By James Yeager

I frequently get calls and e-mails vaguely asking, "What will I learn in this course?" The prospective student really doesn’t know what question to ask or what the right answer should be if they hear it. I have often sent people to other training schools after realizing the student wants to learn something in which my school, Tactical Response, doesn’t specialize. I am writing this to help students make a more educated decision about which course to purchase and from which school.

By James Yeager

I would like to pass along some information that might make you tuition at your next class go further. This is directed toward firearms and tactical training but will most likely apply to other areas of Instruction as well. The motivation for this article is watching students go through the same evolution as I did and wishing they didn’t have to climb the same costly, time consuming, frustrating, ladder.

By Scott Gatlin

After a couple of years of picking up my own dry cleaning (shirts and pants), I recently picked up a dress for my wife. As I was walking to my truck in the parking lot, an elderly lady in a passing car rolled down her window and said, “Honey, you are dragging that dress through the puddles.” She was right, and the dress went back to the dry cleaners.

By James Yeager

One of our brothers, a student, is dead. We will call him Rob. Rob was murdered September 13th, 2003 about five miles from my home. While some details are sketchy we do know a few things at this point. One of the things I know for sure is that Rob, who was a Carry Permit holder, was shot to death, while unarmed, with his four-year-old daughter standing near him.

By Scott Gatlin

Many statements by victims of violent crime start with phrases like "He came out of nowhere." Or "I didn't see anything." It was as if the criminal appeared from thin air but we all know that isn't the case. Many of the victims are saying this on the scene but some are saying it from the back of an ambulance or from a hospital bed. They all had one thing in common ... they didn't pay attention.

By Shay VanVlymen

Simply put, there is no better tool for preparing to defend your life than Force on Force training. Scenario-based Force on Force (FoF) is the tie that binds your Mindset, tactics, skills together and teaches you to apply them under stress in realistic situations. FoF allows you the chance to have multiple “do-overs” in a safe environment when the consequences of a comparable outcome on the street would mean your death, serious bodily injury or legal jeopardy.

By: Tracy A. Hightower

The O.O.D.A. Loop is a process we go through hundreds if not thousands of times in a single day. It is a process that defines how we humans react to stimulus. Colonel John Boyd coined the term O.O.D.A. Loop, in the 1950’s. Colonel Boyd, known as the “Fighter Pilot who changed the Art of War”, was an F-86 pilot and commander of a fighter group during the latter part of the Korean War. He believed that when at a disadvantage a competent pilot could still overcome that disadvantage by “Attacking the Mind” of his opponent.

By: Tracy Hightower

The first thing we need to understand about Weapon Retention is that the best defense we have for countering a weapon grab is our brain. If we employ good mindset, awareness and sound tactics, weapon retention should never be an issue. In most instances where people have had to fight for their own weapon, they can point back to a mistake they themselves made that allowed it to happen. Whether it was because they were in condition white and allowed someone to get to close to them and attempt to remove their weapon from a holster or, when covering someone or searching for someone with weapon in hand, they employed poor tactics and gave someone an opportunity to grab for their weapon.

By James Yeager

People use the word "mace" as a generic term for any type or brand of aerosol chemical weapon. They use it much in the same way as saying Kleenex for any facial tissue. Shop wisely because not all personal defense sprays are created equally. Some people choose them because OC can be carried in some places that guns are not allowed. Others just want more options.

By: James Yeager

There are two groups of people who shoot IDPA and I have no problem with either. One group are the “Gamers” who are constantly trying new guns, gear and techniques to make them faster and more likely to win. They are in it purely to win, and they do win, so they are accomplishing their goal. The other group is the “Martial Artists” who are there purely to prepare for violent confrontations. They have no need “win” the match. They feel no sense of failure after they loose because they knew they were going to loose before they got to the range.