Advanced Handgun Class

[rycerz]

Yesterday I finally got around to taking an Advanced Handgun class offered by Greg Block. It was interesting to be on the other side of the line as a student as I frequently volunteer my time and help out Greg as RSO during his weekend classes.

Now to start off, for those of you that do not live in SoCal I have to say that it was an interesting day yesterday: it rained through noon and the class was at an outdoor range. Greg was prepared for it though with two easy ups (one at the reloading area and the other one at the firing line). While I was ready for rain (and so were the rest of the students) Greg wanted to make sure we don't have a miserable experience as that makes it harder to learn. He was also ready with tarps and cardboards so that we could drop our mags and not have to worry about cleaning them too much each time we reloaded.

Getting to course itself. It was a really great experience as it took the intermediate course and reinforced what was taught there and then it expanded upon it. The course also included an interesting element: what is going on in your surroundings. Verbal commands for shooting and movement were disguised within casual sentences and conversations.
Other items of interest that were covered in class was shooting while moving in all directions (forward, backward, right and left) and multiple target engagement.

The most interesting experience for me were the dueling trees at the end. It highlighted how easy it is to get knocked off balance and then how hard it is to regain it. Frustration combined along with probably not enough sleep over the weekend made it pretty much impossible to recover from lost "balance".

Would I recommend this class? Yes. Why? I think it's a great course for both shooters advancing in their skills and advanced shoother. It makes you step back and see how your aim and skill is affected by pressure which I think it's highly important. I came away from this course with the realization that I need to go back to the basisc: dry firing practice is the key. Also counting and the ability to retain that count is important as it's really easy to loose track of how many rounds you have left in your mag. In the fast shooting excercises it got hard with 6 rounds in the mag, in the dueling trees with 8 rounds it got damn nearly impossible.

Greg, thanks for being a trooper and putting up with the bad weather and the comedians in the class. As scary as it might sound, expect to see me in class as a student again

[REJM]

[b][i] NOW I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO THE "CLASS!" Last time I talked to Sir Greg, I thought he might cancel due to weather, but I guess he knew that "factor" would actually "add" to the experience of "pressures, etc." Anyway, I look forward to taking my "Intermediate Class" on May 3rd, so that I might qualify to take the "Advanced Class" soon after. What the heck...if just to keep up with Mr. Rycerz....tee hee ha ha

*- Travel, Practice, and Carry Safely....and thanks for all the "Tips."

[sealbeach]

I have learned that when you DO end up getting into a crisis situation, it is generally in bad conditions--rainy, dark, cold, windy, etc. You rarely get into trouble during a pleasant warm sunny morning...so it is good to train in all sorts of conditions (within limits, of course, at which point the learning drops off due to high stress).

[Bombard]

Originally Posted by sealbeach

I have learned that when you DO end up getting into a crisis situation, it is generally in bad conditions--rainy, dark, cold, windy, etc. You rarely get into trouble during a pleasant warm sunny morning...so it is good to train in all sorts of conditions (within limits, of course, at which point the learning drops off due to high stress).

One of the things I learned in film school...

When the Hero walks down the street with the gun in his hand, it's night, the sky is clear and moonless, but the asphalt is wet because it just stopped raining.

Even if it's set in Phoenix.

(also, every fruit stand is just there so a car can drive through it.)

[ADIDAS]

Wow how time flies, it is almost a year since I took my last class with Greg.

I will eventually make it down your way again to take the advanced class.
Prior class was well worth the money, it is just the drive that killed me.

If there is an advanced course on a Sunday and I don't have other obligations, I'll sign up with Greg, assuming space is available and come down and join you guys.

I really think that you got a great bunch of people down there, it's nice to know I can find great people regardless of what part of the state I am in.

[rundmlee]

Glad to hear you had a good experience with class, Rycerz! Let me know when you plan to take the low-light course!

[rycerz]

Originally Posted by rundmlee

Glad to hear you had a good experience with class, Rycerz! Let me know when you plan to take the low-light course!

Pretty much next time it's scheduled. AFAIK though the March 1st is off the schedule.