The Importance of Repetition

Skill Set: Repetition

Repetition is required in order to learn new skills. You practice a technique, over and over, until the mental and physical aspects are wired into the mind. Repetition is also important for other aspects of personal combat.

Many of the readers here attend training. Training introduces you to new skills and principles of fighting. You take a class, and then start looking for the next level of instruction to attend. How many of you have taken the same class again?

When you take a class, regardless of the level, there's a lot of new or different information being presented. Normally it's information overload, especially in the beginning. Studies have shown that you'll likely only absorb about twenty percent of the material being presented. Take the very same class again and you're up to about fifty to seventy-five percent. After the third time you've got the majority of the information. Now it's time to move on.

Attending the same class multiple times helps ensure you'll have a solid foundation to move up to the next level training. Otherwise it will be another overload, and you never really catch up. To get the most out of training you need a solid grasp of the skills required to perform at that level.

Or, you've taken take several classes, working up the ladder of instruction. After getting to a certain point, go back and take the first class again. You'll be amazed at how different, and enlightening the material will be. Once you get to a certain point you realize how important the basics are, and the necessity for reviewing them again.

The same thing applies to books or instructional video. There are some books I read every year. Each time I read through them I get a new, different perspective on the material they contain.

Repeating the same class over again provides confirmation. "Yes, I am on the right track." It reinforces your beliefs and abilities, creating confidence. It also uncovers any areas that may be weak or slightly off track, allowing you to modify or fine-tune existing skills.

Repetition also applies to your gear and equipment. I have a variety of different firearms. However, the list of those I normally use and carry is pretty short. For these weapons I have two, or sometimes three. The same thing applies to holsters, belts, magazines and flashlights. If anything breaks or gets lost I don't want to have to be ordering or scrounging for a replacement.

A lot of people think that progress always means moving forward, advancing towards your ultimate goal. Sometimes the best way to move forward is by stepping back. You take a class that is good. Go back and take it again. There is a book with lots of information. Read it, read it again and again. You discover a favorite weapon; so get more than one of them.

Sometimes it's more about focusing on the journey, the actual learning, than about the destination.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy

Know When!

Great information that a lot of CCW holders don't know.  Thank Tiger for the information!

Skill Set: Justified

(An email from a reader commenting on my Wire last week prompted this column.)

It's important to recognize that all your actions – from the time you touch your weapon, draw it or if necessary fire – will have to be justified. It will be necessary to explain why you did what you did.

Massad Ayoob uses the terms "Ability, Opportunity and Jeopardy." The offender(s) must have the "ability" to do you harm, using a weapon or through their physical actions. There must be an "opportunity" for them to immediately use that ability – e..g., they have a knife and are close enough to use it. Finally, their actions create "jeopardy." You are about to be on the receiving end of serious bodily harm/injury or death. All three of these elements must be present for you to be justified in presenting your weapon, much less using it against someone.

In order to understand this it's necessary to know the law, which can vary greatly from one state to another or sometimes city to city. Legally, when and why can you draw your weapon? Feeling uneasy or nervous is not enough. Remember, depending on where you are the act drawing a weapon, or even making the motions to draw, without good reason is a serious crime.

Did they have a weapon? Sometimes it will be easy to see that the threat is armed. Other times someone's body language - "furtive" actions – is consistent with one who is armed. The majority of our communication is non-verbal. You have to learn what people are "saying" through their physical actions. Was a successful physical assault possible? A younger man with powerful muscles who outweighs me by fifty pounds is easily capable of causing me serious harm. I'm not going to easily be able to justify why I thought an unarmed eighty pound teenager could physically overwhelm me. There is a lot of gray in-between the two opposite ends of the spectrum.

And don't think that you'll be able to lie about what occurred. There's a big chance there will be witnesses, and today everyone is quick to video the action. In urban areas, cameras monitor a lot of the environment. Physical evidence tells what occurred. The truth is going to surface. Fabricating a story to fit your actions is going to get you in trouble. Tell the truth.

If forced to draw your weapon, even if you didn't have to use it, contact the authorities as soon as possible to report your actions. I've actually had people tell me that if something happens and nobody is around to see it that they will not call the authorities. This is a bad idea. Again, there will probably be witnesses/video, even if you don't see someone. Plus, you don't want the threat calling in a false report - "There's a man in blue jeans and a tan shirt threatening people with his gun!" Report your actions immediately.

Knowing the law is mandatory, but it's also important to be morally justified. People will explain the "Castle Doctrine" this way: "If someone is in my house I can shoot them." This way of thinking leads to the wrongful shooting of family members, friends and people who just entered the wrong house by mistake. Even if they are in your house and dangerous, avoidance and escape are your best tactics. Just because someone is in your house does not legally or morally justify you shooting them.

The responsibilities of owning a firearm for self-defense are enormous. You do everything possible to avoid locations where it might be needed. Just because you draw it doesn't mean you will need to shoot. Anytime something occurs involving the use of that weapon, you have a duty to justify your actions. Make sure you know what to do, and the legal justifications for your actions.

Additional reading: Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self Defense

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy

HAPPY 4TH

Skill Set

Skill Set: Parking Lot

Steve lives in a large urban area. Sunday, after doing some shopping, a stranger tries to attack him. Steve's response has, as they all do, valuable lessons.

It's 12:30 on a bright Sunday afternoon. Steve exits the store with his bags, and while walking to his truck sees a man visually lock on him. Steve is an attorney who works with a variety of clients, and notices the guy is "tweeking," the herky, jerky body motion someone exhibits when using meth.

"His body language said 'trouble'," Steve tells me. "I was watching him," he explained, "but after I got to my truck," which is a long way from the guy, "I stopped watching."

He loads his bags into the truck, then sees the guy has closed ground, quickly. Once Steve notices this, the guy starts running full speed, rapidly closing the distance. "It looked like he was holding something," Steve told me, "but he was hiding his right hand so I couldn't tell for sure." Steve knows all about knives, box cutters, screwdrivers and such, which are dangerous weapons and easily hidden. "But, I didn't want to draw my pistol," he told me, "Until I knew he had a weapon."

It's decision making time. Steve explains, "I can fight, run across an open area, or cut through the parked cars and put the 'briar-patch" between him and me." That is what he does. He starts working his way through the parked vehicles surrounding him. The man keeps coming, following Steve through the maze.

Steve gets to a good spot - "where I could have a clear angle of fire if necessary" - stops, turns around, and yells out "What can I help you with?" The man suddenly halts and yells out, "I don't know anyone here!" Steve responds with, "Neither do I!" The man runs away, the incident ending as suddenly as it began.

Everything worked out well. But, there are a few things Steve could have done differently. First, keep in mind the bad guy probably will not show you his weapon until he has things exactly how he wants them. Plus, someone doesn't have to have a weapon to be a threat. Physical assaults can be just as bad as an "armed" attack.

It's a lot better to have the pistol in hand and not need it as opposed to waiting until you know for sure. By then it might be too late. Plus, with practice, you can draw without attracting any attention, keeping your weapon hidden until it's needed.

Issue verbal commands, as opposed to asking the threat questions. We see this a lot with people in the beginning of Force-On-Force training. Asking a question opens up the door for conversation, which may delay your response, allow the threat to get closer or provide time for their partner(s) to get into position. Tell the threat what to do. "Stop! Don't come any closer!" In addition to your shooting, manipulations and other skills don't forget to practice communication.

Once something has your attention – in this case suspicious body behavior – maintain a visual until you can safely say there's no longer any danger. Either they are gone, or you're in a safe place. People can cover a lot of ground quickly. Thirty, forty yards or more won't seem like that far when someone is running at you full speed.

Finally, always be ready. Yes, the majority of situations occur in low-light environments. This took place in the middle of the day in a crowded area. Trouble can occur anytime, anywhere.

Steve solved the problem; the best way to win the fight is without it getting physical. Avoidance and escape are always at the top of your list of tactics. But, we want to learn from Steve's situation so we're better prepared for those times when avoid/escape don't work, or are not options.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, located in northern Alabama. He is the author of "The Book of Two Guns" 

GAO Denies GLOCK, Inc.'s MHS Pistol Protest

GAO Denies GLOCK, Inc.'s MHS Pistol Protest

SMYRNA, GA. – The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied GLOCK, Inc.'s protest of the Army's award of the Modular Handgun System (MHS) contract to Sig Sauer.

The focus of GLOCK, Inc.'s protest was that the U.S. Army did not complete the testing outlined in its Request for Proposal (RFP) before awarding the MHS contract to Sig Sauer based only on limited initial testing. During this initial testing, there were no significant differences between the GLOCK and Sig pistols based upon the technical factors that were evaluated. In fact, Sig Sauer was awarded the MHS contract prematurely based upon price.

The remainder of the testing outlined in the RFP that was not conducted was intended to competitively evaluate the two proposals based upon more comprehensive and stringent testing. This testing would have measured the service life, safety, reliability, and accuracy of the pistols in use while being fired by the warfighters.

"By not completing the testing on both proposals on a competitive basis, the Army never determined which pistol would better meet the warfighter's needs," said GLOCK, Inc. Vice President Josh Dorsey. We are confident had the Army completed the testing, the GLOCK 19 would have outperformed the Sig P320, as it had in recent testing conducted by a leading federal law enforcement agency which resulted in GLOCK, Inc. being awarded that contract. GLOCK pistols have been battle proven by select units of the U.S. military forces for the past ten years. GLOCK, Inc. stands with the men and women serving in the Armed Forces and will continue to give them its full support.

We thank our technical team for submitting a pistol that met or exceeded all of the Army's requirements. We also extend our appreciation to our MHS partner, Vista Outdoor's Federal Cartridge, for creating the most effective and innovative pistol round we have ever tested, which performed flawlessly in the GLOCK 19 MHS model.

About GLOCK, Inc.

GLOCK is a leading global manufacturer of firearms. The simple, safe design of GLOCK's polymer-based pistols revolutionized the firearms industry and made GLOCK pistols a favorite of military and law enforcement agencies worldwide and among pistol owners. In 2017, GLOCK celebrates its 31st Anniversary in the United States. Renowned for featuring three safeties, GLOCK pistols offer users of every lifestyle confidence they can rely on. GLOCK, Inc. is based in Smyrna, Georgia. For more information, please visitus.glock.com.

Heuristic Problem Soloving

Skill Set: Heuristic Problem Solving

Making the decision on when and how to respond to a potential threat can be difficult. At first there seems to be a multitude of questions to be answered in order to come to the correct conclusion. When should you start initiating your response? How drastic does the response need to be in order to stop the threat? The problem is if you wait until you know all the answers it's probably too late to respond. How do we come up with a rapid, correct response? The answer isheuristic decision making.

The heuristic approach to solving problems provides you with an acceptable response in an efficient time frame. Finding the perfect response takes too long; there is no way to evaluate every factor from all the various angles. There may not even be a "perfect" response. You need a solution right now, it doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to solve the problem.

In order to perform at this level - making decisions without all the information - three things are required. First, you have to know what to look for. In other words, seeing the signs that trouble is coming before it arrives. The majority of this information is gained through body language. Studies have shown that ninety percent or more of our communication is non-verbal. Actions, someone's physical behavior, can provide strong valid cues on what they are about to do. It's also important to know what to ignore. Our minds are constantly receiving input from our environment and the people it contains. The key is to learn what to pay attention to and what to disregard.

Next, you have to know when you have enough information to act. Again, waiting until you are one hundred percent sure means you're probably already in trouble. This doesn't mean you lose, but it does make winning more difficult. The longer you wait the harder it will is to stop the threat, and as time passes your chances of being injured increase exponentially.

Finally, you have to know how to respond. You practice the skills needed and plan out your strategy in advance. For example you study how closely time and distance are related. Normally the more distance between you and the threat the more time you have. A stranger visually locks in on you from forty feet away and starts approaching. Immediately you issue verbal commands, "Stop! Don't come any closer!" If he responds that's good. If not, then you know there may be danger coming. You start considering other options such as creating distance and preparing to draw. An attack is launched suddenly at close distance. You draw to a retention position, rapidly placing hits on the threat and creating distance. Knowing what skills are needed and practicing in advance prepares you for the fight.

Numerous studies have shown that we have the ability to make snap decisions, sometimes with very little information and with amazingly accurate results. We do it every day in a variety of ways. The same can be done for evaluating and responding to danger. Know what to look for. Understand what information if critical. Finally, learn what response is called for to solve your problem. As I always tell people, "It ain't gotta be pretty, it just has to work."

Suggested Reading:

Left of Bang

Blink: The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking

The Gift Of Fear

What Every Body Is Saying

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, located in northern Alabama. He is the author of "The Book of Two Guns" 

Memorial Day

A salute to those who serve and have served and especially to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice!  God Bless!

THANK YOU!