Picking out a instructor

Firearm Training
1

I’m considering taking a weapon retention class. How do you decide if the instructor is one that will give you good, solid instruction ?

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@Jacob2 a couple of strategies…

  • I get on YouTube and watch some videos on the subject to get an idea of what I should expect to learn, read some articles, check the USCCA blog. I want to know enough to be able to ask questions of the teacher that will help me decide if they’re knowledgeable and a good fit for me. Plus it helps me build a framework to put their teaching in and I retain more that way.
  • I use recommendations from other shooters, or from my favorite range employees as a start.
  • I get on their website and read the reviews. Sometimes other sites like Yelp may have reviews.
  • I get on the phone with them and ask about class content and format, what I should expect to learn, their teaching methods, or whatever else I think I need to assess their skill, experience or teaching style.
  • if it’s a long or expensive class, I’ll ask if I can visit a class of theirs for a few minutes to see if they’re a fit. Not all teachers will let you do this, and after the phone call, I might not need it. I usually dont ask this if it’s a short class or not too expensive.

Hope that gives you some ideas

3

It does. For a pistol class that’s a good sounding board. I looked online at weapon retention and it seems to be all over the board. It’s a 4 hour course, no one in my circle has taken weapon retention classes. I even reached out to my Taekwando instructor and he wasn’t sure how to research this.
I may just take it and see what it is.

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@Jacob2 let’s us know what you learn… :smiley: it’s not one I’ve trained in yet.

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Look up Gracie survival tactics. The videos I’ve seen of those classes look amazing. The Gracie jiu-jitsu method of teaching is awesome!

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Jeet Kun Do has weapon retention built into it. A lot of LE defense tactics instructor incorporate it into their curriculum

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How do you pick a good jeet kun do instructor ?

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That can be challenging. I met mine when I was going to the university so I got really lucky. But some tips he gave me were to look for a few things.

  1. If the instructor has a website, look at the photos they use. Are the photos of flash moves? Are they professional looking? Are they real photos or stock photos? Is the instructor in the photos? You want to find photos with the instructor in them and them teaching.
  2. Look at who the target audience is. Are they targeting children? Adults? Seniors? Everyone? This will help give you an idea of their priorities. Ones that focus on kids only can tend to be in it for the profit.
  3. Read where they got their training from and who their trainers got their training from. You’re going to want to look for people who have Dan Inosanto, Brandon Lee, or Bruce Lee in their lineage. The last two are pretty rare while Dan is popular. Dan is still alive and teaching all around the world.
  4. Look at how the charge for classes. If they want to lock you into a contract, that should raise some red flags. Instructors who are in it to truly teach and empower their students are not going to trap them in a contract. Look for language that references being able to start and stop whenever you want without commitment. This one is really important.

Those are the tips I got and are pretty generalized. If you’re in a major metro area, community colleges and universities can have amazing teachers. This is true even outside of Martial arts.

Hope this helps!

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There’s an organization called USCCA, I belong to it. It’s an Insurance company for you if you ever have to defend yourself. They have a long list of instructors and what they can teach

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:smiley: Yes. Yes we can :grin:
Weapons retention isn’t in everyone’s skillset, but having qualified as a USCCA firearms instructor is certainly a mark of someone who’s interested in raising the bar for quality of teaching and materials.

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LOL! We’ve got great instructors, but not all teach weapons retention as a separate class. :slight_smile: I’m betting there are a number of USCCA Instructors that have a great weapons retention class or they’ll know someone who does!

BTW - technically, we’re a membership organization that offers education, training, and legal protection. :wink:

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12

How do you use the search feature to find a instructor for weapon retention in my area ?

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You should be able to go to the USCCA instructor page, make a list of what instructors are in your area then call some and tell them, or even better call outside your area and ask who they would recommend.

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Here’s where to find a list of or search for local instructors
https://training.usconcealedcarry.com/instructor-search

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Thanks for the link, It looks like its more so a bio on instructors and what USCCA courses they teach. Calling all the instructors in the area seems kind counter productive for time management to find the one that teaches a good weapons retention class.
Maybe Im missing something ?
Plus, I would think if you asked a bad instructor how good they are they would rarely say they are a bad instructor, LOL

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I don’t think the website is going to give you the information on weapons retention you want. But it will help find local folks. I check people’s websites for the details of the reviews… what exactly people comment on. For my time, a phone call works best.