West Coast Armory

Sonny has been training folks in America for over the last decade. Lately, Sonny has been involved in television (Deadliest Warrior,) videos games (Call of Duty: Black Ops,) and movies (Sinners and Saints.) I half expect to release his solo music project for the Sonny P. franchise.  I recently attended a seminar with Sonny that focused around the use of Kalashnikov pattern rifles inside the close range combat realm.

Sonny distilled it best when he said that he teaches a "Reverse methodology." I hate to oversimplify it, since it doesn't do the seminar justice for all the lessons learned.  So let me see if I can explain it with by drawing parallels:  

Typically, American shooters attend AR-15 centric seminars that focus on rifle marksmanship distilled from direct action or linear assaults.  This is what SWAT and top tier military operators typically train in for those times they get to pick the fight.  There are those times, however, when you happen to be on the receiving end of a stacked deck, there is no such thing as a fair fight.  Rather than training from a proactive approach of the "ambusher", we looked at the reactive approach of the "ambushee."

Russian school of thought is that it is better to learn how to move most quickly and efficiently, especially if someone else has started the fight.  From that movement, one needs to learn to rapidly integrate combat effective marksmanship for use in the CQB realm. The techniques that Sonny shared had us learning how to develop our movement and then find ways to overlay our shooting during that dynamic movement. This was a serious study of the body's interaction with a rifle and learning how to effectively employ that rifle during shot range confrontations.  We didn't spend too much time shooting, in fact Sonny didn't design this seminar to be a shooting class.   This was great because I was on a budget, borrowing my mom's car, my dad's AK, pistol and gear, while crashing at my cousin's house in Austin.

We explored some of the more controversial movement techniques that have been both glamorized and derided (by those who haven't tried.)  We treaded unfamiliar ground with engaging in a 360 degree environment.  We were moving with rifles in ways that would make NRA range dinosaur have a stroke.  We put pieces of the puzzle together and worked to identify the Gaps.  If you are brave enough to step outside your comfort zone and willing to try new concepts and principles as taught by Sonny Puzikas, you will have a much clearer appreciation of effective movement during a fight. Lessons learned from a man who has seen more than his fair share of them.

Check out Sonny's website for training and media. For entertainment, watch him on Deadliest Warrior.