Interview between Andy Curtiss (3rd Special Forces Group) and Chris Graham (Force Recon)

 

Chris Graham sent over a video today of an interview that Andy Curtiss did with him. If you don’t know, Andy Curtiss served in the US Army 3rd Special Forces Group, is a professional MMA fighter, and runs a self-defense school in Dallas that you can find out more about by going to: knife-and-h2h-combat.com

Chris is a former Force Recon Marine, high end gov/mil/tactical LE instructor, editor of “Counter Terrorist Magazine”, and creator of the 30-10 Pistol Training program.

**note, turn your volume DOWN when you start the video and back up when Andy and Chris start talking.  The audio IS quiet, but Andy, Chris, and I have all listened to it.  If you still can’t hear it after turning up the volume, you may want to try headphones.

In the interview, Andy and Chris go into Chris’ background as Force Recon Marine, some of the biggest issues he runs into as a firearms instructor, Chris’ role as Editor of “Counter Terrorist Magazine”, the background of the 30-10 program, some amazing stories from 30-10 students, self-defense applications of 30-10, and the success of 30-10 with women.

If you’re already going through 30-10, it’s a great way to get to know your instructor a little more. If you’re not going through 30-10 yet, it’ll probably convince you that you should be. Learn more about it now by clicking >HERE<

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11 Comments

  • Seth Quinn

    Reply Reply July 12, 2014

    First: Thanks for your service and sacrifice!
    Second: The interview was interesting and adequate, video and sound, content was superficial and a really good segway into the 30/10 program.
    Third: All skill set/training recommendations were sound and well proven
    Everyone needs to practice and do it safely!
    Thanks for this interview and keep the information flow coming
    God Bless our service men and women

  • Paul J

    Reply Reply July 6, 2014

    Good interview and nothing wrong with the audio. Many thanks guys from a Veteran Down Under..

  • Carrie

    Reply Reply June 27, 2014

    Enjoyed the video. Would this be OK for someone who has never shot before, a beginner and 80 years old.? Or, is that a quick…is she out of her mind??? How dumb can you get???
    I’ll say one thing. It would be the last thing any criminal would think could be a danger to him, and he would be very easy to kill, in a sly way, with the right training This training of older people would make a great add on to a excellent program and would be a great gift to them since they are no longer able to do the activities younger people can do. How many sly, covert, dirty little tricks could you teach them, and what fun it might be to think them all out. How many of you would like to see you grandparents and great grandparents able to defend themselves in a cool, calm way??? It’s something to think about. Then again maybe it’s useless, I don’t know. Those of you in the gun community can better answer these questions.

    • David Morris

      Reply Reply June 27, 2014

      Hi Carrie,

      Great question!

      One thing that Chris makes reference to in the course is that basic gun handling safety is incredibly difficult to teach any way other than with live, in-person training. Once someone has a BASIC pistol course that covers safe gun handling under their belt, then they’re good to go with 30-10.

      As far as being 80…a bigger consideration is whether she is of sound mind. Regardless of age, it’s important to have a firm grip on reality before handling firearms. My parents are in their late 70s and I’m still VERY comfortable with them owning firearms. I know other people who are decades younger who I wouldn’t trust with a vehicle or sharp pointy objects, let alone a firearm.

      Dry fire training, in general, and 30-10 in particular, is an exceptional tool for people with tender hands, like what many older people get. My mom used to raise turkeys, pluck their feathers, play football with my brothers and me and other “young person” stuff. Now it hurts her hand to shoot her .357 revolver, even when shooting light weight .38 special wad cutters. Dry fire is an awesome tool for her, and may be for your 80 year old friend as well. Hope that helps 🙂

  • Bob Stack

    Reply Reply June 27, 2014

    Hey, David: Please put your so called “sound engineer” out of his misery as the “comms” are almost non-existent on this video and, despite the fact that I’ve put literally thousands of rounds downrange in my former military career as a U. S. Army Ranger (Airborne), I CAN still hear pretty well but the audio on this one sucks big time and, as all of us Veterans, especially COMBAT Veterans, know, communications are crucial as there are very few, if any, 2nd chances!

    And please tell the author of an0ther blog that your company put out the other day that they should read their Bible much more as it’s Caen and Abel NOT Able, duh!

    • David Morris

      Reply Reply June 27, 2014

      I rarely get so irritated with comments, but I get a little defensive when people dump on members of our military for petty things. I expect more from my readers and some of y’all should be ashamed of yourselves. If you had problems with the audio, I apologize and feel bad, but when you go one step further and dump on a warrior for not having good enough audio on a video he posted on YouTube, I’ve got to set the record straight.

      Andy and Chris are two of the “rough men” who do dirty things in far off places so that we can sleep soundly at night. Andy is a proven operator with the US Army 3rd Special Forces Group, a professional fighter, empty hands combattives instructor, bladed weapons instructor, and small weapons instructor, but is still growing as a “sound engineer” as you so mockingly call him. He recorded the interview with Chris, which was amazing since they’re both more comfortable in the shadows, posted it on YouTube, and it’s got great info in it. He may not have fancy microphones or the best audio, but I knew that a lot of people wouldn’t have any problems hearing it and decided to link to it.

      Before linking to it, I listened to it on my laptop (MY LAPTOP) and was able to hear it, listened to it on my iPhone and could hear it, but guessed that some people might have even worse audio than me so I listened to it again with external speakers and with headphones to make sure that people would be able to hear it before linking to it. (Again, it’s a YouTube video) The sound is not ideal, but right now I’m in a coffee shop with ambient sound right at 80db and my wife is 3 feet away from me and she can hear the audio clearly coming out of my iPhone over the music, other people talking, and the espresso machine in the background.

      So, a couple of things here. If you had trouble with the audio, I apologize. You might want to try headphones or external speakers. It’s worth hearing. If you’ve got hearing issues, aren’t technologically inclined, or don’t have headphones or external speakers, I apologize for the frustration and you might be out of luck on this interview. Furthermore, this next part isn’t for you.

      If you’re one of the people who had trouble with the audio, have the ability to do something about it and instead decided to dump on Andy, you need to do a self-check. I’ve been all about teaching people how to improvise, adapt, and overcome when faced with non-ideal situations for the last 6 years. You may not have been with me that long, but regardless of whether you found me through the preparedness side or the tactical side, surviving a pure survival situation and surviving a tactical encounter depend on dealing with the hand you’re dealt and making the best of it–not whining, self-identifying as helpless, and lashing out. In the future, when life hands you a non-ideal situation, I’d ask that your default be to try to improvise, adapt, and overcome the issue rather than immediately resort to whining and belittling. It will serve you better during good times and will train your mind to respond to adversity in a more healthy and constructive way that will serve you well in survival situations.

      Now, if you didn’t realize you were dumping on Andy and thought you were dumping on me, that’s fine. 🙂 You’d still do well to do a self-check and discipline yourself to respond differently to issues like this, but I don’t deserve the respect and consideration that Andy does, and I’m fine with any earned criticism.

      • L

        Reply Reply June 28, 2014

        Used earbuds and an iPad and had no problems hearing the conversation.

  • Beverly Rose

    Reply Reply June 27, 2014

    I am 75, the audio was not good. Showing some dry fire might be of some help.

  • Don Hower

    Reply Reply June 27, 2014

    The video was absolutely worthless. The audio was the meat of the interview. View it yourself. Better luck next time. DH

  • Mark Amato

    Reply Reply June 27, 2014

    Good info. Poor audio. Please take the time to use body microphones for a better listening interview. Not the on camera Mic. Edit in a few practical clips also. This will hold the viewers interest.

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