Cruel Hand Luke

This is the first time these HITS (High Intensity Training School) classes have been offered in this area. This is the best way to get A LOT of material for the least amount of time and money. a review of a recent HITS class I taught in Jacksonville Fla can be found here....http://www.warriortalk.com/showthrea...le-Jan-13-2012

Chattanooga TN March 23-25. Join us for Dynamics of the Shotgun, Glock Armorer, Combat Pistol Marksmanship and Advanced Combat Pistol Marksmanship. Learn to run the shotgun caveman simple and to deadly effect, learn all about your glock and how to work on it yourself, and become a more competent pistol shooter....even an EXCELLENT pistol shooter all in one weekend with Suarez International Tier 1 Instructor Randy Harris! It all starts on Friday March 23.... March 23, 2012 DYNAMICS OF THE SHOTGUN Chattanooga, Tennessee Instructor: Randy Harris Price $225 The shotgun is the best CQB weapon in existence today. This HITS class presents a reality-based, aggressive, close quarters combative method of deploying the shotgun. Most shotgun schools spend a great deal of time discussing modifications and additions to the shotgun, or try to turn this CQB weapon into some sort of a rifle. Such is happily NOT the case in this one-day version of Shotgun Gunfighting. In this class you will learn what the shotgun is really for, and perhaps as important, learn the weapon's limitations. After a brief overview of the fundamentals and a skill check, we progress quickly to advanced reality-based drills. Whether you are a private citizen, a police officer, or a soldier - if you rely on a shotgun for self-protection, this course is essential. DURATION: 1 Days TIME: 9:00am to 5:00pm (CST) PREREQUISITES: NONE AMMUNITION: Approximately 100 rounds of Birdshot, 50 rounds of Buckshot, 15 Slugs and 50 rounds of pistol ammunition. YOU NEED TO BRING: Clothing appropriate to the weather. Lunch, snacks and water (minimum of 1 gallon per person) for the entire day. Baseball or other style hat, sunscreen, bug repellent, allergy medication (if needed), folding chair, note taking paper/pen/pencil and a boo boo kit (band aids, gauze pads, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment and tape). REQUIREMENTS: Shotgun (any caliber pump or semi-auto). All shotguns must be equipped with a sling and a stock. Pistol with at least two magazines, suitable belt, holster, and magazine pouches. A method of carrying extra shotgun ammo (for example: shoulder bag, ammo pouches, side saddle, or butt cuff). Ear & eye protection. Info or to enroll........http://www.suarezinternationalstore....anooga-tn.aspx Followed that evening by the Glock Armorer class... March 23, 2012 Time 6-10PM GLOCK ARMORER Chattanooga, Tennessee Instructor: Randy Harris Price $100 If you own a Glock you'll thank yourself for taking this course. It's designed for the Glock owner and will give you an overall view of the Glock's history, performance and construction. The maintenance portion will teach you to troubleshoot and diagnose problems with your Glock handgun and then goes on to explain how to make repairs. Attendance and successful completion of this Suarez International class does not qualify students to register as a Glock Factory Armorer. DURATION: 4 hours TIME: 6:00PM to 10:00PM PREREQUISITES: NONE AMMUNITION: N/A YOU NEED TO BRING: Note taking supplies, water, snacks, anything to keep you comfortable. Info or to enroll...http://www.suarezinternationalstore....anooga-tn.aspx REQUIREMENTS: Bring your own Glock - everything else will be provided. Then Saturday we'll make ourselves better pistol shooters with COMBAT PISTOL MARKSMANSHIP..... March 24, 2012 COMBAT PISTOL MARKSMANSHIP Chattanooga, Tennessee Instructor: Randy Harris Price $225 In this class you will learn how to fire an accurate shot with your carry handgun, in situations replicating what may be necessary to prevail in a proactive street gunfight. This course is perfect for the novice or new CCW licensee (although no licenses are necessary to attend). DURATION: 1 day TIME: 9:00AM to 5:00PM (CST) PREREQUISITES: NONE AMMUNITION: Approximately 150 rounds (Minimum) YOU NEED TO BRING: Spare clothing appropriate to the weather, lunch/snacks and water (minimum of 1 gallon per person) for the entire day, baseball or other style hat, sun screen, bug repellent, allergy medication (if needed), chair (if you have a problem with sitting on the ground, note taking paper/pen/pencil and a boo boo kit (band aids, gauze pads, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment and tape) REQUIREMENTS: Modern Defensive Pistol, Holster specifically made for that pistol and designed to be worn on the belt at the "strong side", 3 Magazines and One Magazine Pouch, A Belt of the same width as the belt loops for the holster and magazine pouches, Range Safety Gear (Eye protection and ear protection) Info or to enroll....http://www.suarezinternationalstore....anooga-tn.aspx And then on Sunday take it farther and faster with ADVANCED COMBAT PISTOL MARKSMANSHIP.... March 25, 2012 ADVANCED COMBAT PISTOL MARKSMANSHIP Chattanooga, Tennessee Instructor: Randy Harris Price $225 This class picks up where Combat Pistol Marksmanship leaves off and will train you to take longer and more difficult shots as well as using cover and the environment to assist in keeping you safe from incoming gunfire as well as aid your marksmanship. DURATION: 1 day TIME: 9:00AM to 5:00PM (CST) PREREQUISITES: NONE AMMUNITION: Approximately 200 rounds (Minimum) YOU NEED TO BRING: Spare clothing appropriate to the weather, lunch/snacks and water (minimum of 1 gallon per person) for the entire day, baseball or other style hat, sun screen, bug repellent, allergy medication (if needed), chair (if you have a problem with sitting on the ground, note taking paper/pen/pencil and a boo boo kit (band aids, gauze pads, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment and tape) REQUIREMENTS: Modern Defensive Pistol, Holster specifically made for that pistol and designed to be worn on the belt at the "strong side", 3 Magazines and One Magazine Pouch, A Belt of the same width as the belt loops for the holster and magazine pouches, Range Safety Gear (Eye protection and ear protection) Info and to enroll....http://www.suarezinternationalstore....anooga-tn.aspx But the best part is that there are multiple discounts available for multiple classes! Take all 4 and end up saving $125 dollars!!!!!!!!! INFO AND SIGN UP FOR VALUE PACKAGE.......http://www.suarezinternationalstore....anooga-tn.aspx

Or actually the old.... Midwest?

NO worries at all . I am more interested in truth than fiction and appreciate you filling me in. And with what I know of King Fisher ...that sounds like something he'd do. He's yet ANOTHER gunman of some repute killed in ambush. Interestingly enough he was ambushed and killed in a theater in San Antonio along with Ben Thompson....Thompson was Phil Coe's (who Hickok killed) business partner in Abilene Kansas at the Bulls Head saloon..........it's a small world.

That's cool. Well in that case I will certainly kindly defer to your local first hand knowledge on that stuff as I got it from books not from the locals.

I'm not sure why you say that about doing it with a cover garment. I use a slight variation of that draw stroke and have no issues with it at all with even a closed front cover garment. In fact I shoot IDPA matches with a closed front cover garment and have no issues with clearing the garment enough to bring the gun to my pectoral muscle to drive it forward. And my 1st shot from the holster normally breaks at between .70 and .80 so lifting it to pec level certainly is not slow. And yes, I used a timer not just guessing how fast it was. On shooting from the #2..... if you really pressure test this stuff against a live opponent with Sims or Airsoft guns you'll see that if they are REALLY close enough to NEED to shoot from the #2 then they are close enough that the shots from #2 Paul shows will still hit them and do it without hitting your off side hand that will most likely be up defending your high line. If you take a look at Paul's video posted here at TGO about retention it will make sense.

From an early age I have always been intrigued by the Old West and western movies and western culture. Most red blooded American boys grew up watching westerns on TV and reading about the Old West in books. After all, the American Culture is somewhat the Cowboy way. We fight for what is right. We put in a full day's work. We don't let our friends down, and we keep our word when we give it. We'll fight to right a wrong, but don't go looking for trouble.My heroes have always been cowboys and I spent many an hour in my childhood with my toy six shooters keeping my back yard free of rustlers and robbers. As I got older I began getting into martial arts and specificly the combative use of the gun. I practiced long and hard to develop my shooting skills, but there is more to it than the hardware aspect. I looked for books to read on mindset and technique and tactics and stories of shootings and what worked and what didn't. What I realized was that even though the west was not always as WILD as popular culture makes it out to have been, there were a fair number of folks getting into a fair number of gunfights. Maybe we could learn something from them? After all, if you learn from those that have done it, then maybe looking back at some Old West gunfights might be a good place to go for things that might help keep us alive today. So What did I find? Well, I started reading everything I could get my hands on. I soon found that there were a few individuals that were involved in multiple gunfights and seemed to always come out on top. So the obvious question was" why?". My research led me to find that the dynamics of the confrontations are really no different than they are today.So if the dynamics are the same, then we can look at what they did to survive their fights and apply that to ours today. I could go on for many pages using scores of historical gunfight examples but I will keep this confined to a few examples of fights involving two individuals. On one hand we have a famous lawman. A Civil War veteran and peaceofficer who developed a reputation as the "Prince Of Pistoleers". This man was James Butler Hickok, better known as "Wild Bill".The other was a man of considerable skill with a pistol who was just as short tempered as he was fast and accurate. This man was neither a lawman nor served in the army, but developed his skill at arms on his own from regular practice and combined that with a fierce will to win to become possibly the most dangerous man in the Old West....John Wesley Hardin. We'll look at Hickok first. In his famous gunfight with Dave Tutt July 21, 1865 in Springfield, Missouri they both met in the street "showdown" style. This was actually not very common regardless of what TV westerns lead us to believe. This fight stemmed from a watch won in a poker game,stoked by a rivalry over the same woman and ended with a man lying dead. Hickok had lost the watch to Tutt in a card game the previous night due to the fact that Hickok was unable to pay a debt he owed. Tutt took the watch as collateral. Tutt also went about town making a spectacle of wearing the watch and telling all who would listen that Hickok could not pay his debt. Hickok warned Tutt to cease and desist, but Tutt would not stop. So when they met in the town square the next day the fight was on. Hickok told Tutt to take the watch off, Tutt responded by pulling a pistol and firing. Hickok pulled his pistol, took careful aim and fired, sending a bullet through Tutt's heart from a distance of about 75 yards! Hickok immediately wheeled and pointed his pistol at Tutt supporters to his rear and they decided discretion to be the better part of valor and left. So what is there to learn here? A non gun culture guy might say "Hickok was a good shot" and they would be correct, but there is more here. Hickok was reported to have aimed carefully while Tutt fired wildly at him. Hickok fired a single decisive shot while his opponent fired wildly hitting nothing. So maybe accurate shooting wins gunfights? This is what we teach in the long distance shooting module of our Advanced Close Range Gunfighting class. And we see that Hickok turned and did a 360 degree scan after his opponent was down. How many of us practice this today in order to not be the victim of your opponent's possible accomplices? This is a basic tenet of gunfighting and we drill it in depth in our Close Range Gunfighting class. Another gunfight Hickok was involved in was July 17,1870 while he was town Marshal in Hays, Kansas. In this one the classic saloon brawl turns deadly. Hickok had previously angered members of the 7th cavalry (Custer's command) by roughing up and arresting one of their comrades.Three soldiers planned revenge and approached him, jumped him in a barroom and came close to ending his life. One jumped on his back another grabbed him by the arms as a third pulled a 1863 Remington Army issue pistol and stuck it to Hickok's head and pulled the trigger. The gun misfired and in the confusion Hickok was able to free his pistol and shoot two of the soldiers and make his escape back to his hotel room where he retrieved his rifle in case of further attack. Here we see a case where multiple assailants end up in a grappling situation with their victim. The victim has to access his weapon mid fight and shoot his way loose of the villians. Fortunately the bad guys had a faulty weapon. Does this sound very similar to what we see today with multiple assailants. Not all fights are one on one affairs. Sometimes the bad guys bring friends. And do you work on in-fight weapons access? Anyone can draw a gun from an exposed holster on the range, but things get more difficult and desperate when attacked by multiple opponents and you have to fend them off in order to access your pistol. This is where something like our Zero To Five Feet Pistol Gunfighting comes into play. We also see here the intangible element of luck, as the misfire saved Wild Bill. Sometimes luck is what saves you. Gunfights are dangerous affairs.Sometimes luck is all that seperates survivors from losers. The last item here is we see Wild Bill, faced with superior numbers did not stand and shoot it out. He got clear and armed himself with a rifle in case of further attack. The rifle has ALWAYS been a more effective tool than the pistol and still is today. A reason we put so much emphasis on having a rifle handy and knowing how to use it in our Rifle Gunfighting series of classes. The final Hickok fight we will look at is the October 5, 1871 gunfight in Abilene Kansas with Texas gambler/gunman Phil Coe. Phil Coe and Ben Thompson (another gunman of some fame from Texas) owned the Bulls Head Saloon in Abilene Kansas.There had never been any love lost between the three as Hickok was a Union veteran and the two Texans were Confederates. The 6 years since the end ofthe war had done little to make feelings any better about the war. Coe had once bragged to Hickok that he could "kill a crow on the wing" with a pistol, as a warning to Hickok. Hickok replied "Did the crow have a pistol? Was he shooting back? I will be". The animosity just grew and grew. The argument began over the sign in front of the Saloon depicting a bull in a "indelicate" pose. Hickok ordered that part of the sign be painted over and Coe said "no". Hickok requisitioned 2 painters to paint over the bull's offending anatomy and Coe was infuriated. He began stirring up trouble for Hickok among the texas cowhands in town and a general disturbance insued. That night as the cowhands all but rioted in the street Coe stood in front of the saloon firing his pistol. Hickok came up asking who was firing. Coe said he had shot at a stray dog. Hickok demanded his pistol, and in a flash Coe fired at Hickok. Hickok returned fire striking Coe in the stomach. Coe shot too quickly and the bullet had gone between Hickok's legs striking the dirt. A fast miss is no match for a solid hit. This is a basic concept that we convey in our Defensive Pistol Skills classes. As Hickok turned and did his 360 degree scan to insure he was not shot from behind ,a man with a pistol ran toward him. Hickok aimed and fired. Suddenly he realized he had just shot Mike Williams -his own deputy- who had heard the shooting and came running to Hickok's aid. From this we can learn a few more things. When we scan for other opponents we need to look closely so we do not shoot without identifying the target first. This can prevent a friendly fire incident from happening.The guy approaching with a gun may very well also be wearing a badge. We can also apply the reverse of this. It might not be a bad idea to present our gun "low profile" as we turn and scan. That way we will be less likely to get shot by responding officers. Again we see Hickok taking aim and making good center of mass hits. Accurate shooting still stops opponents...unfortunately even friendlies too. We see most of Hickok's fights generally being line of duty affairs where he is trying to either apprehend someone or disarm them. On the other hand the majority of John Wesley Hardin's fights were a case of an argument turned deadly, or him trying to keep from being apprehended. John Wesley Hardin grew up in a very violent period in east Texas during and just after the Civil War. Back then there was little order and what order there was , was the occupation force of the union army and afterwards their political appointees backed up by federal troops. This was during the lawless days of reconstruction. Hardin grew up with gun in hand and a resolve to survive. It would serve him well in the years to come. Whether Hardin was a homicidal maniac or just a guy with a quick temper that gambled and drank is open for debate, what is not open for debate is his skill with a pistol or his fighting mindset. We will now take a look at a couple of Wes Hardin's fights. His first gunfight was at the age of 16 in November 1867. He had been visiting an uncle and had gotten into a friendly wrestling match with an ex slave named Mage who was employed there chopping cotton. Hardin and his cousin both wrestled Mage who happened to be a very large man. Somewhere along the way Mage got angry and threatened to kill the two boys. The next day as Hardin rode his old horse home he was confronted on the road by the ex slave. Hardin says Mage charged him witha large stick.Mage took hold of the reigns and tried to hit him with the stick. Hardin drew his pistol and fired, but Mage kept coming. Hardin fired several shots finally felling the attacker. Mage died later that month. We see pistols are not terribly powerful stoppers. Here we see a large attacker with a contact weapon who requires more than one or two rounds to stop. Isn't that what we work in Force on Force drills today? Shoot until the threat is down. Hardin is believed to have been carrying a Colt Dragoon. So even multiple rounds from a .44 didn't immediately stop this enraged attacker. Something else to consider. Maybe placement is more important than bore diameter? It is also interesting to note that after this Hardin was more likely to shoot for the head. Many of his future victims were felled with a bullet in the brain. This is why we teach a burst to the chest followed immediately by a burst to the head if the assailant is still up. This is a basic tenet of our Close Range Gunfighting curriculum. We now skip ahead a few years to late 1870 and see Hardin travelling. The hotel he has stopped in has a bar and a very attractive woman sits in there apparently upset. Hardin approaches her and strikes up a conversation. She claims to be having relationship problems and he tries to comfort her. She asks if he'd like to go upstairs and apparently the prospect of a pretty and vulnerable young woman was more than he could resist. Upon enterring the room however there is a loud banging on the door. She says it is her boyfriend and he will kill Hardin. The boyfriend enters and confronts Hardin, pistol pulled. Hardin says he didn't know she was his girl and apologizes. The man asks Hardin to hand over his money.Hardin agrees and says he does not want any trouble. Hardin then drops the money at the man's feet . As he takes his eyes off Hardin and bends down to pick up the cash, Hardin draws a pistol and fires a round through the man's head. Turns out the man and woman had been running this same scam for some time. Here we see how not all bad guys are even guys and you can be rused into really bad situations if you are not careful.Girls can be bad guys too! However Hardin showed calm under duress and was able to use misdirection and a ruse of his own to reclaim the initiative and shoot a man who had him held at gunpoint. This "under the gun" situation is exactly the type situation we look to solve in our Zero to Five Foot Pistol Gunfighting classes. Next we will look at an incident in 1871 on a cattle drive to Abilene. Hardin's herd has been getting mixed up with a mexican herd that was coming up the trail behind them. An argument insued and Hardin was shot at by one of the vaqueros. He rode back to his own camp and with his cousin, armed himself with a pair of pistols. As the mexicans got closer Hardin and his cousin mounted their horses and charged them. Hardin ended up killing 5 of the 6 vaqueros, his cousin killing the other.This made Hardin a bit of a celebrity and word of this exploit soon found its way to Abilene and Marshal Hickok. Not exactly the best way to handle a livestock dispute these days, but if a fight is imminent it is best to be on the offensive not the defensive. That is something that Hardin was always prepared to do. He had no qualms about shooting first when a fight became apparent. If we wait too long to act, we can dig ourselves into a hole we cannot get out of. We all have to develop our "line in the sand" where if it is crossed we are prepared to fight. Otherwise we end up so far behind the curve that we can never catch up. That is why being able to pick up on pre assault cues and see the fight coming is so important. Once you know the fight is about to be on it is time to get proactive, not reactive! The final one we will look at is the May 26,1874 killing of Brown County Texas deputy Charles Webb. This was the shooting for which Hardin was convicted and sent to prison in 1877. That day Hardin had spent his birthday gambling on horse races and generally carousing and having a good time. That evening he was approached by a deputy from another county while standing in front of a saloon.He recognizes the man who approaches with one hand behind his back. Hardin asks Webb if he has any "papers" on Hardin and Webb says no that he is not thereon business he was just there to enjoy a night on the town. Hardin asks him then to join him for a drink and turns to walk toward the doors of the saloon.As Webb approaches he points the pistol he was holding behind his back and fires hitting Hardin in the side.At that moment one of Hardin's friends yells for Hardin to "look out"! Hardin lunges sideways at the same moment drawing and firing from probably a retention type position and shoots Webb in the face with his Smith and Wesson .44 American. Just looking at sheer dynamics and not getting bogged down in the obvious questions surrounding the shooting of a law enforcement officer (even if he was not on official police business and shot first from ambush), we have an assailant with pistol already drawn employing a ruse to get close to the victim. When the victim turns , leaving an opening, the assailant raises and fires his pistol. The "victim" here got off the line of attack and was hit with a peripheral hit instead of center of mass and was able to draw and return fire from a "stanceless" retention position while getting out of the way and score a headshot to end the altercation. This is very similar to what we teach with the Pistol Inquartata technique . How similar is that to a mugging/murder attempt in an alley in any city in America today? The ability to get off the "X", get your gun into play and fire quickly is just as important today as it was back then. While not all the scenarios are still something we would run into on a daily basis (I doubt I'll ever get in a dispute over cattle) they all do share characteristics of dynamics that we do still encounter in physical confrontation today in 2011. Just as it was in 1869 accurate shooting still ends fights.Hits to the chest and head stopped people then and tend to do the same today whereas peripheral hits may or may not. Sometimes you will not be able to just "Don't let them get close and shoot well" like is taught in some places, but may have to physically fight off multiple assailants in order to even access your weapon and shoot from retention to make space to get away. Rifles are still best if they can be accessed. When the shooting is over make sure no one is coming up behind you bydoing a 360 degree scan. And LOOK at who is coming not just glance and shoot if someone is approaching! The life you save may be a brother officer or a family member. We also see where we need to be aware of our surroundings and don't be quick to trust unknown contacts. They may just be employing a ruse to get close enough to be able to overtake you. If the fight is on, then the fight is on! Get proactive! You owe them no mercy.Get off the "X" and shoot them to the ground! If you are hit, keep fighting! Handguns are still underpowered when compared to long guns. Even if you get hit, odds are you will survive. But only if you keep from getting hit multiple times. Finish the fight! And practice is essential. Both Hickok and Hardin practiced with their armaments religiously. It is an interesting side note that both men were eventually killed by ambush from behind. They had developed the skill that made their killers so fearful of their ability that they had to resort to shooting them from behind. It is interesting to look back at where we came from. Sure we carry Glocks and AKs today and not 1851 Navy Colts and Winchesters. We have smokeless powder and 15 to 20 rd mags,instead of six shooters and big clouds of smoke when we pull the trigger, but the software hasn't really changed much since Cain and Abel. People still fight much the same.The dynamics of confrontation are still the same.The badguys still get close to rob rape or pillage and often bring friends. You still are less likely to get hit if you move. You still have to hit the badguys in important places to reliably stop them.So maybe looking back at where we came from will help keep us safe while we get to where we are going.

And God forbid you think just having a gun makes you safe and you pull it and extend it to within reach of someone who knows something about gun disarms. Extend only as much as necessary to make the shot. There are criminals out there who are dumber than a sack full of left handed screwdrivers. And there are criminals out there that have a "PHD" in violence. Unfortunately they don't let you know which they are in advance.

Just a quick reminder for all you guys in the TN, GA, AL area (and everywhere else for that matter!) that this class is coming up soon. Close Range Gunfighting is the quintessential Suarez International class. If you have not taken it then you may know how to shoot...but do you know how to FIGHT? This class is about FIGHTING with a pistol, not just target shooting.

Mav, yes I'll be doing another Advanced CRG class again next year...in warmer weather.

Awesome. Looking forward to seeing you there!

It is a private range about 35 minutes from downtown Chattanooga. The mailing address is Pisgah Alabama. But it is about 5 minutes from Ider High School. It takes me EXACTLY 35 minutes to get there from where I 24 and Highway 27 split in downtown Chattanooga. You go to Trenton Ga and go up the mountain to Alabama. The directions can be found here.......January 28-29, 2012 - Close Range Gunfighting - Chattanooga, TN

Start out the New Year with the class that put Suarez International on the map.This is the class that turned the defensive pistol training world upside down by focusing just as much on NOT GETTING SHOT as it focused on shooting the Bad guys! January 28-29, 2012 CLOSE RANGE GUNFIGHTING Chattanooga, Tennessee Instructor: Randy Harris Price $400 This is our flagship course and goes as far as you can safely go on a square range with live-fire pistols. The dynamic curriculum surpasses the traditional handgun methods commonly taught in most institutions and focuses of the use of the pistol in aggressive close range applications likely in individual civilian street encounters. The class begins with a tune-up of the fundamentals, then we progress quickly to new skills such as Proactive and Reactive Manipulations, Shooting While Moving Off The X, Reality-Based Multiple Hostiles Engagement, 360 degree CQB Movement, Danger-Close Fighting, Bilateral Shooting, 360 degree After Action Assessment Methods, and Integrating the Flashlight and Other Tools into the Firing Platform. This is the life-saving material that is often ignored in many other programs. In two days, you will receive more information than most armed professionals ever get! We must point out that THIS COURSE IS NOT FOR THE NOVICE SHOOTER. If you have not received basic instruction, or have a question about your skill level, please call us first. [TABLE=width: 100%] [TR] [TD]DURATION:[/TD] [TD]2 days[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]TIME:[/TD] [TD]9:00AM to 5:00PM (CENTRAL)[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]PREREQUISITES:[/TD] [TD]NONE[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]AMMUNITION:[/TD] [TD]Approximately 500 rounds (Minimum)[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]YOU NEED TO BRING:[/TD] [TD]Spare clothing appropriate to the weather, lunch/snacks and water (minimum of 1 gallon per person) for the entire day, baseball or other style hat, sun screen, bug repellent, allergy medication (if needed), chair (if you have a problem with sitting on the ground, note taking paper/pen/pencil and a boo boo kit (band aids, gauze pads, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment and tape)[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]REQUIREMENTS:[/TD] [TD]Modern Defensive Pistol, holster specifically made for that pistol and designed to be worn on the belt, 3 Magazines and Magazine Pouch, A Belt of the same width as the belt loops for the holster and magazine pouches, Range Safety Gear (Eye protection, and ear protection)[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] To sign up..........January 28-29, 2012 - Close Range Gunfighting - Chattanooga, TN Also on the evening of the 28th we will be offering our Glock Armorer class. January 28, 2012 GLOCK ARMORER Chattanooga, Tennessee Instructor: Randy Harris Price $100 If you own a Glock you'll thank yourself for taking this course. It's designed for the Glock owner and will give you an overall view of the Glock's history, performance and construction. The maintenance portion will teach you to troubleshoot and diagnose problems with your Glock handgun and then goes on to explain how to make repairs. Attendance and successful completion of this Suarez International class does not qualify students to register as a Glock Factory Armorer. [TABLE=width: 100%] [TR] [TD]DURATION:[/TD] [TD]4 hours[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]TIME:[/TD] [TD]6:00PM to 10:00PM (CENTRAL)[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]PREREQUISITES:[/TD] [TD]NONE[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]AMMUNITION:[/TD] [TD]N/A[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]YOU NEED TO BRING:[/TD] [TD]Note taking supplies, water, snacks, anything to keep you comfortable.[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]REQUIREMENTS:[/TD] [TD]Bring your own Glock - everything else will be provided.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] To enroll in the Armorer class......January 28, 2012 - Glock Armorer - Chattanooga, TN Sign up before Jan 1 to still get 2011 pricing on 2012 classes!!!

Cool. I'll shoot a PM to you this evening.

Thanks Chances R, I really appreciate the kind words. R_Bert, I'm in the process of getting a knoxville area class finalized. If all goes well and we get it on the schedule I'll post it here.

Nice find. Though he and I are no relation, we do read a lot of the same books. It also fits nicely with this...http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/tactics-training/62832-dealing-pests.html

Investing in training is investing in yourself. You are essentially "upgrading software" any time you train. Sure it makes us feel warm and fuzzy to buy a new pistol or an optic for our rifle, but FAR more important is upgrading our mindset, skillsets and maybe most importantly our CONFIDENCE. That is one of the benefits of training that is worth far more than you pay for it. Having a gun is a good first step....but it is still little help without having the mindset to use it. Developing the skillsets to use the weapon effectively makes you a more competent user, but the increase in confidence, to KNOW that you can perform the skills under pressure is what is what allows us to not panic and to function well without falling apart under pressure. And that increase in confidence crosses over into other areas of our lives too. Training can be the ultimate "self help" program. It improves your skill, your confidence and good training even helps you think more analytically and critically.

That is a bit of a broad statment. While 2 days is generally better than 1 , one day classes are hardly not "worthwhile".

I'm in Chattanooga. I offer classes in this area and I also travel quite a bit teaching. If you'd like to discuss a "house call" I'm all ears . Of course we are also offering some 1 day pistol classes (Suarez International USA, Inc. - High Intensity Training Schools) that if you were interested in coming here we might schedule one on a Sunday for OR if you wanted to host one there it would get you free training as the host. You can check out some reviews of my classes here at TGO. If there is something I can help you with let me know.

Hey guys, I'm looking to finish up my 2012 schedule.I have some holes still left in my schedule for next year and was looking to see if there is anyone interested in hosting me for a class next year. I'm looking to see if anyone specifically in Tennessee would be interested in hosting any of the Suarez Int classes that I teach. My home base is in the Chattanooga area but I also travel all over the eastern US to offer classes. I'd like to be able to find a few new places in TN to offer classes occasionally. Classes I offer are .... Defensive Pistol Skills Close Range Gunfighting Advanced Close Range Gunfighting Zero To Five Feet Gunfighting Low Light Gunfightng Force On Force Low Light FOF CQB fighting in structures Terrorist/Active Shooter Interdiction Fighting Rifle Skills Rifle Gunfighting Advanced Rifle Gunfighting Kalashnikov Rifle Gunfighting Advanced Kalashnikov AR/M4 Gunfighting Advanced AR/M4 Gunfighting Shotgun Gunfighting Advanced Shotgun And our 1 day "High Intensity Training Schools" FOF Winning the Gunfight (1 day class) Combat Pistol Marksmanship(1 day class) Adv Combat Pistol Marksmanship(1 day class) Combat Rifle Marksmanship (1 day class) Adv Combat Rifle Marksmanship (1 day class) Dynamics of KALASHNIKOV (1 DAY CLASS) Dynamics of the Shotgun (1 Day class) Team Tactics Fundamentals (1 Day class) Vehicle Gunfighting Fundamentals (1 Day class) If you see something you like and would like to host a class let me know!

In an effort to provide an environment for ongoing training and skill maintenance and opportunity for fellowship with fellow Suarez alumni we are going to offer a few times a year 1 day training days conducted by the regional Suarez Instructors. This is also our way of saying THANK YOU for training with us. Who can attend? Anyone who has taken a Suarez International class. SUNDAY DEC 4 The INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE TN/GA/AL SUAREZ TRIBE We will work on the core skills of pistol fighting....Get off the X,Get your gun out, HIT WHAT YOU AIM AT, Keep your pistol running(clear malfunctions) and reload. What you need? Pistol, holster , 3 magazines, eye and ear protection. Ammo: 200 rounds (minimum) Time: 12PM to 4PM CENTRAL TIME (If you arrive at 12 eastern you will be an hour early!) Location: The range we use in Pisgah (Ider) Alabama right where TN, Ga and AL all come together. Location is 35 minutes SW of downtown Chattanooga. If you need directions PM me and I'll send 'em to you. Price: $50 LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED!

Below is a review written by Chris Upchurch of the Oct 15-16 Suarez International Force on Force Gunfighting I taught in Columbia SC. Originally posted at http://www.warriortalk.com/showthread.php?91808-Force-on-Force-with-Randy-Harris-in-Columbia-SC Last weekend I had the opportunity to assist with the Force on Force class that Randy Harris taught here in Columbia, SC. Force on Force was one of the very first S.I. classes I took back in 2007. While the fundamentals are still the same, the class has evolved quite a bit since then. The other host for the class was fellow S.I instructor Alex Nieuwland. We were also joined by S.I. Staff Instructor J.D. Lester. Both of them took the course as students. There were nine other students, including some repeat customers from Alex and my previous courses in Columbia. Most were from South Carolina or neighboring states, but a few came from as far afield as Pennsylvania and Missouri. I brought my usual FoF gear. I ran a pair of KWA airsoft Glock 17s in Archangel holsters. Not only does a class like this give a good chance to practice dual carry, I also find that it takes two airsoft guns to keep one running. They may look like Glocks, but they definitely don't have the Glock level of reliability. I also brought a couple of Nok trainers, for stabbing people with. This isn't a 0-5 class, but it's still an important part of the threat spectrum. My bag also held the usual complement of blue guns, since even when working with airsoft they're useful as demo tools. I brought an airsoft mask for when I was participating in scenarios, as well as some safety sunglasses, for eye protection when I was just observing. One thing I didn't bring was any airsoft armor (no sweatshirts or other padding). This is both because I wasn't planning to participate a lot and because I like to maintain some pain as a reminder that it's a good thing not to get shot. I brought a long sleeved cover shirt (though it got warm enough I kept the sleeves rolled up when I wasn't actively participating). Other folks brought a mixture of the traditional airsoft guns and the Umarex CO2 powered pistols. They also generally brought more airsoft armor (sweatshirts) than I did, though they were getting shot a lot more. One place a couple of people were caught short was headgear. If you get an airsoft BB in part of the head the mask doesn't cover it's going to sting quite a bit. Some kind of hat or a hood on your sweatshirt is very helpful (particularly for some of our follicly challenged students). The class was hosted at Alex's house. One of the nice things about FoF is we have a lot more flexibility on the venue than classes involving live fire. Alex has a house on a nice big wooded lot with plenty of room to play. I headed over to Alex's house on Friday evening so we could make sure everything was ready. After the last minute preparations were out of the way, we hung out and drank some beer while we waited for Randy to arrive. Alex was kind enough to let me use one of his spare bedrooms, so I didn't have to make the drive across town. Randy had the other bedroom and J.D. slept on the couch. Saturday Randy started the class off with a safety lecture. Interestingly for a class involving no live fire, he started by going through the 4 safety rules. He talked about how these applied in the airsoft environment. Even though we'll be pointing airsoft guns at each other, we still don't want to be careless with our muzzles. When we point a gun at someone in FoF, it's with the intention of destroying them (as thoroughly as they can be destroyed with airsoft BBs anyway). He also went through some airsoft specific safety precautions, concentrating on eye protection. This is the one place where airsoft BBs can really hurt you. As he put it, "It's all fun and games until someone looses an eye." Accordingly everyone participating in a drill needs to wear a paintball mask, and even if you're not actively participating everyone needs to wear eye protection. To provide some context to the class, Randy talked about how S.I.'s FoF compares to other handgun training, using IDPA as an example. In an IDPA stage, the shooter faces static targets, in a known configuration. They aren't going to maneuver, or shoot back, or try to stab you. None of these things are true in a real fight. Next, Randy went through his excellent PESTS lecture. Rather than recapitulating this, I'll just point you to his recent, epic post on the subject. After the lecture, Randy had the students put up their real guns, knives, etc. Alex and I patted everyone down to make sure they didn't have any live weapons on them. The first FoF drill was the Matt Dillon drill. Two students faced off at about four yards and on command they drew and shot the other guy. The most common result was simultaneous shots, with both students getting hit. We call this the suicide drill for a reason. Randy asked the students what kind of sight picture they were getting. Nobody claimed to have had a perfect sight picture, and most admitted they weren't getting any sort of sight picture at all. Despite this, everyone was getting good hits. This developed into a short discussion of point shooting. To put the Mat Dillon drill into context, Randy went through the basics of how pistol bullets stop people: fear, pain, lower the blood pressure to the brain, sever the spinal cord, and destroy critical parts of the brain. Of these the only ones that are both sure stoppers and instantaneous are the spinal cord and the brain. Any other hit may to take some time to take effect. Beating your opponent to the draw by a fraction of a second hardly guarantees victory. In fact it probably leaves him plenty of time to try to kill you before he expires. The solution is to take advantage of the adversary's OODA loop, rather than trying to outdraw him. The OODA loop is a description of the human decision making process. We Observe a change in our environment, Orient by putting that change into the context of our knowledge and previous experience, Decide what we're going to do in response, then Act to carry out that decision. Running through this loop in personal combat takes 1.5 - 2 seconds. We can take advantage of the adversaries OODA loop by getting off the X: moving off our original position and forcing our opponent back to the beginning of the loop. While he goes through the OODA cycle, we can be drawing, maneuvering for a better position and getting shots on board. Randy showed the Pekiti takeoff, some footwork that we've borrowed from Fillapino knife fighting that can help get us off the X quicker. This is one of those things that's difficult to describe in writing, but essentially you drop your body weight and use that drop to shift one foot back to drive off of. It allows for a very quick GOTX. After the students practiced their takeoff for a bit, Randy discussed the merits of choosing different directions to get off the X in. Generally, versus an assailant armed with a firearm we prefer the forward oblique angles, since these provide the biggest change in angle, from the adversary's point of view. To test how well people were getting off the X, the students went up against Randy. Randy has one of the fastest elbow-up elbow-down drawstrokes I've ever seen, but even against this students were able to get off the X before he could shoot when they executed everything correctly. At this point we broke up into groups of two and practiced getting off the X. Initially, one student drew and fired at the spot where the other student was standing while he got off the X. Once they had this down, to make it a bit more challenging we started working GOTX against the drawn gun. This time the student playing the bad guy role could shoot as soon as he saw the other student move. Even with the gun already out, students could generally get out of the way before the shot. Up until this point we'd been focusing on the good guy getting off the X. Now we added in some return fire. After moving off the X the good guy now drew and fired a single shot in return. This managed to mess some people up. As soon as you start thinking about drawing and firing, there's a tendency to prioritize this over movement. Ideally, moving and drawing should initiate at the same moment, but if one has to happen before the other, it should be movement. After a late lunch, we resumed practicing getting off the X. To keep the student playing the bad guy from cheating, because he knows the student is going to get off the X, and can probably make a good guess about the direction, Randy had them draw and fire their first shot with their eyes closed. Since everyone seemed to have the basics down, Randy upped the ante a bit. Rather than just firing a single shot, the bad guy student fired one at the good guy's original position, then tracked began tracking them and firing a second shot. This simulates the assailant working through his OODA loop and adjusting to your movement. In return, we let the good guy fire a pair, rather than just a single shot. Once the students had worked this for a while, Randy allowed each student to fire multiple shots. We picked up some discussion of point shooting from earlier and talked about what kind of sight picture people got while getting off the X. The universal answer was that they weren't really using the sights, this was pure point shooting. To finish up the day, Randy had everyone work the GOTX drill without any sort of OODA lag on the adversary's part. They could draw and fire directly towards the good guy as he moved, without having to shoot at his original position. With this, we wrapped things up for the day. Alex arranged for a neighborhood eatery to cater a nice spaghetti dinner for us. After we were done eating, Randy got things going on the Glock Armorer class. Sunday We picked up on Sunday morning with a few more GOTX drills similar to what we'd been doing at the end of the day on Saturday to get everybody warmed up. Then we moved on to dealing with opponents armed with contact weapons (knives, clubs, etc.). The nice thing about contact weapons is that if you can stay out of arms' reach, you're safe. The problem is that's easier said than done. When confronted by a knife armed assailant, most peoples' instinct is to backpedal away. This is one of the worst ways to handle the situation. The assailant can probably run forwards faster than you can backpedal and backpedaling increases the risk that you'll trip on something and end up falling and bouncing the back of your head on the asphalt. That's a pretty good way to knock yourself out. Far better to point your toes and hips in the direction you want to go and run. Which direction? Well, there are basically two options: increase distance or change the angle. If you are far enough and have enough speed, you can just turn tail and run. Then, as you're running, draw your gun and twist around to shoot. How well turning it into a footrace like this works is going to depend on how fast you are relative to the assailant and how much distance you start off with. The other option is to take a page from our pistol GOTX techniques and change the angle. This doesn't require as much speed and it works at shorter distances (provided you're outside of arms' reach to begin with). Randy had everyone start out working this as a big group. One student was the good guy, another the bad guy and everyone else watched. After running it a couple of times the bad guy became the good guy and a new bad guy rotated in. This allowed everyone a chance to see what worked and what didn't and to get some feedback from Randy on what they were doing. One important element that became obvious pretty quick is that it works much better if you go to their non-weapon side. If you go towards the hand with the knife in it the slightest miscalculation means you'll end up running right into the knife. After everyone had a chance to go a couple of times, we broke up into pairs and worked on it some more. Next up: multiple adversaries. If you're the bad guy, working in a two-man team, from your perspective the best place for the victim is between you. If you're the good guy, the best place for the bad guys are lined up, so one bad guy is between you and the second bad guy (this is called "stacking"). Exactly how this unfolds in real life depends a lot on how each side maneuvers. To demonstrate the dynamics of this, we worked though it as a group, with two bad guys and one good guy, rotating through all the students. What generally worked best for the good guy was moving quickly and decisively. Trying to go between the bad guys generally didn't work out. The real killer, however, was waiting too long to move. When you're outnumbered you can't allow the enemy the initiative. By the time you see what he's committed to its probably too late. We broke for lunch, then returned and continued with multiple adversaries, this time three on one. The difficulty really ramps up here. This is one of the things I really love about Force on Force. Against static, paper targets, gunning down three in succession looks pretty cool. The three target array is a staple of many gun games and training courses. In reality, going up against three adversaries that actively maneuver and shoot back is extremely difficult. It's not impossible, but it's going to take a lot more than just a quick trigger finger and good target to target transitions. You need to be decisive, smart, and aggressive, and deploy good GOTX tactics to come out on top. To finish up the class, we ran through some scenarios. We had the student's hang out in Alex's garage and sent them down the driveway one at a time. I played the bad guy, allowing Randy to stand back and observe. In the first scenario, I acted as an aggressive panhandler. Randy told me to turn it into a robbery if I really got them into an advantageous position, but none of the students let me get that close. I moved to intercept the student, block his progress down the driveway and insistently ask for money. If the student got around me, I let them go, and if they gave me a really strong verbal "back off" I did (though I didn't move out of their way). Other than that I was pretty insistent. The students' responses covered quite a wide range. Those who were quick, decisive, or willing to walk of the path often got by me. Those who were more tentative usually didn't. A few of them pulled guns on me, and one of them lit me up. The next scenario was more of a straight up robbery. It also included Alex as a second opponent coming up behind the student. I stopped their forward progress and distracted them while Alex came up behind, then we proceeded with the robbery. Again, the students had a range of responses. One student managed to get in a gunfight with Alex before he ever got down to me. The quick, decisive ones managed to slip by me and avert the robbery altogether. This time, those who ended up stopping ended up in a real bad spot, trapped between me and Alex. The way it usually unfolded was almost comical: the student heard Alex coming up behind him and looked over his shoulder, he looked back at me, then back at Alex, then when he looked back at me he found himself staring down the muzzle of my airsoft gun. I was able to pull this sort of thing off several times. Our last scenario was a carjacking. The setup was that the students were coming out of the gym and getting in their car. J.D. Lester parked his car in Alex's driveway. The students were given a duffel bag with their gym gear in it and they had to come out of the garage and get in the car. Alex or I were crouching down on the far side of the car and when the students were occupied with the car door we ran around the back and tried to jack them. Despite being hypervigilant in a way that only a scenario-based self-defense class can make you, most students didn't walk around and check for someone hiding behind the car. Most of them did manage to pick up on the BG before he got right up to them, but in a few cases the assailant got within arms' reach. With this, we wrapped things up. Alex and I pitched our upcoming classes (including Randy's 0-5 class in Columbia next April) and Randy handed out the certificates. Conclusions As usual, Randy ran a great class. The students were enthusiastic and eager to learn. IThe curriculum did a good job of getting the students to understand the usual S.I. fundamentals of getting off the X and point shooting. One of the big differences from the last time I took the full Force on Force class is the addition of the scenarios on Sunday afternoon. I think they did a real good job reinforcing Randy's PESTS lecture and emphasizing the need for quick, decisive movement. If you keep moving it's going to go a lot better for your than if you stand around dithering. One thing several incidents during the class reinforced was that airsoft magazines are nowhere near as durable as the real thing. Students broke several mags, both from traditional airsoft guns and from the Umarexes. Generally the culprit was accidentally dropping the mag, usually during the draw. Another problem we saw a couple of times was difficulty with the safeties. In particular, the sliding safety on the Umarex guns sometimes gets engaged as you put it in the holster. Another reason to grind that thing down and perhaps glue it in the fire position. I think the venue (Alex's yard) worked out quite well for this class. There was plenty of room to spread out and work on drills in pairs or small groups. I'd like to thank Alex for hosting it, and for putting me (and Randy, and J.D.) up for the night. Hopefully we didn't do too much damage. In sum, I would highly recommend this class, along with anything else Randy Harris teaches.

This one is getting closer....only about month to go .

This class will take your shooting and gun handling to the next level. This class is pure shooting. Point shooting up close ... sighted fire at distance. Shooting on the move. Shooting from cover. From Getting off the X and dealing with close range ambush/mugging to getting behind cover and making a long shot (50+ yards) on the "active shooter". This class covers reloads and shooting from various positions and with both strong and weak hand only. This class WILL make you a better shooter and gun handler.

This is going bad quickly. He was looking kind of nervous. The fence and the verbage did not dissuade him and now I'm getting forward pressure fom him as he gives some classic "facial grooming". He shows me the triangle as he reaches for something...no time to stand around....get off the X and do something ...here we Explode off the X Acquire Better Position Take the Fight to them and we FIGHT! Getting off the X and the ruthless counter attack completely disrupts the bad guy's OODA loop...... a burst to the chest from the TSD Glock completely disrupts the bad guy's internal organs..... Now we Assess (is he down? Did it work? ) Scan (Does he have friends? Are they behind me?) Top Off (How's my Ammo?) Instead of turning my back on him I orbit around him to check my 6 so I can Scan, Topoff and Treat injuries or Talk to who needs to be talked to without ever losing sight of the bad guy.