July 14-15, 2012 - "Seventh Annual" Low Light Gunfighting - Las Vegas, NV

Roger Phillips · 06-03-2012, 06:10 PM

July 14-15, 2012
LOW LIGHT GUNFIGHTING
Las Vegas, Nevada
Instructor: Roger Phillips

This class is like NOTHING you have ever seen before. Conventional wisdom is that most criminal assaults take place in low light. But there is a difference between "low light house clearing" at gun school against paper targets and reacting to a REAL criminal assault when the bad guys are real and they don't just stand still waiting to be shot.

This class will cover the full spectrum of subjects operating in low light to no light, SMART use of flashlight , point shooting to deal with close targets without a flashlight to dealing with far targets using the pistol in conjunction with the light. You'll see just how much light you need to ID a target and just how little light you need to hit what you are aiming at. You'll learn alternative force methods using the light to misdirect and hide your attack and use of the light as a weapon itself.

This is not just tired old rehashed 1980 era SWAT or MIlitary tactics. We set out to create a cutting edge class by taking the best of LE , Mil and civilian low light training, filtered it , pressure tested it and kept only the very best material and threw out the rest. This class is like NOTHING you have ever seen before.

We must point out that THIS COURSE IS NOT FOR THE NOVICE SHOOTER. If you have not received basic instruction, or have a question about your skill level, please call us first.

DURATION:

2 days

TIME:

5:00PM to 12:00AM

PREREQUISITES:

Equivalent to Defensive Pistol Skills or higher. This is not a beginner course.

AMMUNITION:

Approx. 600 rounds (Pistol)

YOU NEED TO BRING:

Spare clothing appropriate to the weather, lunch/snacks and water (minimum of 1 gallon per person) for the entire day, baseball or other style hat, sun screen, bug repellent, allergy medication (if needed), chair (if you have a problem with sitting on the ground, note taking paper/pen/pencil and a boo boo kit (band aids, gauze pads, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment and tape)

REQUIREMENTS:

Modern Defensive Pistol, holster specifically made for that pistol and designed to be worn on the belt, 3 Magazines and Magazine Pouch, A Belt of the same width as the belt loops for the holster and magazine pouches, Range Safety Gear (Eye protection, and ear protection). Flashlight with a tail switch and spare batteries.

LOCATION:

Boulder Rifle & Pistol Club
http://www.brpc1.org
Boulder City, NV 89006

GPS: 35.954581,-114.798983

Range does not have a street address, use GPS coordinates or get directions from range website or your instructor.

DIRECTIONS TO RANGE:

Coming from Las Vegas
* Take 93 south to Boulder City
* In Boulder City turn right on Veterans Memorial Drive
* Turn left on Adams Blvd. Take Adams Blvd all the way to Utah Street and turn right on Utah Street
* Turn right on the paved road before the land fill and follow the signs down into the valley to the Boulder Rifle & Pistol Club

NEARBY HOTELS:

Fiesta Hotel Casino
777 W. Lake Mead Parkway, Henderson, NV, 89015
Phone - 888-899-7770

Railroad Pass
2800 South Boulder Highway
Henderson, NV 89002
800-654-0877

El Rancho Boulder Motel
725 Nevada Way
Boulder City, NV 89005
702-293-1085

CLOSEST AIRPORT:

McCarran International Airport (LAS)

NOTES:

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate the call us anytime. Call Suarez Headquarters if you would like to get in contact with your instructor or the class host.

Roger Phillips · 06-06-2012, 05:21 AM

The focus of this course will be on "The Fight Continuum" and since "the fight will be what the fight will be" we will look at a wide range of fluid concepts that will allow you to be as deadly as you can be from 0-25 yards while fighting at night.

Topics covered in the live fire portion of the course will be as follows.

The Realities of Fighting at Night

What you need to know about your Night Vision

The Double Edge Sword of Fighting at Night

Dirty Bad Guy Tricks that Good Guys Can Use

Tricks of the Trade of Fighting at Night
Making the ID and not being IDed

Blinding for Fun and Profit

Night Fighting, Gun and Flashlight Manipulations

Top Notch One Handed Shooting Skillsets

Ambidextrous use of the Flashlight

The Floating Light Concept

The Flashlight in the Hand Concept

The Flashlight as an Impact Weapon and Integration with the Gun

The Flashlight Continuum

The Intermitted Use of the Flashlight

The Deception of Light

Darkness is Your Friend

See What You Need to See Night Fighting

The Takeoff Concept

Dynamic Reactive Fighting at Night

The Movement Concept

The Movement Matrix With and Without the Flashlight

Slicing the Pie and Taking the Corner with a Flashlight

Darkness and Speed favors the Highly Train Night Fighter.

sdfmacross2 · 06-08-2012, 02:04 AM

80% chance I'm going but my friends will be there for sure. I might bring more

Roger Phillips · 06-10-2012, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdfmacross2

80% chance I'm going but my friends will be there for sure. I might bring more

It would be good to train with you again!

This course is just five weeks out.

Roger Phillips · 06-10-2012, 03:40 AM

Legendary picture thread and AAR's of the Fifth Annual Low Light Gunfighting course of 2010.

http://www.warriortalk.com/showthrea...hting-at-Night

DesertDog · 06-29-2012, 08:47 PM

This will be my first of many Suarez classes. I have a friend who may be riding home from Vegas that weekend. Is hanging out and watching OK?

Roger Phillips · 07-01-2012, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DesertDog

This will be my first of many Suarez classes. I have a friend who may be riding home from Vegas that weekend. Is hanging out and watching OK?

Sorry, I can not do that for liability reasons.

Roger Phillips · 07-01-2012, 01:27 AM

It is a well documented fact that the vast majority of gunfights (70%-80%) happen in low light situations. Obviously, the criminal element prefers to operate under the cloak of darkness. It is also pretty well documented on how much more difficult it is to make the hits in reduced light. The documented drop in hit percentage during well lite gunfights compared to reduced light gunfight is 20%-25%. This could be for two very distinct reasons, difficulty in getting to your sights while fighting at night, and the brain starving for the reduced visual input of the entirety of the encounter due to lack of light. Even with the advent of night sights and the usage of a flashlight, having the ability to point shoot is an absolute must own skillset for advanced level fighting at night.

It is my opinion that night sights have severe limitations. The most obvious (at least to me) is your ability to actually be able get to them during a reactive enounter. If we can agree that the ability to get to the sights is very difficult in a reactive day light encounter, then it is clear that that the ability to get to them in low light is going to be even more difficult. Another obvious limitation comes down to speed. Sights take time to line up and from my experience night sights take even longer. Lining up night sights also require the gun to be at line of sight, which does not work well within the fluid reality of the retention concept. If 50% of all gun fight occur inside of 3 yards that means that well over 50% of all gun fights have a retention problem that must be dealt with. Another "line of sight" problem comes down the the necessary visual input of the entirety of the encounter. This is a very important point! The necessity to be at line of sight while the brain is starving for the visual input of the entire encounter, due to darkness, can be very detrimental. Having the ability to work “below line of sight” becomes even more important during low light situations, than during the day. This is obvious due the lack of visual input that can be taken in during low light situations. To further hinder this lack of visual input by having the gun up in your face can be very counter productive.

Another dramatic limitation of night sights is the fact that their niche is when you have enough light to ID the threat but not enough light to see your standard sights. In an outdoor environment with no artificial light, night sights are really only good during the waning light right after the sun goes down or as it is about to come up. So the reality is that night sights are only good for a small period of time or under a small percentage of lighting levels. To think that all you need is “sighted fire” skills and night sights is a huge mistake. Night sights have their place! Night sights and their usage are just another tool to own inside of your tactical war bag. There are places what you can significantly benfit from night sights, but the are not nearly as valuable as the marketing will lead you to believe. They are by no means the "be all, end all" that some companys will lead you to believe.

Do I have night sights on my "go to" self defense handguns........you bet I do! But they are only pieces of the puzzle in my night fighting strategies and tactics.

I have had night sights on my self defense guns for years. I have trained with them at night extensively. I have never been very happy with my performance with the night sights. I am not sure what the problem is, whether it was me, my eye sight, or the sights, I was just never satisfied with my performance while training to fight at night, even with over 200 hours of formal “sighted” low light training. Learning and refining my point shooting skills changed all of this….and changed it dramatically. I found that I did not have to line my night sights up, I could use them as aids for both my sighted and unsighted fire.

As a civilian and predominantly as a civilian trainer, I am a firm believer of “only use the flash light when you have to use the flashlight” school of thought. For me this is primarily for making the ID. There are some other uses of course, such as being able to see the terrain, additional threats, finding cover, lighting up the sights, and adversely affecting the adversary’s vision. But all of these have to be weighed carefully with the fact that your flash light is a target indicator which can make it (and you) a bullet magnet. This weighing of the pro’s and con's is something that has to be considered and worked in your training and not something that you find out while you are fighting for your life. You need to know the difference between the performance and effects of your flashlight while fighting against a gun or fighting against a edged/blunt weapon attack. This knowledge and information is absolutely critical because there is a huge difference between the realities of these differing encounters.

The combination of the use of night sights and a flash light is better than either of them alone, but still does not cover all of the bases that need to be covered. The trifecta of night fighting is the combination of point shooting skill, flashlight skills, and night sight skills (in that order.) This is the only way to have all of your bases covered. This is the only way to have all of the skills/techniques to be able to have the tactics that you will need to prevail while fighting at night. Without all three of these skills, your techniques will dictate your tactics. This is never a wise idea! You must have the skills and techniques that allow you to use the very best tactic to make your strategy work for your specific situation. It is my firm belief that fighting at night without sound point shooting skill or flash light techniques or night sight skills is like fighting with one arm.

It is my opinion that point shooting really shines in five separate arenas.
1) When behind in the reactionary curve
2) Low light
3) Dynamic movement
4) Integration of H2H
5) For those with physical limitations limitations

It is my frim opinion that without quality point shooting skills you will never take these five separate arenas to their full potential. When we look at the extreme possibility of the fight happening when behind in the reactionary curve, in low light, while needing dynamic movement, during the integration of H2H, and while dealing with physical limitations that affect a significant number of us, point shooting is an absolute must own skill set.

"It is not about point shooting, it is about what point shooting allows us to do."

When we look at the true dynamics of night fighting it becomes very clear that point shooting must be taught to the highest levels possible. High quality point sho0ting skill sets are even more necesssary than a good flashlight and good flashlight skills. They are even more necessary than good night sights and good nights sight skills. The three together is the trifecta for the civilian defender and fighting at night.

Come on out to Vegas and meet me at the Boulder City Range and I will show you that this is not about point shooting…..this is about what is possible because of point shooting. July 14th-15th and August 11th-12th, from 5 PM to 12 AM. Come on out and pick up some of the most important skills, techniques, and concepts and you may ever need. Come on out and learn how to win, while fighting at night.

DesertDog · 07-01-2012, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Phillips

Sorry, I can not do that for liability reasons.

I understand Roger. After signing up and reading your blogs and articles, I can't wait for the class!!

Roger Phillips · 07-02-2012, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DesertDog

I understand Roger. After signing up and reading your blogs and articles, I can't wait for the class!!

Here is a podcast that hit the air today on that very subject.

http://www.handgunworld.com/

#186

06-06-2012, 05:21 AM	#2
Roger Phillips Suarez International Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 978 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	The focus of this course will be on "The Fight Continuum" and since "the fight will be what the fight will be" we will look at a wide range of fluid concepts that will allow you to be as deadly as you can be from 0-25 yards while fighting at night. Topics covered in the live fire portion of the course will be as follows. The Realities of Fighting at Night What you need to know about your Night Vision The Double Edge Sword of Fighting at Night Dirty Bad Guy Tricks that Good Guys Can Use Tricks of the Trade of Fighting at Night Making the ID and not being IDed Blinding for Fun and Profit Night Fighting, Gun and Flashlight Manipulations Top Notch One Handed Shooting Skillsets Ambidextrous use of the Flashlight The Floating Light Concept The Flashlight in the Hand Concept The Flashlight as an Impact Weapon and Integration with the Gun The Flashlight Continuum The Intermitted Use of the Flashlight The Deception of Light Darkness is Your Friend See What You Need to See Night Fighting The Takeoff Concept Dynamic Reactive Fighting at Night The Movement Concept The Movement Matrix With and Without the Flashlight Slicing the Pie and Taking the Corner with a Flashlight Darkness and Speed favors the Highly Train Night Fighter. __________________ Roger Phillips Suarez International Courses "Situations dictate strategy, strategy dictate tactics, and tactics dictate techniques......techniques should not dictate anything." http://www.suarezinternationalstore....sschedule.aspx http://fightfocusedconcepts.com/home

06-10-2012, 03:40 AM	#5
Roger Phillips Suarez International Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 978 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Legendary picture thread and AAR's of the Fifth Annual Low Light Gunfighting course of 2010. http://www.warriortalk.com/showthrea...hting-at-Night __________________ Roger Phillips Suarez International Courses "Situations dictate strategy, strategy dictate tactics, and tactics dictate techniques......techniques should not dictate anything." http://www.suarezinternationalstore....sschedule.aspx http://fightfocusedconcepts.com/home

07-01-2012, 01:27 AM	#8
Roger Phillips Suarez International Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 978 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Point Shooting and Fighting at Night (Revised) It is a well documented fact that the vast majority of gunfights (70%-80%) happen in low light situations. Obviously, the criminal element prefers to operate under the cloak of darkness. It is also pretty well documented on how much more difficult it is to make the hits in reduced light. The documented drop in hit percentage during well lite gunfights compared to reduced light gunfight is 20%-25%. This could be for two very distinct reasons, difficulty in getting to your sights while fighting at night, and the brain starving for the reduced visual input of the entirety of the encounter due to lack of light. Even with the advent of night sights and the usage of a flashlight, having the ability to point shoot is an absolute must own skillset for advanced level fighting at night. It is my opinion that night sights have severe limitations. The most obvious (at least to me) is your ability to actually be able get to them during a reactive enounter. If we can agree that the ability to get to the sights is very difficult in a reactive day light encounter, then it is clear that that the ability to get to them in low light is going to be even more difficult. Another obvious limitation comes down to speed. Sights take time to line up and from my experience night sights take even longer. Lining up night sights also require the gun to be at line of sight, which does not work well within the fluid reality of the retention concept. If 50% of all gun fight occur inside of 3 yards that means that well over 50% of all gun fights have a retention problem that must be dealt with. Another "line of sight" problem comes down the the necessary visual input of the entirety of the encounter. This is a very important point! The necessity to be at line of sight while the brain is starving for the visual input of the entire encounter, due to darkness, can be very detrimental. Having the ability to work “below line of sight” becomes even more important during low light situations, than during the day. This is obvious due the lack of visual input that can be taken in during low light situations. To further hinder this lack of visual input by having the gun up in your face can be very counter productive. Another dramatic limitation of night sights is the fact that their niche is when you have enough light to ID the threat but not enough light to see your standard sights. In an outdoor environment with no artificial light, night sights are really only good during the waning light right after the sun goes down or as it is about to come up. So the reality is that night sights are only good for a small period of time or under a small percentage of lighting levels. To think that all you need is “sighted fire” skills and night sights is a huge mistake. Night sights have their place! Night sights and their usage are just another tool to own inside of your tactical war bag. There are places what you can significantly benfit from night sights, but the are not nearly as valuable as the marketing will lead you to believe. They are by no means the "be all, end all" that some companys will lead you to believe. Do I have night sights on my "go to" self defense handguns........you bet I do! But they are only pieces of the puzzle in my night fighting strategies and tactics. I have had night sights on my self defense guns for years. I have trained with them at night extensively. I have never been very happy with my performance with the night sights. I am not sure what the problem is, whether it was me, my eye sight, or the sights, I was just never satisfied with my performance while training to fight at night, even with over 200 hours of formal “sighted” low light training. Learning and refining my point shooting skills changed all of this….and changed it dramatically. I found that I did not have to line my night sights up, I could use them as aids for both my sighted and unsighted fire. As a civilian and predominantly as a civilian trainer, I am a firm believer of “only use the flash light when you have to use the flashlight” school of thought. For me this is primarily for making the ID. There are some other uses of course, such as being able to see the terrain, additional threats, finding cover, lighting up the sights, and adversely affecting the adversary’s vision. But all of these have to be weighed carefully with the fact that your flash light is a target indicator which can make it (and you) a bullet magnet. This weighing of the pro’s and con's is something that has to be considered and worked in your training and not something that you find out while you are fighting for your life. You need to know the difference between the performance and effects of your flashlight while fighting against a gun or fighting against a edged/blunt weapon attack. This knowledge and information is absolutely critical because there is a huge difference between the realities of these differing encounters. The combination of the use of night sights and a flash light is better than either of them alone, but still does not cover all of the bases that need to be covered. The trifecta of night fighting is the combination of point shooting skill, flashlight skills, and night sight skills (in that order.) This is the only way to have all of your bases covered. This is the only way to have all of the skills/techniques to be able to have the tactics that you will need to prevail while fighting at night. Without all three of these skills, your techniques will dictate your tactics. This is never a wise idea! You must have the skills and techniques that allow you to use the very best tactic to make your strategy work for your specific situation. It is my firm belief that fighting at night without sound point shooting skill or flash light techniques or night sight skills is like fighting with one arm. It is my opinion that point shooting really shines in five separate arenas. 1) When behind in the reactionary curve 2) Low light 3) Dynamic movement 4) Integration of H2H 5) For those with physical limitations limitations It is my frim opinion that without quality point shooting skills you will never take these five separate arenas to their full potential. When we look at the extreme possibility of the fight happening when behind in the reactionary curve, in low light, while needing dynamic movement, during the integration of H2H, and while dealing with physical limitations that affect a significant number of us, point shooting is an absolute must own skill set. "It is not about point shooting, it is about what point shooting allows us to do." When we look at the true dynamics of night fighting it becomes very clear that point shooting must be taught to the highest levels possible. High quality point sho0ting skill sets are even more necesssary than a good flashlight and good flashlight skills. They are even more necessary than good night sights and good nights sight skills. The three together is the trifecta for the civilian defender and fighting at night. Come on out to Vegas and meet me at the Boulder City Range and I will show you that this is not about point shooting…..this is about what is possible because of point shooting. July 14th-15th and August 11th-12th, from 5 PM to 12 AM. Come on out and pick up some of the most important skills, techniques, and concepts and you may ever need. Come on out and learn how to win, while fighting at night. __________________ Roger Phillips Suarez International Courses "Situations dictate strategy, strategy dictate tactics, and tactics dictate techniques......techniques should not dictate anything." http://www.suarezinternationalstore....sschedule.aspx http://fightfocusedconcepts.com/home

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06-03-2012, 06:10 PM	#1
Roger Phillips Suarez International Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 978 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	July 14-15, 2012 - "Seventh Annual" Low Light Gunfighting - Las Vegas, NV July 14-15, 2012 LOW LIGHT GUNFIGHTING Las Vegas, Nevada Instructor: Roger Phillips This class is like NOTHING you have ever seen before. Conventional wisdom is that most criminal assaults take place in low light. But there is a difference between "low light house clearing" at gun school against paper targets and reacting to a REAL criminal assault when the bad guys are real and they don't just stand still waiting to be shot. This class will cover the full spectrum of subjects operating in low light to no light, SMART use of flashlight , point shooting to deal with close targets without a flashlight to dealing with far targets using the pistol in conjunction with the light. You'll see just how much light you need to ID a target and just how little light you need to hit what you are aiming at. You'll learn alternative force methods using the light to misdirect and hide your attack and use of the light as a weapon itself. This is not just tired old rehashed 1980 era SWAT or MIlitary tactics. We set out to create a cutting edge class by taking the best of LE , Mil and civilian low light training, filtered it , pressure tested it and kept only the very best material and threw out the rest. This class is like NOTHING you have ever seen before. We must point out that THIS COURSE IS NOT FOR THE NOVICE SHOOTER. If you have not received basic instruction, or have a question about your skill level, please call us first. DURATION: 2 days TIME: 5:00PM to 12:00AM PREREQUISITES: Equivalent to Defensive Pistol Skills or higher. This is not a beginner course. AMMUNITION: Approx. 600 rounds (Pistol) YOU NEED TO BRING: Spare clothing appropriate to the weather, lunch/snacks and water (minimum of 1 gallon per person) for the entire day, baseball or other style hat, sun screen, bug repellent, allergy medication (if needed), chair (if you have a problem with sitting on the ground, note taking paper/pen/pencil and a boo boo kit (band aids, gauze pads, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment and tape) REQUIREMENTS: Modern Defensive Pistol, holster specifically made for that pistol and designed to be worn on the belt, 3 Magazines and Magazine Pouch, A Belt of the same width as the belt loops for the holster and magazine pouches, Range Safety Gear (Eye protection, and ear protection). Flashlight with a tail switch and spare batteries. LOCATION: Boulder Rifle & Pistol Club http://www.brpc1.org Boulder City, NV 89006 GPS: 35.954581,-114.798983 Range does not have a street address, use GPS coordinates or get directions from range website or your instructor. DIRECTIONS TO RANGE: Coming from Las Vegas * Take 93 south to Boulder City * In Boulder City turn right on Veterans Memorial Drive * Turn left on Adams Blvd. Take Adams Blvd all the way to Utah Street and turn right on Utah Street * Turn right on the paved road before the land fill and follow the signs down into the valley to the Boulder Rifle & Pistol Club NEARBY HOTELS: Fiesta Hotel Casino 777 W. Lake Mead Parkway, Henderson, NV, 89015 Phone - 888-899-7770 Railroad Pass 2800 South Boulder Highway Henderson, NV 89002 800-654-0877 El Rancho Boulder Motel 725 Nevada Way Boulder City, NV 89005 702-293-1085 CLOSEST AIRPORT: McCarran International Airport (LAS) NOTES: If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate the call us anytime. Call Suarez Headquarters if you would like to get in contact with your instructor or the class host. __________________ Roger Phillips Suarez International Courses "Situations dictate strategy, strategy dictate tactics, and tactics dictate techniques......techniques should not dictate anything." http://www.suarezinternationalstore....sschedule.aspx http://fightfocusedconcepts.com/home

06-08-2012, 02:04 AM	#3
sdfmacross2 uber n00b Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 30 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	80% chance I'm going but my friends will be there for sure. I might bring more

06-29-2012, 08:47 PM	#6
DesertDog uber n00b Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 2 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	This will be my first of many Suarez classes. I have a friend who may be riding home from Vegas that weekend. Is hanging out and watching OK?