The Mineset of Combat Marksmanship, Frankie McRea

The mindset of Combat Marksmanship

Frankie McRae

Note: cover photo of a Raidon Tactics instructor at a Youth Rifle Marksmanship Course – no sense waiting until someone’s old enough drink, vote, or even drive, to start training them, is there?

Combat marksmanship (CMMS) is the ability to place lethal precision fire on a threat target in all environments under the stress of combat in order to reduce a threat to a point that it is no longer viable.

CMMS differs from marksmanship (mms) fundamentals because with the former, the enemy is firing at you or was just firing at you. In the latter, the shooter has all the time to make a shot count. In CMMS, the shooter has limited time, literally the rest of his life to perceive a threat and then eliminate that threat.  When a UFC fighter goes into the octagon, they call it combat. However, is it really? He cannot bite, head butt, or gouge the opponent’s eyes. It is nothing more than a very painful athletic event. The UFC fighter has the ability to say, “I quit” or tap out. In combat, the face off of opponents is to the death. The fighter there, the Gunfighter, does not have the ability to quit.

If the Gunfighter quits, it is very likely he or someone else will die.

CMMS begins with a mindset that the shooter is going into a combat situation.  When a boxer enters the ring, he expects to be hit. When a person has taken on the responsibility to protect himself or others, he has to assume that once the fight is on, it is to be to the end. It may end peacefully. Posturing may actually work. Studies show that a gun presented by a victim actually keeps the assailant at bay or runs him away many times. The mental decision of the “victim” to refuse to be a victim was the first action completed to save his life. That decision was made as soon as that person decided to arm himself.  The correct mindset for the “combat” situation starts with preparedness.

Preparedness is the situational awareness that something may happen and “prepares” the mind by thinking out the what-ifs, i.e. if this happens, I will do that.  This little saying is one of the best thoughts to have before an event actually occurs. Human reaction times to a stimulus are as fast as .25 seconds.  These reaction times are achieved when a person can think thru the actions needed to accomplish a task before it is needed.

This is a mental rehearsal.

My collegiate wrestling coach was a big advocate of the mental rehearsal.  The night before matches, I would lie in bed and mentally picture the match in my head. I would visualize the actions I was going to do first and think to myself, “If this or that happens, then I will respond like this…” I wrestled the match mentally/virtually many times before I wrestled it actually/physically.

Now, I am a much better shooter than I was a collegiate wrestler, but I learned a lot from those simple mental exercises. These prepared me for many situations in life. Preparedness also influences determination and the ability to be proactive.

Determination is the next principle of the mindset for combat. It is the innate personal decision not to quit until the situation is over. By being mentally prepared, the shooter is not as surprised at the situation and therefore not as overcome by events as someone that has no idea about what is going on. Because a person can think ahead in the gunfight, he can then realize the outcome and be proactive, not reactive. By being determined and proactive, the Gunfighter has a diminished fear factor. I am not saying that there is no fear in the gunfight. There is fear, fear of others getting injured or dying and other types of fear. Maybe fear of the bad guy getting away. However, determination, a mental attitude that rules out quitting as an option, is what carries us thru to the end of the fight.

Determination gives us passion and passion can be the driving force that gets us out of bed on Saturday mornings and takes us to the range.

Passion is the love that we have for activities we do. Going to the range and training for tasks that are uncomfortable or hard to accomplish. However, once we accomplish those tasks we feel gratification and satisfaction.  That passion breeds more determination to excel and make ourselves better and push ourselves harder.   We just have to remember, too much “can do” sometimes can do us in. We need restraint at the right time in the training cycle. We must be able to control the passion and use the smoothness we develop in our actions to develop the mental speed needed to anticipate what happens next.

Speed, both mental and physical comes by training actions repetitively.  By repeating the same actions correctly many times, we notionally groove that action in our brain. Once that motion is grooved, the action can become almost reflexive.

There is no such thing as muscle memory, per se.

That is a term used to explain the reflexive actions of trained tasks that can happen with minimal outside influences.  A reflex by definition is a response to a stimulus that does not need to go to the brain and be processed. It goes to the spinal column and back to the point of origin. Training increases speed. Training gives us the experience to know what should be happening next in the sequence of events. Passion drives us to train and determination keeps us going when it gets difficult. By focusing that passion and determination, we can push through to the next level of accomplishment and our speed increases. With focused power and speed, we accomplish violence of action.

Violence of action is the execution of actions with surprisingly overwhelming force. It is a culmination of all the passion, determination and speed needed to realize victory. When faced with violence of action the assailant must reevaluate the situation. Violence of action also diminishes the bravado of the assailant and increases the bravery of the Gunfighter. Violence of action is the one aspect that criminals use to surprise victims and totally dominate the situation. By dominating the situation, they control the victim. The Gunfighter must use all the aspects of the combat mindset to be the one that dominates the situation, eliminates any threats with the appropriate level of force and be prepared to go to that level of force.  Thereby controlling the situation and being victorious.

CONFIDENCE IS ABILITY PROVEN BY TRAINING BEFORE THE FIGHT.

Repeat that — confidence is ability proven by training before the fight.

When a Gunfighter has confidence it is because they have earned it through hard work and repetitive TRAINING iterations. Confidence is EXPERIENCE! Confidence is needed to ensure that the Gunfighter knows that they can accomplish a task: because it has been neurologically grooved. Confidence is also the knowledge that the Gunfighter can adapt to new, unique situations based on the 90% solution of the past experience they have gained through realistic high stress training.

ADAPTABILITY is the fundamental ability to change tactics, rules or thought processes based on the changing situation they find themselves in. If the Gunfighter does not have the experience, or confidence in themselves to read the terrain (whether it be tactical or operational in nature), and allow themselves to see changes without normalcy bias, then they are not adapting to the changes fast enough to survive. Understanding the forces against them and being flexible in doctrine, movement and tactics allows the Gunfighter to win against an asymmetrical enemy.

OFFENSIVE ATTITUDE: THIS DOES NOT MEAN PISSING EVERYONE OFF. This means that the Gunfighter has the mental ability to visit violence against an enemy. To use Violence of action, to use lethal force, to move hard, Strike First, Strike Fast. To have a hard Heart when needed. To take the high ground and to deny victory, to seize it from the enemy.

The combat mindset is not a natural born ability for most people. It is and can be a learned response. In preparing oneself for the fight, the combat mindset must be mastered.  You must have determination to go the distance, passion to work hard and the mental preparedness to be aware of the situation.

Those who train correctly for the fight win the fight!

Veterans Day,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

Happy Birthday,USMC

242 Years!

Preparation, Practice, = Performance!

The 3 P's are something that I teach in my firearm classes. Tiger McKee summed it up very precise and direct with this articles that he posted on the (Wire).  Thanks Tiger!

Skill Set: Five Stages of Preparation

According to the Kübler-Ross model there are five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced these stages in her book On Death and Dying, in 1969. They apply to dealing with grief from any source, but especially death. They also apply to the way we think about being prepared to defend against a violent attack.

The first stage of grief is denial. In the event of a death survivors cling to a belief that they have received mistaken information. "This can't be true," they say. Denial is a typical reaction to troubling news. The problem with denial is that it does nothing to change past events or prepare you for the future. Denial will not protect you. Recognizing that there are evil people out there and danger can come anywhere at any time allows you to prepare yourself for the future.

Stage Two is Anger. Anger creates frustration. Anger prevents rational thought. Think abut the bad decisions you've made in the past. Chances are the worst choices you've ever made were when you were angry. Your emotions, especially anger, make it difficult to think clearly. You must remain calm before, during and after the confrontation.

Bargaining is next. This is a hope that one can change the past, present or avoid grief in the future by offering a change in the way you live or think. "If I don't go to this part of town I won't have any trouble," you say. Bargaining won't prevent you from coming into contact with the bad guys. When they are in front of you – willing and ready to maim or kill – they probably aren't going to listen your "deal." Bargaining is a lot like gambling; at some point you're going to run out of luck and lose.

Depression is number four. Becoming depressed over the fact that there are evil people out there does nothing to prepare or defend against a threat. Depression creates fear. Now you are afraid to leave the home or venture out into public. Depression distracts, making it difficult to think or process information. Depression is not an option.

Finally, stage five, is acceptance. This is the only viable choice. You accept that there are bad, evil people out there ready and willing to do harm. You understand this danger can occur anywhere. Now you can take steps to prepare for trouble. You seek out training, learning how to defeat the attacker. You learn that at the top of your list of tactics is avoidance and escape, but sometimes this isn't an option. You practice the skills needed, so when the time comes you can apply them on demand under any type conditions. Mentally, and physically, you prepare for the fight, learning that no matter what happens you will win the fight, defeating the threat. The first step to preparing to respond to danger is accepting the necessity for these preparations.

Once you accept the fact that there are evil people out there you can begin to prepare. Can you prevent all attacks? No. "But what about firearms?" they say. Man killed before firearms, and taking them away will only prevent law-abiding citizens from defending themselves. By being armed, trained and with practice you can be ready to stop an attack. Will your response be perfect? Probably not, but it ain't gotta be pretty it just has to work. Violent attacks can occur anywhere, at any time. Personal defense is an individual responsibility. Make sure you are ready.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy

Skill Set: Take the Hit....Tiger McKee, (The Wire)

Skill Set: Take the Hit

If you've ever boxed, sparred or done any martial arts you know you're going to get hit. The same is true in any fight. There is a possibility that you will get hit, cut or maybe even shot. This doesn't mean the fight is over. When sparring you can call time out. In a fight there isn't any pause button. You're injured, but still have to win the fight.

I grew up with a younger brother. We were close enough in age that as we aged there were sometimes fights. No one was old enough to hurt the other, but you learned how to take small boy hit or kick. At this time there were still "fights" in school. It was a test everyone went through, and at some time or another you were going to tussle. Once we got mobile, with driver's license and the ability to roam we began to visit other parts of town. Fights were a regular Friday night event. (Keep in mind these were still "friendly;" nobody used knives or guns.)

Today, a lot of people have never been involved in a physical conflict. They are completely unprepared for those people who will use violence to have their way. If you're not used to being physically attacked it can be daunting, and it's not something you want to get on the job training about either. So, how do you prepare for this type action?

Mental preparedness is first. You need an education on violence. What form will it take? It may be a physical assault. Keep in mind this isn't "playground" rules. People will attack the eyes, throat or any other area of your body. Biting is common. The threat doesn't recognize "equal." If they have a baseball bat, screwdriver, knife, or firearm they will not hesitate to use them. Don't be surprised at what the attack looks like.

Through research you learn that the vast majority of people who are shot survive. The human body can take an enormous amount of punishment and still keep ticking. I know several people who were shot and didn't even realize they were hit until after the fight was over. Then there were some who received relatively minor injuries, went into shock, quit and died.

Injuries will produce blood, especially head wounds. Don't be afraid. It takes around forty percent blood loss - about two liters - before you're done. Take a two-liter soda bottle, fill it with liquid and pour it on the ground. That's a lot of fluid. Broken bones can often be ignored. Many people with serious breaks in arms and legs were still able to function. Sure, at some point you're going to need attention, but you can keep fighting.

Everyone should attend some type training that includes sparring. You're wearing protective gear and serious injuries are extremely uncommon. You learn how to take a hit and stay focused. At the same time you're developing some unarmed skills and improving your ability to physically perform, building up stamina.

I've pretty much decided that I will get hit, cut or shot in the attack. When it does happen it won't be a surprise. The body can take a lot of punishment, and the mind is willing. Regardless of what happens I'm still going to win the fight. I may be wrong, but I allow no doubt.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy