Phase edged weapon ambush
After a long circuit of overseas courses it was a short turnaround time at Todd Group HQ before heading for Auckland.
I was assisted by Glen Duncan instructing the Phase 1 and Phase 2 courses of instruction.
Instructors and assistant instructors wanting to achieve quals or get or remain current must attend week long intensive training courses from start to finish including assisting with any conducted testing phases to log the required mandatory training hours.
Instructing team must complete the full course to be deemed current as the most current skills tactics and instructing practices are delivered right across the course and on the testing phases.
Glen instructs phase 1 at his Wellington depot so it was the Phase 2 advanced program that he wanted to get maximum instructor time on with me overseeing the program delivery.
Days four five and six Glen was also involved with phase one practice, critiquing and controlling CQC stands.
All exponents on course were committed individuals that worked away at self- improvement with a fitting attitude.
Dagger disarming training
Morning video presentations enforced the reality of what Todd Systems CQC/MSD is all about and what is required to surpass the testing regime.
These video presentations have proven a very effective means of ensuring exponents know what they must achieve on course to be best prepared for testing.
The phase 2 exponents were separated from the phase one course as phase two advanced and phase three specialist training is restricted to exponents and proponents that have earned the right through testing to undergo such training.
The phase two course not only underwent training in advanced fundamentals tactics and skills but also were instructed on primary principles adaption to enable the neutralisation of variations of threat.
This included under high-risk armed and unarmed multiple assailant threats, methods of fast mapping assessment and decision making, using primary tactical principles adapted to provide the best available means of the specific faced threat neutralisation.
Exponents involved in situational and spatial awareness urban crowd combat
The phase one course were feeling the effects of intensive CQC training the military way from day 4 onwards and there was the usual fatigue bumps scrapes and cuts that come with long days of hands on combative training.
Mil CQC courses for civis require constant striving for both high levels of combative skills competency achievement and mental toughness to overcome the effects of intensive training including factor of confusion and sudden aggressive shock action realities is all character building and revealing in regards to the individual exponents real time skills and confidence levels. The training works on providing tactics and skills provision as well enforcing the major Importance of the required CQC mind set in order to enhance positive commitment to achieving all required objectives.
Such courses being made up by considerable of practical realists ensures most individuals can identify just how confident competent and proficient they are by honest self-assessment.
Days four to six when skills are critiqued and test phase practice is undertaken provides constant reminders of just where the individual exponents are in their pursuit of CQC/MSD capabilities.
Over thinking or over complicating what is required to pass a phase test can bring on self-doubt in capability. Simply not executing skills in a single fluid controlled aggressive action or from inside the required range with deception and dirty tricks will affect the individual’s likelihood of objective achievement.
The required mind set of less is more in regard to the individual exponent’s skills arsenal is a must to keep things simple and in perspective.
Primary tactics and skills must provide threat neutralisation capabilities against varied threats
Exponents selected primary skills must be drilled until they can execute them with high level competency without hesitation loss of momentum and in a controlled aggressive single fluid action employment and to achieve this the old adage of perfecting new skills stands true, SLOW IS FAST.
The reality is exponents early on in the course have decided on their primary unarmed offensive assault skills and will have practiced them throughout the course.
They have been drilled in unarmed counter offensive assault primary secondary emergency and alternate threat neutralisation skills and the phase 1 MSD skills package.
So under testing they have all the required capabilities to achieve the required objectives.
While it is possible to complete a week-long course and pass a test phase not everyone will be ready to volunteer to test and some will volunteer for testing but not achieve the required levels to pass testing after just one course.
Just by completing the course shows a willingness to achieve and when the individual exponents is ready they will volunteer for testing and when they surpass the testing requirements they will pass or will not pass, plain and simple.
It is the military CQC most current skills challenging training and testing that attracts exponents on course.
Being realists, they know there is no easy way to gain practical unarmed combat or self-defence capability and if the training is not intensive and the testing challenging it will not best prepare them to stop violent threats.
They do not want to settle for anything less than the most current best of battle proven military CQC and military self-defence when it comes to their self-protection.
If it was easy without risk and did not require intensive training and harsh heavy and hostile testing it would not be a military combative tradecraft.
Being a military tradecraft, it requires practical smarts mental toughness and a willingness to accept hard heavy and hostile testing challenges.
This keeps it unique elite and ensures the highest combative standards are maintained.
You simply can’t set the highest combative standards requirements without testing candidates under threat.
They know that Todd Systems European mil self-defence and CQC training provides very different skills sets than the rest and they want to learn what military combatants are taught from a highly trained military qualified instructor.
The 2018 annual Todd Group Auckland course saw four of the phase 1 exponent’s volunteer for testing and one pass.
One candidate as a result of being knocked out could not continue and the candidate that passed received a cut during disarming that did not faze him in his resolve to achieving his objective of passing his phase test.
Many are scared off by the nature of the training and testing but the fraction of one percent that test pass and achieve rank do not let pain injury or combative physicality interfere with their pursuit of achievement and advancement and this was the case with the successful candidate on the phase one testing on the 2018 annual Auckland course.
The course attracted a number of new entry level exponents male and female and I was very pleased with their positive attitudes and commitment to self-improvement.
They thrived on the training challenge and relished the opportunity to upskill.
Andrew Weir a long-term Todd Group Phase 3 proponent is now the instructor at our Auckland Central depot and he will provide weekly training for responsible civilians.
Todd Group depot’s focus is on small group mil CQC/MSD training and the instructed packages cannot be learnt elsewhere. All instructors have come up through the ranks undergoing the mandatory training and have passed their testing phases. Accepted exponents are instructed in the most current military unarmed combat and military self-defence for civilians.
Andrew can be contacted at. Andrew Weir – Ph. 021-922 794 [email protected]
