Awhile ago, I attended Manny Bragg’s Level I and Level II pistol courses, held at the Eastern Nebraska Gun Club. Each class had six students, and we all worked in the same large pistol bay. Each class was one-day, starting at 8am, breaking for lunch for about an hour, then going until about 6:30pm in each case.
Before I give a report on how the classes went, I should probably talk about Manny Bragg, in case you don’t know who he is. Here is an out-of-date bio, as he has added quite a number of championships to the list since it was originally written:
Emanuel (Manny) Bragg holds a USPSA Dual Grand Master classification, Open & Limited. Manny is a Chief Range officer and alumni of Universal Shooting Academy. Member of the World Champion USPSA Gold Team.
· High Overall 2006 Area 1 Championship
· High Overall 2006 Area 3 Championship
· High Overall 2006 Area 6 Championship
· High Overall 2006 Area 8 Championship
· 2005 USPSA Limited Point Series Champion
· 2nd Overall 2005 Limited Nationals
· 3rd Overall 2005 Limited-10 Nationals
· 4th Overall 2004 Limited Nationals
· 2nd Overall 2003 Factory Gun Nationals
· 2005 Texas State Limited Champion
· 7-Time USPSA Missouri State Champion
· 6-Time USPSA Area 3 Champion
· 3-time HOA Area 5 Championship
· 3-time HOA Iowa State Championship
· 3-time HOA Oklahoma State Championship
· 3-time HOA Arkansas Limited & Open Championship
· 2-Time HOA Kentucky State Championship
· 2004 HOA Indiana State Championship
In other words, he’s very, very good. One of the reasons he is very good is that he has actually taken the time to understand why certain techniques work. There are a number of shooters out there who shoot incredibly well---however, many don’t know why their technique works, just that it works for them. In Manny’s case, he and his shooting partners have taken the time to work several different versions of each technique, put them on the timer, and actually see what works best.
Not merely decide on a technique because they think it’ll work---but decide on it because they have range data that shows it is a superior technique.
Now, does this means their techniques will work for me? Not necessarily---Manny is a lot bigger than I am, and has much larger hands. However, his shooting partners are different sized (and at least one is smaller than I am) and all their data is put together. Even if that were not true, his analysis of techniques put him into a different category compared to many other instructors.
Matter of fact, let me just say this now: If you have a chance to take Manny’s Level I class (no matter what your classification—for example, I’m Master class and I’ve taken it twice, and will actively look to take it again in about a year) do so immediately. His analysis of your technique will enable you to shoot better. Period.
Day 1: Level I Pistol Class
6 students, 8am.
The class started with Manny discussed mental and physical aspects of shooting, and giving out several handouts that we were to use throughout the class to take notes, list his corrections and suggestions, and perhaps how we did on various challenges. We then moved into drills that incorporated different aspects of each of the fundamentals of shooting, whereupon he went down the line, and analyzed each student. This gave everyone a chance to work the drill multiple times, (he started each run with a timer) gave him a chance to check each student and make suggestions, and then each student had multiple runs to work on that strength. He then set up the next drill, working aspects of the next fundamental, and went down the line again, analyzing each shooter.
This analysis really is the difference between his class, and others I have seen. Most instructors tell the class in general “use the trigger reset” or “keep your stance low” or “you are heeling the gun a bit” and maybe make a comment or two for specific students. In this case, however, each student got specifics related to them, regarding each fundamental. By the time we had reached the third fundamental, the students in the course were shooting measurably better. (Literally, measurably better.) This includes me.
I’m not the best shooter in the world, by any means. But I do pretty well—yet like I said, I’d take Manny’s Level I class again next without a second thought. I took his Level I course back in March, after the DoubleTap Championships in Texas, and came away with several important things to work on with respect to my fundamentals. I had just made A-class a few months before---and two months after Manny’s class, participated in a special classifier and made Master. I had been working on the specifics that I got from Manny, and it made a difference. I took his Level I class this second time, and found that indeed, he agreed that those fundamentals had gotten better, so now here was a couple of other things for me to work on…which I plan to do in the upcoming months. Next year, we’ll see what happens, and what else I need to work on, under the assumption that I’ve fixed/improved this set of issues.
As shooters, we aren’t good at knowing what we are doing wrong. We can tell that things aren’t working (at least we can if we are being honest with ourselves) but we often don’t know why. Having a video camera and analyzing it honestly can certainly help---but nothing really beats having someone else with an eye for analysis critically look at what you do.
Manny is simply very, very good at analysis. It’ll make a difference.
The rest of the day was really more of the same—next fundamental, analysis, practice. Next fundamental, analysis, practice. Each time, each student got a specific, detailed analysis of the major differences they could make, a demonstration of how to do it, and commentary as they worked the new technique into practice. Again, as the class went on, the students got measurably better.
It would be interested to have shot a series of 5 classifiers or so before the class, and then shot them immediately afterward—and then shot them again 2 month later, after further practice with Manny’s corrections. (Not practicing the classifiers, but practicing his fundamentals, and being honest about the results.) I’ll bet (as a science teacher) that there would be a statistically significant difference not only from before the class to 2 months later, but from before the class to right afterward. (Not as large, but still significant.)
Yes, at higher levels there are more things to learn than the fundamentals. But I don’t know anyone who doesn’t need a review (and a critique) of their fundamentals from time to time, from someone who has an eye for analysis.
There was more we did (for example, he showed us a couple of simple things we could do to make moving targets easy to shoot accurately), but really, the class is worth it just for the fundamentals analysis.
We also laughed a lot, and had tons of fun.
Day 2: Level II Pistol
6 students, 8am
So, if your fundamentals are at least sufficient, where you do go from there?
Movement. Transitions, effective movement, effective shooting on the move, moving into shooting positions, moving out---and doing so both explosively, and in a controlled fashion.
We started out with Manny setting up a particular stage, which quite comprehensively required us to demonstrate almost all possible movement/shooting requirements: draw, transition widely, move, shoot while moving, transition while moving, be accurate (with quite a few zebra targets), effective stopping, and effective acceleration.
We each ran the stage, and recorded our points/time. Manny then ran it, and wrote down every shot/transition/split time for his run. We then took the stage apart, piece by piece, and worked on it. When (with perfect accuracy) we matched his time for that section repeatedly, we knew that we were doing it properly. (Handy to have an exact GM set of times to compare to.)
Throughout, he gave commentary on better technique, both showing examples, and critiquing our examples. (One of the things I learned was that my wide transitions can be snappier—I tend to be fluid, but not as fast as I could be.) Everything was put on the clock, so that we could actually see the difference in times and effectiveness.
One of the things he continually pushed and demonstrated was the fact that lowering your center of mass made everything work better. You moved more smoothly, your shooting was more controlled, your acceleration/deceleration was more in balance---everything was easier, and thus you could move faster and still shoot accurately.
It is harder to explain how this all worked, really. Let me just say that by the end of the time practicing the stage (and we didn’t practice the stage as a whole, we practiced minor 2-4 shot sections at a time, working on effective transitions, explosive movement, split times, accuracy requirements, etc) we ran it again at the end for score. My initial time was high-18 seconds to run the stage with good accuracy. At the end, my time was low-16 seconds to run the stage with all A-hits. Now, 2+ seconds may not seem like a lot---but Manny ran it in only 14 seconds, and for me, those 2 seconds raised my HF by 15%---which, if it had been a competition, would have made a significant difference. More importantly, I know why it was easier (and it was easier to shoot A-hits at speed using better technique) so I can use those techniques in my own practice, and thus transfer this knowledge to all stages I shoot.
If this class enables me to raise my hit factors by 15% on average----that is going to make a huge difference in how I do. Do I expect that? No, because this is just one stage, and that hit factor is merely one example. Do I expect there to be a measurable, appreciable difference if I can integrate this learning into my shooting?
Most certainly.
So, overall: if you have a chance to participate in one of Manny’s classes---do so. No matter what your class, or how good you think you are, his Level I class analysis is completely worth hearing for everyone. Level II----is completely worth it for people who have made it into B-class, and want to really push themselves. C and D shooters might wait a bit, and focus their learning on the fundamentals (Level I) as those need to be solid before worrying about complicated movement.
There is tons more I could say, but this is long enough already. Manny is a good guy, an outstanding shooter, and a very good instructor. If you have the chance, take his class. You’ll laugh a lot, and you’ll learn a lot also.
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