From Progressive Force Training:
http://www.pfctraining.com/PFC_article_3disc.pdf
The Three Disciplines
By Brian C. Hartman
The myopic US Military is struggling daily in its global war on terror with
immeasurable problems both political and tactical. Exacerbating these issues is
an obvious lack of training and knowledge from the lowest private to the highest situationally ignorant policy maker. Domestic law enforcement is no exception to this same dilemma. Politically correct personnel standards, status quo training programs and mind boggling tactical ineptitude (especially amongst leadership)directly contribute to the (avoidable) deaths of many officers and troops every year.
The paradigm shift required to get the ball rolling may reach the exploratory
phase fifty years after we are all dead and gone. That being said, the burden of your personal success and survival rests on your shoulders and your shoulders alone.
FITNESS
Every one of us knows the fat gun guy. He may be able to shoot quickly and
even accurately while spewing out an endless stream of technical trivia. But this is the guy who gets winded and sweaty during the arduous task of loading magazines. Should he ever find himself unarmed or out of ammunition, a relatively fit 8th grade girl would likely outmatch him. Coach Mark Rippetoe says it best: “strong people are harder to kill, and in general, more useful.”
This is not a piece about getting in the gym to build better glutes, but it does
address the importance of physical fitness as it relates to lethal encounters.
Under the stress of a gunfight your pulse will soar to over 200 beats per minute destroying fine motor skills and inducing visual and auditory exclusion. The exchange of gunfire can be the catalyst which kicks loose a chunk of plaque in your aorta. It might not be a bullet that kills you, but instead lasagna. A fit body will also be more resilient against penetrating or blunt force trauma. Considering that the first truth of fighting is that you will get hurt, this is a rather attractive ancillary benefit.
What of positions and mobility? An inability to swiftly displace (or a significant
food blister) may severely impair your accuracy or response time4 as well as
comfort while sitting at the deli counter. If you cannot assume a left kneeling
position due to recent surgery that is unavoidable. If the extra 100 pounds you’ve been trucking around perpetuated that surgery, you may want to seriously onsider salad. Ask a veteran of Fallujah or North Hollywood about the
importance of conforming to cover and rapid movement. Running with your dog, swimming, plyometric stretching, playing racquetball, or (if you’re hardcore) incorporating kettlebells, calisthenics and sprints into your
range routine is incredibly beneficial. If you execute 20 lunges on the range with a standard defensive response fired in between each rep, you have just
completed a comprehensive set. Add armor, helmet, carbine, magazines and
SAPI plates and now it becomes a full-blown workout. Your goal? To physically
stress and strengthen your body at least twice a week.
WEAPONCRAFT
Giving your credit card number to the gear retailer for the latest high speed x, y, z is in no way a guarantee that you will be able to wield it with any skill. Comfort with a weapon in your hand (either hand) whatever that weapon may be, is a crucial skill. Countless hours of training have a made the tennis racquet an extension of John McEnroe’s arm. Those who make their profession or trust their safety to being armed must not be an exception.
Pragmatically speaking, live fire and combative training can be logistically
challenging. Late nights at the office, inclement weather, proximity to the range, ammunition expense and your spouse demanding you mow the lawn can all remove the air from your progressive balloon. But there is an answer.
The ready availability of weapons simulators (knife and firearm) and dummy
rounds are not a second-rate substitute for “real training”4 they are real training!
I have spent many a rainy day practicing the clearance of malfunctions, loading and reloading while listening to an iPod. Blue guns allow you to perform
thousands of safe presentations (either open or from concealment) that do not place undue wear and tear on your valuable firearm or hands. PFC’s popular Searching for Adversaries program is conducted exclusively with blue guns and is considered to be one of the most valuable blocks available. Dull-edged training folders are a fantastic tool for practicing angles of attack in your garage, or the LMT (Last Magazine Tactic) live fire on the range. For a real training challenge you can place yourself in a pitch-black room to practice your skill sets. Comfort and proficiency in all levels of visibility is the mark of real system mastery. Eight hour range sessions every six months are far less valuable than 3 tenminute dry fire sessions per week. Your goal? To lay your hands on and manipulate a weapon at least twice a week.
KNOWLEDGE
So now you’re a tri-athlete who can hit a dime on the move at 50 meters. But
what of mindset? Maneuver? Tactics? Terrain? Communication? Skill at arms is
not enough. Many a man’s blood has been spilt who could effectively use his
weapon but only under controlled two-dimensional conditions.
“Those who forget history are bound to repeat it.” Woodrow Wilson
You must educate yourself. For clarification, education has nothing to do with
reading the sundry gun rags. These magazines are shameless sheaves of
advertising in disguise: buy this new expensive holster buy this .50 caliber
slingshot here’s what happens when you throw a hand grenade at a Jellomold. Understand that by knowledge we also do not mean the inner working of the light double-action hammer. Instead we are talking about an appreciation for the philosophy of battle, the tactics of the victor (and defeated) as well as the moral courage and ferocity of a balance-minded warrior. The study of warfare at the macro, micro and psychological level is as much a science as physics or engineering.
So what should I read you ask? Begin with the classics of this realm and
progressively dig deeper into them and yourself. Here are some
recommendations.
1st GRADE
“The Art of War” Sun Tzu
“The Prince” Niccolo Machiavelli
“The Book of Five Rings” Miyamoto Musashi
“On Killing” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
“The Last 100 Yards” H. John Poole
“Bravo Two Zero” Sgt. Andy McNab
JUNIOR HIGH
“Not a Good Day to Die” Sean Naylor
“The Warrior Elite” Captain Dick Couch
“The Rescuers” Leroy Thompson
“Warrior of Zen” Suzuki Shosan
“Extreme Alpinism” Mark Twight
“Touching the Void” Joe Simpson
GRAD SCHOOL
“My Commando Operations” Otto Skorzeny
“On War” Carl von Clausewitz
“The Endurance” Caroline Alexander
“Phantom Soldier” H. John Poole
“Guns Germs and Steel” Jared Diamond
“Attacks” Erwin Rommel
This list is by no means comprehensive but effectively spans many centuries,
perspectives and corners of the world. One common thread you will notice is the inclusion of books on mountaineering. As a former climbing instructor this topic is near and dear to my heart. But on a deeper level I believe there is no topic, which so closely resembles combat as excursions into the unforgiving heights of the mountains4 places on earth where despite the best training and equipment, your survival percentage drops to zero on a relatively short timeline. Like warfare, successful mountaineering is predicated upon strength, wisdom, courage, preparation, leadership, teamwork, fear, death and victory. I challenge you to read “The Endurance” and not be inspired. Your goal? Study hard won lessons of history at least twice a week for thirty minutes.
CONCLUSION
Dedicating two days per week to each discipline equals six days4 and on the
seventh you rested. This is a very realistic and doable approach that will certainly help you with your combative skills and goals, but will also benefit your personal and professional life as well, whatever you undertake. Train the body, train the mind, train often, train for victory.