Im the founder of Defense Conditioning, a gunfight survivor, a former fugitive recovery agent and bodyguard, and a former Blackwater trainer. My site is www.defconccw.com and I am currently licensing with Pulse O2DA to expand their training in Florida. The problem with the training you complained about is that it does what most “operators” were trained to do, which is very impractical for the everyday person needing to defend themselves. The issue is that it doesn’t dig into the neurological, psychological and physiological aspects of the fear response and how you will or will not perform under these mental extremes . . .
Most of the trainers on the scene today received their training through military/law enforcement certification and then went on to work for groups such as S.O.S. Temps, Blackwater USA, Triple Canopy, etc. They got the downstream training result of what was determined to be mission relevant, based on a thorough understanding of the “brain game” I mentioned above, and was limited in scope.
Many of them have done a great job of tweaking this training for more civilian applications. However, without understanding the neuro/psych/physio basis of the training they received, they are unable to break away from the “operator” presentation and scope of training.
Gunfight training, truly relevant and effective gunfight training, doesn’t even introduce the physical manipulation of a gun until the latter phase of training.
Boyd’s OODA is right on the money, but understanding why is the answer to relevant training. The OODA loop is not set in stone. The observe phase of the cycle is ongoing even when there is no threat and understanding that every, I repeat, EVERY perception goes through a portion of the brain called the Amygdala is paramount when using OODA to tailor a training regimen.
Depending on the signal the Amygdala receives, the Orient phase of OODA is not enacted until there is a perceived threat. For military and law enforcement this happens much quicker because they are primed, especially when on duty or deployed, to react much quicker. They’re expecting an engagement. Civilians are not, most of the time, and so the training is much different.
There first has to be an initial evaluation of each person’s OODA threshold. There are no cookie-cutter training experiences that will be effective for a group like your everyday class put together from a good ad campaign or PR video.
People can do these classes, and Pulse offers them, and get some great so-called “muscle memory” tactics. (Instead of muscle memory, it should be referred to as Hebbian plasticity, because muscles have no memory, they do what the brain signals them to do)
But what is important is that people understand what their current OODA threshold status is, why it is where it is (in a neural understanding), where it needs to be to be effective for armed defensive responses, how it can be conditioned, and what training doctrine they need to use when developing their own program based on understanding the previous items.
The reality is, high speed low drag or walrus mustache, there is no such thing as gun training after basic gun safety and marksmanship has been covered. Guns cannot be trained. There is only brain training and that takes time and money that most are unwilling to commit to.
The irony is that if they would invest in solid brain training once in their life, coupled with a live-fire session that’s based on this neuro/physio/ psycho foundation; they would never need to attend another “tactical” training class again. They would understand what needs to be incorporated in their personal training sessions, why it must be this way and then let there imagination think up scenarios to train for and store in their OODA repertoire.
A gunfight can happen anywhere and in any fashion imaginable. The only constant is your brain function and resultant reaction to whatever is happening. you made need cover, you may not. You may not even know there is cover available. For civilians, it happens much too quickly to contemplate options and you will most likely NOT have any kind of a “team” response that much of the available training is derived from.
My civilian gunfight was over in 15 seconds. I was caught by surprise from a distance of 21 feet. 15 seconds later I was fortunate enough to still be standing and looking at two bleeding perps laying in the dirt.
My website is defconccw.com and I’m not asking for a plug. I’m not currently offering training to the public. I’ve written some articles and have a couple radio interviews posted about training and brain function. If they are something you are interested in sharing on your site, feel free as long as you credit me as the source.
James Barnhart
Defense Conditioning
Pulse O2DA Firearms Training
