of live fire. They are more interested in teaching you proper tactics; i.e. move- ment, use of cover, com- munication, team tactics and other strategic ele- ments of winning a lethal force encounter. You can expect to see “force on force” scenarios using Si- munition FX rounds or Airsoft training weapons where you actually learn to shoot at other human beings. This is cutting edge stuff. It’s far more valu- able than standing in front of your paper target and shooting it. However, you must understand proper marksmanship before tac- tics training is of much val- ue, other than scaring you into taking a skills-only-based class. Mindset covers your mental self,
and more importantly your spirit as it relates to fighting. This is typi- cally lecture that stimulates thought and motivates the student to do more than the average gun owner. Jeff Cooper pioneered this area of teach- ing and his information is the foun- dation of every school’s philosophy. This is a tough sell because it is not glamorous and you don’t get to show off your “Blastmaster 5,000” to the other students. A fighting mindset is the most dif-
ficult thing to get students to under- stand and implement. It takes a gifted teacher to awaken and motivate stu- dent’s drive and commitment. We have many students who can carry guns legally but choose not to. Off- duty cops and civilian carry permit holders are, as a whole, a lazy bunch of folks. They will come and shoot in the course but not carry a gun ev- eryday. When I discover the secret of how to unlock people’s minds and make them realize not carrying a gun could be detrimental to their safety, I’ll be a millionaire. The news is just not something that happens to other people. Find a school that cares about you and whether or not you live after you leave.
What Do I Want? The question you need to ask your-
self before choosing a class is “What do I want to accomplish?” Do you want to defend yourself, your fam- ily and home? Would you just like to get a higher score at the next IDPA match? Knowing what you want to be able to do, or be on the road to being able to execute it should be the basis for making your decision.
WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM
Gunsite Instructor Il Ling New discusses proper draw and grip. When the instructor is talking you shouldn’t be.
At my school, Tactical Response,
every class emphasizes a “fighting mindset” and the methods taught lend themselves to being a part of your defensive toolbox. None of our courses are purely shooting oriented, although, there is nothing wrong with those classes. It’s just not our special- ty and there are other schools that do a better job. We teach the good guys: police, military and honest citizens), how to kill bad guys. Talk to a prospective instructor
and ask him what his courses of- fer and compare the information to what you want to learn. We are in a renaissance period, so as far as tacti- cal training is concerned, history will look back on this time period as the Golden Age of fighting.
Now What? You’ve chosen a school; I would
like to pass along some information that might make your tuition dollars
go further. This is directed towards firearms and tactical training, but will most likely apply to other areas of instruction as well. The motivation for this article is watching students go through the same evolution as I did and wishing they didn’t have to climb the same costly, time-consuming, frustrating ladder. I remember my very first training
class. It was very exciting and a little scary. Who were the other pistole- ros? Would they laugh at me? Would I hold the class up? There were many thoughts going through my mind as the class began. One thing many folks wonder about is “how safe is that per- son next to me?” From my studies, I found the vast majority of gunshot wounds occurring in training are self- inflicted (mostly offhand and strong- side hip injuries). I asked myself several times, “Am
I good enough to even take this course?” I know now, many first time
The three most important pieces of safety gear are ear protection (muffs recommended), full wrap eye protection and ball cap to stop falling brass.
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