Thread: Suarez International training coming to the NW!

Here is a unique opportunity which is coming to the NW. This type of quality training does not come to this area often but there will be a good chance of some more types of weapons training from this company if they have a good turnout for this one! Check out the locations of the other classes, Montana is the next nearest site. Quality training at this level does not come cheap but if you are committed to being able to defend your own life and your familys then what is that worth? March 24-25, 2012 - Defensive Pistol Skills - Littlerock, WA

Don't miss out!

Do you know if Mr Suarez himself is teaching? The notice does not say that.

The notice says Ted Demosthenes is the instructor.

You still have time..........this training does not come to the NW often. Remember good shooters are made not born!...

"Through a carefully designed and detailed curriculum we are able to bring you up to a level of skill in a short two day class that previously would take over 4 or 5 days to achieve at other schools."


That right there should be a clue...

I read somewhere that Suarez is a convicted felon. If that is true how can he teach firearms?

He accepted a plea deal and spent 7 months in jail on misdemeanor charges.

O.K. wichaka.....want to tell us what you are thinking?

What did this guy "allegedly" do and should we be avoiding this class?

Gabe took an early retirement from the LE world based on a disability. Right around then he started a new business that included firearms training and self defense.

The new business violated the terms of his disability retirement, and he was charged with a felony fraud case. He eventually took a plea bargain that put him in the cross-bar motel for about 7 months.

He came to my dept. about 7 years ago or so and we did some CQB training with him. His training is ok, nothing earth shattering...there are definitely better schools/instructors...but I will say his CQB stuff is good.

Some call him a bit overboard, almost a zealot if you will...but I didn't quite see him that way. More of a guy with a passion for what he does.

We've talked a few times over the years, a bit more outspoken than the average instructor for sure...


The main reason for raising the , and I'm not bashing Suarez specifically, as I would bring this up if any school or instructor would advertise in such a way, but...when anyone advertises such thing as my first post, that should raise everyone's flag, unless their detectors are so broken as not to be able to wake up and smell the propane. And especially when they state that there's no experience or prior training necessary.

Being good at anything one chooses to do takes time and effort. Folks these days want instant gratification without the blood, sweat, and tears...so to speak.

Speaking from experience in the training field, and one can ask any shooter etc., there's no way to get around the time that's needed to reach certain competency levels with any firearm chosen.

Am surprised that Gabe would advertise such a thing, as he knows better. So I wonder if it's Gabe advertising such a thing, or the guest instructor. Either way the flags are flying with this class.

June 7-10, 2012 - Ultimate Pistol Gunfighting School - Prescott, AZ

View More Images List Price: $800.00
Your Price: CLASS FULL - WAIT LIST ONLY

RED OCTOBER ( ) - OCTOBER 17-21, 2012 PRESCOTT, ARIZONA

View More Images List Price: $1,000.00
Your Price: CLASS FULL - WAIT LIST ONLY

"That right there should be a clue"...

From my limited experience the Pacific Northwest is not exactly a "hotbed" for gunfighting courses. Do the other big name gunfighting schools come here to put on 4-5 day courses?....If they do I would give them a chance to win my business too! I do not have the luxury of being employed by a law enforcement agency that can "draw" top quality instructors to their location. I work "security" for the Dept. of Corrections. I do not consider myself "law enforcement" but have the utmost respect for those who are! In my 13 yrs of "internal" range instruction from my dept, I have probably learned just enough to get myself killed in a gunfight. If a well respected gunfighting school is willing to come to within 2.5 hrs of my home then I will give them a chance before I judge their curriculum for myself. Do I know a lot about Gabe?, ....nope. Do I care about his conviction or know the circumstances surrounding it? .....nope. Have I ever met him?...Nope!...Do I know that he was a cop who has been shot at and returned fire while in the line of duty?....yep!!!..Do I know anything about the instructor for this course?.....Nope...Am I willing to spend 2 days finding out if Suarez International training is for me?.....absolutely! If I were to start at the entry level handgun course for Suarez Int. and complete all of his offered training classes I would have 15 days and about $3300 expended. Is this enough to become "proficient"? I will start with two days and see for myself. I hope to have a successful experience and enough participation by other shooters to encourage Suarez Int. to bring some of his other courses here. I would truly love to take an AK fighting class from him personally but that may never happen!......My closest friend with the dept facilitated an AK fighting class for him several years ago and said it was top notch, that is enough to convince me to see what his training is all about. In the end my hope is that I will learn enough from this course to be able to "fight my way" to my rifle and survive an armed encounter. I pray each day that I will never have to use these skills in a real world gunfight, but I believe this training will help me if I do!........I am now stepping down off my soapbox........

Good post!

First off, no one here could possible know care how little I care about Gabe's conviction, we knew about that when he was invited to our dept for the CQB class some years ago.

The only concern I have is in the advertising of the class...no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to this kind of thing.

It can be tough to get some top tier or tier 1 instructors around here, but it does happen...patience and reasearch is the key.

Having been to a wide variety of training, if one is looking top notch material, try Grey Group;

AAR.GREYGROUPTRAINING.COM: Category Archive for -1-2

Wichaka, any experience with Marty Hayes and FAS? Your thoughts? Over the years it seems like they have had some higher profile names guest instructing at their facility.

Thank you for the link Wichaka, it is appreciated and it looks very promising.......even Portland.....nice!!!!......even a novice as myself recognizes some of the trainers names!!!

Marty does some good things there, but for the most part has left it to other instructors...as he is off on his legal kick now.

For some good foundation training he and OFA are good places to go. When you're ready to step it up a bit, check out Grey Group Training.

I'm not an Ayoob fan, which Marty is. Here's a couple quotes from some friends about Ayoob, which I very much agree with;

The fossil-poster boy of "say one thing when you're paid to, another when you're not"

"I'm really surprised that ANYONE listens to anything that comes out of Ayoobs mouth anymore. I'm not sure he was relevant in 1975 let alone in 2012. I honestly believe that he tries to scare citizens away from carrying a firearm with all of his drivel..."



...and he can't shoot very well either.

Originally Posted by beavernation

Thank you for the link Wichaka, it is appreciated and it looks very promising.......even Portland.....nice!!!!......even a novice as myself recognizes some of the trainers names!!!

Am not totally knocking Gabe, but for the money...me thinks it would be better spent with Grey Group instructors.