I saw a program on the Discovery Channel describing the training of US State Department Protection Team members. I thought one of their techniques was very interesting.
The trainee is hooded. He's placed in a rectangular room with curtains on all sides. He is within a box painted on the floor, and the goal is to defend that box from attackers. The trainee is armed with a handgun loaded with Simunitions. Loud Indonesian music (lots of cymbals crashing) is played on a boom box while the 'attackers' set up, preventing the hooded trainee from hearing them and anticipating the attack. The hood has a cord attached to the top that goes to a pulley on the ceiling. When the scenario is ready to start, the music is turned off and the hood is yanked off the trainee's head by jerking on the cord. The attack begins.
The attacker(s) may be a single person or a group, armed or not. They may be right in the trainee's face when the hood comes off, or the room may be empty and attackers suddenly run out from behind the curtains. There may be people milling around the room, mumbling incoherently, and they suddenly turn, draw weapons and attack. Or, there may be people waving protest signs that rush the trainee and pull the signs off of quarterstaffs they were taped to, and attack him with the staffs. A screaming, aggressive man may approach from the front to distrct the trainee, and then a group of attackers rushes out from behind the curtain behind him. The variety of possible secnarios is endless. Obviously, the goal is to teach the trainee to deal with sudden, unexpected attacks from any direction, in any number, with any weapons, forcing him to choose his defense method for each attacker, use weapon retention methods to maintain control of his own weapon, and make instant shoot/don't shoot decisions. This method could be adopted to any number of training regimens, either martial arts, firearms, or both. It definitely promotes flexible tactical thinking and situational awareness.
The trainee is hooded. He's placed in a rectangular room with curtains on all sides. He is within a box painted on the floor, and the goal is to defend that box from attackers. The trainee is armed with a handgun loaded with Simunitions. Loud Indonesian music (lots of cymbals crashing) is played on a boom box while the 'attackers' set up, preventing the hooded trainee from hearing them and anticipating the attack. The hood has a cord attached to the top that goes to a pulley on the ceiling. When the scenario is ready to start, the music is turned off and the hood is yanked off the trainee's head by jerking on the cord. The attack begins.
The attacker(s) may be a single person or a group, armed or not. They may be right in the trainee's face when the hood comes off, or the room may be empty and attackers suddenly run out from behind the curtains. There may be people milling around the room, mumbling incoherently, and they suddenly turn, draw weapons and attack. Or, there may be people waving protest signs that rush the trainee and pull the signs off of quarterstaffs they were taped to, and attack him with the staffs. A screaming, aggressive man may approach from the front to distrct the trainee, and then a group of attackers rushes out from behind the curtain behind him. The variety of possible secnarios is endless. Obviously, the goal is to teach the trainee to deal with sudden, unexpected attacks from any direction, in any number, with any weapons, forcing him to choose his defense method for each attacker, use weapon retention methods to maintain control of his own weapon, and make instant shoot/don't shoot decisions. This method could be adopted to any number of training regimens, either martial arts, firearms, or both. It definitely promotes flexible tactical thinking and situational awareness.