Erik Remmen"s Clip-It Class "To a man who only has a hammer, every problem looks like a nail". I use this quote in almost every class I teach - to emphasize the point that too many gun owners (and martial artists) base their self-defense plan and training around one particular set of skills. There are simply too many variables in Real Life to make any one method, technique, or tool the perfect response in all situations. That statement basically sums up the core philosophy behind the Clip-It class taught by Erik Remmen. Although it focuses on building self-defense skills with the Spyderco one-hand opening knives, it also incorporates elements of grappling, punching, kicking, shooting, and verbalizing. I"ve been an advocate of multi-layered self-defense training for awhile now, but this class puts it all together like no other class I"ve ever attended or heard of. Mr. Remmen is both an experienced martial artist and shooter, who teaches primarily in the Pacific Northwest through his karate school: Northwest Safari Group 9. His approach to instruction is very professional, and I was extremely impressed with his thorough approach to safety during the course. No live steel was used for training. We used factory-dulled Spyderco"s, rubber fixed-blade knives, and plastic guns for most of the drills, and we were provided mouthguards, eye protection, and protective Kevlar gloves for specific drills. On the second day we progressed to some live-fire and Simunition training, and again strict safety was observed. I attended both the Level I and II Clip-It courses, which were held at Weapons Safety, Inc, an excellent indoor range and training facility in Bellevue, Washington. Level I was entirely a classroom course, Level II involved classroom and range work. Each course lasted 11-12 hours, so if you attend be prepared to be worn out when it"s all over. Erik keeps things moving at a fast, but not rushed, pace and a high energy level. His own positive, friendly attitude spread to the class, and despite the fact that we were dealing with serious and graphic topics the classes were a lot of fun. The class is based around the Spyderco Delica, which is a $40 knife designed to be opened with one hand. The knife also has a clip which allows it to be easily accessible from a pants or shirt pocket. This style of knife has become very popular over the last few years, and Erik believes that the Delica has particular properties that make it an excellent self-defense tool. As his training manual states: "I don"t own any stock in Spyderco Knives, Inc. I simply believe they make the widest variety of high quality, tactically superior knives folding knives on the market today." These knives are particularly popular with IPSC shooters. I won one at a match about a year ago, and started carrying and using it. I was mostly using it as a utility knife, but I also began realizing that it had value as a self-defense tool. As I learned from the class, at close range a knife can be as swift and lethal as a firearm, and you don"t have to be a muscular, train-5-days-a-week martial artist to use it effectively. The first day started out with a safety lecture, and the issuing of drone Clip-Its and other equipment to each student. Erik emphasized the concept that use of force is always a last resort, and that other non-lethal options should be considered before using deadly force. The remainder of the course was to teach us techniques and mind-set to survive in those situations where no other options were available. We started out learning the basics of different ways to grip, open, and draw the knife. Part of Erik"s philosophy is that there is a significant tactical advantage to carrying 2 Clip-Its. For both days we trained with knives in both our left and right front pockets. Although the Spyderco company does not produce a left-handed model, Erik does sell a modified, left-hand Delica. We then progressed to a quick anatomy lesson, learning which targets are most vulnerable to knife attack. Different types of cuts were explained, and we practiced those cuts from forward and reverse, left and right hand grips. We progressed to one-on-one grappling drills in which we were required to draw and deploy a knife (whichever one we could reach) to break loose from an attacker at very close range. During these drills the utility of the left-hand knife became very apparent. Most of the students in the Clip-It I class also carried a firearm for self-defense. A large part of the curriculum deals with integrating martial arts and the Clip-It with the firearm, and in my opinion this aspect of the course is what makes it extremely relevant and unique. We drilled in various techniques for using the Clip-It to aid in weapon retention. The most useful thing we learned, however, was how to transition from grappling with an attacker to using the Spyderco to cut loose and gain distance from the attacker so that the firearm could be deployed. The transition drill is the one that would be emphasized during the live-fire and Simunition drills of the Level II class. After we began getting comfortable with the basic techniques, we were introduced to "Spike", Erik"s alter-ego. "Spike" is everyone"s worst nightmare: a powerful, violent attacker, impervious to pain, interested only in doing us permanent physical harm. We did many role-playing exercises in which we applied our basic techniques under the stress of simulated attacks. Again, while the role-playing was conducted at a high intensity level safety was always a primary concern. The role-playing included scenarios in which students would practice calling 911 for help and reacting to officers arriving on the scene. Although the Level I course is useful on its own, about half of the students continued on into the Level II class offered the following day. As it turned out, we had a distinguished group: 6 of the 8 students were either firearms or martial arts instructors, and everyone had prior training through Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, Insights, or IPSC competition. Several of us had traveled from out-of-state to attend the classes. The Level II class built on the foundation of the first, with more role-playing exercises, and more techniques for dealing with attackers armed with knives or other weapons. We drilled in Clip-It retention, since more people (including potential attackers) are aware of what that little clip sticking out of your pocket means. The final portion of the class is where we "put it all together" -- on the range. For the range portion Erik was assisted by Greg Hamilton, head of Insights training center in Seattle. Greg is also a Gunsite instructor and placed 4th at this year"s National Tactical Invitational. Using our actual carry guns and the drone Clip-Its we repeated the drills learned during the Level I class for transitioning from the knife to the handgun while moving away from the attacker. The very last portion of the class involved more role-playing, with an assistant of Erik"s playing the attacker. The student was armed with a revolver modified to only function with Code Eagle primer-powered paintballs. The Code Eagle paintballs have a muzzle velocity of 200 fps, rather than the 400 fps of the Simunitions. The drills were structured such that each student would be attacked by the assistant who would be armed with a plastic (nonfiring) Glock. The only person getting shot with the paintballs would be the assistant. Since he was going to be hit 50-100 times at very close range during all the drills, the assistant was carefully attired in padded clothing, groin protection, and a motorcycle helmet. Prior to starting the drills we set the helmet downrange and shot the face shield at close range with the 200 fps paintball to verify that it would withstand the impact without cracking. The helmet had also been modified with a neckguard. High-intensity force on force roleplay has the potential for serious injury; Erik"s attention to detail is the reason why he has never had anyone hurt during the Clip-It courses. The bottom line? Taking the class only reinforced my belief that anyone that depends on a firearm for self-protection needs to be trained in alternative force options. Too many people carry guns without ever taking their training beyond the standing-up, shooting-slow-at-targets zone. In the same way, most people who carry a knife have never had any type of training in how to use it in self-defense. I can take what I"ve learned in the Clip-It courses and incorporate several of the drills into my regular training (and I got a few good ideas for IPSC stages from them too). Like any good training course, it gives you a solid set of fundamentals which, with practice, can become part of your self-defense "toolbox". That way you"ve got more than a hammer on your side when trouble comes -- you"ll also have a knife. 11/6/96 Karl rehn@arlut.utexas.edu www.sss.org/krtraining For more information about the Clip-It courses: contact Erik Remmen Northwest Safari Group 9 PO Box 7172 Olympia WA 98507 USA 360-352-9571 Clip-It I is offered several times during the year, Clip-It II is only offered 1-2 times a year. Most classes are held in the Seattle area, although there may be a class in Oklahoma in 1997.