Col Jeff Cooper on fighting mindset

[Littlelebowski]

and many other things, how our police changed under Clinton, statistics, very much worth your time! The content of this clip's 1st half hour belong in this forum. The second half - General Discussion.

Put it on and listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGYttXa0d1k&feature=related

[tampam4]

I only listened to the first half of it, but that was awesome. He could not have explained it any better, and made it sound so simple and basic. Combat mindset is surely the most overlooked side of concealed carry. bookmarking that speech.

[Gutshot John]

That was awesome.

It's interesting how much has changed since the tape was made in/about 1997.

I wonder what he would have said about today.

Thanks for sharing.

[TOrrock]

We are diminished with his passing.

[rob_s]

He could not have explained it any better, and made it sound so simple and basic.

Regardless of what many think of Cooper's techniques today he had a very great talent for the above.

[Looey]

I remember learning it in HRP while i was still in the Marine Corps, then it became a way life for me. It was one of the Most important classes that i ever learned in the Marines.
like it has already been said, a proper Mindset is one of the most overlooked aspects of concealed carry. If you cant detect the situation getting ready to happen? you will not get to your gun in time to use it.

[Irish]

Great find, thanks LL!

[Erik 1]

Thank you for posting that. I never heard Jeff Cooper speak before, and have read very little of his work, so I didn't know what to expect. He was a great speaker.

[NMBigfoot02]

An excellent talk. Sounds almost like it could have been given yesterday rather than 13 years ago.

Thanks for posting.

[Dirk Williams]

Thanks Lewbowski.

The most important lessons learned by me regarding
fighting/gunfighting and mind set are from Cooper.

Cooper once told us to train train train, but to objectively review what was being taught for practical application.

At the time I didn't understand his point, all I wanted to do was shoot and scoot. Now that Im older and wiser I understand his point exactly.

Know your self, know your weapons, know your abilities. Most important know your limitations. Objectively apply these four and your mind set is solid.

Thanks again for this post I needed to revisit the subject.

D Williams

[arizonaranchman]

I attended one of Jeff Cooper's handgun classes in 1992. He was the instructor throughout and it was a fantastic class. Mindset is absolutely crucial in surviving hostile encounters - you can be an expert shot and still get killed if you don't have the right mindset to win.

The 1911 I carry daily since then is a Gunsite Pistol in fact. I had my Colt Gov't model converted by their gunsmiths during the week I was there and it's a great fighting pistol. A very basic/simple gun with no frills - dehorned, polished ramp/throat, matte blue finish and sturdy fixed sights. The gun looks more silver than blue nowdays but it's an old friend and 100% reliable.

One of the most interesting lessons taught that week was the fact that if you train/shoot your gun enough that it literally shoots where your eyes are looking. No sights are needed at short ranges. I've found this to be true ever since and seen it in shootings over and over. He demonstrated this by a night shoot. A moonless night on the range. They had the bright range lights on and told us to stare dead-center at the X ring on the paper target 5 yards in front of you. We were told to keep our eyes glued on that spot and not move them. They then shut off the lights completely and told us to fire several rounds. They turned the lights back on and guess what? The rounds were all dead-on where my eyes were looking. I couldnt see the target or the gun at all because of the sudden night blindness when those range lights went out. But because my eyes were glued to that spot that's where the rounds went...

[SteyrAUG]

I've loved reading Cooper since I was a kid.

The man has an opinion on everything, and while I may not always agree with his position, I usually enjoy hearing it.

He was like the "granpa" of the firearms community. And just like your real granpa (if you were lucky) if you'd shut up and listen to him for awhile you might actually learn something.

[Jager]

Thank you so much for the link. I had not seen/ heard that before and it was great.