Combat Focus Shooting Instructor Development Course

Dealers/ Manufacturers/ Regional/ Info Trash
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Recently I was lucky enough to find both the time and the money to spend a week with Rob Pincus learning everything possible about his Combat Focus Shooting Program. Rob offers CFS Instructor Development courses every couple months or so all around the Country(and the world). After spending four hours training with Rob back in January, I was dead set on attending this course.

Before I get into the course itself, id like to talk about the impact CFS has had on me as a Police Officer and a shooter. Ive been aware of Rob Pincus and his program for the last couple of years. I own some of his DVD’s and found the material very interesting and applicable to my profession and situations I may find myself in. But ive also trained with the likes of LAV, Todd Jarrett, and quite a few lesser known instructors. The majority of those folks have been involved in multiple shootings and at the time, that experience was very important to me. Thne I met Rob…and things changed. I can honestly say that the 4 hours I spent training with Rob back in January completely changed the way I look at fighting with a handgun. The entire class was truly a lightbulb moment for me. Everything he said made perfect sense to me and he answered any questions I had with clarity and logic that I could not discount. I believe that what he teaches truly is THE way to train for counter ambush situation/Dynamic Critical Incident.

When I heard about the Instructor Development course being held in my city I jumped at the chance to attend. My initial reason for attending the course was for my own personal development and to develop a deeper understanding of the program as an end user. It is also my hope to take this training back to my department and share it with my fellow officers. Less than 50% of people who attend the course become certified as CFS instructors, and even fewer do so without having to retake some portion of the test at a later date. Knowing that, and having only a little experience with the program, I wasnt about to stress myself out over becoming certified. At least…thats what I thought.

Day 1 of the course was a long one. We spent the morning hours(about 4 and a half to be exact) at C2 shooting center in VB shooting the many drills and practicing the many concepts that an instructor would want to empart on a CFS student. This was the same 4 hour block of instruction that I had received in January and I had since incorporated into my own training, So i was very comfortable with the drills and concepts. I had also read Robs Book and rewatched his DVD’s to prepare myself for the class. Or at least so I thought…

After baking in the sun all morning we grabbed lunch and then met at the VB resort and conference center where we would spend the next 3 and a half days. Everything that happenned from that point on was just a blur of CFS concepts and training methodologies broken down into fine detail where every nuance was discussed and examined. I can honestly say my brain has never been so fried in my life. But I loved every minute of it! The first day of class was roughly 14 hours long, not including dinner or the pre screening of a portion of Robs updated “CFS Evolution” DVD. The next 2 days were spent drinking from the CFS firehose and trying to make sense of the anterior cingulate cortex, Warrior Expert theory, balance of speed and precision, and all things regarding intuitive shooting. Had I not had a constant stream of Redbull and 5 hour energy coarsing through my system i would have gone brain dead by the afternoon of day 2. Days 2 and 3 were also around 15 hours a piece.

The idea of this course is not only to foster a deeper understanding of CFS concepts than is required by an end user, but also to establish an understanding of whats required to teach those concepts to students of varying backgrounds and competency levels. Starting on day 3 we were given the task of presenting(teaching) certain concepts to the rest of the class. This gave each of us the experience of teaching CFS and also helped us retain and better understand the topics that we were presenting. Rob was there to critique and correct when necessary and offer advice on how to better convey the material when needed. The added benefit of these presentations was that they helped prepare us for one of the two required tests you must pass in order to become certified.

Day 4 was test day, and it was STRESSFUL! It became apparent to me over the last couple days that teaching CFS is something I enjoyed doing and that becoming certified had indeed become a goal of mine. We each gave another presentation to the class in the morning, discussed the many CFS drills, and then were assigned our topics for the subjective teaching test we would give after lunch. Many of us did not eat lunch, myself included, instead preferring to use that time to prepare for the test. We were each given 5 concepts to effectively articulate and teach to the class including the explanation and demo of one of the drills.

Rob had made the comment to me previosuly that this was a “Rockstar” CFSID class having quite a few accomplished instructors and end users from all around the world. That assessment proved to be true as the class did very well as a whole on the subjective teaching test. Once that was complete we took the written exam which was far from easy and no less stessful than the teaching test. As much time and effort as each of us had put into studying over at least the last week, nobody came out of that test feeling like they had aced it.

Each day ended with a class debrief conducted by Rob and Dan who was the assisstant instructor. Dan is also a good guy and a solid teacher with lots of experience working as an armed professional and teaching others. The debriefs allowed us to give valuable feedback to Rob so he can further improve the class for future cantidates.

I can honestly say that as difficult as it was, the 4 days I spent with Rob and the other CFSID students was one of the best times Ive ever had. The material was fantastic and cutting edge and Rob’s ability to articulate the concepts to all of us is a testament to his passion and understanding of defensive firearms use. The guys I took the class with were all great and I look forward to working(and partying) with many of them again in the future. Well over 50% of the students in our class ended up getting certified(including myself) proving that we were indeed a “rockstar” class. Those who didnt get certified im sure will be right on our heels after the 30 day mandatroy wait before you can retest.

Anyone who is serious about learning how to fight with a handgun should consider looking into Combat Focus Shooting. LEO’s ESPECIALLY will benefit greatly from both the training and the mindset put forth in CFS and any of the other classes offered by I.C.E. Training company. I personally cant wait to teach my first class and im looking forward to the 2010 insrtuctors conference!

Note: i just had my wisdom teeth removed about 2 hours ago and consequently am doped up in a major way. Hopefully my AAR makes sense!

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Hold up…the Winchester VA city cop, who was never in a shooting or a gunfight, has it figured out better than some of the other guys you’ve trained with?

You’re talking about Pincus, still…right? The guy who threw a students gun downrange, then tried to defend his actions…?

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I think what I said in my AAR and what you just suggested I said are very different. But I will attempt to make my stance as clear as possible for the benefit of anyone who hasnt already made up their mind.

I, like yourself, used to place alot of weight on the experience of those who have “been there and done that”. Certainly there are those who have been in gunfights or shootings that survived because of superior tactics and/or application of skill. But there are plenty of others who did everything wrong during their deadly force encounter and still live to impart their “wisdom” on those who are interested. I know plenty of guys who have been in gunfights and thankfully all of them are still with us. But not one of them has any business teaching someone else how to survive a similar situation. I respect the men, but I owe it to myself and my peers to challenge their material where I see fit( http://breachbangclear.blogspot.com/2008/09/guest-blog-respectful-irreverence.html ). War stories and cool t-shirts are nice, but substance is what Im interested in.

Ive trained with LAV and Jarrett only one time a piece(Searcy and Howe are on my list), and admittedly I learned alot from both. But neither of them really prepared me for what is undoubtedly the most likely deadly force encounter I will find myself in. Rob Pincus’s approach to counter ambush training is in my opinion both very practical and undeniably logical. I would never discount the experience or the advice given by LAV and he taught me more about the fundamentals of marksmanship than anyone else. But I think even Larry would agree that there is a huge difference in the context that our armed engagements will/would likely take place. So while his experience as an assaulter would surely benefit those on a tactical team…its not necessarily the best approach for a reactionary shooting as a patrol officer.

Pincus isnt let off easy just because he has a couple T.V. shows and DVD’s. There was more than one instance where I challenged a concept or asked a tough question of Rob in front of other students. And every time Pincus was both willing and able to articulate his reasoning and validate the concept in question. In fact If I asked him in private(during a break) he would have the the class reconvene so everyone could benefit from his explanation. I think that shows alot of integrity.

Having said all of that, are you at all familiar with CFS? Have you ever trained with Rob or one of his affiliates? Or is your problem with Rob just a personal one?

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Was Valhalla a “cool t-shirt”? How many “war stories” did Larry tell you in your class with him?

I think we’re all after substance…I’m just curious how Rob came to acquire it. He doesn’t have the benefit of first hand experience, he isn’t a high scoring competitive shooter, he hasn’t been around for a long time to experience much, etc. I looked into his background (as have a number of my friends), we can’t find much…

Ive trained with LAV and Jarrett only one time a piece(Searcy and Howe are on my list), and admittedly I learned alot from both. But neither of them really prepared me for what is undoubtedly the most likely deadly force encounter I will find myself in. Rob Pincus’s approach to counter ambush training is in my opinion both very practical and undeniably logical. I would never discount the experience or the advice given by LAV and he taught me more about the fundamentals of marksmanship than anyone else. But I think even Larry would agree that there is a huge difference in the context that our armed engagements will/would likely take place. So while his experience as an assaulter would surely benefit those on a tactical team…its not necessarily the best approach for a reactionary shooting as a patrol officer.

Ok. I understand what you’re getting at. But I still have some issues with it.

First, what’s the difference between a gunfight in a green uniform, and a blue one? If you are shooting at someone, and someone else is shooting back at you…does you’re brain really think there is a difference? I don’t think so.

Are you likely to experience different situations in those different roles? Yes, absolutely. But once you’re in a gunfight, I don’t think there is a difference.

So, why then does Pincus think guys like LAV are incorrect in how they recommend to perform reloads? What experience has lead him to this conclusion? How does he know this better than the guys who advocate bullets forward (basically everyone except him)?

This is the type of stuff where his philosophy of “use your logic filter” is flawed, IMO. Shooters who don’t know what they don’t know, are going to make uninformed decisions based upon incomplete information. Should they use their “logic filter” to discard a valuable TTP, because they don’t yet understand the reasoning behind it, are only going to loose out and miss the boat.

It’s an interesting concept though, to think than an amateur is capable of reasoning through everything they are presented, without coming to understand the “why” behind the presented material. It must be very empowering to feel that you’re capable of “knowing better” than experienced professionals, after a weekend class.

Pincus isnt let off easy just because he has a couple T.V. shows and DVD’s. There was more than one instance where I challenged a concept or asked a tough question of Rob in front of other students. And every time Pincus was both willing and able to articulate his reasoning and validate the concept in question. In fact If I asked him in private(during a break) he would have the the class reconvene so everyone could benefit from his explanation. I think that shows alot of integrity.

Having said all of that, are you at all familiar with CFS? Have you ever trained with Rob or one of his affiliates? Or is your problem with Rob just a personal one?

I’m glad to hear that your critical/ skeptical of new info. So am I.

I’ve seen Rob’s DVD’s, and looked into his background. I watched him argue the validity of the Tactical Reload against guys who’ve used it downrange to win gunfights (something Rob has no experience with). I watched him try to defend his decision to rip a students gun from his holster, then throw it downrange because he didn’t like how quickly said student was reholstering. So, no… I don’t have anything personal against him…just professionally.

That kind of behavior isn’t professional in the least. And his experience/ resume isn’t one of a “professional” either.

Is it still 10% of future students tuition that Rob gets in the mail from his instructors? Or has he changed that?

Hey, I’m glad you had a good time…and hopefully learning some new things from the class. I think you’ll find that guys like Searcy or Howe have more “substance” behind their material, though.

Stay safe.