Forum

I would like to find out from everybody how they do their training and what all they train on? Also, how does everybody do their physical training? Do you have anybody with that kind of background on your team or in your church? Or do you have to go outside the church for general instruction?

Hey Jack,

Right now, I'm training my team every other Saturday night after our Saturday night service Thu a 1/2 hour meeting. The training is based on your manual and related to our building security assessment *(that I made myself). Nobody is on the floor at all yet, except me. I want everyone to be on the same page and in the same mind set first.

As far as physical training, after the basic procedures are in place, I plan on showing "how to" video's on several holds and disarming, and practice these among the team members. After a while I hope on setting up a once every other month meeting with a martial arts instructor who is a part of our congregation, for more pointers??

I would love to have any feedback you can give me. Setting up training is the hardest part right now.

We recommend a method of training to our clients that has been used with great success.
Though we have used DVD’s in the past we don’t recommend them as a starting place. We actually are looking now towards giving away a set of DVD’s upon completion to be used as reference and to keep the team cohesive as new people are added. This may sound like a sales technique, but the truth is having been in martial arts for 35years and studied 12 styles with instructors, my opinion of DVD’s is this: you can gain information and insight from them, but when it comes to physical techniques you need someone present to say “No that’s wrong”. Again though we have and sell DVD’s and obviously believe they have their place, in our opinion they are a supplement and not main course.
You really should start with a weeklong that we recommend start from Friday evening to Friday because this normally gives us 2 -3 services with which to practice with team.
We use this schedule because Friday evening we give an overview and teach scriptural reasons for security, some basics on attitude, and understanding the role of security in ministry first, so that the head knockers and the concerned we do not advocate violence.
The rest of the evenings ( some places days are reserved for just 1 or 2 committed brothers who get off work and will be spearheading) we begin to cover the variety of subjects (we are about to discuss). We break it up into little helpings each night for several reasons: to keep people thinking focused, and to teach we must be multi dimensional and our job functions must interact. If we do shooting we recommend 10days rather than 8.
Now here is where you the leader comes in.
We recommend after you have done an intensive training that each month you.
1) Review briefly a scriptural teaching on security, and continually work on servitude mentality.
2) Do one role play that deals with dealing with difficult, confused, ignorant or violent person in a loving, helpful manner, to reinforce, regardless of what we are called upon to do; we will do so in love. This doesn’t have to be long, 3 -5 min.
3) Work through one self defense technique that you learned in the intense session, nothing new the first year; keep bringing them back to what they know to keep their skill building. Spend a good bit of time here.
a. The following month take this technique and before you review a new one as above, spend maybe 2mins reviewing last months.
b. When are done with training show them the technique you will review next month and have them practice till next month.
4) Work through one defense of a third party technique. Repeat a & b from 3(above) only do so with defense of third party techniques.
5) Take some time review any challenges that you have had in the last month, anything that you need to be on the lookout for etc… Maybe do an awareness drill, go over A policy, possibly some behavior cues.
6) Do a brief case study of some ministry related violence of something that has happened in the past. Have everyone do a one page report on their thoughts on what could have been done, what they think security may have been thinking, what was done right etc… (Review these also in the step above.) Have them turn it in 2 weeks after your training session (which should be about 2 weeks before your next training). This helps your guys to remember to be thinking security consistently.
7) We always open and close in prayer.
Doing this normally takes between an 1 ½ hours to 2 hours each month. It keeps things fresh in people’s minds and keeps up a brisk pace in the meeting. Even if you have a DVD, I suggest you review it then teach it yourself, not show the DVD. This breeds loyalty to you, enforces your leadership, and helps you reduce people renegadeing on you.

If you going to introduce something brand new, do it at most once every six months, or once a year. You want quality not quantity, and to be honest unless people truly review and practice at home with frequency, if you show them a technique that they learned 6 months ago, it will almost be like the have never seen it or done it.
If you going to have in martial artist come in and teach a couple of things to remember.
a. Most arts are not taught as true practical self defense. Of the 12 arts I studied only 2 are truly applicable to the street in and of themselves (even though they are commonly taught as self defense in the US), 2 more work on the street if I combine what I know from several of the others. (We highly recommend Israeli IKMF Krav Maga)
b. Many pain compliance techniques will not work once adrenalin starts pumping. Such as pressure points in real fights where people are amped up. Though it is good to have knowledge of them to keep honest people honest.
c. You must learn escort techniques.
d. Remember many martial arts teachers don’t actually know how to fight, especially people outside their art.
e. Get someone who is geared away from the art side, and more to realistic self defense side.
Finally I will just say this about shooting. If you are going to have shooter in your congregation whether police or civilian they should train/qualify at least ½ a day every month. It should not be static target shooting. Make sure you have them: displace, induce HEAVY physical stress, have time induced stress, be able to shoot without using sites, know their own personal limit of when they MUST use sights, asses after action and allow no less than a 95% failure rate.
So just some thoughts and opinions, but we have been in the business a long time found a lot of this works very well for us and those we teach.