What is your weakest link, end of the year eval.

[Tinman]

Ok, I shamelessly stole this idea from TFin over on another board. Hey, I gave him a few days to mirror it here and he didn’t all’s fair right .

What is the weakest link in your skill set today? What are you going to do to correct it?

In truth, because these are perishable skill sets, as we are focusing on improving one, we are allowing another to degrade. The trick becomes prioritizing which is most important or most lacking so that you are moving all the appropriate skill sets up over time. Since we are coming to the end of another year, it makes sense to evaluate ourselves, and develop a plan for where we want to be this time next year right.

I’ll open:

My priorities right now are working on my open hand skills, including striking, clinch work, and ground game. In addition I’m working on the integration phases. That’s where we have to tie it all together into one functioning package so we can transition through the different phases of a contact or conflict. That’s the real tactician part of the equation that in my mind so few train hard. I’m a decent shooter, so I’m trying to just maintain a status quo with my manipulations and fundamentals while I’m working other things.

As a side note, as I’ve been focusing on the open hand work, I’ve noticed a deficiency in my strength and conditioning (S&C) so that has become a MAJOR focus for me of late. The surprising part for me was to see improvements in areas of my shooting that I failed to see as affected by my S&C. At this point I’m a pretty firm believer that no matter what condition you are in, there are improvements to make, and you will see advantages across a multitude of areas with those improvements.



So, what am I doing about it?

To improve my S&C, I’ve started working with a new trainer specifically focused on S&C for the combative world. I’ve been working with him for 4 weeks, and have already begun to see differences in my abilities, can’t wait to see what he can do in 6 months.

My open hand work has been increased significantly. I’m training with a local master in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Aiki Jiu Jitsu, Kempo, and Kali.

I’m focusing most of my pistol work around dry fire of the fundamentals and manipulations. The time previously spent on the range has been dedicated to the gym or dojo.

The integration portions, I’m doing several things. I’ve sought out some old friends, and made some new ones who are on the forefront of these skill sets. Now I’m starting to work with them to improve my abilities. Additionally, we’re starting to work most stuff in FoF training groups rather than just polishing the bore on the range.

Who’s next?

Tinman….

 

[TFin04]

Copycat.

As I stated over there I've been focusing on longer range pistol work from the draw, while moving, etc. 15yds+

 

[Tinman]

I gave you the props, what do you want a cookie too?

It was a good thread though.

 

[TFin04]

A cookie would be great. I like the peanut butter cookies with the little fork marks on the top of them.

 

[Tinman]

I'll remember that at the next class....

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

[esrice]

You ladies done with the baking?

For me, I need to get back to pistol basics. I'm still anticipating recoil and not hitting as accurately as I'd like. My weak hand could use some improvement as well.

Therefore, I'm bringing Steve and Tom down to me.

Goal for 2010 is to dig a proper carbine foundation. I'm giving some serious consideration to the Magpul class.

 

[Jackson]

Alright, so I randomly clicked on page 101 of the T&T forum tonight and I came across this thread. Being the end of the year, I thought it was very appropriate. I'm going to bring it back to life. So, what are my weakest links?

1. Fitness and conditioning. I travel extensively for work. I am commonly sitting in the car, in airports, or working long hours at remote locations for 2-3 weeks at a time. Due to this I've gotten lazy. I rarely work out and I eat convenience foods that do nothing good for my health. One of my goals is to slowly transition my diet to healther foods and work out consistently, even if its push ups and jumping jacks in my hotel room. My main problem has been the mentality that if I can't do some set routine consistently I wont bother starting until I can. I need to do whatever I can when I have time, and not worry about it not fitting in to some grand scheme. Any activity is going to be better than no activity.

2. Medical training. I've taken hundreds of hours of training classes in the past five years and only about 20 or so hours of medical training. With this in mind, I intend to focus on medical training next year. I haven't selected specific classes but I will find some and I will devote some training time and dollars to the subject.

3. Empty hand skills. I haven't had a lot of martial arts experience. This year I attended the Suarez 0-5 ft class. This coupled with a couple other experiences has really brought those gaps to the forefront of my attention. Due to the travel schedule mentioned above, I find it difficult to get in to a dojo or a gym with any consistency. I intend to look for short-duration seminars on contact-distance topics. Those may include empty hand, knife skills, impact weapons, or retention.

What are you planning to work on in 2014?

 

[bingley]

Me? Work has been crushing me for the last few months, and it's going to keep at that for a while. I also travel for work sometimes, and I get what Jackson says about bad food. I feel I need to get some life balance back -- alright, I'm hitting the gym tomorrow no matter what! The good thing is that I did manage to sneak in some medical training.

To Jackson -- as someone who's spent almost two decades in martial arts, I think the most useful and transferrable skills are actually mental. When happens when you're exhausted, hurt and hurting, when you think the enemy is stronger, faster, better than you, when the odds are evidently against you? Do you give up, or do you keep fighting? What keeps you going? If you have a good teacher and are in a good school, you'll discover what mental obstacles and resources you have. It's better to give up on the mat because, just for an example, you are afraid of the old injury from a bad car accident, then to discover that on the street. It's better to figure out how you can achieve the mental focus to spar the experienced fighter in class, than to figure that out in the 0.5 seconds you have before a street fight erupts. I've seen people lose a bout because fear or doubt entered their minds. Again, better in the school than out in the streets.

For this sort of stuff, you need long-term, steady training. Weekend seminars can teach you the physical skills, but they don't really build the mental resilience. On the other hand, if you are/were military/police and have seen action, you probably don't need it. Athletes have similar skills, and I've noticed they develop fast once you change their mindset from "best performance under best circumstances" to "surviving under the worst circumstances."

When I take defensive firearm classes, I always wonder how my classmates will do under stress. Gun classes are about physical skills or mental coordination, but I haven't see much that stress you as much as (unarmed) sparring. During the more stressful drills, some of my classmates' shooting really degrades. I stay the same, and I sometimes do better. I'm not particularly good with guns or anything, and I still have a long way to go. But I think this is what my martial arts experience gave me.

 

[Jackson]

To Jackson -- as someone who's spent almost two decades in martial arts, I think the most useful and transferrable skills are actually mental. When happens when you're exhausted, hurt and hurting, when you think the enemy is stronger, faster, better than you, when the odds are evidently against you? Do you give up, or do you keep fighting? What keeps you going? If you have a good teacher and are in a good school, you'll discover what mental obstacles and resources you have.

I agree there is a significant benefit to consistently testing yourself as you would in a good martial arts class (that includes real resistance). I also agree it is hard to build that up in seminar-based training. But it is not hard to test it. A good short course with live contact (like a Shivworks course, or the Suarez course I took last year, though not as much) should be able put you in a position where you experience that uncertainty. I like courses that push me to the limit of my ability and keep me there long enough to test my mental toughness.

As an aside, I do have some martial arts experience to draw on which helps in relating what you're saying. I used to be involved in a hard, full-contact style of karate. It has been more than 10 years since I've done it consistently, and I was no expert. However, we fought hard and I experienced what you're talking about. I've broken ribs and lost a tooth doing it. A significant component of our advancement in rank was full-contact fighting for the belt. As we progressed in rank, the number of rounds fought for the test increased. During the kumite, the opponent would be swapped out every round so it was always someone new and fresh. The goal wasn't to win. It was simply to survive and come out the other end without quitting. We never beat someone up to the point where they would not make it. The goal was always to find the individual's limit and keep them there. It was the kind of exercise in mental toughness you're talking about. And becuase of that experience, I very much appreciate what you're saying. However, adding some new skills in a seminar format isn't going to hurt me. :-) Especially when it comes to grappling, wrestling, ground fighting, and weapon retention. These are holes in my skill set and I'd like to fill them.

 

[dirtdigger]

I agree there is a significant benefit to consistently testing yourself as you would in a good martial arts class (that includes real resistance). I also agree it is hard to build that up in seminar-based training. But it is not hard to test it. A good short course with live contact (like a Shivworks course, or the Suarez course I took last year, though not as much) should be able put you in a position where you experience that uncertainty. I like courses that push me to the limit of my ability and keep me there long enough to test my mental toughness.

As an aside, I do have some martial arts experience to draw on which helps in relating what you're saying. I used to be involved in a hard, full-contact style of karate. It has been more than 10 years since I've done it consistently, and I was no expert. However, we fought hard and I experienced what you're talking about. I've broken ribs and lost a tooth doing it. A significant component of our advancement in rank was full-contact fighting for the belt. As we progressed in rank, the number of rounds fought for the test increased. During the kumite, the opponent would be swapped out every round so it was always someone new and fresh. The goal wasn't to win. It was simply to survive and come out the other end without quitting. We never beat someone up to the point where they would not make it. The goal was always to find the individual's limit and keep them there. It was the kind of exercise in mental toughness you're talking about. And becuase of that experience, I very much appreciate what you're saying. However, adding some new skills in a seminar format isn't going to hurt me. :-) Especially when it comes to grappling, wrestling, ground fighting, and weapon retention. These are holes in my skill set and I'd like to fill them.

Jackson - Seeing you go after Andy in the fight suit at Mindset, I'm thinking you could hold your own in a hand-to-hand altercation!
Fortunately, my work travel doesn't have me gone for 2-3 weeks at a time any longer, but I am on the road near every week, 2 days to all week. Conditioning and eating properly on the road is not easy.
We invested in a swim spa a few years ago, so at home, that's my primary exercise. On the road I do the in-room work out thing and it is pretty effective; push ups, sit ups lunges and shadow/mirror boxing, in 30-40 minutes you can give yourself a really good workout. As you say, you just need to do something.
By definition wouldn't you be doing jumping Jacksons?

As for 2014, you mentioned 2 that are on my list
1) medical training - I had a couple of basic first aid courses in the past, but want to get some slightly advanced training that will refresh the basics and focus on more serious trauma, like gunshot wounds, etc.
2) empty hand - I've never taken any formal hand fighting training. Like many, with work travel, getting involved in a set program isn't something I'm willing to do, so I need to look to some seminar or single day training. Maybe I can get some gear and talk my brother-in-law or my nephew into knocking around to get some resistance involved.
3) pistol - I'm going to focus on off-hand manipulation and accuracy, pretty weak area for me
4) rifle - I'm average with a rifle, at best. I was supposed to attend an Appleseed shoot in Nashville a couple of weeks ago, but the snow we had cancelled that. So that will be in 2014 sometime, probably spring.

Dave

 

[churchmouse]

I need to work on about everything you guy's mentioned.
Have not spent the time I should working on my perishable skills. I have spent a lot of time teaching family members and friends to shoot and do it safely but my skill sets are in need of a tune up.
That is one of my New Years resolutions. Work up a personal program and follow it.

Off hand/weak hand is area I really need to work on. Never spent enough time with this.
I have changed my grip this year and need to get the bugs worked out as I find myself having to concentrate on this. Not ingrained into muscle memory as yet.
Long range rifle skills need a tune up from lack of use.

Empty hand is OK as we do work on this a lot. Do this in the back yard.

 

[esrice]

On tap for 2014--

Physical fitness-- need to break through the plateau I hit this past year. Would also like to integrate more functional fitness.

Medical skills-- enrolling in an EMT-B program.

Combatives-- from unknown contacts work to rolling around and getting dirty. Maybe finally get into a Shivworks course or head north to cedartop and jdhaines.

 

[jdhaines]

Combatives-- from unknown contacts work to rolling around and getting dirty. Maybe finally get into a Shivworks course or head north to cedartop and jdhaines.

Or maybe we'll come down.

Weaknesses: I'm pretty crappy when it comes to rifle skills. I've been exposed to what I need to, but I haven't spent the time to really lock them down. Weight isn't where I would like. I had a great progression downward this year followed by a sharp progression upward at the end of the year. I'd really like to get it down and keep it down Q1 & Q2 next year. I train hard so it doesn't affect what I can do...but I saw major benefits even dropping 30lbs and that made it obvious that it still does affect what I can do.

Maintain: I'm happy with my pistol skills even when not training them heavily. I'll continue to maintain them but not focus on them.

Next Year's goals: Basic rifle work. Increase weight and distance with a ruck. I can do 60lbs in 4 miles on trails at 18min/mile. I'd like to get to 65lbs, 5 miles, 12 min/mile on flat ground or 13-14 min/mile on trails. I plan to continue increasing mobility and flexibility to open the world of Olympic lifts...not quite there in the shoulders. I have the hip mobility though. As a stretch goal, I'd like to finally get my HAM license and start getting some communications figured out.

 

[dmarsh8]

I need to find somewhere reasonably close to learn hand to hand and weapons training. I'm ready to move

 

[WETSU]

My weakest link is comms. I need to get my HAM basic. I need to work on tighter COMSEC, and proper procedure. I need to get my team better on nonverbal as well as basic, simple comms (hand signal, nods, eye contact, single word etc) when shooting and moving. I need to brush up on my Spanish. Not kidding.

 

[rockhopper46038]

Personal fitness. I'm getting older and I can definitely feel it. I still run 5 miles in 45 minutes, 3x a week (which isn't great, but I consider it serviceable), but burst activity fatigues me much quicker than it ever used to.

 

[VERT]

Basic Medical. I took a CPR course several moons ago. I could really use a refresher as well as a better background in treating trauma.

I started Ta Kwon Do with my kid last fall. For a guy like me that sits behind a desk all day it has helped.

 

[obijohn]

This year, I hope to find more and different ways to overcome my physical disabilities (old age, arthritis, nearly no cartilage left in my knees) in order to be more able in empty hand combatives.

As an aside, look for ACT to do more and varied medical classes in 2014. Let me know what subjects are of interest.

 

[GNRPowdeR]

Weaknesses for me include physical conditioning, rifle / shotgun knowledge and skills, and off hand pistol skills. (Yeah, I need some serious work...)

Planned / Desired training for the year includes:
1) The USPSA RO course in Feb to help me become a better RO for my club's Steel Valley matches this summer.
2) NRA Range Safety Officer certification to bolster my knowledge in maintaining a safe range.
3) NRA Handgun Trainer certification to have the "paper" to backup what I've been doing for friends and family these last few years.
4) Wanting to attend an Appleseed (held at my local club, near Nashville)

I'm comfortable with my Basic Medical due to being an EMR (formerly called "First Responder") for the IDHS.
I'm ok with my pistol, but know that a skill not used is a skill lost.