I think the thing I like best about working with Shay is that he's always keeping it real. He was constantly reminding us that life isn't perfect. If Something Bad happens, it probably won't happen the way you have it scripted in your head. Some examples:
We started out going over basic trauma procedures. We were working with live guns, with live rounds, yesterday, and there was the very real possibility that Something Bad might happen. So, rules were established and people were appointed to be in charge. Since it turned out that Shay happened to be the one who had the most trauma medical training, we were politely requested to not accidentally shoot him.
I don't think it was really stressed in yesterday's class, but one of the things that Lars and I have learned from him in previous conversations is that you should always have a trauma medical bag handy, especially when you plan on going shooting, because the EMTs might not be able to get to you quickly, and you need to
something to buy the hurt person time. But, that's a whole other thread in itself.
After we established the emergency response routine, we went over the basic safe gun-handling rules to help prevent having an emergency. Shay also went over the priorities for learning to defend yourself:
MINDSET,
Tactics,
Skill and gear (in that order). Without accepting certain basic mindset principles (such as: I intend to
survive and protect those around me), your chances of winning are pretty slim, no matter how great your gear is.
Then, we went to the range to do some live-fire drills. We practiced two-handed drills, shooting from kneeling (you might have to kneel to help conceal/cover yourself!), strong-hand-only (you're hurt, you're holding on to something you don't want to drop, your cover somehow prevents two-handed shooting, etc.), weak-hand-only (similar reasons), and shooting from retention.
I actually did a lot better at shooting weak-hand than I thought I would, which is good. Shooting from retention was new to me, and I think the biggest thing I took away from that particular section was just how far you need to cant the gun out away from you. I did alright the first couple of rounds, but then I got lazy and pulled it back up a little and the next round let the slide hit me in the shoulder (not hard enough to bruise, just enough to distract me). Also, if you have a misfire (we had dummy rounds randomly loaded in the magazines), it's difficult to fix your gun when the non-moving, non-aggressive cardboard target is two inches away from you. I can't imagine what it would be like trying to fix a misfire with a real attacker. I think it was brought up that ideally, in a real-world situation, you'd probably turn your gun into club and beat off your attacker until you could get into a position to take the five seconds to clear your gun.
One of the other things that Shay does when he's training, and I really like this, is that if you miss the target, you are required to put tape over the missed shots. It makes you aware of how well (or how poorly!
) you're shooting and helps you think more about what you're doing wrong to miss those shots. Next time, I need to bring my own roll of tape.
But the important part is, I did improve, slow down, and focus more on my shot placement and technique because I was very aware of how much I was missing.
So after we did a few hours of live drills, and after the sun ate through my two applications of sunblock, we sat back down to review what we had learned and to go over some of the legal aspects of being in a gun fight. Before you shoot, there are three criteria that the BG needs to meet: intent, opportunity, and ability. Also, if you shoot someone, even in self-defense, plan to spend a day or three in jail until everything gets straightened out. And (thanks to Kirk for being at the training and adding your valuable input), don't talk to anyone about anything that happened until you talk to your attorney. Call 911, request police and an ambulance at your location, but don't talk about what happened -- at all -- until you talk to your attorney. You might accidentally talk yourself into a prison term, even if it was self-defense.
So, the worst thing that happened in the class? I extended my sunburn (ow). The best thing that happened in the class? The list is too long...
1) I did some things I hadn't done before, and I was forced to think about things like "what happens if the BG does something you didn't anticipate?"
2) I met a lot of really great people!
3) I met both objectives I had at the beginning of the class: become more comfortable holding, handling, and firing the gun I have; and to get through the class without having some sort of mental breakdown (that was a very
real concern for me; those who know me better can attest to that).
4) I had a great dinner at a restaurant that provided excellent service (imho) and met even more great people!