We just got done with a Force on Force Gunfighting class by Randy Harris in Columbia, SC. There were four "normal" students in the class, plus JD Lester and myself. Everyone was well prepared for the class, showing up with all of the required equipment. As usual, copies of Austrian service pistols were the most common. There was also one Airsoft pistol that looked like a Sigma copy. At the beginning of the class, everyone was having problems with their Airsoft pistols. As the class went on, these problems seemed to work themselves out. I added extra silicone oil to the magazines of my Airsoft pistols, and they ran fine after that.
I have taken this class before, but once again found it very informative. As usual, we started out with the Matt Dillon drill, which showed everyone the foolishness of "stand and deliver" gunfighting. We then explored getting off the X to various angles, multiple adversary problems, gun vs knife, scenarios, etc.
The class location has a long road that we used to good effect for the scenarios. Some panhandlers were just panhandlers. Others were not. The scenarios illustrated why we need to be able to move to different angles: obstacles may prevent us from moving in our favorite direction. The students had listened carefully to Randy's PESTS EAT FAST lecture, and when JD and I were working together as a "robbery team", we usually could not make them fall for becoming trapped between us. This was a hard crowd: we collected 0 wallets during this scenario and were shot quite a few times.
JD and I also acted out a scenario I use in my CWP classes: two dudes are fighting, and you have no idea how it started. This serves as a cautionary tale about getting involved in other people's problems. One Good Samaritan who decided to help me as JD was beating on me got slashed by JD, then shot by me after he shot at my "cousin" (JD). I'm fairly confident this was not the outcome he was hoping for.
The vehicle scenario illustrated the importance of not getting sucked in. The one female student in the class looked at this scenario, and decided to go back into the "store" to get some help in dealing with the creepy guy hanging out next to her car (JD). A perfectly valid choice on her part. Thanks to various distractions, I was able to sneak up on another student, unnoticed, until I stuck a gun in his ribs. This was where the need for the hand-to-hand skills that we teach in Zero to Five became very apparent.
Overall, I think this class shows the logical progression of going from Combat Pistol Marksmanship to Close Range Gunfighting to FoF Gunfighting to 0-5 Gunfighting. The students in this class already had a good basis of the fundamentals, now they experienced how to apply those when the targets are shooting back and maneuvering against you. As one student noted: "In CRG, I learned that I had to get off the X. In this class I learned how fast I have to get off the X."
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