Take. This. Class.
It's a shame I didn't take this ages ago. John manages to pack in basically everything you'd want in a practical, street-focused pistol class, and he fits it all into a day. Of course, each of the many things he fits into the class deserve years of dedicated study on their own, but the class is an excellent jumping off point.
He spends the most time on the bread and butter: 1) a long and excellent powerpoint presentation including live demos and many videos, focusing on street encounters and 2) solid pistol work with default responses played over and over and over again at various realistic distances, one-handed, etc. Mixed into this is slowfire marksmanship, a really epic walkback competition, role-playing scenarios, plate-rack competitions, speed challenges, and more.
John seems to have put a great deal of time and thought into what makes instruction good. For one, the quality of the powerpoint (a Tiff production IIRC) is outstanding. Hands down the best I've ever seen. Also, he carefully times the various components to shock your mind and body into changing gears on a dime. For example, we'd do rapid strings on a humanoid target over and over and over again and then he'd suddenly have us do slowfire marksmanship to small targets. He plays your psyche like a fiddle. I thought these decisions were excellent, and that his planning of the itinerary was masterful. Everything has a lesson to teach, and there is not a single wasted moment. Moreover, he knows precisely how many, how long, and how often to give breaks so that you can stay focused while still maximizing the time for content absorption. He accomplishes in a single day what would take most instructors 2-3 days.
Unlike many instructors, John demos every drill himself. He let's it all hang out in the open. He shoots the walkback drill alongside everyone else and plays by the same rules, win or lose. Most importantly, he doesn't make any excuses for his hiccups. They are what they are and he leaves it at that. He has no ego to defend, and the class is all about the students. But don't let that fool you, he will still play his G19 at jackhammer speeds drilling out the center of humanoid targets effortlessly, and go 3/3 on reduced torso steel from 10 yds all the way out to 50 yds without batting an eye. He provides an amazing inspiration to live up to, and there were multiple times in the class where I caught myself thinking "Man...I wish I could shoot like that.".
As an realtime instructor, John is an ace. He is throughly entertaining, has a wealth of experience and stories to tell, and knows exactly how to drive a class.
On the skill prerequisites for the class, this is not a class designed to teach you what a sight picture looks like or how to press a trigger. John wastes zero time on things like that; there isn't the time to spare. You should come to this class with a good knowledge of the fundamentals of pistol shooting and be ready to apply them. Know how to draw from your holster, reload, etc.
I could go on and on and on about this class, but I'll leave it at that for now. If anyone has any questions about it, feel free to ask.
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