Suarez International Force on Force AAR

[Rick Klopp]

I recently had the opportunity to work with a great group of students in Roanoke, IN at the Suarez International Force on Force class. The hosts and the students really made this class a success.

Thank-you first goes out to the Aldridge’s who were both excellent hosts as well as first-class students. In addition, Hillside Shooting Sports is a great venue for both teaching classes as well as live-fire exercises. The facility had several well maintained pistol bays and a 1,000 yd rifle range. The facility itself it a converted airport with the older hangers comprising the classrooms and storage resources and the abandoned grass airstrip providing the 1,000 yd rifle range. There’s not too many places left where you can shoot at this distance so if you’re in the Ft. Wayne area – this is the place to go. Hillside also has reasonable annual memberships as well as the ability to shoot on an as-needed basis. More details about the venue can be found at http://www.hillsideshootingsports.com.

When I say that the students made the class a success, I’m serious about that. One of the biggest obstacles in a Force on Force class to overcome is the “I always need to win” type of attitude that some student’s show up with. With that type of ego in the way, it is hard for students to see the natural progression of the drills and to learn from them. When I asked everyone to be a “good” bad guy when the drill called for it – no one exhibited any resistance and matter of fact, everyone played the roles perfectly. The correct amount of opposition at the correct time allowed for a very steep learning curve resulting in being able to run some of drills several times and to address specific comments and concerns.

Although it was Airsoft, everyone was very squared away regarding the drills and didn’t let things turn into combative exercises. Even though we all went home a little sore and had to explain all those welts, both the positive and the negative reinforcement tied together for a great learning experience.

I basically had two goals for the class – the first being that the students would leave with a different perspective of gunfighting and secondly, that that change in perspective would spill over into their training. I think that both goals were met and I thank the students for making that happen. I’m looking forward to making the trip again in the near future.

 

[cedartop]

Thanks again for the great class Rick. Thanks also to the hosts. As I have mentioned before, it was great having a diverse group of students as it really helps to see a lot of different perspectives. FOF is really one of those classes that can be taken multiple times and learn something new each time. Though I am sure they are probably what ended up making me sore, the stress inoculation drills were my favorite.

Bob's wife was a real pistol and it was great to see her progress over the two days as she did. It was great that she was game to try everything we did, of course what would you expect from someone who has run 25 Pikes peak marathon's.

Something the people who had not done FOF before, all seemed to comment on the fact that they never got to use their sights. Not a big surprise to those of us who have had the class before, or who have been in a close range REACTIVE encounter.

The movement that we teach in our rifle and pistol classes really come to life in FOF. It doesn't take long for anyone to realize that standing on the X, and shooting it out with your opponent is not the way to go if you want to live.

 

[NIFT]

Suarez Force-on-Force is definitely a most worthwhile class, when you want to learn how to fight, not just shoot on a square range or do IPSIC, IDPA, or USPSA shooting. During the “shooting” sessions, I know no one—including instructors Rick Klopp and Mike (Cedartop) Swisher—ever used sights or planted feet for a stable shooting platform. Emphasis was on moving, and Rick repeatedly stressed not to sacrifice movement for a stable shooting stance. The static position or platform must be replaced with fluid and dynamic (explosive) movement.

Some other—of many—excellent learning “nuggets” included:

• Movement on oblique angles
• Pekiti and Russian take-offs to confuse and counter an attack
• Mental awareness and preparedness more important than equipment choices
• “Plus one” Always believe their will be another unseen attacker

We used nothing but AirSoft pistols, which, by the way, are much cheaper for both guns and ammunition, and no one complained one iota of not doing any live fire, especially since we were shooting at each other!

The class is highly recommended and both Rick Klopp and Mike Swisher are first-rate instructors.