Defensive Knife Los Angeles, September 2012

 

Another great class, Uli. This material is going to be a game changer for me and my defensive capabilities. You managed to pack so much into just two days, yet it was all so simple. Going to be practicing and reviewing the MBC dvd often in the run up to our training group. Can hardly wait!

What a great bunch of people to train with! The feedback, the intensity, the improvisation that everyone brought to the class was such a plus. Not only does SI attract superior instructors, but the student base is weighted heavily toward those who self select for excellence.

For those who carry a knife for defense, you owe it to yourself to get to this class. Living in Los Angeles county, I don't have a ccw, but that does not mean I don't have serious defensive options. Needless to say, I'm going to be practicing these skills a lot. I have so much more respect for the knife now. Even if you ccw a pistol, do not underestimate the damage that you or your adversary can do with a knife.

Finally, if you plan on taking this class, know that you are going to get roughed up. Even with protective gear and considerate partners you will be bruised and sore after two days of class. IMO, arm pads are a must. Unless you are a mega tough guy (which is possible) you won't last long if you don't use pads. Also, clothes can get torn. These things aren't a big deal, just good to know ahead of time. Proper protective gear will help allow you and your partners to work harder. Ultimately, the rough, physical, hands on nature of this class is a great asset - just be prepared for it and you will have a ton of fun.

Thanks again guys!


Warriortalk Member Redacted

Combat Rifle Marksmanship, May 2012

This was a great class and it was a pleasure training with you guys. The basis of any skill is mastering the fundamentals, and that’s what this class was all about. Uli emphasized that it was important that we made sure we did the techniques smoothly, and the speed will come with practice. We really pushed ourselves and in the end I think we all came out better shooters.

Also, we got to see firsthand some of the differences between the platforms guys were running. The other students were shooting a Mini-14, a Saiga, and an AR with a 3x ACOG. [...].

Thank you Uli for the great training experience, I’m definitely looking forward to take the Advanced Rifle Gunfighting course if it is offered next year!
Kevin 

Warriortalk Member CHOPCHOP

Defensive Pistol Skills - March 2010

Well, it was a great class. Having taken the Introductory Knife Class with Uli, I expected a good class. I was not disappointed. Uli is a flexible and accomodating instructor. I signed up for this class after taking a 4 day class in one of the other "popular" gun training curriculiums in Nevada (which I was a little unimpressed). Via a Google search, I found SI. I was intrigued by their presentation and purchased 2 of their handgun DVDs. Being thorougly impressed with their content, I signed up for both this class and the Close Range Gunfighting class. (Note - I also now have the Dying Less Often series - AWESOME).

While I did learn alot at the Nevada class and due to that experience, I felt I was beyond the "introductory level", but I wanted to "start over" with another perspective. This class covered the same material (and more) in 2 days vs. 4 days at Nevada. I was not disappointed in this SI class. One of my objections to the Nevada class was the formality was "this is the way we (you) do it" or you're wrong approach. Uli's MO (and SI's) was to work with what makes sense for you as an individual and respect for real life applicable situations to help with what you are really trying to accomplish - protect yourself from the BGs!! I like that approach.

Being a Software Engineer by trade, I appreciate the structured approach to things. However, one also has to realize that life's activities are full of unexpected situations and deviations from the norm and must be considered and analyzied in order to fully appreciate an adequate response. This class was an example of that philosphy. For example, I have a CCW (yes in CA) and I carry 2 different handguns One is an XD and the other is an LCR. I wanted to evaluate the "effectiveness" of both handguns. Uli was very accommodating. He allowed me to experiment (the Nevada class would have probably kicked me off their site) and helped me very much in using both weapons. In fact, I now have a much more effective reload routine with the speedloaders for the LCR.

Many thanks to Uli and SI in providing this opportunity. I look forward to the Close Range Gunfighting course in Bakersfield. Also, the fellow students at this class were awesome (it must be the similiar mindset, since the knife class was the same!!).

Please find the thread with more feedback here

Student and Warriortalk Member kennyP

Introduction to Defensive Knife, January 2010

Uli,

Thanks again for another enjoyable and informative class. I was one of those people who carried a knife for "just in case", without knowing what do do if something really happened. This class gave me a few pointers and some confidence in using the pocket knife for more than UPS packages.

5 Dogs Range in Bakersfield was a nice place to hold the class, and within daily driving distance from my house as well.

I'm going to recommend you and SI classes in general to my friends in the future.

Warriortalk Member Mojave Desert

 

My wife and I was present for this training. This is my second class with Uli and will continue to take some more. I've always carried a blade, use it everyday for little things, with the intention of using it for defense if I had to. I also like the section about what makes a good carry folder. I like my Spartan, but I'd rather try and win over the LE/jury with a non-evil looking plain folder. I never thought about that aspect. I look forward to taking the full 2 day class and the Bakersfield location was perfect.

Warriortalk Member sabot 7

Find more Feedback on this  Class in this thread on Warriortalk

Defensive Pistol Skills, January 2010

In a nutshell: wow, that was a fantastic class! But detailed feedback is probably more useful to you guys, right? And since it was quite apparent that a lot of time, effort & care went into putting this class together, I figure I should at least try to do the same for this far more simple task of writing a review of the course.

The class curriculum was structured very well and Uli kept us working at a nice pace throughout the weekend. Things were neither rushed nor dragged out. The class size happened to be very small, but instead of simply coasting through it, he made concerted effort to make the most of things and maximize the learning experience for us students. He also did a terrific job of presenting the course material in such a manner that we kept in mind elements of the bigger picture. For me, this was quite helpful as far as placing what we were learning in the context of developing longer term training goals.

Uli very effectively demonstrated and taught all of the skills presented in the class. He also has a knack for figuring out different ways of getting through to each student based on their strengths, weaknesses & other skills or experiences. For example, since he knows that I have some martial arts training, he used lots of hitting/sparring analogies to help me understand what I needed to do to fix some problems I was having with racking the slide, working on my stance, drawing more effectively, etc. This helped me tremendously. If he hadn't thought to explain it to me that way, I'd probably still be fumbling around, confounded and frustrated with all of these "new" movements.

As unforeseen teaching moments arose, he very adeptly modified the lesson plan to make the most of the situation. For example, I found myself staring, utterly perplexed, at a malfunction, in fact, a double malfunction, rather early in the day on Saturday. So, Uli seamlessly transitioned us to working on clearing malfunctions for awhile. Once I started getting the hang of it, he got us back on track with the rest of the material. One of the magazines I was using turned out to be a bit uncooperative so I got to start practicing my new skill again shortly thereafter. I cannot emphasize enough just how glad I am that he didn't simply clear it for me, then tell me we would get around to learning how to fix it later. I realize that there could be class situations in which "waiting til later" might prove necessary. However, in this specific situation, I'm quite certain that I would have found it distracting and aggravating if I had to keep interrupting class to ask him to clear malfunctions for me until we reached the "appropriate" point in the lesson plan.

Another point worth noting is that he had to deal with a tremendous disparity in the skill levels of his students. I had essentially no experience, while the other student was already quite skilled. Uli made it seem effortless, but constantly switching gears, and drastically so, to teach us both had to have been challenging. For me, it was all about getting a handle on the basics, and while I can't speak for the other student, I think it's fairly safe to surmise that his goals & expectations were probably very different from mine. I need to offer many thanks here too -- to both Uli and my classmate, for being so incredibly helpful and patient with me throughout the entire class. As a total novice, I was, shall we say... representin' for Team Short Bus, in a big, big way at times... And yet, they remained kind and supportive. Someday, when I am better at this, I'll make sure to pass along the favor to a similarly dense, stubborn, and feeble novice.

This is getting kind of long, so I'm going to wind it down with this last observation. Uli did an especially great job of allowing me to learn from my own mistakes and making me think things through & troubleshoot for myself, without leaving me to completely flail & drown in the deep end. He struck a great balance in this regard and I think it helped me understand and absorb the material more thoroughly.


So, there's my take on the course. For my own selfish purposes, I certainly enjoyed being in such a small class. On the other hand, since it was such a terrific experience, I'm sad that there weren't more students there to share that. I'm quite certain that Uli could easily have taught a completely full class just as well. I'm looking forward to taking this class again. (Please note - it's not that I didn't learn enough the first time around. It's just that as a beginner, there's still so much more for me to learn and improve upon.) And I hope I have more classmates next time!

Linda - Defensive Pistol Skills, January 2010

Intro to Defensive Pistol, November 2009

 

Class-$100.00...Tank of gas-$50.00...Travel time-3 hours....Experience and Instruction by Uli...Priceless

I left my house on the morning of the class scared to death to even pick up the Glock...I begged to use the revolver. Realizing it would be too much trouble to change guns in the middle of the class, I took only the Glock. Now, I'm hooked. The instruction was at an appropriate level for us...not too slow and not too fast. I took to the Glock faster than I thought possible and now feel extremely confident with it. The dry firing and practicing was what I needed. One day was just enough for a beginning class....see you guys at Intermediate!! Thanks Uli for being so patient....and thanks guys for being so welcoming to us "girls."

Share a Glock with my husband? I'm thinking, not so much....

"Glockgirl" on Warriortalk

Rifle Gunfighting, September 2009

Thanks Uli and everyone else there present! This was my first firearm class ever. I haven't fired a quantity of ammo since rifle training in the Corps 20 years ago. I had corrective eye surgery in 1997 and was afraid I wouldn't be able to hit paper, but much to my surprise I was able to hit the target with decent groups (kinda cheated, I had the 20" Saiga ). After reading the forums I decided on using the sneakybag and it lived up to my expectations (especially when firing prone). [...}

The hardest part for me was the right to left and left to right transitions. I was a little slow because I have no muscle memory of that movement. Dry fire practice will fix that. The fun part was at the end, when my rifle ran out of ammo, no mags left and I threw the rifle over my back and used the pistol without really even thinking about it. I could run that drill over and over again.

Everyone was friendly and I learned a lot about different gear and about some of the other classes. [...]

Thanks again and I look forward to taking more Suarez classes.

*kevin

---------------------------

I think that the saiga class was one of the funnest things I have ever done. I had been wanting to do a tactical class for some time. But in ventura I am very limited. I also had my eye on going to one of swarez's classes in arizona before this class had come up. Uli did a great job, and would'nt expect more out of any other instructor. Again, thanks to everyone.

 

 

"Exploding off the X" with the rifle....

Rifle Gun fighing  Class, September 2009
Link above to  After Action  Report on Warriortalk

Close Range Gunfighting, April 2009

One of the things we covered in CRG that opened my eyes was the stability of one-handed vs two-handed grips while sprinting. Also how well you can get good hits from "less than perfect" shooting positions. [...]

Another benefit of the CRG class was feeling much more comfortable and fluid with one-handed shooting. Having seen video of Gabe one of the most striking things about his gun handling is how naturally and fluidly he is able to transition two-handed to one-handed, strong side to support side, and back & forth, depending on what direction he is going and where the threat is. Something to aspire to! [...]

Getting off the X during a dry run

Close Range Gunfighting, April 2009

Close Range Gunfighting, February 2009

Thank you so very much for making the training absolutely top notch. I could not ask for a better birthday present. As if I was not convinced already that the SI curriculum was worthy of study the three of you are an absolute 1000% testament to how good an organization is when it has the proper people behind it.

Darn, now you guys have me hooked

Shooting around cover - ambidextrous weapon drill

Close Range Gunfighting, February  2009

Defensive Pistol Skill, January 2009

"Uli, Thanks for a great weekend class! I having been shooting since age 5 -your presentation of the SI material was on task for evan the shooter with two weeks experience and an incredible refresher of the basics for others -getting us all up to speed safely. What made the class great was the emphasis on the practical to tactical, all at our collective pace (great teacher!)..... Getting off my X to learn -I cannot wait to get into another class -to build on my newly refined skills.!.!.!.
I can't say thanks enough to SI, Uli and my fellow classmates."

 

Defensive Pistol Skills, January 2009