JimConway
Instructor
I have just completed two classes with Gabe Suarez this past weekend, , which included his "Introductio to Gun Fighting" and his "Close Quarters Gun Fighting 1". The first class the "Introduction to Gun Fighting" was basically the normal Gunsite 250 (beginners) class compressed to 2 days. This class focused on the mechanics of hitting the target very accurately. The ranges were from 3 to 10 yards. While I have taken Basic classes a number of times, the class had great value to me personally. Some once said the the Basics are all that you need to know and master and the difference between a great shooter and a novice is only the ability to execute the basics smoother and faster. Two points stand out for me, which are Gabe's Proactive reload (tactical reload) and Gabe's approach to gun malfunctions. To many people these approaches will seem to be totally wrong, but they work in a high stress situation situation, every time.
Gabe's approach to the Proactive reload is to simply remove the partially empty mag, put it in your pocket, and insert a new mag. This approach avoids having to juggle two mags and the possibility of dropping one and time to do it is faster.
Gabe's approach to malfunctions is equally simple. There are four possible malfunctions as follows: empty gun, type 1, type 2, and a type 3. To address these four problems there are only 2 procedures that are preformed. There are no diagnostic steps and there should no reaction times no mention . No matter why the gun did not fire, first tap and rack. This will fix both a type 1 and a type 2. If the gun still does not fire, simply strip out the mag, insert a loaded mag, and rack the slide. The major benefit of this approach is that you do not have to think about what is wrong. You simply act.
For both of these two procedures, the key point is that you are in a potentially lethal situation and are under a lot of stress. Try them, they work.
I will have more details on the first class later this week and a complete report on the second class after I get my thought more in order. As the name of the second class implies, the class dealt with saving your life at distances between touching out to about ten yards. The approaches presented by Gabe are not in any way like what we have all read about. The first class was a clear presentation of Coopers "Modern technique of the Pistol. The second class was an evolutionary step forward from the classic Cooper approach. This class focused on movement and on acceptible accuracy under stress. The only time that accuracy was heavily stressed was for a head shot. Another item that was discussed and practised was the idea of seeing what you needed to make the shot. We shot ar bad breath distances from retention with no use of the sights, from semi retention where all you could see was the outline of the gun.. The best way to describe this is as a continium for point shooting to aimed fire.
I will close with a few words about Gabe Suarez. Gabe is very experienced with shootings and has survived. His thoughts and approaches are based upon his experiences and testing of ideas that work in a real situations. As both a teacher and as an instructor Gabe is very personable, humorous and dynamic. He is one of the very few instructors that demonstrates every drill before the student shoote the drill.
In summary, All of the 20+ students and I had a great time, enjoyed the classes and have an overload of food for thought. What was extremely gratifing for me was that my wife took the first class and enjoyed it. When I got home last night after the final day, she had numreous questions about various aspects of her training and insisting that I let try several of my other firearms.
Gabe's approach to the Proactive reload is to simply remove the partially empty mag, put it in your pocket, and insert a new mag. This approach avoids having to juggle two mags and the possibility of dropping one and time to do it is faster.
Gabe's approach to malfunctions is equally simple. There are four possible malfunctions as follows: empty gun, type 1, type 2, and a type 3. To address these four problems there are only 2 procedures that are preformed. There are no diagnostic steps and there should no reaction times no mention . No matter why the gun did not fire, first tap and rack. This will fix both a type 1 and a type 2. If the gun still does not fire, simply strip out the mag, insert a loaded mag, and rack the slide. The major benefit of this approach is that you do not have to think about what is wrong. You simply act.
For both of these two procedures, the key point is that you are in a potentially lethal situation and are under a lot of stress. Try them, they work.
I will have more details on the first class later this week and a complete report on the second class after I get my thought more in order. As the name of the second class implies, the class dealt with saving your life at distances between touching out to about ten yards. The approaches presented by Gabe are not in any way like what we have all read about. The first class was a clear presentation of Coopers "Modern technique of the Pistol. The second class was an evolutionary step forward from the classic Cooper approach. This class focused on movement and on acceptible accuracy under stress. The only time that accuracy was heavily stressed was for a head shot. Another item that was discussed and practised was the idea of seeing what you needed to make the shot. We shot ar bad breath distances from retention with no use of the sights, from semi retention where all you could see was the outline of the gun.. The best way to describe this is as a continium for point shooting to aimed fire.
I will close with a few words about Gabe Suarez. Gabe is very experienced with shootings and has survived. His thoughts and approaches are based upon his experiences and testing of ideas that work in a real situations. As both a teacher and as an instructor Gabe is very personable, humorous and dynamic. He is one of the very few instructors that demonstrates every drill before the student shoote the drill.
In summary, All of the 20+ students and I had a great time, enjoyed the classes and have an overload of food for thought. What was extremely gratifing for me was that my wife took the first class and enjoyed it. When I got home last night after the final day, she had numreous questions about various aspects of her training and insisting that I let try several of my other firearms.