Lead, Follow or Get out of the way

Lead, Follow or Get out of the way

Lead, Follow or Get out of the way“Teaching in front of the firing line breaks every firearm safety rule there is!”
Seemingly every time a student posts a photo from one of our classes, somebody posts the above quote. It’s no secret I teach many of my classes from the front. It’s not done lightly, and it certainly isn’t done in the caviler manner many assume. This assumption is, on the part of many critics, based on a short YouTube clip, or a single moment caught on someone’s cellphone or camera. This one photo doesn’t make you an expert or well versed in what we do any more than reading a Wikipedia article on astrophysics qualifies you to build a lunar craft. Just remember, assumption is the mother of all fuck ups. Lead, Follow or Get out of the way
Lets’ look at the safety aspects and how it’s my responsibility. Every day you carry your defensive weapon of choice, you are expected to do so in a safe, competent and responsible manner. You aren’t allowed to swing it around like a light sabre or hand it to monkeys, no matter how trustworthy or curious they may be. (Regardless of the color of your hat) You’re expected to be mindful of those around you during both the loading and holstering, preparatory steps prior to leaving the your place of residence. Whether you’re an open carry fan or a believer of the element of surprise and prefer to carry concealed, it is understood that you’re going to keep your firearm where it belongs until there is an urgent need for its implementation. Or ‘keep your pistol in your pants’ as my Mother has been known to chuckle. (Stop thinking that, pervert)http://youtu.be/IkdErmx2nkU


Every day, its a forgone conclusion that you will abide by the firearm safety rules. 1. Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire. 2. Don’t point your firearm at anything you’re not willing to destroy. 3. Know your target and what’s beyond. Seems simple enough, right? All day and every day that you chose to carry a firearm you are entrusted with full freedom of movement and expected to be responsible. Until you get to the range and you’re under the watchful eye of the instructor. Suddenly you can’t be trusted. The moment you’re in an area where you’d think you would be MOST mindful of the rules, you’re given a new set of stringent dogma that does absolutely nothing to assist you in one of the main reasons you carry a firearm. Now, I’m not saying the rules are less important on the range, than any other place. I’m not. As a matter of fact they’re even more important, because complacency can get you or someone else killed. Lead, Follow or Get out of the way

The defensive courses we teach are for grown ups. Not that we don’t mentor the young, but there’s a proper place for everything in life. Our defensive firearms courses are geared towards folks that never want to fall behind the eight ball in a lethal force encounter. Regardless of skill level, it’s our job as defensive instructors to build competent students. Safe handling of firearms is the basis of all of our training, not just your ‘Barney Basic’ course. (Thanks Steve Wilson for getting that stuck in my head)
Our students are reminded of the rules and reminded that they aren’t that uncommon. When you get into your car, you are expected to respect the rules of the road. 1. Obey the speed limit. 2. Wear your seat belt. 3. Stay off the crowded boardwalk. Your firearm has redundant safeties. Your muzzle awareness, your indexed finger and the mechanical safety installed by the manufacturer.

To be clear, when I teach in front our defensive courses, what rule am I breaking?
Lead, Follow or Get out of the way
Am I keeping your finger off the trigger? Nope, that’s your job. Am I keeping your muzzle pointed in a safe direction? (Insert Jamaican accent here) Still not my job, ‘mon. Am I engaging or disengaging your safety for you? Well shit, that’s not my problem either. When you wrap that proper grip around that firearm of yours, who is responsible for it? The student. As a firearms instructor, if you’re intimidated by that thought, go play poker because this industry isn’t for you. But as a student, this shouldn’t intimidate you at all. These are the same things you’re responsible for every time you grab your firearm.
Another line I hear, from other instructors is, “I would never stand in front of my students.” My response is simple, Get out. You’re no better than a snake oil salesman selling false remedies to folks that aren’t sick. Teaching a defensive class, where your students stand on a line, with no distractions outside of a paper target full of kindergarten shapes is just that, kindergarten. I will not say that target identification drills do not have their place, because they are an important building block. What I am saying is this, You want better gun carrying students? Build them. Earn them.

Remember, these are aspects of a course dealt with outside of a Basic 1-2-3 type course. No new student can be thrust into such an environment without prior fundamentals being worked, drilled, and exceeding the common expectation. Each student is assessed and cleared long before there are any live rounds put toward targets. Every course is adapted to the skill level of every student present. If you’re not constantly evaluating your students during your lectures, demonstrations and live fire exercises, then you’re just checking off boxes and reciting your little speech. If that’s how you ‘instruct’ then you’re no better than a parrot.
What’s your instructor adding to your skill level.