A little about me and my course philosophy

Over the past two years I've blogged on and off for RE Factor Tactical and at least three of my own blogs.  I realized during all that time, I've never really written anything about myself and my philosophy, other than the "About the author" section at the bottom of the page.  With this new start (with my business name, focus, and blog), I thought it was time to correct that.

I've been shooting for well over 20 years - as a hobby at first, but then it became a job once I joined the Coast Guard.  My mom actually taught me to shoot my first Daisy BB gun, probably around the age of 12 or so.  I'd spend hours in the back yard on the roof of our shed popping soda cans.  It really was a great way to spend time.  I had a few other people who worked with me on shooting; I attended a law enforcement summer camp where they ran us through a course of fire with .38 revolvers, and I had a friend from church who worked support for 3rd Group that let me shoot his Glock a few times, but I never really had any formal instruction until I was around 19 years old.  By then I had spent a significant amount of time picking up very bad habits that my instructors in the Coast Guard would have to undo.

My first few years in the Coast Guard only required that I qualify with the rifle, pistol, and shotgun.  The courses of fire weren't terribly difficult, and I scored expert with both rifle and pistol, usually shooting a perfect score with pistol and really close with rifle.  I thought I was pretty good, and I had the scores to prove it.  As an instructor with the International Training Division on my second tour, I started to realize that I enjoyed the small team life and teaching law enforcement.  Guns weren't a huge part of my job, but I still qualified so that we could carry if needed while in country.

Room clearing at MSRT

My real education in the world of firearms came when I arrived at the Maritime Security Response Team.  In addition to learning I wasn't nearly as tough and in shape as I thought I was, I quickly discovered that there was quite a bit about shooting and tactics that I had no clue about.  I learned the value of professional instruction from a wide variety of backgrounds.  The chance to learn from operators of all flavors, including various Tier 1 units, SWAT guys, former US Army Marksmanship Unit members, CIF guys and SEALs, was really a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Add to that the fact that the thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of rounds were all free to me so long as I was willing to put in the effort, and you get an idea of why I hated it when the Coast Guard told me it was time to transfer.

On the known distance range

The biggest takeaways that I received from my time at MSRT weren't necessarily the physical shooting skills.  I learned the thinking side, and that is a much larger portion of defensive shooting and tactics than most shooters seem to give credence to.  I learned that the flat range has a very important place in developing the fundamentals of marksmanship and introducing problems to work through, but true problem solving and testing occurs when you have to apply those marksmanship skills and defensive tactics against a live, thinking opponent under stress.

With my Direct Action Section after a demonstration

This development curve is reflected in the Hybrid Defensive Strategies Philosophy:

"Course Structure Philosophy

Our philosophy here at Hybrid Defensive is that participants must master the fundamentals before moving on to more advanced topics, but mere flat-range marksmanship (the shoot͟ part) won’t win a fight unless the shooter can also think, move, and communicate.  While paper is essential for learning essentials, it will never truly substitute for realistic, reactive threats.  Therefore:

Our 1-Series courses focus primarily on static, flat-range weapons manipulations and marksmanship.  

Our 2-Series courses reinforce the marksmanship learned on the static flat range and introduce advanced manipulation concepts and movement into the equation.  

Our 3-Series courses start with a fundamentals warm-up; then dynamic is the name of the game for the rest of the course.  Bring your physical and mental fitness with you, because participants will run, bend, carry, drag, and problem-solve their way through this series.  The
3-Series will also introduce basic close- quarters combat concepts.

Our 4-Series courses are designed to be the pinnacle of our course system and incorporate all the concepts from our 1- thru 3-Series courses.  The 4-Series brings realistic force-on-force scenarios that participants are likely to encounter during their day to day lives, such as muggings, active shooter, and home invasions.  No paper here; participants will be fighting against a thinking, reacting human – the ultimate test of knowledge and skill."

Since this is a new business and I'm still in the process of working out ranges, instructors, and professional contacts, the various course levels will be rolled out in phases.  The 1- and 2-series courses are already on the schedule in the current year.  The 3- and 4-series courses will probably not be rolled out until the end of 2016, or some time in 2017.

My goal in all of this is to help the average person be prepared to defend themselves in a critical incident.  In addition to the shooting side of things, I'm researching partnerships for fitness and unarmed defensive classes, because I believe that studies of martial arts (and self-defense is a martial art) should be well-rounded.  Very rarely will you hear me tell someone that they must do something a certain way, unless there is a safety or learning concern.  I believe that you can approach a problem from many different directions, and it is up to the student to gain as much knowledge and application as they can so that they can instinctively make a decision when the time comes.  Anyone can learn to effectively defend themselves if they have the motivation and are willing to listen and put in the time.

Above all, I believe that when we train in self-defense, we do it Non Nobis Solum - Not for Ourselves Alone.

Thanks for listening.