Newsletter 2/2006
Welcome to our second newsletter of 2006. We have a few new features such as a monthly instructor profile, interesting news items and training in general. We are growing from strength to strength and we will be adding extra features such as equipment feedback, custom knifemakers, what's new on the market etc. If you have any questions or comments regarding our newsletter, please feel free to contact us directly. Enjoy!In Memorium
I would like to urge each and every one of you, our friends, to go to our "In Memorium" page, take a few minutes and read about these brave men and women, who gave their lives for Liberty and the Freedoms we enjoy and most of us take for granted.
These heroes are gone in flesh, but we at STRIKE Tactical Solutions will NEVER forget their sacrifice and the loss that their families have to live with, every day. The only way we can honor them is to remember them for the ultimate sacrifice they made so that other may live. The lastest edition to our fallen heroes list is Green Beret, Robert Horrigan.
Henk Iverson
CONTENTS:
1) Trainer Profile: John S. Farnam
2) "House OK's Bill To Shoot Intruders"
3) Train the Mind and the Body will Excel!1) Trainer Profile: John S. Farnam2) "House OK's Bill To Shoot Intruders"3) Train the Mind and the Body will Excel!
TRAINER PROFILE 01/2006
This is a new feature in our STRIKE newsletter. Each month we will profile top instructors so that our students have the opportunity to train with these instructors.
Nobody knows it all and we at STRIKE Tactical Solutions encourage our clients to train with other, like minded tutors.
JOHN S. FARNAM - DEFENSE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL (Please see Links Page)
By Henk Iverson
I have known John Farnam since 1986. Serving as an instructor at a South African Police Reaction Unit (Reaction Unit 12), I was hungry for new information regarding gunfight tactics and techniques. Rolling up my sleeves and with one finger (nothing has changed!) I typed letters to the well known American instructors of the day. After weeks of waiting, I recieved two letters.
One was from John Farnam and the other from the late Bill Jordan. Both these legends took the time to answer my questions.
John Farnam has been a police officer for more than 30 years. He has seen it all, done it all. For most of those years, John has been at the forefront of tactical training. John is also a military veteran, having served as an Officer in the US Marine Corps in Vietnam. John was wounded several times in combat. Having faced the wrong side of a gun and having to shoot people down, John is one of the select trainers that teach from experience rather than heresay.
John Farnam and I built up a rapor and we sent letter after letter over the oceans, talking tactics, sharing information. I still have each and every one of those letters and they contain a goldmine of information. John was busy writing a book on tactics and I was floored when he sent me a rough copy on an early "floppy" disk!
This book would become a "must read" for all serious students of the art of gunfighting. That same book is available today as "The Street-Smart Gun Book" by John S. Farnam.
In 1997, I had the oppertunity to visit the USA and I had the privilege to meet John in person. At his side was another top class instructor, John's wife Vicki! The Farnams were generous enough to let me tag along on their travels, teaching Law Enforcement Officers across America. One of the most memorable moments of my life was when John, Vicki and I stood on a battlefield at Gettysburg and John presented me with a DTI "Staff" pin. I will NEVER forget that moment, the place and the people.
Training with John and Vicki, lit a fire under me and before I knew it, I was back in South Africa, organizing John to come over and share his knowledge with likeminded people. In 1998 I made this a reality and John gave his first DTI Inc training programs in South Africa. We traveled together over vast distances and here is where I really got to learn from John Farnam. We shared information, debating tactics etc. I had the oppertunity to LISTEN to a legend as he poured out his knowledge and the passion for what he does.
South Africa can be an unforgiving place. Crime takes lives daily. John lived in these circumstances as I took him from city to city. Every class had several persons that had USED their firearms in real world situations. No time for games, reality based training only. John excelled!
Hunting together in the Eastern Cape, a friend, Wayne Rudman and I had the honor to "BLOOD" John when he shot his first African antelope, an Impala. Blooding is a South African tradition where a new hunter is smeared with the blood of the animal he/she had just killed. I have several photos of this memorable day and I smile each time I look at them! (Sorry, NOT FOR SALE!)
John returned the next year and again we traveled together, teaching. By now John had finished his second book "The Farnam Method of Defensive Handgunning", another "must have" read. Another followed "The Farnam Method of Defensive Shotgun and Rifle Shooting", another classic. John still visits South Africa each year and teaches a cult like following of students.
Report-backs indicate that John has saved many lives in South Africa, the USA and the world at large. John teaches across the USA and people who have not yet attended a training program run by John and Vicki Farnam, are selling themselves short. The tactics and techniques taught are common sense, easy to learn and it could save your bacon one dark day when you are fighting for your life.
A prolific writer and trainer, I am honored to call John Farnam my mentor and friend.
The Courier-Journal ( Saturday, February 25, 2006)
Kentucky General Assembly
HOUSE OK's BILL TO SHOOT INTRUDERS
Burglars, carjackers fair game under plan
By Elizabeth J. Beardsley
The Courier-Journal
Frankfort, Kentucky - Gregg Riggs doesn't want to have to run away from a burglar at his home or a carjacker threatens him or his family.
The gun shop owner also doesn't want to be jailed or sued if he has to shoot and possibly kill someone while defending himself.
"As far as I am concerned, a criminal has no rights," said Riggs, 52, co-owner of Riggs Guns Inc. of Frankfort. "I'm the one who has the rights"
Yesterday, the House passed a bill 84 - 4 that would give gun owners such as Riggs stronger legal justification to use deadly force against intruders. The
Senate is expected to pass the bill.
House Bill 236 would put into state law a 1931 appelate court decision that says Kentuckians do not have to retreat from a threat. The bill also says self-defense shooters would be immune from prosecution or civil lawsuits.
Opponants said the measure encourages people to resort too quickly to deadly force and could result in mistaken identity shootings where victims or their families would be denied legal recourse.
Lawmakers in Indiana are considering similar legislation. House bill 1028 passed the house 82 - 18 there earlier this month and is under consideration in the Senate, where it is expected to pass. Kentucky law now says a person must be in fear of imminant death, serious injury, kidnapping or rape before deadly force can be used against an assailant. Under the new legislation any unlawful, forcible entry into a home or car would be considered a deadly attack and could be met with deadly force, regardless of whether anyone had been threatened.
The bill would bar people from using deadly force against police officers performing official duties, or while commiting a crime, or against lawful residents of the dwelling or the car's owner. Domestic violence victims could still use deadly force against an abuser, even if that person was a legal resident.
The Kentucky Police have not taken a position on the bill. The National Rifle Association supports the bill and is pushing similar legislation in 15 other states plus South Dakota, which passed such law last week.
TRAINING
Train the Mind and the Body Will Excel!
by Randy Meyers and Brian Willis
Those among us who take pride in our performance often spend many hours practicing our skills. Learning a new skill or mastering an existing one takes repetitive practice. Finding the time for this practice can be a challenge in today’s world of hectic schedules. Time and time again we do drills breaking them down in an effort to identify and eliminate trouble spots. We are continually seeking to improve areas of our performance that seems to be less than perfect; areas that detract from our over all performance.
Countless hours are spent training with our goal being to perfect every aspect of the skill. This is true of any professional whether it be law enforcement officers, wrestlers, boxers, competitive shooters or public speakers. There is always something in our performance that we are seeking to improve for the next time. Regardless if the person is considered one of the elite in their field, or a novice just starting out. Everyone who takes pride in their performance is always looking to improve. For many this has meant hour upon hour of physical practice.
Physical practice is important and will always be important, but there is a problem that can never be completely overcome when we are talking about physical practice - time. Time is something that no one seems to have enough of. There is only so much time to spend on the range, on the basketball court, at the batting cage, or to spend rehearsing a speech. No matter what you chosen endeavor, time is precious. So what else can be done? We have squeezed every possible second we can out of our schedule. The answer does not lie in better time management. The answer can be found within our own mind.
Our mind is our portable training environment. It is available anytime we need it, no matter where we are, and no matter how little time we have at that particular point in our day. It is available to us 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And the best thing about this training environment is that we can always win there.
In the privacy of our own mind we can always perform at our best. In his book Cloud of Sparrows, Takashi Matsouka talks about this portable training environment when talking about a gunfighter who did not have access to his guns or a range but needed to keep his skills sharp. “The only place he could be sure of privacy was his own mind. So that‘s where he practiced. Draw. Cock the hammer on the upswing. Sight the heart. Squeeze the trigger. Cock the hammer on the recoil. Sight the heart. Squeeze the trigger. There was an advantage to this. His mind was a portable room, he could practice anywhere he was, anytime.”
Think back to the last time you practiced your shooting skills on the range. There was likely a point where one or more of the following happened during the course of your physical practice session. Your performance was good, maybe even excellent at some points, but less than stellar at others.
After a large number of repetitions you became fatigued, began to lose focus and your performance began to deteriorate.
When this happens we often wind up ending the day on a less than positive note. The last thing you remember from the session was the less desirable performance at the end. The high points seemed to fade into the background while the negatives stand out. No one can physically perform a physical skill or task perfectly every time under ideal conditions. And as time wears on during a training session we become less focused, less interested, and less physically adept.
Physical practice is important to skill development and maintenance. It is a way to measure our skill level, our progress and to set benchmarks for improvement. In our mind we can perform perfectly each and every time. We never miss, we never tire.
We can mentally practice the entire skill package, or only a segment that we wish to give particular attention to such as a magazine change. Over and over we can imagine ourselves doing it flawlessly. We hit the magazine release with our thumb while our other hand is retrieving the fresh magazine from our pouch. The exchange is seamless as your hand firmly grasps the fresh magazine, smoothly removing it from the pouch with minimal movement.
Your index finger falls along the edge of the magazine and it begins to move upward. The dry magazine falls free from the magazine well as pistol is canted slightly towards the new magazine. Your trigger finger remains indexed. The old magazine has barely cleared the well as the new one is fed home. Your loading hand slides right up into its support position as the pistol rotates back to your presentation position and you quickly re-acquire your front sight. You are smooth, fast, and efficient.
The execution of this mental drill was flawless, expended no physical energy and can be done while driving to the store, taking a shower, walking up the stairs, sitting in a chair, laying in bed, flying on a plane, or while you are out fishing. You can be anywhere and can take 10 seconds or 10 minutes. With this type of mental training there is no need for a range, a range officer, a gun or any ammunition. It is extremely safe, and extremely beneficial as a tool for performance enhancement. How many times a day can you do this? Literally hundreds, if you so desire.
Try doing a couple hundred physical reloads a day, let alone do them perfectly each time. If you noticed I said “imagine” yourself doing the particular skill as opposed to “see,” or “visualize”. Why? Visualization for most people only involves one sense - sight, and not everyone processes information visually. Everyone however, can imagine.
Imagination involves all the senses and the more senses that you involve, the more realistic the experience and the greater the effect. Let’s use the reload example again. If I tell you to see yourself doing it you may have some sort of visual image of the process. But if I tell you to imagine doing the reload all of your sense can come into play. You hear the report of the weapon, you are aware of your sights and feel the weapon recoiling. You imagine the action of the slide and you become aware that the slide is locked back. You feel the magazine release and experience the pressure you exert on it.
You feel the baseplate of the new magazine and notice the difference in texture from the magazine itself and the pouch. You can feel the drag as you pull it from the pouch and can feel the edge of the magazine on your index finger, maybe even the nose of the top round. You can hear the click of the magazine being disengaged from the pistol at the same time you feel the loss of pressure on the magazine release as the magazine drops free.
You imagine the new magazine going in to the well as the old one drops free, you can feel it sliding up inside the pistol and the butt of your hand hitting the butt of the weapon while at the same time you hear and feel the click as the magazine locks into place. On the palm of your hand you can feel the release of pressure as you remove it from the magazine floor plate.
Your hand moves up and over and grasps the slide behind the ejection port. You imagine pulling the slide fully to the rear and releasing it forward chambering another round. You feel it, see it, hear it. Your support hand regrasps as the pistol rotates back towards the presentation position. You imagine the pistol moving out and up and you quickly pickup your front sight. Perfect!
Changing anything from that performance would not improve it. It could not have been done more perfectly, more smoothly, or more quickly. How long does it take you to do this? That is completely within your control. You can imagine yourself going very slowly concentrating on every detail, or you could imagine yourself doing it real time.
The bottom line is you could have done it in your mind at least twice in the time it took you to read this paragraph, maybe more. And you would have done it correctly both times. Performance Enhancement Imagery has been around for some time. It has been used by athletes at the elite levels, musicians, shooters, people undergoing surgery, etc. Limits to its use are tough to find. There are two keys for the best results:
Involve as many senses as possible. The stronger the image the better the result. One famous professional golf champion stated that he imagined his performance on the course before actually playing it. He recalled his imagery was so strong that he could actually smell the grass and feel the breeze.
Practice. Just as in the physical realm, one time does not make you a champion. The key is repetition. The beauty is that you are not limited to practicing when the range is available. And, like the actual physical practice, the more you do it the better you get.
Our minds are divided into two parts; the conscious and the subconscious.
The subconscious is the larger and more powerful part. If we were a physical computer the conscious mind would be the random access memory, or RAM. It is the part of memory that is used for working on a project, etc. The subconscious would be the hard drive. Much larger, and much more powerful.
The conscious mind will always analyze and try to come up with a “why.” The subconscious processes information literally and cannot differentiate between fantasy and reality. Once something is programmed it will work through the neural pathways to make the body respond in the way you imagined resulting in improved performance.
If you would like to learn more about Performance Enhancement Imagery visit www.winningmindtraining.com <http://www.winningmindtraining.com/> The Oak Lawn Police Department will be hosting a 3 day class on Performance Enhancement Imagery followed by a one day Verbal Trauma Control Course May 29 to June 1, 2006. For more information, or to register contact STRIKE Tactical Solutions.
Brian Willis began his law enforcement career in 1979 and over the next 25 years he worked as a patrol officer, tactical officer, patrol supervisor and trainer. From 1995 to 2004 he was the head use of force trainer with an agency of 1500 officers responsible for researching, developing, instructing and overseeing the Officer Safety, Subject Control Tactics, Crowd Management, Incident Command and Emergency Vehicle Operations programs. Brian also served on the Crowd Control Unit for 18 years as a constable, sergeant in charge of training and development, a platoon commander and deputy commander.
He served in integral roles during the Worlds Petroleum Congress and G8 Summit in Calgary.Since his retirement in November 2004, Brian has served as the President of Winning Mind Training Inc., an innovative training company focused on performance enhancement.
In addition to numerous law enforcement certifications Brian holds a Certificate in Adult Learning from the University of Calgary. He has given presentations on mental preparation and conditioning at numerous international conferences and is sought after as a speaker across North America for his presentation ‘Success or Failure: It’s All in the Mind’. In September of 2005 Brian was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award at the Canadian Officer Safety Conference in recognition of his contribution and commitment to Officer Safety in Canada.
In addition to be a contributing writer for the book Warriors: On Living with Courage, Discipline and Honor, Brian has had numerous articles published in law enforcement periodicals. Brian has been featured on the Calibre Press Street Survival Newsline and on www.policeone.com <http://www.policeone.com/> for some of his innovative training programs.
Brian serves as an Advisory Board member for the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), and is a member of the National Advisory Board for Police Marksman Magazine. He is also a member of the National Tactical Officers Association, the Illinois Tactical Officers Association, the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors and the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers.
Brian has trained law enforcement trainers from the FBI, DEA, RCMP, as well as trainers from state, provincial and municipal agencies in New York, Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, Arizona, Alberta and Saskatchewan in his cutting edge Performance Enhancement Imagery program.
He has also worked with martial artists, competitive shooters, athletes and coaches from a variety of sports including hockey, volleyball, bull riding, figure skating, running, biathlon, and golf on harnessing the power of the mind and enhancing performance. Brian worked as a volunteer mental preparation coach with Canadian amateur boxing champions in four weight classes, a 2004 Olympic team member and four gold medal winners from the prestigious Ringside Boxing Tournament held in Kansas City. Brian also worked with the 2003/2004 Medicine Hat Tigers following their regular season as well as working with the team at the 2004 Memorial Cup in Kelowna, B.C.
Randy Meyers is a Lietentant with the Oak Lawn Police Department. Over the past 26 years he has served as an FTO and the Field Training Unit Supervisor, Evidence Technician, Detective in the Tactical Investigations Unit and later Sgt. in charge of the unit, Patrol Sergeant, Field Lieutenant, Detective Watch Commander, Range Supervisor, and Armorer. He is also a Patrol Rifle Instructor, Rapid Deployment Instructor, PPCT Instructor and is a graduate of Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command and Penn State Univerity's Police Executive Development Program-Basic Course. He is a member of the ITOA, NTOA, ILEETA, MLEFIAA, and the PTI Alumni Association. He is currently the department's Training Coordinator for FT&E and all in service training.
Please Note:
STRIKE Tactical Solutions will be offering Mental Imigery Training on a regular basis. We believe in this type of training and we see the results on a daily basis. For course information, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.STRIKE Tactical Solutions will be offering Mental Imigery Training on a regular basis. We believe in this type of training and we see the results on a daily basis. For course information, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.