Teaching, it’s harder than one might think. So YOU can shoot and are sexy when doing it (sick reloads for the win!), but can you take someone who has never held a gun before and actually help to make them a proficient shooter? Can you not only get someone to follow your lead but show them ways to retain knowledge? Do you have a methodology in place to check on learning and address shortcomings? What if your first and second course of action just don’t work, how can you modify your style so that the audience is more receptive? All great questions and just some thoughts I wanted to toss out there. It’s one thing to be joe multicam prepper with a blog, velcro US flag on the ball cap, and 100k youtube views on the resume. It’s entirely another thing to be able to teach the skills acquired to a diverse audience who might learn in various ways. What Does This Mean? So let’s keep it simple, where do you begin? Family is the best option in that you can pass along your knowledge withpractical exercises and not have to worry about OPSEC being compromised. Start small and work your way out. Before you know it you’ll be giving casual instructions or advice to others, be in on the range (if solicited for advice) or through normal conversation. Of course OPSEC is always a priority so you have to be cognizant of who you choose to teach, rely on your intuition for that one. Example 1: My brother. My brother and I were out at the range shooting pistols a few days ago. I’ve taken him shooting before and he has good natural skills, but like any newer shooter there are things which must be reinforced in order to set the stage for his success. Upon arrival I told him to pick up a pistol (we had a few there) and go through a couple mags just to warm up, however he felt it needed to be done. Slow aimed fire at a target which was at a distance of around 7 yards. As he was firing it was immediately apparent to me that he had forgotten much of what we went over the last timewe shot together over a year ago. After he went through a couple mags we had a discussion about the fundamentals. Proper stance, grip, sight picture/alignment and trigger squeeze. I had to show him exactly what I meant a few times with respect to grip, this seemed to be his biggest challenge. Once we had that down and dry fired a few times I told him to shoot another mag, there was INSTANT improvement. Here’s where the teaching aspect goes to a new level. Not only did I have to show him once, I had to continue to monitor and coach him to reinforce those concepts throughout our session. Not only that, I believe it’s important to tell someone WHY they need to stand a certain way or hold the pistol a certain way. The reason behind the action is just as important as the action itself, it’s never “because I told you to do it that way.” I also had to recognize when I attempted to reach a bridge too far, I brought up the fundamentals associated with a good presentation shot had toback off. Just too much to cover in the little amount of time we had. Here’s the thing. If we only shoot together once a year do I expect him to retain ALL of the information he gained that day? Mostly likely not, these are things that must be ingrained through consistent work at the range, no matter the level of the shooter. Still I was able to impart basic vital information which helped him improve, to the point when we had the target out at 20 yards he fired a much better group than I did. I wasn’t mad in the least, I was proud that I helped him do it! Example 2: My daughter. A few weeks ago my daughter went on a road trip with 4 of her best girlfriends, crazy I know. They were traveling about 4 hours on the Interstate, enough distance from home that I had to have a pow-wow with my daughter to make sure she understood the implications associated with her journey and if indeed something happened…dad would not be able to simply show up to fix things. Knowing this we broke outthe white (dry erase) board and decided to brain storm. I didn’t dictate to her what she should take but rather asked her input and dropped hints where necessary. 1- How are you getting there? A car, ok what are some of the considerations with respect to your vehicle. – Does it have a jack and tools – Who has a roadside assistance number and is the service active? – Pre-trip checks (oil, tire pressures, emergency kits etc) 2- What’s the route and can you identify it on a map? – Yes you will be using GPS but what if that fails? – Show me on this atlas your route, identify major cities or terrain features you expect to encounter during your journey – What if you have to call in your location, are you tracking mile markers / direction / route in order to relay to the authorities? 3- You’ll be needing some clothes, let’s discuss baggage – Of course you’ll need the emergency car bag out of your own trunk – What other bag? That’s right….a SHTF bag (which is currently in your trunk) – Coldweather clothes and blankets 4- Misc supplies for your journey – Self protection: pepper spray and knife – Addresses to all medical facilities on the route and at the destination – Proper identification (ID, medical card, license) – Emergency cash in multiple denominations 5- OPSEC – Don’t post any social media updates about the trip until your return The Bottom Line My daughter made it to her destination and enjoyed the trip with her friends, probably never giving a second thought to the SHTF bag in the trunk or the other items we discussed prior to her departure. Yet with my coaching she was able to walk me through most of what was listed above, including tracing her route on a map and walk through scenarios which included finding her way home once off the beaten path. Hopefully she will take these lessons with her as she continues to mature and eventually gets a family of her own. It’s all about teaching and passing along the strategies and skills which keep us prepared and readyfor the unknown.
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