You Need To Do Force On Force

Gabe Suarez

Suarez International USA
Imagine for a moment if you will, a class of students attentively studying the art of swimming. The instructor, ostensibly an expert swimmer with vast and honorable credentials, certified by the international swimming associations and such, calmly walks up to the class wearing an impeccable gray business suit and begins lecturing on swimming. The environment is totally business-like, clinical, comfortable and dry. the students are clothed in similar business attire to the instructor, doing their very best to emulate him, and notes are being taken as they sip water or coffee.

The renowned lecturer goes on to describe the need to float, and to move the arms and legs in unison, this way and that. He discusses in passing how to breathe and what water temperature may do to the technique. He discusses warm water and cold water swimming methods, and he shows films of swimmers, and analyzes their techniques.

Finally, after discussion groups and several written tests, the class understands the concept of swimming.

Then they retire to their respective swim couches and practice their strokes carefully and incessantly. After a while they very good at this and can whip out a back stroke or breast stroke or even a dog paddle like the expert in class. They are given Swimmer Diplomas and sent out ready to swim, or teach others how to swim....should the need arise.

Eventually these would-be swimmers begin discussing the merits of pumping the arms more than the feet, or of holding the breath or the theoretical need to get the head up out of the place the water would be, if in fact they were actually swimming in water, in order to breathe. Minutia upon minutia are analyzed and discussed to perfect "the couch swim".

But the problem is that nobody ever gets into the water. You see, the water is a fearful place. One actually gets wet. "There be dragons" seems to be the attitude. "The water is not safe", some say. Others say that the mere suggestion that one would have to test the Master Swimmer's Theory Of Swimming, by actually swimming, to be a disloyal and unfaithful act.

“Analytical swimmers do not need to get into the water”, others murmur as they grind through their swim kata every day.

The discussions on minutia and the unanswered questions persist. Yet if one of them dared to wander into the murky wetness, all the questions that they have spent hours and hours bemusing would be answered in one instant flash of sudden understanding.

I'll let you in on a secret. It is a dark and ugly secret that has been kept hidden like a national security issue for decades.

The master swimmer does not, in fact, know how to swim.

He can teach you the technique for making swimming motions on a safe couch, but he knows nothing of the water. The couch swim doesn't work in a pool, much less in the ocean. His students would drown.

That is a fact he would kill to keep hidden, because he has invested so much in his teaching methods and technical presentation.
Quite an illustration isn't it? Much the same can be said for many other things in life from driving, to mating, to actually having to make a living in the “cold cruel world”. One of them is Gun Fighting.

I get students from range-based schools, and their proponents all the time. These guys and gals have been drilled into the indoctrination of how to stand perfectly, how to draw correctly, and of course, how to carefully use the sights to precisely fire a surgically placed pair into a piece of paper.

They have spent their training time perfecting their stance, or focusing more on their front sight, or reacting to the first tone of the whistle or tone. Slight changes in holsters, or triggers, or grips, or other incomprehensible irrelevancies filled their study time.

These things do not last more than the first few minutes of one of our classes.

Yet, some of our heresy and blasphemies have spread through the cracks into other other’s curricula. Formerly square-range based, they hesitatingly want to put a toe into the water without getting their carefully pressed Royal Robbins tuxedo wet. You see, it is impossible to hide the truth in the age of the internet.

I have seen them come and draw and fire, then and only then taking a quick single side step so as to give passing lip service to getting off the line of fire, getting off the “X”, without altering their precise sight picture and carefully developed stable platform.

The open mouth and furrowed brow that results from their failure in force on force is almost uniform.

If only people would simply get into the water...into the Force on Force crucible, all things would be known immediately like the dripping swimmer who has just completed his first pool workout.

In a handful of chaotic and often intense seconds, the force on force student knows more about gunfighting than the untested range instructor who has been shooting groups all his life. And in that sudden fearful realization of what combat is really all about, and in how easy it is to still get killed in spite of all your marksmanship skills, your view on things and your focus in training will change. Things will never be the same again.

Stop being the theoretical dry couch swimmer and jump into the freaking pool. Heck, just think of all the time and money that will be saved once you have the "secret" knowledge that so many are trying to keep from you. Put down your range bag, grab an Airsoft pistol and a training partner and step into the light.

Gabe Suarez

One Source Tactical
Suarez International USA
Christian Warrior Ministries

Matthew 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
 
Opfor works!!

+1. great training and can be fun. and hopefully , one learns what works and what don't in the real world.
 
The kind of shooting where you stand in a lane at a range and fire at a fixed target may make you into a good marksman but it does little to prepare you for a real life encounter. Sadly at most ranges that is about the only type of training you are allowed to do.
 
I have done something in the basic niche of what you speak of in doing the Prac-Course for Military/Combat cover/conceal range. It is much more "intense" and adrenaline inducing. Now, if they only shot beanbags back at you to know and feel the right ways, it would be complete
 
Suarez International's classes include exercises with Airsoft guns, IIRC.
 
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The kind of shooting where you stand in a lane at a range and fire at a fixed target may make you into a good marksman but it does little to prepare you for a real life encounter. Sadly at most ranges that is about the only type of training you are allowed to do.

Unfortunately, I really can't think of any range that can even remotely simulate a real life encounter. All the range practice in the world won't mean a hill of beans if a mugger approaches you in real life; a moving human target, plus nervousness, can wreak havoc on your accuracy in ways you couldn't even imagine.
 
Unfortunately, I really can't think of any range that can even remotely simulate a real life encounter. All the range practice in the world won't mean a hill of beans if a mugger approaches you in real life; a moving human target, plus nervousness, can wreak havoc on your accuracy in ways you couldn't even imagine.

True, the real-world encounter will result in an immediate "surge" or adreneline dump that causes the loss of fine motor skills to some degree, 'the shakes' and tunnel vision etc, but - like Gabe infers with his analogy and I agree - "you train the way you fight and you fight the way you train." Having that solid foundation is a huge head start though.

If training consists ONLY of static shooting at static targets, yes - you may develop some keen employment of the fundamentals of effective marksmanship. BUT, if you don't train somewhere in the neighborhood of that "surge" and challenge yourself in training (Force-on-Force, tactical ground fighting, CQB for example) then you're more likely to either be over-powered by a stronger, faster and more determined assailant, or you're more likely to simply "freeze" when confronted with a situation unlike anything you've ever trained for - gun or no gun. Heck, even an occasional Paintball match-up (woods or speedball) will go a long way in training to think, move and plan strategically. But yeah - mask up, and send some participants into a low-light/no light force on force training scenario and you're likely to get some students coming out with a whole new perspective of training at many levels!

The analogy was terrific, and the encouragement to 'raise the training bar' commendable. Good stuff!
 
Payment plans?

FOF sounds like something we all need. ...I'll take up a collection here for the tuition, or does Gabe offer payment plans?

OK, seriously, it would be a very good thing and I wish I'da taken the path to his training rather than Front Sight a few years ago when I was more gainfully employed.
 
+100. Pounding the nail squarely on the head Sir. This is the SINLGLE hardest reality that MOST “defensive shooters” do not and will not get UNTIL they have attended a FOF class / course / program. Thank you for articulating it so well.
 
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