Picking a Trainer

[JohnKSa]

That is a GREAT point. Just because you can do something well, does NOT mean you can teach it. Ive seen guys with incredible resumes of operational experience fail miserably when trying to relay those skills to others...

An excellent point, and one that Lamb made in his article.

In my 40 years plus, as a firearms instructor I've been to many instructor development courses.

A good trainer will also TAKE training in addition to providing it. Because 1) no one knows everything and 2) techniques/tactics evolve and improve and new techniques/tactics are developed.

A really good wakeup call for people who don't get training because they believe they already know too much to learn from trainers would be to see how much time, money and effort good trainers spend on taking training themselves.

 

[Kilrb]

I have taken four classes in different types of skill sets of shooting in the last two years. I have three scheduled for the rest of this year. I have benefited from each, its my stress relief from work and it is a lot of fun. Another thing is I shoot some action pistol and a local USPSA it definitely helps me in these.

 

[Kirosha]

There are some other good points made in the article, for example he feels that instructors should be skillful enough to demonstrate any techniques they teach at a high level of proficiency.

Many fathers taught many kids well enough without high levels of proficiency. I am by no means a trainer but my wife and kids learn from me. I'm by no means highly proficient in x, y, or z but I still teach my family what I know. I'd even go so far that training with anyone would help improve your skills in some degree.

I knew the old adage, "better to have and not need..." would be repeated to justify swat training for personal protection. I heard it in my head when I was typing my first post. I really don't care if people want to train clearing shoot houses, hostage rescue, sniper skills, breaching, and vehicle assaults, but I'm not going to buy such a course and start wearing 5.11 like some of the Youtube stars out there.

True adage is true. Most wear SD weapons and will never see a call to use one. But I can see several uses for such classes including hunting, breath control, awareness, negotiation skills. I could go on.

 

[Theohazard]

For me to "pick a trainer", I'd have to find someone with significantly more knowledge and experience than myself. Certainly, there are many who fit that criteria but most aren't selling their knowledge and experience.
Therefore, I "don't do trainers".

Tom Brady has a quarterback coach. Roger Federer has a tennis coach. LeBron James has a shooting coach. I highly doubt any of those coaches are more accomplished than the people they’re training.

 

[FireForged]

Tom Brady has a quarterback coach. Roger Federer has a tennis coach. LeBron James has a shooting coach. I highly doubt any of those coaches are more accomplished than the people they’re training.

Basketball and Tennis aint brain surgery and it sure aint combat

When the decisions you make or the actions you take have a significant impact on whether or not a situation become life altering, life sustaining or potentially costing someone their life, you sort-of see things in a slightly different perspective than those in sports entertainment. What Tom Brady does or does not do- is not in the same universe with what we are discussing here.


I agree with MoBuck.. if a person is not my superior in regards to knowledge and experience, I am not interested. I have no intent of muddying the water with classroom theory or untested concepts delivered by someone who has never had skin in the game.

I have had the occasion to meet and work with people who felt like they knew how to do something "better" simply because they fancied themselves as genuinely smart or well read. They usually ended up mucking the whole thing up for the rest of us. That is what can happen when Experience is not on par with the idea of how Smart someone thinks they are.

 

[Theohazard]

Basketball and Tennis aint brain surgery and it sure aint combat.

You appear to have missed my point. My point was simply that sometimes a trainer might not be as skilled or as accomplished as a student is at a particular something, but that trainer may be better than the student at analyzing a person’s technique and helping them improve, regardless of the student’s skill level.

What Tom Brady does or does not do- is not in the same universe with what we are discussing here.

There are precise physical mechanics involved when throwing a football well, just as there are precise physical mechanics involved when shooting a firearm well. Just as Tom Brady benefits from a coach who helps him refine his throwing mechanics, a top-level shooter can still benefit from a trainer who helps him refine his shooting mechanics.

 

[FireForged]

I get all that brother... what I am saying is that games are game and the consequences of gameplay are universes apart from the potential consequences of brain surgery or combat. People are generally a little more critical of the instruction they receive in regards to life-safety issues. If you arnt.. that's fine. I am, and that is what I was trying to convey.

 

[Theohazard]

Fair enough. I don’t think my point conflicts with yours, or vice-versa. I think we’re each making different — but equally valid — points.

 

[hdwhit]

JohnKSa wrote:
"...who wouldn't love to make a living doing something they love doing?"

Over the years I have found that the things I love doing, I love doing on my own terms. When I have tried to convert them into money-making ventures, the need to have a schedule, keep business records, deal with customer service issues, etc. has sucked all the joy out of them for me and I ended up hating what I had formerly loved.

It depends entirely upon the person, but making a living doing something you love may not turn out to be all it is cracked up to be.

 

[hdwhit]

JohnKSa wrote:
...Kyle Lamb in the May 2017 issue of Guns and Ammo...

I agree with the quote you posted.

I think the essential quality that gets overlooked at lot of the time is that a firearms/marksmanship instructor - first and foremost - has to be able to convey his/her knowledge to the student in a way that the student can grasp, practice and then put into action. And it doesn't matter if somebody's neighbor thought they were the best instructor in the world, if they can't teach a particular student, that student should look for someone else.

Someone may have been an Army Ranger or Navy Seal, but if they aren't able to teach ice how to melt, they are worthless as an instructor and someone looking to invest their money in instruction should look elsewhere.