Tactical Handgun Instruction
GP TACTICAL
Course Info
​
​
Here’s how my class typically runs...
We show up, get acquainted, we set a safe environment by storing our firearms or other lethal weapons...
And then the unexpected starts.
​
- You've probably never been in training quite like this. -
As part of your training I will try to stress you, maybe even scare you some. I don't know another way to teach you how to overcome adrenaline dumps, which you have to learn to overcome and control, or at the very least recognize.
That's the purpose of the sims and practice sessions. In our training environment (when not at the range), there will be no exposed actual firearms or ammo. I use laser pistols and simulation guns.
​
The simulation experience is as real as YOU make it. That student must rapidly decide what is smart and legal.
My assistants are there to make us think through a situation rapidly. Typically we won’t know if they are bad guys or innocents. They, on the other hand, won’t know who is armed in the student body. I use actors as bad guys and innocents. They stimulate you through challenge/response scenarios. I also use computer simulators to teach firearm operations and decision making.
​
We will rotate through armed students about every 15 minutes. My ideal class size is 6 to 8. I like paring same gender partners. Your partner is someone who you can get clarification from during class if something doesn't make sense. There are a number of things I think that are essential to your training.
Course Outline
-
Classroom lecture / simulations 8 hours
-
Indoor range and live ammo shooting practice 4 hours
​
Classroom Syllabus
-
Philosophy of violence
-
Introduction to guns and their operation
-
How to shoot
-
Rules of operation and carry
-
How to deploy a firearm and bring it to bear
-
Situational awareness, escape and de-escalation
-
Actions and shooting
-
Legal insights
Range Syllabus
​
-
Brief on goals and range safety
-
Shoot for familiarity and practice
-
Shoot under stress and movement
-
Debrief activity
What I Want You to Learn
Let me emphasize my training isn’t about getting your concealed carry permit, I will leave that to others with that interest. My class is about things you aren’t likely to learn in a permit class.
I’d urge everyone to get the credentials that allow them to legally do what they desire with a firearm. That maybe a proper hunting license, or the need to carry on your person for self defense.
My training is built upon my realizations, correction of my errors, and massive instruction by people I consider experts. It's about tactics and training for the sheepdog. It took me many months to get comfortable having a firearm on my person. Now, I'm very uncomfortable without one.
I learned that there are four levels to training in any undertaking:
-
Unconsciously incompetent
-
Consciously incompetent
-
Consciously competent
-
Unconsciously competent
For a long time I languished at the second level. A couple of instructors began pushing me to read and think about situations that might happen, what might personal combat look like.
I learned that repeated practice leads to muscle memory that just happens when stressed. This is especially true when that muscle memory is connected to a certain situation or event.
I learned it takes about 3000 repetitions to create and connect a muscle memory. Routine repetitions keep that memory active, so practice, near perfect practice, is imperative. This made sense to even my military mind. Practice, practice, self evaluation and high standards are the direction every self defense warrior must go.
If you aren’t serious enough to train and practice then a firearm isn’t much different than a piano or eggbeater. Ownership of the eggbeater doesn’t make you a French pastry chef. Only screwing up and raising your acceptable standards make you accomplished at anything.
Any skill is artwork and rarely science. Science will provide some insights but those must be applied to the skill for it to become art work. You will paint violence with the colors you practice. Try to have more than one color to paint it with.