A few weeks ago there was a thread about a Recoil web article concerning Airborne SWAT. It was a pretty interesting thread (well, the topic was at least) and I drafted a response. Unfortunately, the thread de-railed and was closed before I could post.
Around the same time as that thread, @ASH556 started a thread where I posted something that started a great conversation between myself and a few other P-F members.
These two threads motivated me to do this post because someone needs to say it – again probably – and try to help the general consciousness of the training world. I hope this post hits some people hard – if they do an honest self-evaluation – and that it leads to positive changes for them.
So, let’s talk about “Trying to Touch the Magic” or “4TM” for short.
4TM is a concept best described as people doing whatever they can to touch the magic of whatever they see as magical. Usually, the “whatever they can do” = easiest path that maximizes the mental and physical obfuscation of the 4TMers reality both to themselves and others. Often, “whatever they can do” is superficial and paid for with money versus investment of other resources, but there are some exceptions to this generalization.
4TM involves the apotheosis of an individual, organization, business, and/or technique to the point no differing thought is tolerated – or even entertained in the good-faith interest of continuing education – regardless of facts, knowledge, and experience of the person or organization proffering the differing information.
4TMers never really achieve (or touch) the thing (or magic) they want – at least not completely – which is why it’s called “Trying to Touch the Magic” and not “Touching the Magic.” 4TMers know they cannot be the magic, but want you and everyone else to believe they are. Confronting a suspected 4TMer with hard questions and truth – even if directed at their brand of magic and not them – is a pretty good way to ferret them out. You’ll know if their individual or org is full 4TM because they will get angry and emotionally defend factually indefensible positions in support of their ego. They will do whatever they can to maintain the façade and prolong the fantasy.
Many people who are 4TM congregate together. These individuals usually have fixed mindsets and are all-to-eager to muddy the waters or blur the lines of who they really are and what they really do. This is most obvious in the LE/MIL world, but there are civilians out there who do the same especially if they make their living in the training industry.
4TMers create a cult of personality within the training world regardless of whether they are working in concert or not. 4TMers create a hive-mind around whatever brand of magic they are after. And it is possible for multiple 4TMers to exist and chase multiple areas simultaneously. For example: competition (gamer) shooters vs. self-defense/”tactical” (timmy) shooters; this instructor vs. that instructor; Civilian vs. MIL vs. LE instructor; this drill vs that drill; this qual vs. that qual; 9mm vs. 45; handheld light vs WML; tritium sights vs. FO/non-night sights; this training camp vs. that training camp; etc.
4TM accurately describes those doing silly things they think are serious things which lead them down dangerous roads they are ill-equipped to safely traverse. When told this they lash out and are unwilling to consider a divergent view point because of ego, emotional investment, cognitive dissonance or a combination thereof. Mental agility is not always the 4TMer's strength.
4TM is almost a form of Dunning-Kruger Effect, but it is contagious and induces cult-like behavior from the infected. It’s so insidious people who don’t have it can be convinced they need it in order to better themselves.
If you doubt 4TM is a real issue just take a minute to look around the training industry/world through the prism of social media. While you’re looking you’ll probably get some ads that pop up. Entire businesses are built and rely upon 4TM to survive and thrive. FYI: it isn’t just the “multicam plate carrier camp kids” that I’m talking about nor are they the only people 4TMing it out there.
To level up, shooters can't accept or discard something simply because of who is presenting the information. Deriding something before considering the information at hand simply because of who is presenting it is no less ignorant than accepting information without question because of who is presenting it.
Within reason, the who providing information should not matter, but the who can provide some context and should further assist the consumer of knowledge in forming pertinent questions.
If someone is demonstrably incompetent to provide information (or even an educated opinion) the who is obviously important, but it should not be the single criteria for evaluating the veracity of the information presented. Rather, the who can be a useful discriminator in a personal decision matrix.
When I say the who should matter less than the what I say so with the implied understanding the individual deciding to accept, adapt, or discard the information offered must utilize some intellectual agility and avoid the easy (read: lazy) way out.
Instead of immediately accepting or dismissing the information because the person who gave it wears multicam, a sponsored shooter jersey, or a blue-line American flag patch maybe look at the information with an open mind, ask hard questions (of yourself included), and maybe (in the case of shooting drills, training, etc.) you try it at your next range session before making decisions or providing opinions which are prematurely formed and foolishly shared.
The major wrinkle in this “4TM” disorder is best summarized by Mike Pannone who has said: “The magic is there is no magic.”
I know Mike was talking about shooting performance, but it is applicable to a lot of other cool stuff in life as well.
The point to all of this post: too much 4TM in the training world and not enough people/groups are trying to reach their full potential - either as an individual or organization - the right way vs chasing magical totems, personas, rituals, or mantras they just can’t quite seem to touch.
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Originally Posted by Clark Jackson
Thank you.
