INSTRUCTOR SELECTION

Why do you need an instructor?

• If you agree with my ranking of priorities, most people have their priorities backwards. They concentrate on the equipment, not the mind set and skills of the operator. Let's face it, most Americans who purchase guns for defense don't even carry them; they regard them as talismans which will ward off evil.
• If you're trying to get together the money for that new gun you've just got to have, it's difficult to commit to spending money on instruction. After all, you can read about how to do it in books and magazines, so why spend the extra money for instruction?
• Like anything you buy, instruction has got to be of a minimum quality to give you your money's worth. Quality instruction can give you some of the following:
  1. A mind set which will help you avoid violent encounters and prevail in those you can't avoid;
  2. Documentation that you have been trained in that mind set, as opposed to your having dreamed up some fantasies in front of your TV set;
  3. Skills and tactics both to avoid and to win violent encounters;
  4. A professional eye to determine if a technique is working for you, how to make it work if it's not or an alternative technique which might better suit you;
  5. Documentation that you were taught these techniques by someone with some kind of credentials and that you demonstrated some degree of proficiency with them.
• Why does documentation keep coming up? If you have to shoot someone, a crime will have been committed - either you committed a crime shooting him or he committed a crime which justified your shooting him. You will definitely be investigated; depending on the outcome, you may be prosecuted; regardless, you may be sued. Is documentation starting to make sense?

What to look for in an instructor

• What you seek in an instructor may vary according to what training you already have.
• From the perspective of using the firearm for self-defense, there will probably be four basic "models" of training available to you:
  1. The NRA Personal Protection Course or a similar state-mandated concealed carry course;
  2. The law enforcement model;
  3. The military model;
  4. The competition model.
• It certainly would behoove you to have some documented instruction in the judicious use of deadly force. The NRA Personal Protection model or state-mandated course should give you a start in this direction. Such courses are generally too brief to give you much instruction in tactics and technique.
• Instructors in the law enforcement model should provide some explicit or implicit training in regard to the judicious use of force. In addition, they should provide instruction in tactics and technique.
• While law enforcement officers generally have a duty to seek out and engage criminals, the armed citizen will generally be expected to seek disengagement. Nonetheless, when the citizen cannot avoid engaging, the tactics of the peace officer will generally be the most relevant ones, hence that type of training will be the most valuable. This is particularly so if it includes training for off-duty encounters, where the officer is not immediately discernible from any other citizen.
• Military tactics are generally offensive rather than defensive in nature. While the role of our military seems to be shifting increasingly to one of policing the rest of the world, traditional military training has not been to the level of accountability demanded in American courts.
• Competition "tactics" are usually oriented toward beating the clock while shooting at cardboard targets which can't shoot back. If an instructor's background is competition, you may find yourself being instructed in techniques and tactics which could be hazardous if used against targets which do shoot back.
• On the shooting skills side, you may need someone to teach you the basics. In this case it may be more useful if the instructor is not wedded to a particular "method" of shooting and will adapt to your attributes, rather than expecting you to become his clone. On the other hand, you may be looking for someone to round out your skills with a specific method you have not yet mastered.
• You may already be a skilled shooter. However, your skills may be sport based and require some adjustment to be meaningful when someone is trying to cause you serious injury. Two of my students come to mind:
  • An accomplished silhouette shooter who required constant reminders not to leave his pistol at the top of its recoil arc for several seconds following each shot;
  • An accomplished IPSC shooter and shooting instructor, accustomed to shooting known courses of fire, who required constant reminders to visually verify the threat before turning 180 degrees to engage it.
• How do the instructor and his staff conduct training? Do they behave like drill sergeants? Some students do well under those systems, others do miserably? This one is a totally subjective judgment.
• What is the ratio of students to instructors? Watch this one closely if the school offers courses with large numbers of students. Will the "name brand" instructor do most of the teaching or will it be done by assistants? (Believe it or not, sometimes the assistants are better instructors.)
• How tightly are the course offerings structured? Will there be time to ask questions? Will there be time for individual coaching for the student who may not learn quickly?
• What kind of facilities does the instructor have available? Are they adequate for his program of instruction? I once had a fellow student tell me that he would not pursue further instruction with a particular school because their range was a sand pit. He was planning to return to the school where we were because of its excellent physical facilities. I opted not to return to the school where the conversation took place because I felt that the program was sport-based and encouraged bad tactics. Clearly, I don't believe that facilities are primary, but they can certainly limit what the instructor can offer.
• Will the instructor testify for you in court? Does the instructor have credentials which will stand up in a court of law? Is the instructor certified or licensed to teach? Is the instructor trained, certified or licensed to teach law enforcement personnel? Is the training, certification or licensure recognized in your jurisdiction? Evaluation of teaching style may be subjective but credentials are fairly objective.

Private versus group instruction

• It's easier to generate income as an instructor if you teach a group of students at a time. Most people who take professional firearms training do so in a group environment. If you are physically fit and learn readily, this is fine. Having to keep up with the rest of the group requires that you learn to function under some degree of pressure. Some people like the "bragging rights" of having completed what is recognized as a tough course of instruction.
• Some people may not be in good physical condition, may be challenged by physical disabilities, may be slow learners or may not learn well under pressure from their peers. Some of these people may do better with private instruction, where the curriculum and pace can be adjusted to their particular attributes.
• While one-on-one training can be very efficient, there are advantages to training alongside other students. One's learning can often be enhanced by observing errors made by a fellow student and how the instructor corrects them. It is particularly useful to train with a partner if the training partner is also a partner in some aspect of daily living - that way, each student will have some insight as to how that partner will respond in an emergency. In such cases, semi-private training may be a great option, so long as one partner does not try to dominate the other during the training.

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