Unthinkable: Concepts and Techniques for the Gravest Extreme

William Aprill of Aprill Risk Consulting, Caleb Causey of Lone Star Medics, and Karl Rehn of KR Training are pleased to announce a new joint course of instruction, available for registration immediately.

This course is also offered in a one day lecture format taught solely by William Aprill.

Course Description: How can we make ourselves safer?
Of all the answers to that question, how do we decide which are best?
For participants in this course, a systematic approach to these decisions will be undertaken in an engaging and fast-paced format over a very full day of training.

Defensive awareness is rooted in realization of risk.
Defensive preparation adds the commitment to mitigation of threats and the decision to be able to do something about it should our fears be realized.

Whether experienced or observed, circumstances have proven to us that we are vulnerable to threats against life and safety. This paradigm shift inspires inquiry into self-protection in most people, unless awareness of the new reality is actively rejected and a path of denial chosen.

For far too many, a rush to acquire tools and and gear outpaces the development of a mindset of effective self-protection. Without a sound foundation, we unknowing limit and degrade our capacity to respond and, perhaps most importantly, make critical and ongoing errors in thinking about the problem of violence.

Thus unprepared for the realities of risk, from mere exploitation to victimization by physical aggression, and without a sound conceptual foundation as a basis to proceed, we make practical/logistical choices that compound the problem, leaving us in greater danger without the ability to perceive it. Our defensive preparation, doctrine, defensive tool and gear choices, practice regimen, and preferred tactics, techniques, and procedures become self-reinforcing traps, impermeable to new data.

It is the goal of the instructors to drag awareness of risk from the back of the mind to its very forefront, ensuring that an actual life-threatening scenario will not be the first time participants have honestly faced what will be necessary.

Topics:

The 5 W’s of Risk: Constructing an Effective Pre-Need Defense Paradigm
            Techniques, tactics, and procedures for the active, emergent context of violent assault are as common a topic as the weather, it seems. Abundant material on the aftermath of this sort of event is also available. However the preparatory period, what Craig Douglas has referred to as the pre-kinetic phase, prior to such encounters is given limited, if any, attention by the vast majority of erstwhile defenders. This presentation will review common mental and philosophical errors made by practitioners as they undertake preparation for effective defense against violent aggression. Practical pitfalls and limitations in thinking about lawful violence will also be reviewed in depth. Attendees will be exposed to a practical, programmatic method for undertaking the pre-need decision-making toward a sound self-defense and survival mindset, touching on all areas of the process which the defensively aware must address to maximize capacity for self-protection.

Fatal Choices: Understanding VCAs and How They Identify Victims
            In this fast-moving and interactive lecture participants will be led through contemporary theories and current, curated data on the process by which violent criminals select their targets for violent aggression. Particular attention will be paid to the internal mechanisms in play within the criminal psychology, the universe of signifiers around "good guy" behavior, demeanor, and attributes which may actually make selection for attack more likely, as well as considerations for responsible armed citizens to mitigate this risk. Previous iterations of this material have been presented to LE agencies and private citizen groups across the US as well as international LE educational events. 

Open-Source Retention/Disarming
            A hands-on block of instruction in the art and science of maintaining positive control of your own defensive handgun and of taking one away from an assailant when necessary.
            No prior experience or training in defensive tactics is required, no special physical gifts are necessary and the material is presented in a from-the-ground-up approach to allow conceptual understanding and physical grasp of an intuitive, robust skill-set in a relatively short time. Please bring an inert training version of your carry pistol, if possible (red gun, blue gun, SIRT, etc.) so that carry gear may be used if applicable.
           
Spontaneous Team Tactics
            Professional law enforcement officers and medics work together frequently, and get training in how to work as a team responding to incidents. Armed citizens, at best, may have a few armed friends or family present when an incident occurs – but the likelihood that those present have trained to work together as a team is very small.  More likely, the lone armed citizen will have unarmed, untrained friends, family or co-workers looking to them for guidance and direction, or (in the worst case) will be competing with other armed citizens to have “incident command” after the initial violence occurs.  In those situations, the armed citizen will have, whether he or she wants it or not, additional responsibilities during that time between the incident occurring and transfer of scene control to uniformed professionals.  This section of the course will address basic team tactics principles, and how they can be applied to spontaneously selected teams composed of whoever is available.

Tactical Medicine for the Armed Citizen
            Fundamental equipment and skills that an armed citizen might use during the critical time between injury and care from professional rescuers will be reviewed and reinforced through exercises and drills, including some drills that combine live fire and medical skills to be performed within par times.

Scenario-Based Training
            Much of the course will be spent in indoor and outdoor scenarios, force on force and live fire, involving multiple roleplayers. These scenarios will require management of unknown contacts, communication, movement, shooting, medical response, and interaction with those on scene as well as others arriving (uniformed and unknown contacts).  The scenarios will incorporate all of the concepts taught in the other parts of the course.  This section of the course will include 2 hours of scenarios conducted in low light conditions.

Length: 9 am to 9 pm Saturday,9 am to 5 pm Sunday

Prerequisites: Formal training in drawing a pistol from concealment and a state carry permit.

Recommended (but NOT required): 16 hours of defensive pistol training, 16 hours of medical skills training (Lone Star Medics Medicine X or similar), unarmed/combatives training, force on force training (KR Training AT-2 or equivalent)

Required Equipment: Carry pistol(s), holster, magazines, mag pouches, eye and ear protection.

Optional Equipment: A red gun or Airsoft gun similar to your carry gun, and safety gear for force on force training. See the general policies page for suggestions on food, drink, clothing, etc.

Taught by:  Karl Rehn (KR Training), William Aprill (Aprill Risk Consulting), Caleb Causey (Lone Star Medics)

Facility: A-Zone Range

Additional information:

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