Advanced Pistol Fighting - Innovative Tactical Concepts (Video Review)

[Fenway]

Brian LaMaster of Innovative Tactical Concepts sent me his Advanced Pistol Fighting DVD a couple of weeks ago. I was planning to attend ITC's Advanced Pistol Fighting class as his guest earlier in the year but it was canceled and Brian was nice enough to send me his Advanced Fighting Pistol DVD. Advanced Pistol Fighting is a two-disc set and it is my understanding that the material in disc one is taught in Brian’s APF class.

DVD 1

Introduction

Mindset

CQC – Close Quarters Combatives

-Man with a gun

-Man with a knife

-Fist fight

Combat Draw Stroke (as taught by ITC)

3 Stances

-Stance vs man with gun (described as “boxer type”. rear leg at 90 degree angle. hands down around stomach area so they don’t get shot. one hand forward, strong hand back)

-Stance 2-3 used for man with knife (described as body bladed. weak hand out. strong hand back. palms facing in towards you. feet at 90 or 45 degrees)

Shooting Stances - brief discussion

Sighted shooting vs Point Shooting - brief discussion

CQC Tactics

-Situation 1

Man holding you at gun point

*Brian puts on eye patch and discusses what happens if you are down to one eye during a fight

-Situation 2

Man holding you at gun point this time using a different solution

-Situation 3

Two attackers: One with a gun and one with a knife

-Sitution 4

Overhead knife attack to the collar bone (single attacker)

-Situation 5

Stab or cut to the mid section (single attacker)

Ground Work

Conclusion

DVD 2

A daily drawing regimen that takes about 10 minutes. The drills are based upon the techniques taught on DVD 1. Viewers are instructed to conduct each of the five drills ten times each.

My Thoughts

Advanced Pistol Fighting is described by Brian to be a progressive system which will teach you how to deal with situations (unarmed and armed) against single and multiple (unarmed and armed attackers). I find the title of this DVD to be a bit misleading. Brian mentions early on that the video is not about “the gun” but on integrated unarmed combatives with the use of a firearm. Brian states that this is not a pistol course but a “fighting course”. It is also mentioned that you should be able to hit your target up to 25 feet away both two handed and one handed. It is made clear before watching this video you should be a safe and proficient shooter.

This video contains no mention of gun safety with the exception that you should know the rules. I understand this is an advanced video and I wasn’t necessarily looking for a safety lecture but this was the first video I have watched that didn’t have some mention of safety. The mindset lecture is brief and a bit uninspiring. Since this is touted as a “fighting” video from the very beginning I was hoping for something more. Brian mentions that he is only “scratching the surface” with the mindset portion.

There is no mention of gun handling in this video with the exception of ITC’s “Combat Draw Stroke”. There is no discussion of reloads, malfunctions, aiming (with the exception of a brief discussion regarding point shooting). In fact during the live fire examples we never see Brian in a situation where he must reload his pistol. The entire DVD is presented with one hand on the gun. (no two handed shooting) I can understand and appreciate the importance of one handed shooting (especially in the context of this video) but not addressing two handed shooting in an advanced “pistol fighting” video seems a bit strange to me. I understand that I might not always be able to get two hands on the gun during a fight but what if I can?

The main portion of this video includes Brian showing us steps to defeat attackers in a number of different situations.

• Man with a gun
• Two men – one with knife one with gun
• One man - knife attack to collar bone.
• One man - stab or cut towards mid section

The video seems to be very martial arts based and there is a lot of "If your attacker does A you do B".

Brian’s techniques to defeat these attacks are presented in this order

1. Taught in steps
2. Demonstrated in slow motion against a human opponent
3. Closer to “live speed” against a human opponent
4. Presentation of the technique using live fire on paper targets

Unfortunately, the demonstrations against human opponents are acting and not fighting. At no point in this video is anything presented at full speed and the “attackers” show no motivation what so ever. The moves look really cool but it’s hard for me to imagine this working “on the street”. Not once does this video hit real world speed even during live fire vs. paper targets.

I enjoyed the final section of this video on Ground Fighting with and with out a pistol. Brian discusses ways to fall with out hurting yourself during a fight, leg positioning and trying to get up as quickly as possible as well as getting the gun into the fight from the ground. The fighting with a pistol portion on the ground consists of getting the gun out of the holster, getting on target and shooting. I believe this is a solid portion of instruction here.

Disc 2 is titled “Gun Kata” and is a daily “drawing regimen” consisting of 5 drills (10 reps each) and lasting about 10 minutes. This video contains the techniques Brian showed us in the first video and the viewer is instructed to practice at home. This is all done in steps and reminds me a bit of some kind of aerobics video. Let’s say I practice drill number 5 for a year which is Brian’s technique for defending against a mid level knife attack. What happens if one day I find myself on the street and some one pulls a knife on me. I get into my stance and get ready for the mid level knife attack? I have all of these steps but instead of attacking me like the video he does something totally different. I have now committed to muscle memory some technique that will work perfectly if the attacker comes at me the “right way”. I think the chances of this happening are slim.

In conclusion I realize it’s not possible to have a video where scene after scene we have people kicking each others asses, but if this is a fighting video integrating unarmed combative how about some fighting with headgear and mouthpieces including simunition guns. I would love to see the techniques Brian teaches us in this video demonstrated under real world conditions (motivated attacker, full speed) or at the very least with an attacker who shows some life. In my opinion these techniques might work for the viewer if the attacker attacks the person "perfectly". I hope in future ITC videos we will see a more dynamic approach with opponents who act like motivated humans intent on doing harm. I would not recommend this video to anyone who has not had prior firearms instruction.

I would like to thank Brian LaMaster of ITC for the chance to watch this video. As with every training opportunity I always have the chance to learn something! For more info on ITC you can check out their website here: Realistic and Practical Firearms Training

Mike