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Sage Dynamics / Pace Performance

By boo, in Training Techniques and Tools

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A-Tech    8

A-Tech
Posted

I follow these guys on Facebook and they always provide good reading content, techniques, and genuine education. I remember reading one of the most detailed explanations of the OODA loop from Aaron. They seem like very knowledgeable, very educational people. If I didn't just drop $500 on Dom Raso's course I would be doing this.

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tuktuk    16

tuktuk
Posted

>>>

 

These courses are entry level classes for anyone with a basic knowledge of the handgun.

 

Course info attached, If you have any other questions or if you want to reserve a slot let me know and I will get you invoiced.

 

Aaron Cowan

Lead Instructor

Sage Dynamics

www.facebook.com/sagedynamics

www.sagedynamics.org

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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tuktuk    16

tuktuk
Posted

PLS let us know how the class went .. and PLS give the sage guys ur email so we know in advance they are coming..,

unfortunately I will not be attending cause already have plans to spend time with my kids .. but if I know a month or two in advance I can def make it ..

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papercutninja    24

papercutninja
Posted

I absolutely did go to the class. It rained for the entire first half, and we shot right through it. Cowan's philosophy is that you can't choose the time place, or situation where you'll need to use a pistol. Conditions were cold, wet and miserable. The class? INCREDIBLY GOOD. Both Aaron Cowan and Paul Van Dunk were exceptional instructors, who never talked down to the student and instead made us all feel comfortable and confident.

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tuktuk    16

tuktuk
Posted

I absolutely did go to the class. It rained for the entire first half, and we shot right through it. Cowan's philosophy is that you can't choose the time place, or situation where you'll need to use a pistol. Conditions were cold, wet and miserable. The class? INCREDIBLY GOOD. Both Aaron Cowan and Paul Van Dunk were exceptional instructors, who never talked down to the student and instead made us all feel comfortable and confident.

Do u know if they are coming back to NJ anytime soon?

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papercutninja    24

papercutninja
Posted

The range we were at is being converted to an official police range that can be utilized by private instructors, and Pace Performance (Paul van Dunk, the instructor for today's session) is based in Allentown, PA. The intention is that Pace will start holding more classes here in NJ because it's a large private range that will theoretically be able to handle different types of courses. Sage Dynamics will likely come up here more often if the range does finally get finished, as they work very closely with Pace. The only hesitation in coming to Jersey is our unforgiving laws, so it restricts the type of classes they'd be able to hold.

 

The only embarrassing thing is that, for all the talk and bravado of "getting instruction and taking classes" on this forum, they struggled to fill a class of 15, with only HALF of the students coming from Jersey. The others were New Yorkers and folks from PA.

 

I don't know about you guys, but i'd much rather take a class from a national-level firearms trainer active in the industry than some egotistical Jersey FUDD who got his NRA instructor's cert 25 years ago and says OFWG shit like "I carry a 45 because shooting twice is silly".

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tuktuk    16

tuktuk
Posted

the more they will advertised, the more people will come. word of mouth, forums like ours >>> they also need to be proactive ...

Was it fine just taking one day ? what was the difference between day one and day two ? and can u give some details on what u went over in the class please ...

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papercutninja    24

papercutninja
Posted

If there's a need for a separate thread just for the AAR, i'll repost, but otherwise, here goes:

 

Sage Dynamics, based out of Atlanta, GA was the Day 1 course instructor. This was their Defensive Handgun Fundamentals course. The goal of this (entry level) course is to teach students different scenarios in which a handgun would be used in a defensive situation, whether concealed, or open carried. Lead Instructor Aaron Cowan advised the students to wear their usual carry rig and run that throughout the day. I carried open, since that's the most likely way I'd carry at home. The class size was just about 15 or so people, with a third being LEO. Aaron explained that this is about the maximum size he’d like to see with a class, so that all students could get sufficient attention.

Aaron began by explaining the reasons he teaches the way he does; a lot is focused on physiology of the target and what will "stop" an attacker. He breaks it down into 3 different sections of the body: electrical, hydraulic and mechanical/structural. The brain is considered the electrical, heart/lungs hydraulic and pelvis the structural. His philosophy on shooting someone is to go for the "off switch", which is the brain. The priorities thereafter would be chest and pelvis (if need be).

When we got underway, he had everyone shoot a string of accurate fire at their target so he could assess the level of proficiency each student had with their pistol. Aaron discreetly advised each student what they needed to fix and be aware of with their stance/grip and groupings rather than shouting it out to the whole class. The entire session was like this; it was very casual and personal while not being embarrassed about skill level. He stated more than a couple of times that the drills he was having us do should be done at our own pace, and that a class like this is just providing information for the student to continue practicing on their own.

The crux of the course was teaching us how to draw and fight with our pistols in optimal, and sub-optimal positions. The entire time, we were told if we did not feel competent enough in our weapons handling skills that we could step off the line at any time (no one did). Drills we were taught were from standing, kneeling, and lots of transitioning from shooting from the ground to standing. The other thing he kept trying to instill in us was to “Get off the X”, which is a training scar we ALL have from shooting at static ranges. This was the other part of the course, to shoot while moving. We moved forward, backwards, laterally. The most challenging and fun part of the course was doing all that with a partner, who sometimes had the ability to shoot alongside you. Of course, the instructors also demonstrated what it would look like at full speed, and seeing a couple of tuned up guys like that shoot in parallel was an awe-inspiring sight.

Throughout the course, Aaron Cowan of Sage Dynamics instilled confidence in his students, as well as keeping the tone light-hearted and FUN. Aaron made careful and thoughtful explanations of why and how he was teaching, and encouraged questions and dialogue about his methodology. Both he and Paul van Dunk were approachable and never brushed anyone off at all, no matter how silly the question. Aaron even let me check out his EDC; a tricked out Zev Tech Glock 19 with an RMR mounted on top. I’d never actually handled a red-dot enabled pistol, and he was more than happy to let me see and dry-fire it. Safety was paramount, and though no one demonstrated unsafe handling, it was apparent that the instructors were watching for it and ensuring that everyone stayed safe. At the very end, Aaron had us qualify based on a set of drills, so that we’d all get a certificate of completion for the course. He explained that if any one actually got in a defensive shooting situation, this would allow him to testify in a quantifiable manner as to the abilities of the shooter.

All in all, taking a course like this being taught by Aaron Cowan while being assisted by another high level trainer like Paul van Dunk, was an incredible experience. There were no egos from either one of the instructors and that made a huge difference in opening the minds of the students. The overall tone of the class was informative, fun and lighthearted while being seriously educational. Despite the pouring rain for the first half of the day (we shot through the rain, because real world situations), everyone there had a great time. These two instructors seem like a couple of guys that you’d want to grab a drink with, and as a matter of fact they invited the entire class out to have dinner together afterwards. The next time Sage Dynamics comes up to NJ for a class, I’m taking it for sure.

 Note: I can’t provide firsthand experience of Day 2 of the course because I was not there, but it is the Pace Performance portion with Paul van Dunk was the lead instructor, and based on the course syllabus it seems like it is focused on technique, ie trigger control, sight picture etc. Based on how Paul shot in Day 1, I DEFINITELY have to find time to take his course. Watching his skilled technical draw stroke, combined with the speed and accuracy at which he hit the target speaks volumes about his ability as a teacher. Luckily, Pace Performance is based out of East Stroudsburg, PA, so the classes he holds here are more frequent.

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Sig226GuyNJ    128

Sig226GuyNJ
Posted

They're back in Hackettstown on June 13/14 with a carbine class.

 

https://www.facebook.com/sagedynamics#!/events/1565614493695313/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular&feed_story_type=17

 

For you non-facebookers, website is www.sagedynamics.org

Is this the same class both days? Or a two day course?

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