By TruKinetics CEO David Norman
Every time I talk to a team about our law enforcement CQB training, someone asks me the same question: “What type of CQB do you guys teach?”
Honestly? I find the question a little odd. I understand what they’re looking for. They want to know which methodology we use, which named technique is the foundation of our program. Most of you in the tactical training world have heard the labels: slow and deliberate, dynamic, strong wall, points of domination, fill and flow, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Hell, I’ve even heard of deep penetration. Not sure I’m very good at that one, or so my wife says. But I digress.
I know people are looking for a label so they can quickly understand how a team moves. And I don’t mean to hurt feelings here, but when someone asks me “what kind of CQB do you teach?” it tells me they may not fully understand CQB yet. So my answer is usually just: yes. Or: it depends.
“Yes” meaning we teach all of those techniques. “It depends” meaning the right technique is whatever makes the most sense at that specific moment.
Why Labels Limit Law Enforcement Tactical Training
Here’s the core problem with methodology labels in close quarters battle training: they put you in a box.
When a team declares, “We do strong wall” or “We do slow and deliberate,” what they’re really saying is, “We try to apply one tactic to every situation.” Not all techniques fit every floor plan. Not all techniques fit every threat profile. When you’re married to one approach, you start working in “always” and “nevers” and that’s where tactics break down. I’ll be honest: when I hear a SWAT team say “we always do this” and “we never do that,” it tells me their tactics are flawed. There’s almost nothing in CQB that should be universal.
I’ll give you two things: we always put at least two officers in a room, and we never put just one. That’s it. Outside of that, we don’t believe in absolutes.When you’re so committed to one technique, you end up jamming the proverbial square peg through the round hole. It works its way through eventually. Group-think force and a healthy dose of ego can push most things through. And at the end of the run, guys fist-bump because they stuck to the protocol. But was it actually good tactics? Did you truly cover every angle? Or did you just feel successful because you followed the script?
Initiative-Based CQB: The TruKinetics Approach
So what does TruKinetics actually teach? Initiative-based CQB.
The tactics applied during an operation should be built on everything you’ve experienced up to that exact moment. The decisions you make mid-hallway need to account for a full picture:
- What did the intelligence briefing tell you?
- How many subjects are believed to be inside?
- Is your primary target already in custody?
- Did a door at the end of the hallway slam shut when you started moving?
- Are you seeing shadows moving under that door?
- You’ve cleared most of the structure and still haven’t located your subject. Does that change how you approach the last two rooms?
It absolutely should.
We do adhere to specific concepts: striving to get an “L” in the room, keeping nobody’s back exposed, threat prioritization. Those principles don’t change. But within that framework, each officer in the stack should have the autonomy, when in a decision-making position, to make a call based on what is directly in front of them at that moment. You’re mid-hallway. Closed door, knob on the far side, two open doors further down. Do you take the door yourself? Do you bump someone down the hallway and get cross-coverage on the closed door? Does the floor plan even allow for that movement? What’s the right answer?
It depends.
What 40 Hours of CQB Training Can Do for Your Team
We have worked with countless teams that came in with no real protocols, or worse, methods that simply don’t hold up when stress enters the equation. In a 40-hour close quarters battle course, we’ve taken teams from basic two-man room entries all the way to whole-house, live-fire runs that would make even the snarkiest Instagram CQB expert hit the like button. Not that we care about that.
The point is this: we develop individual skill sets first, then build toward full team movement. We don’t just teach dance steps. We teach concepts, build understanding, and give teams the tools to make real decisions under pressure.
That said, 40 hours is nowhere near enough. It’s tip-of-the-iceberg work. We give teams a baseline, a framework of concepts, and hopefully a roadmap for how to train going forward. The real development happens long after the course ends.
The One Thing That Never Changes in CQB
Whether you’re a patrol officer doing your first building search on an alarm call, or a decorated operator with years of SWAT experience, the physics of threat exposure don’t care about your résumé. You cannot eliminate your exposure to threat areas. You can only minimize the time you are exposed while moving through a structure. CQB is dangerous business. Train for it accordingly, with instructors who have actually done it at a high level, not just performed it online. And don’t do it unless you need to.
Next time, I’ll tackle the rabbit hole that is Hostage Rescue training. Stay tuned.
Dave Norman, Founder | TruKinetics
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