Â
I just got back from a training trip in Brazil and there was a short, brutal reminder that the small details win in close-quarters work. We teach angles, minimizing exposure, and where to place yourself in the threshold so you have the tactical advantage. One officer who attended raised his hand and said, “This is exactly why this matters.” He’d seen another officer come around a corner wrong — the side of the gun and the arm were exposed — and get his hand cleaved clean off by a machete while the gun was still in his grip.
That’s the kind of thing that doesn’t feel theoretical once you’ve watched it happen.
Most people clear a corner by looking at the center of the room — the “middle of the picture.” That opens you up. When you stick your arm and the side of your weapon into the uncleared angle, the opponent can see and strike what you can’t. You’ve telegraphed yourself and given the ambush the advantage.
Pivot on the inside edge of the thr...
When it comes to close-quarters battle (CQB) and home defense, most people instinctively think that closing doors will keep them safer. But is that always true? What if an open door could actually work to your advantage?
In our recent training session, we set up a simple exercise: two people trying to clear a space behind a false wall. With just one barricade in the room, the task seemed straightforward. But as soon as we added an open door leading into another space, things got significantly more challenging. Suddenly, every movement exposed new angles, making it much harder to maintain control over the environment.
Now imagine adding a second open door behind you. You’re no longer just focusing on the main room—you’re also trying to manage threats from multiple directions. The more angles that open up, the more complex the problem becomes. And this complexity is exactly what can work for you in a home defense situation.
When it comes to close-quarters battle (CQB) and home defense, many people assume they’re one and the same. While there are parallels, these two concepts have different applications that every responsible citizen should understand.
CQB is a team-based approach to clearing a structure and moving toward an objective—whether that’s rescuing a hostage or eliminating a threat. The key takeaway here is teamwork; trained personnel move together to clear spaces and control angles effectively.
Home defense, on the other hand, is a completely different challenge. Searching for a bad guy in your own home by yourself is highly dangerous because covering all angles alone is impossible. In many cases, setting up an ambush position and waiting for an intruder to enter your area of control is a far more effective strategy than trying to clear your house solo.
However, understanding CQB fundame...
50% Complete