Extreme Close Quarters Concepts (ECQC) AAR

[ravenfirerange]

A Woman's Perspective on the class.

MUC/ECQC 28-30 October 2011, Houston Texas hosted by Southnarc and Ferrell Munson

What did I expect to get from Southnarc’s PUC/ECQC class? I wanted to identify my weaknesses, determine an action plan for improving those weaknesses, and basically learn how to protect become a backup to my husband and a protector for my 3 month old daughter. I had the passion and open mind to learn, I just needed the training.

The first day of class was a lesson in Managing Unknown Contacts. The class consisted of 14 people, including me and my husband. There was one other woman in attendance who was also with her husband. Every one of us came with the purpose to learn. Some students had at least one previous ECQC class under their belts, others handled guns as part of their profession (LEOs). The majority of us had some previous firearms training that made us safe on a range.
The night began with defining the term criminal. A criminal is an opportunist. Then we discussed how we might react when being encroached upon by a benign person. We don’t know if a person approaching us in the Wal-Mart parking lot at 2 in the afternoon wearing a “Jesus Saves” shirt means us harm or not. Southnarc taught us verbal commands that are geared toward preventing verbal entanglement. Then we learned how to get off the x by using our hands and our feet as tools. We paired off with each other to practice our verbal commands, hand placement, and footwork. Next we learned how to move like a goat. We all had the mark of the goat by the end of the exercise. Afterwards, we learned how to execute a successful eye jab by practicing in pairs on a focus mitt. We also learned about the 4 precursors to a fight; we viewed an old security tape that showed all of them in play. Finally we learned how to drop our weight and use our arms to create a protective shield for our head. This is meant to be used to protect the temples and neck from the repercussions of a knock out blow.

At the end of this night I learned that I smile too much. My partner, Ivan, had to constantly remind me to stop smiling at him. I couldn’t help it because he was a nice guy; I wasn’t completely in the role yet. I also need to learn to move my feet without stepping backwards. I need to raise my voice as well. The most important thing I learned was that my bubble of personal space was way too small to stay safe. I didn’t execute any of the methods for deterring an immediate threat until they were right on top of me. Too late.
Day Two would be more physical than Day One. I started out the morning with my CCW, gloves, a hoodie, a mouth guard in my pocket, my camelback, and 3A body armor. I wasn’t sure how intense it the day would be. We started on the firing line to run some diagnostics. We performed our draw stroke as we normally do. For me that includes getting off the x, yelling stop, shooting, then performing a 360 degree scan. After that we learned how to draw, come to retention 2 position, push to the 3 position, and end in 4. Shortly into this I ditched the camelbak, 3A, and hoodie. I didn’t wear any of it on a regular basis. Now did not seem the appropriate time to start. We walked through all 4 positions. Finally, we practiced shooting a target with our face on the cardboard from retention 2.

After lunch we learned different techniques to process threats within a 0-5 foot radius. We practiced various hand holds and verbal commands in rotating pairs. At first I mainly practiced with the other woman, Jennifer, and Nigel, Kirk, or Danny. I’m really glad that I got to train with Vu, Dennis, Seth, Nicco, and Bryan during these sessions. Later in the day we used Simunition guns in groups of three to practice putting our learned movements together to conquer a threat. By this time I was exhausted both mentally and physically. They day had been filled with a wealth of information that was a lot to process at times. I was victorious during my threat encounter because I used my goat moves and had coaching through the scenario. I was amazed that I was able to put the pieces of training together as well as I did, which wasn’t that great.
I learned how important the retention 2 position is in a close encounter. I also learned that I need more practice. And that generally, anti-women protesters don’t attend these kind of classes. All of the guys here were very supportive in my endeavors and more importantly, patient. Thank you, gentlemen! =D

Day Three was the most epic day of all. Time to rumble. We started by working through the retention positions both one handed and two handed. We also added footwork and basic head protection holds. Awesome stuff. One of my Glock mags continually malfunctioned, adding to my learning experience.
After lunch we learned how to handle a threat on the ground. We positioned ourselves on our backs and used our hands and feet to help us ward off a threat. Next, we put head gear on, mouth guards, and sim guns to run through 2 on 1 encounters. Those were epic. This evolution was unscripted and yielded some very real successes and failures. Then we learned how to gun grapple both standing up and on the ground. These exercises included disarming and retention holds. I learned how to retain via appendix carry. Afterwards we did vehicle evolutions in an old suburban. This exercise is to teach us not to pick up hitch hikers! No, really it’s to show us how to manage a pick up gone wrong. In my scenario my hitch hiker decides to try and rape me. That was a fun exercise. =) My sims gun malfunctioned twice. Lol. We ended the day with a gun grappling evo on the ground. Great stuff all around.

I am so glad that I attended this class with Nigel, Danny, and Kirk. I like that I made some new friends while acquiring new skills. This class is full of humble people who are here to learn. I really wish that more women would attend. It is not an overly taxing or overly physical class. You get bumped and bruised, but you live, whereas waiting to test your mettle in the real world may not be so forgiving. I definitely need to practice all of my learned skills a lot more. I’m looking forward to attending an MMA class now. If you are on the fence about attending ECQC here is my advice: DO IT. If you only attend one self defense class in your life, this is it. If you are looking to train in MMA or any other branch of self defense arts I recommend attending this class first so you don’t develop bad habits that you will have to break later. Stance is an important factor in these drills that can be easily compromised through backyard boxing. Can’t wait until next year’s class. I’ll learn just as much then.