Tactical Skills: The OODA Loop in Action
At Top Gun Training Centre, we teach OODA Loop training as a continuous decision cycle that links mental awareness to fast physical response. OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. Movement is a primary tool for disrupting an attacker’s OODA process, seizing initiative, and controlling the tempo of a confrontation. Repeating the cycle quickly and accurately is how you stay ahead of a threat.
We pair OODA with YODA, our weapon management system that ensures your shot lands where you intend, OODA controls time and space while YODA controls the firearm. Together they form the practical core of our training and connect directly to the Combat Triad: marksmanship, gun handling, and tactics under stress. This system only works when supported by strict trigger discipline and situational safety.
Situational Awareness: Color Codes of Danger
The first principle of situational awareness is Col. Jeff Cooper’s Color Codes of Danger. These mental states prepare you for decisive action:
- White: Unaware. Avoid this state.
- Yellow: Relaxed awareness, observing everything around you.
- Orange: Alert to possible danger. Form a response plan.
- Red: Threat is active. Gun deployed.
- Black: Immediate lethal threat. Engage, seek cover, move, and fire until the threat stops.
These color codes are more than labels. They provide a framework for shifting awareness, forming response plans, and staying ahead of a threat. At Top Gun Training Centre, we expand on them through stress drills, scanning, and tactical movement so students can apply them in real time. For the original framework, see Col. Jeff Cooper’s expanded explanation of the Color Codes.
Rules for Staying Aware Under Stress
Situational awareness isn’t just knowing the color codes, but actively reading your environment and reacting before a threat gains the advantage. In high-stress moments, senses narrow and reaction time drops, so we train habits that keep you alert and ready:
- Check your hands first. They reveal the attacker’s intent.
- Shoot with both eyes open. Stress narrows your vision; don’t cut it further by closing one eye.
- 360° scanning. After addressing the immediate threat, scan your environment — not just left and right, but up and down.
- Clock method scanning. Right-handers sweep from 11 o’clock to 6 o’clock, then 1 o’clock to 6 o’clock; left-handers reverse. This keeps your weapon ready without a full body turn.
- Avoid swinging the muzzle. Establish the visual line first, then move the firearm to that line for faster, cleaner acquisition.
- End scan on the most likely threat location. Point your weapon toward the next potential danger, not an empty wall.
If you’re in tight spaces or near bystanders, use the safety circle or close-quarter carry while you scan. Always announce “SIX CLEAR” to confirm your rear is safe. Control your environment by positioning yourself near walls, vehicles, or other obstacles so you limit where an attack can come from. These habits reflect the same principles we emphasize in Surviving the Fight: The Realities of Combat, where awareness and positioning determine whether you control the engagement or fall behind it.
Alternative Shooting Positions: Adapt to the Fight
Real fights rarely let you stand in a textbook stance. That is why we train a range of alternative shooting positions that reflect the same mindset we emphasize in marksmanship training, where techniques must work under pressure and not only on paper.
- Lower your profile to make you a smaller target.
- Maximize available cover and concealment.
- Allow safe use of corners and tight spaces.
- Avoid the “fatal funnel” of doors, halls, and windows.
- Protect downed bystanders by adjusting your firing angle.
From kneeling to urban prone, each position is chosen based on the environment, available cover, and the urgency of the threat. Whether you are behind a vehicle, inside a hallway, or on the ground, the goal is the same: keep shooting effectively from whatever position you find yourself in.
Ready to Train Like You Fight?
At Top Gun Training Centre, the OODA Loop isn’t theory. It’s trained, reinforced, and integrated with your movement, awareness, and shooting positions. You’ll learn to process threats faster, stay unpredictable, and control the fight from start to finish.
Train with awareness. Train with intent. Train for the fight.
View our course schedule or contact us to reserve your spot.