Welcome to Lone Operator – The #1 Tactical Self Defence Training Program.
Lone Operator was developed in South Africa to equip ordinary citizens with the skills to survive in one of the world’s most dangerous environments. With over 70,000 murders annually, violent crime is a daily reality—one that demands preparation, not hesitation.
Our mission is simple: to give you the tactical combat skills needed to protect yourself and your loved ones in a life-threatening situation.
Module 1 Lessons
All The Necessary Gun Safety Precautions Were Taken Before Filming Any Video In This Course
What is Covered in this Module
We begin at the beginning, mastering the 7 fundamentals of shooting. It is of the utmost importance that you can hit a target, and fully understand the application of the 7 fundamentals, before we even begin looking at tactics.
What Is Lone Operator?
Lone Operator (LO) Level 1 is designed to instill the right mindset, skillset, and fitness foundation needed to protect yourself and your loved ones in today’s world.
These three pillars—Skillset, Fitness, and Mindset—are essential and must be continuously developed. It’s not just about knowing how to fight, but why these principles matter.
Fitness: Strength with Purpose
Fitness isn’t about wasting time—it’s about ensuring you’re physically capable of surviving and fighting back. Strength and endurance can mean the difference between life and death.
🔹 Pull-ups: If you’re being pursued or need to scale an obstacle, can you pull yourself up? Can you help a teammate over?
🔹 Leg Strength: Can you squat, drop into a prone position, shoot, and get back up quickly? If you need to carry a wounded buddy, do you have the strength to lift and move them?
🔹 Arm & Core Strength: Carrying and operating your gear demands strong arms, shoulders, back, and chest. Your core is the foundation of all movement—train it.
🔹 Endurance: In a real-world crisis, like the KZN riots, defenders had to guard their communities for 24+ hours. Your ability to sustain effort over time is critical—train your lungs, build endurance, and get that 1.5-mile run in.
Mindset: The Will to Win
Are you ready to bring violence to an attacker? Can you meet their aggression with equal or greater force?
Real life is not range life. Forget the “Range is life” mantra—it’s BS. A real attack brings fear, adrenaline dumps, and physiological reactions (yes, even bladder release). If you think training on a controlled range is enough, you’re lying to yourself.
When you’re tired, injured, and under attack—can you focus on WIN: What’s Important Now?
🔹 Sort your mindset out—right now.
🔹 Find your reason to show up, train hard, and complete this course.
🔹 Because when you bleed in a real fight, no one is coming to save you.
This program is about building warriors, not weekend shooters. Are you ready?
Gun Safety
Before we begin, we need to look at gun safety. It will form the most integral part of every single time you handle your firearm throughout the course. Know it, grasp it and make it part of your routine every single time you handle a firearm.
Gun laws differ from country to country and even state to state (US).
This is too broad a topic to cover here and we are not lawyers.
We provide reference links below so you can check your legal status to own and carry a firearm for self-defence in the place where you live.
It is your responsibility to ensure you are legal.
South Africa
For firearm regulations as it pertains to South Africans we provide the link below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearms_regulation_in_South_Africa
USA
Please ensure that you comply with local and federal law ito ownership and carry as it pertains to your state. We provide a comprehensive breakdown of the relevant laws in the link below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_the_United_States_by_state
Other Countries
Please check your laws and regulations for firearm ownership to self-defence where you live.
Kit & Equipment
Next on our list is to have a look at what equipment will be used during the LO course.
Have a look at the following video, make notes if you need to.
Fundamentals Of Self Defense Shooting
Before you can start running your gun successfully, you must master ALL the basics. Starting at the fundamentals of shooting.
The seven fundamentals of shooting
- Stance – stance may not always be possible, but take notice of stance. In some cases you may not be in a stance per se – you may be running, kneeling or lying down. But stance is all about forming a solid foundation for your shooting. Keep in mind that a handgun is harder to control than a carbine due to fewer contact points, so you want to make your shooting platform as stable as possible.
- Grip – grip is NBNB – make sure to hold the gun, no, even tighter. Tighter, tighter still! Don’t cup and saucer and all kinds of funny business. Get flesh on the gun, as much as you can, get your thumbs aligned and in the correct position and ensure that the grip is strong enough to control that recoil as far as is possible.
- Sight alignment – Sight alignment is the position you align your front sight in relation to your rear sight.
- Sight picture – Sight picture is the picture you see when your sights are properly aligned and aimed at the target.
- Trigger squeeze – be slow and consistent on the trigger, remember to take up slack when pushing the gun out.
- Breathing – keep breathing, don’t hold your breath. All your organs need oxygen, also the eyes, so the longer you hold your breath, the harder your ability to focus will be. Don’t stop breathing.
- Follow through – don’t be in a hurry to unload and holster, be ready, and line up for the next possible bad guy.
Do not rush when shooting targets. Take time to understand what you are doing wrong, why your shots are landing where they do – AND FIX IT. (see below)
The next videos will take you through the 7 fundamentals of shooting.
It is very important that you get the fundamentals sorted.
Surviving a violent attack means shot placement is of the utmost importance.
You won’t have the luxury of carrying 7 extra mags with you, and chances are your attackers will be more than 5, armed to the teeth, probably trained and very likely wearing body armour.
You won’t have shots to waste, you will need to make every shot count.
Therefore, we need to square the fundamentals away before even thinking of touching on the tactical stuff.
A professional is someone who only does the basics better.
Sight Alignment
Perfect Shot Placement
Correct Sight Alignment
Note: Sight picture may differ across a variety of handguns. We advise that everyone shoots his/her own firearm and determine their own correct sight picture.
For Self Defense We Want Both Eyes Open With Dominant Eye Focus On The Target
Note: Although recoil management is not one of the 7 fundamentals, it is a principle to be considered when firing follow-up shots and to remember for the upcoming modules.
Slapping or Flinching
Slapping the trigger or flinching happens when you anticipate the shot. This means that you are either over eager to make the shot happen or that you are anticipating recoil (flinching) and therefore trying to control the recoil before it happens.
The result of this is that your shots fall in the slap zone (see the wheel), which is below the target. You need proper trigger discipline which comes down to you not disturbing the front sight at all whilst pulling the trigger. If you can control this, and execute a smooth, proper trigger pull, then your shots will be on target.
See the video below on this.
Bonus – Use the wheel below to analyze your own shot placement.
Follow along in the video below.
LEFT-HANDED SHOOTERS TAKE NOTE – you have to mirror the wheel – left becomes right.
Why Fitness?
Fitness plays an integral part in being able to defend yourself successfully. The fitter you are, the longer you can stay in the fight, the longer you can focus, the better your body responds to the Body Alarm Reaction, and so many more.
We encourage you to start a fitness regime (if you don’t do training already) that consists of body weight exercises with an aim to the function of said exercises. For example – push-ups will give you the strength and flexibility needed to get yourself down into prone positions and up again without consuming too much energy.
Download our example programs below.
It is of the utmost importance to understand fitness regarding self-defence. To have the know-how, or the ability to use a firearm or knife or similar is one thing. But remember that mindset leads.
Too often the other element – fitness – is left out of the mix.
Lone Operator makes fitness a large priority during the program and a lot of emphases is placed on fitness. Many people struggle to stay on track when it comes to fitness. And at the core of that is commitment and accountability.
Sometimes we get bugged by the little things that can throw us off course. So whatever you do and whether you stay on the LO program or not. Just stay the course when it comes to fitness.
That is why you need a strong WHY. Make your WHY strong enough and stay the course. You’ve got this.
Fitness
Regarding self-defense, having the skills to fight back is only part of the equation—your physical fitness plays a crucial role in your ability to react, move, and endure under pressure. Functional fitness trains your body for real-world movements, improving your strength, agility, and stamina in ways that directly translate to self-defense situations. Whether it’s explosive power to break free from an attacker, endurance to sustain a fight, or mobility to evade danger, a well-conditioned body can distinguish between surviving an encounter or being overpowered.
At BattleFit.co.za, we design our training programs with real-life combat and self-defense in mind. Our workouts enhance your speed, reaction time, and overall physical resilience, ensuring you’re always ready to defend yourself when it matters most. Don’t just train for show—train for survival.
Join BattleFit.co.za today and build the strength and endurance you need to protect yourself and those you care about!
Fitness Accountability Program
We understand that one of the main elements of not being able to stay the course is the accountability part. So with this program, we would like to assist you with just that. We have developed a system based on the Slight Edge principle. Anyone who wants to tag along is welcome to.
Here are the ins and outs.
1. We break everything into bite-sized chunks. Something like this usually is this huge “mountain” and the only way to conquer a mountain is step by step.
2. NOTE – there will be no training programs/regimes nor special diets etc. This is simply a system to keep doing a little bit every day and be accountable for what you’ve done on that day.
START HERE >>
First, you can download the program below :
Download The Fitness Accountability Program Here
Then, download the sheet and print a couple of copies for yourself. We suggest 9 copies at least. The program runs for 9 cycles.
Assignment Fitness Test
(Not Compulsory)
You are welcome to do a benchmark fitness test and score yourself.
Do the following:-
- 2,4km run – take time from start to finish
- push-ups to exhaustion – in 1 minute. (see video above)
- sit-ups to exhaustion – in 2 minutes (see video above)
- pull-ups to exhaustion – no time – straight arms
- 10 x shuttle runs from point A to B. Distance between A and B = 25m. Running from A to B counts as 1, running back counts as 2 etc.
Use the sheet at the link below and assign scores to your numbers to get a final score out of 100. You can repeat this test on a monthly basis to track your improvement. You are also welcome to share your scores on the facebook group.
Course Of Fire 1
NOTE: This is not compulsory and you don’t need to do this in order to progress to the next module. You can also do this at a later stage. We have found that it is good practice to set a benchmark at the beginning of the course so that your progress can be measured as we continue on. You are welcome to upload your results to the Facebook group. If not, make sure you store a picture of your target, as you will do this shoot a couple of times through the course, and you need to be able to measure your progress.
You need to shoot 10 x 19mm circle stickers (see the image below). The stickers are available at any stationary shop. Use any cardboard target and put 10 x 19mm circle stickers on the target.
Standing at a 3m distance from the target, on your own time (iow no time limit), fire 4 x shots at each sticker (we refer to this as the Lone Operator Plakkie Shoot).
Using the fundamentals of grip, sights and squeeze, the aim is to get as many shots on target as possible.
Only shots cutting the sticker will count. Once finished, take a photo of your target and store it for reference. And if you want, you can upload it to the Facebook group. Good luck!
Course Of Fire (COF)
You can use this COF as a training exercise to ensure you practice the drills given and that you refine and hone your fundamentals. This will be crucial for the upcoming modules. Solid fundamentals lay a solid foundation for combative shooting.
See the video right at the top – First Person View
- Use a cardboard target or a piece of cardboard similar to IPSC target size (about 45cm x 50cm).
- Get a roll of 19cm (7.48in) dot stickers – any color will do
- Put 10 x stickers on the target – ensure good spacing
- Place your target against a backstop on a safe shooting range
- Ensure safe handling and procedures of your firearm, and wear PPE
- Stand at 3m (3.28 yards) from the target
- Load 5 rounds per magazine – however many magazines of your choice. The more mags, the less loading throughout the shoot.
- Load and make ready
- Draw your firearm and proceed to fire 5 x shots on the first dot. At your own time. Ensure you take it slow
- Make the firearm safe and holster – always ensure safe range procedures are kept
- Use the wheel shown below and measure your first 5 shots against the wheel (see section above for a PDF version) – shot placement of yours and in which area did they land
- Try and identify what you are doing wrong and then work to consciously correct that error/s
- Repeat this procedure through all 10 dots – ensure you take it slow and that you try and establish what you are doing wrong wrt to the 7 fundamentals
This is now an exercise that you can do before and/or after any subsequent shoot that you do when going to the range. You can also use this exact drill as a dryfire drill for your daily practice.
That is that for module 1!
Well done, you have completed this module.
You now have 1 month to run dry fire drills on your handgun to ensure that you understand grip, sights and squeeze. So that the gun doesn’t move when you squeeze that trigger.
Feel free to recap any time you like.