Firearms Training

Defining the skills you will need on any particular day is impossible. I can however, describe for you a hypothetical gunfight, as it would be experienced from your perspective:

• You are using the Color Code of Mental Awareness and you see trouble brewing well in advance.
• You spot two or three suspicious guys who look intent on hurting you.
• You move to cover, or at least concealment, to get some protection.
• You deliver verbal commands which are crisp, clear, and rehearsed. These will hopefully dissuade your opponents, but at very least, help you later with criminal and civil liability.
• By now your heart is really racing and you rely on the Combat Mindset to stay focused.
• The distances are anywhere from arms reach to maybe 30 feet.
• The bad guys ignore your commands and make their move.
• You draw your handgun from a holster which is concealed under your shirt.
• You fire two rounds to the thoracic cavity of each adversary. To do that you again rely on the Combat Mindset to focus on the front sight, gently press the trigger, and completely ignore the bright flashes coming from their guns.
• It is all over in about 2½ seconds.
• You look around for more trouble because rats travel in packs.
• Your weapon is now half empty so you perform a Tactical Reload to bring it back up to full capacity.
• Now it’s time to call 911 and get help. What you say and what you don’t say is critical. It is so critical that it is rehearsed. Don’t think for a second that you will be calm enough deliver coherent information after having just survived a gunfight unless you have thought about it in advance.
• The cops arrive and they are as nervous as you are. If you do something silly now, you are at risk all over again for getting shot. This interaction is also rehearsed well in advance.

And here are a few variables which occur fairly often in the world of gunfighting:

• Your opponent has taken a loved one hostage. Now it is up to you to make a precision brain shot on the bad guy who is hiding partially behind your daughter.
• The bad guys are wearing body armor but you don’t notice it. You get good hits but they don’t work; your adversaries aren’t impressed in the least. Now you are forced to use “Plan B.” You had better have a Plan B!
• Your adversary turns out to be the guy standing right in front of you at the bank. He is so close to you that if you shoot from your usual stance, he will simply grab your weapon. You either need an alternate stance or more distance, or both.
• You ran your weapon out of ammunition and now it’s time for an Emergency Reload.
• Somewhere along the line your weapon malfunctioned and you must clear it right now, before you get shot.
• The bad guy is inside your house and your family is screaming for your help. You called 911, of course, but the cops won’t be there for 15 minutes. It’s now up to you to move tactically and clear the house to help your family.
• It’s too dark to reliably navigate through the house, or identify the threat, or see your sights. You must now add a flashlight into the equation to find and stop the bad guy.
• You are carrying a small child or maybe you are injured. Now you have to do all of the above with only one hand.

This is sounding more and more like professional training, isn’t it?

• Proper training saves lives. Period. This is true whether you are a police officer, businessman, or housewife. The correlation between proper training and winning gunfights was established decades ago. However, the vast majority of people who carry guns for a living still don’t fully embrace this connection. They own the gear and have the concealed carry permit, but they rely on hope for everything else. Hope is not the way this game is played. To win gunfights, you must have the necessary skills committed to muscle memory well in advance. If you are already looking down the muzzle of your opponent’s weapon, you’re running a little late. So, let’s quit talking and start training