I teach numerous clinics that assist people in making the best explosive first decision when it comes to personal defense. Not only do we work with tools and decisions, but we also work through the amount of space and time available to use that tool.
Have you thought about if your first decision does not work out as you planned? You need to be able to rework the problem immediately and cycle through to other solutions very quickly.
When practicing, have you ever considered drawing to a “low ready” (firearm low and usually off to the side of your target) while using verbal commands? Have you ever practiced using your flashing to ID a potential threat and then doping it to draw or even drawing one handed? Have you ever practiced deploying a pepper spray training unit, spraying across the targets face ear to ear, dropping the canister and then cycling to your firearm? These are all forms of tool cycling.
When teaching, I like to focus on eight main tools that you can cycle through if escalation or de-escalation is necessary. We need to fill the gaps in our non-lethal and less-than-lethal training by understanding these options and when to use them.
Not long ago, I started thinking about tool cycling in the civilian world versus tool cycling as a peace officer so I asked my friend, Chuck Haggard, of Agile Training and Consulting, what his thoughts were about both worlds.
Chuck said that “Early on in my police career I learned the limitations of traditional police academy training, which taught skills in a ‘block-and-silo’ paradigm. This ‘block-and-silo’ approach is dedicated to each topic until the officer knows as much as possible about one topic. Psycho motor skills were taught in a closed loop, typically in a highly controlled environment (mat room or flat range) and with a definite start and end to the specific skill. This paradigm of skill acquisition often did not hold up in the real world. I noted that as the law enforcement world was given more and more tools for arrest and control, and self-defense, the training problem and real world issues increased. Officers were often unable in a fluid situation to switch, or cycle, between force tools or options, and would get stuck in a loop.”
After teaching for many years, I, too, have noticed that a high percentage of students have a hard time stacking cognitive decisions in a short period of time. Some seem to get “stuck” after the first decision, are more prone to make poor second choices due to lack of practice, or can even fall into the “I can’t believe it is happening to me” scenario, which often causes you to freeze.
Chuck has also noted that officers showed similar issues as the civilian students in my class. Here are two examples:
Chuck said, “In the world of non-police self and family defense, we can learn a lot from this history. Examples of the inability to ‘cycle’ in a self-defense paradigm would include not having options, such as having no TTPs (Tactics, Tools/Techniques, Procedures) to handle that vast area of what I call ‘between a harsh word and a gun,’ or the inability from lack of training to shift or transition as the situation unfolds.”
Here are a few examples of techniques that Chuck believes would be beneficial for civilians to practice:
I think you need to make the decision to see what works for you, such as training in a force-on-force martial arts and/or carrying a flashlight, pepper spray, firearm, knife, etc., ahead of time. Once that decision is made, you need to practice tool-cycling up and tool-cycling down so you don’t have a “Now what?” moment. Every second counts.
Chuck believes that “knowing your state laws and what is allowed in your jurisdiction is a MUST, training to automaticity in the use of things like your carry pistol, practicing tool cycling in your normal regimen of practice.”
Chuck added, “A simple drill that I often incorporate into firearms training for my students is a ‘busy hands’ drill. In the past I would have my officers holding something like a mock clipboard, which they had to drop in order to have a clean draw and grip on their duty pistol. In a similar task loading for the CCW person, I might incorporate the student holding an inert can of OC spray in a firing position in their gun hand, replicating that they had a rare failure of the spray to take effect and then the situation rose to the level of deadly force.”
Imagine this scene: You leave the house about 8:45 p.m. to pick up a few groceries with nothing but a flashlight in one pocket and pepper spray in the other. After you get your groceries, you are walking to the car with a couple bags in your hand. Your intuition has just alerted you to a threat, so you ask yourself, “Could I be in danger?” You scan harder and the answer is yes, because you now see a dude in dark clothes standing between two cars about 30 feet from you. You are his target.
The first tool is to move your feet. RUN! He follows you through the parking lot; did you drop the bags so your hands are free? With free hands, you cycle to two more tools, pepper spray and flashlight. You are not able to outrun him so you stop and use a car as a way to a keep him at a distance and to manage the space. He is now about 10 feet from you so you use verbal commands, shine your high lumen flashlight into to eyes to distract him while pepper spraying him at the same time. You don’t wait around; while you have the advantage, you run to a safe place and call 911 to communicate that you need help.
As you can, if you followed this scenario, you would have made a great first decision, ended up cycling your tools and used them at the correct distances. You were safe and all you lost were supplies to make a sandwich.
Read more of Shelley Hill’s posts at The WON.
Learn more ways to stay safe at The Complete Combatant.
Shelley Hill wears a "bunch of hats." Her husband, Brian, named her the “Indispensable Organization Wizard” about 25 years ago and that has become her official title. Shelley is the CEO and instructor at The Complete Combatant. She is an HK Brand Ambassador, publishes regular articles in Women’s Outdoor News and Shooting Illustrated, teaches online classes, is an Active Self Protection Certified Instructor, an Instructor Graduate of Modern Samurai Project's Red Dot Instructor program, NRA Certified Instructor, Certified NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Refuse to be a Victim Instructor and is a Certified OC (Pepper Spray) Instructor through Chuck Haggard's Agile Training & Consulting. She is the designer and mastermind behind Image Based Decisional Drills, Smart Choices , LockedIn Grip, The Complete Combatant's annual The Mingle for professional ladies in the "firearms/self defense" industry and The Quest for red dot shooters. She is also the President of a non-profit organization called Blue Line Ponies. This 501c3 focuses on providing a retirement range for our career service horses. Shelley is also a presenter at several national conferences is a public speaker and she actually loves people. View all posts by Shelley Hill
We agree! Training with whatever you have is what’s important.
Thank you for these steps that would be needed in milliseconds. Here in Canada we cannot carry firearms for self-protection; however, that doesn’t mean we can use other means of self-defense. There is also a very small grey area regarding an intruder in your home I’ll just leave it at that.