Modern Defensive Handgun (Combat Focus Shooting)
Date: May 17 & 18, 2014
Instructor: Matt DeVito, Downrange Firearms Training
Location: Paris, TX
Cost: $450
Round Count: 1000

This Modern Defensive Handgun class is based on the Combat Focus Shooting curriculum by Rob Pincus. Combat Focus Shooting is a intuitive shooting program designed to help the student be more efficient with a firearm in the context of a dynamic critical incident. The class was taught by Matt DeVito of Downrange Firearms Training and hosted by The Armory Room of Paris, TX.

The class began with introductions and a thorough safety brief. Safety as a concept, life safety rules, perceived risk of what we do, risk and the benefit of it, responsibility of the student and the instructor, physical comfort, and intellectual comfort of the concepts and drills. We discussed competency how it is subjective and individual and you are here to push yourself to make yourself better. The dynamic critical incident was explained and that we were going to be taught from the counter ambush perspective being it is surprising, chaotic, and threatening. No two gun fights look the same. This is where CFS excels. When you find yourself in that dynamic critical incident how your body and mind will react. The difference between instinctive and intuitive actions and the difference efficient and effective actions.

Next was on the firing line where the fundamentals of shooting were stressed grip, stance, trigger control. Shooting was done from the high compressed ready extending straight out parallel with the target rolling shoulders forward to get bio mechanical lock for recoil management and to picture a new target every time you push the gun out. Training in context 91% of encounters are less than 20' and 86% of those are at 9' - 11' so those are the distances we were training within. As we performed drills it was all based on combat effective accuracy and two kinds of stops of a threat, physical and mental. Combat efficiency and lateral movement were explained and making your threat change direction to make you a more difficult target. Matt stressed the shooting is the easy part, don't let our fundamentals go because a new concept is introduced. We moved into reloads, sight alignment and sight picture, balance of speed and precision. After lunch we started working from the holster and the draw was broken down and explained beginning with the body's natural reaction when startled and ending all drills with a search and assess and the benefits of the search and assess. All the drills we performed were excellent practical application of various situations. I'm not gonna give those away you'll have to take Matt's class!

The second day was all about reenforcement and refinement utilizing the warrior expert theory. Realizing and knowing your situation, plausibility and possibility of situations, and using your training and the time you have devoted to it. Drill after drill but that is what we were there for and like I said the second day was all about reenforcement and refinement. The last drill of the day was about shooting in motion which is a eye opener on how it affects your survivability and your balance of speed and precision in the different types of movement.

If you are reading this and still on the fence about taking this class. TAKE IT!!!!!! There are metric tons of knowledge in this course. You will come away more confident is your skills and with a understanding of the foundation CFS is built on. Matt is a stellar instructor who takes time with each of his students to make sure they advance their skills. I watched several new shooters become head and shoulders above where they were when they started the day. That said, there is plenty for advanced shooters in this class as well and it really is up to you on what you get out of it, but it is so worth it. Again, take this class.  You will not regret it.