This past weekend I attended Counter Contact Handgun, a one-day class taught by Cecil Burch of Immediate Action Combatives. I have never trained with him before, so I took the opportunity as he was within striking distance, being hosted by Justified Defensive Concepts. The class was held at Echo Valley Training Center in West Virginia, not far from the Virginia border. It is a great facility in a scenic area of Appalachia.
This class focuses entirely on shooting at close range, from retention. While I have taken multiple classes in the past on this topic, this one was very different and proves the most thorough deep dive into building and employing the actual technique. Even the classes that I have taken that are dedicated entirely to close range shooting and gunfighting, all great classes, did not focus this completely on the technique of shooting from the “two position” high pectoral index. I can say that only after taking this class do I feel that I finally have a command of this important defensive skillset. Thus, I highly recommend it.
Cecil Burch is a well-known instructor in both the combatives and the shooting scene, so his skillset is perfectly suited for teaching this material. I have always thought that any instructor who teaches retention shooting like this needs to have a legitimate background in hand skills, and Cecil certainly has that, being a highly accomplished Jujitsu practitioner and a life long martial artist. Guys who teach retention shooting, yet only have shooting experience, are out of their depth when teaching this skill as they can’t truly understand or explain the body mechanics and combative elements involved. While retention shooting is a vital skill for any capable defensive shooter, teaching it is, and absolutely should be, a refined niche.
Cecil focuses the morning of the class heavily on teaching the participant just how easily an opponent can close distance. It becomes immediately apparent to the student that “too close” is farther away than anyone anticipates without having done this kind of training. While there is extremely effective force on force exercises done in this class, have no fear, it is light, well guided, and you won’t get injured attending this class. But, the exercises done accomplish exactly what is intended; you gain a clear understanding of how quickly an opponent can take control of your gun if they are within that deceptive distance.
Several hours are then spent on learning to shoot from the high pectoral index and do so correctly. This skill is extensively worked dry before shooting begins. I will not detail the whole sequence, but suffice it to say, even though I have had several other classes that teach this technique, I left this class with a much better understanding of it, and a much more accomplished command of it, than ever before. Cecil works the class through a sequential process of shooting from the two position, the three position, or full extension, based on the distance involved, and this principle is made clear to the student due to the force on force exercises done previous to the range work.
Cecil then works the use of elbow shields into the curriculum and here, again, I came away with a much more complete understanding of why and when this is used. Most classes that work on this technique simply apply the “half guard” elbow shield while shooting at contact distance on the target with little explanation as to why you would do this, or when. Cecil teaches two different elbow guards and explains why they would actually be used, and after live fire further force on force exercise clearly demonstrates how effective these guard techniques can be.
Finally, let me say that Cecil Burch is an amazing guy. He is funny, absolutely friendly, no ego, and a superb instructor. You can tell that he has been a teacher for decades. If you ever get the chance to train with him, take it. He is probably best known for his combatives and grappling classes, but in my experience there is no other class on retention shooting that teaches the technique as thoroughly and effectively as this one does. I would submit that any chance to train with him would be time well spent. Awesome instructor, awesome class, highly recommended.
Reflex Handgun 
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