Randy’s Bio
Randy Harris is one of the original Suarez International staff instructors. He was chosen by Gabe Suarez in 2005 to teach the Suarez catalog of classes around the country. He now has over 20 years of experience working in the shooting industry, and has begun teaching is own original curricula under the banner of Harris Combative Strategies. Randy is an NRA certified instructor, a Handgun Carry Permit instructor for the state of Tennessee, and Glock Armorer.
Randy is able to share his extensive knowledge from decades of experience carrying concealed weapons in public and an extensive training and teaching resume. Not only is he able to teach students how to win the fight, but when to fight and how to avoid it if possible. He spent several years in college working the door at a night club where he gained practical experience and insight into not only how to end fights quickly, but how to use verbal skills and body language to diffuse situations and avoid them.
Randy is a Master class shooter having competed in everything from He has had articles published in several defense-oriented internet newsletters and publications. He has been a practitioner at the National Tactical Invitational and has attended and been a presenter at the Rangemaster Tactical Conference/Polite Society Match where he also scored two Top 3 finishes in the Polite Society match shooting against some of the best serious gunmen and defensive shooting instructors in the country.
Randy has trained with some of the best in the business in the areas of gun, knife and empty hand combatives and takes a thinking man’s approach to integrating those skills and teaching people to better defend themselves. Here is partial compilation of Randy’s training credentials:
SUAREZ INTERNATIONAL
- Ultimate Combat Skills Week
- Extreme Close Range Gunfighting
- Shotgun Gunfighting
- Interactive Gunfighting (FOF)
- Kalashnikov Rifle Gunfighting
- High Intensity FOF I
- High Intensity FOF II
- High Intensity Pistol
- Knife Fighting
- Vehicle Gunfighting
- Zero to Five Feet Gunfighting
- Advanced Kalashnikov Rifle Gunfighting
- SMG Gunfighting
- Tactical Medicine for the CCW Operator
- Practical Theory and Training for the Use & Defense of Edged Weapons
- Private Seminar for Edged Weapons Combat
- Accessing While Under Attack
- Edged Weapon Combat 1
- Edged Weapons Tactics
- Knife Defense for Shooters
- Empty Hand Knife and Pistol
- Edged Weapons Combatives
- Kill Zone Tactics
- Disarming Using Knives
- Combative Pistol I
- Combative Pistol II
- Dynamic Marksmanship
- 3 Day Firearms Instructor Development Course (1st in class)
- Advanced Instructor Development (1st in class)
- Defensive Shotgun 2 Day
- Establishing a Dominance Paradigm (with William Aprill and Craig Douglas)
- Intensive Pistol Skills
- Rangemaster Instructor Reunion
- Practical Unarmed Combat
- Extreme Close Quarters Concepts
- In Extremis Knife
- Saps and Blackjacks
- Armed Movement In Structures
- Edged Weapons Overview
- 3 Day Pistol Class (Advanced Ranking 115 score / Top Shooter in class)
- Course conducted in conjunction with Dodd and Associates
- Enhanced Combative Pistol
- Situational Pistol
- Critical Space Pistol
Additional Training and Teaching:
- TN Handgun Carry Permit classes since 1999
- Suarez Int staff instructor since 2005 taught over 200 classes for Suarez Int travelling from Tn to GA, AL , MS, FL, SC, NC, KY, IN, OH, MI, AZ .
- Have been a guest on Shooters Rest Radio and the Shooters Nation Podcast. Published in several internet newsletters and quoted in Recoil Magazine Issue 35
- Lessons Learned from Watching 20,000 Gunfights (Active Self protection / John Correia)
- AKs and Bandaids (1-day AK/1-day medical class) (Paul Gomez / Ian McDivett)
- Close-Quarters Combatives Training (CQB Services / Dennis Martin)
- Kalashnikov Rifle Gunfighting (Sonny Puzikas)
- Private Training Session with Dog Brothers / Mark Denny
- Sheepdog Church Security Seminar (Dave Grossman, Carl Chinn, Jimmy Meeks)
- Pistol Shooting Solutions (Turbo Pin #8) (Gabe White Training)
- Armed Citizens Rules of Engagement (MAG 20) (Massad Ayoob)
- National Tactical Invitational 2007
- Warriortalk Symposium 2006
- Warriortalk Symposium 2007
- Rangemaster Tactical Conference 2007
- Rangemaster Tactical Conference 2008 (Instructor/Presenter)
- Rangemaster Tactical Conference 2018 (Instructor/Presenter)
Certifications/Memberships
- Glock Certified Armorer
- TN Dept. of Safety handgun Carry permit instructor
- Monadnock Baton Certification
- NRA Pistol instructor
- Member, Gung Ho Chuan Association
- Member, National Rifle Association
- Won over 100 practical pistol , cowboy action , 3 Gun and IDPA matches since 1999.
- Winner of annual overall championship Tennessee Mountain Marauders Cowboy Action Shooting club Chattanooga TN (2001-2005)
- Winner of annual overall championship Ocoee Rangers Cowboy Action Shooting club Cleveland TN (2003-2004)
- GSSF Indoor League A Division 1st and 5th Place (same match) 2002
- GSSF Indoor League A Division 2nd Place 2011 (Glock 500 Club)
- GSSF Indoor League A Division 1st Place and 2nd Place (same match) 2012 (Glock 500 Club)
- GSSF Indoor League A Division 1st Place 2013 (Glock 500 Club)
- Rangemaster Tactical Conference 2007 Polite Society Match – 3rd Place Open Division – 5th overall (Award for Conspicuous Competency)
- Rangemaster Tactical Conference 2008 Polite Society Match 1st Place Staff Division – 2nd overall
- International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA)
- IDPA Master Class Stock Service Pistol
- IDPA Master Class Enhanced Service Pistol
- IDPA Master Class Custom Defensive Pistol
- IDPA Master Class Compact Carry Pistol
- IDPA Master Class Back Up Gun
- IDPA Master Class Carry Optics
- Secret City Challenge 2013 – Master SSP 1st Place
- The Masters 2014 – Master SSP 3rd Place (High Industry award)
- Steam Plant Shootout 2014 – Master SSP 1st Place and SSP Division Champion (High Industry award)
- Carolina Cup 2014 – Master SSP 9th Place
- Virginia State Match 2014 – Master SSP 6th Place
- Ranier Ballistics Invitational 2014 – Master SSP 6th Place
- Secret City Challenge 2014 – Master SSP 2nd Place
- Mountaineer IDPA Classic – Master SSP 5th Place
- 2014 IDPA Nationals – Master SSP 25th Place
- Music City Cup 2014 – Master SSP 5th Place
- Kentuckiana Kolonel 2014 – Master SSP 6th Place
- Secret City Challenge 2015 – Master SSP 3rd Place
- Carolina Cup 2015 – SSP 19th Place
2015 IDPA World Championship – Master SSP 14th Place - 2016 TN State Championship – Master CCP 2nd Place
- Carolina Cup 2016 – Master SSP 8th Place ( Zombie Shooting Association “8 Gun Side Match” 1st place )
- Steam Plant Shootout 2016 – Master CCP 3rd Place
- Sandgnat Challenge BUG 2018 – Master BUG 1st Place
- Rocky Top Rumble 2019 – Expert CO 1st Place
- Sandgnat Challenge 2019 – Master CCP 8th Place
- 2019 TN State Championship – Master SSP 6th Place
