"Get a gun. I don't think law enforcement can always protect (citizens)."
- Sheriff Jake Miller, Brevard County, Florida

The Importance of Training

Making the decision to carry a weapon, and figuring out which weapon is best suited for your particular needs, are not the only parts to the equation. The final and most important element of becoming a responsible armed citizen is TRAINING. Many states which have recently passed concealed-carry reform have also made mandatory training a part of those provisions. I wholeheartedly support this notion, but in many cases the accepted standard for training is nowhere near what is required to prepare a person to use a gun in self-defense.

Therefore, I strongly encourage anyone who receives their carry permit to pursue appropriate professional training on a continual basis - even if it's not required by law. Simply put, a CCW is a self-defense tool that requires certain skills to use. The more you learn and the more proficient you become, the greater your chances of being able to employ that tool properly when the need arises. Just as you shouldn't go the bargain-basement route when purchasing your weapon, it is equally important (if not more so) that you not skimp on training! After all, good training can improve one's skills with a marginal weapon, and even the best weapon is useless if the operator is poorly trained.

A Trainer's Thoughts
The best investment you as a private citizen, professional soldier or peace officer can make is in regard to your training. You will get your money back the very first time you have to use it. It is the only thing that cannot be taken away from you. It is the best investment you can possibly make because not only can you use the training, you can also train others in the case of an emergency. The second best investment is in training materials that you can utilize in self-preparation and that you can use for reference material shooting is a degenerative skill, if you do not practice, you will lose the edge, and you will forget things that you should not forget. This is why we write training manuals. None of your weapons systems or ammunition is worth anything if you do not know how to use them. Many weapon handling students go on from the basics to more advanced conc epts. This is not a bad thing as long as you remember the basics. I have had the opportunity to attend some fine training programs and have had the pleasure to teaching many programs. I have also had the chance to meet some of the best trained men and women in the world. The one thing that I have noticed in many programs is the shift of emphasis. Some schools offer programs that just cover the basics, others presume you know the basics and go off in the tactical or fighting arena of training. There is nothing wrong with that, except that sometimes you need to go back and take a basic class to refresh your knowledge and skills at the foundation level. Training is conducted on many levels. The levels are:

I look at the training of a shooter as building a pyramid. You have to establish a foundation in order to support the multiples layers to be added in order to reach the final peak. And you have to surround that pyramid with a protective shield, that shield is Mental Conditioning-The Color Code and the Principles of Personal Defense. If a shooter has a safety problem, it makes no sense in trying to lay another level on the foundation as the foundation is faulty. If a shooter progresses upwards to learning Shooting Techniques and we find a gun handling problem, we must digress to correct the gun handling problem. Otherwise, the second layer will fail causing a collapse of his marksmanship or shooting techniques. This is where a shooter needs to understand that he must go back frequently to have the foundation examined. It is also a good way to find out if an alteration of the pyramid is in order to help it stand the test of time.

Jim Crews, September 2002
Marksmans Enterprise
http://www.marksmans.com

How to Choose a School

This can be a difficult process - with the recent increase in shall-issue states and the growing popularity of CCW-type handguns, has come a veritable explosion in "tactical" shooting schools. However, it can be quite a task to weed out the good schools from those run by money-grubbers out to cash in on the new trends. It is equally important to choose a curriculum that fits your needs, your schedule and your budget. A good way to start is by researching the various schools (Going to my CCW Library is an easy first step) and "comparison shopping" to get an idea of what types of courses are offered and what expenses are involved.

Where do I start, and how much training is enough?
For a complete shooting novice, I would first recommend something like an NRA gun-safety course to learn the fundamentals of safe gunhandling, the facets of good shooting (breathing, trigger control, sight alignment), the nomenclature for their particular weapon and how to store and maintain it. Once this is accomplished, or if the individual already has this background knowledge, it is appropriate to move into CCW-specific training.

Most schools classify their curriculum by level, with Level I being the introductory course. Level II introduces additional tactical elements, and Level III and beyond explore and refine these skills in increasing detail. In my opinion, anyone choosing to carry a concealed weapon should progress through at least Level II. It is also critical that you practice regularly with the techniques and tactics you learn, and periodically augment range practice with additional professional training. Since the tendency under stress is to revert to one's instincts (which are built and conditioned through training), self-defense with a firearm is very much reliant on a continuing-education approach.

Which School?
My general advice is to do your own homework here, and choose the school you think will best suit your needs and is within your geographic, scheduling and monetary parameters. I hesitate to make any specific recommendations, because I'm sure there are very good schools out there that I have not personally experienced. In the CCW Library are listed some of the more popular and reputable defensive handgun schools; I'm sure any one of them will get you off to a fine start.

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