If there were one course that EVERYONE who carries a handgun should take… this is it. Shivworks Extreme Close Quarters Concepts or ECQC for short, is a 2.5 day course where students learn how to access their pistol from entanglement or while engaged in a fight. On my publications page I have posted an article that I wrote for Tactics and Preparedness Magazine that details the specifics of this course, but its importance to the every day carrier can not be overstated.
Most who choose to carry a firearm for self-defense have very little training. The training that they do have is generally marksmanship training that has very little to do with the combative use of a pistol in a real violent encounter. This course specifically addresses how and when to access your pistol from an entanglement which I define as two parties connected in any way. Headlocks, shirt grabs, wrist grabs, bear hugs are all just a few examples of an entanglement. Fights are dynamic situations that happen very quickly, and almost every fight involves some example of an entanglement. If you carry a pistol for self-defense, it’s likely that in order to effectively use that pistol to defend yourself you will have to “earn the opportunity” to access your pistol. That’s where ECQC comes in. The 2.5 day course uses non lethal training pistols that fire a marking cartridge which allows the students to actually work through challenging scenarios where they may or may not need to introduce their pistol in order to defend themselves.
Short story is everyone who carries a pistol needs to attend this course or a course like it (there really aren’t many like it and I highly recommend seeking out Craig Douglas of Shivworks and taking the actual class before venturing out to try to find others who are trying to emulate Craig’s course). Carrying a pistol every day is a serious responsibility. Training at the range is necessary but its certainly not all you need to be “armed”. Training force on force, specifically in this fashion against real, live, actively resisting opponents will be an eye opener for most and the skills that you will walk away with are more than worth the price of admission. Get out and train!