Stress Inoculation
Getting
off the training range and into simulators may be the best way to increase your
tolerance to stress.
Early one morning Fidel and I were working together when we
caught a group of eight illegals in a steep finger canyon below Otay Mesa.
Lining them up in the narrow draw I led them out while Fidel brought up the
rear. As we topped out on the mesa Fidel shouted a warning. Glancing over my
shoulder I saw a man coming at me with a butcher knife raised over his head.
Spinning into him and drawing my pistol, I knew he had me beat – I wasn’t going
to get my gun up before he connected with the knife. Much to my surprise and
everlasting gratitude, Fidel somehow flew through the air like Superman and
tackled the knife man. As I swung around my .357 Magnum connected with the side
of my attacker’s head and I stomped his knife hand with my boot. This little
disgusto lasted only seconds and I was more angry than excited or fearful, but
a minute or two later my body caught up and slammed me with a stress reaction.
The flight or fight response is how our bodies protect us from
danger. Muscles tighten, our breathing quickens, the heart beats faster and
blood is diverted to the large muscle groups. As we tremble and sweat our
hearing and eyesight are affected and we enter into an altered perceptual state
of time and distance. You might wonder how anyone could perform complex tasks
while experiencing high stress levels but people do it all the time. Pilots,
soldiers, police officers, fire fighters and emergency medical providers are
just some of the examples of folks who work in high stress environments. What’s
their secret? It’s repetitive training and experience.
If we relate this to defensive firearms training, the goal
should be to make our skills reflexive – able to be performed without conscious
thought. The draw from a holster is a good example. Breaking the skill down
into small steps in the beginning, you progress to one smooth motion you can
perform without thinking about the individual steps. And then, with practice,
one day when you need it, the pistol will seem to appear in your hand without
conscious thought – the skill has become reflexive. Reflexive skills are the
ones we need when the spit is spinning off the fan blades and there is no time
to think.
Aside from living through multiple gunfights, here are some of
the things defensive shooters can do to increase their tolerance and learn to
perform at high stress levels; what I refer to as stress inoculation:
Training against the
clock
People seem to lose it when you put them on the clock, something
we see in class when we use turning targets or run a timed drill. Train with a
stopwatch or a shot timer and you’ll learn to operate under the pressure of
time.
Practicing complex skills
Advanced skills are nothing more than a combination of basic
skills applied to a particular problem. Practicing complex skills until they become
routine helps you perform them more easily in high stress environments.
Competing
Competition is a great way to develop the ability to stay cool
under pressure. Whether informally among training partners or in an organized
match, competition combines the need to perform complex skills under time
pressure while others are watching, a guaranteed stressful environment.
Tactical simulator and
force on force training
Getting off the training range and into simulators may be the
best way to increase your tolerance to stress. Live fire tactical simulators
where you have to work your way through a problem sorting out the shoot targets
from the no-shoots will force you to learn that you need to apply basic
marksmanship skills to be successful and will greatly increase your ability to
operate at high stress levels. Shoot houses are to shooters as flight
simulators are to pilots and both accomplish the goal of teaching proper
responses to emergencies.
Force on force is situational training where you interact with other
people to create a complex training experience. Less-lethal guns and training
ammunition are used and safety is a huge consideration. This advanced training
is the ultimate in high stress level firearms training because it most closely
resembles reality.
Mental conditioning
Mental preparation – getting your mind right, as a SEAL friend
of mine stated it – may be the most important component in stress management.
Anticipating, then visualizing how an event may unfold while planning your
response in advance is part of it. The other part, knowing you can act, and you
will act to solve the problem, is just as important.
Stress management
Remember to breath. This sounds ridiculous but in fact people
tend to hold their breaths when they’re stressed. Take a big, deep breath,
pause, and blow it out forcefully. Repeat several times and you can
significantly lower your blood pressure, slow down your racing heart, minimize
the physiological effects of stress and regain control. If faced with a complex
problem start breaking it down into simple tasks you can perform one at a time,
as this provides goals you can more immediately accomplish, rather than being
overwhelmed by the entire problem.
The pursuit ended suddenly when the deputy followed the suspect
into a parking lot with no way out. After blocking the exit the deputy got out
of his car. The suspect vehicle turned around and accelerated towards him, then
the driver pointed a pistol out the window and started firing. The deputy drew
his pistol and fired two quick shots, ending the career of the wannabe cop
killer. I learned about this when the deputy called and told me the story. You
see, he was a student of mine and had recently completed a pistol class at
Gunsite. He said, “Ed, it was just like being on the range in class. I wasn’t
excited or scared; I was completely calm and simply did what I had done
hundreds of times before during training.” It’s hard for me to maintain my
composure when I hear these stories – I’ve heard hundreds of them – because I
always cry at happy endings. If the time comes, I hope your story has a happy
ending as well.
About the Author:
Ed Head
is a regular on Shooting Gallery, Gun Stories and Down Range TV. He has worked
for almost 30 years in law enforcement, first in the United States Air Force
and then with the United States Border Patrol, retiring as a Field Operations
Supervisor. During his Border Patrol career, Ed worked in a variety of patrol,
investigative and training capacities. Ed has an extensive background as a
firearms instructor, having trained thousands, ranging from beginners to
police, military and special operations personnel. Having taught at Gunsite for
20 years, Ed first trained there under the world famous shooting school’s
founder, Jeff Cooper, then later ran the school as the operations manager for
more than five years. Ed lives in Chino Valley, Arizona, where he continues to
teach and write.
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