This past Saturday I taught one of my Advanced Defensive Pistol courses. I had a really great group of students – one of those special classes – special in a good way, not in a bad way, if you know what I mean.
I can truthfully say there isn’t a person who attended the class who I wouldn’t be proud/comfortable to have by my side in a gunfight and I certainly don’t make that assertion lightly.
Today, I thought I’d share with you some of the drills we did at the class, a few of which you can practice on your own in the comfort of home. One of the first drills we did at the beginning of the day was a “Close Quarters Push-Off” drill.
The way this drill works…
Is that you’re standing about arms-length away from the target. When the “threat” command is given, the shooter pushes away from the target with their left hand while moving backwards and drawing and firing the gun.
We know the majority of gunfights are close range, so this drill teaches you to push off with your left hand simulating that you’re slapping away a knife, or hitting the person to stun them giving you time to draw and shoot.
You can practice this drill in your own home by pasting a target on the wall, hitting the target, then backing off and drawing and “firing.” Just make sure you have a safe and empty gun and you know your backstop.
The second drill is what I call the “End of the World Drill.” This drill takes place in a 360 degree shooting range and numbered targets are in a circle around the range. I walk the students into the very middle of the range and have them close their eyes and tell them that it’s the end of the world and they’re surrounded by zombies, Obama supporters and their mother-in-law.
I then spin them around a few times to disorient them…
And then I call the first number, which they must quickly find and shoot. Then I quickly yell at second number and they must charge in that direction and shoot too. I do this with multiple numbers until they’re running all around the circle engaging different threats from different directions.
Typing it here does not do the drill justice, but let’s just say by the time it’s done they’re huffing and puffing and they’re much better trained to quickly acquire threats that may come from all around them.
Probably the most difficult drill of the day, which every student accomplished, was clearing a “double feed” malfunction one-handed. (With both the strong and weak hand.) If I had to guess, not one in a million gun owners knows how to clear a double feed one handed, and I’d explain here, but it’s really something you have to seen in person, otherwise I’d totally confuse you.
With that being said, you should always be improving your self-defense skills, so if you’ve never practiced close quarters combat drills, or never been in a 360 range or never cleared a double-feed one handed, try and learn those skills in the future because life is strange and you never know when you’ll need them.
