When people are asking me to recommend guns, I often advise them to seek training after making a recommendation based on their needs. Whether it is a pistol for EDC, a rifle for home defense, there are training courses out there that can help you meet the goal of being more proficient. Let me break this down using the way we learned elementary math and how we integrated it as an analogy. I feel that this perspective provides a practical example of ways to effectively learn and retain skills. JUST TRAINING? When we look at training, we need to have the right outlook on it. It is an “introduction” to a way of doing something. When you learned math in school, you were trained how to use formulas and methods that helped you manipulate the numbers in a way to reveal the answer. However, going through equations to solve algebraic problems with the teachers’ guidance is far from good enough to ensure that you have the concepts down right. Yes, you may have a good teacher who has you interested in interacting and participating by making it fun to solve equations in class, but that doesn’t make you Albert Einstein by the end of class. This just means that with good guidance, your brain is processing these new tasks of problem solving and your performance in class is mainly a credit to the teachers’ method of introducing you to the subject and supporting you through it. Now look at a shooting class that is maybe one or two days long. You cover a lot of subjects and apply them under guidance. So, if you are able to perform under guidance in a controlled setting, this automatically means you have learned and mastered these skills because your teacher was “good” at explaining things? Yeah, I think not. PRACTICE IS KEY In school, at least part of your grades are dependent on homework, which is basically mandatory practice outside of class in order to get continued subject exposure. But what is the issue if you were so good at solving these equations and already know the formulas? How about when this positive guidance(teacher) is not there to hold your hand through the equations, and you have to apply what you have learned all alone? This is part of a test to see if you were actually absorbing the material. Your homework is a clear reflection of your ability to retain information and apply it without support or guidance. However, if your parents were awesome, they would help you get these further repetitions in and help you understand better if you just couldn’t understand it in class. Half of it is dependent on genuine subject interest instead of going through the motions until class is over. Let’s be honest, we’ve all done it. In a shooting class, once the class is over, it is on the student or trainee to gather information for how they can conduct dry fire practice and test themselves at the range. This means that they have to learn what a good standard is and try to meet that standard with little to no guidance. For example, a student wanting to practice reloads to get better despite good classroom performance would be recommended several tests and tricks such as using a timer to beat a certain time or conduct certain drills. From here, it is on the paying student to carry out practice on there own and figure it out. This is the worst type of homework, I assure you, since you have to be your own critic and grade your own performance while analyzing how to further improve. However, without repetition, the body and mind will not be able to develop procedural memory, also called muscle memory. It is vital that your repetitions not be a check in the box, but rather a course that has your full interest and attention. Making a game of a subject and making it fun has been proven to help the brain retain information and grow. Even if the game is engaging imaginary targets as fast as possible with a dry firearm, using the techniques taught. This is called creating a flow, which is challenging your skills without getting too bored or anxious. This is how many high-performance athletes train themselves. CONFIRMATION AND SKILL APPLICATION In school, you have tests that reflect how well you retained the information given and gauges your ability to apply that information. Typically, your homework grades up until the final test is going to give the teacher a good idea where you stand and possibly be an indicator on your final test performance. This may result in you receiving targeted homework catered to the subjects you are most challenged by. Teachers that care will typically assign this to allow you to have a better shot of retaining the information and making the grade. After testing, you move onto the next subject, which typically requires the skills of the subject just tested. For example, you’re going to be tested on fundamental math like adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying before being taught how to solve quadratic equations. Without mastering the fundamentals of math, the equations would just appear to you like ancient hieroglyphs found in some Egyptian tomb. But through constant exposure and challenging, we are taught to recognize the addition sign, different division signs, and know exactly what they mean. When it comes to firearms training, you have to develop your own tests, make time to prepare for and conduct it, and then grade yourself honestly. For instance, you decide to test your reload time and make sure you are able to maintain a 2.5 second reload despite the position. This leads you to develop a test using a shot timer where you are gauged from various positions and while performing movement. If you pass your own invented test, this skill development can then be applied elsewhere with minor tweaks to accommodate the variation in loading procedures between firearms such as a rifle and a pistol. From here, your skill will allow you to move onto other skills such as engaging multiple targets, conducting movement, working cover, and so on. Core skills such as reloading should be conducted in a way that appears and feels autonomic, meaning with minimal cognitive input unless there is a disruption such as a bullet blocking magazine insertion. Looking at your gun while reloading is like watching your feet while you walk…. just to make sure that they aren’t going to drag on the ground. Save the eyes for the path ahead and don’t look at your feet unless you actually have a disruption. TAKEAWAY These phases are a necessary process to learn how to properly and effectively use a firearm. The human brain needs to learn things and use the things it learns repeatedly in order to create habitual actions and standard behaviors. When it comes to firearms, you have a lot of responsibility to invent ways to build yourself with minimal guidance and to maintain an interest in consistently applying what you have learned. Only then will you be able to develop as a shooter.
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