Defensive Decision Making

Description

The hardest part of a defensive encounter may not be shooting. It may be deciding what to do.

Defensive Decision Making is an approximately 4.5- to 6-hour classroom and force-on-force training course designed to develop better judgment, communication, threat recognition, and decision-making under pressure.

Students begin in the classroom by working through use-of-force considerations, situational awareness, de-escalation, positioning, communication, and post-incident response. The course then moves into controlled scenario-based training where students must apply those concepts against live role players in real time.

This is not a shooting competition, and the goal is not to “win” every scenario. Students will face situations where the appropriate response may be to communicate, create distance, disengage, call for help, draw a firearm, or use force. The purpose is to learn how to recognize those differences before facing them in the real world.

• Use-of-force and defensive decision-making concepts

• Threat recognition and pre-contact indicators

• Verbal communication and de-escalation

• Distance, positioning, and movement

• Shoot / no-shoot decision making

• Decision making with incomplete information

• Solo and selected partner scenarios

• Reassessment after a confrontation

• Calling 911 and communicating critical information

• Interaction with responding law enforcement

• Structured instructor debriefs after scenarios

Every student will participate in a minimum of three force-on-force scenarios.

Students use dedicated airsoft training pistols and protective equipment during scenarios. These training tools allow participants to experience movement, communication, opposition, consequences, and real-time decision making without the cost or logistical burden of traditional marking-cartridge systems.

There is no live-fire portion of this course.

Scenarios are controlled by instructors and role players and may change based on student decisions. Not every scenario is designed to end with force—and that is intentional.

Some of the most important lessons come from recognizing when not to draw the gun.

Length: Approximately 4.5–6 hours
Tuition: $200
Class Size: Maximum 15 students
Training Format: Classroom + Airsoft Force-on-Force
Live Fire: None
Prerequisite: Michigan CPL or documented equivalent concealed-carry training
Program Placement: Personal Defense Program · Phase 1 · Judgment

Students should bring:

• Long pants

• Long-sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, or similar layer

• Mechanix-style gloves

• Closed-toe footwear suitable for movement

• Water and snacks

• Clothing appropriate for the training environment

Sentry Concepts provides the training pistols, protective equipment, airsoft ammunition, and scenario equipment required for the course.

Real defensive encounters rarely unfold exactly the way we expect them to.

This class gives you an opportunity to make difficult decisions, experience the consequences, receive professional feedback, and learn from those decisions in a controlled training environment.

The goal is not to teach you to shoot faster. It is to help you make better decisions when the answer is not obvious.

Expectations and Outcomes

• Use-of-force and defensive decision-making concepts

• Threat recognition and pre-contact indicators

• Verbal communication and de-escalation

• Distance, positioning, and movement

• Shoot / no-shoot decision making

• Decision making with incomplete information

• Solo and selected partner scenarios

• Reassessment after a confrontation

• Calling 911 and communicating critical information

• Interaction with responding law enforcement

• Structured instructor debriefs after scenarios

Every student will participate in a minimum of three force-on-force scenarios.

Types

Advanced, Basic, Intermediate, Combatives / Less Lethal, Concealed Carry Training, Legal Aspects for Use of Force / Avoidance, Specialty Other

Requirements

Students should bring:

• Long pants

• Long-sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, or similar layer

• Mechanix-style gloves

• Closed-toe footwear suitable for movement

• Water and snacks

• Clothing appropriate for the training environment