AAR: ShivWorks MUC / ECQC Council Bluffs, IA - 5/22-24/2015
5W's and 1H
Who: ShivWorks
What: ECQC - Extreme Close Quarters Concepts.
When: May 22-24, 2015.
Where: Council Bluffs, IA
Why: Problem solving with a firearm.
How: Range and Classroom work.
Instructor
Craig Douglas, AKA - SouthNarc
LE Background: 20+ years experience in full-time LE with line assignments in Corrections, Patrol, SWAT, Narcotics, and Investigations. Longtime LE Academy and Defensive Tactics Instructor.
Combatives Background: 30+ years experience in Philippine, Indonesian, Brazilian, and Japanese martial arts.
Students
MUC Numbers: 20 (18 Males, 2 Females).
ECQC Numbers: 18 (16 Males, 2 Females).
Backgrounds: Civilians, Current/Former Mil, Current/Former LE.
Ages: Early 20's - Mid 60's.
Managing Unknown Contacts
MUC is "classroom" (half day) portion of course and an introduction into ECQC and can be a standalone block for those not attending the full ECQC course. MUC started with Instructor and Student bios, moved into ECQC Course development, and then onto the following topics:
Training vs. Reality (Firearms and Other).
Criminal Assault Paradigm (How criminal assaults occur).
Distance during assaults and reaction times.
Criminals stereotypes.
MUC Adaptations / Concepts - Verbal, Movement, Hands.
Pre-assault cues.
Developing a "playlist" - communications.
Defense and the Default position.
Following interactive classroom lecture the students broke up into two person groups and worked on the above mentioned skills. Craig moved through the students providing feedback to help us perfect our Verbal, Movement, and Defensive skills.
Extreme Close Quarters Concepts
ECQC is the "range" portion of the course and what you can call the "meat and potatoes". We spent two days on the outside conducting either Firearms or Combatives work with 10+ hour days. During the combatives blocks the techniques were demonstrated by Craig then practiced / perfected by students. Craig constantly provided feedback during the blocks of instruction to each of us individually on how to tweak and better our techniques. Topics covered during ECQC included the following:
Safety Brief - Medical Brief (medics, vehicles, travel routes, and commo folks), Firearms Safety Rules and discussion, Equipment Considerations (holsters, shirts, jackets, ETC), Range Commands.
Presentation of the pistol.
Shooting at Contact Distance.
Shooting in confined spaces.
Defensive and Offensive Shooting Positions.
Wrist and Bicep Ties.
Escapes.
Over and Under Hooks.
Ground Work - Escapes, Kicks, Defensive Positions, Standing up.
Firearms Retention from the holster.
Combatives inside vehicles.
In addition to the blocks of instruction covering Firearms and Combatives, students participated in a variety of evolutions. Evolutions are competitive and noncompliant in nature and encourage the students to use the verbal, movement, combatives, and firearms techniques covered in the course to solve problems. All evolutions contained at least one simunitions gun and at least two participants with participants rotating roles after the completion of each evolution. Evolutions used during the course included the following:
1 on 1 with 1 participant armed.
2 on 1 with 1 participant armed.
1 on 1 in a vehicle with both participants armed.
Personal Thoughts
The course content in MUC and ECQC is relevant, practical, adaptable, and easy to digest...nothing complicated, nothing unneeded, all go, no show. I don't have a "fighting" (combatives, wrestling, boxing) background and am looking for the basics that will help me when things go bad, ECQC hit the nail on the head!
As far as instruction, what you receive in ECQC is second to none. Craig is knowledgeable, passionate, demonstrates everything to the standard, and is able to adapt his content to the skill level of each individual student. This is a hands on course with lots of individual attention.
Physicality of ECQC, it's demanding regardless of one's physical fitness level or ability. While ECQC is no joke and you will be challenged regardless of your physical "ability" or "disability", it is also a very controlled environment with plenty of safety nets worked in for the protection of the students. Everything in ECQC is demoed, everything is briefed, everyone is a safety officer, anyone that wants too can sit out, plenty of breaks, hydration is pushed, tons of buddy checks, ETC, ETC. All that said, you will walk away with some new bruises, bump, burns, welts from sims rounds, sore muscles, and maybe even a hurt ego. Regardless of the physical ability or disability, this course is beneficial and over the past two years I've seen just about everything represented in the course to include those that are in shape, out of shape, thin, thick, tall, short, young, old(60+), sick (breathing issues - asthma, seizure disorders), and broken (limb amputations and major orthopedic and neck injuries)...everyone learned how to work with what they brought "physically".
Evolutions...worth the price of admission alone! All said, students watch 40ish, and participate in 5ish evolutions. Personally, I was challenged mentally, physically, and verbally in every single evolution I participated in, and just as last year, had some successes and failures...some small, others large, all very educational and huge learning tools! Can't say enough about the evolutions in ECQC and how beneficial they are on so many levels.
One last thing in regards to ECQC, student interaction and mentoring. ECQC is one of the few places I have seen students bond as rapidly as they do. Most courses, you don't get much face time with students on the other side of the firing line, not so in ECQC. From the first few hours on night number one, through the course "hot wash" at the end of day number two all you do is work with other students in an effort to prefect techniques over and over again. While no one is signing up for ECQC to "make friends"...it's just one of those things that happen after you exchange sims rounds while fighting in a car! Shout out to all those that have made the trip to Council Bluffs for ECQC...it's always a pleasure to have my ass kicked by you!
Let me know if you would like me to expand on anything mentioned above...see you at the next ECQC I can work into my schedule!
V/r - Rob
