410 - Maximizing Your Self Defense Training Class

410 - Make Sure You Are Prepared for Your Defensive Training Course   When it comes to defensive firearm training you need to approach it like you would approach an investment.  Like any investment, you are making a choice to exchange your resources in return for an outcome that you are interested in. Maybe you want to learn a new skill, or increase your personal safety, or even gain the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you have the tools, skills and willingness to deal with violence should you be forced to.  Your goal is to take value from a learning experience. If there are things that you can do to gain more from your training course you should consider doing those things especially if you only need to make a small additional investment to gain significantly more from your course. Today we are going to take a look at actions you can take to get more from your defensive training course.   Important Resources: Safety Solutions Academy’s flagship defensive handgun course is Critical Defensive Handgun and I try to make the course as accessible as possible when it comes to preparing for class.  Sign up and you will have a great couple of days on the range as well as a pleasant experience getting ready for class.   You can support the Safety Solutions Academy Podcast by becoming a Patron.  Simply head to our Patreon page and choose a pledge level to receive exclusive content.  Including additional audio on each  podcast.  When you become a Patron you are automatically entered to win a GLOCK 19, 2 days of training and 1000 rounds of ammo.  Seriously.  Get on it.   I would love to hear what your thoughts are on the Safety Solutions Academy Podcast and one of the best ways to give me your feedback is to head to our iTunes page and leave us a rating and a review.     Select Your Course Carefully Context is key when you are selecting a defensive training course.  Take the time to consider what your goals are for the course that you are going to take and then search for a course that you believe will meet those goals.   Sign Up Early For Your Defensive Training Course When you sign up early you have an opportunity to prepare for class by reading after action reports from other students, investigate other resources that the instructor or school has published such as social media posts, video content or podcast appearances.   Take the Preparatory Content for your Defensive Handgun Course Seriously Many quality instructors take advantage of modern tools such as email lists, online educational tools and more. What ever information you receive before class needs to be looked over carefully so that you are as prepared as possible.   Assemble the Gear You Need for Your Defensive Training Class A few weeks before class, it is time to get to the fun stuff (at least for most people.)  You need to take the time to assemble the gear that is on the gear list from the instructor so that you know what you have and what you need to get.   Make Sure That Your Gear is Functional Get out to the range and make sure everything is functional.  This is a key step that many forget.  Unless you are certain that the ammo and the gun work together, you need to test them.   Get Some Rest Before Your Defensive Handgun Course One of the most important factor in learning might be how receptive your brain is to new information.  Assuming you have the foundation for the material you are about to learn and have an interest in learning it, you need to make sure that you have an amount of rest that is helpful for learning.   Get to Your Training Course Early Being at class ahead of time sets the foundation for a great day.  Having an extra 30 minutes gives you time to meet your instructor, make sure you are in the right place, use the bathroom or other issues that can help with your comfort.  Heck, being there early might give you the seat that you want in the classroom or the spot on the bench where the rain won’t blow in on your gear. The other advantage of planning on arriving to your defensive training course early is that if something goes wrong on the way you have built in a cushion.  That flat tire isn’t as big of a deal if you have extra time to handle it.  The same goes for when the GPS decides to take you on some crazy detour. Get there early.   Provide Feedback to Instructor This one isn’t as much about you getting the most out of class as it is helping others to get the most out of class.