I was in the AFHF class this past weekend in ATL. Todd said since we were the first class for the year our AAR didn't matter but I figured I'd post something anyway.
First off, the weather sucked. I honestly thought we might have to build an ark on Saturday. The bottom dropped out overnight Friday night so we were already dealing with a muddy, mucky mess when we arrived for class. It stopped for a couple of hours mid-day but started back in short time. It poured all night Saturday night but stopped before class on Sunday. The rain held off but the wind didn't. The temps were low 40s with wind chill in the mid-upper 30s. Did I mention the mud and puddles?
Secondly, thanks to the our host. I won't name him because he might not want to be named. Either way, thanks for bringing TLG down South. I've been fortunate to get in with a good circle of guys that host a lot of the big names and am truly grateful for the opportunity.
I won't get into the content of the course or the specific drills we did. If you want to know all that stuff you can register yourself and pay the man his due. However, I will say he did an excellent job explaining, demonstrating, monitoring our progress, then answering questions. He was always there with feedback but at the same time wasn't pushy about it. Todd will tell you up front if you don't want to try it the way he suggests just to say so and he'll back off. Otherwise, he'll be all up in your stuff about it. He seemingly knows all and sees all.
His attitude is very laid back but not nonchalant. I never felt intimidated but at the same time it was clear he did care that his students get it right. The drills built from the beginning to the end and Todd made sure we didn't forget what he had already learned as we worked on new skills.
A lot of what he taught played upon the reality of what your body actually wants to do vs what we try to force it to do. Some of his teaching is contrary to what I've learned from other instructors. This is pretty normal when you train with multiple instructors but I really do buy into Todd's logic on most all of what he teaches. I get it.
I have taken over 100 hours of professional firearms instruction over the past 2 years and this was 16 of the best so far, perhaps THE best 16. That wouldn't be a far stretch to say at all. I strongly suggest anyone with the means and opportunity register for one of TLG's courses. Be realistic though, the class is pretty demanding. Make sure you are up for it. I will freely admit I probably wouldn't have been ready for it even last year. Todd might tell you I wasn't ready this year based on me F'ing up one of his drills really badly.
The highlight of the class though might have been the 4 legged drop-in student that galloped across the range during a break on Saturday. I literally was almost run over by a stray horse while walking back from a pee-pee break.
I'll include pics in follow-up posts. I won't name people other than myself. I'm the one in the red rain jacket. I will let others fill in where I missed and tell you who they are in the pics if they so choose.
PS We had a student (in the pic with the Guns & Gear logo'd jacket) run a 4.66 FAST clean. Unfortunately, he missed his second run so no coin. He was really close. I think Todd said we were the first class ever where everyone finished Intermediate or better. Correct me if I'm wrong on that Todd.