After posting the last bit about this American Defense Enterprises video appearing over at Tam’s, I decided to do a little digging through ADE’s videos on their YouTube channel. I have become enlightened to some of the qualifications of their staff:
Did you catch the Turkish Oil Wrestling bit? I would certainly never want to train with anyone who didn’t have experience with cage match, or who did not draw me in with the allure of his mustache. Also check out their promotional DVD, where we are introduced to yet another instructor, who notes, “My other day job is as a research scientist. I have a PhD in biochemistry.” It’s vitally important than when you find yourself stalked by a gang of angry ninjas, you be capable of knowing just what the bullets are going to do to his telomeres.
There are many people who are NRA certified instructors who have day jobs. I don’t want to disparage those many folks who do a great job of providing basic pistol instruction, but who don’t do it full time professionally. But when you’re claiming to offer advanced tactical training, up to the level received by special forces, most of which, by the way, is completely inapplicable to civilian self-defense, you better be able to back it up. This is more evidence ADE are selling snake oil.
UPDATE: Problem with scheduling posts… John Richardson beat me to it. Go check out what he found as well.
Sad so very sad
At least he was honest up front when he states “we do dangerous stuff”
Someone save these videos. Something tells me they’ll be pulled from youtube before tomorrow.
Spenser Pratt works for them, and apparently the woman with the swelling tactical vest is a singer/actress of some note.
Therefor, their new motto is:
“If you to shoot like a TV start, shoot with TV stars!”
Heh. I remember seeing some terribly poor gun handling by that fake reality actor once. Oh yes, thank you Google. Some of their staff showing off their fantastic safe gun handling skills here, here and here. Yup, that’s something they really want to brag about right there…
The combat handgun 1 class does not include the cost of renting a gun. WTF? You’re taking a combat handgun class and you’re renting a gun? What could possibly go wrong?
“Our instructors normally fire 5 to 9 rounds a second”
If you watch Dave Sevigny do his recording setting F.A.S.T drill his splits are .16 seconds. Some how this crack team is 40% faster than one of the fastest competition shooters around.
I doubt they’re actually hitting a target with any consistency with those .12 second splits from a stock pistol.
Dammit, all the videos have been removed. I should have just watched it at work.
Comments and ratings disabled. You cannot know what you don’t know, balsamic vinegar with the salad-oil? They do the head-swivel enough to stir the salad – is it to show 360-degree awareness, or just to see if other people are watching?
This just gets better and better. The one instructor in the video, the girl with the long dark hair is an aspiring singer. She has no leo, mil, or even mall security experience; but she is one of ADE’s combat handgun instructors. I guess if you’re a phony running a phony school you should hire actors, wannabe actors, and dancers to play the part of instructor.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Aysha/Webb
http://www.youtube.com/user/aysha63#p/u/5/MNI-_zCPcd8
Pretty much all of those firearms courses are filled with people like this. Tactical Teddys are almost certain to get themselves killed in the real world because their first instinct is to reach for a firearm at the first sign of trouble. They also draw attention to themselves with all the ninja crap they wear.
If I were teaching a firearms course, The first thing I would do is insist that everybody show up in jeans and t-shirts, just as they would be wearing every day in the real world. Those exaggerated, jerky movements that serve no purpose would not happen on my course, either. I would stress smooth, fluid, and even slow movement, as this is necessary for safety and will actually make you faster in the long run.
Mobo,
Obviously your statements are based on your extensive training, right?
I saw our host at a class at Blackwater; he was significantly less “jerky” than 10% of the commenters in this thread.
These hacks are based out of LA. Maybe I should call Taran Butler and ask him to go over and teach their instructors proper gun safety.
Yes, Tam, Most of the people I have encountered both in person and on the internet who participate (or -claim- to have participared….) in these training programs are mall ninjas, period.
Regular, everyday people don’t have any practical use for “stacking and clearing” and VIP protection techniques. We just need to get ourselves out of danger, which doesn’t even involve drawing a firearm in most cases. Sadly, it involves legal mumbo-jumbo more than anything!
“We train Marines” This FN fool would be kicked off any Marine range. I wouldn’t trust him at the dart board of the local pub. Semper Fi