AAR: LE / MIL ONLY ECQC - Council Bluffs, IA May 2017

After Action Report: LE / MIL ONLY ECQC - Council Bluffs, IA May 2017

5W's and 1H

· Who: Craig Douglas of ShivWorks
· What: LE / MIL ONLY ECQC - Extreme Close Quarters Concepts.
· When: May 16 - 18, 2017
· Where: Council Bluffs, IA
· Why: Close Quarters Problem Solving.
· How: Lecture, Demonstration, Hands-On

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

As with all of the ECQC Courses I've attended, this one had a great and wide mix of skill sets and backgrounds.

· Numbers: 9 (All Males).
· Backgrounds: 4 LE, 1 Private Contractor, 4 Fire Department Tactical Medics.
· Ages: Mid 30's - Early 50's.

Weather

Weather was less than cooperative with a little bit of everything thrown at us. Fortunately we had a covered, indoor training area that provided not only relief from the sun, but also from the rain that plagued the course.

· TD1: Sunny with temps in the low 90's
· TD2: Rainy with temps in the 60's
· TD3: Rain and Overcast with temps in the 60's

Overview

This was a interactive and what could easily be called an intense, three day course immersion close quarters course that included firearms, knife, stand up, and ground work. The Course was arranged with the firearms block up front at the beginning of the course on training day 1, with the rest of the topics following.

All of the topics Craig instructed were discussed in details with time allowed for any questions, followed by multiple demonstrations by Craig, and finalized with interactive hands on practice by the students where training partners were rotated frequently. With each topic, Craig worked through the groups providing feedback.

Topics covered included, but were not limited to:

· Training vs. Reality (Firearms and Other).
· Presentation of the pistol.
· Shooting at Contact Distances.
· Defensive and Offensive Shooting Positions.
· Distance during assaults and reaction times.
· Managing Field Contacts.
· Pre-assault cues.
· The Default position.
· Wrist and Bicep Ties.
· Over / Under Hooks.
· Escapes.
· Knife Defense.
· Ground Work - Escapes, Kicks, Defensive Positions, Standing up.
· Firearms Retention and Disarms.
· Dealing Multiple Attackers.

Evolutions

As with all ECQC Courses, this one was not without the challenging, student versus student evolutions. The point of the evolutions was to practice or "audit" our ability to problem solve while practicing the concepts we had worked on that particular training day. Evolutions were "competitive" and "noncompliant" meaning that students were given direction to "fight" or resist in a way that challenged the other student(s). All evolutions included at least one simunitions gun and at least two participants with participants rotating roles after the completion of each evolution. Evolutions included in LE ONLY ECQC included the following:

· 1 versus 1 - Sucker Punch Drill in a Confined Space.
· 1 versus 1 - Managing a Field Contact - Opponent is armed with a knife.
· 2 versus 1 - Multiple Attackers, Ground Based, Knife Attack.

Personal Thoughts

This was my third ECQC, but the first LE ONLY ECQC I've taken and as expected, it didn't disappoint. Just as with the other ECQC I've attended, this one was mentally and physically challenging from start to finish with the content practical and relevant to all those in attendance. As far as instructorship, Craig is second to none delivering the content in a clear, concise and easy to follow manner that allows students to process and apply the information presented. Solid course in every regard from start to finish...straight forward , no BS, no filler, all "Go". Others have already said, but you truly do it owe it to yourself to at ECQC should you get the chance!

V/r - Rob