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S&S Training Solutions is starting to be
a big name in the Kansas City area. They have been doing tactical
training since 2013, after the owner/operators identified the need for a more 360 degree training environment in Kansas City. I personally met both Cole and
Parker in late 2013, after they approached Mike and I about teaming up for a
class on wilderness survival class.
Their outlook on training is simple, but rare. Get as many people
trained as possible. S&S offers classes ranging from basic pistol
marksmanship to 24 hour tactical field exercises. The classes they offer range
from 30 dollars to 120, which is a huge value given how in depth the training is,
especially compared to other tactical training, which usually prices itself out of a lot of people's range.
The CCW Airsoft course is the first
training class I was able to attend with S&S. First off, it started right
on time, which is always a bonus. Waivers were signed, and everyone was checked
for live weapons and ammo as they came in. We started the course with some
classroom instruction. The instructors first went over the agenda for the day.
They spoke about the physiological responses to stress, how your body will
react to dangerous situations. The importance of learning about those body
alarm responses cannot be overlooked. If you get into a self defense situation,
and your own body surprises you with its response, that is one more thing you
are fighting against, beside the obvious threat.
We watched some videos that focused on
events where a concealed carry weapon was deployed in self defense, and the
instructors talked about everything from the CCW holders tactics versus the bad
guys tactics, to the response of the unarmed people around them. They also
showed a brutal video of a home invasion where a woman was unarmed, and
incapable of defending herself against her attacker. Parker and Cole stressed
the need to be armed even when in the home, as a weapon in the safe does nobody
any good when the bad guy kicks in the front door or, even worse, walks through
the door you simply didn't lock.
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| One way to avoid flagging no-shoot targets is the extended "Sul." |
After the videos, we focused on some topics
that don't get covered a lot in depth on the "square range." We
practiced presenting the firearm on a threat, giving loud verbal commands to
the aggressor, engaging them, and finally doing a solid search and assess. The
instructors did a great job of driving the point home with the search and
assess. They asked for confirmation of fingers held up, or even presented a
second threat, to ensure students weren't doing the cursory head snap that many
of us fall into the habit of doing on the range. We also practiced avoiding
"flagging" or muzzle sweeping non-combatants as they crossed our
field of fire.
We also practiced disarming a downed
aggressor after the shooting stopped, calling into 911, and what would likely
happen when the police arrived to the scene. This was an excellent part of
training to me, because it is simply overlooked in most schools. At best, it is
usually talked about, but in this course, we had actual emergency service
dispatchers to take the 911 calls, and an active LEO to simulate the response
of a police department to a home invasion or shots fired scenario. This
included the option of getting "hooked up," being ordered to the
ground, disarmed and handcuffed by a LEO. Simply put, a law enforcement officer
doesn’t know who the good guy is, coming into a home on a shots fired called.
You will be disarmed, and likely put in cuffs. Training to deal with that
situation beforehand is a huge benefit, and seems to be rarely covered in
defensive shooting courses. The class benefited from having two emergency
service dispatchers that played their parts in the training, and ran us through
the standard questions.
1 Hour lunch break,
in the Independence Square. Parker from S&S stayed behind to secure the
training area and all equipment. I ate a hotdog for the first time in about
three years at Updog, a "gourmet" hot dog joint. I regret nothing
about that chili-bacon dog with (glorious) onion rings.
After lunch is when
the shooting started. S&S started out students from a good distance away,
simply drawing and firing at each other in a "duel." This
accomplished a few things; testing the airsoft guns for working on weapon presentation from
concealment, moving off the line of attack, shooting at another human being,
and finally, removing the fear of being hit with an airsoft gun. Most of the
people in the class had not been hit with an airsoft round before.
From the duels, the
class was moved into some realistic situations where a concealed weapon may be
employed. The situations included simulated office and home situations, a gas
station robbery, movie theater active shooters, and defending yourself in the
extreme close quarters of an elevator. I took a nice shot in the chin with one
of the airsoft guns (my own gun that I had loaned out, no less). It seemed like
everyone got the chance to get to be good guys, bad guys, and innocent
bystanders.
After a few hours,
we went outside to the parking lot, and started working on some basics of
defending yourself in and around a vehicle. S&S talked about leaving a
reactionary gap when you come to a stop behind another vehicle at a red light
or stop sign, as well as keeping an eye on your surroundings. The different
scenarios included single and multiple attackers, distractions such as pan
handlers, road rage type events, and being attacked before you can get to your
vehicle. I had the chance to pack myself into a small four door car, and try to
defend myself from a knife attack. For safety, all the windows in the vehicles
were down, and the attacker, Mike in this iteration, came at me with knife jabs
from a rear window, going for my neck. I sacrificed my support hand to keep
some distance between myself and the If you have never tried to defend yourself
from inside a vehicle, I urge you to consider taking this kind of training. Its
easily something that we could have spent many hours on. knife (I wasn't able to trap or grip the attackers weapon hand) and shifted myself over the center of the vehicle to gain space and draw my firearm from concealment in my Crossbreed holster.
These situations
emphasized a few key points in my mind.
-Having a concealed
firearm is a great PART of your self defense system. However, a firearm simply
will not do as your only tool in that system. An aggressor with a knife can
cover a lot of ground before you can react, draw, and effectively engage them. As
the OPFOR on one iteration, I was able to come into a small
break room and stab
two people multiple times each before either was able to draw effectively. I
was also able to take one of the firearms from my victims and take aim at another student before they were able to engage me.
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| In this iteration, I was only able to kill one good guy. The other made me pay for it. |
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| At this distance, your firearm isn't always your best bet. |
In the real world,
bad guys don't like to attack from a distance. They like to be within your
reactionary gap before they announce their ill intent. If a person draws a
knife on you when they are already within contact distance, drawing your
firearm may not be (I would say "is not") your best initial action.
The same could be said for the elevator exercise I was the CCW holder in. I sat
waiting for the elevator with one of the instructors as a role player. I did
not know who the armed party would be, or what they would be armed with. I
entered the elevator, and two people were already inside. They made small talk
until, without any warning, Parker drew a gun. In the extreme close quarters of
an elevator, drawing would have done nothing but get me dead in a hurry. I
closed the short distance, and simulated strikes to the face of the attacker
while keeping the gun off of me, ending with stripping the firearm from the
attacker. It wasn't a perfect application
of some of the Krav Maga training I have received, but it was great practice.
(Note: If it hadn't been Parker, who I have
spent a bit of time with, I wouldn't have gone "hands on" in this
training. It was not specified if it was allowed or not, but that is what my
first reaction would be in a real world ECQ scenario. )
-Sometimes shooting
is not the right answer. I was the concealed weapon carrier in one iteration of
the gas station robbery scenario. Two bad guys entered the gas station, and
immediately ordered everyone to lay on the deck. Two shooters ( who already knew
I was the armed party, unfortunately), put me at an immediate disadvantage. Due
to the fact that they made it clear that they were there to rob the store, I
complied with their demands. The OPFOR got their money, and left the simulated
gas station without a shot fired. Instead of trying to have a gunfight from an
instant disadvantage, I chose to be a good witness. This is a point that
S&S covered a few times. You have to use your best judgment, and quickly
run your mind through your tactical options. I ran through the options in my
mind, and figured that introducing my
In another
situation, a student was presented with two individuals (Mike and I) in a fight
near his vehicle at a stop. S&S was trying to see if the student would
engage Mike, who was wielding a knife. We were given instructions to turn on
the student if he did, our fight basically being a ruse to draw him from his
vehicle for a robbery if possible. He did not engage either of us. It’s a very
difficult, situationally dependent choice as an armed individual whether to
insert yourself and your firearm into someone else's problems. Many times we
have the natural reaction to want to help people. Unfortunately, you probably
don't know who you are getting involved with,
who the bad guy really is, or even if there is a good guy in the fight
at all.
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| Well inside the reactionary gap. |
-Try to maintain a
reactionary gap, and attempt to always be aware of your surroundings.
-Be prepared to
react at all times. I constantly wargame in my head how I would react if a
person I meet in a gas station spontaneously attacks, or if someone in the
elevator draws a weapon on me. I feel like that came into play in this
training, to my advantage.
In closing, I would
definitely suggest to anyone who carries concealed to take this training. Its
inexpensive, but you get way more than your money's worth. Shooting on a square range, or even in a more
open environment where you can shoot and move, will not fully prepare you for
engaging a fully mobile and armed threat, especially in every day situations.
S&S delivered a very professional, well planned and executed training day.
I left better prepared to face a threat in everyday life and in my mind, that
means the mission was accomplished.
(All pictures belong to S&S Training Solutions. Check them out on Facebook, or their website here.)
Kyle
DSPS
23FEB2014
Good review Kyle, And good to meet you yesterday The guys at S & S are great
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