Author Archives: Nic Shoffner

The Truth About Knives

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Greg Ellifritz of Active Response Training has years of experience in the field of knife fighting.  Much more than my very limited experience.

That said, he has come to the same conclusion that I have come to understand.

Folding knives are far less efficient than fixed blade knives.  Take a look at his article and see his reasoning.

 

Written by: Greg Ellifritz The next time you see a police officer, take a look at the pockets in his or her pants. It’s likely you’ll notice the majority of them have a folding knife clipped there. But what about fixed blade knives? There’s a good chance you won’t see anyone carrying a…

via Should Police Officers Carry Fixed Blade Knives? — Active Response Training

What Does it Take to get into Defensive Shooting?

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I am often asked by beginning shooters what it takes to get into defensive shooting.  Many, it seems, are under the impression that the techniques needed in a defensive situation are somehow more advanced and more complex than those typically needed for basic marksmanship.

In truth, these defensive shooting skills are not more difficult to learn.  The same amount of time and energy is needed to set them into neural pathways.  In fact, some of these skills are less complicated than those used in marksmanship shooting.  Learning to use the sights on a gun is a relatively complicated skill.  Kinesthetically orienting the gun toward the target is much more natural (you point at things every day) and, therefore, easier to learn.

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The Goal of Training

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Missouri law has a very minimal shooting requirement for to qualify for a concealed carry permit.  The entire live-fire exercise consists of a student shooting at a B-27 silhouette target set at twenty-one feet with either a revolver or a semi-automatic handgun.  Twenty rounds are fired as a live-fire demonstration and another twenty are fired as a live-fire qualification.  Fifteen of the twenty qualification rounds must be inside the silhouette portion of the target in order to pass.

For anyone that has even minimal shooting experience this qualification is a breeze to pass.  It can become very easy to take for granted the minimal skills required to successfully complete it.  For the novice, however, the task can require a significant expenditure of concentration and effort.

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AAR – Immediate Action Jiu-Jitsu & Immediate Action Pugilism

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Instructor: Cecil Burch
Company: Immediate Action Combatives
Dates: January 21st & 22nd, 2017

I want to apologize in advance to those of you reading this.  This is a pretty long post.  I was trying to capture both the basics of the material, which was all new to me, as well as how this kind of training had affected me both physically and mentally.

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Get Your Mind Right

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I’ve previously written about the importance of a defensive mindset HERE and HERE.

The defensive mindset is the foundation to your entire defensive strategy regardless of the training you’ve had or the tools you carry.  Just as a building with a compromised foundation can result in a crumbling structure, an inadequate defensive mindset can result in your entire defensive strategy falling apart in the midst of a fight for your life.

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Obstacles to a Solution

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The choice to carry a gun each day is nothing more than an extension of a previous decision one has made in their life.  This decision was that of self-preservation.  The concept that my life, or your life, or the lives of those we care about is more valuable than the lives of criminals that would seek to do us harm.

Anyone that has made such a decision generally then takes steps to ensure they can prevail against a criminal attack.  They acquire the tools and training and they develop a mindset and lifestyle that will allow them to avoid a fight if possible but win a fight if necessary.  It’s only logical that handguns would come up in this evolution of tools and training.  Handguns are easy to carry on your person and they are generally more efficient at ending a fight than a club, knife, or any less lethal weapon at stopping an attacker.  In fact, the only things that usually perform better than handguns are rifles and shotguns.

Having said that, self-defense is not about guns.  Continue reading →

An Instructor is Not a Beaver

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I have been an instructor for about sixteen years now and I have been fortunate enough to turn some good students into great friends over those years.  I am delighted to see these same folks come back to class after class but I would be doing them a huge disservice if I didn’t encourage them to obtain training from other instructors.

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Why Don’t You Take a Class?

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Have you ever considered taking a defensive shooting course?  I’m talking about a course that goes well beyond the basic firearms safety and operation taught in most concealed carry classes.  Most people that take a concealed carry class or other basic firearms course never consider continuing their training.  Others think about it but never do it.  Then there are those that buy a gun for “self-defense” but never take any formal training of any kind.

How can you expect to use a firearm as a defensive tool with minimal or no training?  How can you expect a basic firearms safety course to prepare you for a life and death fight with a gun?

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The Greatest Gift… Almost

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Kimber Meme

Every year as we near the Christmas season, I see memes such as the one posted above all over Facebook.  Honestly, I would love it if someone bought me a new gun for Christmas and, admittedly, I get the slightest twinge of jealousy as I see my friends posing with their new “toys” in front of the Christmas tree.

But does giving someone a gun really tell them how much you care?

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