Leo Prinsloo“The Edge”

www.tesi.co.za

August 2012

Doppies

“The Edge”Inside this Edition:

Interview with Leo Prinsloo owner and Head instructor at “The Edge” Shooting academy. He touches on how and why the club came to be what it is today.

“The Edge” Shooting club ran a competition shoot last month, and we checked in to find out how it went.

We get an insiders opinion on the Women’s self defence course that took place on the 3-4 August with some feed back from the ladies.

We have also listed all the details for the upcoming TEMS course with details and prices.

All up and coming events in “The Edge” calender.

We have listed a feedback section. “The Edge” is a training and life saving organization, please give us feed back on how we can best help you.

WWW.TESI.CO.ZA

leo@tesi.co.za

Ola readers!

WOW! It’s finally off the ground. “The Edge” would like to introduce “Doppies” the magazine.

Through these exciting pages we will try to enlighten our fellow outdoor enthusiasts with all the on-going news within “The Edge” shooting club as well as relevant exciting outdoor articles.

To start off this edition, we feel it only fitting to interview “The Edge” creator and managing member: Leo Prinsloo.

Mr. Prinsloo served 17 years in the South African Police Service. Twelve of these years were spent in the SAPS Special task force unit. (This is a counter terrorism unit) He also served this unit not only as an operator but also as an elite marksman (sniper).

Leo has also provided training internationally in both “Abu Dhabi” and “Mexico”.

Interview with Leo Prinsloo

So Leo, it’s been a long road from building “The Edge” from an afternoon shoot on the range, into a large, if not a very large outdoor club. What was your motivation into creating “The Edge”?

MONEY!!! But when I woke up my coffee was cold!! No seriously I thought of training people to be able to handle themselves in difficult circumstances, as I saw the crime hitting ordinary people hard and that people with firearms also became easy targets I was thinking one have to try and make a difference. The most difficult part is to change people’s perception of training, as they see it as something they only need after the “bad “incident already took place, they don’t want to get to a point of prevention.

“Experience is something you get shortly after you need it.”

Making training fun also plays a huge role, I believe that The Edge trains people hard but at the end of the hard day they had a lot of fun, if the fun factor is absent we will see them once and never again, there is no discrimination regarding the level of ability renderd. We all want to get better with what we do and that is my focus, to take a new shooter to greatness and to love the activity at the same time and to come back and start playing a role in each other’s lives. We are a big family and everybody knows and take personal interest in everybody. There is a vast variety of shooters, men and ladies, and the network is great.

So we know you offer training mainly out of the SWAT shooting range in Pretoria, but we hear there has been some news that may make a few happy, “Oppie” the Obstical course has had to be removed, What’s your feeling on this, and do you have anything else in store? Absolutely! Physical training is part and parcel of many if not all my training programs, once a person understands the benefits of being fit and strong, especially in the self-protection environment it will be hard for them not to embrace it. Although it is sad that the obstacle course needed to make way for additional shooting ranges, I can understand why it happened, but rest assured there will be a next one, and it always gives us the opportunity to make it better and more challenging from the previous one!

Ok, so you started out as a Firearm training company, but over time you have gradually evolved into offering other outdoor activities. Why the change?

The firearm training compliments the other outdoor activities and the people that loves the outdoor, will love what we do. It is also a business decision as one has to diversify as much as possible to keep The Edge over other providers. I understand that people want a variety and I try and offer them as much as possible. I’m very fortunate that we can deliver what we offer as we have so much expertise within our ranks. So a little birdie told me that you may start offering gym (Conditioning) sessions in the evenings, and that this will focus a lot on the mind as well as body, will this only be for fit athletes or can the average house wife take part? Yes, again it is one service that we offer, and that is to make people tired in a short space of time! Hahaha, I understand the difference between training for a marathon and functional training, and even though there are similarities the focus is different.

I can make you strong and fit in 30 minutes a day, with focused training covering the entire body, cardio and strength training combined, with very little to no equipment in the comfort of your own home. The problem is that very few people have got the discipline to train alone and make the effort, and need the companionship when they train. They also want somebody to suffer with them and they want to compare their progress against someone else. The concept of functional fitness with the added benefit of teaching lifesaving skills such as self-defence principles was always seen as a thing for “Special Forces” only, but it is hugely beneficial and important of ordinary people to understand this and to make it part of a lifestyle, and if I can help with that it will be great!

Dealing with such large groups and the crime rate in South Africa, we know you get asked a lot of question about personal safety and home defence, What is the most important thing to remember when securing yourself and your home?

Take responsibility for your own safety! Even if the police want to do the right thing to protect the citizens, they can’t because of a lack in man power and lots of other problems, I don’t think I have to elaborate on other reasons, but we all read the papers!

One needs to make a couple of decisions and probably one or two changes in your lifestyle to be safe, therfore rather act now than cry later.

Studies have shown that the number one reason people get targeted by criminals is the fact that they are not aware what is happening around them, we talk about the colour codes of awareness, and the first colour code is “white”, when a person is in this stage he/she is totally oblivious of what is happening around them at any given stage of the day. One should just be in “white “when you are fast asleep. With the necessary early warning systems in place to awaken you before the crap hits the fan, but unfortunately so many people are in “white” while driving home, shopping, or at the house watching TV while the security gates are not locked and secured. The big culprit is BBM’s and mail reading in traffic!

Any good tips for securing your home?

Good dog/s that can warn you of any unwanted guests, proper outside lighting that work on motion detection, good strong security gates that are locked all the time when you are in condition white.

Owning a gun and having the training to use it properly when the need arises. Know your rights when it comes to self-defence. Hmmm, interesting. Know we know that you were with the South African Task Force for many years, and we don’t want to go into this to much in this interview because we have a great Christmas edition install, but how has that changed your life, and do you see things differently?

The Task Force was the breeding ground of The Edge. All the skills and back ground comes from there. In the unit one learns discipline, one-self and the skills that counts when you need it most. One also learns that skills doesn’t stay sharp if you don’t keep them there yourself (discipline).

But like you said enough about that now! We hear that you recently ran in the comrades, how was it? Hard as always! But I had a good run; I managed my PB after 17 years of running the race, so imagine my 30th run! Hahaha, I was worried this year as my training started very slowly in January being sick the whole month and struggling with irritating injuries, I did about 400km less than last year, and I didn’t do a hell of a lot last year! But there you are, there is always something to say for “under training” I guess! Take home any medals?

I managed a silver medal, my time was 7h17 min

Ok, back to firearms, we know its a passion and that you have a very extensive resume when its comes to training, and you have trained some of the best in the world, has it been a change from training very dedicated and fit individuals so some, should we say less fit and the Sunday shooter types? There are very different ‘students” all have challenges and attributes of their own, either the one is too cocky and know everything and the other is too lazy to learn and so it goes, then you get the student that is perfect, he does everything right the first time and progress so smoothly that it is almost unbelievable, ( they are in very short supply though) . But it’s always fun, the best student is the willing to try and willing to learn person, no matter how hard or “slow” they never give up! People like that will get 200% from any instructor.

For me a day is a failure if I didn’t learn something from a student doesn’t matter who he is or what level he is.

Ok then lastly a question that we ask all our interviewees, what keeps you motivated to do what you do?

Like you said it’s a passion, there is huge rewards to see persons struggling with a particular exercise and after a lot of effort he/she gets it right, the sense of achievement is great and it makes up for all the hard and frustrating times.

I would like to read in the paper that the good overcame evil in a self-defence scenario and that law abiding citizens can stand up to the criminal element doesn’t matter what the weapon type or circumstances, even the avoidance of danger through training and mind-set preparation is a battle won.

Competition Shoot July 2012 http://youtu.be/v0l_Y5K2y38 Click for Youtube Video

I’m a big fan of “The Edge” competition shoots. I must admit, I love the back chat and spirit of the day as each competitor tries to out his buddy, while trying to negotiate with the Range officer to get a better score.

The day started off a little slower than usual because our recently demolished friend “Oppie” couldn’t make his usual appearance, but those who wished to warm up, took a few laps around the range while the officials began setting up the course and getting everything prepared. A few of us were a bit taken a back that it was such a warm day, as the weather report stated that it would be a little chilly, Just goes to show, first check out the temperature at the range before you decide not to get out of bed and come down to join us :)

We then started off with the basic warm up 5 rounds on target at your own time. The impressive thing was that all the regular shooters, remembered the basics of shooting and followed through with every shot on target. The competition was neck and neck with everyone going into the specialised ranges.

There where 4 specialized ranges designed to challenge all competitor’s strengths and weaknesses.

Movements and steel • plates.Movements and instinctive • firing without the use of sight.Target identification.• Real-life scenarios.•

The competitors were split into three groups, moving from one range to the next before meeting for the final “shoot out” at The “Real Life Scenario” course.

At this point all the competitors were checking out everyone else’s score sheets trying to figure out who was on top and laughing at who couldn’t hit a Barn door at 3m. However, everyone was excited to run the last range. The last section was quite exciting as we sat around the corner hiding our view of the range as not to give us an advantage going into the final course.

Wow the last range was a real eye opener, as everyone tried to move and fire as quickly as possible. This was a challenge as some forgot to take into account the fundamentals, and remain behind cover while firing and standing still while doing magazine changes. But don’t worry Leo and Morne were right there to point it all out.

The Competition shoot was an absolute success and a pleasure to be apart of, and in the end the hard work and dedication paid off for Carlo “Mamba” Du Plessis and he was named “The Edge” sharp shooter for July 2012

Well done “Mamba” just shows you all the hard work at the range pays off.....

www.tesi.co.za

Women’s Self Defence Course http://youtu.be/f3zcINRVoco Click for Youtube Video

Wow what a weekend! On the 3-4 of August “The Edge” ran a women’s only self defence course, in the JHB area. There was a good turn out, with woman coming from all around Gauteng to take part.

The woman learnt all about self defence and how to get out of any situation from a randy husband, to an armed attacker. Leo started the session off with a talk on Friday night about the mind and how your body behaves under stress, then on Saturday they advanced to knife fighting, boxing, chokes, kicking, kneeing and grappling.

You could see the nervousness in the ladies as Leo started each new section, as most of the ladies didn’t even realize what they were capable of, but as the ladies grew with confidence so did their abilities.

One of the more difficult sections of this course was the grappling, this took all the woman to a very uncomfortable place and forced them to overcome their fear and focus on the task at hand. Leo went step by step through all the moves when dealing with a perpetrator who is on top of you, and once the ladies go to teams with the uncomfortable position and the techniques it was easy.

One of the highlights of the course was the over the head roll, where Leo would rush into the Girls and they would have turns throwing him as far as the could, and once they got this technique down it was all over for Leo, as all they wanted to do was go for distance. Ouch...

Once all the section’s were covered, it was time to apply the skills they had learnt, so Leo gloved up and each woman had a few turn to defend themselves against all types of scenario’s. As an observer is was interesting to see how each woman handle this aspect of the training, you could see how they would start to shake and forget about the training, but once the fight had started and they realized how to handle the situation it was all over for Leo as some of the ladies got a few good shots in.

But all in all the Woman Enjoyed the day, and realized the Mind is the most powerful weapon of all.

Introduction to TEMS

This section is aimed at security and law enforcement officials. The course is conducted over four days and a minimum of Level III current First Aid and Firearm Competency for Business use is required. Students will learn how to apply the basics of TEMS when they are faced with a medical emergency in a hostile situation with the main focus on basic tactical emergency medical treatment.

A minimum of 12 students is required.

Basic TEMS

This section is aimed at medical professionals that hold at least a Basic Ambulance Certificate and currently registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). The course is conducted over eight days. The following will be covered on the Basic TEMS Course:

Tactical and Medical Equipment in the Austere environment Wound Ballistics Recognition of I.E.D’s (Introduc-tion) Concealed Weapons Medical Reconnaissance and Plan-ning Approach and preservation of the Crime Scenes K9 Emergencies Forensic Pathology Disarming and Suspect Apprehen-sion Tactical Primary Health Care Tactical Team Movement (Urban only) Team Considerations when Deploy-ing Distractive Devices Chemical Agents and Less Lethal Measures (Introduction) Basic Personal Weapon Handling Tactical Combat Casualty Care (care under fire) Close Quarter Combat Techniques Pyrotechnics

A minimum of 24 students is re-quired.

Advanced TEMS

This section is aimed at medical professionals that hold at least a Basic Ambulance Certificate and currently registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). The course is conducted over eight days. Applicants must be in possession of a valid Basic TEMS certificate. The Advance course will concentrate more on rural type movement and survival; most of the topics in the basic course would be looked at but in a lot more detail. Here we look at the more practical aspects of TEMS.

A minimum of 24 students is required.

The course is structured to equip the emergency care provider with the knowledge, skills and insight to work safely in a high-risk, high-threat environment, something that we face regularly in South Africa.

And the benefits?

With TEMS there are medical professionals immediately on scene in a conflict situation and able to render immediate emergency medical care. The facts speak for themselves: when Civilian Paramedics are trained in military as well as policing tactics in order to support their local law enforcement agencies, more lives are saved than through the normal and conventional ways of EMS.

Most of South Africa can be considered a high-risk environment, especially in the realm of emergency medical care. We believe that this course would make an immerse difference in your day –to-day lifestyle, the way you deal with emergencies, as well as your every day work on the South African streets.

Interested applicants can email tems@er24.co.za with their name, surname, qualification and contact information. It is important that you specify the course you are interested in. Once we have received your information, a representative from the Training Academy will contact you with further information and a quotation.

The next Basic TEMS course is scheduled to take place on the 28th of October to the 4th of Novenber 2012 at cost of R9500-00 per candidate, VAT Included.

Upcoming Events!

18/19th August Weekend Shoot!25th August Women’s Shoot!1st Sept Club Shoot! 14/15th Sept unarmed combat! 21-23 Sept Farther and Son Shoot!13 Oct First Time Shooters! 28th Oct - 4th Nov TEMS Course!

Please note: “The Edge” will now be posting all their up and comming events on FB. http://www.facebook.com/firearmtrainingsa/events Click to navigate If possible please log on and confirm your attendance for their events, or email leo@tesi.co.za

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