Parts 1 , 2, 3 and 4 of a multi-part series covering all things from The Complete Combatant's first annual The Quest 2022! BIG TIME thank you to After Action Project for attending and inviting us on your show!
Part 1 OCTOBER 4th, 2022 at 9:30pm EST: AAP 055 is with Tim Herron Part 2 OCTOBER 10th, 2022 at 8:30pm EST: AAP 056 is with Shelley Hill Part 3 OCTOBER 1oth, 2022 at 9:30pm EST: AAP 057 is with Brian Hill Part 4 OCTOBER 17th, 2022 at 9:30pm EST: AAP 058 is with Scott Jedlinski
A couple of weeks ago I had a literal "last minute" opportunity to attend an event called The Quest. It was a Red-Dot Pistol Shooting Event hosted by The Modern Samurai Project and The Complete Combatant.
The lead instructors for the three days were Scott "Jedi" Jedlinski (owner of The Modern Samurai Project), Brian Hill (owner of The Complete Combatant), and Tim Herron of Tim Herron Shooting, LLC Practical Performance Alumni. For those of you who don't study Pistol-craft in the Self-Defense and Competitive Shooting world, those names may not mean anything to you. Let me try and put it into perspective. Imagine if you went to an acting class and your three instructors were Sir Anthony Hopkins, Clint Eastwood, and Tom Hanks. All are literal living legends in their field.
The three days themselves were nothing short of amazing. It was a PhD-level education crammed into less than 30 hours of range time. There is no way to absorb everything, but the education was unbelievable.
Scott spent Day One teaching the intricacies of drawing the pistol and using the Red Dot. There is no one on the planet who knows more about this subject than Scott. That's why he has the contract to teach the FBI HRT team.
Brian taught on Day Two and he focused on Self-Defense. I have trained with Brian before and his reputation as the the best pistol coach in America is well-deserved. His understanding of the neuroscience behind everything we do is second to none, but the most amazing part is his ability to explain those details to a simpleton like me. He is truly brilliant, yet he remains completely humble and totally focused on the success of his students. He incorporated some "new" drills I've never used before including some stuff with Pepper Spray (POM, LLC) and shooting a target while remaining cognizant of innocents that are nearby.
Tim taught Day Three and focused on Competitive Shooting. I walked away from that class with insights into how to properly grip the pistol and call my shots in real time that will change the way I shoot forever.
Thank you to all three instructors, but also to the "Assistant Instructor" AJ Zito who is a world-class trainer and shooter who deserves second-billing to no one.
Lastly to Shelley Luehder Hill, who organized the whole thing and the unbelievable support staff who took care of literally every detail so those of us in attendance could focus on what we came to learn, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Troy Mason
Last week was one of the best classes/events I’ve had the honor of taking in a long time. Part of me feels that’s a bit biased because I’ve trained with Scott (@modern_samurai_project) and Brian (@chiefchaoscontroller) separately before and know them to be excellent instructors. But then, getting the opportunity to train with Tim (@timherronshooting) and having AJ (@practical_performance_org )(who also gave me and every other student excellent advice throughout the weekend) as the main AI for the three days will be difficult to follow.
I’ve got a lot of homework to work on. I usually had a notebook in hand trying to scribble down all the information that was being thrown out and doing my best not to miss anything. I look forward to attending next year and progressing through my shooting career with the knowledge that was shared.
What an awesome experience. Shelley (@thecompletecombatant) and the RO’s did a wonderful job. It was super organized and ran like a top. You’d have never guessed we had 36 shooters in the class with as smooth as it ran and the individualized instruction each of us received. Till next year, guys!
Josh Harriss
This weekend I went to probably one of the most unique training opportunities I have ever had, The Quest, hosted by The Complete Combatant andModern Samurai Project, LLC . I was very blessed to stay with some very good friends while in town for the class, Tim Herron. amongst them.
Day one with Scott was fantastic. Specifically he gave me a few tools to give my draw from concealment consistency that it has been lacking.
Day two with Brian covered quite a few interesting concepts like cognitive stacking, task switching and shot accountability.
Day three was Tim and it blew me away. Tim showed me a way to start gripping the gun with my dominant hand that didn't require as much force. To paraphrase a fellow student's description of my grip " you crush the gun like a goddamn cave troll." I am also apparently way better at shot calling than I thought.
AJ Zito acted as AI and on site gunsmith all weekend, he is an amazing instructor himself and an absolute Joy to be around. I also watched him fix the most bizarre malfunction I have ever seen, think old HK ad.
I shot my Legion 226 with a Romeo 1 pro from concealment, mainly a JMck shell on an enigma, But I also used my KSG Lexington. Despite shooting a Da/Sa with pretty hot Norma ammo I found myself at no disadvantage and shoot very well the entire weekend. Despite what internet goobers will tell you, Da/Sa is still viable and just cooler than a striker gun. Deal with it. My hands are kinda sore from using piss hot ammo all weekend though.
Overall the class was incredibly validating for me and the work I have been putting in to hone my pistol craft over the past two years and excites me to see what progress I will be able to make in the next two. If you get the opportunity to train with any of these four instructors do not hesitate to do so. Ethan Vaughn
Team Quest,
I just wanted to say thank you for an enjoyable and informative weekend at The Quest. I really appreciated the little tip Brian gave me on Sunday morning about smoothing my trigger pulls and all of the coaches pointed out things to me over the weekend that I found beneficial. I know I have a lot to work on and I’m convinced more than ever that I need to spend more time on dry fire.
I told Susan that I need to be doing this when I am home (unfortunately my job requires a lot of air travel and I don’t want to through the hassle of checking my gun for a one or two night trip - especially since a lot of the time I am in not so gun friendly municipalities. For example, I’m about to board a flight to Chicago). But, I’ll do what I can and I’ve asked her to hold me accountable to that. To that end, once I’ve put in some dry fire work and feel like I need to get some third party measurement and more tips to refine I want to set up some one one time with Brian. I’ll purchase the sessions soon so we can set a date and that will give me a deadline to work toward.
Now, back to The Quest. I can’t think of a thing I would change (other than me winning one of the pistols😀). I loved the format and the three days with different coaches was brilliant. I was talking to Tamara while we were waiting for the party to officially start Saturday night and told her that the way Jedi explained the some of the same things I have heard from Brian but, with a slightly different twist, caused a couple of light bulbs to turn on (but I’m still not there with shot calling - even after hearing Tim and A.J.’s great explanation). I’m already looking forward to next year and have an alarm set for the 30th at 5:00 pm to register.
Again, thanks so very much for setting up and hosting such an excellent event. Hope you’re both able to get some well deserved rest soon.
Best Regards -
Randy L.
As a professional teacher of things personal defense, it is critical for me to learn, grow and hone my craft. Each year I seek out opportunities to do that, yet I'm very focused on who I learn under and what I want to gain from this time. The Quest was one such opportunity. Three teachers, each bringing something different to the table. On the first day Tim Herron provided one bit of guidance to me, something that I've known, for some time, would change my performance, and did so in a way that made sense and encouraged me to try it.
That one nugget was worth the trip, time and expense. Everything else I learned from Tim, Brian and Jedi just added more and gave me a path forward. What have you done to increase your performance in life? Your Defense is Personal..... David Bremson
