I am fortunate enough to have been invited back to be a presenter at the Central Florida Tactical Conference this spring. I will be presenting on Saturday along with some awesome instructors. I am looking forward to the weekend and all the information that will be shared. If you haven’t been it is well worth the reasonable fee for the conference. You can go one, either, or both days as your schedule allows.
I am able to offer a unique training opportunity as well. I will be holding a FAST ONE course at the same range the Monday following the conference. If you interested in taking your shooting to the next level this course is for you. If you interested contact me directly.
Haven’t posted in a while, have been working the new gig here in south Florida and trying to shoot a little. Haven’t gotten as much time on the range as I would like but that will change in the coming months I hope. Looking forward to the Pro-Am coming up this month and then probably on to the Nationals for the next match.
The Monster Match 2011 is ON if you haven’t heard. Keep an eye on that website for updates, registration will be opening soon.
I just finished the first FAST ONE series here at the indoor range, it went pretty well. Next series starts July 5. I also have traveled for a couple outdoor courses. If you are interested in training let me know and I’ll try to make it happen.
I’ve been working with a film crew shooting some videos for the store, here is a sample.
Posted by Admin | Posted in General, Training | Posted on 06-05-2011
Was just doing some updating and thought I would throw a post up although I don’t have much news at the moment. New gig is going well and I hope to have some scheduled classes in the near future. By the end of the month for sure. Format will be a little different than in the past as most classes will be held on site here in South Florida. Plus it’s an indoor range so that will take some adjusting as well. I hope to do some travel teaching in a few months..once I get more settled around here.
Hope everyone is doing well and shooting well this season. I updated the Competition Calendar with the next couple matches. Hope to see you there.
You can keep an eye on the website for updates. The new business is Palm Beach Shooting Center in Lake Worth, FL and you can like us on facebook too!!! I’d appreciate that.
This is a video from stage two of the FL Open this past weekend. Hopefully you can see it well enough. You may have to watch it directly from YouTube in full screen mode. Uploading it distorts the quality a bit but I think the point will still get across.
Those of you who have been through FAST ONE or TWO will recognize the use of both trigger techniques in the film. (film…does that make me sound old?) The point of view worked out perfect especially when I come to the near side. The first couple targets on the near side is pretty much a hammer to a mid range open target, one of which required a make up shot. Then you can clearly see the ‘prep’ technique. As you can see you can prep pretty fast…but there is still a noticeable pause as I hit the wall before easing through the break.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate as a trainer at the Central Florida Tactical Conference this past weekend in Ft. Meade Florida. After some last week changes we ended up with 6 excellent trainers
for the approximately 60 attendees. Andy Stanford from OPS gave a presentation on Tactical Dynamics along with some bitchin accordion work…..yes I said accordion. Phil Peplinski taught some real world hand to hand techniques. Barry Garcia gave a great block of instruction on updated emergency medical techniques, I learned quite a bit with Barry.
I did my presentation on Fast Accurate Shooting Techniques on Sunday so I missed the other two trainers. Massad Ayoob gave a presentation on Physio-Psychological Aspects of Violent Encounters that was by all accounts awesome, wish I could have made that one. Also John Strayer taught techniques for the defensive revolver that all enjoyed.
A huge thank you to Jim Clark and his staff for organizing the event. I really enjoyed it as a student and also as a teacher. I hope I was able to bring some value to the event. Keep an eye on the Central Florida Tactical Conference for next years info. You definitely want to check it out. It sold out this year and I’m sure it will sell out next year as well. I hope to be invited back.
Here we go. The first match of the year, the FL Open is one week away. Some of the best shooters from around the country and world will be in Florida to kick off the season. I’ve been training…..have you? I’ll be shooting on Friday, look me up and say hi if you’re on the range that day.
We had the first test installment of Concealed Carry For The Real World this past weekend and it went off about exactly as I had hoped. It was a great learning experience for all…including myself.
The course consisted of a couple hour classroom, power point, and class discussion about situational awareness, physical and mental preparedness, firearm choices, pros/cons of each. Ammo types, choices, pros/cons.
We covered some basic hand to hand techniques led by my co-instructor Charles Kibert.
We then moved to the range to assess and discover the capabilities of our chosen carry guns. The student choices ranged from .32 caliber Kel-Tec’s to full size 1911′s in .40 or .45 and everything in between. We worked on general accuracy capabilities of the firearm and operator combination, live fire drawing from deep concealment including fanny packs, pockets, day planners and getting accurate times for each.
We then moved to using the gun from cover positions behind barricades and around vehicles. We worked on some strong hand / weak hand useage and finished up with some eye opening penetration tests on drywall, car doors, and milk jugs full of water. We brought along some shotguns and rifles to just demonstrate the power and energy difference of each.
So here’s the deal..I am not an expert on pocket guns or ballistics. I don’t have any degrees in physics. I don’t fully understand kinetic energy and I haven’t been in 100 shootouts. I do however know how to shoot a firearm…. any firearm… Fast and Accurately and can teach folks how to do the same. You can read and research all you want about the subjects but getting on the range and shooting YOUR gun with YOUR ammo for function and accuracy and performance will tell you way more. Can you hit a target at 25 yards? Will your combination go through a car door? Interior wall? How does it expand in a given medium? I’ll tell you one thing, I’m not sure how water jugs correlate to ballistics gelatin if at all..but you can DAMN sure tell the difference in energy delivery when you do it yourself. Sure we know there is a difference between an .32 acp and .30 caliber rifle but it’s pretty dramatic when you see it for real.
The first course open to the public will be this month February 26th. 1pm to 7pm at the Wyoming Antelope Club. Fee will be $175 and normal discounts apply as listed on the Fee Info page.
If you carry a pocket firearm for self defense you should think about checking this course out!! A small video of some of the action below.
Thanks to Steve, Chris, and Ted for their great efforts in a recent FAST ONE course at WAC. Lots of focus on the fundamentals….Fast, Accurate shooting. Here is a short video of some of the action.
Posted by Admin | Posted in General, Training | Posted on 20-01-2011
I will be a featured trainer at the Central Florida Tactical Conference Feb 19 and 20 in Polk County Florida. Two days of tactical training from Massas Ayoob, Andy Stanford, Tony Torre, Don Redl, John Strayer and myself. There is still room available if you would like to attend. All proceeds benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. If you can’t attend the conference please consider a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project.
“You should not carry any gun whose caliber does not start with a 4″
“Real men carry a full size 1911″
Yeah, yeah, yeah…whatever! I know a few people who actually carry a gun on a regular basis and none of them carry a full size gun. It just isn’t very practical in a real world scenario for the average dude. Much of it depends on your job, your build, and your climate. If you live in Seattle, weigh 350 pounds and work from home then it’s not a big deal to carry a G17 in a strong side blade-tech outside the waistband holster. If you live in Florida, weigh 175 and are a roofer that is a little more difficult.
It is my opinion that most average people who choose to carry on a regular basis normally carry some type of BUG or ‘pocket’ gun. J frames, Kel Tec’s, etc. in a pocket, purse, fanny pack, etc. This is why I developed the Concealed Carry For The Real World course offered next month in Florida. If you do choose to carry one of these types of guns then you probably haven’t had many opportunities to live fire draw from your pocket, rapid fire, transitions, reloads….do you even know how reliable it is for 100 or 200 or 500 rounds?
If you’re interested you should check out CCFTRW from FAST academy. On a similar note I heard of a match being held New Years Day at the Hansen range in Punta Gorda that was centered around small or Back Up Guns. I thought I would check it out and run the Kel Tec out of the pocket. We had a great time goofing off and shooting in near perfect Florida January weather. You can see some highlights below.
I have posted class dates for the first part of the year on the course schedule page. Each year has been getting better and better for FAST academy and I plan this year to be the same. If you don’t see a date or class that fits your schedule you know you can always contact me for private classes at my range or yours. Be sure to get a class in this year whether its from me or someone else and put some time in on the range.
Once again thanks to Derrick Birdsallfor the awesome photos. I saw his website and these photos from this particular stage is what drove me to get the pictures from him used in the last few posts. He was nice enough to allow me to use his images.
Because of his photographic ability and ‘freeze framing’ this sequence of movement I thought it was interesting to see how hard I’m leaning forward in moving toward the position and how far I’m leaning back to slow down coming into position.
Those of you who have been through FAST TWO and probably a few who have been through FAST ONE will remember the concept but this really shows it in action. Time is money in our game and I can’t stress enough the importance of being aggressive. Controlled aggression I often call it. You have to go at the position 100% while at the same time slow down early enough to be able to shoot at the earliest possible moment. You can see the gun already being presented to target as I’m clearly leaning back off balance in efforts to slow myself coming into position….watching my sights settle on target as I stabilize in position. Again just thought it was a cool series of photos.
Had a great FAST ONE course early this month. All students are previous FAST academy attendees so it made for a good flow for the day. Got some good work in before the end of year match schedule ramps up. Below is some video, we spent a lot of time working on the stepping draw. It’s funny how just a small step will throw off your whole routine.
There are only two FAST ONE courses scheduled for the remainder of the year. One is next Friday and the other is December 3rd. Both of these classes have 3 slots remaining as I write this. I can always schedule more if you have a full crew or want a private class. With the FL State Match around the corner now would be a good time to get one if you’ve been thinking about it.
Speaking of the State Match myself and a few others from our club are setting up and working a couple stages. Click the link below for a peak at one of them. Get signed up for FAST ONE and the FL State Match…both are going to be outstanding events.
Outstanding FAST TWO class recently at WAC. Some rain on day one but the overhead cover at the range allowed us to continue training while staying somewhat dry. Below is a small highlight reel.
Posted by Admin | Posted in Training | Posted on 21-07-2010
Had an awesome week with elements of the 101st Airborne this month. I was fortunate to teach an M9 course with a select group of senior NCO’s and a couple officers. What an honor to work with our military. Hopefully I will have similar opportunities in the future. All feedback was positive and I think the boys got some great training.
This goes with anything I suppose but you just don’t know what you don’t know. I wish I had been smarter about training when I was in the military. There used to be a lot of talk in the ‘tactical’ world about competition shooting teaching bad or even dangerous habits that would ‘get you killed’ on the street.
I think most trainers have realized that is not the case any longer. Many elite military units as well as law enforcement departments have been hiring top competition shooters for some time now because frankly they are the best shooters on the planet.
Once you allow yourself to get away from the square range mindset and employ techniques that are second nature to competition shooters you realize what can be accomplished. Training becomes much more realistic, not to mention just plain fun also.
I was presented a coin from the Battalion Commander and a certificate of service and kick ass tee shirt from the Battalion Sergeant Major. As I stated, it was an honor working with these men and I wish them safe travels wherever they may go.
For more information on FAST academy’s work with military and government units, contact us here.
