The Core Philosophy of SMT - Part 1 - SMT Training Newsletter #17

One of the core principles of SMT is the motto: "no ego," and I'd challenge you to consider adapting this philosophy to your own life.

"No Ego" has two meanings to SMT, one has a physical manifestation, the other a mental manifestation.

The first is that we show up to train, everyday, even if it's only 5 minutes a day. Having "no ego" in your training means that you're open to how your brain and body will respond to the world as it is, not as we'd wish it to be. It also means that we're willing to take the time to plan and prepare ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally/spiritually to respond to that world. Can you get in some dry fire? Is there a class to attend? Is it your range day? Did you get to the gym? Having "no ego" takes discipline.

The next way we at SMT try to live "no ego" is that we assume that there must be a better way.

In the firearms world it's very easy to develop a skill and get comfortable that what you are doing is correct. Unfortunately, that feeling is deceiving and it's robbing you of a larger view of the world of defense. Bruce Lee explained this philosophy the most succinctly when he said: "Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and add what is specifically your own." This mental manifestation is by far the hardest part of living "no ego," because in so many ways you know you are right, but more than that, often, you actually are in fact right!

But simply "being right" doesn't make the world any easier. Having ego because you know you're right often means that you won't listen. You relegate other people or ideas into a box, but instead of becoming a better, more accomplished person in your "right-ness," you've potentially boxed yourself into stagnation and dogmatism.

Fortunately, you have the ability to grow every single day. Unfortunately, growing takes work. 

Three Critical Parts of the Training Pyramid - SMT Training Newsletter #16

Training is something that I not only talk about a lot, but I live it every day, and it's a lot more nuanced than I often verbalize. So in this training newsletter, let me try to give you an overview of three parts of training that need your attention, the training of physical, mental, and emotional/spiritual aspects of defense.

On the physical side this doesn't simply mean shooting. As defenders we should know and embody several combatives styles, we should explore edged and impact weapons, and we should certainly be working on our physical capacity with strength, conditioning, and cardio training. Figure out which of these areas you are lacking and then look into how you could bolster those areas. Do you need to get back into the gym? Have you not picked up a solid combatives system? Never really thought much about that knife in your pocket? Take some time to really explore those defensive elements so you don't become a one-dimensional defender.

Mental training is about curiosity, honesty, and discipline. One of the hardest mental training aspects for me is to maintain the ethos of "no ego" in instruction and training. I've made it a personal decision to remain a lifelong student of defense. That means that I must remain open to new ideas and combat proven skills, but more importantly, I must stay focused on the why. There is so much sparkle and hype in the firearms and defensive world that it is easy to slip down the rabbit hole of glam and shiny tools and trainers that you can forget to ask the ultimate question: "Why would I do/use/engage like that?" Watch other people training and ask yourself why they're training that way. Look at your own training and ask if you're missing an element that you should be working on. Look at what you've been training a lot, and ask if you really need that skill, or if you'd be better served, as a defender, to be working on something else.

The last part of our training triangle is the emotional/spiritual aspect of training. We as humans are "spiritual" beings, as a libertarian myself, I'll let you decide what that means for you, but for defensive training it means two things: to have a purpose or reason to train, and I accept that my emotional state can influence my training. On purpose, if you have never sat down, by yourself, and really really figured out exactly what you're preparing to defend, you need to. That purpose will drive you through the hardest training days you can imagine. It's why I always ask at every training session: "For the sake of what are you here? What are you getting by giving me/you this time?" Knowing the answer to this question will change your training life.

If you don't believe that your emotional state effects your training, go watch some absolutely heart wrenching man-movie like "The Road" or "Saving Private Ryan" and then head to the range for a training session. I can almost guarantee that you'll shoot like crap. From time to time, that emotional state will take a toll on how effective your training can be, so be ready to stick to the fundamentals, go slow, and give yourself a break. If you're used to getting first shot on target in 1.8 and you can't get a 2.2 to save your life, that's just not your day! Slow down, keep building good neural pathways, and be ready to come back to speed later.

Sub-second mount to CNS

Drill of the Week #13 - Level 2 Deterrence to Concealed Draw

Deterrence is where physical defense meets up with the mental defense of Situational Awareness. (SA)

SA is the process of identifying threatening people and environments and then taking steps to avoid conflict. The goal with SA is to win the fight by never being in it.

Now you're not always going to be so lucky to avoid the fight, that's where good physical defense skills must be ready to be put into action, skills like combatives, concealed draws, and shooting fundamentals.

Where the two meet is called Deterrence. Deterrence is the communicating to the threat that you will not be a victim, and that you pose a lethal threat to the bad guy's safety. SA helped you to identify that threat and gives you the programmed language to try and get the threat to mentally disengage and having a good concealed draw or combatives skills gives you the ability to fend that threat off if it chooses to continue their crime. This drill will help you work that critical moment.

Drill of the Week #12 - Single Hand Concealed Draws with Soft Malfunction

Okay, so we're going to go a little more "tactical" in honor of the Shot Show this week.

If you've never been out there, pretty much everyone and everything is "tactical" at the Shot Show. Last year, when I was done, I had truly found out how much I hated the word "tactical," mostly because it's entirely meaningless. Seriously, if your kilt (I kid you not) is as "tactical" as that rifle with the NVG scope on it, well, you and I must apparently not speak the same language.

The Drill of the Week will be about practicing single hand only concealed draws with a soft malfunction. I demonstrate this skill in dry fire, but the adjustment to live would really only need a range, ammo and a live firearm. I'd suggest that you do a fair amount of dry practice before trying this one live, and specifically watch your Trigger Finger Awareness, screw up the Soft Malfunction in this one and you could shoot yourself in the leg. Check it out.

Keep training and stay safe.

The "Tactics" of the SHOT Show - SMT Training Newsletter #14

Happy Wednesday SMTers.

I'm out in Las Vegas this week at the Shot Show, and it is honestly one of the most amazing and crazy firearm spectacles out there. Thousands of vendors show up, with tens of thousands of products, and every thing, every single thing, is tactical.

If you didn't know, I'm not really a fan of the word "tactical" because it's really lost its meaning. I found a definition that I like that says: Things that are "tactical" are small scale actions or equipment that serve a larger purpose or task carried out with only limited or immediate ends in view. With this definition, moving from one spot to another could be "tactical." How you carry your firearm or what other tools you have with you are "tactical" considerations. That "tactical" kilt you have on.....not so sure.

What you can surely say is tactical is practicing your dry fire by going to the Shadow Gunning page. Getting out on the range as often as you can. Working those fundamentals skills like draws, shooting fundamentals, and immediate actions, is tactical. Coming to training sessions and building the neural pathways to respond to a lethal force encounter, that's a good tactical decision.

So, forget the label "tactical" and instead start taking small actions and acquiring necessary equipment to serve the larger purpose of defending yourself, your loved ones, and America.

Just for Fun

Drill of the Week #11 - Outside 45 Degrees in Live Fire

Sometimes the simplest drills are the most valuable. That's never more true for the Defender when we consider the Plus 1 Rule (always one more threat, one more weapon, etc.).

That Plus 1 Rule leads to multiple targets and the transitions between them. In a previous drill, we worked Line of Sight with a lot of speed. Today, we're going to work the Outside 45 Degrees.

Remember that each of our Transitions are based upon what we see. In Line of Sight, both targets are clearly in your field of view. Inside 45 Degrees, only one target is clear and the other is at the edge of your field of view. With Outside 45 Degrees, only one target is in your field of view. The other is entirely outside of your vision.

This means that in an Outside 45 Degree Transition I must be cognizant of two factors, Identifying the threat/target and retaining the firearm through the transition. Check it out.

You are the First Responder - SMT Training Newsletter #13

Once again our fellow citizens were targeted in a violent mass murder attack, this time in the baggage claim of the Fort Lauderdale airport. Turns out this time the murderer is psychopath with serious mental issues, but from my perspective, that's really not the point.

What amazes me was that in a place that was packed with people, no one, not one single person, had the training and courage to tackle the murderer and beat him to death with his own firearm. After all of the violent mass murders that have happened with firearms across the globe, we as Americans are still somehow not getting the message that we are the first responders!

Now it's always easy for gun-jockeys like me to sit on the sidelines watching the footage of this event and say: "You should do this! Why didn't you do that!" and of course, it's terribly hard being in the moment.

But that's why I say that consistent training is so very important! It is the consistent practice that builds the neural pathways that will allow you to respond instantly to violent stimulus. An attack like this is one more reminder to do your Shadow Gunning, get some live fire in every week, and get to training sessions as often as you can. 

Bill Rocks a Choice Drill

Nice!

Drill of the Week #10 - Natural Point of Aim to Improve Your Draw

We all have, from a very young age, a "natural point of aim."

This means that even a young child can look at an object with their eyes, and point a finger right at it without effort.

This Natural Point of Aim applies to our Defensive Shooting too. We have a natural direction that we want to point our bodies and our defensive tools, especially under stress.

This Drill of the Week will specifically focus on how to take your Natural Point of Aim and use it to help increase the accuracy and speed of target acquisition of your draw.

Check it out.

The Training Mindset - SMT Newsletter #12

The training mindset is something that everyone in the defensive world should work to cultivate. Unfortunately, few people really do.

This mindset is one that is first open to your own limitations. This could be limitations to your knowledge, experience, technical or tactical capacity, but whatever it is, seek to identify it and then look for opportunities to enhance it.

The training mindset is concerned with breaking down ego. Ego says, "I got this." even when you don't. There's a difference between "confident" and "egotistical." One is certain because of learn-practice-experience, the other is a leap to a conclusion based on ungrounded evidence, i.e., I can shoot a target, therefore if confronted by a lethal threat, I will absolutely be able to draw my firearm from concealment and engage the threat (even though I've never practiced draws in live fire, much less in a scenario!) See how one makes sense and the other is senseless?

The training mindset recognizes that training and preparation aren't simply "one off" events. Even if you only have five minutes to get your SIRT or shadow box your martial arts or combatives skills, the person with the training mindset will do it as often as they can.

SMT wants to help you cultivate the training mindset. That's why we've done the Drill of the Week, Shadow Gunning, and weekly training sessions and the SMTers that are giving a little every week to their training are growing fast. If you have a friend or colleague that is ready to join you in this journey, ask them to come to an SMT session, or show them the Shadow Gunning, or share the Drill of the Week. With your help, we can start to change the conversation about firearms training.

Happy New Year

Well, Happy New Year SMTers!

My family and I were asleep as the calendar changed. Yep, awful exciting at the Dobo house!

As for SMT, we have a lot of exciting things coming in the new year:

• A calendar of events and seminars will be up soon. Some old favorites and some new ones, make sure to save your spots, or share the calendar with a friend that wanted to experience the SMT method.
• We have two new video projects coming out this year. One is a "first-time" handgun buyer's video, the other video I'm going to leave as a bit of a surprise, but I'm sure you'll like it.
• There will be more class times offered at Osseo Gun Club and hopefully a few other locations. Stay Tuned!
• There will be more Shadow Gunning, more Drills of the Week and more Training Blogs.
• We will be starting a Member's Page this year. There you'll be able to watch lots of instructional videos, schedule training meet ups with other members, and discuss defense on our SMT forum from firearms to knives to combatives to SA.
• SMT will also be reaching out on more social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, so watch out for those and share us with others that might benefit from SMT's training.

SMT would love to feature more of you too. We'd love photos and videos of your training. We want to see those draws, scenarios, and dry fire practice.

I'd also like to make a personal request that you offer a session to a friend or family member. Help us grow the SMT family and help make America safe by training one person, one family, and one community at a time.

Happy New Year SMTers, I'm excited and honored to join you on this journey.

B

Drill of the Week #9 - Using the Staging Laser to build the perfect draw

If there's one thing that I see more than anything else in the "tactical" world of YouTube, it's the quest for the "perfect draw."

Every Tactical Tim seems to have one. Maybe they were a SEAL or a competitive shooter or a police officer, but everyone seems to have one and they are DESPERATE to show you how to do it too.

At DMT, draws are built upon two foundations. The first is that we are designing curriculum for the Citizen Defender. The second is that our draw is entirely based upon DEFENSIVE application.

A draw for the Citizen Defender has to take two considerations into account. The first is that the Citizen is behind the power curve. They are trying to catch up to the violent act that the Threat had engaged in. BUT, the Citizen Defender must always be concerned about the retention of the firearm. That retention exists in two forms: one is that the threat cannot easily take the firearm from the Citizen while in the holster and TWO that the Citizen is ALWAYS in the advantage position to draw the firearm against the Threat and retain it from him.

DMT does this in two ways. First, we have the Citizen carry the firearm in such a way that the Threat will be challenged to take it from him. Second, DMT teaches a draw that keeps the firearm as close to the Citizen as possible AND maintains Muzzle Alignment with the Threat as soon as possible.

The other foundation of the DMT draw is defensive application. That means the draw isn't designed for the most speed, though it is very fast (My current record from full concealed draw is three shots on target in 1.6 seconds at 21 feet). Instead, the DMT draw is designed for maximum Defensive Application. That means the Draw works:

• No matter the Range of the Threat

• Whether or not the Threat attempts to "block" the draw

• Whether or not the Threat attempts to continue their "lethal" action

How you train that draw is rather straightforward. Here, check it out.

SMT Student Killing an Emergency Reload

Nice work Brenda!

Merry Christmas SMTers - SMT Newsletter #9

Merry Christmas SMTers!

With two young boys at home, this is a special time of year for the Dobo Family, all of the anticipation of gifts and parties and desserts! (My boys have serious sweet tooths.)

Now all the gifts under the tree are pretty special, but I've had some amazing ones from the SMTers this year that have really been the best gifts of all. Let me share a few with you:

When I began trying to restart the SMT group, I was afraid that a lot of the team had gone their own way. That you wouldn't come back and start training with us again, but when I dropped the note that SMT would start training again, we filled up and filled up almost immediately. That was amazing and very humbling. In fact, we haven't had to cancel a class for lack of attendance yet. (More on this in a moment.)

The next surprise was the kindness and generosity of the Osseo Gun Club. There  aren't many ranges out there that would be willing to let a group like SMT come in and get started doing the skills and drills that you SMTers are capable of doing. But OGC's Chris and Jeanine not only said that they'd love to haveSMT there, but they were willing to let us train whatever skill we wanted on a range they generally reserve for Law Enforcement only. If you're still looking for a range to be a member of, would you consider joining Osseo Gun Club?

Another gift was how much the SMTers had kept up their skills during the time we weren't able to train together. For some, there wasn't hardly a change between the last session in the New Hope facility to OGC. For others, we just knocked the rust off and you were back in good form. The growth of those who have stepped into the Advanced Class has been amazing, and the dedication of those in the Foundations Class is something that is really unique among the SMT tribe. You come. You work hard. You grow and succeed. There are so many in the firearms industry that have to really work hard to make their case that the products are really impacting the safety of others. I don't have to work hard at all, you guys are all the evidence I need that SMT is making people safe, everywhere.

The last gift that I'd like to mention is the commitment you have shown to SMT and its mission. There have been not one, but several conversations between members and myself that all concluded in one way - no matter what, keep going. In running the class, I have had financial constraints, time constraints, and other issues, but that was not going to stop any of you and you've convinced me that it shouldn't stop me either. Several of you have pledged financial resources to ensure the continued success of SMT, others are chomping at the bit to become instructors to start your own team, and others are committed to coming to training whenever possible and bringing in new people to get started, or brining back old members from the New Hope facility. This is the kind of team that I'd always wanted to be a part of. Men and women of honor, integrity, and who are seeking the most from themselves and their teammates.

Well, after this long message, I must wrap it up. From SMT, we are so grateful for the gifts you've given us through the years. We call you friends, compatriots, and family. We want to wish you and your family, the merriest of Christmases and a blessed new year. There is so much to do, our work together to protect the nation - one person, one family, and one community at a time has only just begun.

Drill of the Week #8 - Practicing Deterrence with a Shot Timer

Deterrence is the point at which Situational Awareness and defensive tactics come together.

Deterrence is the process of communicating to a threat, that you will not be a victim and that the risk in dealing with you is way more than the reward they might get in committing their crime. Deterrence has both physical and verbal actions that exist on a "use of force" continuum. From simply closing the line of communication to the threat - to bringing the full weight of the firearm to bare on the situation.

The thing with Deterrence is that you must practice. If you don't lay down the neural pathways for both verbal and physical actions, you won't have anything useful come out when you go under a Physiological Response to Stress.

It's hard to practice Deterrence in Live Fire, but it works great to practice it in Dry Fire.

Check it out.

Also, you can find the full lesson on Deterrence in the Concealed Carry Masters Course,     available here.

Terrorists Strike Again, Merry Christmas - SMT Training Newsletter #8

Terrorists have struck again. Merry Christmas.

There really seems to be no safe place, but if you've attended even one of the Osseo Gun Club classes in the last few months and participated in the Situational Awareness lessons, you know this. A Safe Environment is one where YOU control the access and there are no threats present. 

I can only think of one place like that for me, my house.

The market in Germany? An art museum in Turkey? Dangerous Environments. You have no control of the access to either of those places and you have no idea who is around you. In the incident in Turkey, it's even worse as the terrorist turned out to be a Turkish police officer. (German photo - HT Reuters --- Turkish photo - HT Associated Press)

Situational Awareness really is the primary skill for self-defense. Identify that threat early and avoid conflict quickly, or start taking action.

What I haven't been able to see yet, and I would like to, is the minute or so prior to the assassination in Turkey. The cameras were right by the assassin. It would be fascinating to see if we could look at this man and establish any pre-contact cues in his demeanor or facial expressions.

As for Berlin, once again a large truck was used. Just like it was used in Nice, France earlier this year. In the middle east, terrorists would often pack these trucks with explosives and drive them into markets, religious buildings or military installations and blow them up, they're called a VBIED - Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Device. So far, we haven't seen them in Europe....so far.

For us as Defenders, we need to keep an eye out for large trucks. Not only is this a good idea because truck drivers don't have a lot of visibility, but the use of a large truck for a mass casualty event is simple, cheap, and scary, everything a terrorist wants.

With the Turkish assassin, life gets a lot harder. First, unless we can see if there are any pre-contact cues, it would be his draw against your draw. (Another reason to get to class and get your draw times down.) If you knew he was a police officer (which is possible that those around him did), if a police officer draws his side arm, you aren't conditioned to start defending against that because for us in America, police officers are the good guys. Once that police officer kills an unarmed man in cold blood and turns on the crowd, well, now you're behind the power curve. He's got his firearm out and he's keyed up for a fight, and you're playing catch up. Tough.

That's the thing with irrational violence. As you and I are people who would never just shoot an innocent man in the back, when it happens around us, we're stunned and off balance. That's why it's critical to condition your defensive responses to an unconscious level. It's not good enough to "understand" that you're under attack, you have to respond to the attack. We've talked about this a lot, it's all about neural pathways and stimulus bridges. 

Drill of the Week #7 - Target Transitions

In defensive pistol work we have to consider the "Plus 1" rule.

That's one more threat.

One more weapon.

One more shot. Etc.

With one more threat, you may need to go from one target to another. Most will simply swing the firearm from target 1 to target 2, but that's not really the best idea.

How close is target 2 to target 1? Are you sure the thing you saw out of the corner of your eye is a threat? What if you can't see the second threat, but you know there is another threat, but not their range to you?

For SMT, each target transition is based upon what we can see and how close your threat is to you. So in this week's Drill of the Week, we're going to work all three of SMT's target transitions.

Drill of the Week #6 - Emergency Reloads

The Emergency Reload is one of the most widely practiced and yet horribly done Immediate Actions out there.

From pulling the firearm in too close, to overhand racking, it's awful watching vids on YouTube of people doing reloads that are slow or worse still, dangerous.

So let's keep this simple. This week's Drill of the Week is Emergency Reload. The body position is really important, don't move your primary arm as much as you'd want to and drop that slide in sight alignment with the SUPPORT hand thumb.

Anyway, check it out here.