Club classes, it suddenly returned to me. So at every class I am now going to ask you. For the sake of what are you here? Why are you giving me this time to help you train? What are you seeking to defend?

I know my answer.

B

Session 1, in the Tank....

Man, quite a thing to be back in front of the SMTers.

It's awesome to remember how good you guys are.

The first night was a little off, mostly my fault, but there was a ton of learning going on for all involved.

First, I should have sent out an email outlining what I was planning for the class so that people knew where to sign waivers and where to go, etc. That will be adjusted shortly.

Second, I had forgotten how much more advanced the Level 3's are from the Level 2's and 1's. It's quite a leap going from 2 to 3. So I'm moving the Level 3's to the Advanced class.

Third, there is just SO MUCH MATERIAL that I've designed for SM over the last 5 years that I almost think that I need to add a third class, an "applications class." In essence the way the old Warrior Mindset class was, where we focused on the thought process of micro-tactics, applying situational conditions to defense, and the tactical thought process for the citizen defender scenario.

As much as I'd like to add the "applications class," I'm a little limited in time right now. Maybe after the first of the year so don't get too wound up about it yet. :)

In quick summary, good God almighty, I'm so glad to have you back. 

B

I can't wait....

Well SMT'ers, I can't wait.

After almost a year being away from the regular training work, we're getting started again.

Osseo Gun Club will be hosting regular Sealed Mindset Training sessions on Thursday nights. From 5 to 6:30 will be the Fundamentals Class and from 6:30 to 8 will be the Advanced Class.

There's just so much to do! I have to get the curriculum adjusted to work in a mixed level format, I need to gather all of my training supplies together, I need get the homework sheets all set and printed, and all while helping Range Systems market awesome range products as well!

We've had a great response to these class announcements. The Fundamentals Class, for levels 1, 2, and 3 are almost entirely sold out for the month of October and the Advanced Class, for levels 4, 5, and Warrior Mindset, are filling up quickly too.

If you'd like to sign up, go here.

B

Your Fitness Matters....

Self-defense isn't purely about having a tool or practicing a martial art.

Both of those things are good, but they will only add to what you bring to the table when that self-defense happens. Same thing with adrenaline. It will only add to what you bring to the table.

If you're slow and sloppy, you're really not contributing anything more to the odds of your survival or the defense of your loved ones. Defense is also about confidence. A strong confident presence will contribute to your ability to deter a threat.

Look, when it's "go time" and every second counts in your defense, you want to move quick and hit like a ton of bricks.

When we're young bucks, it's pretty easy to be cocky and over confident. Doesn't mean that we can actually back it up, but we're pretty confident until we're proven otherwise. Some learn that lesson with maturity, some only learn it when they get run over by a threat. But as we get older, our fitness is no longer simply a function for looking good at the beach, it really does start to become about your survival.

If you haven't been to the gym lately, get going. If it's been a long time, go find a good trainer to help you get back in shape. Your family will appreciate it, both in how you'll feel, and if you ever have to defend them.

I can't tell you how good Andrew from Defensive Fitness is. He's a true professional who loves his craft and gets serious results for his clients. Check him out at defensive-fitness.com

The SIRT Pistol

Glock style SIRT

If you don't have a SIRT, why in all that is tactical - not?

If you didn't know, I HATE the word "tactical," I'll explain in a different post, but suffice it to say, WHY DON'T you own a SIRT?

The SIRT (Self Indicating Resetting Trigger) is a simulation firearm that has the same size and weight of either a Glock 17/22 or a Smith & Wesson M&P. There are two lasers in the muzzle of the SIRT and one laser can be adjusted for your sights, the other to use as an indicator of your trigger finger discipline.

Smith&Wesson style SIRT

I've been using this tool to train Citizen Defenders at SMT for years and I can't tell you how great the SIRT pistol is for training them as well as in training myself. You can get thousands of repetitions of draws, shot strings, reloads, malfunctions, etc., etc., etc., without ever firing a single round of ammunition. $avings!

Now some trainers and shooters will look at this kind of training and think it's pointless, but in fact, the opposite is true. Remember that 99.9999% of your defense or competition or (God help me :| ) "tactical" action happens BEFORE and AFTER the bang and recoil of a live round. With using only Blue Guns or Live Firearms, you limit your ability to develop the neural pathways necessary to produce superior handgun skill in real world situations. (I don't know about you, but I'm not letting you do scenario training on me with that live firearm, and I teach these firearm skills for a living! And the Blue Gun gives you zero feedback as to whether or not you hit the target when you depress the trigger.)

Mike Hughes

Next Level Training, the makers of the SIRT, have been great friends and supporters of SMT. (Big shout out to Mike Hughes!) They have a SIRT to fit your budget and your situation (Metal slide if you beat them up - like me :) or plastic slide if you can be nice to it.)

Use the Promo code: sealed for a 15% discount on your next SIRT.