Tactical Insights from the Front Lines: Greg Ellifritz on Guns, Red Dots, Knives, and Resilience

In this episode of the Taking Aim podcast, host Richard Nance interviews longtime friend and renowned tactical trainer Greg Ellifritz, who shares his extensive background: starting as a young police officer in a Columbus, Ohio suburb right after college (initially aiming for park ranger work), serving 25 years on the force with 13 of those as a full-time training officer, and gaining broad experience in firearms, combatives, bike patrol, sniper roles, and more. Ellifritz discusses his martial arts journey (from wrestling and traditional karate to judo and early Krav Maga), his passion for weightlifting and powerlifting, and his long tenure at Tactical Defense Institute (TDI), where he taught specialized classes like knife defense, ground fighting, impact weapons, close-quarters shooting, and civilian active killer response—contrasting the enthusiasm of paying civilian students with the often reluctant mandated agency training. He highlights his popular website (activeresponsetraining.net), including the widely read weekly "Weekend Knowledge Dump" of curated links and articles, his design involvement with knives like the LDK (Last Ditch Knife) for discreet carry and escape, and his philosophy on open-minded instruction by sharing resources from various sources rather than gatekeeping students. The conversation touches on practical topics like knife fighting realities (balancing lethal efficiency with legal defensibility, informed by expert witness work), skepticism toward expandable batons versus improvised impact tools like flashlights, reluctance to adopt pistol red dots (preferring them on carbines but wary of reliability and maintenance issues until eyesight demands it), key close-quarters pistol skills (proper retention positions and smart draw timing to avoid gun grabs), influences from top instructors like John Benner, Craig Douglas, and Ron Avery, and his book Choose Adventure on safe, realistic travel in developing/third-world countries based on his extensive solo adventures. Ellifritz also candidly addresses his ongoing battle with metastatic prostate cancer (diagnosed in 2020, recurrent and spread despite innovative treatment), defying doctors' two-year prognosis as of early 2026 while remaining active, teaching, and optimistic.Visit Active Response Training at: https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/Follow Rich Nance on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nance_training_consulting/ and https://www.instagram.com/rnancewartac/Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AimpointUSAVisit: https://aimpoint.us/ to learn morePRODUCED BY IRONCLAD