Leaderboard

They are awesome...I know Steve still does special back stage packages which are totally worth it if you are a fan. He's a super nice guy. Below is a pic of me holding Evo before it was retired... Uli Jon Roth is playing with Vinnie Moore that night too. Not too shabby,

That's awesome, Alex is great. My bucket list is about to be checked as well. I met Steve Vai in the mid 2000's and got to see him play up close and personal. A few years later I had front row to Joe Satriani in a small theater venue (in Columbus actually, I forget the name) thanks to a friend of a friend who was a promoter. Didn't get to meet him though. Just a few weeks ago, I got to see Tony MacAlpine in a very small club in MI and meet him. The pic was taken with my iPhone...I was RIGHT THERE. Now in Feb, Vinnie Moore is going to be at that same club and I got tickets already. That will round out all of my favorite guitarists (wouldn't mind meeting Eric Johnson or Jason Petrucci either). p.s. if you're interested in seeing Vinnie, let me know...maybe we can hook up at the show. Here's a slo-mo vid I took too...

Just in from the Counter Ambush Class with Brian and Jason and Valkrie Defense Group and I am going to try to get a decent start on a review down before I crash for the night. I know Craig is going to join in and probably some other's, but here goes. First thing we did was a class session, simply covering the more advanced "basics", things like guns, ammo, holsters, but then we took it further. We discussed proximity to a threat, closing speed/distance, alternative deterrents, and everything under the sun. What we did not cover are things you should truly already know taking a more advanced course. Things like don't point a gun at someone, never look down a barrel to see if the gun is loaded, that kind of stuff that should have been covered in a GOOD CHL class. If it wasn't, use common sense or take a basic class with Valkryie and start fresh. I know the CHL class I took in 04 was awful, not because they didn't care, but it was super new to Ohio and we didn't do anything more than the very basic. So a good base is something that is good to have for this class. OR at least common sense/an IQ greater than 10. The class was about 90 minutes, nothing too long, and not boring at all because there was a ton of great knowledge being talked about. Then we hit the range. I really hope the boy scout reserve works out because the range is awesome. Bench's and tables for you gear, a huge back stop, tons of space, and really quiet back there. I will not be divulging what was taught in the class exactly because this is a business and these concepts are part of ICE, so I will keep this very basic. Let's start by saying you may or may not have bad habits, if you shoot a gun, you do, even if you don't think so. For me, within the 1st magazine an assistant instructor had helped me with my grip a little, which was also reviewed at the end of the class. At the same time, it wasn't like being picked on, or called out, it was fun, constructive criticism so even people who are soft will be fine. We had 2 main instructors and 2 assistants, all 4 of them were very helpful, knowledgeable, and willing to go the extra mile. Heck I was shooting my shield with 7/8 rd mags and one loaded my mags so I could shoot more. May have been due to class size too, but super legit. We were able to shoot while adding new aspects and things to think about constantly, building blocks to consider and add together in the end. It was non stop, adding something, practice, repeat, add something, practice, repeat, etc. By the time the class was winding down, several of us actually saw how tired each other looked. Not so much physically but mentally, really concentrating and putting it all together. Using those building blocks to build our skill set to be the best concealed carrying citizen we can. The skills we built on are all ones for real life, no crawling through the mud, no jumping over barb wire, these were thinking skills, analyzing, and engaging. Not just shooting paper targets like at the range but using analetical thinking to decide which target to shoot, which way to move or adjust, reloading, everything. A lot of what was covered are not things you can do at the indoor ranges locally, and the only way to get a chance is a class like this, then taking away the concepts and practicing. I know Eric and myself already said we would be shooting together as much as we can so we can continue to build on these concepts, but we also plan to take more classes with Brian and Jason, and continue to grow our skill set. I have watched probably 100 videos on classes on youtube and read tons of websites but until you do it in real life it only helps so much. And for what these guys charge and their location to all of us makes this a no brainer. I do not see any reason someone who carries would not take this class if they can. If not now, save for a month or two and plan to take it ASAP. I know i have more but I need to unwind a bit and debrief mentally. I am sure more will chime in but for now that is it. Awesome job by the instructors.

Many of you know I'm a practicing metal musician. Nothing professional by any means of the word, but had my share of limelight over the last 20 years. I'd wager most every musician has a shortlist of inspirational talent that drew them into the instruments they love/learned to play. Well last night I not only met, but got to sit and hang with one of the few players that originally inspired me to play guitar way back when. Anyone even semi-fluent in 80's/90's metal will know of a band called Testament, and their original lead guitarist Alex Skolnick. If you're not into the metal scene, then he'd be known more commercially as the guitarist for Transiberian Orchestra over the last 9 years, as well as other independent projects in acoustic guitar works. He was in Dayton these past few days putting on guitar clinics at the University of Dayton, but I sadly missed out on those sessions. BUT a fellow bandmate of mine ( Neil Hixson ), who's also the club owner of Oddbody's Music Room, hosted a local metal show last night where Alex would make an appearance and join in on a metal-fan-favorite rendition of Black Sabbath's War Pigs with Dayton area band Engine of Chaos. After the show was done and the club closed up for the night is when the best part happened, some after-show personal time with Alex and his crew. We all sat at the bar and had some drinks on the house as Neil and I revelled in our company and shared music scene conversation for more than an hour. It will be a night we'll never forget, and being exposed to Alex on a more personal level was truly interesting. Neil has been a good friend for over 20 years, and a bandmate for 15. His corporate contacts and business sense has allowed me to meet quite a few of my mentors over the years, and last night was definitely a huge, cap worthy feather for me. I'm surely indebted to him for enabling me to meet a lot of my favorites in the music industry. Pics to follow...

If Romney would have been elected he would have been heralded as the savior of the country by the right radio, tv and bloggers with those exact same statistics. I can hear it now how he fixed the democrats mess. Sigh.

Nesting material. Light Steel wool if you must.

I hope it helps put things in perspective. Our understanding of behaviors and Human psychology need to be "trained" just as any other skill and is just as important as anything we do on the range. You need to plan on taking the Mag20 class with us next year. Life changing. All of you that are really serious about this lifestyle should. http://massadayoobgroup.com/mag-20-classroom/

Good to hear everyone was pleased with the course. Id love to have you all back again for another class. We will have the next level offering ready to roll by spring.

I will say that Chris and myself were very pleased with the class. We both thought it might end up being an over the top tactical class with people in vests and shit. We have both shot idpa style at his place and tried to practice some sort of real life stuff, nothing even comes close to taking a class focused on this. It was very well ran with ample jokes to keep people from getting up tight. I mean Hell there was even a super trooper reference at my expense. Yes we all messed up a drill at some point, laughed about it and tried to fix it next time. The mental games were great to really mix things up. I faired ok, not to tired but I can definitely tell I had to think. My head feels about like when I had to take my fe exam. One thing I will say is please take a firearm that you are familiar with. I put a new trigger in mine and hasn't shot it since, so I got the pleasure of figuring that out and learning drills. Also, make sure you load the firearm for the last drill so you don't unholster and hear a click. I offered to lay down and play dead. Bring extra mags, the site says 2 but 3-4 would be better especially if yours only holds 8-10 round. I will say that your life is worth the $100 for the class and you will be better prepared for life after. I can't wait until next spring/summer to take this again as I guarantee I missed or will forget information.

Critical thinking with a gun....Am I right?

Haha hahaha! I won't lie, I fell asleep in the shower when I got home. Everyone thinks the instructing part is the easy part. Over the next two weeks you will have stuff flooding back into your head. Something with be said or you will read something that will make the mind use the mental Rolodex and you will remember something you didn't remember at first. Let me know how your sleep habits are affected. If I did my job properly you should see a difference.

Uh consider this shit done. I had 2 people already coming before I got back to my actual house. My wife and BIL and/or MIL are all in. They all have CHL's and I couldn't stop talking about it when I got to my inlaws house. It's exactly what the females need to get more comfortable, BIL is pretty experienced but he needs real training, not just plinking. But I would also absolutely pay the cost again to get that class again. And like I said, if you guys want to run the CAC2 class early spring for a trial session I know Eric, Craig, and myself are in, paying normal cost etc but can be used and abused. I like it ruff, Craig not so much. Eric is quiet and you gotta be super gentle with him lol. I am borderline retarded right now and exhausted. Freaking awesome class, Going to do a full write up in a new thread.

Absolutely start a new threa if you think it is worthy! We love the feed back. I also forgot to tell you guys at the end of the day about our returning student deal. If you want to come back to a class you already have a cert from you can return for free if you bring two friends. We have had guys who have been to this class three times now. They love it.

Be happy about your beard. also taken while shitting.

It's funny you mention that awhile back a friend of mine and I were discussing the upcoming H2 release. When i told him the rumored price for the H2 was around $30k. My friend who had been looking at adding a Harley to his garage said that's a lot for a bike. I pointed out that was similar to the price he is looking at paying for the Harleys he wants. He said "Yeah but look how much more you get for your money". Then we got into a debate on what's important on a bike (performance vs. Comfort). He'd rather pay big bucks to have a two wheeled car with a trunk and cruise control and i'd rather pay big bucks for a two wheeled rocket.

winter time is when you tear the bike apart to add goodies

Alcohol won't solve all your problems. But neither will milk

I've heard some inspiring music this past week. Better drag a guitar out and relearn how to play.

Yes you can. The other person can receive your texts(you just can't see them).