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0360 - Selecting the Best Defensive Firearms Instructor
In 2015 the firearms instructor business is booming! Folks from all different kinds of backgrounds are teaching all different kinds of classes. There are introductory classes and conceal carry being taught regularly. And you can add to that advanced classes competitive courses and the high speed Tactical stuff too. With everything that is out there, the firearms instruction consumer has many different choices to make.
As with anything else when there are lots of choices there are some that are good choices and some that are not so good.
Today we are going to speak with Rob Pincus of ICE Training. Rob is one of those folks offering up his instruction for sale but at the same time he spends a chunk of his time every year as a student. In addition in his role with the personal defense network he is someone that has to choose quality instructors to represent the PDN brand.
Today we're gonna discuss about how it is that Rob Pincus chooses quality instructors and how that might help you make good choices as well.
Honest reviews are are one of the ways that people make good decisions in today’s info filled world. And looking at reviews and ratings can be a great way to buy a vacuum but One of the issues we have to be worried about is the understanding and motives of the reviewer. That can make reviews a bit of a flawed system that is hard to trust alone when we are discussing a life and death issue like defensive firearm training.
And so today we talk with Rob Pincus to look at some other ways that we can work to select the best defensive firearms trainers.
You can find Rob Pincus at http://www.icetraining.us and at http://www.personaldefensenetwork.com.
What are the problems with having so many instructors?
As I mentioned in the intro right now in the firearms training industry there are heck of a lot of students and a heck of a lot of instructors. Some might even say a glut of trainers.
When you look at the number of instructors out there that are offering their courses in return for the resources of the student what problems do you see?
Who are the best instructors out there?
When I think about instructors that are out there I really think about 4 of groups of people that are teaching classes.
Avg Joes
Fanboys
Grand Masters
Coperators
Is there one group of instructors that tends to do a better job of instructing folks and defensive handgun use than the others? Or is an individuals background less important than marketing might make it seem?
If I just learn one thing…
Resources are something that are often left unconsidered by the student when selecting training and instructors. Usually when considered, it is simply from the standpoint of dollars which is one of the more concrete resources we deal with. Just because money can be held in your hand doesn’t make it the most important consideration.
There are a lot of people out there who take the attitude of if they learn one thing from an instructor, their investment in training was worth it. What do you think about that take on teaching and learning?
How do you select good instructors for PDN
In your role as managing editor of the personal defense network, you are tasked with bringing content from many different instructors together at a single resource, the personal defense network.
In a sense your task with the same problem that the consumer is. What is it that makes a good instructor and who is it that you wanted to give bandwidth to on the personal defense network?
How can our listeners apply your ideas to selecting a quality instructor.
How does your approach differ from what it is you think the consumer should do as they are looking for that quality instructor?
Distance Learning
Rob, you have several books out, one of which is called Counter Ambush, The science of Training for the Unexpected Defensive Shooting. It is a good look at an important and often over looked niche of defensive shooting, dealing with the ambush. Folks that are interested in taking a look at Counter Ambush can find it at
Getssagear.com/counterambush That will take you to amazon where there are only 4 copies left in stock
On page 147 of your book Counter Ambush you state:
“Sure, in-person coaching during a formal training class is probably the best format, but books, articles, blogs, online discussion forums, training DVD’s and various other resources are available to you. Of course, you need to use critical thinking and discretion when taking advice from any expert via any remote method. The further away you get from a face to face experience, the harder it may be to judge someone’s expertise.”
This gets back to the idea of using reviews and or after action reports as the sole method for vetting an instructor. With so much distance learning material being created in the defensive world, how is someone to judge that expertise?
Resources for Instructors
We have a lot of instructors that listen to this podcast which is pretty flattering.
The kind of instructor that takes the time to listen to the SSA podcast is fairly interested in professional development. If an instructor is interested in increasing their level of expertise, hat resources are there that are out there that they could use to improve their game?
Continuing Education
The Association of Defensive Shooting Instructors (ADSI) has a code of professionalism and the seventh tenet reads:
I believe that the best instructor is an avid student, and I will strive to continually upgrade my own skills and knowledge. As part of this belief, I understand that my own teachings need to be subject to critique and open to evolution.
How can the typical student make sure that the instructor that they are training with is committed to this idea?
PDN Tour
We talked about the resources and the bandwidth of the personal defense network you're about to kick off the 2015 PDN tour. Tell us about it.
Caleb Causey
William Aprill
Grant Cunningham
Daniel Shaw
Time, money, interest and energy are all finite resources. It doesn’t matter what activity we are talking about, when you start to run low on resources you have a tendency to want to hang things up.
I hope that our discussion with rob today might help you to find a quality instructor for your next course, Maybe even provide some good suggestions of instructors that will take you where you want to go, and hopefully provide you a bit of a recharge to get you out there and get some training in
To you folks out there listening, Thanks so much for spending your time with Safety Solutions Academy. The fact that you are willing to spend that time with me is some of the best news of my day.
Get out there, get some training. When you do, keep it simple, Stay safe and as always have a great day!
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By PaulCarlson
4.9
157157 ratings
In 2015 the firearms instructor business is booming! Folks from all different kinds of backgrounds are teaching all different kinds of classes. There are introductory classes and conceal carry being taught regularly. And you can add to that advanced classes competitive courses and the high speed Tactical stuff too. With everything that is out there, the firearms instruction consumer has many different choices to make.
As with anything else when there are lots of choices there are some that are good choices and some that are not so good.
Today we are going to speak with Rob Pincus of ICE Training. Rob is one of those folks offering up his instruction for sale but at the same time he spends a chunk of his time every year as a student. In addition in his role with the personal defense network he is someone that has to choose quality instructors to represent the PDN brand.
Today we're gonna discuss about how it is that Rob Pincus chooses quality instructors and how that might help you make good choices as well.
Honest reviews are are one of the ways that people make good decisions in today’s info filled world. And looking at reviews and ratings can be a great way to buy a vacuum but One of the issues we have to be worried about is the understanding and motives of the reviewer. That can make reviews a bit of a flawed system that is hard to trust alone when we are discussing a life and death issue like defensive firearm training.
And so today we talk with Rob Pincus to look at some other ways that we can work to select the best defensive firearms trainers.
You can find Rob Pincus at http://www.icetraining.us and at http://www.personaldefensenetwork.com.
What are the problems with having so many instructors?
As I mentioned in the intro right now in the firearms training industry there are heck of a lot of students and a heck of a lot of instructors. Some might even say a glut of trainers.
When you look at the number of instructors out there that are offering their courses in return for the resources of the student what problems do you see?
Who are the best instructors out there?
When I think about instructors that are out there I really think about 4 of groups of people that are teaching classes.
Avg Joes
Fanboys
Grand Masters
Coperators
Is there one group of instructors that tends to do a better job of instructing folks and defensive handgun use than the others? Or is an individuals background less important than marketing might make it seem?
If I just learn one thing…
Resources are something that are often left unconsidered by the student when selecting training and instructors. Usually when considered, it is simply from the standpoint of dollars which is one of the more concrete resources we deal with. Just because money can be held in your hand doesn’t make it the most important consideration.
There are a lot of people out there who take the attitude of if they learn one thing from an instructor, their investment in training was worth it. What do you think about that take on teaching and learning?
How do you select good instructors for PDN
In your role as managing editor of the personal defense network, you are tasked with bringing content from many different instructors together at a single resource, the personal defense network.
In a sense your task with the same problem that the consumer is. What is it that makes a good instructor and who is it that you wanted to give bandwidth to on the personal defense network?
How can our listeners apply your ideas to selecting a quality instructor.
How does your approach differ from what it is you think the consumer should do as they are looking for that quality instructor?
Distance Learning
Rob, you have several books out, one of which is called Counter Ambush, The science of Training for the Unexpected Defensive Shooting. It is a good look at an important and often over looked niche of defensive shooting, dealing with the ambush. Folks that are interested in taking a look at Counter Ambush can find it at
Getssagear.com/counterambush That will take you to amazon where there are only 4 copies left in stock
On page 147 of your book Counter Ambush you state:
“Sure, in-person coaching during a formal training class is probably the best format, but books, articles, blogs, online discussion forums, training DVD’s and various other resources are available to you. Of course, you need to use critical thinking and discretion when taking advice from any expert via any remote method. The further away you get from a face to face experience, the harder it may be to judge someone’s expertise.”
This gets back to the idea of using reviews and or after action reports as the sole method for vetting an instructor. With so much distance learning material being created in the defensive world, how is someone to judge that expertise?
Resources for Instructors
We have a lot of instructors that listen to this podcast which is pretty flattering.
The kind of instructor that takes the time to listen to the SSA podcast is fairly interested in professional development. If an instructor is interested in increasing their level of expertise, hat resources are there that are out there that they could use to improve their game?
Continuing Education
The Association of Defensive Shooting Instructors (ADSI) has a code of professionalism and the seventh tenet reads:
I believe that the best instructor is an avid student, and I will strive to continually upgrade my own skills and knowledge. As part of this belief, I understand that my own teachings need to be subject to critique and open to evolution.
How can the typical student make sure that the instructor that they are training with is committed to this idea?
PDN Tour
We talked about the resources and the bandwidth of the personal defense network you're about to kick off the 2015 PDN tour. Tell us about it.
Caleb Causey
William Aprill
Grant Cunningham
Daniel Shaw
Time, money, interest and energy are all finite resources. It doesn’t matter what activity we are talking about, when you start to run low on resources you have a tendency to want to hang things up.
I hope that our discussion with rob today might help you to find a quality instructor for your next course, Maybe even provide some good suggestions of instructors that will take you where you want to go, and hopefully provide you a bit of a recharge to get you out there and get some training in
To you folks out there listening, Thanks so much for spending your time with Safety Solutions Academy. The fact that you are willing to spend that time with me is some of the best news of my day.
Get out there, get some training. When you do, keep it simple, Stay safe and as always have a great day!