On the Subject of the Defensive Skillset

[Kleanbore]

The biggest part of "knowing what to do and when" and "being able to do it" is the mindset. I fear that when we start to emphasize the skillset over everything else, we relegate to the background the fact that the mindset is the most important.

Indeed. We've been over that. I mis-titled the thread.

As for hardware, VR is the future.

i'm convinced. This has been an eye-opener for me. years ago I tried out a VR system--we were evaluating the ship-board maintainability of a propesed new stike fighter. But I did not contemplate the use of a defensive firearm surrogate.

Cop scenarios are more predictable - at least the circumstances are more predictable because the deadly force encounters often happen during routine tasks - but what are routine tasks for non-law enforcement persons?

How about shopping in an aisle in a store, walking into a hotel room, walking out to one's car...the old The Best Defense scenarios....

...for self-defense, the most desirable movement is often to get out and leave, which means I'm no longer participating in the "simulation" I paid for.

Great point! good training for defensive situations for civilians should inlude the rapid determination of whehter escape i safely possible

I've used simulators and in my opinion they're of limited value. What I find is that defensive training typically focuses on two areas, live fire accuracy and speed training, and scenarios that involve complex decision making processes. There is a third type of training that should get more attention and these are situational drills

That's a function of the scenario design.

There are no complex decisions to be made with branches of the scenario extending in various directions.

True with single screen simulators. It wasn't the case with the Gander Mountain Academy setup, nor should it be with VR.

Technology is no substitute for experience.

Actually, it can be a lot better. In 1940, those who had been successful in air combat would explain the secrets of their success to new pilots, but there were few experienced pilots to go around, and the training tools were limited to towed targets. Years later, sessions like the Top Gun and Red Flag exercises were employed. They still are,but advanced simulation provides far more variations and more objective scoring.. There is no way for the few LEOs who have engaged in real combat to have accumulated anywhere near the number of variations that techology can provide, and the few experienced civilian defenders would fall short, too. We have moved from instructor-designed drills to FoF training, and it's time for the next step.

Jim Cirillo did not have the benefit of the type of training available today, nor were the awesome high-tech simulators yet invented. And yet, he survived an unholy number of gunfights using the lowly .38 SPL revolvers.

All sitting behind cover and waiting to ambush the perps with handguns and shotguns. That's not allowed any more..

Practicing defensive skills (i.e., marksmanship, speed, movement) is all good, but let's not pretend that this alone will make one capable of rising to whatever challenge appears and coming out alive.

That's the whole point of the thread.

Maybe if scenario generation could be accelerated by AI in the future, we could get a greater value out of simulation for individuals.

I think we can count on it.

 

[shafter]

A note about Jim Cirillo; back in those days cops were literally sitting in ambush all night long at likely robbery locations.

This was similar to a special unit of Dallas TX officers called "shotgun squads" who's job it was to sit in back rooms or closets of businesses such as liquor or convenience stores and ambush the "hijackers" as they were called when they came in. They were typically armed with shotguns and were told that the only warning that should be given was the sound of the safety coming off. This tactic persisted for decades until relatively recent times. Robbery was completely out of control back then and despite the shotgun squads it appears criminals were not much detered.

 

[CapnMac]

As haptics matures out of its present "in five years" rut, we may see some serious strides in simulation training.

The motion/pressure feedback haptics provide will not only allow more interaction with a VR environment, but will, crucially, damp out the "feel" of the headset or VR helmet used.

VR headsets are an elegant way to not need multiple screens, which just turn into "green screen boxes" as that's the most efficient way to operate the displays. We humans perceive things nearly spherically, the overhead and underfoot are important to perception. But, the headsets/helmets have a present drawback--you can "tell" you are wearing them. Haptics may (likely will) provide a way to cancel out the feedback. Which will better suit the "train as you fight-fight as you train" model. Something that can be a burden on modern simulators.