LAV bans AIWB for his courses

[Luke]

The LAV is smarter than he looks -- live fire appendix in a large group you don't know well, is the shooting equivalent of unprotected sex.

This is signature line material right here!

[orionz06]

I don't blame him with the large lines he runs.

[SLG]

I've spent a lot of time on the range with LAV. A lot. I have no doubt that his classes are full of people I wouldn't want to be on a line next to. AIWB is not for everyone, and 15-20 students per class is not for me.

[JV_]

Meh.

If I wanted to take another handgun class, and I was going to run it AIWB, he wasn't on my list of top instructors for that anyway.

He will easily fill his classes without me.

[MVS]

Why is this such a big deal? Why is this hurting so many people's feelings? If this hurts your feelings, then let go of the emotional attachment you've created with your method of carry.

It's just a holster. He feels it's not worth letting students use them in his class. With all the Timmy derp going around these days, I don't blame him.

I have no problem with instructors setting their own rules for class. Some don't allow reloaded ammo, or Serpa's, or whatever. I wouldn't let someone use a shoulder holster in my class. That being said, this would probably cause me to not attend a class where the instructor bans AIWB. In this case it has zero effect on me as I hadn't planned on going to a LAV class anyway.

[GardoneVT]

To offer a contrarian voice, i'd actually want to train with LAV as a result of this rule. It demonstrates he'll put safety ahead of the self esteem of his customer base; a necessary quantity when live ammo is being expended.

[Dagga Boy]

This reminds me of a few previous threads about SFAs and AIWB. I recall GJM and others discussing the merits of live practice with a OWB strong side, yet dry fire and carry AIWB.

This is a internal dialogue/debate/argument I've had to come to terms with as well. I have no issues with an instructor asking me to not work from appendix during a course if they chose to. Wayne and DB go this route as well and ask that all use OWB strong side during their classes. It didn't drive me away from their instruction as I understand the reasons, especially with open enrollment courses.

I've had other instructors ask that on TD 1 I go IWB/OWB strong side and if I was able to demonstrate safe and competent gun handling on TD2 have allowed me to go from AIWB.

interested to hear other perspectives and in no way am I critical of how each individual decides to either choose an instructor or run their own courses.

Now who would that be.......

We catch some grief about requiring OWB holsters of quality design. Here is the deal in the training industry, many students believe they are far better than they actually are. Another issue is some are heavily stressed in class. Others also get VERY competitive with others and this can be at the expense of safety. We will make some exceptions for some shooters (after we see them work, or someone like Spencer Keepers who we know spends a ton of time doing dry work from appendix), and some classes are conducive to letting shooters run exactly how they run daily (our counter robbery close quarters class is a good example). Most classes with pace and numbers is not a good place for AIWB. I spent some time on ranges with Larry as both a student and helping with students. There are a ton of people taking classes from Larry and others because they want a certificate from them. Then you will get very serious shooters and everything in between. It is hard managing that. We have the benefit of running smaller lines with 4 or 5 to one ratio's. The bigger instructors do not have that luxury and it is hard to keep an eye on everybody. If Larry is making a decision for putting the safety of his students first! that is a good thing.

[ST911]

There can be a lot of derp already with retentionless open carried 3:00 OWB in open enrollment and LE classes. If class variables are conducive to the extra cautions of AIWB, it makes sense.

[goosehunter]

As if I want a newb with a shoulder holster next to me....

[Drifting Fate]

There is a reason, back in the old days, people used "range" holsters for taking a class. And, it wasn't just speed and comfort, but safety along the line as well.

If someone wants to carry AIWB, the same lessons will apply and they can drill with their set-up on their own time. No point risking the liability in a class setting, as I'm sure LAV sees.

There is a different between "training"/taking a class and learning stuff and "practicing"/using your daily equipment. Trying to combine the two is a popular trend, but don't see the point anymore than a college student trying to learn calculus - the practical applications will come later and at the independent efforts of the student.