RR2026 Instructors: Adam Winch, AJ Zito, Brian Hill, and Shane Kerwin
$795 per person (non-refundable)
$60 range fees CASH
1000 rounds. Our GO TO ammo supplier is The Gun Food. We invite you to order from them for this event, they will deliver your ammo to The Complete Combatant and The Complete Combatant will hand to you on Friday morning. Order online as normal, use the code COMBATANT to receive 5.56% off and add Rifle Renaissance to the "note/memo" area.
Classroom and live fire
You will train with each instructor
Working from close quarter distances up to 75 yards
We HIGHLY recommend that you know your State's Use of Force Codes/Laws in defense of self or others.
Intermediate to advanced riflemen and rifle-women. NOT a weekend for beginners.
Featured charity is Blue Line Ponies Retirement Range. Blue Line Ponies is a retirement range (we now have 3 locations in Georgia and Virginia) dedicated to our country's service horses. This includes Mounted Patrol Unit, police horses, prison horses, search & rescue, and border patrol horses. These mature horse aged out or are retired due to "lameness" and can easily end up in a kill pen, an abusive home where they are worked until they collapse, or are sold over and over again and are never truly "retired" until they pass away. Blue Line Ponies mission is to love, safeguard the dignity and comfort of our hard working ponies and to continue to provide the best care throughout their retirement. They worked tirelessly working with their human partners and they deserve nothing but the best.
You MUST be ZEROed prior to class: 50 or 100 yard is optimal. We need to spend our time on more essential skills than zeroing. That being said, we will quickly check all zeros and fine tune on Friday morning.
Our award system is called Monument of Victory. We have trophies for scoring 90% and above, 100% accuracy per Showcase Sunday drill, and one for Showcase Sunday Mastery. Check it out!
Want to sponsor this event via monetary gifts, SWAG or door prizes? CLICK HERE.
Adam Winch is the owner and creator of Defenders USA. With a background of serving as a Military Police officer (U.S. Army Reserves and Colorado National Guard from 2000 to 2008) after graduating Basic & AIT as an honor grad, with duties including Law & Order, Quick Reaction Team (QRT), Special Reaction Team (SRT), Emergency Reaction Team (ERT), Personal Security Detail (PSD), Fire Team Leader, and trainer for the Colorado National Guard.
As a Police Officer for ten plus years with the Grand Junction Police Department (Colorado) after graduating the Police Academy as the honor grad, Adam’s duties included Patrol Officer, Street Crimes Unit, SWAT, and as a certified Police Patrol Mountain Bike Instructor.
Adam earned his Master rating as a shooter in Steel Challenge competition, and is rated as an A Class shooter in both USPSA and IDPA competitions and has also been certified in several areas as a fitness instructor with CrossFit, Inc. He has taught over 20,000 civilians, military and law enforcement personnel over the course of his training careers. Adam brings his unique combination of military and police expertise into the classroom and on the range for an engaging, thought-provoking learning experience to build both solid mental and physical skills into the students.
The Defenders USA courses are crafted to carefully communicate the seriousness of a defense-of-life mindset and both armed and unarmed defensiveness to a civilian audience – that is, the average person. Far from the dry, boring way most traditional training tends to be, these courses draw the student into the learning process with true to life stories, interactive discussion, and hands-on exercises – all seasoned with a lot of humor. On the range, the instruction and coaching bring to life strong foundational skills in safe, controlled environments to help prepare the student for the dangerous uncontrolled environment we all live in where Evil visits when least expected.
A.J. is the founder, gunsmith, and lead instructor for Practical Performance. After leaving the U.S. Army in 2009, A.J. worked in the private security field as an executive protection specialist and instructor. After leaving the security and protection world, A.J. has been focused on the concept of “Performance Shooting” which blends concepts from both combative and competitive shooting disciplines. He holds a “Master” classification in USPSA Single Stack Division, as well as in multiple divisions of IDPA. In 2017, A.J. received an Associates Degree in Applied Sciences in Gunsmithing after three years of a full-time program in general to advanced gunsmithing, custom competition, carry, and guild quality firearms. With a passion for sharing knowledge, A.J. taught at a college for gunsmithing until 2022. A.J. brings a vast knowledge of firearms mechanics, instruction, combative and competitive concepts, and employment of firearms to the table.
What is Practical Performance Training all about? It’s pretty simple actually. We are trying to put the best information we can about combative and competitive shooting, techniques, guns, gear, classes, and whatever else may interest you! We take away all the self absorbed, biased fluff you see out there in the shooting and training world and tell you what we think about a broad variety of topics related to shooting in both a combative and competitive aspect. You won’t see the ego trip or the “Well, 20 years ago I was …” crowd here. We value more what you can do RIGHT NOW, because that is all you can rely on!
Here’s what you will see from us: the best in what makes you and your equipment faster, more accurate, more reliable, and overall better prepared for whatever your purpose may be, whether it’s combative or competitive.
Shot calling relative to the background and foreground signals
Laser/visual drills focusing on START & STOP (Rule 4)
Prepared movement
Sunday morning w Brian: Dry practice with the Mantis BlackbeardX (classroom)
Brian is owner and head coach of The Complete Combatant located in Jasper, GA, a Heckler & Koch (HK) Brand Ambassador and Endorsed Instructor, a presenter at National Conferences and past owner of Fusion Fitness and MMA until 2020 where the social distancing, illness, and job loss of many students from COVID-19 forced us to close the doors. Brian is also a PHLster Sponsored Instructor, and is a Certified Red Dot Instructor and an Endorsed Instructor with Scott Jedlinski of Modern Samurai Project. Brian Hill is a Rangemaster Certified Master Instructor with Tom Givens of Rangemaster. He also presents at AGAG National Conference, The Mingle, The Quest and The Guardian Conferences.Brian is a 4th degree Black belt in Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and Karate, a 3rd degree Black belt in Taekwondo and a certified MMA Conditioning Coach. Brian Hill is a former deputy with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department Reserve and and he has been a full time instructor since he was 18 and he personally trains everyday.
If you are your first responder, then you are responsible for a wide array of skill sets. Seeing, recognizing, and believing danger is the first task. Having a plan for avoidance, deselection and escalation is second. If these fail, the fight is on, and it must be won. The first time you have to use the different levels of force, and everything is on the line, should not be the first time you practice your non-lethal (mindset, verbal, walk away, flashlight, etc.), less then lethal (OC/pepper spray, Combatives, etc.) and lethal options (firearms, advanced Combatives, etc.).
One of the areas students can improve their self protection skills is through organization and efficiency in their approach to practice. Methodology, structure, and feedback are critical elements that are often overlooked, but provide the best options for improvement. Strategy, tactics, and techniques need to be practiced until they can be performed with unconscious competence. Equally as important is the client's mindset, and how they can strengthen their performance under pressure. Believe it or not, decisions are more important then techniques.
We have specifically designed The Complete Combatant for our US citizens that "carry or want to". Brian has always seen a need for the varied disciplines of self protection to be combined. Proper strategy, escalation of force and employment of tools…is one complete subject. Making good decisions, thinking ahead, the proper use of non-lethal, less then lethal and lethal tools will help you to fight back more effectively. Being creative, tool cycling and adapting could save you or a loved one.
Shane Kerwin began his journey in tactical training and personal survival at a young age. In 1993, he answered the call to serve and joined the U.S. Army, first stationed at the Joint Security Area along the DMZ in Korea. His time in the DMZ Scout Platoon ignited a passion for small, specialized units, leading him to the 82nd Airborne Division, where he served in a four-man Scout Platoon focused on reconnaissance and sniper operations.
After a brief break in service, he returned to the 82nd and later pursued his ultimate challenge—Special Forces. In 1999, he was selected for the elite Special Forces Medical Sergeant Course, graduating in 2002 and joining the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Over the next 16 years, Shane served in various leadership roles, including Medical Sergeant, Company Senior Medical Sergeant, Special Operations Target Interdiction Course (SOTIC) Instructor, and Detachment Operations Sergeant (Team Sergeant).
Throughout his career, Shane deployed seven times in support of the Global War on Terrorism, worked alongside Naval Special Operations in the Middle East, and conducted missions across Asia and Central America. As he transitioned out of the military, he and his wife, Calley, founded Personal Survival Solutions to share his real-world experience with those seeking to enhance their personal safety and preparedness. Their mission is to provide relevant, realistic training to individuals, families, and communities. They remain committed to continuous learning, ensuring the highest quality instruction for those who take responsibility for their own survival.
You MUST be ZEROed prior to class: 50 or 100 yard zero is optimal. We need to spend our time on more essential skills than zeroing. That being said, we will quickly check all zeros and fine tune on Friday morning.
1000 rounds of factory loaded ammunition
Rifle sling of your choice
Rifle magazine pouch/carrier
Notebook/pen for D.O.P.E (data on previous engagement, or data on personal equipment)
Mat (sleeping pad, exercise mat, towel, or shooting mat)
Please make sure you have whatever tools you need to adjust your sights. Same for optics, in addition make sure you have the manual or specifications for the adjustments for the optics. Some are MOA (minute of angle) and some are Mils (Milliradians).
A sturdy belt for rifle magazine pouch (try your gear on prior to class)
Extra magazines. We recommend 3 for this class
There is a $20 CASH per day "range/facility" fee. = $60
