It’s Sunday evening, March 17, 2013 and I am sitting down to write my first on the trigger blog for Interactive Gunfighting.
I want to start off by thanking everyone who helped Interactive Gunfighting come to life. One of the shooters from my 1st Sunday class who is a long time shooter and close friend had a few things to say. He said to me that I had powerful words during my class. I was thinking a great deal about this and the words we instructors use. I don’t too much at all care what everyone else is doing or saying. I worry about my family, students and myself. I said to the shooters in my classes you asked me to teach you to defend yourself and fight with a handgun. I take this serious and I could care less about being a rock star or putting my name on anything. I could give a rat’s ass if I make the cover of some shooting magazine. I DO care about bring to all of you my 20 plus years of being on the trigger both in peace and in combat. So you will get more powerful words supported by actions and my time on the trigger.
Like IG, this blog is mine and mine alone; So I will use it as I see fit. I will write pure and right from the heart. No one is paying me to say or promote anything. I am not a writer and I have no idea if blogs come with rules. I will bring light to things, people, training and gear as I wish. I will answer questions from class here. If I get a question on my Interactive Gunfighting FaceBook page that I think would benefit others I will answer it in both places. I will try and get the blog posted as often as I can. I have not been so good with this in the past. I will do all I can to get better.
I have trained in a number of locations and have been blessed to have some of the greatest shooters in the world teach me and also blessed to have some of the worst. Both, I learned a great deal from. Not always in the firearms field either. To the good ones I say thank you, your teachings kept me and others alive. To the poor ones your teachings make me remember everyday why I am going to be better then you.
For the shooters in my monthly class you were able to see the first of its kind. How Interactive Gunfighting will take a new approach to a very old topic. (Man shooting Man) The class started with an intro, safety and rock solid fundamentals. These fundamentals firmly support fighting with a handgun and not just shooting to make noise. Then we moved right into force on force.
As I stood across the room and we ran our first force on force drills I was able to see each shooter use the fundamentals they just learned. I was able to observe it from your muzzle’s view. I was also able to substantiate what I was seeing with the hits I was receiving. It wasn’t about me trying to be cool or hardcore. It was about needing both types of feed back to give you a real world no shit this is what you are doing and it’s okay or it needs to get better. But getting shot by like 30 plus shooters is pretty hard core none the less……lol I look like I have a case of some kind of mutating chicken pox all over my chest, hands and arms. I know for me and the years I have been doing this gunfighting stuff I have never seen this approach. I have seen some instructors do a little of it but nothing to the level we are doing. Okay, now before anyone gets there panties in a wad. Could other instructors do this, maybe yes and maybe no? Why haven’t they looked at it this way? Hell, if I know but we are and we are going to run hard with it.
My time on the two way range (where the targets shoot back) were always with small units and in small numbers so my tactics and techniques have evolved from that. We will use live fire to re-enforce our force on force training. We will fight first and then from there pull out the skills that we need to train! Some of you have been doing this with AMOK! for years. Thank you Tom Sotis. Interactive Gunfighting will do the same.
If you are looking for a feel-good club to BS about the latest blaster, to show off the high speed hottest gear, or the coolest newest ammunition that no one can get – this is not the class for you. IG is FIGHT-BASED, CONTEXT-DRIVEN, and STUDENT-FOCUSED! WE FIGHT! Our way forward for now is with the handgun with the understanding that this is all I have in this fight. So we will fight and fight hard with this tool like we would with any other. We will keep the training pure and focused. I have a waiting list of people looking to get in on what we are doing. I am in awe of how this is taking off and the massive amount of positive feedback I am getting.
I am looking forward to all the things to come with Interactive Gunfighting.
*** So now I ask, what questions do you have?
*** I have a few for you. Today is one week from our first weekend of training. What have you do to get better? What one thing did you do each day? Did you read? Did you dry fire? Did you use the power of the internet to learn something new? Have you cleaned any of your weapons? What have you done?
We must fix, repair and improve ourselves, we must clean, maintain and inspect our gear, and we must ensure are weapons are clean, serviceable and ready for action. We don’t get to set the time and location of trouble. If the first thought in your head was I’m too busy with life, the house, the kids, green beer and whatever else. You failed and most likely will die in place. So do us all a favor and buy good gear because one of us will use the shit out of it. So did you do any of that? From the 1st class I left you with three things of take home training. Something from the three groups above. You will see more of them. Get used to it.
Is it Friday yet? I look forward to the training and I look forward to working together. Training with all of you and taking my son with me and having him train has been fantastic! Hang on we are only getting started! If you have any questions and need to reach me hit me up on FB or reach out to me at Cruz@InteractiveGunfighting.com
On-Target, On-Trigger / Off-Target, Off-Trigger
Semper Fi
Cruz
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