Lethal Force Institute – LFI 1

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After Action.net sat in on the first of five days of the LFI-I course, taught by Massad Ayoob at the Phoenix Rod and Gun Club in southwest Phoenix, Arizona, in April 2009.

Course overview

  • School: Lethal Force Institute (LFI), directed by Massad Ayoob
  • Course: LFI-I, Judicious Use of Deadly Force
  • Length: 40 hours over five days, about 40 percent live fire
  • Location: Phoenix Rod and Gun Club, where LFI had held its Arizona classes for many years
  • Class size: 14 students

What the course covers

  • When a citizen can and cannot use a gun in self defense, plus prevention, intervention and aftermath management.
  • Home defense and street tactics, taking a suspect at gunpoint, and selecting guns, ammunition and holsters.
  • Psychological preparation for violent encounters and justifying your actions in court.
  • Graduation requires passing both a written test and a shooting test.

Day one

  • Morning: introductions, range rules, the week’s schedule and safety, then about four hours of lecture. Ayoob explained the elements of his StressFire technique, with simple exercises showing why it developed the way it did. Video segments added consistent illustration of drills and techniques.
  • No lunch hour: students ate during a video segment, so instruction continued through midday.
  • Afternoon: the class moved to the range for evaluation, practice drills and hands-on work with the morning’s techniques. The range was big enough to put the whole class on the line at once.
  • Homework: reading and dry fire practice at the end of the day.

Observations

  • Ayoob’s depth of knowledge makes serious material easy to absorb, and his humor keeps a long day moving.
  • The range assistants had all worked with him many times, and most were graduates of advanced courses and national-level competitors. Safety and one-on-one coaching were constant.
  • Although CCW classes are rarely marksmanship classes, LFI-I has real accuracy standards.
  • Note taking is a big part of the course. Bring a pen that works on the range as well as at the table.

Takeaways

  • LFI-I goes well beyond typical state CCW requirements and offers more range time than most two-day shooting schools.
  • It may be the best single course for the armed citizen who wants to be ready both on the street and in the courtroom.
  • Ayoob later taught through the Massad Ayoob Group; see MAG-40.

Originally published on After Action.net on April 11, 2009. Rebuilt from the archived report; the original photos were not preserved. See every class in the Training Log, or share your own training experience.

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