Dark night sneaky boots CQC BHEs
Conducted at the Todd Group Germany head instructor Ken Oesterreich home training facility in Leipzig, the course was all about maximising available training hours.
Kens home training compound is not only convenient but is fully resourced with all CQC trade craft required kit and amenities. Ken, as the course manager, selflessly takes care of exponents needs so they can focus on their commitment to training.
The course was a full muster and included both a Phase 1 Basic course and a Phase 2 Advanced course conducted in separate training areas simultaneously.
CQC drills to command
This year’s course included a dark night training component in the adjoining training field and bush line area of Kens training facility.
The dark night BHE was a blindfolded escorted night sneaky boots course on the night of day four of the course with an emphasis on both forward tracking boots, fast mapping assessment and threat neutralisation as well as sudden aggressive shock actions unexpected actions on threat neutralisation.
The enemy party and the equipment including shock knives in the dark of night provided not only CQC fear and stress factors but also the unknown that included sudden flashes of movement, light sources and shock knives. The shock knives ensure exponents do not take them for granted as can be the case with training drones. Any contact during disarming provides a shock reality check that they would have been wounded had it been a live sharp edged blade. This ensures there is no doubt as to if safe effective disarming had been achieved or not.
This was a sound opportunity to observe exponents under duress including under the factors of confusion and sudden surprise actions on where they needed to combine their brain to boot CQC mental toughness tactics with their CQC threat neutralisation skills.
This is only possible if in training every skill initiation and execution includes the brain to boot tactics and skills.
While this for most was a new experience it really came down to being able to compose themselves and assess, decide and employ CQC tradecraft training threat neutralisation primary practices with controlled aggression overcoming primitive reactions through the stressors of fear of the unknown and the sudden surprise actions realities of the challenges of this dark night training exercise experience.
The terrain environment and the darkness along with being hooded and having to use enhanced senses other than sight all added to the experience and demands to have to conduct themselves with control utilising the tactics and skills they had learnt on course that are all about deliberate responses based on real time fast mapping assessment and not just on primitive fight freeze or flight autonomic reactions.
Dark night actions on BHE
Hooded and heading towards a shock knife armed enemy per
Ambushed at weapon shaft bludgeon disarming
The Todd group, coming up to our 100th anniversary as private specialist mil close combat and mil self-defence instructors to the military elite and regular forces as well specialist law-enforcement, close personal protection and serious civilian enthusiasts have wide ranging training assessment and testing regimes that provide challenging demanding unique experiences.
These tradecraft training regimes leave no doubt to the instructing team as to the individual’s competency, confidence and capabilities.
There was no Phase 1 test on this course as no one volunteered or was identified as a testing ready candidate and this showed that exponents were practical realists that were honest with themselves.
Having Phase 2 advanced exponents and Phase 3 Specialist proponents in the capacity of instructor’s, assistant instructors and enemy party provided the Phase 1 Basic exponents with an environment that provided close constant instruction and assistance.
Combining all phases brings out the best in all Phase 1 Basic exponents with their superiors leading by example and giving real time critiquing.
Combine this with my positive bastardisation when the commitment and effort was not what it should be in the form a right good old serving is all part of character adjustment and is a sound reality check means of letting them know to toughen up, harden up and get back on track tactics and skills wise with commitment competency and enthusiasm.
The hard, heavy and hostile environment and demanding training is very different to the PC be kind ways of this generation in many ways.
If exponents cannot handle hard verbiage and hostile actions where nothing is sacred and every weakness is exploited to inoculate them against the effects of profanities, threatening actions and preying on their weaknesses, faults and errors, they are in the wrong place.
Just like contact inoculation threat and effects of threats of violence, insult and assault inoculation is a vital part of toughener enhancement training, and when combined with hard heavy and hostile actions on skills training that includes high level physicality requirements including sickener training to push exponents physical capabilities under duress, they are truly exposed to and will benefit from the realities of CQC conditioning training.
At times the sounds of pain coming from the Phase 2 Advanced training area could be heard from some distance by the Phase 1 Basic course especially under detainee handling training letting them know that although Phase 1 Basic training and testing is challenging it is considerably less demanding and challenging than Phase 2 Advanced training. The required mandatory training hours required before Phase 2 Advanced testing and the physicality of the Phase 2 Advanced stand-up clinching and ground combat training including the demands of detainee handling skills related pressure and leverage on the body is a real reality check of what is to come for those that pass Phase 1 Basic testing. The course included group close proximity training where exponents had to be aware of everything going on around them and as such had to maintain heavy boots stability resistance and when required short action yielding and footing adjustments as part of threat neutralisation.
Crowd combat controlled hard boots spatial awareness
Even though there was no Phase 1 Basic test on course all attendees put in plenty of effort and worked together well not only striving for achievement but also assisting their fellow exponents in doing the same.
Having attendees from wide ranging backgrounds with prior training in fighting arts and martial arts based styles including military pers, law enforcement, tradesmen and close protection specialists with one thing in common that being they were seeking to arm themselves with our European mil CQC training ensured the week long intensive course increased their knowledge and capabilities.
The commonality of the Todd systems provided cohesive skill employments and by day 2 the attendees realised that the skills being same system principles based meant as the week went on their comprehension and executions capabilities were getting better with as a result of the skills sharing same major and minor components and by the weeks end nothing was foreign and skills competency had improved for all attendees.
The mid-course evening BBQ put on by Ken and Marcus was a good chance for the lads and instructors to get to know each other better in a relaxed down time environment.
I had a number of the lads on course let me know that they will attend next year’s March Thailand course as well as the 2026 Germany course.
As soon as the course was over it was back to Thailand for me for the last stop on this month long training circuit.
In conclusion it was good to see the increased exponent numbers and the fitting attitudes and commitment of the exponents on course.
We may have to put on an additional course in Germany in 2026 to fit with objective achievement requirements and increasing demand for positions on courses.
