Suarez International USA, Inc.
This past weekend included a few "firsts" for me. It was my first time training with Suarez International (SI), and it was my first time training at Sand Burr Gun Ranch in Rochester.
Registering for the courses was easily accomplished via the SI website. Once that was done I needed to find a place to stay. There are two hotels in Rochester-- a Comfort Inn and a Super 8. I picked the Comfort Inn because I get an industry discount, but the Super 8, which sits right next door, looked like the nicest Super 8 I've ever seen. While neither hotel is lavish, either is more than suitable for a weekend of training. My room was clean, the Staff was friendly, and I had no issues to report.
Two right turns and 10 minutes away I found Sand Burr Gun Ranch. It's nestled back in a beautiful piece of property surrounded by tall pine trees. Ranch owner Denny Reichard and Range Manager Ashley (Reichard) Gibbons were found in their small on-site retail and gunsmith shop. While nothing about Sand Burr is "high tech", it's the perfect location for firearms training of all kinds. With 3 large bays reaching back to 150+ yards, and a wide pistol range complete with an array of steel targets, my mind was reeling with all kinds of ideas for possible training opportunities. I already look forward to training there again.
Class started at 5pm on Friday evening. This gave us time to get the range set up in the daylight, get a medical action plan in place, as well as time to go over some concepts and theory on fighting in the dark with guns.
One often-misunderstood single-hand gripping technique involves canting the pistol slightly inboard. This was referred to as "half-homie", as opposed to the "full-homie" that's often seen in TV and movies.
We did several exercises with blue guns that showed how this technique can be slightly different with each shooter.
We also covered MANY other topics, like:
Even with some last-minute changes to my packing list I still found myself cold and wet. It sucked. But real life can suck too so we shuffled on.
Once we got on the line I started to warm up a little. This was due to SI's core principle of exploding off the X and incorporating movement into all of our actions. We covered such dynamic movement, moving at oblique angles (2 o'clock, 5 o'clock, 7 o'clock, 10 o'clock).
We also talked about several different techniques for incorporating a handheld flashlight, and their strengths and weaknesses. From there, the course diverged somewhat from those I've taken in the past. Where most of my previous low-light shooting has been done with a light illuminating the target during strings of fire, Harris works from the concept that gunfights are close and dirty, and that the light is best used for IDing purposes, with the shooting being done "in the dark". I say "in the dark" because you quickly find out that "the dark" isn't as dark as you might think. Even under a partial moon in rural Indiana I could make out the silhouette of my target quite well. Adding to that is the fact that we weren't going for sniper shots. These were close-in, rapid, point-and-shoot shots.
Although the targets we used weren't 3D, you can clearly see that hits in the "dark" while on the move weren't difficult-- even when shooting from oblique angles.
We also spent a bit of time talking about shooting around barricades and how using a light offers some additional challenges to be overcome.
In every course I take I look for "lightbulb moments" or moments of true learning. Here are a few of mine, in no particular order:
All-in-all it was a great weekend filled with great instruction by great people. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the courses Suarez International offers and will look for more opportunities in the future. I appreciate Mike Swisher (cedartop) and all he's done for INGO and for his efforts in getting Hoosiers trained up and better prepared to defend themselves and their families. Many thanks to Randy Harris (Randy Harris) for coming up from Chattanooga Tennessee to take the reins on these courses. If you like a no-nonsense approach with a laid-back attitude then Randy is your guy. I recognize that different instructors have different styles and Randy's teaching style is different than that of Steve Fisher (Magpul) or Shay VanVlymen (Mindset Laboratory). I like training with different people because I learn different things. I learned a lot from Randy and I appreciate the time and energy he puts into teaching.
If you are looking for firearms training that is realistic and with little "fluff", then I'd recommend Suarez International. If you look at firearms as tools then SI is for you. If you question some of the mainstream dogma that exists in current firearms training, you would fit in well in an SI course.
If you've been on the fence about training in general or Suarez specifically feel free to ask here or get in touch with me via PM. I'm always glad to share my experiences with INGOers.
What:
Suarez International's Low Light Gunfighting
October 19-20, 2012 - Low Light Gunfighting - Rochester, IN
When:
Friday, October 19th and Saturday, October 20th, 2012
5pm-12am
Where:
Sand Burr Gun Ranch in Rochester, Indiana
Sand Burr Gun Ranch: Home
Who:
Randy Harris (Randy Harris) - Lead Instructor
Instructor Randy Harris
Michael Swisher (cedartop) - Host/Assistant Instructor
Instructor-Michael Swisher
Jeff - Meat Puppet/Comic Relief
Students:
Two from Michigan
Three from Indiana
Ages 29-60+
Why:
Although this was my 4th low-light course, it was my first with Suarez International. With Rochester only being 2.5 hours away I jumped at the chance to take 2 courses together in a weekend (AAR for Fundamentals of H2H Combatives is in a separate thread).
Suarez International's Low Light Gunfighting
October 19-20, 2012 - Low Light Gunfighting - Rochester, IN
When:
Friday, October 19th and Saturday, October 20th, 2012
5pm-12am
Where:
Sand Burr Gun Ranch in Rochester, Indiana
Sand Burr Gun Ranch: Home
Who:
Randy Harris (Randy Harris) - Lead Instructor
Instructor Randy Harris
Michael Swisher (cedartop) - Host/Assistant Instructor
Instructor-Michael Swisher
Jeff - Meat Puppet/Comic Relief
Students:
Two from Michigan
Three from Indiana
Ages 29-60+
Why:
Although this was my 4th low-light course, it was my first with Suarez International. With Rochester only being 2.5 hours away I jumped at the chance to take 2 courses together in a weekend (AAR for Fundamentals of H2H Combatives is in a separate thread).
***AAR disclaimer*** In an attempt to leave the integrity of the course material intact, this AAR will cover my own personal experience and will only cover general concepts covered in the course. If you find this information interesting I strongly encourage each and every person to seek out training on their own. Please keep in mind that some of the pictures below only represent a frozen moment of time during dynamic demonstrations and testing. As such, they cannot always accurately represent a specific technique to the reader. I'd be glad to answer any picture-specific questions one has, but please refrain from posting any opinions that are based on assumptions about such pictures.
This past weekend included a few "firsts" for me. It was my first time training with Suarez International (SI), and it was my first time training at Sand Burr Gun Ranch in Rochester.
Registering for the courses was easily accomplished via the SI website. Once that was done I needed to find a place to stay. There are two hotels in Rochester-- a Comfort Inn and a Super 8. I picked the Comfort Inn because I get an industry discount, but the Super 8, which sits right next door, looked like the nicest Super 8 I've ever seen. While neither hotel is lavish, either is more than suitable for a weekend of training. My room was clean, the Staff was friendly, and I had no issues to report.
Two right turns and 10 minutes away I found Sand Burr Gun Ranch. It's nestled back in a beautiful piece of property surrounded by tall pine trees. Ranch owner Denny Reichard and Range Manager Ashley (Reichard) Gibbons were found in their small on-site retail and gunsmith shop. While nothing about Sand Burr is "high tech", it's the perfect location for firearms training of all kinds. With 3 large bays reaching back to 150+ yards, and a wide pistol range complete with an array of steel targets, my mind was reeling with all kinds of ideas for possible training opportunities. I already look forward to training there again.
Class started at 5pm on Friday evening. This gave us time to get the range set up in the daylight, get a medical action plan in place, as well as time to go over some concepts and theory on fighting in the dark with guns.
One often-misunderstood single-hand gripping technique involves canting the pistol slightly inboard. This was referred to as "half-homie", as opposed to the "full-homie" that's often seen in TV and movies.
We did several exercises with blue guns that showed how this technique can be slightly different with each shooter.
We also covered MANY other topics, like:
- Types of flashlights and their operations
- Handheld lights vs. weapon mounted lights
- Using lights to hide oneself
- Using lights to stun/blind/distract an attacker
- Using lights to fake our position
- Striking with a light
- Searching with a light
- Incandescent vs. LED lights
- Too much / Too little light
- Backsplash
Even with some last-minute changes to my packing list I still found myself cold and wet. It sucked. But real life can suck too so we shuffled on.
Once we got on the line I started to warm up a little. This was due to SI's core principle of exploding off the X and incorporating movement into all of our actions. We covered such dynamic movement, moving at oblique angles (2 o'clock, 5 o'clock, 7 o'clock, 10 o'clock).
We also talked about several different techniques for incorporating a handheld flashlight, and their strengths and weaknesses. From there, the course diverged somewhat from those I've taken in the past. Where most of my previous low-light shooting has been done with a light illuminating the target during strings of fire, Harris works from the concept that gunfights are close and dirty, and that the light is best used for IDing purposes, with the shooting being done "in the dark". I say "in the dark" because you quickly find out that "the dark" isn't as dark as you might think. Even under a partial moon in rural Indiana I could make out the silhouette of my target quite well. Adding to that is the fact that we weren't going for sniper shots. These were close-in, rapid, point-and-shoot shots.
Although the targets we used weren't 3D, you can clearly see that hits in the "dark" while on the move weren't difficult-- even when shooting from oblique angles.
We also spent a bit of time talking about shooting around barricades and how using a light offers some additional challenges to be overcome.
In every course I take I look for "lightbulb moments" or moments of true learning. Here are a few of mine, in no particular order:
- Using muzzle flash to get a "flash" sight picture is actually possible. By the end of Day 2 I could recognize it.
- Moving at oblique angles means manipulating the gun in some ways that I've never seen or tried before. After trying them I found that I could make solid hits quickly.
- SI is the first "mainstream" training group that I've found that doesn't overemphasize the use of sights in a gunfight. They don't disregard them, but they show how they aren't always necessary. "Only use as much sights as you need". Because of this, I also learned a few techniques that can aid in faster shooting in situations where speed trumps hole-touching accuracy.
- This course reconfirmed for me that lanyards on lights are unnecessary.
All-in-all it was a great weekend filled with great instruction by great people. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the courses Suarez International offers and will look for more opportunities in the future. I appreciate Mike Swisher (cedartop) and all he's done for INGO and for his efforts in getting Hoosiers trained up and better prepared to defend themselves and their families. Many thanks to Randy Harris (Randy Harris) for coming up from Chattanooga Tennessee to take the reins on these courses. If you like a no-nonsense approach with a laid-back attitude then Randy is your guy. I recognize that different instructors have different styles and Randy's teaching style is different than that of Steve Fisher (Magpul) or Shay VanVlymen (Mindset Laboratory). I like training with different people because I learn different things. I learned a lot from Randy and I appreciate the time and energy he puts into teaching.
If you are looking for firearms training that is realistic and with little "fluff", then I'd recommend Suarez International. If you look at firearms as tools then SI is for you. If you question some of the mainstream dogma that exists in current firearms training, you would fit in well in an SI course.
If you've been on the fence about training in general or Suarez specifically feel free to ask here or get in touch with me via PM. I'm always glad to share my experiences with INGOers.
Last edited:
Just different scenarios being interpreted on my part.
