John Chambers Suarez International/TSD Combat Systems Staff Instructor “…let's discuss the ultimate Bowie. I don't mean the ultimate collector's item, but rather one that can be carried and used TODAY.” Gabe Suarez 09/16/2004 “Think of a Glock Bowie knife, dull black and sharp, suitable for chopping fire wood or beheading hadji. The kind of knife you'd leave out overnight in a rain storm and not think twice about it. Totally out of place if you are wearing buckskin and shooting a Sharps, but would fit in perfectly if you had Multicams and a Kalashnikov.” Gabe Suarez 08/17/2007 “Well we tried... Continue reading

John Chambers Suarez International/TSD Combat Systems Staff Instructor There are many shooters who feel that they can ignore bullpup rifles. This is, quite simply, a mistake because there are many advantages to the design and more rifles of this type being released every year. A short list of available bullpup rifles would include: AUG (including the MSAR) – Austria/USA FN2000 - Belgium FN P90 - Belgium Tavor TAR 21 - Israel FAMAS (Hate this rifle! Yuck.) - France KelTec RFB - USA L85 (POS!!) – Great Britain VHS (I'd LOVE it if Springfield Armory could bring these in with the... Continue reading

John Chambers Suarez International/TSD Combat Systems Instructor Memorial Day weekend found me hosting and participating in Roger Phillip’s Long Gun Point Shooting Progressions class in Liberty Hill, TX. I cannot say enough about how this training should be a mandatory part of your development as a rifle gun fighter. When you find yourself deep in the “OH S@#T” of an unexpected engagement, the Point Shooting skill set allows you hit targets faster, and more importantly, not get shot while doing so! While all the other participants used the normal mix of rifles (AKs and ARs) I used this as an... Continue reading

John Chambers, Suarez International Staff Instructor For years a Cold Steel Voyager, in 6 inch blade length was my constant companion in many places around the world. The knife was strong, cut like crazy, and was easily replaced if it was lost in the field, or if it needed to “lost” for other reasons. As an added benefit, it was intimidating as hell when opened unexpectedly. The value of the “psychological stop” is not to be underestimated. So with all this personal history with the Voyager, I was VERY disappointed when Cold Steel (CS) discontinued the knife and I stopped... Continue reading

John Chambers Suarez International Tier One Instructor As we approach the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I believe it would be helpful for all of us to consider the lessons learned from the jihadist assault of Nidal Hasan. The odds of a massive attack similar to 9/11/01 being repeated are much lower than a single shooter or a team of shooters deciding to reenact the FT Hood or Mumbai incidents. And as we know from history, it is always better to get your information from primary sources instead of hearsay or the “official story.” “Smith” is a SI... Continue reading

Written by John Chambers - Suarez International Tier One Instructor During a recent Defensive Knife class, my 14 year old daughter joined the class as one of the participants. Now as her father, I knew that she would be able to hold her own in the class as she has almost 10 years of experience in the martial arts and does not know the meaning of the word quit. But as the instructor I was very pleased to see her not only do well, but to see concrete proof that the defensive blade is major force multiplier for a trained... Continue reading

John Chambers - S.I. Staff Instructor One of the most common points of discussion in my rifle classes is “What is the best rifle? A bolt action or semi-auto?” This is not surprising in the least since we tend to focus on the hardware aspects of the discipline instead of the training that is needed. But the question is valid and the answer is simple and complex at the same time. The answer depends on the mission and the circumstances surrounding it, and because of that, I believe you need three rifles: a semi-auto, a bolt action, and an accurate... Continue reading

While attending CQB instructor training in Prescott I received a request to make some specific recommendations regarding rifles, optics, etc., especially in regards to setting up a proper rifle when you have to work with a budget that does not allow for a $3000 rifle, $1500 optics, and $400 rings. These solutions are wonderful, if you can afford one, but if we are working with the Guerrilla Sniper guidelines of 200 meter headshots and 600 meter torso shots, there are more economical solutions that a well trained shooter can use to great effect. Now, I generally make conceptual suggestions, instead... Continue reading