I had the privilege of attending two days of training with ITTS this last weekend. What a great weekend!

The first day was the Level IIIA class. This class was taught by Scott and Bill Kelly and focused on a shoot/no shoot situation. It is a fast paced class and requires some prerequisites. After Bill and Scott de-briefed us on some of the latest information involving recent shootings and a safety briefing, we were off.

Rather than going through the COF, I think that the skills emphasized and taught are more important, as listing a COF is like trying to determine what combinations a boxing coach teaches. The list can be endless. Anyone can have a curriculum, with a similar course of fire, but what separates ITTS from other schools is the ability to replicate the sense of urgency required for a armed confrontation, and the ability to teach you to perform under those situations. This is not a school for learning whiz-bang, unproven, theoretical, street firearms positions and shootings from gamesmen and amateurs. This is a school run by professionals and real deal street operators who are at the tip of the spear, to borrow a phrase from my friend, Darryl Bolke (reference his article in S.W.A.T, April 2003 issue - a review of the school from a real deal operator).

While the school and its instructors are all high speed, ITTS can cater to any level of shooter and you do not have to be high speed to take the class. I for one am not engaged in the professional use of force. Netiher was the surgeon in the class, or other individuals who comprised the lucky few that shot this weekend. However, despite that, I walked away from the class with a deeper appreciation and understanding about the dynamics of a gunfight, and the tactics involved...and a deeper respect for those who do it for real. Learning to mechanically shoot is one aspect of shooting; the how. Make no mistake, ITTS is very capable of teaching how. The level IIIA class teaches the "when" and the "why."

Back on track, the class covered a donga trail with a very wide field of fire. This tested movement, target identification and verification, and probably some other stuff. We also shot the famous mover target with targets that were shoot no shoot. There was deployment from a vehicle, and utilizing vehicles for cover, which added to the complexities already inherent in handling a firearm. All shooting done in this class added to the already complex task of presentation (or target acquisition from low ready), threat analysis, target identification, and acquiring front sight, squeezing the trigger, and follow through. Everything had to be in sync, while maintaining a high degree of firearms safety.

The skills covered were threat analysis, firearms manipulation while downed (either one hand, or in the case of my classmate, one arm and one leg down), marksmanship, combat mindset, weakhand shooting and use of cover while moving. There was shooting at moving targets while moving, and shooting moving targets while stationary. All this while maintaining good discipline in shooting only the verified threats. As Scott mentioned, knowing when to shoot is as important as how to shoot. A very high speed class.

The Vehicle Defense class was on Sunday. The crux of this class is operating around, and in vehicles and the unique challenges that are presented.

ITTS offers an accalaimed law enforcement only class on vehicle assault. This class is different in that it is not restricted.

Again, there are prerequisites for this class as it places a great demand on the shooters safety discipline and gun handling.

Again, Scott was assisted by another real world opeartor from LAPD's elite Metro division, and a new member of D team, whose name will not be mentioned.

The range was broken down into two relays and the shooting began after another debrief and a safety briefing.

The skills covererd were a nice dovetail from the IIIA class. Working around vehicles and inside vehicles adds another dimension to gunhandling. Making sure that your deployment is safe, from a vehicle and engaging a moving target is quite taxing on your ability to shoot and maintain calmness. No room for spasms.

The class was a nice mix of law enforcement professionals and civilians. Again, Scott and the other instructor were able to cater to the needs of each of the individual shooters. This class continued the focus on shoot/no shoot targets inside of and outside of vehicles, threat assessment, and had the added bonus of having targets engaged from a moving vehicle.

While probably not practical for many individuals, it is important to have been exposed to this. If nothing, it is important to understand the realistic physics involved in such a feat. Hollywood is one thing, but actually doing it is something else entirely. It was a real eye opener in a class full of eye opening experiences.

Again, we shoot the mover and the moving knife attack simulator. The mover was shot with blocked off targets, presenting a smaller target. The movement of the target was very erratic, and it provided a challenge for even the most experienced of shooters.

The skillset covered in vehicle defense was similar to the IIIA class with the added problem of having vehicles involved. Manipulating the firearm within the confine of a vehicle is very challenging and one of the most important skills was not only managing the firearm, but also managing the door of the vehicle. Add a rapidly approaching threat, and you have yourself a little more complex problem.

The most valuable part of the class for me was actually firing rounds into vehicles to determine the effect of the rounds. Very educational as to what a bullet will and will not do. More importantly, it disspelled some misconceptions.
The most educational portion.

At ITTS, we used real vehicles, not mock ups. That was an added bonus, since you can pretend to shoot from a car, but until you feel the door coming back your way for real, it is all theoretical.

While the classes at ITTS are similarly named, if you read the review that Fred wrote about, it might seem that we took two separate classes. That is because Scott keeps things current, and is not bound by a script, or dogma. The overall concept of the classes are same, and while the COF was different in Fred's class, I believe that if you did a side by side comparison of what we did, the skill sets emphasized will be the same.

Why train at ITTS? Even if you are an experienced shooter, your skills will be taxed, in a manner you may not be used to. Scott may take a "special interest" in you and help guide your training in a manner which only he can do. The targets are unique, and even though some people have tried to duplicate the targeting systems, the mover, the knife attack target do not set ITTS apart; the training methodologies and the experience of the instructors allow you a realistic view of what can happen when your life may be in jeopardy. While others play games, Scott and the staff of ITTS do it for real, not only on the street, but also in the court rooms, where if you are lucky enough to survive a gunfight, you may end up. Even if you are a IDPA shooter, or IPSC shooter, experienced, and the walking emodiment of McGivern, Hardin, or Earp, ITTS will challenge you.

Scott and Brett run a top notch school that can cater to shooters of all levels. The IIIA and the vehicle defense class happened to be not for beginning shooters, and it was a great way to spend a weekend. Great job!

quote:

---

That is because Scott keeps things current, and is not bound by a script, or dogma. The overall concept of the classes are same, and while the COF was different in Fred's class, I believe that if you did a side by side comparison of what we did, the skill sets emphasized will be the same.

---

Hi Dave,

Great review! It's the concept based curriculum that really makes the difference at ITTS. While theories may be mildly interesting it's hard to beat the cold hard facts that only come from real world experience.

One may want to consider the following: Dose the doctrine serve the student, or dose the student serve the doctrine?

Take care.

From: Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Previously Gunsite Gossip
Vol. 11, No. 9 August 2003


Practical shooting in training and practice should always involve a certain amount of work from automobiles, both stationary and moving. A lot of pistol action (including one of my own) is of this sort, and it should not be overlooked in training. I have always taught it in Latin America, and I used to teach it here at Gunsite. It should not be ignored simply because it is difficult to conduct.