Defensive Syllabus

Defensive Syllabus

The Learning Process for the Responsible Gun Owner (General):

  • Knowledge
    • Reading
      • Color Code of Awareness – read about it
      • Keys to accuracy – study how to evaluate your hits
      • Real events (Armed Citizen in American Rifleman, etc.)
      • State and Federal Law
    • Courses
      • Manual of Arms (gun handling)
      • Combat skills
        • Positions
        • Accuracy
        • Reaction Courses (Airsoft, ranges, paint ball)
      • Visualization
        • Your daily exposure
        • Other what if’s
        • Reviewing when and how you might present deadly force
      • Practice
        • Mental Preparation
          • Visualization of events – mental walk through
          • Mental toughness – know when and be determined to act
          • Recovery from being shocked (we all are)
        • Dry Practice
          • Will perfect presentation, defensive procedures, sight picture, trigger pull
        • Range Time
          • Accuracy
          • Drills
            • Presenting the weapon (the draw)
            • Figure eight
            • One handed
            • Off handed
            • Around obstacles
          • Competition
            • Whole different and beneficial application of your skills (under pressure)
            • Can learn bad and good habits
          • Real World
            • Apply your situational awareness skills every day
          • Evaluation
            • Combat Accuracy (hand span variance)
            • Timing (apps, helper, video)
            • Competency Level

 

Learning Process :

  • Demonstrate and Explain
  • Dry Practice
  • Live Shoot (for dynamic maneuvers)
  • Develop knowledge, muscle memory to build skills

 

When to Present Deadly Force:

  • Only when undertaken to escape imminent and unavoidable danger of death or grave bodily harm
  • Some things to learn:
    • Asocial versus anti-social behavior
    • Laws relative to actions in your home
    • Definitions of intent and ability (example, knife wielding assailant 30 feet away)
  • A weapon out of the holster is deadly force

 

When else might one draw one’s weapon?

  • When the possibility of immediate danger exists but has not been seen (house clearance is the typical one)
  • In this case, we are at the ready, but muzzle is controlled, safety is on
  • Be aware you may be mistaken as being hostile or dangerous by someone else

 

For Purposes of Training the following facts are presented:

  • In a dynamic critical incident that triggers a fight or flee reaction:
    • Peripheral vision will be limited
    • Hearing will be suppressed
    • Blood will flow to large muscle groups (small muscle coordination is reduced)
    • Nerve conduction increases, tending to cause overreaction of muscles
    • The brain will load shed to handle the emergency
      • Highest level of training will emerge the easiest as being accessible
      • If the associative process does not recognize a course of action, then the result is panic
    • In a startled reaction:
      • Humans will reduce their center of gravity
      • Humans will place their hands between themselves (head) and the threat
      • There may some other learned concepts (I clench my fists)
    • The law does not generally recognize the use of deadly force for the protection of property
    • An average man can move from 21 feet away to a physical attack on your person in about 1 and a half seconds. This is our metric for deciding how to defend ourselves and our metric for skill in presenting a weapon.

 

 

The Four Safety Rules:

 

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY

RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET AND YOU HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO SHOOT

RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEHIND IT

 

Given our safety rules, in training what is our most important performance characteristic?

  • Accuracy

Why?

  • Stopping power
  • Minimize collateral damage
  • Conserve ammunition for other threats

Which safety rule reinforces and supports the others?

  • Muzzle control – in event you violate 1 or 3, keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction will reduce the likelihood of a tragic result

Range Rules:

For dry exercises and initial work:

  • Guns unloaded (preferably no magazine)
  • Decocked
  • In the Holster
  • Guns left on the safety table, will be unloaded, actions open, no magazine
  • Do not load or reload weapons at the table (you may load magazines and speed loaders)

At the firing line, Range Commands:

  • The Safety Whistle – stop what you are doing, quit firing, follow commands
  • “Make Ready”
    • Control the muzzle, keep it down range
    • Load the weapon from your pocket, belt carrier or free hand
    • Cycle the slide home or close the cylinder
    • Put the safety on if applicable
    • Holster the weapon
  • “Make Safe”
    • Keep muzzle down range
    • Drop magazine or clear cylinders
    • Cycle slide and check breech clear
    • For striker fired auto pistols, point muzzle down range and pull trigger to decock
    • Re-holster the weapon or open the action and put it on the table
  • “Ready”
    • Assume posture for the exercise
  • “Up”
    • Commence firing the sequence for the drill
  • “Stop” or Whistle
    • Cease firing and listen for further commands

 

Most Common Reasons for the Whistle:

  • Muzzle control during loading, reloading
  • Trigger finger not extended during the draw or at the ready