Review - Tactical Response

A few weeks ago, I ventured with a couple of friends to Tactical Response and took Fighting Pistol. This blog post is a review of that class. The class handout has a page on how to write a review, and I shall follow the outline given in that document. 

Who - 

Who attended? I attended, along with my friends "Cookie" and "Mouth." 
Who taught? Instructors were Tim and Louis. 

Who could take this and benefit from it? Most people. Particularly if you carry a gun for self defense or on duty. 

Who did I like and who did I want to punch? I liked all of the instructors and participants. There was a "that guy" and that person would not be the first person I would want to have a beer with afterwards. One assistant instructor was just a tad annoying, because his "suggestions" were all about how awesome he was in the military, and often had no practical application to the point at hand. But neither of these individuals earned my ire - few ever do that. 

What - 

What class? Fighting Pistol

What did I do? All of the drills as listed in the handout and as guided by the instructors. 

What did I learn that I expected? Virtually all aspects of carrying a handgun for self protection.

What did I see? A very well put-together syllabus executed for students of all skill levels. 

What did I hear? A lot of swearing - and they warn you about that. I do not care, but some reading this might care about that sort of thing. 

What gear did I use? Sig P320, 6 mags, a holster, and two mag pouches. Of course, I had basic med kit on me, as well (TQ & gauze). 

What gear did everyone else use? Mostly GLOCK 19's. Mouth used a Sig P320. "That guy" used a 1911 and it was removed from the line on Day 2 - too many malfunctions. 

What was I good at and what did I work on? As expected, I was among the best marksmen on the line, as was Cookie and Mouth (both graduates of a few of my classes). This allowed me to work on adding material and presentation concepts for my classes. 

What class will I take next? Pistol Craft from Valor Ridge, then probably Fighting Rifle from Tactical Response. 

What did I learn from other students? I could fill a novel with this as I had the luxury of not having massive amounts of pressure to reload, nor having to take notes on any new material. I learned most how the students absorbed the material, and reacted to the heat and getting tired. 

What did I learn at dinner with the instructors? If this was offered, I missed it. Cookie, Mouth, and I went to Pizza Hut. 

What did I learn from the lectures? A few wording advantages. Mind you - it took me 45 years to accumulate all of the knowledge I had to the point that the lectures offered no real new material. Had I taken this class a year ago, there would have been new material. So I mostly learned how to teach certain concepts more effectively. 

Where - 

Where did you come from and where did you attend? I came from Mt. Juliet, and attended at Camden. Will not disclose where Mouth and Cookie came from, but we carpooled. 

Where did you hear about Tactical Response? Internet, years ago. I owned several of their DVDs. 

Where will you train next? Valor Ridge. Earlier in the year, I could not decide between Fighting Pistol and Pistol Craft. So I got both. I wanted both points of view on these things. 

When - 

When did you hear about the class? Years ago. 

When did you decide it was right for you? When a few financial plans fell into place earlier this year. 

When did you attend? June 12 & 13.

When did you know you made the right choice (defining moment)? When the handouts were given at the beginning. Also when Tim said my nickname "Bunny" was a "homo nickname." Haha.

Why - 

Why do you train? Because I like to train. Because it is needed. Because I want to train others more effectively. 

Why did you choose Tactical Response? In short - because some people said do not go there. 

Additional Thoughts

Some schools teach the draw only after a long time of shooting and safe gun handling is demonstrated. I have run some of my handgun classes that way. Tactical Response teaches the draw from the outset. It is this method I currently teach and will go with moving forward. One cannot have too much practice with the drawstroke. 

Tactical Response has many naysayers. Most have probably not had many (or any) classes. Of those who have negative things to say about safety and / or methodology and who are trained, well, there may be validity to that. I did not attend a class with Tactical Response for several years due to safety concerns from some of these. That was a mistake. 

Never did I feel unsafe. Never did I feel someone else was unsafe. Never did I feel a "line was crossed." Might some people? Possibly - but some people will hate on just about anything. 

The curriculum was the most well thought-out course I've ever seen. That includes the NRA curriculum. The Tactical Response curriculum is geared to be able to teach just about anybody. Many people say the mindset talk is worth the price of admission, and I will agree. The handout is 51 pages long. This class is not about just mindless blasting. 

The adult language is what it is. Could the class be taught without it? Sure. But self defense is not a PG act. Get over yourself and don't let that be your hangup. Cookie got called a "homo" more times than I've even heard the word in my life. We all thought it was hilarious. And I did get an obligatory "f***ing Bunny!" out of one of the instructors. 

For those who have taken the class, you know about the "proprietary drill." It was a good one. If you verify in private you are a Tactical Response Alumnus, I will discuss my performance on it and thoughts. At the request of the instructors, I will not let you know what it is, nor will I use it in any of my classes. 

My Sig P320 did perfectly fine. No malfunctions, other than the induced ones. Big Dot sights are outstanding. I experimented with a grip I do not ordinarily use, and had massive success with it. May switch to it. Will determine that after Pistol Craft. 

The instructors were well versed in error correction. They articulated what someone did incorrectly and what they needed to do instead. In truth, I only heard a few different kinds of corrections given - maybe 4 total. Most were on the grip, focusing on the front sight, going easy on the trigger, and not snatching the gun back to see the bullet hole (follow through). I was given coaching on these only twice, and neither was correct. However, keeping the error correction to a few simple things that most people do wrong is a good strategy. If someone really wants to know the circumstances on those two corrections, I'll be happy to detail in a private conversation. 

The purpose of all I've said here is to encourage you to take a class at Tactical Response. No, they are not for everybody, but the Fighting Pistol class is for nearly everybody. If you got a negative impression from reading this, then you need to get your head straight. I am not going to blow smoke and say it was all a way it wasn't, but I am very happy to have gone, and am looking forward to Fighting Rifle at some point in the future. 

I took 17 pages of notes over and above the handout. Cookie and Mouth were over 10 pages each, I believe. Not many other participants made a lot of notes. 

Tactical Response does not teach anything I do not teach. That is good to know. It took years for me to get to that point, and you could do the same by simply attending a 2-Day class. 

My syllabus for the class I teach, Essential Pistol, definitely was refined after taking this class. But it is certainly not a Fighting Pistol knock-off. There are still several things I teach differently. If you are a Fighting Pistol Alumnus and an Essential Pistol Alumnus, you know what these differences are and why!