5/3/13 The Night before (Ok as I post this it's technically the morning of)
So I have been excited about Mindset since I first heard of it when I joined INGO this past winter. I had been looking for good force on force training, but normally schools require you to take their approved live fire courses (and usually multiple) before you can take their FoF classes. This annoys me greatly because I see gun operation and actual firearms tactics to be two different skill sets that are both complementary to eachother and both required parts of a real training cycle. (I also see training as a cylical thing as inevitably one set of skills degrades as you work on another)
I'll give you a little bit of my perspective of crime and violence, and my experiences in training, so that you know how I am approaching this experience.
I learned the fundamentals of shooting as every boy should, at age 7 with an air rifle. At the age of 11 I learned to shoot a real gun using an M1 Garand, a 1911, and a Beretta 92fs. Formal training came from Boy Scouts, ROTC, paid combative training, and multiple trips to Front Sight Nevada. My informal training includes private instruction from my cousin who was a paratrooper, an old Vietnam veteran and police officer who had been in many shootings, my WW2 veteran grandfather, and my uncle, the expert on everything historical and firearms related. Plus I am an avid reader and training video watcher. (Really enjoyed the Magpul series for example. I would absolutely love to learn from either Costa or Haley...even if I do find their overly complicated malfunction clearance system somewhat goofy. I wanted to take Haley's class here in Indiana, but this year FoF is the focus on the training docket, not more range training. You have priorities in your training or you'll just flail around.) Through all of that I learned how to fight with a rifle and pistol, clear malfunctions, small unit tactics, clear rooms, grapple, retain my firearm, manuever, conceal myself, etc.
My training has been heavily influenced by two factors. First and foremost, there is a distinct military flavor to everything I do. This is becuase of the obvious reasons that I was in ROTC and 90%+ of the people who have trained me were ex soldiers ranging from regular infantry up to special forces. I am very much in the effeciency of movement/get aggressive corner of the training spectrum. That's probably why I wanted to do FoF to begin with. The second factor that has greatly influenced me is that I was a successful wrestler for nearly six years. I learned by going balls to the wall, fighting other people, and having the humility to pick fights with guys better than me, so I could learn from getting my clock cleaned. These two factors have caused to be continually reassessing what I'm doing and why I'm doing it and to continually be willing to stretch myself until I fail.
My experiences with the criminal underclass are as follows:
Thus, the night before this class I'm wondering a few things:
Will Mindset's portrayal of criminals be true to life?
Will the tactics be applicable to the every day civilian?
Will I really learn new tactics and techniques, or will I find better ways to do old ones?
How realistic is this really going to be?
I have no idea what tomorrow is going to hold, but I do know that I'm going to walk in there, check my ego at the door, try to wipe my mind clean of preconceptions, listen, and try to ask pertinent questions.
Hopefully at some point I'll get my clock cleaned and learn from it.
I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a great day.
So I have been excited about Mindset since I first heard of it when I joined INGO this past winter. I had been looking for good force on force training, but normally schools require you to take their approved live fire courses (and usually multiple) before you can take their FoF classes. This annoys me greatly because I see gun operation and actual firearms tactics to be two different skill sets that are both complementary to eachother and both required parts of a real training cycle. (I also see training as a cylical thing as inevitably one set of skills degrades as you work on another)
I'll give you a little bit of my perspective of crime and violence, and my experiences in training, so that you know how I am approaching this experience.
I learned the fundamentals of shooting as every boy should, at age 7 with an air rifle. At the age of 11 I learned to shoot a real gun using an M1 Garand, a 1911, and a Beretta 92fs. Formal training came from Boy Scouts, ROTC, paid combative training, and multiple trips to Front Sight Nevada. My informal training includes private instruction from my cousin who was a paratrooper, an old Vietnam veteran and police officer who had been in many shootings, my WW2 veteran grandfather, and my uncle, the expert on everything historical and firearms related. Plus I am an avid reader and training video watcher. (Really enjoyed the Magpul series for example. I would absolutely love to learn from either Costa or Haley...even if I do find their overly complicated malfunction clearance system somewhat goofy. I wanted to take Haley's class here in Indiana, but this year FoF is the focus on the training docket, not more range training. You have priorities in your training or you'll just flail around.) Through all of that I learned how to fight with a rifle and pistol, clear malfunctions, small unit tactics, clear rooms, grapple, retain my firearm, manuever, conceal myself, etc.
My training has been heavily influenced by two factors. First and foremost, there is a distinct military flavor to everything I do. This is becuase of the obvious reasons that I was in ROTC and 90%+ of the people who have trained me were ex soldiers ranging from regular infantry up to special forces. I am very much in the effeciency of movement/get aggressive corner of the training spectrum. That's probably why I wanted to do FoF to begin with. The second factor that has greatly influenced me is that I was a successful wrestler for nearly six years. I learned by going balls to the wall, fighting other people, and having the humility to pick fights with guys better than me, so I could learn from getting my clock cleaned. These two factors have caused to be continually reassessing what I'm doing and why I'm doing it and to continually be willing to stretch myself until I fail.
My experiences with the criminal underclass are as follows:
- When I was 14, three gunmen, fresh off of botching an armed robbery, came tearing into my school in their flight from the cops. One of the gunmen came within about 3-5 feet of me. My wrestling coach/ history teacher probably saved my bacon when he came charging after the guy and yelled at me to get out of there. Luckily the gunmen ended up being pussies and let themselves get cornered and caught instead of taking hostages. It turned out later that all three were from my school system and they ranged from age 14 to 16. That was a fact that was kept as quiet as possible.
- When I was 17, I witnessed a man attack my neighbor's home at 2 am. This was probably the event that really sparked my interest in personal defense.
- When I was 20, two men attempted an armed robbery on my mother and I. By then I was armed (for obvious reasons). Things did not go their way. They ran.
- When I was 25, several men, one armed with a knife, attempted to draw myself and a friend into a fight as we were leaving our gym. I don't believe they realized that we were both packing. The situation was defused.
- I went to a high school filled with "students" who were in gangs, did/dealt drugs, had arrest records, etc, as a result I found myself in about half a dozen unarmed conflicts. By the age of 16 I had left two guys in need of immediate medical attention. (This was not by choice. How I survived without being arrested, expelled, or suspended in a zero tolerance school was a mix of luck and teachers willing to look the other way.) By the time I had graduated, I had watched six year old boys and girls grow up to become complete low life criminals.
- Finally, I work in a downtown ER, so I see the results of succesfful criminal attacks and the results of criminals losing to the good guys. Let me tell you something, the term "low crime city" is an absolutely relative idea.
Thus, the night before this class I'm wondering a few things:
Will Mindset's portrayal of criminals be true to life?
Will the tactics be applicable to the every day civilian?
Will I really learn new tactics and techniques, or will I find better ways to do old ones?
How realistic is this really going to be?
I have no idea what tomorrow is going to hold, but I do know that I'm going to walk in there, check my ego at the door, try to wipe my mind clean of preconceptions, listen, and try to ask pertinent questions.
Hopefully at some point I'll get my clock cleaned and learn from it.
I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a great day.
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