Who -
Who attended? I attended, along with my friends "Barney" and "Butler."
Who taught? Instructors were Reid Henrichs and Dillon.
Who could take this and benefit from it? Most people. Particularly if you carry a gun for self defense or on duty.
Who did I like and who did I want to punch? I liked all of the instructors and participants. There were not any "that guys" this weekend.
What -
What class? PistolCraft 1
What did I do? All of the drills as guided by the instructors.
What did I learn that I expected? Virtually all of the most important aspects of carrying a handgun for self protection.
What did I see? A marksmanship based approach designed for students of all skill levels.
What did I hear? A lot of professionalism. Reid does not rely on crude language, innuendo, swearing, or that sort of thing.
What gear did I use? Sig P320, 5 mags, a holster, and two mag pouches. Of course, I had basic med kit on me, as well (TQ & gauze).
What gear did everyone else use? All sorts of guns. Only 1 GLOCK on the line. There were a couple of Sig P365 models on the line.
What was I good at and what did I work on? As expected, I was among the best marksmen on the line. This allowed me to work on adding material and presentation concepts for my classes.
What class will I take next? Probably Fighting Rifle from Tactical Response.
What did I learn from other students? A massive amount. Mostly, how to pose something a little better.
What did I learn from the lectures? A few wording advantages. A few procedural advantages.
Where -
Where did you come from and where did you attend? I came from Mt. Juliet, and attended at Valor Ridge in Harrogate, TN.
Where did you hear about Valor Ridge? Internet, years ago.
Where will you train next? either Tactical Response, or somewhere else, TBD.
When -
When did you hear about the class? Years ago.
When did you decide it was right for you? When a few financial plans fell into place earlier this year.
When did you attend? July 25 & 26.
When did you know you made the right choice (defining moment)? When we did 5 dry fire rounds before ever loading the pistol for the first time.
Why -
Why do you train? Because I like to train. Because it is needed. Because I want to train others more effectively.
Why did you choose Valor Ridge? Because I have been here before and Reid is a good instructor.
Additional Thoughts -
Some schools teach the draw only after a long time of shooting and safe gun handling is demonstrated. I have run some of my handgun classes that way. Valor Ridge teaches the draw this way - with much dry practice at first. It is this method I currently teach. One cannot have too much practice with the drawstroke.
Never did I feel unsafe. Never did I feel someone else was unsafe. Never did I feel a "line was crossed." Might some people? Possibly - but some people will hate on just about anything.
The curriculum was well thought-out and organized. The training modules clearly had inspiration from CSAT, Rangemaster USA, and other notables.
When did you hear about the class? Years ago.
When did you decide it was right for you? When a few financial plans fell into place earlier this year.
When did you attend? July 25 & 26.
When did you know you made the right choice (defining moment)? When we did 5 dry fire rounds before ever loading the pistol for the first time.
Why -
Why do you train? Because I like to train. Because it is needed. Because I want to train others more effectively.
Why did you choose Valor Ridge? Because I have been here before and Reid is a good instructor.
Additional Thoughts -
Some schools teach the draw only after a long time of shooting and safe gun handling is demonstrated. I have run some of my handgun classes that way. Valor Ridge teaches the draw this way - with much dry practice at first. It is this method I currently teach. One cannot have too much practice with the drawstroke.
Never did I feel unsafe. Never did I feel someone else was unsafe. Never did I feel a "line was crossed." Might some people? Possibly - but some people will hate on just about anything.
The curriculum was well thought-out and organized. The training modules clearly had inspiration from CSAT, Rangemaster USA, and other notables.
My Sig P320 did perfectly fine. No malfunctions, other than the induced ones. Big Dot sights are outstanding. I experimented with a grip I do not ordinarily use, and had massive success with it. May switch to it. Will determine that after Pistol Craft.
The instructors were well versed in error correction. They articulated what someone did incorrectly and what they needed to do instead. In truth, I only heard a few different kinds of corrections given - maybe 4 total. Most were on the grip, focusing on the front sight, going easy on the trigger, and not snatching the gun back to see the bullet hole (follow through). I was given coaching on these only twice, and neither was correct. However, keeping the error correction to a few simple things that most people do wrong is a good strategy. If someone really wants to know the circumstances on those two corrections, I'll be happy to detail in a private conversation.
The purpose of all I've said here is to encourage you to take a class at Valor Ridge. No, they are not for everybody, but the Pistol Craft class is for nearly everybody. If you got a negative impression from reading this, then you need to get your head straight. I am not going to blow smoke and say it was all a way it wasn't, but I am very happy to have gone, and am looking forward to Fighting Rifle at some point in the future.
I took 16 pages of notes over and above the handout. Barney and Butler were over 10 pages each, I believe. Not many other participants made a lot of notes.
My syllabus for the class I teach, Essential Pistol, definitely was refined after taking this class. There are still several things I teach differently. If you are a Fighting Pistol Alumnus and an Essential Pistol Alumnus, you know what these differences are and why!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comment will be displayed after approval.
Approval depends on what you say and how you say it.