Preacherman
New member
Hello, shooting friends. I just completed Massad Ayoob's LFI-2 and LFI-3 courses in August at Dunbarton, NH, and thought some of you might like to read about them.
Mas says bluntly that LFI's courses are NOT shooting courses as such, but rather "Lethal Threat Management For Civilians". He covers the whole gamut of legal, political, social and psycho/physiological issues before, during and after a defensive situation; goes into depth about actual case histories, both the event and the aftermath (particularly in court, with the arguments used to prosecute and defend the shooter); and covers a whole bunch of material which no other school, in my experience, even begins to deal with. I'm personally sold on the concept. Mas does recommend other schools for more specifically shooting-oriented training: at his recommendation, I've been to Thunder Ranch (twice) and Chapman Academy for their Advanced Course, and have benefited greatly from both. However, I'm very pleased that I did my first Level 3 course with Mas - it was an eye-opener!
To recap LFI-1 (which I did in 1999) for those who don't know it: it covers the basic issues of lawful defensive use of lethal force, with a great deal of "shoot/don't shoot" scenarios, legal issues, and basic training drills. The shooting component is usually 400-500 rounds, and covers basic skills and a few interesting drills like the "Blind Swordsman", which really opens your eyes to the importance of basic technique as the foundation for all future skill development.
On LFI-2, we started with repeating the LFI-1 qualifier course, to get us "back in the groove" of shooting. Over the next few days, we shot from prone, while moving, on steel, on paper, etc. We also shot over 100 rounds of shotgun, using different weapons (both semi-auto and pump) at varying ranges, on both speed and accuracy drills. There was a good deal of classroom work on more in-depth analysis of legal and psycho/physiological aspects of the use of lethal force for self-defence. We concluded with the LFI-1 qualification drill, for the record, at double speed. Challenging! The shooting was complicated by record high temperatures in NH that week: we got sloppy due to heat fatigue, and Mas had to jump on us about this. (He can be very rude indeed - and VERY LOUD! - about safety violations, I'm pleased to report! I certainly felt in good hands as far as safety was concerned, on both this and LFI-3: they're the only courses where I've seen instructors physically jump in to restrain a student who made a mistake, and help him to get more co-ordinated on safety issues. Very direct, sometimes very blunt, but very encouraging from a safety perspective.)
To me, the single most valuable part of the course was the weapon retention and disarmament drills. It's a great confidence-builder to practice techniques that will enable you to peel an attacker off your gun, and/or disarm him (if he's close enough) before he's able to pull the trigger. I had always been sceptical about such techniques (regarding them as Hollywood hype, I guess), but Mas would have us hold a gun on him (in his back, for example - using dummy guns, of course!) and tell us to yell "Bang!" as soon as we felt or saw him move... Needless to say, by the time we spoke, he'd already moved himself and our gun out of alignment, and could usually have the gun away from us in less than a second from starting to move. Very impressive indeed! - and very useful stuff to know in a hard place... We also did a couple of hours drill with handcuffs. Mas explained that if we had called 911 for help, and only one policeman arrived, we might have to assist him dealing with multiple suspects, and we'd better know what to do in such a situation. He didn't give us full law enforcement-type training with cuffs, but just a couple of basic techniques that would allow us to do the necessary without putting ourselves or a partner at risk. Worthwhile knowledge.
A very interesting, and intense, drill was when we were told to hold a suspect at gunpoint for an indeterminate period while waiting for cops to arrive. The "suspects" were, of course, targets - but the fun part was that while half the class "held" the "suspects" at gunpoint, they were heckled by the other half, who were told to be as difficult, rude and obnoxious as they liked. The object of the exercise was to learn how to keep one's cool, and maintain control of the situation, despite a barrage of insults and wierd reactions from the suspect. This was TOUGH! - particularly when Mas would fire shots unexpectedly, trying to get us to fire by sympathetic reflex, or someone would shout "SHOOT!" in our ear, trying for the same reaction. After a tough 15-20 minutes, the hecklers got to try their hand at the same exercise, with the shooters from the first round now in heckling mode in their turn. (Revenge is sweet!) All in all, this was a very sobering introduction to the problems that many have faced with intruders - particularly those on drugs, who aren't thinking straight, and whose reactions are unpredictable. If I have to hold someone like this at gunpoint for any length of time, I think I'll be much better prepared for it now.
LFI-3 is much more about fast, stressful situations. Virtually every course of fire is a law enforcement qualification of some kind, shot for score and against the clock. All students are told to bring a bunch of $1 and $5 bills each day, and before firing each round, everyone coughs up a buck or more into a common pool. The winner of each round takes the pot. We shot New Hampshire, P.O.S.T., and FBI qualifications with handgun and shotgun, at varying speeds, and did some long-range work with both weapons (out to 100 yards). Mas also entered the entire class (without warning us beforehand!) in the New England IDPA regional championships, which we shot on the morning of the last day of the course. Most of us had never shot any kind of competition before, so this was a real eye-opener! I plan on joining an IDPA club as soon as I can find one close enough to allow me to participate regularly - this was a fun experience...
The LFI-3 qualification is the same as for LFI-1 and -2, but at triple speed - which REALLY stretches one's capabilities... We actually shot it twice: once at triple speed, trying for maximum score, and once at maximum speed, trying only to stay on the paper and make minimum qualification score of 75%. I won the triple-speed qualification with a score of just over 90%, but was pipped on the max-speed run by the only lady in the class, who scored five points less than me, but did so three seconds faster than I did. I was two seconds outside quintuple-speed, she was one second inside the mark. Both of us made the 75% cut-off at that speed.
The shotgun work was also very interesting, particularly comparing pump-action to semi-auto for defensive use. I had always preferred pump-actions for reliability, although conceding that semi-auto's were faster in operation. This was amply borne out on both LFI-2 and LFI-3, especially the higher-speed runs in the latter course. Literally every semi-auto shotgun on the course (ranging from Benellis, Remingtons and Mossbergs to a magazine-fed Saiga AK clone) suffered one or more malfunctions, taking the weapon down during a course of fire. My reservations about their reliability were amply confirmed! (The sandy shooting range was a real problem in this regard, with dirt getting in the actions.) Pump guns were far more reliable, PROVIDED THAT the operators didn't short-stroke them under the stress of high-speed drills. This particular failure was very common. Mas observes that a competent shotgunner with a semi-auto weapon should be able to get five rounds of buckshot into a standard target at 7 yards in one second or less, and a competent pump-gunner should do the same in 2 seconds or less. On LFI-3, we were challenged to meet this standard. The fastest semi-auto shooter managed it in 1.67 seconds, and the fastest pump-gunner (yes, it was me!) managed 2.03 seconds with an 870. Fun stuff!
We did a great deal of weapon-retention and disarming technique work as well. This was basically repeating what we'd learned in LFI-2, plus a few new moves, but at higher speed and with more "polish". We ended the course with four hours of Kubotan instruction. The Kubotan is a small pen-size instrument which is used for what are called "pain compliance techniques" - and boy, do they hurt! Mas deliberately left this part of the training until we'd finished shooting the IDPA championship, as he warned us that our hands and wrists would be very sore afterwards. He was right! The Kubotan is an amazingly versatile instrument for compliance holds, strikes, and other moves.
One completes LFI-3 with three certificates: one for the course, one in weapon retention, and one for the Kubotan. I'm very pleased to have attended this and LFI-2, and feel that I certainly got my money's worth out of them. I still wish that other schools would incorporate some of Mas Ayoob's legal and other material into their instruction. I know any number of really good shooters who've graduated from Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, and such schools, but who rely solely on their weapons skills in a defensive situation. Mas gives so much more background stuff, and so many other, non-gun-oriented defensive techniques and skills, that I believe his students are much better equipped for the overall defensive environment than are those who have only gun knowledge to bring to the table. All in all, a great way to spend my summer vacation!
(MORE BELOW - SEE 2 POSTS DOWN.)
Mas says bluntly that LFI's courses are NOT shooting courses as such, but rather "Lethal Threat Management For Civilians". He covers the whole gamut of legal, political, social and psycho/physiological issues before, during and after a defensive situation; goes into depth about actual case histories, both the event and the aftermath (particularly in court, with the arguments used to prosecute and defend the shooter); and covers a whole bunch of material which no other school, in my experience, even begins to deal with. I'm personally sold on the concept. Mas does recommend other schools for more specifically shooting-oriented training: at his recommendation, I've been to Thunder Ranch (twice) and Chapman Academy for their Advanced Course, and have benefited greatly from both. However, I'm very pleased that I did my first Level 3 course with Mas - it was an eye-opener!
To recap LFI-1 (which I did in 1999) for those who don't know it: it covers the basic issues of lawful defensive use of lethal force, with a great deal of "shoot/don't shoot" scenarios, legal issues, and basic training drills. The shooting component is usually 400-500 rounds, and covers basic skills and a few interesting drills like the "Blind Swordsman", which really opens your eyes to the importance of basic technique as the foundation for all future skill development.
On LFI-2, we started with repeating the LFI-1 qualifier course, to get us "back in the groove" of shooting. Over the next few days, we shot from prone, while moving, on steel, on paper, etc. We also shot over 100 rounds of shotgun, using different weapons (both semi-auto and pump) at varying ranges, on both speed and accuracy drills. There was a good deal of classroom work on more in-depth analysis of legal and psycho/physiological aspects of the use of lethal force for self-defence. We concluded with the LFI-1 qualification drill, for the record, at double speed. Challenging! The shooting was complicated by record high temperatures in NH that week: we got sloppy due to heat fatigue, and Mas had to jump on us about this. (He can be very rude indeed - and VERY LOUD! - about safety violations, I'm pleased to report! I certainly felt in good hands as far as safety was concerned, on both this and LFI-3: they're the only courses where I've seen instructors physically jump in to restrain a student who made a mistake, and help him to get more co-ordinated on safety issues. Very direct, sometimes very blunt, but very encouraging from a safety perspective.)
To me, the single most valuable part of the course was the weapon retention and disarmament drills. It's a great confidence-builder to practice techniques that will enable you to peel an attacker off your gun, and/or disarm him (if he's close enough) before he's able to pull the trigger. I had always been sceptical about such techniques (regarding them as Hollywood hype, I guess), but Mas would have us hold a gun on him (in his back, for example - using dummy guns, of course!) and tell us to yell "Bang!" as soon as we felt or saw him move... Needless to say, by the time we spoke, he'd already moved himself and our gun out of alignment, and could usually have the gun away from us in less than a second from starting to move. Very impressive indeed! - and very useful stuff to know in a hard place... We also did a couple of hours drill with handcuffs. Mas explained that if we had called 911 for help, and only one policeman arrived, we might have to assist him dealing with multiple suspects, and we'd better know what to do in such a situation. He didn't give us full law enforcement-type training with cuffs, but just a couple of basic techniques that would allow us to do the necessary without putting ourselves or a partner at risk. Worthwhile knowledge.
A very interesting, and intense, drill was when we were told to hold a suspect at gunpoint for an indeterminate period while waiting for cops to arrive. The "suspects" were, of course, targets - but the fun part was that while half the class "held" the "suspects" at gunpoint, they were heckled by the other half, who were told to be as difficult, rude and obnoxious as they liked. The object of the exercise was to learn how to keep one's cool, and maintain control of the situation, despite a barrage of insults and wierd reactions from the suspect. This was TOUGH! - particularly when Mas would fire shots unexpectedly, trying to get us to fire by sympathetic reflex, or someone would shout "SHOOT!" in our ear, trying for the same reaction. After a tough 15-20 minutes, the hecklers got to try their hand at the same exercise, with the shooters from the first round now in heckling mode in their turn. (Revenge is sweet!) All in all, this was a very sobering introduction to the problems that many have faced with intruders - particularly those on drugs, who aren't thinking straight, and whose reactions are unpredictable. If I have to hold someone like this at gunpoint for any length of time, I think I'll be much better prepared for it now.
LFI-3 is much more about fast, stressful situations. Virtually every course of fire is a law enforcement qualification of some kind, shot for score and against the clock. All students are told to bring a bunch of $1 and $5 bills each day, and before firing each round, everyone coughs up a buck or more into a common pool. The winner of each round takes the pot. We shot New Hampshire, P.O.S.T., and FBI qualifications with handgun and shotgun, at varying speeds, and did some long-range work with both weapons (out to 100 yards). Mas also entered the entire class (without warning us beforehand!) in the New England IDPA regional championships, which we shot on the morning of the last day of the course. Most of us had never shot any kind of competition before, so this was a real eye-opener! I plan on joining an IDPA club as soon as I can find one close enough to allow me to participate regularly - this was a fun experience...
The LFI-3 qualification is the same as for LFI-1 and -2, but at triple speed - which REALLY stretches one's capabilities... We actually shot it twice: once at triple speed, trying for maximum score, and once at maximum speed, trying only to stay on the paper and make minimum qualification score of 75%. I won the triple-speed qualification with a score of just over 90%, but was pipped on the max-speed run by the only lady in the class, who scored five points less than me, but did so three seconds faster than I did. I was two seconds outside quintuple-speed, she was one second inside the mark. Both of us made the 75% cut-off at that speed.
The shotgun work was also very interesting, particularly comparing pump-action to semi-auto for defensive use. I had always preferred pump-actions for reliability, although conceding that semi-auto's were faster in operation. This was amply borne out on both LFI-2 and LFI-3, especially the higher-speed runs in the latter course. Literally every semi-auto shotgun on the course (ranging from Benellis, Remingtons and Mossbergs to a magazine-fed Saiga AK clone) suffered one or more malfunctions, taking the weapon down during a course of fire. My reservations about their reliability were amply confirmed! (The sandy shooting range was a real problem in this regard, with dirt getting in the actions.) Pump guns were far more reliable, PROVIDED THAT the operators didn't short-stroke them under the stress of high-speed drills. This particular failure was very common. Mas observes that a competent shotgunner with a semi-auto weapon should be able to get five rounds of buckshot into a standard target at 7 yards in one second or less, and a competent pump-gunner should do the same in 2 seconds or less. On LFI-3, we were challenged to meet this standard. The fastest semi-auto shooter managed it in 1.67 seconds, and the fastest pump-gunner (yes, it was me!) managed 2.03 seconds with an 870. Fun stuff!
We did a great deal of weapon-retention and disarming technique work as well. This was basically repeating what we'd learned in LFI-2, plus a few new moves, but at higher speed and with more "polish". We ended the course with four hours of Kubotan instruction. The Kubotan is a small pen-size instrument which is used for what are called "pain compliance techniques" - and boy, do they hurt! Mas deliberately left this part of the training until we'd finished shooting the IDPA championship, as he warned us that our hands and wrists would be very sore afterwards. He was right! The Kubotan is an amazingly versatile instrument for compliance holds, strikes, and other moves.
One completes LFI-3 with three certificates: one for the course, one in weapon retention, and one for the Kubotan. I'm very pleased to have attended this and LFI-2, and feel that I certainly got my money's worth out of them. I still wish that other schools would incorporate some of Mas Ayoob's legal and other material into their instruction. I know any number of really good shooters who've graduated from Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, and such schools, but who rely solely on their weapons skills in a defensive situation. Mas gives so much more background stuff, and so many other, non-gun-oriented defensive techniques and skills, that I believe his students are much better equipped for the overall defensive environment than are those who have only gun knowledge to bring to the table. All in all, a great way to spend my summer vacation!
(MORE BELOW - SEE 2 POSTS DOWN.)
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