I spent four days in Virginia Beach attending an instructor development course taught by Rob Pincus, founder of I.C.E Training Company and the Combat Focus Shooting (CFS)™ program. My expectation was to improve my skills as a firearms instructor and to better learn Rob's method, which is gaining popularity in the civilian, military and law enforcement sectors.
I heard that the course was difficult and that many of the
instructor candidates failed to achieve completion of the subjective teaching test and the written exam. I met Rob a year before at Blauer Tactical's Summer Camp, hosted by self-defense expert Tony Blauer. I immediately identified with his theories about effectiveness in gun deployment and I read his book Combat Focus Shooting and watched his DVDs. I knew that something had happened after I read the book the first time as I started sharing the concepts with my firearms students the next day on the range. I observed them learning faster. That was a clue.
I contacted Rob for some clarifications and critiques via e-mail (half expecting no response from him). He produces several TV shows and travels across the world teaching people CFS. He not only responded, we started an exchange. I had to remind myself that we are in the "pay me now" age and I was talking with one of the industry's leading experts and he never asked anything of me except clarity and integrity in my teaching his concepts to my students. I was not a CFS certified instructor, just a gun instructor that wanted more options for my students. He knew that and helped me anyway with no real expectation that he would ever see a profit from me. That speaks to his integrity and professionalism.
I signed up for the Combat Focus Shooting instructor development class and traveled to Virginia at an expense. I have high expectations for instructor development classes but they are rarely met. I have been a semi-professional student of self defense for the last seven years, attending, I don't know how many schools. I think many of the instructors from the various schools have read the same book on how to conduct class and training. Powerpoint presentations, lots of end-user type of performance, lots of breaks and long lunches. Early dismissal on the last day of class is a staple of most of the instructor development (ID) schools that I have attended as a cop or privately. Rob broke the paradigm. Plain and simple.
There was one part day spent at the range to experience the material as an end-user, with instructor level critiques included and the rest of the training was in the classroom focusing on REAL INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT. Real is defined as 15ish hour days with more lecture and material than I have ever seen in one course. Discussion, hard questions and study. After dinner the time was usually around 11 PM. It was study time until around 1:30 AM each night. No time for hanging out and relaxing, which is common-place for most ID classes. Class would start again early in the morning.
It was apparent that Rob had created something entirely different as I looked around me at the other students. I would describe the group as diverse and successful instructors, some were high level operators. No slackers or people that obviously didn't fit in, which is usually the case with most ID classes. The curriculum was highly researched and intuitive, just like CFS. Rob really placed a high standard on the instructor knowing the cause behind the effect and he was not satisfied with a word that you said versus with it really meant. Example:
Tunnel Vision: This is a term that I have been taught and said many times without knowing its true meaning or survival positive for the end user.
Correct terminology: In the context of a dynamic critical incident, there are several internal factors
that happen to you such as a rise in visual acuity towards the center of your field of vision. (this might be what some people refer to as Tunnel Vision but can't really explain).
I am proud to have taken this course and I will continue my training with Rob. I will continue my research and application of my skills to teach students how to be more efficient in dynamic critical incidents by using intuitive actions that take less time, effort and energy. There is value in these concepts and I know my students want to be exposed to this learning.
Rob set the bar pretty high as a teacher and for my future expectations for Instructor Development schools. My evolution continues.
Robb Hamic is a professional firearms teacher who resides in Austin Texas. He provides instruction in intuitive shooting methods in Austin and surrounding areas on a private or semi-private basis to individuals. He is a Certified Law Enforcement Trainer (CLET) and trains agencies across the United States in today's most up to date use of force options. Robb also trains military units. For further information contact him at 512-284-0087 or WEBSITE.