Upcoming Courses

MCOLES accredited, 302 funds approved.

This course is designed for both new and experienced use of force instructors, certifying them in our soft empty-hand system and teaching methods. Officers leave with essential skills that integrate seamlessly with tools such as expandable batons, spray irritants, and handcuffing techniques.

This course is approved for 34 Minnesota POST credits.

We have trained over 350 law enforcement, military, and security agencies and are the exclusive provider of defensive tactics training for the Minneapolis Police Department. Our curriculum was featured in the largest known data study linking police training to force outcomes, conducted at the Saint Paul Police Department. This peer-reviewed study analyzed over 2,800 incidents from 2014 to 2020 and found:

• 37% reduction in the use of force
• 68% reduction in officers using strikes
• 51% reduction in the use of chemical irritants
• 39% reduction in Taser deployments
• 44% reduction in injuries to people being arrested
• 25% reduction in injuries to officers

The city’s civil liability payouts also dropped from $2 million in 2017 to just $5,000 in 2020.

The strength of a defensive tactics program lies in both curriculum and instructors. Our system combines effective, easy-to-learn techniques with proven training methods. Officers of all skill levels enhance their ability to handle varying levels of resistance using principles of leverage, body positioning, and timing. The course also covers integration with tools such as Tasers, ASP batons, and other less-lethal platforms.

Beyond physical skills, participants develop as communicators, trainers, and mentors. Traditional teaching methods often result in only 20% knowledge retention. Our training is built around the most modern adult learning principles, dramatically improving both retention and real-world application. This course is adaptable for any law enforcement or security organization and prepares participants to train others effectively.

FIT Course Outline

Day 1 – Foundations of Control & Learning

Core control systems and how people learn under stress

• Course orientation and STORM Training Group principles
• Handcuffing under varying levels of resistance: mechanics, positioning, and leverage
• Single-officer takedowns built for real-world encounters
• The Science of Skill Transfer and Retention – Myelin, stress, and performance
• Multiple-officer takedowns and role clarity
• Pressure testing drills

Outcome: Officers understand why STORM works and begin building durable, repeatable skills.

Day 2 – Legal Context & Ground Control

Bridging tactics, law, and instructor responsibility

• State statutes, case law, and use-of-force decision making
• Progressive skill building, communication, and integration
• The STORM Blueprint for skill transfer – based on adult learning principles
• Ground control concepts for dominant positioning
• Debriefing real world scenarios

Outcome: Participants can justify, articulate, and teach skills for control and defense.

Day 3 – Tool Integration & Instructor Development

Connecting empty-hand skills to intermediate weapons and instruction

• Intermediate weapons principles and transitions
• Train-the-trainer methodology
• Standing weapon-retention concepts and techniques
• Clinch fighting and positional dominance in a weapons-based environment
• Use-of-force report writing and documentation
• Video analysis and feedback

Outcome: Instructors learn to integrate tools seamlessly and teach defensible tactics.

Day 4 – Evidence-Based Training & Program Design

Building agency programs that stand up to scrutiny

• Review of peer-reviewed use-of-force research
• Advanced instructor development concepts
• Field-proven prone hand recovery techniques and concepts
• Designing and scaling agency training programs
• Wall-pin principles for environmental control

Outcome: Graduates design defensible, evidence-based training programs for their agency while honing their skills further.

Day 5 – Validation & Performance Under Load

Proving competency and pressure-testing skills

• Final written examination
• Ground weapon-retention principles
• Live drills & pressure tests with full duty belts and equipment
• Course evaluations and certification

Outcome: Graduating participants leave as confident, credentialed instructors ready to improve an existing training program or build one from the ground up.

Course Objectives

• Enhance compliance through verbal de-escalation and soft empty-hand techniques
• Respond effectively to close-quarter assaults
• Develop skills in handcuffing and controlling resistant subjects
• Perform single-officer and multiple-officer takedowns
• Incorporate force tools and transition to the best options
• Achieve proficiency with intermediate force weapons
• Improve training programs using adult learning principles

Required & Recommended Equipment

Required

• Duty belt or load-bearing vest
• BDU-style or athletic pants
• Pen and notebook

Recommended/Optional

• Extra T-shirt (optional)
• Wrestling shoes(optional, no street shoes on the mats)
• Mouth guard (optional)
• BJJ gear for lunch time rolls (optional)

Featured Instructors

Tom Menton
and
Chad Malmberg

Testimonials

“Better instructors than I’ve seen anywhere.”
-Dan Swanson, Rochester Police Department SWAT

“I would and do highly recommend STORM training as in-service use of force training for any and all departments.” -Anthony Petrie, Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office

“It’s a must attend course. Never been to an actual practical training that you will use the next shift potentially.” -Dylan Bebeau, City of Anoka Police Department

“If you have no martial arts experience and want to improve both your techniques and tactics, this course is one of the best for the job.” -Peter Gaffney, University of Minnesota Police Department

“That it makes you much more comfortable using these force options on suspects instead of relying on tools.” -Logan Welter, Mendota Heights Police Department

“Instructors. Good dudes that have used this on the street and want to change the face of UOF for agencies for the better. Not just the pay out. They care and have done the movements themselves.”
-Jesse Drown, Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office