Train for reality, NOT for the 'gram 

I'll be honest- the first time I ever transitioned to a pistol in combat was an "oh shit" moment. We were clearing buildings in Baghdad, and I was first through the door. An arm came around the door with a knife in it (later learned it was a karambit) and yanked my support arm of my rifle, pulling me with it. I dropped the rifle and instinctively went with it, pulling my sidearm and unloading the whole mag into the guy. Ran him into the wall and half that mag was put into him with the barrel pushed deep into his chest. "Getting off the X" indeed. I still have that scar and it's a constant reminder that NOBODY is a "badass" until after the fight is over. I didn't even realize my arm was torn from inside the elbow to halfway down the forearm on the outside, until the medic took a look at me and said, "you're out. That's gonna keep bleeding." Fuckers had to drag me away from the fight cause I was so jacked up on adrenaline that I was refusing. 24 stitches and 2, maybe 3 weeks later I got back into it, still bandaged up. 2003. What a fucking year.

Mike, this is a really good reality check. I would really like to see you unwind some more gram influenced bad habits we may be developing. I have trained through transitions quite a bit but admittedly, almost always static.

You can tell he's the best of the best when he talks about how to instruct. Belief in more than one way, open forums, and sharing knowledge says more about who your learning from than anything. This is the type of guy to take info from.

I remember when I first started as a cook, I was always told "Fast is slow, slow is fast. Speed comes from being efficient and using your brain, not throwing more "energy" or "passion" into a task." It took time but instead of trying to get faster, I tried to make each slice even, uniform, and smooth. I experimented with tons of different holds of my knife as well as arm positioning. I discovered I had to cut differently depending upon how tall the table I was working on was but, key was not "wasting" energy by making unnecessary movements; using each muscle only as much as needed while doing my job accurately. Soon, my sliced onions, scallions, and other mise en place looked like they had been sliced by a machine but, I wasn't fast yet. That came with more time and practice. All I had to do was cut slow, and soon, I was able to slice so fast it made people nervous because they thought I was going to cut my finger off. I went from cutting myself once every few months, to maybe once a year, if that. Why? I had so much muscle memory that my fingers got stiffer if I picked up a knife in the other hand, readying themselves without me having to even think about it. Start slow, repeat and look for economy of motion, the speed will come with time. Better to do it perfectly each time even if it's a snail's pace at first. After a while, you'll be perfect even in a rush and it will be pure reflex.

Man.. As a marine vet, a young father and proud American, I can honestly say I’m very thankful for guys like Mike Glover. Keep ‘em coming and as always, stay alert and stay alive.

"Stay alert, stay alive." Thank you Mike! In the words of former Delta "Pat mac" "Mobility means survivability"

Great content as usual. If hard cover is not available to get behind, then movement is your cover. Anything that makes you harder to hit needs to be trained and incorporated. Not getting shot is the most important skill needed in a gunfight.

That last part about keeping everything open book, no secrets, letting people film your classes really goes to show the kind of person you are. That you care more about educating people than the rest of it. And that is why I love watching your stuff and hope to one day take your classes.

I think the first time I saw a video from Mike he was collaborating with an individual from another branch and discussing specific training they reach received; he said something along the lines of, "that's different than how we learned, I can see the benefits, let me try that." Instant subscribe. Have not been disappointed. Keep up the good work, boss.

Great video, Mike. When I was Infantry there were numerous times the training would just not make sense. The saying we all know is “train like you fight”. They’d say this mantra over and over but frequently the leadership would get in the way of that. The reload example Mike gave is one I heard frequently. They’d tell you not to take your eyes off the target then criticize your speed. When one of us would question this requirement we were told, “oh, don’t worry. On deployment you’ll do the real thing differently.” It was maddening. Why bother saying “train like you fight” if you’re not going to really do it? We were told “shoot, move & communicate” was our bread and butter but then most of our shooting was static flat range. I remember one of our medics got lit up for “unsafe behavior” when another soldier called cold and dropped down to one knee to reload. The medic posted up behind the soldier with his leg touching the soldiers back. Medic said, “covering” and engaged the target while the soldier finished his reload, called hot and engaged from the knee. That medic was immediately surrounded and they were screaming at him. All the joes, team leaders and squad leaders thought what he did was simply “training like we fight”. There are a lot of people that refuse to evolve their training unfortunately. That’s one reason I love this channel and want to attend the training courses offered.

when it comes to movement the imperative of "always be striving to improve your position" always applies

The lack of movement with drills shown on social media always confused me. If I’m in a gun battle and shit goes bad I’m not gonna just stand in the middle of nowhere and be an easy target. I think this would be very beneficial with dry fire.

"Don't be toxic, don't be a butthole!" Well said brother!! 👏

YES!!!! Reality-based training is best training. Excellent stuff brother.

I bought parts for my first AR at Ready Gunner while I was in college in Provo. One of the workers spent a solid hour helping me put it together for free. That place is awesome!

Love this. Me and my buddy load each other’s mags, for primary and secondary. Each with a different round count. So you never know when the bolt is going to lock and you can’t predict it. Then when it does we practice switching to secondary which also has an unknown amount of round. If it goes dry within the first 4 rounds we reload and give another 4 rounds. Adds a little stress while working on mechanics. I love this idea. Great video

"you dont want to witness your own death...!" This is a good advise never thought about it that way, I will remember this one!

This guy is very good! I was just at the range today, I'm learning. This is like learning martial arts; practice practice practice, and don't skip steps😎

This video changed the whole game. Everything is taught standing there, but how proficient are we while moving at a relatively quick pace, perhaps out of breath, or running? Lateral movement will be added to my households drills. Yep, whole family is up in here learning. Thank you sir….

Thanks for teaching. Fantastic!

I always appreciate your honest opinions and this is my number one reason for always visiting FieldCraft's channel. Good stuff!

Thank you for this! Your thoughts on tactics and skills and practical applications are so helpful and easy to implement in my own training

Thank you for this keep ‘em coming!

Good training Mike! Keep it coming

I love the no nonsense tactics training brother. Thank you so much for what you do!

You humbleness is something to strive for, Mike. Thank you!

This was excellent. Thank you.

Absolutely LOVE this channel

I love the fact that any technique you pass along to us you always go from crawl, to walk, to run. I've picked so much up juat from watching and emulating from slow and deliberate to almost 2nd nature. Always well done

The glancing at my gun during a reload. I always thought it was a bad habit I formed but it always seemed to be more efficient. Thanks Mike for another amazing video for the rest of us.

Thanks for the hard work. Keep it up.

Thank you for taking the time to teach me about technical training in tactical situations!

Thank you for sharing, I’m so happy to learn from the best 💪🏻🙏🏻. Long life to you warrior

Great content from a real world and practical point of view. Not flashy just doing it the right way.

Yes sir!!! Love it! Thank you much

Awesome message and info. Thanks for doing what you do

Missed you at Freedom Days Mike. On the pistol reload, I was taught the benefit of keeping your eyes down range with your pistol in front of your face was so the bad guy didn’t have a chance to hide and you had faster target acquisition after reload. Focus down range but see the mag well in your peripheral. Get off the “X” though. I can still here Pete Chomic yelling “MOOOOVE!!!!” while chucking frag sims.

I love it how Mike tells you what the real world will bring. I train with a certain mindset and try to be as realistic as possible. You will not be comfortable in real combat, train accordingly.

Good content as always! Great job!

Thanks Mike , doin great work

Mike, as usual, great content in the video. As a person that was in the big army discharged before the 1st GW, but became a cop in 1988 and finally retired after almost 26 years, I love watching you and a few others videos because you dissiminate useful tacticas and information w/o the ego and I really like that the ego is not so big that you train with other groups with different ideas and techniques. I really do like watching your videos and theirs.

Thank you so much... I'm a firearms instructor myself and so many times I see guys doing transitions just standing there like an open target not moving off of the X at all. Love the channel keep it up. Very informative

Thank you Mike!! Always great!

Love what you guys are doing, and you couldn't be more right about tactics evolving!! Hell I just think back to how much even the "basics" have changed since 2004 when I was on my first tour, and it's amazing the equipment and tactics changes up until now! Never stop learning!!

We used to practice transitioning from all kinds of positions. Being a boat unit guy, we could get into a lot of trouble if things go sideways. Great video and information 👊🏼

True sh!t. Good video man. Train, learn, practice, just like anything else you want to get better at. If the moment arises you'll be as good as your training.

Thank you for the video.

Great continued information! Thanks Mike!

Outstanding video sir. Anyone can learn quickly, efficiently, and effectively, by watching your training. Felt like I was back in Iraq getting training from the ODA. It's about WINNING and finding the most efficient way to accomplish it, not about right, wrong, or opinions. If the tactics change, you change or you die. I was giving PMIs as an E-3 and the ODA team sat in on one. The weapon specialist said he learned something about the 240B he didn't know and wanted me to show him again (after the instruction). He had the same mentality as you. I had information he didn't and he wanted to know what I was talking about. He didn't dismiss me because I was an E-3 and he was a MSG and he was watching some boring PMI he's seen a million times, he was receptive to different information available and was focused on learning anything he could. Awesome soldier, just like you sir.

Right on Mike. Always common sense info from you and your company. This is exactly how we taught as operators on our SWAT team. I don’t understand why we have instructors teaching that movement is not necessary or effective. Keep up the good work.

Love it man! Thanks and we totally agree.

Amen, thank you very much for the insight.

I love these tutorials. I think they are great for already being in the action. Id love to see more readiness trainings... tips or procedures to practice so you can enter the action if need be like starting from your car. Whenever we see these tutorials its always you already have your full kit on, you already have your weapon slung and your pistol in an external holster like your outside patrolling something or your on the streets in a sh1t hits the fan scenario. Id love to see more tips and tricks for the start of the actions where you have to acquire your gear from wherever you have it stored or different steps or priorities to make sure of first and then take up position into the fight zone say if there is a shooting in the streets and your in your car and you aren't the prime target, or if you hear someone kicking your door in and they haven't yet breached yet and you have a few moments. Obviously the step is to acquire your gear and ensure you enter the fight zone from as safe of a position as you can get but im wondering if there's any extra info or tips you can add to this base knowledge.

Great Peace's of information shared here! Lots of good self control. Shout-out to Big Mike!

Thanks, Mike!

I appreciate your trainers, your company and you. Please, dear God, keep making everything accessible to us. I have loved every second of training I've received over the last few months. Headed to one again tomorrow!

Mike I'm glad you did this video. It brings me back to an issue I have and have always had with law enforcement qualifications. No matter what qual test you take, most are taking the FBI test, they are all done static. I don't know how many sheriff's or police chiefs I have tried to explain the simple concept that if you're being shot at, unless you're an idiot, you're not going to be standing still in the wide open.

Thank you Brother!

Thanks for the knowledge man

I agree on the transition. My agency recently started teaching using the support hand to lower the rifle while rotating it over and to the side. I was left thinking that’s a lot of work when my sling will hold my rifle to the side.

You and your entire team are amazing. Onto in my agency and sphere of influence try to be a conduit in the transfer of knowledge. I hoard nothing!

Love the guidance bro.

Thanks for caring Mike!!!

I Love that I already do what he just showed us to do, Naturally on my own when training. Makes me think I'm on the right track and Mindset

Moving while transitioning is vital in training. However using a thigh rig is much less effective due to leg movement. Having a low ride holster on your belt is far more quicker and accurate while engaged. Just something to think about...

A friend once told me this “there is never ‘the’ way but rather ‘a’ way.” Always good to see other perspectives and be open to growth. Thanks for sharing!

I really love this block of instruction. Thanks for sharing your years in special operations.

Introducing movement and or cover is key I believe, then when you have time fix a malfunction or preform a reload

I just graduated from army infantry. Man I’ve been following for a long time. Your videos are always very educational. 🙏🙏

Mike, absolutely love your instruction! Learned so much from this video. Thank you! Can’t wait to practice at the range!

I've learned so much from watching your channel and I absolutely love it thanks for doing these videos please keep it up

This is why I like to take bits and pieces from everything I've watched or have had taught to me. It's like building a mental tool box. Just adding more tools and when I need said tool I have it.

100% correct according to the instruction I have received over 26 years in the military as well.

This is a really solid video! Especially the end.

Simply the best. Thank you for sharing.

Great information! A dry fire practice routine video would be helpful to those who are financially restricted from a lot of live fire range training. Keep up the great content. Thanks

You, GBRS, land Pat Mac have the best in business weapons manipulation & techniques. Many mini differences between the 3 but like Mike says you have to do what works for you. Also, this is not knowledge you are giving us. It’s wisdom. Cheers mates! Great video. Great breakdown as always, thanks.

Thanks for everything you’re doing Mike. You’re a hardcore dude and we’re lucky that you’re so open with us. Hope to see Fieldcraft Survival come out to Wisconsin sometime in the near future.

EXCELLENT, as always.

Remember - switching to your pistol is always faster than reloading.

Good stuff. It does seem to help me to do the slow motion routine a few times before speeding up and pushing for efficiency of movement. I started doing it as the standard "warmup" so to say.

Great mindset, sharing knowledge with a open mind, and growing as a community, is the right way to go, unfortunately we do not see enough of that. 👏👏👏

Great food for thought. Love the training video.

I wish Field Craft would come to Wisconsin! Idk where to go to get proper training here but I imagine there's some good folks here. Any you would recommend Mike?! Thank you for all your company and you do too!

The sighs at 6:31 sent chills down my spine. Wonder what was seen in the minds eye. Thanks for the education.

You're awesome! Thank you for the demonstration and information 😊

Great video Mike. I come to realize that it’s little details that can make a huge difference in critical moments.

It’s nice to see how there isn’t a super secret SOF way of doing things. Learned the same things on the conventional side. Keep spreading truth and quality content Mike.

Agree about the reloading. A conversation I recall: "Keep your eye on the threat while reloading." Wait? If I can see my opponent during reload, doesn't that mean the opponent has a line of sight to shoot me? Would that not be a problem in a pistol fight from few meters away?

Thank-you for the gift in community and sharing

Thank you Mr Glover.

One question that came to my mind during that last "full speed" repetition: Is it necessary to flip that safety? I mean in life or death situation, should you care to do so and potentially loose that split of a second?

Thank you brother. This makes a lot of sense

Clear,precise and to the point. Cheers mike

Thanks for the video.

Thanks for posting Mike. Always appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge and expertise! Such good info.!

Thanks Mike!!

This makes perfect sense Mike, thank you.

I always learn something new from your content, your exceptional at your craft Mike. thanks for sharing your experiences

So much wisdom here..... keep it up my friend!