CRG-1 Los Angeles April 4-5

[Uli Gebhard]

Well Folks, we had a small class over the last two days going through the CRG course. Our students had very different levels of experience and all I can say is that it was a safe, fun and easy group to work with.

We covered the whole spectrum and then some... The additional input came today, when Richard and Corinna joined us and provided some extra pointers in regards to point shooting techniques.



Guys, it was a pleasure teaching this class - you helped me a lot by being a safety conscientious group that caught onto the new material very quickly.

Richard, Corinna, thank you for coming up to the range and bringing your knowledge into the equation.

Trace, when you get the chance please post a couple of the pictures that you took!

Thanks everyone - great job from all of you!

P.S. Desertdog, if you happen to read this... even without you 1911's can run into problems ....

[Richard Coplin]

Corinna and I went up to Burro Canyon to lend a hand (or two) for Sunday. We didn't see where this group started in terms of their individual skills on Saturday but we can absolutely state that they were "tuned up" and "good to go" by Sunday afternoon. To a man, they were all safe, extremely focused and dedicated to becoming better and more skilled warriors. Well done gents!

[esskay]

A bit belated entry, but Uli invited us to post here and I wanted to share some thoughts, pics, and video.

Training Day 1
* Fundamentals - stance, grip, sight picture, draw, ready positions
* Shooting through the draw
* Getting off the X
* Proactive weapon manipulations - weapons checks, reloads
* Concealed carry - carry options, drawing from concealment
* Reactive weapon manipulations - malfunctions
* After action assessment
* Low light techniques

Training Day 2
* Point shooting
* Support side transitions
* Running & gunning
* Targets to side & behind
* Failure to stop, zipper
* Multiple opponents
* Contact distance

My round count:
TD1 - 364
TD2 - 468
Total - 832
So, I tend to put more rather than less rounds into the threat, work that trigger finger... Did I mention I had fun at this class?

Walked away having learned valuable new techniques, improved existing techniques, and had an absolute *blast* -- well I'd say that was a good training experience!!

Thanks to Uli, Richard, and Corinna. Thanks also to Trace for joining us both days. And props to my squared-away classmates!

A couple pics (thanks to Trace for snapping some pics with my camera -- hopefully she'll have a chance to sort through all the pics she took herself to share some with us):

Get off the X!


<had to break up post for pics, more to come in a sec>

[esskay]

Shooting through the draw




After action assessment

[esskay]

As for gear, 3 Glocks on the line which seemed to run pretty cleanly. A Sig 229 which experienced a few malfunctions. And a 1911 which also seemed to run pretty well -- glad I had some 10 round 1911 mags in my gear bag so he could stay on the line with the rest of us longer!

I try to shoot competitions as much as I can, typically 3-gun matches lately. Even before taking the CRG class, I'd been growing more comfortable with a little more instinctive shooting style at times. In two matches earlier this year, I had found myself at near contact distance with paper targets and just point shot them. In those cases, unplanned events had led to running up on the targets (e.g. a malfunction in one case, mismanaged round count and need to reload in the other) so I just point shot them.

After this CRG class, I had an USPSA pistol match. Check out this video clip:
http://www.vimeo.com/4520758
password: getoffthex

One of the things we covered in CRG that opened my eyes was the stability of one-handed vs two-handed grips while sprinting. Also how well you can get good hits from "less than perfect" shooting positions. The second segment in the video is from a stage where I looked at the course of fire and made a conscious plan to run up the trail at full speed while shooting one-handed on the way up. Others in my squad who chose to shoot two-handed could not run as quickly up the trail. And sure enough I got good hits too -- mostly A zone hits, and on one target up the hill on the right my hits were not only in the center of the A zone but were overlapping!

Another benefit of the CRG class was feeling much more comfortable and fluid with one-handed shooting. Having seen video of Gabe one of the most striking things about his gun handling is how naturally and fluidly he is able to transition two-handed to one-handed, strong side to support side, and back & forth, depending on what direction he is going and where the threat is. Something to aspire to! The first segment in the video is a stage where I had NOT planned to shoot anything one-handed. But right before the video picks up I had to clear a malfunction and ended up further up the trail than I had intended. So after engaging the targets on the left, I looked back toward the right side and was further forward than I had expected to be. Just like the CRG drills where you move toward 9 o'clock and shoot one-handed rather than two-handed at the threat -- because I had advanced further than planned, the target was further back than I expected... and without really thinking about it, I just engaged it one-handed rather than taking the extra time to move the rest of my body to allow a two-handed grip. I credit the CRG class for helping make that just feel natural for me. BTW, I got an A and a C hit on that target. Maybe after some more SI classes, next time that'll be two Alphas!

You definitely don't seem to see this too often at the matches! You can hear my buddy behind the video camera chuckling.

Look forward to more SI classes!

[Uli Gebhard]

Esskay,

thank you for your in-depth feedback and for your review on how you integrated the CRG material into your matches.

The video shows nice and fluent transitions and if I'm not totally off the last part of your malfunction clearing is right at the beginning - executed on the move.

Thank you for posting the pics.... Trace is swamped with the website and store and has not yet had the chance to get a CD with the images to me (hint, hint...!)

You and the rest of the students made a great group - and that in return made the teaching easy. I'm glad you enjoyed the course and that you were able to adapt the material into your competition. I definitely hope to see you in September!

[esskay]

Originally Posted by Uli Gebhard

The video shows nice and fluent transitions and if I'm not totally off the last part of your malfunction clearing is right at the beginning - executed on the move.

Thanks Uli. Good eye! What you saw was actually the tail end of my reload (always on the move whenever possible!)

Wish I could make the class this weekend, but have family conflicts...

Look forward to the next one!

[Uli Gebhard]

Originally Posted by esskay

Wish I could make the class this weekend, but have family conflicts...

Same here... such is life when you have kids ...

I can tell you this much about the September Rifle class: even if only half the people that voiced interest make it, we will have one hell of a great group together... .