Hi there! Here's the seminar review of the courses in Switzerland:
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DAY 1: Instructor Program
The seminar was held near Zurich, Switzerland on the 26 and 27 July 2008. We all met up in front of the training facilities eager to experience what Den had to share this time. Den and Simon where there already and after saying hello, the first exchanges of friendly “verbal abuse” occurred. We were set to start on time.
Den gave us a short overview on the Instructional Enhancement Program, in what context it was developed and what its goal is. The intro was followed by the presentations of the participants. The subjects included “Mindset”, “Pre-attack indicators”, “Effects of combat induced stress” and the “OODA Loop”.
[Matt presenting his module on the OODA Loop]After a short break with the guys discussing what they’d just heard in the presentations, Den explained the finer points of the Neural Based Instructor. “Training is about change – if nothing has changed after training, why bother?” This is where we had a closer look at the A-S-K principle with a very pragmatic and understandable approach to NLP.
After that Den showed us how to use a Mind-Map as an instrument for creating a lesson plan. It was amazing to see that a) some of our guys, contrary to popular belief, really do have a brain and b) how quickly a structured lesson could be designed using this method.
“Presentation Skills” was the next part. Quite a few guys had some experience with instructing, but what we heard during this module was more than an eye opener. We didn’t spend hours on things like” what is an overhead-projector” or “what’s the font size for a PowerPoint presentation”. Rather, we learnt methods how to get ourselves and the trainee into the right mental state, how to communicate adequately using NLP as well as creating a suitable training facility and handling “mismatchers”.
After this presentation the physical part of the day started. A short warm-up was followed by exercise “Red Mist”. I don’t want to spoil anything at this point, so all I’ll say is that once again, our old friends Breathlessness and Nausea were in it with us… Evil voices claim that one participant should have eaten his breakfast in the morning, 'cause after Red Mist his facial colour was best described as "whitegreengray" due to low blood sugar…
We ended the day with Den giving us a debriefing on the exercise.
All the guys agreed: seminar-rating EXCELLENT!
DAY 2: Improvised and Expedient Weapons Training
Compared to the day before this course was to be mainly hands-on. We started off with a closer look at definitions and explanations so all the guys would be speaking the same language.
After discussing the selection factors we worked through a pretty extensive list of improvised weapons. It was interesting to see some daily objects that could easily be used to cut, stab and smash. The most exotic weapon was probably…well how should I say…"droppings" (I think you need a permit to carry that openly in Switzerland…).
In the gym we first examined an array of torches, Kobutans, and other items: from "discreet and legal" to "unusable but illegal". A lot of the more "tactical" stuff looks very mean and probably sells well but other than that you'll find cheaper items that won't get you into trouble if carrying them. SOE-Lifestyle!
The hands-on work comprised a lot of drills. We used the Kobutans, but as was said, any other similar object would do as well.
Finally, Den showed us some exercises how to build strength for Combatives and we discussed the use of the Kettlebell, which are very hard to get here.
We all were so grateful for all the "presents" Den had for us, coming from all over the world. So, thanks again everybody for your cherished contributions to the World of Pain.
We finished the course with everyone's body temperature being higher than normal but happy because this, as all the times before with Den, had been a great course!
Subject: Zurich July 2008 
Mon 11 Aug 2008, 21:27
