Combatives at the Lake Alabama
Alabama Combatives at the Lake
C-Tac Training Day | July 18, 2026
If you are coming to Combatives at the Lake for one day in particular, July 18 is the day to lock in.
This full training day will be led by Sifu Alan Baker and will center on the C-Tac Program, with a major emphasis on the Weaponized Grappling curriculum. The focus is not sport. It is not theory without context. It is not disconnected technique collection. This is training designed around the realities of civilian self-protection, everyday carry, entangled weapons access, and close-range violence.
Throughout the day, students will work through core elements of the C-Tac system built around a force continuum, giving them a clearer understanding of how to apply the right tools at the right time under pressure. The material will be structured around the practical integration of everyday carry, including the use and protection of the firearm, bladed weapon, and other potential urban weapons that may come into play in real-world environments.
A major portion of the day will be dedicated to weapon-focused grappling, one of the defining elements of the C-Tac curriculum. This material addresses what happens when distance collapses, weapons are present, and the fight becomes entangled. Students will train the skills needed to manage position, access tools, deny access to the opponent, maintain control, and function inside the chaos of grounded and clinched combat where weapons change everything.
In addition to the C-Tac core material, selected elements from the Keysi Fighting Method will also be introduced as part of the assault-level portion of the training day. These pieces will support the overall theme of close-range functionality, pressure, structure, and survival inside hard-contact environments.
This is a day for serious people who want practical skill development, not choreography. The goal is to help students leave with a stronger understanding of how to connect striking, clinch, grappling, weapons, and environmental awareness into one usable system.
What You’ll Train On July 18
You will work through core C-Tac fundamentals built around a force continuum and real-world application.
You will train the integration of everyday carry, including the relationship between empty hand, firearm, blade, and improvised urban weapons.
You will spend significant time on Weaponized Grappling, learning how the presence of weapons changes positional control, transitions, access, denial, and survival at close range.
You will explore assault-level material that includes selected elements from the Keysi Fighting Method, helping you build a stronger understanding of close-quarter pressure and functional response under stress.
Who This Day Is For
This training is ideal for serious civilians, martial artists, firearms practitioners, protection professionals, and coaches who want a deeper look at how close-range self-protection really works when weapons are part of the environment.
If your training has kept striking separate from grappling, or firearms separate from entangled fighting, this day will help close that gap.
Why This Matters
Most people train these areas in isolation. They box without weapons. Grapple without access problems. Carry firearms without understanding what happens when someone crashes distance. Work knife material without integrating clinch or ground realities.
The C-Tac curriculum is built to tie those pieces together.
That is what makes July 18 such an important day inside this event. It is a full immersion into the part of the problem most people never train honestly.
Train the reality of entangled weapons access. Train the integration of empty hand, blade, and firearm. Train a system built for the real world.
REGISTER HERE:
What is Combatives at the Lake?
Combatives at the Lake is a collaborative, integrated training retreat built for serious students, instructors, and armed citizens who want more than a typical weekend seminar. Set in Double Springs, Alabama, the event combines combatives, defensive firearms, and medical training in one immersive environment designed to help people train across the full spectrum of civilian violence management. Rather than separating training from lodging and community, the event brings everything together in one place with on-site housing, shared meals, matted training space, and access to a nearby private range. The result is a more focused, high-value experience with less wasted time, more meaningful reps, and stronger connections between the people involved.
What makes Combatives at the Lake different is its collaborative model and the environment itself. Instructors train alongside students, experienced coaches contribute as training partners, and the shared setting creates a deeper level of learning than most traditional events. The curriculum is built around practical, real-world application and may include managing unknown contacts, verbal and movement-based problem solving, legally justifiable force, clinch and ground issues for armed citizens, the use of empty hand, less-lethal tools, edged weapons, and firearms, along with medical considerations and survival mindset. It is not built around personality or ego. It is built around training, community, and the kind of integration that helps people leave more capable, more connected, and better prepared.
Taught By Sifu Alan Baker
Professor Alan Baker is a high-performance coach, internationally recognized martial arts and self-defense expert, and the founder of the Civilian Tactical Training Association and the C-Tac® Program. With over 46 years of continuous experience in the martial arts, fitness, and personal protection fields, he has trained continuously since 1981 and has taught professionally since 1990. His work is centered on helping students, instructors, and professionals develop functional combative skills that hold up under pressure and apply in the realities of modern violence. Alan founded C-Tac® in 2015 to create a more complete and honest approach to civilian self-protection and combative development. The program was built to integrate striking, weapons, grappling, situational awareness, and force-continuum decision-making into one usable system. Rather than teaching isolated skills, C-Tac® is designed to help students understand how empty hand, firearm, blade, and environmental factors intersect in real-world conflict. A major emphasis of the program is developing adaptable, legally defensible, and performance-driven responses for close-range violence, entangled fights, and weapon-based problems. In the tactical training field, Alan has taught countermeasures, defensive tactics, firearms, and edged-weapon programs to Fortune 500 corporate security teams, law enforcement personnel, and SWAT teams throughout the United States. He has also had the privilege of working with and designing training programs for the Department of Defense and other specialized government and military organizations. His experience in this arena has helped shape the applied structure and operational focus of the C-Tac® curriculum. Alan is a certified Personal Protection Specialist and serves as the Defensive Tactics Instructor for The Executive Protection Institute in Clarke County, Virginia. He also teaches Vehicle-Centric Defensive Tactics for the Vehicle Dynamics Institute in New Jersey. Both EPI and VDI are widely recognized as top-level schools in the world of executive protection, tactical driving, and high-end security training. These experiences continue to influence the structure, relevance, and real-world application of his training systems. In addition to his tactical background, Alan has attained black belt rank or higher in multiple martial arts systems and instructor-level certifications under some of the most respected names in the industry, including Guro Dan Inosanto, Master Pedro Sauer, Sifu Francis Fong, Master Erik Paulson, Ajarn Chai Sirisute, Ajarn Greg Nelson, Tuhon Tim Waid, and Coach Justo Dieguez. His background in Filipino Kali, Jeet Kune Do, Muay Thai, Silat, grappling, and multiple self-protection systems gives him a broad and integrated base from which to teach. Through seminars, instructor development, and association training, Alan’s mission is to build capable people and provide a system of training that is practical, pressure-tested, and rooted in real application. His focus is not on tradition for tradition’s sake, but on developing individuals who can think clearly, move efficiently, and perform effectively when it matters most.
Additional Study Options
The C-Tac® Program
If you want to get more out of this event, or show up already speaking the same language, take some time to study the supporting material inside the C-Tac program. The system was built to provide a clear framework for practical self-defense training, including awareness, range management, and integrated weapons access. Reviewing the material ahead of time will help you understand the concepts behind how we train and why the methods work.
Inside the program you’ll find a structured path for developing the core principles we’ll be working with during the event. This includes movement, positioning, timing, and the integration of striking, grappling, and weapon access within a realistic self-defense context. If you want to sharpen your fundamentals and arrive already dialed in, this is a great place to begin.
C-Tac was developed to give students a reliable source of ongoing training, even if they can’t work with me in person regularly. Through the online platform, you’ll gain access to structured curriculum, drills, and instructional material that you can study at your own pace. You can train solo, work with a partner, or use it to support what you are already doing in your gym.
For those who want to go deeper, the online training connects directly to live training opportunities through instructor camps, seminars, and other events throughout the year. The online material provides the roadmap. The in-person training refines it through coaching, corrections, and pressure-tested work.
Learn more here: https://civilianTacticalcoach.com
Schedule An Event With Sifu Alan
We are currently scheduling seminars, workshops, private training, and multi-day camps with Sifu Alan Baker up to a year in advance. If you are an academy owner, program director, team leader, or training coordinator and would like to bring Alan in for an event, the first step is to connect with our Operations Director, Jennifer Wood.
Jennifer handles scheduling, booking, travel coordination, and event logistics, and she will help guide you through the process from start to finish. Whether you are looking to host a focused workshop, a full seminar weekend, or a customized training camp built around your team’s needs, she can help you lock in dates and get everything organized.
All training events are designed around your goals, your environment, and the type of people you serve. To begin the process, reach out to Jennifer and we can start building the right event for you.
You can reach Jennifer through our Team page here: https://sifualanbaker.com/our-team/
Need Training Gear For The Event?
Visit our Amazon shop to access the same training gear we use in our programs. Each item is selected for real-world performance and reliability. Click the link below to explore the gear.
https://www.amazon.com/shop/sifualanbaker
Physical Requirements
Participation in this program requires a basic level of mobility and fitness, including the ability to get down to one knee and return to standing safely. We also understand that injuries, limitations, and medical considerations are common. When appropriate, we can modify drills and training methods to support your participation while maintaining the safety and core intent of the training. If you have any concerns, please let us know ahead of time so we can plan smart adjustments. We aim to provide a high-quality learning experience for every participant, and we will make reasonable modifications when needed unless doing so would fundamentally change the nature of the training or create a safety risk.
Before engaging in any physical activity, including this event, it’s advisable to consult with your doctor for guidance and to ensure it’s suitable for your health and fitness level.
Release Form
If you have not signed our release form this year, we will need you to do so HERE: https://form.jotform.com/250637570654158
