PW_4_2023

Professional Development

Gimborn Street Survival Training 2023 Andy Marshal , Damon Blackman and Lee Grieves all attended this year’s popular Street Survival course at Gimborn. Andy Marshal: If you haven’t been to Gimborn before… Get on the website and pick a course now, you won’t regret it! For me the Gimborn experience encapsulates everything that’s great about the IPA. This was my second time on the street survival course run by the Defensive Tactics SIG, I can’t recommend it enough, especially for those who are public facing. The course had 30 attendees, three from the UK, with others from Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Cyprus. I ’m not into martial arts , and don’t look forward to the annual defence training at work. This seminar introduces you to

The training centred around the DTG; Explosive Self Defence System. In my time as a Police Officer, our primary strike has been the heel palm strike. I’ve always been anti this technique, thinking “show me a real fighter that uses this technique.” I am happy to admit when I’m wrong. ESDS fixes the major problems with our usual strike. We usually train by holding a pad in front of the torso, and strike it with open palms. We tend to strike at the chest, which is not very effective. ESDS uses the head as a target. The system goes further, but I will leave that for you to discover when you sign up for Street Survival 2024. The Stop the bleed lesson simulated the stress involved in dealing with catastrophic bleeding. Most training simply teaches you to put a tourniquet on, this had more in common with Public Order Medic training. Our heart rates were elevated through exercise, then performing casualty evacuation and tourniquet application. Some fake blood made the training all the more immersive. The Point Shooting session focused on an instinctive tactic developed in WWII by the Special Operations Executive. Although I was one of the few Officers on the course who is not routinely armed, I saw potential cross over into the TASER world. It was also good fun! We were then introduced to the Chiron suit, that allowed us to strike at full power. This was a serious bit of kit; reactive foam which hardens when struck, covered with carbon fibre plating. The suit quickly made me realise how much we hold back when striking a FIST suit, and how that would translate into reality. Training aside, one of my favourite elements of the course was the networking and socialising. Listening to each other’s stories made me realise that Policing really does transcend borders. It’s the same kind of people doing their best for their communities, in the face of politics, budget problems, equipment issues, and legislative peculiarities.

the explosive self defence system. I especially liked how we didn’t do lots of complicated techniques, as like most, I suffer from skill fade in techniques not used regularly. We regularly changed partners, which broke the ice and gave us opportunity to meet everyone. I’ve suffered too many ‘death by PowerPoint’ lessons, but this was nothing like that. The explosive self-defensive system initially looked complicated, but the trainers build it up in stages, and by the end of the week everyone was confident and proficient. We also covered active threat training, showing us how to deal with an armed assailant. Another highlight was an afternoon focused on point shooting. Using airsoft pistols. The technique was developed from years of research into police shootings, and showed us how to use natural instincts to accurately and quickly shoot while moving. The last day featured a set of fast paced scenarios calling upon everything we had learned; I think everyone agreed this was a highlight of the week, and certainly demonstrated how much we had learnt. Damon Blackman: I’ve been a Response Officer in the Met for 20 years. For me, defensive tactics and medical skills are critical elements of our job, which is why I became a Public Order Medic and an Officer Safety Instructor. I crunched some numbers. I considered; the IPA bursary, the cost of the course (including food and accommodation), and cost of the flight. Once I had balanced all of this, the costs were pretty much covered. All that was left was to convince my wife of the professional benefits of leaving her at home with our four children. Gimborn is a quaint village, in the middle of nowhere. it’s an alternate reality, where everyone is a cop! It’s a stark contrast to the cities that many of us work in. Most of our training was nestled between the castle, lake and forested hillside.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 68 No.4, 2023