AAR FoF class 18 Feb 2017

I want to thank you, guys, for another excellent training you gave us.

A few words for those who are still thinking whether they need to take one

FoF training itself: It is the best training you could ever take if you really think that you ever may have to use your firearm to protect yourselves and your family. I am pretty sure that the first FoF training, I received from John in 2013, completely shaped the whole my training schedule for the next four years. I still remember that shocking understanding that neither range, nor IDPA experience, nor hand-on-hand experience (and I had plenty of as I grew in the country where firearms is something pretty hard to meet on the street), all of these simply will not work in a gunfight. However, while this first training left me in “I am completely dumb and helpless” mood, the last one confirmed that the good amount of proper training would slightly improve the situation.

Comparing different options of the FoF I would say that:

1) Simunition vs BB gun – I tried both, and, unless you are real SWAT'o'SEAL team, it won’t make a lot of difference from point of view of the lessons to be learned. And it is way cheaper and less painful to use BB gun though.

2) Big group vs small group – both options work very well. In a small group you get way more painful reinforcement for your new knowledge, while in a big group you have a lot of material to observe and think about.

3) Law and tactic part is equally if not more important than fun part of FoF training, simply because the decision of whether and what to do is the key.

FoF with Trace Armory Group: I think that John found just the perfect balance between the harsh material he teach and softness of us, civilians he has to teach. Usually, if you go to other place, you will either have to accept harsh style of education or suffer from watering the material to the kindergarten level. With John you’ll get the right amount of things, without feeling yourself in a bootcamp of a conscription army (if you know what I mean).

I also think that John perfectly understands and even more perfectly handles extremely important job of educating women and involving women into shooting and self-defense community. If you still thinking that you need somebody to train your girlfriend, daughter or wife – think no more. You know whom to call. I don’t know how much fun he has from teaching women, but does this job per-fect-ly.

And last but not least, pricewise Trace Armory Group courses are moderately priced, and this not because they provide cheap training. This is because the money is not only the thing why they are doing this. How do I know? Try to take training from them and you will see it yourselves from their attitude. :)

p.s. A secret of those guys who don’t want to be shot multiple times in FoF scenario – simply stop attacking/advancing toward your opponent as you got the first shot. If you continue to attack – it is simply impossible to your opponent to stop shooting (at least if he/she has a little bit of self-defense-shooting mentality). At least, this is what I am always doing when I think that I have got enough BB-balls into my body for the moment, and this helps.

p.p.s. If you wear prescription glasses and the contact lens aren’t the option for you – take steps to find a good mask beforehead and have it ready for the course. An absolute majority of masks do not work with prescription glasses, so you would really need to have your own. However, the body parts that really need to be protected are eyes and ears only (unless your face is a part of job), so good safety glasses (just take one that have soft pads that cover eyes all around) and good earmuffs would work. This is just my opinion, of course. You are putting your body parts into dangerous contact with BB-balls on your own discretion and risk. ;-)

p.p.p.s. Always, always wear gloves and better it would be gloves with a good knuckle protection. Knuckles is pretty often are hit (especially if you are trained to use isosceles) and are very, very painful to be hit during FoF.
 
Good class. It was eye opening in that it causes you to really evaluate yourself and the amount of awareness you have. You will reassess the way and how you carry concealed. You will learn how quickly things go from not so bad to very bad. We had some terrific people in this class that made it fun to be there. If you are goig to carry concealed.... you need this.
 
This was a really fun and valuable experience. I highly recommend this class to anyone who wants to carry a gun for protection. I'll share a few things I took away from the class.

I always knew that clearing a house was dangerous. I've shot IGL and the house was always the hardest stage for me and those were paper targets. Going around corners and through doors in Force on Force really reinforces how dangerous it is.

It can be hard to tell bad guy from good guy. Your job is to survive and not go to jail. It is not your job to save the world.

When it is time to act, do so decisively and forcefully. Yelling and moving aggressively can throw people off balance and make them hesitate. You want to be controlling the situation and not constantly reacting to it.

Distance is your friend. One of the situations had the attacker shout "I want a snackbar" (you know what he really said) and start stabbing people in an enclosed space. He stabbed 4 people before I was able to draw and shoot him. I "survived" only because I was away from him when he decided to go off. Also as a bad guy, I trapped a guy changing a tire on his car and was able to get the jump on him. If he had backed away faster while assessing the situation, I would have been the one trapped in between cars while he was free to take cover around either side. Distance gives you options and time and you need both in a self defense situation.

If you can avoid a situation, do it. Don't look like a target. Be aware of your surroundings. Maintain space. If you need to be a jerk to stay safe, then so be it.

Also, don't use redboxes in parking lots. Use either netflix or redbox inside stores.
 
The comments above really cover this class well... It was great and I would do it again.

I had the Redbox conversation with my wife yesterday and the next step is deciding on which online service to use.

Two other things I will add are:

1. While the class is built around scenarios and how you respond to them, John and Scott do a great job of pointing out that in most cases your best option is to stay out of them in the first place or disengage as quick as possible if you couldn't avoid it. This means you need to stay aware of the people around you and know your escape routes.

2. Airsoft can be a really good training tool, esp if you are like me and don't have easy access to a range or funds for live fire.
 
Just a quick review of private training session with John, went very well. It was much better also to be able to focus on the certain things that I wanted to pick apart instead of having to follow a class agenda as well. He definitely was able to open my eyes to some different possibilities and corrections I was able to make immediately and work on after the session as well. The range was great and overall had a very good experience. I will definitely be working with him again, thanks John.
 
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