The Leading Security Service Provider In The Southwestern United States
Article
The Firearms Instructor
Issue #45
Israeli Firearms Methodologies
Can Help American Cops Survive Shootings
by Robb Hamic
Download PDF Version
"Do I want to die?" This is a question that more police officers are asking themselves in the United States. 
The FBI reports that 57 police officers died in the line of duty in 2007. Two officers died by their own gun and sixteen were violently ambushed. The offender profile was a 30-year-old male (only male offenders) 5' 10" and 175 pounds with a prior criminal record. One half of the shootings occurred in the Southern Part of the U.S. In the last ten years over half of the shootings occurred at 0-5 feet and another third at 6-10 feet. Offenders injured 15,704 cops in 2006. Are you ready for the violence that is coming your way?
Israelis know crime, violence and death. Their police and military have fought terrorists on a daily basis since 1948 and they are confronted with firearms more than their U.S. counterparts. I have learned the evolution of all Israeli martial arts and combatitives, HaganaH, from its founder Mike Lee Kanaerek. Mr. Kanaerek is a former Israeli IDF Special Forces commando, Black Belt Hall of Fame member and trainer to most of the elite units of the military, federal law enforcement and tactical teams from across the country. I am a certified instructor in Israeli Combat Shooting (ICS), F.I.G.H.T. hand-to-hand tactics, Ground Survival and Israeli Tactical Knife Fighting. I am a first generation instructor and have learned everything from Mr. Kanaerek personally.
I was certified to teach traditional methods to law enforcement and military prior to being indoctrinated to the Israeli way of fighting but I now teach ICS because it works. It is a totally different approach for officers to respond to deadly encounters and it is completely adaptable for civilian self-defense use.
ICS has a familiar foundation of muscle memory, instinct and reliability that is easy to teach to new recruits and veteran officers. ICS saves time and allows the shooter not to even look at gun sights because; in fact over half of all shootings happen at less than six feet. No sights are required when you can almost touch the offender.
"The first person to deliver incapacitating shots is the one who wins the gunfight."
Firearms instructors often refer to "point shooting" and I think that there is a big misconception to its meaning. Israeli point shooting means simply to have the shooter point his finger at the intended target as it is strait across the frame of the gun. That's it. You hit what you point at and you have been pointing to get what you want since you were a baby. It is ingrained into your subconscious memory and your instinct can't be re-programmed.
There are differences in the Israeli system when compared to U.S. law enforcement or military training. Israelis don't carry their gun with a round in the chamber because an officer's gun can be taken in a fight and used against him. Perpetrators don't usually know much about guns and will simply pull the trigger if the weapon is stolen in a fight. Nothing happens and this time can be the difference between life and death in a violent encounter. Israelis are good with their hands and receive training on how to get the gun back. Israelis deploy rounds only to the head. No body shots. Training instills confidence in shooters and reliability under stress.
ICS training is rooted in stress. Instructors build the training in stages of dry practice by the numbers, self-initiated dry practice, shooting drills with one round, three rounds and finally stress drills that involve pushing and hitting the shooter while he deploys rounds to the target. It is certainly unconventional by U.S. standards but I have witnessed it working again and again with new recruits that have no experience. Shooters need to be desensitized to stress, pain and violence in their training. This can only happen through stress, pain and violence in training. We have all heard the saying "you fight like you train." It is our duty as instructors to bring this level of training to our officers for their survival.
ICS is a fluid movement that involves drawing the handgun while the shooter is moving into his stance, chambering a round while the gun is pushed out, grasped and fired. After a five-hour class, shooters will be able to draw their gun, chamber a round and deploy three rounds accurately to the head within 1.1 seconds.
ICS Basics
The shooter makes a stable stance by stepping to the off-hand side with that leg only. The off-hand foot is positioned one half a step ahead of the shooting leg. The shooter bends his knees somewhat and gets into a fighting stance. The gun is drawn simultaneously from the holster and brought to eye level in front of the shooter approximately two feet, parallel to the ground and canted 90 degrees (palm facing down). The off hand comes up and racks the gun with the thumb and index finger as the gun hand pushes forward and repositions the gun to a standard angle (rotating clockwise). The off-hand comes up to assume a strong grip and the shooter simultaneously places his finger on the trigger and deploys rounds to the head of the target. All head shots all the time.
This is a fundamental shooting system that is easy to teach and exciting to learn. It is great to teach to veteran cops who want to learn new techniques and is cutting edge in its effectiveness. It is perfect for law enforcement, military or civilian self- defense. This will be a multi-part series of articles, the next to feature the training drills and foundation to the technique. Other articles will include advanced applications, stress drills and gun disarms for the satiations when the officer needs to regain possession of his gun in the worst-case scenario. TFI
About the author:
Robb Hamic is the President and Founder of Summit Security & Investigation. Robb Hamic, former Sheriff's Deputy, Detective and Desert Storm U.S. Army Veteran, has been a member of IALEFI® since 2003. He is a Certified Law Enforcement Trainer (CLET) and is a state and nationally accredited firearms instructor for handgun, shotgun, rifle, patrol rifle and tactics. He is a Certified Instructor for the HaganaH FIGHT program, ICS, Israeli Tactical Knife Fighting and Ground Survival. He teaches all disciplines within the use of force continuum including Taser. Mr. Hamic will provide complementary training to U.S. military units and National Guard. Contact him for an appointment.
Robb Hamic
Summit Security & Investigation
2900 Quinlan Park Rd.
Suite 131, B-240
Austin, TX 78732
Office: 877.707.4300
Fax: 512.284.9499
Email: robb@callsummit.com
more published articles
more >>>
