JimConway
Instructor
21 Mar 10
From a friend and colleague. Advice with regard to selecting shooting
instruction/school/seminar:
"(1) Be suspicions of flashy, tacky marketing and 'super-secret'
techniques (gimmicks), 'known to only the select few.' There are no 'secrets' in what we teach. Quality training always focuses on acquiring and mastering fundamentals. There is precious little 'glamour' to any of it! Come to work, or don't bother. Nothing worthwhile may be had without effort, and personal devotion. Belief in 'magic' is for children!
(2) By the same token, be suspicions of schools that surround themselves in a cult of personality. Yes, beware of 'Grand Masters,' 'Imperial Wizards, ' ad nauseam. Most of these guys don't even carry a gun, and they too often forget who is working for whom! When someone finds it necessary to endlessly recite his entire resume, it always makes me wonder why I never heard of him! True Masters relentlessly present themselves merely as devoted servants, just humble fellow-students, dedicated to the advancement of the Art and the improvement of their students. The best instructors inspire, rather than 'impress.' That pompous 'messiah' had better believe his own press releases, as his students will likely need his powers of resurrection!
(3) Beware of schools that exhibit an overwhelming preference for a particular brand/type/caliber of gun. No one pistol, rifle, nor shotgun is perfect for everyone in every circumstance, and legitimate instructors have
enough respect for their students to keep personal preferences hidden. Good
instructors provide students with honest advice, but not wearisome dogma.
There are many legitimate choices, and, while we all have personal preferences, students must be allowed the freedom to make their own decisions.
Again, the goal of the instructor and the student is always the same: the improvement of the student!
(4) Take note of schools that are 'circumstance-specific.' A school devoted to training individual contractors how to fight effectively in Afghanistan, or one that teaches SWAT-team members the fine points of conducting a drug-raid in the inner-city, or another that teaches aspiring competitors secrets of winning acheronian pistol matches, should all be of scant interest to non-police gun-owners who desperately need to know how to correctly handle, store, carry, and employ guns within a domestic, civilian environment and a civilian criminal-justice system. Good instructors have a sufficient depth of knowledge, experience, and empathy so as to understand and sympathize with all students who come to them, not just the young, strong, and fit.
(5) A high round-count does not necessarily equate to superior training.
Excessive consumption of ammunition, for its own sake, is pointless. In fact, there reaches a juncture where the student becomes so fatigued, he begins merely going through the motions, just to get the exercise over with!
Good instructors never allow fatigue to supersede the student's focusing on understanding and learning the point of the exercise.
(6) The best schools are well-rounded. Our Art embraces an extensive repertoire of psycho-motor skills, verbal skills, and disengagement skills, along with a sound philosophical overlay, all of which must to carefully integrated. Some of the material is dry, but it is still important and must be included. Beware of justification models lifted solely from police sources. Police have a mandate to act, so their justification models are written with an assumption of that duty. Conversely, the appropriate model for armed, non-police citizens stems from an assumption of 'necessity.'
(7) Select a school that is unique in the same way you are unique! Remain
unbiasedly objective. Remember your mission. When you live in a '
shall-issue' state, and intend to carry outside your home, your mission will be different from someone who cannot. When you carry as a duty, your mission will be different from either. As noted above, the best high-risk Contractor-Course might be appropriate for a certain group, while being mismatched to most others
(8) Finally, attend many different schools! None are perfect, and none are 'all-wrong.' You'll learn something worthwhile in each, and you'll become well-connected within our Art. All instructors have something important to offer, and all are wretchedly flawed in some way."
Comment: Excellent advice! The only thing I will add is, "Don't put it off!" Acquire these critical skills while you can. You don't get to know when you will be tested, only that you will be!"
/John
From a friend and colleague. Advice with regard to selecting shooting
instruction/school/seminar:
"(1) Be suspicions of flashy, tacky marketing and 'super-secret'
techniques (gimmicks), 'known to only the select few.' There are no 'secrets' in what we teach. Quality training always focuses on acquiring and mastering fundamentals. There is precious little 'glamour' to any of it! Come to work, or don't bother. Nothing worthwhile may be had without effort, and personal devotion. Belief in 'magic' is for children!
(2) By the same token, be suspicions of schools that surround themselves in a cult of personality. Yes, beware of 'Grand Masters,' 'Imperial Wizards, ' ad nauseam. Most of these guys don't even carry a gun, and they too often forget who is working for whom! When someone finds it necessary to endlessly recite his entire resume, it always makes me wonder why I never heard of him! True Masters relentlessly present themselves merely as devoted servants, just humble fellow-students, dedicated to the advancement of the Art and the improvement of their students. The best instructors inspire, rather than 'impress.' That pompous 'messiah' had better believe his own press releases, as his students will likely need his powers of resurrection!
(3) Beware of schools that exhibit an overwhelming preference for a particular brand/type/caliber of gun. No one pistol, rifle, nor shotgun is perfect for everyone in every circumstance, and legitimate instructors have
enough respect for their students to keep personal preferences hidden. Good
instructors provide students with honest advice, but not wearisome dogma.
There are many legitimate choices, and, while we all have personal preferences, students must be allowed the freedom to make their own decisions.
Again, the goal of the instructor and the student is always the same: the improvement of the student!
(4) Take note of schools that are 'circumstance-specific.' A school devoted to training individual contractors how to fight effectively in Afghanistan, or one that teaches SWAT-team members the fine points of conducting a drug-raid in the inner-city, or another that teaches aspiring competitors secrets of winning acheronian pistol matches, should all be of scant interest to non-police gun-owners who desperately need to know how to correctly handle, store, carry, and employ guns within a domestic, civilian environment and a civilian criminal-justice system. Good instructors have a sufficient depth of knowledge, experience, and empathy so as to understand and sympathize with all students who come to them, not just the young, strong, and fit.
(5) A high round-count does not necessarily equate to superior training.
Excessive consumption of ammunition, for its own sake, is pointless. In fact, there reaches a juncture where the student becomes so fatigued, he begins merely going through the motions, just to get the exercise over with!
Good instructors never allow fatigue to supersede the student's focusing on understanding and learning the point of the exercise.
(6) The best schools are well-rounded. Our Art embraces an extensive repertoire of psycho-motor skills, verbal skills, and disengagement skills, along with a sound philosophical overlay, all of which must to carefully integrated. Some of the material is dry, but it is still important and must be included. Beware of justification models lifted solely from police sources. Police have a mandate to act, so their justification models are written with an assumption of that duty. Conversely, the appropriate model for armed, non-police citizens stems from an assumption of 'necessity.'
(7) Select a school that is unique in the same way you are unique! Remain
unbiasedly objective. Remember your mission. When you live in a '
shall-issue' state, and intend to carry outside your home, your mission will be different from someone who cannot. When you carry as a duty, your mission will be different from either. As noted above, the best high-risk Contractor-Course might be appropriate for a certain group, while being mismatched to most others
(8) Finally, attend many different schools! None are perfect, and none are 'all-wrong.' You'll learn something worthwhile in each, and you'll become well-connected within our Art. All instructors have something important to offer, and all are wretchedly flawed in some way."
Comment: Excellent advice! The only thing I will add is, "Don't put it off!" Acquire these critical skills while you can. You don't get to know when you will be tested, only that you will be!"
/John
