This is a long-delayed AAR for the July 7th Night Self-Defense Pistol Class taught by Kenan Flasowski of Field Advisory Services and Training (F.A.S.T. Inc.) (Website: www.fast762.com / Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/FAST-Inc/218702678167821). I’m not a frequent poster on M4c or writer of AAR’s, but following the shooting in Aurora Colorado last month, I’ve continued to reflect on the lessons-learned from the F.A.S.T. Inc. Night Class and felt that I should go ahead and organize those thoughts and draft this AAR. In addition, those considering F.A.S.T.'s upcoming Oct. 20th Night Pistol Class may find this AAR useful.
I’ll start by saying that this was possibly one of the most important and beneficial classes that I’ve taken, and it was my second class with F.A.S.T. I’d first learned about F.A.S.T. Inc. from an earlier M4c AAR (http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?p=1292812#post1292812). Based on that positive review and the depth of Kenan’s experience, as well as the fact that the private range he uses is just over an hour from my home, I decided to sign up for the first class I could. In late June I took Kenan’s one-day Self Defense Pistol Class, and he subsequently agreed to hold the night class in early July based on interest from several in the class.
There were three of us for the Night Class, each of whom had completed the Self Defense Pistol Class a couple of weeks prior; so with a very small group of capable shooters we were able to move at a pretty rapid pace and cover a lot of ground. Kenan managed to pack a lot of content into about 7 hours of training (we ended up going from 1800 to 0100) with a total round count of approx 350 rounds. It was a steep learning curve with a number of “a-ha” moments, but Kenan’s watchful instruction and consistent feedback led to some very important skills development.
I’m not sure if there is a formal prerequisite for the Night Class; however, I would recommend that a student first take one of F.A.S.T.’s daytime pistol classes if at all possible, if only for familiarization with the range and to develop the important two-way familiarization and confidence between student and instructor. The Night Class really does require one to “drink from the fire hose” in terms of weapons & light manipulations, malfunction drills, barricade shooting, movement, etc. … with the added complication of pitch-darkness given the rural location. For these reasons, Kenan schedules the start time for this class to allow him to assess how the students are doing and to work out any kinks while there’s still some daylight left.
As outlined in the linked AAR, the class began with a brief overview of what we would be working on that evening (though it was somewhat abbreviated since we had all attended the daytime class two weeks prior). Each F.A.S.T. training class also begins with a comprehensive safety and medical brief that is the best I’ve seen (or heard described for that matter). Kenan determines what medical training various students may have, if any, and then assigns primary and secondary responsibilities in the event of an accident, provides and overview of his medical kit, and walks through the laminated info card attached to his med bag which outlines medical information to pass to 911 along with precise address and GPS coordinates for the range location.
As noted, we began shooting while we had some daylight left. We began with a recap of strong hand only shooting as well as one-handed reloads. From there, we began to incorporate use of the light. As an aside, although I had an X300 for use on my G17, I decided to work mostly without it, instead learning and experimenting with the various techniques for employing a separate light. For those exercises I alternated between my Surefire E1B Backup that is my typical EDC light, as well as an older SF C2 Centurion with lanyard.
For the various daylight drills, we focused almost exclusively on SHO shooting (though I think we may have done a couple of WHO drills). Through these drills Kenan continued to assess and refine our technique (grip, stance - more square when using light, and malfunction drills). He also continually emphasized and reinforced accuracy standards and shot placement. Sprinkled throughout were discussions about tactics and low-light self-defense considerations, as well as the pros and cons of various light techniques (each of which were demonstrated and practiced).
Kenan is not dogmatic in dictating any single technique or method; instead, he outlines the pros and cons of various options and encourages the student to see what works best in different circumstances. The bottom line is that everyone needs to have more than one technique available. We worked with the light to the right of the pistol with the back of the hands indexed (Harries technique), but loose enought to allow movement/alignment of the light. We also practiced with the light to the left of the pistol and held though the fingers either like a cigar, or between the first three fingers and pinky (which we dubbed the “3P1” technique) - which is more effective for reloads. And finally, we also practiced with the light well offset from the gun either at the 12:00 position or wide at 9:00, and various positions in between.
For each of these techniques we practiced multiple target engagements, movement, and reloads. A typical drill would begin by lighting up the target on the buzzer (as Kenan noted, he doesn’t know of anyone ever being prosecuted for excessive use of white light), and then engaging on the command “GUN”. When in close proximity we worked with the flashlight indexed high by the head thereby protecting the head with our off-hand. When at greater distance, we practiced indexing the light at our high-center chest which helps avoid inadvertently sweeping one’s hand or arm with the pistol on the draw and presentation. As daylight was fading, we also began some initial work with barricades including left-side cover, right-side cover, and engaging through a small opening - and learning that such situations dictate a range of techniques, and careful attention. These various daylight drills accounted for a couple of hours of very intensive and complex work, all under the patient and watchful eye of Kenan, who offered tips and refinements throughout.
As darkness set in, we took a break to load up mags, reset targets, and grab some snacks. Then the real work began…
While one can certainly practice various flashlight techniques in daylight, it’s a real learning experience to do so in low-light to no-light conditions. Under these conditions a number of important factors come into play including: (i) ensuring that you keep your target fully illuminated while shooting; (ii) not keeping your light on while moving or reloading; (iii) considering light position forward vs. rear to achieve the best sight picture; and (iv) minimizing or dealing with the backlighting from smoke, barricades, or reflection off other lighter surfaces (e.g. car hoods). All of these effects are real “eye-openers” so to speak, and required experimentation with the various techniques to determine what worked best in any given circumstance.
From there the night was a blur as we worked through several hours of drills that progressed from multiple target engagements, to movement and multiple targets, to movement with barricades and multiple targets. We also fired a night version of the El Presidente - which was interesting in terms of both light/gun target transitions and the reload. By this point we had also transitioned from bullseye targets to a mix of steel and photorealistic targets. In setting scenarios, Kenan intentionally did not specify a particular number of rounds to fire in engaging the targets, instead requiring us to fire the number of rounds we felt were necessary to deal with each threat based on the percieved quality of our hits. We then walked the targets after each drill to collectively assess whether we believed the student had made effective hits. Suffice it to say, the group imposed high (real world) standards.
Towards the end of the session (i.e. - sometime after midnight) we culminated with a complex multiple target and movement drill that began from the seated position at a table with the engagement of three steel targets (which as Kenan mentioned, could either simulate three assailants or one moving assailant) while moving rearward to cover, then moving laterally from various positions of cover engaging targets from different types of barricades, and finishing up on multiple steel targets again followed by a stop-plate. Needless to say, proper techniques for light manipulation around barricades, during movement, during reloads, etc. were reinforced in this exercise. Although admittedly an extreme exercise in terms of number of targets (but again, it could just as easily simulate fewer targets that are also moving), the exercise demonstrates the potential need for a greater number of available rounds and the importance of good reload skills. It drives home the importance of being able to move efficiently and utilize cover effectively, the ability to recognize slide-lock by feel, the ability to reload in pitch darkness, and the importance of always carrying an adequate number of spare mags.
We wrapped up with a night walk-back drill, which was a real challenge. Besides all being pretty tired, a light fog was beginning to set in, so our ability to properly focus on our sights (with tired eyes) and make good hits at distance was a challenge. Also, given the conditions, we were not able to call our misses, so corrections were pure guesswork (perhaps tracers next time?). That said, everyone in the group made it back to ranges varying from about 50 - 65 yards, before the last man standing finished at 75 yards (off-hand, with a handheld light) - an impressive performance.
As I noted earlier in this AAR, this night class was packed with content and led to several significant conclusions and lessons-learned. For instance, while I worked mostly with the handheld lights, I ran a couple of the drills at least once with the weapon mounted light (X300). The difference in both speed and accuracy with a WML was dramatic. I also learned that while training with flashlight techniques in daylight, one may not be as aware of how effectively or consistently you’re keeping the light on target. Once the sun goes down, you immediately recognize if you’re failing to keep your target fully lit-up throughout an engagement. While one may still be able to make effective hits without fully lighting the target, you’re giving up some tactical advantage if you don’t fully light up (i.e. - blind) an assailant. The drills also reinforced my commitment to always carry an adequate number of spare mags (when carrying either a 1911 or a pocket pistol I typically have two spare mags, and when carrying my chopped G17, I have at least one full-sized spare mag). Also, although I didn’t use one of my Crimson Trace equipped pistols, I’m confident that the laser would have as dramatic an impact on speed and accuracy as the X300 did.
Finally, as news of the Aurora shootings broke, the timeliness of the F.A.S.T. Night Class was driven home. As details of that shooting emerged, I found myself thinking about whether I would have the skills to protect myself and/or my loved ones in such a situation. At the end of the day, the answer to that question is very dependent upon the specific situation, your position within the room relative to the bad guy, and your situational awareness as an event unfolds. While the best option is to get away or get to cover, I definitely feel that I have a better appreciation of challenges involved and now have a template to further develop my skills to overcome such challenges. Also of note, in the days following the Aurora shootings, I ordered a few additional pieces of kit based on my experience in the Night Class. I bought the 500 lumen Surefire P2ZX Fury CombatLight to replace my older Centurion (because more light is (almost) always better), along with a DG-11 pressure switch for the X300 on my HD Glock, as well as CT rear-activated lasergrips for that same Glock.
In closing, Kenan Flasowski is a great instructor. He is pretty low-key and unassuming, and not particularly dogmatic - but VERY knowledgeable. He offers students multiple techniques in most cases and encourages them to experiment to determine what works best for them. He’s observant and offers tips and refinements along the way, but is not overbearing. He’s also very watchful and safety conscious at every stage of training. Kenan manages the pace of each training exercise very well and continually pushes his students to excel. Along the way, he also sprinkles in plenty of real world examples of what does and doesn’t work, along with critical things to consider and mindset issues for self defense situations - and all with a great sense of humor.
I feel very fortunate to have found an instructor of Kenan’s caliber so close to home. While there are a lot of good instructors out there, the subset who have honed their skills in real-world situations within one our nation’s pre-eminent SMU’s is much smaller. If you live in Central or Southeast Texas, or can easily get here, you owe it to yourself to sign up for one of the classes offered by Kenan Flasowski of F.A.S.T., Inc. He teaches a broad range of pistol, carbine, and rifle classes, and I am certainly planning to train with Kenan more in the future.
Regards,
JJM