iChokePeople
Master
- Feb 11, 2011
- 4,556
- 48
Course: Paladin Combatives Managing Confrontations
Date: Nov 1, 2014
Place: Riley Conservation Club, Riley/Terre Haute, IN
Instructors: Mike Swisher (cedartop) and Josh Haines (jdhaines)
Overview: The course description linked above is a pretty good overview, and I won't plagiarize it here. In MY words and MY opinion: This is a course that is designed to help us deal with everyday encounters that most of us will have from time to time, or maybe frequently, depending on where you live, work, and play, I suppose. Some students pointed out the fact that they have these confrontations regularly, at the gas station, to and from work, etc. It's mostly designed to give you some ideas and a framework for figuring out what works for you, as opposed to giving you a 4-step procedure for anything. It attempts to deal with any "confrontation" in the early stages, BEFORE it becomes gun time. It attempts to help you avoid becoming a victim by managing the initial stages of the encounter in a way that might dissuade most potential attackers. T&T regulars probably already know that I'm a believer in this kind of material, and this class is no exception.
Two items, in the spirit of full disclosure: First, I was late due to an obligation in the morning, so I don't know what was covered in the hour or so before I got there. Second, this is my second time through this class. That's not unusual for me -- there are a few other classes I've done multiple times, as well. I generally select my training largely based on what I think I'm most likely to actually need and use in my life. That leads to very few classes where we operator up and fastrope out of a helicopter and more courses on fundamentals, low light, etc.
I'm sure Jackson will do an AAR, so I won't spend much time on the kinds of things I think he'll cover.
Here's what I think is most important about this kind of material: In all probability, you really will have many of these kinds of encounters in your life and have the opportunity to actually use these tools and get some benefit from it. Unless you live in a cave in the mountains, you probably can't avoid things like being approached by panhandlers, being approached at the gas pump, encounters in grocery stores or parking lots or walking out of the cinema at night after your first night showing of Frozen. We'll pretty much all have these situations. For many here on INGO, your unfailing situational awareness will keep you safe from any possible negative encounter, so you're good to go. For many of us, though, there's the possibility that SA will, at some point, not be enough and someone will get inside our 21' bubble. They might even talk to us. What then?
Josh and Mike address this possibility beginning at the initial approach, with options and ideas for keeping strangers at a comfortable distance, with encouraging them to find someone else to approach. They introduce or reinforce some verbal tools, movement, awareness, and some approach methods. I like the way they introduce a subject first in discussion, then demonstrate, then give the students an opportunity to try it. You certainly don't HAVE to try any of the things taught in the class, but you have the opportunity. It's a great chance to try new things, to test or improve any ideas you already have, and to see how others do it. They give some great examples of other methods and tactics they've seen or found in their research. That's one of the things I really like about the Paladin guys and their classes -- they are true students of the subjects they teach. They study, they research, they take other courses and incorporate the parts they find valuable, they throw out the parts that don't really seem to work, and they bring all of that background to share with their students.
As the day progressed, they spent some time on what happens if verbal aikido (that's for Mike -- Mike loves aikido) doesn't work and the encounter becomes touchy. They spent some time in and around vehicles, which was completely new to me and definitely valuable. They spent some time teaching a couple of techniques that I think are valuable and relatively easy to teach. I'm mostly against attempting to teach self defense *techniques* in a short class, as I believe very few can really be learned to the point that they're useful in a short time, but they have selected a couple of things that I think are both good exceptions to that rule. One because it's very easy to learn and almost universally effective, and the other because it's such a huge problem if you've never thought about it or tried it before you find yourself there for real. The latter technique ISN'T so easy to really master in a short time, but I still think it's valuable simply because you will at least have seen it, will understand what you have to do, and will have some idea of how to deal with it. Those who choose to do so can even roll around on a nice soft mat for a little while and see how it feels and how quickly you can become fatigued even in a low-stress environment.
At the end of the day, they also share some less-related information on other subjects that they find valuable and useful, and some that maybe are less so. I like their willingness to call it like it is, to compliment those things that deserve it, but also to point out the bad.
This class had an entirely different "feel" or "energy" than my previous iteration of the same class. As always, it's a mix of everyone involved, so not surprising, but always interesting.
Thank you to Josh and Mike for putting on the class, to Jeepcrazed for sponsoring it and bringing it to the area, and to all of my fellow students for the chance to meet you or get to know you a little better and for the things I learned from each of you.
I absolutely recommend this kind of training for EVERYONE. If my daughter was still around and under my roof, I'd take her to this class. There are other good options, and Josh and Mike are the first to point some of them out and mention that a lot of their material is condensed down from some of those that they think are the best. THIS one is a great intro-level class that is low-pressure, low-stress, friendly, and open, and a great way to get an overview of the subject.
My only regret is that rhino left disappointed in one particular expectation...
Thanks again to everyone involved, and I'll post some pics soon.
Date: Nov 1, 2014
Place: Riley Conservation Club, Riley/Terre Haute, IN
Instructors: Mike Swisher (cedartop) and Josh Haines (jdhaines)
Overview: The course description linked above is a pretty good overview, and I won't plagiarize it here. In MY words and MY opinion: This is a course that is designed to help us deal with everyday encounters that most of us will have from time to time, or maybe frequently, depending on where you live, work, and play, I suppose. Some students pointed out the fact that they have these confrontations regularly, at the gas station, to and from work, etc. It's mostly designed to give you some ideas and a framework for figuring out what works for you, as opposed to giving you a 4-step procedure for anything. It attempts to deal with any "confrontation" in the early stages, BEFORE it becomes gun time. It attempts to help you avoid becoming a victim by managing the initial stages of the encounter in a way that might dissuade most potential attackers. T&T regulars probably already know that I'm a believer in this kind of material, and this class is no exception.
Two items, in the spirit of full disclosure: First, I was late due to an obligation in the morning, so I don't know what was covered in the hour or so before I got there. Second, this is my second time through this class. That's not unusual for me -- there are a few other classes I've done multiple times, as well. I generally select my training largely based on what I think I'm most likely to actually need and use in my life. That leads to very few classes where we operator up and fastrope out of a helicopter and more courses on fundamentals, low light, etc.
I'm sure Jackson will do an AAR, so I won't spend much time on the kinds of things I think he'll cover.
Here's what I think is most important about this kind of material: In all probability, you really will have many of these kinds of encounters in your life and have the opportunity to actually use these tools and get some benefit from it. Unless you live in a cave in the mountains, you probably can't avoid things like being approached by panhandlers, being approached at the gas pump, encounters in grocery stores or parking lots or walking out of the cinema at night after your first night showing of Frozen. We'll pretty much all have these situations. For many here on INGO, your unfailing situational awareness will keep you safe from any possible negative encounter, so you're good to go. For many of us, though, there's the possibility that SA will, at some point, not be enough and someone will get inside our 21' bubble. They might even talk to us. What then?
Josh and Mike address this possibility beginning at the initial approach, with options and ideas for keeping strangers at a comfortable distance, with encouraging them to find someone else to approach. They introduce or reinforce some verbal tools, movement, awareness, and some approach methods. I like the way they introduce a subject first in discussion, then demonstrate, then give the students an opportunity to try it. You certainly don't HAVE to try any of the things taught in the class, but you have the opportunity. It's a great chance to try new things, to test or improve any ideas you already have, and to see how others do it. They give some great examples of other methods and tactics they've seen or found in their research. That's one of the things I really like about the Paladin guys and their classes -- they are true students of the subjects they teach. They study, they research, they take other courses and incorporate the parts they find valuable, they throw out the parts that don't really seem to work, and they bring all of that background to share with their students.
As the day progressed, they spent some time on what happens if verbal aikido (that's for Mike -- Mike loves aikido) doesn't work and the encounter becomes touchy. They spent some time in and around vehicles, which was completely new to me and definitely valuable. They spent some time teaching a couple of techniques that I think are valuable and relatively easy to teach. I'm mostly against attempting to teach self defense *techniques* in a short class, as I believe very few can really be learned to the point that they're useful in a short time, but they have selected a couple of things that I think are both good exceptions to that rule. One because it's very easy to learn and almost universally effective, and the other because it's such a huge problem if you've never thought about it or tried it before you find yourself there for real. The latter technique ISN'T so easy to really master in a short time, but I still think it's valuable simply because you will at least have seen it, will understand what you have to do, and will have some idea of how to deal with it. Those who choose to do so can even roll around on a nice soft mat for a little while and see how it feels and how quickly you can become fatigued even in a low-stress environment.
At the end of the day, they also share some less-related information on other subjects that they find valuable and useful, and some that maybe are less so. I like their willingness to call it like it is, to compliment those things that deserve it, but also to point out the bad.
This class had an entirely different "feel" or "energy" than my previous iteration of the same class. As always, it's a mix of everyone involved, so not surprising, but always interesting.
Thank you to Josh and Mike for putting on the class, to Jeepcrazed for sponsoring it and bringing it to the area, and to all of my fellow students for the chance to meet you or get to know you a little better and for the things I learned from each of you.
I absolutely recommend this kind of training for EVERYONE. If my daughter was still around and under my roof, I'd take her to this class. There are other good options, and Josh and Mike are the first to point some of them out and mention that a lot of their material is condensed down from some of those that they think are the best. THIS one is a great intro-level class that is low-pressure, low-stress, friendly, and open, and a great way to get an overview of the subject.
My only regret is that rhino left disappointed in one particular expectation...
Thanks again to everyone involved, and I'll post some pics soon.
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