Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Ut-bay ot-nay oo-tay ight-bray...

Dear sir,

You are obviously a fantastic shot and have cojones the size of grapefruit. However, your demo tapes didn't show me anything at all about your skill as an instructor, which is the position we are trying to fill. Further, and to put this as gently as possible, your demo tape proved that your sense of judgment and risk management could be equaled by a rabid chihuahua.

Sincerely,
I. Piazza, DCM, FWCM, XYZ, PDQ, ETC



(H/T to Unc.)

53 comments:

  1. You can not fix stupid!!! A total disregard for safety!! Hire him? HELL NO!!!!

    walt

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  2. Sorry, that is just nuckin' futz.

    "Bad instructor! No biscuit for you!"

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  3. I couldn't understand a word he was saying. So, no, I wouldn't hire him.

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  4. I don't know who is stupider, the shooter or the "target."

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  5. (face palm)

    Does the human target get a discount on Depends?

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  6. I thought it was an execution .....

    ...who knows, maybe it was....

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  7. Wonder how many out-takes are buried in that berm?

    AT

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  8. AT wins the internets for today! :D

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  9. Makes me want to pour gasoline on all my shoot-me-vests and burn them

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  10. Yeah, when Four Weapons Combat Master Piazza looks at you and says "Dude, you're crazy!" that's pretty damning right there. ;)

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  11. Hold on folks, we are approaching the edge of the bell curve.

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  12. I think that's great as we take the training wheels off here at (deleted) (deleted) training. Got to get out of that safety bubble if your going to survive in the Real World.

    Love and kisses,

    Gabe and James

    wv - rocken, yep, dat's us!

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  13. As they say, "The hit dog yelps." ;)

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  14. ...which is a funny double entendre in one of those cases, come to think of it. ;)

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  15. I played it at work with no sound. Did he say anything about Big Boy Rules?

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  16. Mr Piazza said something about wanting that on his side during combat. Now, sadly I haven't served so maybe I don't know. But I'd guess that target ID would be a critical function in a combat sidekick and that video seems to me to indicate pretty spectacular failure in that dept. If you're sidekick is providing the badgun cover wouldn't you... I dunno maybe it was just to stupid for this much comment. MAN that was -stupid-. -BoydK

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  17. Hey, give the guy a chance. America's the land of second chances!

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  18. Fail as a firearms instructor but maybe good at running a pyramid scheme?;)

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  19. There was something about this guys resume that says he was a Trainer in South America. May I suggest he applies for a job training Hugo "Pugsley" Chavez's new People's Militia? Or maybe his Presidential Bodyguard?

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  20. That seems to be the norm for some of the LEO folks I met from Brazil.

    They had 1200+ police officers killed in the line of duty every year and killed over 20,000 "suspects".

    Madness.

    Gerry

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  21. I'm surprised he didn't shoot an apple off his helper's head.

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  22. I dunno, Tam. I think BobG at least ties the internets with AT :)

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  23. And even knowing what he was gonna do, I asked myself, "Is he...really...gonna..."

    He ain't gonna do it in any class I attend.

    WV=bouri. "When I have to bouri one of my 'no-shoot' targets, I don't use the video in my demo tapes."

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  24. Dude must not have been satisfied with the intensity of the training we gave him at the "School of the Julios"!
    Am sure the Zetas pay more than FrontSight anyway....

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  25. "Hey... can you help me pattern this shotgun?"

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  26. The guy standing in front of the target wasn't wearing any ear-pro until they gave him some.
    And then he wasn't wearing any eye-pro.

    Outrageous!

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  27. Well, one good thing - eliminates that pesky walk downrange to check your target. "How does that group look? Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle..."

    Al T.

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  28. This guy is a TERRIBLE shot. The dude is just standing there ten feet away and he can't seem to hit him!

    oh... wait... OH! That's dangermouse!

    s

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  29. I would hire neither the shooter nor the target for anything. Nor would I wish to have either within 100 miles of me for any purpose. Nothing good can come from associating with imbeciles.

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  30. Wow ... he scared the folks at Front Sight.

    Their Dianetically Clear minds lost sanity points to this tac-loon's video.

    Oh my. Even a blind squirrel can find this 20 ton radioactive acorn. Do Not Want!

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  31. My chihuahuas are offended.

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  32. I really don't understand this at all.

    I see no *purpose* in that downrange human that could not be served with another object designed for non-targeting.

    Why would they do that? What was the point?

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  33. "Why would they do that? What was the point?"

    Your guess is as good as mine.

    Roomie quipped "They don't value human life down there the same way we do, because they have a different currency, y'know." ;)

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  34. I'd love to see the blooper reel.

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  35. I only watched the first video... I'm trying to figure out... The guy had a shotgun pointed at his face... Yet he covered his BALLS.

    This ain't a free kick.

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  36. Just to be contrary ...

    Is what this guy did nearly as dangerous as climbing Mt Everest?
    How about skydiving? Or riding a motorcycle in Indy rush hour traffic without a helmet?

    Folks do risky stunts every minute of every day. I'd bet many of these commenters do as well. But add a gun to the mix and we go into hysterics.

    Is the guy an idiot? Quite possibly, but don't you think just maybe you're overreacting a bit?

    In the not too distant past, exhibition shooters regularly shot cigarettes out of their assistants' mouths. Hell, Annie Oakley did that trick with the ole Arch-duke.

    Personally, I'd rather act as a living "no shoot" target while Brigid's pulling the trigger than jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

    Mycroft

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  37. "AT wins the internets for today! :D"

    thankya...thankyaveramuch.

    But not having won an internets before (wuz robbed a few times though), I'm not familiar with the etiquette as to the prize.

    If it's not gauche to make a request, and in spite of - okay, because of - the occasional virtual dustup...it would be to be allowed the continued pleasure of the visits and the company here on the Porch; best entertainment and educational bang for the buck anywheres. Thanks, Tam.

    AT

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  38. AT,

    I must say that I agree, your comment says it all and definitely takes the prize for today.

    All I could muster after recovering from the stunned, mouth open, shock of it all was best handled by the text language of the modern generation:

    OMG! WTF!

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  39. I seem to recall that the SAS does something similar. Except it is during a dynamic building entry/hostage rescue, with an actual high value person as the stand-in hostage. (not absolutely positive about the value of the hostage)

    As Mycroft points out, some of us engage in high risk hobbies/adventures/professions.

    Turn #9 at Willow Springs Raceway is a blind apex. You have to commit to the turn before you can see the inside edge. Time it wrong, and the best outcome will be a motorcycle wadded up small enough to use as a coffee table. Plus, you approach this turn using turn #8, a long, sweeping curve that has the bike near maximum speed and/or lean angle. In '85, my speed in #8 was about 130mph, too fast for #9, which would be maybe 100mph. Both right hand corners. FUN!

    Most bike riders think racers are crazy. Most non-riders think street riders are crazy.

    Perception, skill, training, and attitude make all the difference.

    About 3% of the public here ride motorcycles. Less than 1% of that 3% race them. But then you have skydivers, spelunkers, ocean racers, dragracers, stunt pilots and racers, etc...
    Of course, some of these are the same people, but still, there is a measurable percentage of high risk-managing types in the world.

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  40. Um... what you said... and AT :-)

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  41. Mycroft,

    "Hell, Annie Oakley did that trick with the ole Arch-duke."

    I will point out that Li'l Miss Sure-Shot didn't use 00 Buck.

    And I don't think stupidity should be illegal, but I'll confess to an inner schadenfreude when it hurts.

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  42. I've been mulling this over for a day. Besides all the reasons to declare his stunt dangerous and stupid and reckless and whatever, there's just something about his start-then-hesitate-then-start-over-then-hesitate behavior that more than bothers me. It makes me wonder if he may not be as sure of himself as he wants to be.

    Also, the way he positions himself "jusy so" suggests that if he were to be moved a fraction of an inch - let alone a few feet - he could not adjust to make the shot.

    The top reason I would not want him in combat with me is because he takes forever to shoot.

    stay safe.

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  43. Should they hire him? How is that even a question? He should be arrested for reckless endangerment.

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  44. "He should be arrested for reckless endangerment."

    I'm not sure if that's a crime in Columbia or not.

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  45. The "high risk behavior" analogies are poor.

    People skydive or race bikes or play Russian roulette for the thrill. Standing downrange as a human target stand for the benefit of the shooter is completely different.

    I don't know jack about racing bikes, but the odds of suffering a serious accident while skydiving are actually extremely low. In contrast, the odds of suffering a serious accident while playing no-shoot for a shotgun demonstration aren't high enough IMHO...

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  46. The "shoot the cigarette" comment is correct, I suppose: People have done crazier things in exhibition. But:

    A: As Tam pointed out, precision shooting rarely involves shotguns.

    B: The guy's supposed to be a trainer, not Annie Oakley. So he's either an unconscionable show-off, or has very poor ideas about what constitutes good training, or (my choice) both.

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  47. @Will,

    Would you have an Expendable Assistant stand in the road at the apex of Turn 9 during hot laps so you could show off how skilled you are on Youtube? Didn't think so.

    Subjecting _oneself_ to a risky endeavour is one thing; pointlessly subjecting someone _else_ to stupid risk to score style points for yourself is another thing entirely, IMO.

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  48. Lost in the shock and awe over the vid itself is this:

    "I. Piazza, DCM, FWCM, XYZ, PDQ, ETC"

    Anybody else imagining that smarmy, condescending little cartoon character Iggy POP!'s reaction to that when he tracks back his links?

    That is some back-handed, razor-sharp, double-edged snark right there.

    Some may rent the internets for a day, but a few actually own it.

    AT

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  49. skidmark
    You make some good points. I was thinking it was due to him taking the time to make all those comments, but maybe it was the other way around, as you think.

    benEzra,
    I was looking at it like a race, which has more or less equal participants. Screw up or have a mechanical failure, and you can kill or maim someone. Launching an ounce of lead is minor compared to a 400 lb bike plus rider at speed.

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  50. Seems everyone refers to the downrange guy as an Expendable Assistant (funny!) or as a no-shoot. No one has called him what he is standing in for: Hostage.

    What the shooter is performing is a hostage rescue shot. SAS does it with subguns (and occasionally a live "hostage"), because that is what they normally use in a dynamic entry/hostage rescue.

    A shotgun with buckshot is not a first choice for anyone, I would imagine. But you use what you have to hand.

    How many of you own a shotgun, that you load with buckshot? Can you make this shot if you HAD TO? Been trained on how to do it? Granted, the odds of ever having to do this for real are pretty slim. But, there is a distance between slim and none.

    The main danger doing this is having a flyer pellet. You did pattern the gun with your ammo of choice, yes? Consistent? Bought all of it with the same lot number?

    I know, some of you will say, "I'll drop the shotgun and draw my handgun for the shot". Good luck with that! You are deciding to make the shot due to changing circumstances, usually. This is not a shot you WANT to take, no matter what gun you have in your hands. The change means you have run out of time, because you see the hostage is now out of time. You won't have time to switch weapons before the hostage, and/or you, are killed.

    Don't take this to mean that I approve of him using a living "no shoot". A balloon or three containing some talcum powder would do the job.

    Although it appears that he is muzzling his assistant with unloaded weapons, still not a proper thing to do.

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  51. Will,

    "Seems everyone refers to the downrange guy as an Expendable Assistant (funny!) or as a no-shoot. No one has called him what he is standing in for: Hostage."

    To be perfectly technical, that's what a No-Shoot is...

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