Originally Posted by
Jay Cunningham
I started teaching in 2010 because I saw patterns in the firearms training industry that I didn't like. I hoped that I could do the shooters one better than I'd been seeing.
I didn't like dogmatic instruction, I didn't like lots of down time and long lunches, and I didn't like low round counts and a slow tempo when it was time to shoot. I didn't like irrelevant war stories or trash-talking other instructors in the industry. I didn't like hero-worship from student cliques, and I didn't like very specialized techniques and tactics thoughtlessly pawned off as great for general consumption. I didn't like the complete inability of most shooting instructors to properly diagnose shooting. I didn't like students playing dress-up and screwing around when I was trying to learn. And I really didn't like when instructors seemed to just "phone it in".
So I decided to do my best to effect change.
The tactics, techniques, and procedures I teach are rooted in analysis of proven military, law enforcement, and competition methods. I run all of this material through a filter to give people everything they need and nothing they don't.
I use a systematic approach to training: I design and develop my clinics and courses from the best available information and tailor them to the responsible armed citizen. I strive to continually evaluate the implementation of my programs to ensure that I'm responsive to student needs and current events. My goal is to provide armed citizens with the necessary tools to prevail against a lethal threat in the everyday world. I start with training the fundamentals, then move to training the middle of the statistical bell curve for civilian armed encounters, then move to training for outliers on that bell curve. To supplement the full coursework, I run half day clinics to provide high intensity training for experienced shooters, as well as development opportunities for newer shooters.
Tom Givens does a huge amount of it right. Craig Douglas does a huge amount of it right. Pat Goodale's Practical Firearms Training does a huge amount of it right. Others have pieces parts which are very, very good.