http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaW-yDr5W_Y
My low-light training is rather limited, but this is a new one for me. Anyone ever seen it before or have any experience with it?
Which thing in particular; the circling of the light?
Yeah, the circling and everything that goes with it, the three positions, the tighter circle at position 1 near the head, etc.
If this is a common technique I’m curious as to the application.
I’ve never seen it before. It looks to me like a variation of the wanding tactic without the significant change in elevation of the light or the flashing on and off of the light. I dont really see what the advantages are supposed to be.
I’ve seen movement (albeit more spastic) than that used as a means of confusing a potential bad guy out in the dark to the source of the light. The problem is that if the movement is regular…like making a circle…it doesn’t take terribly long for somebody to figure out that there’s a dude near the center of that circle. So the general idea of having the light not become a bullet magnet breaks down.
I don’t know who the instructor is in the video or what his background is. He could be some high-speed super ninja or he could be a fruit loop. This is the first time I’ve heard of him. The clip may not present an accurate sampling of his instruction or method, so I’m saying the following just based on what was presented in the clip:
While it’s true that light is a bullet magnet to bad people looking to do some damage, I have yet to see any hard evidence presented that indicates moving the light around wildly while trying to do something like a high-risk search makes the bad guy less capable of getting a hit than using the light in a more conventional manner. Lots of stuff looks good on the range or in theory, but as a practical reality it often doesn’t shake out to be as significant. As an example, when he does the “ONE” thing where they are doing a fast small loop around their head, it seems pretty unrealistic to expect that is going to throw off a bad guy’s game to the point that he won’t be able to get a hit. If the bad guy is some sort of bullseye genius who is trying to draw an exact bead on the light source maybe that would slow him down…but most bad guys don’t shoot that way.
Use of a light in conjunction with a handgun is already pretty difficult for most folks under stress. I’m not sure that adding light loops to the equation is doing anyone any favors in that regard. Of a much greater concern, if you watch those loops being done it looks pretty friggin’ easy for somebody to get their light-loopin’ hand in front of the muzzle of their pistol under the right circumstances.
The little bit at the end where one guy appeared to be lighting for the other guy (assuming this is being taught as a tactic and isn’t just part of a drill) looks cool on a video…but how practical is that in real life? In real life you aren’t going to know where the bad guy is. In real life with two dudes you are far better off having each of them searching independently of the other. Having one dude on the light and another dude on the gun takes away a bunch of the advantages of having 2 dudes searching/clearing.
A blurb from the dude’s website about his background:
Shortly after the Gulf War, Conde was recruited by a British Private Military Contractor (PMC) working with the U.S. Department of Defense. He entered a specialized program, training with British Special Air Service (SAS), U.S. Navy SEALs and U.S. Army Green Berets. The training included Counter Terrorist Tactics, CQB, Waterborne Operations, Tactical Firearms and Force Protection. Conde was promoted to Chief Agent for the South America Region. His team’s job consisted of intelligence gathering in support of “Operation Centra Spike” and high risk protection in Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Honduras. As a team leader he led three classified high risk/high profile protective operations in South America. Two of the operations were inside the jungles of Colombia and Brazil. Conde was then assigned to the instructor cadre specializing in CQB, Hand to Hand Combat and Tactical Firearms. At that time he also introduced tactical training to several armored truck transport companies in the U.S., South America and Canada.
Among over one hundred certifications and commendations, Conde is also certified as a Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor and a Law Enforcement Defensive Tactics Instructor. His articles have been published world wide. Conde is recognized as an expert in the use of firearms, hand to hand combat, edge weapons and domestic terrorism. He has testified as an expert witness in state and federal court. Conde is currently a decorated LE Agent and S.W.A.T. operator engaged in the battle against narcotics and narco trafficking. He is cross designated with (ICE) U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Blue Lightning Task Force. Daily he is called upon to use his training, skills and mindset.
This is the lowlight principle known as “intermitent use of light at random heights”
The problem is that if the movement is regular…like making a circle…it doesn’t take terribly long for somebody to figure out that there’s a dude near the center of that circle.
Kinda defeats the whole random heights aspect.
Within the context of my complete and utter lack of low-light training, I’ll say this:
It reminds me of the old “can you rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time” scenario. For all the effort related to moving that light around in various positions, it’s going to take a lot of effort away from actually shooting the gun.
In some of the pictures it looks like they are doing it in pairs with one shooter and one light-man, which means little to me unless I can teach this to my wife and always have her follow me around with a flashlight.
In others it looks like they are shooting dominant hand while lighting with the off hand. Since they pictures are still framed it’s hard to tell the amount of movement going on, but I can say this, just here in my office, if I hold my strong arm out like I’m shooting, and yank the other arm around in cirles like I’m at an Arsenio Hall taping, I get some induced movement on the shooting hand.
The idea of moving the light spastically during a search originated with Ken Good &co during the Surefire Institute days. As NC and JW said, it’s reliant on fairly random movement in all three planes as well as strobing to be most effective. Done properly, it really does allow you to approach around a corner, for example, without giving away your distance and position. Of course, anyone on the other side of that corner still knows you’re around somewhere since, you know, you’re touching off a bright flashlight in the hallway. 
The “bullet magnet” concept is overblown in terms of non-search situations. If you’re actively engaged with a threat at indoor distances in anything but total darkness, odds are your light isn’t necessary for him to locate your position and fire on it.
I’ve never understood why it’s ok for the BG to see where you are in daylight or a well-lit room, but if he can see where you are in the dark it’s death on a stick…
What I don’t get though is why you would do the circle thing with the light in front of you. Aside from the attempt (and I use that very loosely) to confuse the threat all the threat has to do is shoot in the center of the circle. All the waiving in the world doesn’t do much IMO if you remain right behind the light.
I think you’re better off using the light away from the body or just shine momentarily then move.
Someone said it best, it’s like rubbing your belly and the top of your head in opposite directions at the same time. Under real world conditions or even a possible fight I just dont see one doing circles with their light. That motion will take away from focusing on the threat or even you front site and runnning the gun properly in an already challenging situation.
Just from what I’ve seen, and unless someone really give me a better example of when to apply it, I’ll pass. Surefire has plenty of other techniques that I know work.
Also, why is one guy shining and one guy shooting? I dont get the training point or benefit of that other than trying to shine from one location and getting the threat’s attention and shooting from another, but that’s not what’s happenind in the drill from what i can see.
R.