by John Boch
We originally ran a version of this after-action report on John Murphy’s “Street Encounter Skills and Tactics” class in June 2024. John Murphy is bringing the class back, rebranded as “Just Get Home” to Central Illinois at the DeWitt Co. Sportsman’s Club on May 23 & 24. I highly recommend the class for those who have not had training in pre-violence indicators, conflict avoidance and de-escalation.
(Fair disclosure: Our recommendations are not for sale. We’re not getting any commissions or kickbacks in promoting this great course. Sign up today while space remains.)
GSL – Chicago has an armed robbery and carjacking problem. We all know that.
“But I don’t live in that urban hellscape known as Chicago, so I don’t have to worry about that so much,” most readers might say.
That mental denial response has no survival value. Bigger cities see more bad guys, but perps work in every locale. And why not? Many see little worry of arrest, prosecution or incarceration in the Land of Pritzker for committing serious crimes. Why even if they get caught, word is out that they don’t even have to post bail now to get released following arrest thanks to Illinois’ “No Cash Bail” law!
Enter John Murphy’s Street Encounter Skills and Tactics (now known as “Just Get home”) from FPF Training (now Citizen Defender). Murphy cut his teeth as an analyst with one of those alphabet intelligence agencies in Washington. He brings that same analytical process to his other love: helping good guys and gals mentally prepare for a potential attack, and to identify bad guy behaviors and avoid potential threats.
Several of our GSL Defense Training team signed up for this course held at the Illinois State Rifle Association range in Bonfield, IL near Kankakee (back in the Spring of 2024).
We held Mr. Murphy in high esteem after having seen him in action at the annual “Polite Society” Tactical Conference. Instructors from across the nation attend this event each year.
In the Street Encounter two-day class, Murphy supplements the classroom content with hours of required videos. Using those videos, he emphasizes conflict avoidance and de-escalation, stopping bleeding, interacting with law enforcement, pepper spray deployment along with street encounter skills.
To reinforce those points, he incorporates real-life instances of what happens when people let their egos and/or mouths buy themselves a ticket to a very bad outcome. Crime videos also illustrated pre-violence indicators that bad guys “leak” before attacking, including the big one: the straight-line approach immediately before the attack.
Basically, it’s mostly a class on how to recognize and avoid trouble and potential conflict before it happens. If that fails, he teaches de-escalation. And if that fails as well, he teaches how to end an attack decisively.
Frankly, more of us could use avoidance/de-escalation training like this. The best way to win a gunfight is to avoid it/not be there.
It differs from most classes in that there’s no auditory cue to engage. Instead, you “read” the target’s actions and engage as appropriate. And your targets actions can and do change, just like in real life, some of it based upon your actions. You’ll find that your reaction times to draw and fire slow when you need to visually process cues as opposed to someone yelling, “Fire” or “Bust ‘em!”
The course tuition is $495. Expect to shoot about 350-400 rounds.
Is it worth the coin? If you have not had any formal training in situational awareness, conflict avoidance and de-escalation, then absolutely this course belongs on your bucket list sooner rather than later. How high on the bucket list of must-have training beyond the basics? Pretty darn high – probably in the top five alongside Mas Ayoob’s MAG-40 and a force-on-force class or two. The medical component and the pepper spray stuff in Street Skills is all just gravy.
I have attended classes from nearly three dozen schools / instructors over the years, both local along with many nationally known. John Murphy might not have the most widely known name but he has a good reputation for solid coursework. I didn’t go away disappointed and you shouldn’t either. Better yet, in today’s urban and not-so-urban environments, the topics he covers may help you avoid conflict or a gunfight before it kicks off. Those are solid wins even if you don’t realize it at the time. He’ll also help you decisively win the fight if attackers decide to press the issue.
From a practical standpoint, if you use what you learn in this class to avoid or mitigate a single use-of-force incident, the class has paid for itself many times over – and you made it home safely.
For more information on classes or to enroll, visit Murphy’s website at Citizen-Defender.com or call 703 609-6350.
For lodging: Highly recommend the Super 8 in McLean, IL. It’s where our GSL Defense Training team stays when we have classes. Roughly $100 per night. Not exactly five-star, but it’s clean, comfortable and quiet.
If you want nicer with a hot breakfast, our previous favorite haunt was the Hawthorne Lodge on the west side of Bloomington. That was like 15-20 years ago and it may have changed since then.