I recently (June 12-14) had the opportunity to attend a course from Shivworks entitled Extreme Close Quarters Concepts I & II (hereafter: ECQC I-II). The class was taught by "SouthNarc" (internet forum username), a law-enforcement officer with experience in undercover-narcotics, SWAT operations, patrol, and corrections. He also has served in the US Army and is a long-time martial-artist with experience in a variety of systems including Kali and BJJ just to name a couple.
The description of this course from his site can be found here:
http://www.shivworks.com/pdf/ECQC%20Course%20overview%20.pdf
The weekend session began on Friday night, after everyone introduced themselves, with a 4-hour block of instruction on what SouthNarc refers to as "Managing Unknown Contacts" (hereafter MUC). An "unknown contact" is anybody we don't know. Not all of these "UC's" are hostile, in fact the majority of UC's we encounter in our daily lives are not. Nevertheless, we have to have a system in place to deal with these encounters so that we won't be caught off-guard when we run across the one that is a threat.
Obviously, the first step in being able to proactively deal with a potential threat is seeing it coming--being aware of our surroundings. Many people, however, fail to do this. Now, it's not that they make a conscious decision to turn off their awareness; it's that they get busy with "stuff" and don't pay attention. The term SN uses for this is "task fixation. Examples of task-fixation include texting on your cell-phone, digging through your purse for that receipt (or whatever women keep in those things), or even putting your kid in the car-seat. Basically any tasks that commands so much of your attention that you aren't aware of what's going on around you. The obvious danger here is that you are leaving yourself vulnerable to attack since the bad guy can be on you before you know they're even around.
From here, the discussion moved on to actually dealing with an UC when the need arises. We've been aware, seen the individual approaching, etc. Now what? We know that "distance equals time." The more distance we have between us and the threat, the more time we have to react. Conversely, the closer we allow the person to get, the less time we will have to respond if he/she does turn out to be a threat. This being the case, it makes sense to issue some sort of challenge to let the UC know that we do not want them to continue approaching.
Just as we can modulate our physical response to fit the threat, we can, and should tailor our choice of words and body language to fit the situation. When we see the UC approaching, our choice of words should be such that we make it clear that they need to stop. However, we don't want to be too "hostile" or insulting as that might actually be counterproductive and elicit a response opposite of what we want.
Examples of a good phrase would be something like "hey, hold up a minute" or "can you stop there for me?" We also want to combine our verbalization with a physical "stop sign." Basically, arms in close to the body, palms facing outward, hands up near the head. This is commonly referred to as "the fence". In addition to being a gesture that is probably universally recognized as meaning "stop," this arm positioning also gets our hands up near our head where they can be used to protect us from an incoming blow. You also want to move (a hard circle towards 3:00 or 9:00) so that you can scan your environment and avoid being caught between the UC and any accomplices.
At this point in the class we spent a while working this with a partner, taking turns being the UC and being the "defender."
We next moved on to dealing with the UC when they do not stop approaching. Basically, if they refuse to stop and continue encroaching on you, one can assume that they have some ill intent. Responses to halt this encroachment include "amping up" your verbiage, possibly including the use of profanity to reinforce your command and, if the UC still refuses to stop, pre-emptive striking to create the ability to escalate further, to control, or to escape.
It was during this portion of the class that we also discussed "pre-assault cues." That is, behaviors that people unconsciously exhibit that can indicate that they are about to attack.
Once again we worked this quite a bit with partners.
The next topic covered was the importance of having a non-diagnostic "default response" in case we are attacked. As the name implies, the idea of the "default response" is having one technique that will protect your most vulnerable parts (head, neck, etc.) from most of the common "sucker punch" type attacks. The goal here is to remain on our feet, and avoid being knocked out so that we can counterattack. Southnarc teaches a technique wherein the weak hand is used to perform a vertical-elbow shield, and the strong hand is formed into a horizontal shield or cover. This technique does a great job of protecting the head from impact, covering the neck and jaw-line, and stabilizing the head so that it does not experience the snapping that can lead to a knockout.
The "non-diagnostic" part comes into play because we don't know what attack may be coming in. The idea that we will be able to "read" a full-speed attack that we weren't expecting, select an appropriate response, and then execute that response, all before being hit by the incoming strike is extremely optimistic. (A basic familiarity with Col. John Boyd's "OODA-Loop" model will increase one's understanding of the reaction time/decision making cycle).
More partner drills. At this point, the boxing gloves and FIST-helmets came out and one partner would feed various attacks (building in speed and intensity as we got more comfortable with the technique) while the other partner worked the default-response. After working the default-response in isolation, we wrapped up for the night by integrating it with all the other components (verbal challenge, movement, preemptive striking).
The MUC portion of the class is really the most critical. As SouthNarc said several times, "the stuff we do Friday night can keep you from needing the stuff we do Sat. and Sun." In other words, if you manage the pre-fight situation effectively, you may be able to avoid the fight itself.
The morning of both Saturday and Sunday was spent on the live-fire portion of the course.
On Saturday, after the safety briefing, we began by running through a couple of basic drills to make sure everyone's gunhandling was acceptable.
This done, SN introduced the 4-count drawstroke as he teaches it.
Count 1 is establishing a firm, locked-wrist grip on your pistol while it is still in the holster. The thumb will be flagged. Establishing a proper grip is extremely important...this became abundantly clear in the latter part of both days when we were doing the FOF evolutions.
Count 2 has the gun high, flagged-thumb of the shooting hand indexed on the pectoral muscle, and the elbow high to give the muzzle a downward cant. If not needed for fending off an incoming attack, the support hand will be flat on the chest, ready to establish a two-handed grip.
Count 3 is the position at which we first have the pistol in our cone of vision. The gun is high, indexed on our centerline and the slide will be level. It is here (and only here) that we will establish a two-handed grip if we have the ability to do so.
Count 4 is simply the appropriate level of extension or compression based on proximity to the threat. Don't extend the gun too far if the threat is close to you.
We spent a considerable amount of time on the #2 position as this was the position we used for retention shooting. As previously stated, the thumb/pectoral index combined with the high elbow give the muzzle a downward cant. This muzzle orientation allows us considerable freedom to use our support hand for fending off incoming attacks and manipulating/controlling our opponent. It was emphasized that we should not get lazy about keeping the elbow high as dropping the elbow results in raising the point of impact of our rounds and endangering our support hand or other body parts depending on our position. If one is particular about hitting the index points--thumb to pectoral, high elbow (sufficient height indicated by tension in the shoulder)--it is possible to be very consistent in one’s shot placement.
The flagged thumb of the shooting hand also provides some "stand-off" from the chest so that there is less chance of the slide movement being interrupted by clothing or contact with the body.
The description of this course from his site can be found here:
http://www.shivworks.com/pdf/ECQC%20Course%20overview%20.pdf
The weekend session began on Friday night, after everyone introduced themselves, with a 4-hour block of instruction on what SouthNarc refers to as "Managing Unknown Contacts" (hereafter MUC). An "unknown contact" is anybody we don't know. Not all of these "UC's" are hostile, in fact the majority of UC's we encounter in our daily lives are not. Nevertheless, we have to have a system in place to deal with these encounters so that we won't be caught off-guard when we run across the one that is a threat.
Obviously, the first step in being able to proactively deal with a potential threat is seeing it coming--being aware of our surroundings. Many people, however, fail to do this. Now, it's not that they make a conscious decision to turn off their awareness; it's that they get busy with "stuff" and don't pay attention. The term SN uses for this is "task fixation. Examples of task-fixation include texting on your cell-phone, digging through your purse for that receipt (or whatever women keep in those things), or even putting your kid in the car-seat. Basically any tasks that commands so much of your attention that you aren't aware of what's going on around you. The obvious danger here is that you are leaving yourself vulnerable to attack since the bad guy can be on you before you know they're even around.
From here, the discussion moved on to actually dealing with an UC when the need arises. We've been aware, seen the individual approaching, etc. Now what? We know that "distance equals time." The more distance we have between us and the threat, the more time we have to react. Conversely, the closer we allow the person to get, the less time we will have to respond if he/she does turn out to be a threat. This being the case, it makes sense to issue some sort of challenge to let the UC know that we do not want them to continue approaching.
Just as we can modulate our physical response to fit the threat, we can, and should tailor our choice of words and body language to fit the situation. When we see the UC approaching, our choice of words should be such that we make it clear that they need to stop. However, we don't want to be too "hostile" or insulting as that might actually be counterproductive and elicit a response opposite of what we want.
Examples of a good phrase would be something like "hey, hold up a minute" or "can you stop there for me?" We also want to combine our verbalization with a physical "stop sign." Basically, arms in close to the body, palms facing outward, hands up near the head. This is commonly referred to as "the fence". In addition to being a gesture that is probably universally recognized as meaning "stop," this arm positioning also gets our hands up near our head where they can be used to protect us from an incoming blow. You also want to move (a hard circle towards 3:00 or 9:00) so that you can scan your environment and avoid being caught between the UC and any accomplices.
At this point in the class we spent a while working this with a partner, taking turns being the UC and being the "defender."
We next moved on to dealing with the UC when they do not stop approaching. Basically, if they refuse to stop and continue encroaching on you, one can assume that they have some ill intent. Responses to halt this encroachment include "amping up" your verbiage, possibly including the use of profanity to reinforce your command and, if the UC still refuses to stop, pre-emptive striking to create the ability to escalate further, to control, or to escape.
It was during this portion of the class that we also discussed "pre-assault cues." That is, behaviors that people unconsciously exhibit that can indicate that they are about to attack.
Once again we worked this quite a bit with partners.
The next topic covered was the importance of having a non-diagnostic "default response" in case we are attacked. As the name implies, the idea of the "default response" is having one technique that will protect your most vulnerable parts (head, neck, etc.) from most of the common "sucker punch" type attacks. The goal here is to remain on our feet, and avoid being knocked out so that we can counterattack. Southnarc teaches a technique wherein the weak hand is used to perform a vertical-elbow shield, and the strong hand is formed into a horizontal shield or cover. This technique does a great job of protecting the head from impact, covering the neck and jaw-line, and stabilizing the head so that it does not experience the snapping that can lead to a knockout.
The "non-diagnostic" part comes into play because we don't know what attack may be coming in. The idea that we will be able to "read" a full-speed attack that we weren't expecting, select an appropriate response, and then execute that response, all before being hit by the incoming strike is extremely optimistic. (A basic familiarity with Col. John Boyd's "OODA-Loop" model will increase one's understanding of the reaction time/decision making cycle).
More partner drills. At this point, the boxing gloves and FIST-helmets came out and one partner would feed various attacks (building in speed and intensity as we got more comfortable with the technique) while the other partner worked the default-response. After working the default-response in isolation, we wrapped up for the night by integrating it with all the other components (verbal challenge, movement, preemptive striking).
The MUC portion of the class is really the most critical. As SouthNarc said several times, "the stuff we do Friday night can keep you from needing the stuff we do Sat. and Sun." In other words, if you manage the pre-fight situation effectively, you may be able to avoid the fight itself.
The morning of both Saturday and Sunday was spent on the live-fire portion of the course.
On Saturday, after the safety briefing, we began by running through a couple of basic drills to make sure everyone's gunhandling was acceptable.
This done, SN introduced the 4-count drawstroke as he teaches it.
Count 1 is establishing a firm, locked-wrist grip on your pistol while it is still in the holster. The thumb will be flagged. Establishing a proper grip is extremely important...this became abundantly clear in the latter part of both days when we were doing the FOF evolutions.
Count 2 has the gun high, flagged-thumb of the shooting hand indexed on the pectoral muscle, and the elbow high to give the muzzle a downward cant. If not needed for fending off an incoming attack, the support hand will be flat on the chest, ready to establish a two-handed grip.
Count 3 is the position at which we first have the pistol in our cone of vision. The gun is high, indexed on our centerline and the slide will be level. It is here (and only here) that we will establish a two-handed grip if we have the ability to do so.
Count 4 is simply the appropriate level of extension or compression based on proximity to the threat. Don't extend the gun too far if the threat is close to you.
We spent a considerable amount of time on the #2 position as this was the position we used for retention shooting. As previously stated, the thumb/pectoral index combined with the high elbow give the muzzle a downward cant. This muzzle orientation allows us considerable freedom to use our support hand for fending off incoming attacks and manipulating/controlling our opponent. It was emphasized that we should not get lazy about keeping the elbow high as dropping the elbow results in raising the point of impact of our rounds and endangering our support hand or other body parts depending on our position. If one is particular about hitting the index points--thumb to pectoral, high elbow (sufficient height indicated by tension in the shoulder)--it is possible to be very consistent in one’s shot placement.
The flagged thumb of the shooting hand also provides some "stand-off" from the chest so that there is less chance of the slide movement being interrupted by clothing or contact with the body.
We also spent quite a bit of time shooting from the #3, shooting while driving the gun out to various levels of extension, and shooting while compressing back to the #3. It was constantly emphasized that we wanted to be sure that the level of extension/compression was appropriate to the proximity of the threat. In other words, don't put the pistol out there where the other guy can reach it.
We want our #3 to be high so that the gun gets into the eye-line as soon as possible. This allows us to continually refine our sight-picture as we drive out to whatever level of extension is appropriate.
We want our #3 to be high so that the gun gets into the eye-line as soon as possible. This allows us to continually refine our sight-picture as we drive out to whatever level of extension is appropriate.
