Well my forearms are brused, upper and lower, I have welts from
Today's class using the air softs, but no where near the welts on Ed,
and I'm sore all over which equals one hell of a weekend!!!

Thanks to everyone, new and old, who gave their all to maximize what
we needed to learn. Again an excellent class.

Ray Woodrow 3rd
Buckeye Gun Club, Inc.

Just completed the three classes offered by Chris Fry of MDTS (http://www.mdtstraining.com/careers.htm). Friday night was Tactical Folding Knife Skills, Saturday was Combative Pistol Skills 1 + 2, and today was Close Quarter Engagements FOF Drills, Skills, Scenarios.



First of all I want to thank Ray Woodrow of Buckeye Gun Club in Barnegat for the use of his club for all three days. Next I want to thank all the participants in the class for being great partners and as Ghostdoc stated for being safe. You guys are an integral part of the class and it wouldn't be a success without you. JoelK as always it was a pleasure and your guidance is greatly appreciated. And lastly, thank you Chris for great instruction and putting it all together.



After action report (all three days combined):



Last year, Ray Woodrow said that what you get for what you pay for is a bargain. True that! Even if you take the same class again Chris continually updates the courses and you won't be learning the exact same material you've learned before. Even the drills are updated and new ones are added. Although shooting and force on force contact can be potentially deadly, SAFETY in Chris's classes are top priority and he stresses everyones involvement. At no time did I feel any danger or any threat of danger.



To start with, Chris is an oustanding teacher. He has the ability to teach the class at the "speed of the class". I don't know if there were any first timers there but there were certainly repeat students (which says alot) as well as students who have taken many other classes elsewhere. Everyone moves through the class together and if additional instruction is needed for an individual, it is provided in a positive seamless manner without any disturbance to the rest of the class and along with the rest of the class. Chris has a way of teaching such that, although you are in a class with a group of people, the instruction feels as if it were one on one. He has a syllabus of topics he wants to cover and has always made it point to cover all, if not most, of the topics. In an instructional weekend such as this one, there were alot of teachable moments. And we all learned from them.



These three classes together were outstanding. Although each one of the classes can be taken individually, Chris designed the classes this weekend as a continuation of the previous class. In addition, he has designed his courses to be fluid in that he takes into consideration the limitations created by our firearm unfriendly state laws.



All the instruction is practically or "real world" based. There is never a "this is the only way to do it" type of attitude.



On Friday night we covered the different type of edged weapons (folding and fixed blade). With the folding knives we were able to try "blade up" and the "blade down" type. We covered and practiced the recognition of a threat and the combative defensive response if avoidance and escape was impossible. MDTS has a ton of teaching aids and simulated weapons to simulate real situations. The "pain" (which really is not that bad, but gets the point across) is an important part of the learning process. Although Chris is not a physician or a physiologist, he thoroughly understands the body's physiologic and psychological response to stress and injury. As a physician and surgeon I am amazed at his "medical" knowledge and his ability to convey that knowledge to the class.



In the Combative Pistol Skill courses Chris started with fundamental marksmanship handling of our weapons and transitioned those skills to combative marksmanship. We all want to shoot, which is why most of us have gravitated to this site, but practical shooting is not all about pulling the trigger (Although we do a lot of shooting). In this class we are taught how to be proficient with the use of a handgun in a life threatening situation (as a last resort) instead of being just a gun owner. Having a gun and shooting paper does not make us good shooters. Adding the stress of a threat to basic skills while having to making a instantaneous life or death decisions is what this class is about. Making the right decision could mean the difference between your life (or the life of a loved one) or a life of regret for a bad shoot. Chris's classes make you think, they help you develop a skill set unique to responsible gun ownership. In addition, we learn a physical skill set, that if practiced, won't be occupying our minds when we have to make that life or death decision. We become less dangerous a responsible gun owners after this class.



The Close quarter engagement, force on force class today was a culmination of the the knife and pistol class. This is where we put it all together. Today we identified our weakness and our strengths in our thought processes, decision making, and practical physical response (avoid, evade, or engage) to a threat. By using simulated weapons and simulated firearms (airsoft) realistic contact and response to a threat, occurred. It was as close to the real thing as possible.



These were great classes. It's not the same as watching a video or reading a book or even walking around the house pretending.



Thanks Chris, Joel, Ray and everyone for a great class.



BTW: in the simulations Chris is very attuned to each individuals tolerance to pain, he won't push you past that point, and take every precaution that every one is safe.

A big thanks to everyone who was there this weekend!

Like always, I had a great time and the value is unbeatable! Everyone was safe and the instruction from Chris and Joel is top notch. I enjoyed using a different gun for the first time, and experimenting with different grips for it and seeing what worked best. Also, putting it all together with Sundays class was such a great learning experience.

Also, for those of you that were there I thought you'd enjoy this- Last night, my girlfriend and I were doing the dishes and she turned around with a knife to put it in the dishwasher. I instinctively put my arms up to slam down in an "X" until I identified that I wasn't in any harm and that we were just doing the dishes. Hopefully, if I ever get attacked in real life I can respond as quick as I did in my kitchen.


And I'd like to thank Joel for this-

Thank you Ray for hosting these classes at the Buckeye Gun Club.  It was good hanging out with you and your Dad before class figuring out who gets the worst gas mileage and talking about the ways thing used to be.  Buckeye is a great club, it's too bad I live a little too far north to visit more frequently.

I participated in the Close Quarter Engagements Force on Force Skills, Drills & Scenarios taught by Chris Fry of MDTS on Sunday.  This is the second time I've taken this class with Chris and it's pretty cool that the skillsets remain consistent, and how Chris develops new ways for his students to exercise these skills.  

This class as Chris has said before really lets you know what you think you can do and what you actual can do.  I believe it's not necessarily from one's skill level, but from how you react when a situation presents itself, and then possibly escalates.  For me it was interesting that I had to remind myself to breath and not let tunnel vision set in.  Another was how quickly an engagement plays out.  There’s really no way to know how you’ll handle a situation unless you are put in it, this was pretty close.  To make things more interesting, try introducing other factors such as children.  This messed with me as a father and made me more cognizant of my possible reactions.  After each scenario Chris debriefed each of us.  He got our view on what just occurred and offered feedback on what we did and engaged us on what other solutions we could have been used.  This was a great class.

Thank you Chris for making the trek down to NJ, thanks Joel, good seeing you again.  I’m still impressed with your ability to light up the bad guy from the deep, deep cover.  It was great seeing a lot a familiar faces.  Thanks to everyone for making this class safe and allowing Chris to push us.

Ray, Thank you for hosting another great class with MDTS. As expected, Chris' knack for getting to the point never fails, and also Thanks to Joel for his assistance. I have taken numerous classes and there's always something new to learn, but mostly I need the "refresher " and I like the challenge of a full day of training.

There is one thing I've learned Saturday in situational awareness is that one should wait a little bit longer for a threat to become OBVIOUS before exterminating the offender ( Sorry Chris ).

Guys, I cannot stress this enough, if you have not or are thinking of taking a class at MDTS, go for it. It will improve your Situational Awareness, Shooting Skills, Confidence and Self Preservation ( plus it is a bargain ).

<cross posted on NJGF>
This was my first handgun class with MDTS but my 3rd class with MDTS, and, as always, it was a great learning experience. I've only been shooting roughly 1.5 years, so, any opportunity I can get for local training is a must do for me... epsecially with Chris.  Unfortunately, because of work and a new wife, I was only able to attend 1 of the 2.5 days of training - Combative Handgun 1 & 2.  

Even tho I shoot handguns more than long guns, it's the one area I struggle the most with.  This class certainly reminded me of that.  I have some very big issues with the fundamentals.  To say I'm inconsistent is an understatement.  Add stress into the equation and I start doing all sorts of weird things I don't normally do.  For example:  whenever I do a tap - rack at the range, I always do the rack by coming over the slide with my whole hand.  For some reason in this class, I was turning the handgun to the left and grabbing the slide with my thumb and index finger.  Even after Chris and Joel pointed out that I was doing this, I still continued to do it at various times throughout the class.

My shortcomings aside, this was a fantastic class.  Chris throws a LOT of information at the students, but each skill leads to another skill, and it all leads to excercises that combine everything we've learned over the course of the day.  It is clear that a lot of thought has been put into what is being taught.  Furthermore, Chris tailored the class specifically for the NJ crowd.

One of the more memorable excercises was the drill that involved visual cues instead of the typical verbal cues (FIGHT, GUN, KNIFE, etc).  Chris acts as the instigator in a possible critical incident.  I won't get into the details as to not ruin the drill for future students, but it's a very good drill that creates a good amount of stress while still having the student shoot at paper.  I will say this - I feel bad for anyone that f*cks with Bobby ;)

I also really enjoyed the bi-lateral shooting drills.  Two handed shooting with the handgun in the non-dominant hand was no where near as bad as I would have thought previous to this class.  Like everything else, it just comes down to the fundamentals.  

Safety is always priority #1, and this group of students was top notch.

Anyway, this was a great class.   I'll be back for the next one :)

Thanks to Chris for bringing training like this to NJ, Joel for always being right where he needed to be, and the crew at Buckeye for providing a range for top notch training!

-Pete

Here are some more pictures that I took:

First, thank you Ray and Buckeye Gun Club for hosting these classes.  Buckeye was a great place for all of the classes, particularly with the scenarios on Sunday.  I also enjoyed the air conditioning during the debriefs  RWJr also shows a lot of promise as an actor.  He really earned that $6.75

Chris, I can't thank you enough for coming down to NJ and offering us some really great training.  I have liked all of the MDTS classes, and I was extremely impressed with FOF with the scenarios.  I am looking forward to the fall class, and am very excited about some of the potential classes that were discussed.

To all those who attended this weekend, both the new students and regulars (many of whom have become friends as well), thanks for another safe, fun, and educational series of classes.  

SoCalTrojanSoldier, good review, and as usual, it was a pleasure training with you.  

Dodgecoltracer, you are welcome, and thank you for several of my welts, even if they don't look as good as yours  

House, sorry to contribute to your impressive welt collection, but I just couldn't resist taking that shot  

Bobby, it was good to see you as well, and to haunt you on the highway once again.  

Pete, it was good seeing you again, and congratulations.  If you like the visual cue drill (I also think it was a great addition) you should try to do one of the FOF classes.  

To everyone who hasn't posted, it was good training with you, and I hope to do so again in the future.

I had a great time!  Thanks to Ray for hosting the event and for lending me a bunk to crash out on Friday night and obviously a big thanks to Chris for driving down on one of the worst travel days of the year to bring us some really great training.  Thank you Joel and everyone else who helped me out, it really was a pleasure to meet everybody.  There always seems to be one jerk in the group and that didn't seem to be the case at all (unless it was me).    

I took the Friday night Knife and Saturday Pistol Classes.  This was the first training class I've had with Chris and the first formal firearms training class I've taken.  I was one of only a few people without formal training and so I struggled a bit with trying to correct my overall shooting form with trying to incorporate everything else.  I did not feel overwhelmed though as Chris teaches everything in a step by step format with simple drills building up to ever more complicated drills incorporating everything learned up to that point.  Chris took time out with everyone who seemed to be having trouble at different points, but it didn't appear to slow the pace of the class down to where more experienced shooters were bored.  Chris obsesses about safety (not a surprise considering his business) with everything that we did and you can see that he teaches everything with an eye to safety first and distilling down fairly complicated ideas into an easy to understand, step-by-step method.  

I could drone on for paragraphs about how great everything and everyone was but long story shorter, I would definitely take another MDTS class and I can see taking these classes again, I feel I would get a lot out of it on the second time around as well.

Thanks again everybody, Jeff

I'd like to reiterate what everyone has said, great training and a lot of fun.  Thanks to Ray, Joel and Chris for making it happen.  

Chris stated that the goal of the class is for everyone to increase their skills one notch, and I think everyone would agree that was achieved.  

I'd also like to reiterate what some have said- lookout, Bobby Hun shoots first and asks questions later!  

missed another good training class due to work,
lots of Glocks in those photos