Enhance Training Programs: Tools & Resources for Firearm Instructors
The latest Google search shows that there’s at least 125,000 firearms instructors in the United States. Most of those instructors are instructing as a side-gig, a business outside of their normal “day job”. Just because for most it isn’t the major breadwinner, being a firearms instructor is a privilege, and if we don’t continue to train ourselves, we could be doing our students a disservice. It’s important that we continue to be students of the craft. If you are an instructor or if you want to be an instructor, here’s some resources and tools to help make you a better, more informed and educated teacher in an industry that is constantly changing.
Instructor Certifications
When I speak of instructors continuing to learn, I’m not just speaking of obtaining more instructor certifications to add to our curriculum vitae (CV) or resume for students review when deciding who to choose as their instructor. In fact, the vast majority of students who sign up for classes do not know the likes of Jeff Cooper, Massad Ayoob or Tom Givens, all whom forged the path of taking firearms education to the public or the current few dozen well respected full-time national instructors today.So what is required to be an instructor? There is no singular organization that is the end-all-be-all for firearms education. All major schools have unique qualities and might be better at some aspects of instruction than others. Most people think that being certified as an instructor by the National Rifle Association (NRA) or the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) is all it takes. And that is true, but only really on paper. Most instructors are certified with one or both of these instructor certifications, but does that make a well rounded instructor?
As a side note, this is similar to having experience in law enforcement or the military or being a grand master in shooting competitions. These qualifications do not automatically make a person a good instructor! Many soldiers are not trained on a pistol, only a rifle. And most law enforcement agencies do not have the funds to give officers quality on-going training to make every officer an expert on firearms. Most competitors focus on competition skills, not self-defense skills, even though in all of these disciplines there can be cross over. There’s a measure of how well a person can relate to their students and how that person can convey a message that can be presented in a manner where it is learned, and not just told that makes a good instructor.
Neither the NRA nor the USCCA have requirements for their instructors to take classes to re-certify to stay up to date as instructors. Continuing education is a choice we have to make. There’s some great organizations out there that provide instructor certifications that focus on helping you teach better. Conversely, there’s also organizations out there where an instructor certification is all about being a better shooter yourself and passing specific drills and getting the coveted “prize”.
Dig in and do research on instructor certifications. Not that these types of pure shooting classes are necessarily bad, it’s just important to know what you will take away from the class. Sometimes these types of classes are good as an instructor to focus on quality time behind the firearm because, let’s face it, as an instructor you will be at the range a lot, but will have very little time for your own training.
Does an instructor have to be a top tier shooter with a lightning quick draw? Not necessarily unless that is the client base you are teaching. Does an instructor need to be a good, competent and safe shooter….yes! Some of the best instructors I know are ones who have worked the hardest to overcome challenges to be that good, competent and safe shooter. The vast majority of instructors are teaching a client base of new or fairly new shooters. It’s important that an instructor knows their audience and can relate to that audience.
What classes should you take? The choice needs to be your own. Ask other trusted instructors who they would recommend training under or classes they have taken and felt that were worth the time and money. Once you have taken a class or two, chances are you will begin to see familiar faces in the industry. I don’t know of a single instructor who would not be willing to take time to discuss experiences and give class/instructor recommendations to another instructor.
Instructor certifications are costly. You need to consider return on investment and how that certification course benefits your business. Many courses are now averaging $200-$300 per day just for the course itself, which does not include lodging, food and travel. Find classes that help you develop skills to help your students be successful, whatever your model or audience looks like.
Some questions you should ask yourself when considering any class, especially instructor certification classes.
- What are your goals in improving your instructor skills? Is it curriculum writing? Diagnostics? Building your business?
- Does the training fit your client base? Sometimes we might take an instructor certification to see if we want to expand our client base.
- Do other instructors recommend this training? Read after action reports (AARs) on classes or even Google/Facebook reviews of the instructor or the class. Vet the instructor on social media to see what kind of interaction they have with the public.
- Does the certification require a specific skill level with a firearm to “pass”? Find out what those requirements are to ensure you can focus on learning and not stressing out over the “test”.
Train Locally
Really? But that’s my competition! Are local instructors your competition? Let’s change that mindset to look at it as your peers. I have seen more good come from instructors who respect each other as instructors, all with a common goal to further firearms education for generations to come. There’s also a benefit to having instructors that you can collaborate with on larger classes where an assistant instructor may be necessary or even consider developing a joint class where you take advantage of each instructor's specialty.
Generally training locally is going to be much more cost-effective than traveling to train. There is much to be learned from taking classes with other local instructors. Understanding your peer’s teaching and communication style may be a benefit if you have a student you don’t feel like you connect well with. Building a referral network benefits everyone.
Maybe you don’t know the other instructors personally. That’s okay. Train with them and see if you want to connect with them. Worst case scenario is you learn things that don’t work well in teaching students. When less money is involved, and it’s a class where the shooting skill set isn’t challenging for you, consider focusing on observing the teacher/student relationships and what works and what does not work (obviously while still being a good student, paying attention to the instructor and being safe). I always say there is something to learn from every class, whether it’s positive or negative.
Train Digitally
Technology has afforded so many opportunities to learn without leaving the comfort of your home. There are a plethora of online training and coaching programs to help you improve. Don’t limit yourself to firearms specific training. There’s numerous online courses by well known authors and trainers that you can purchase and take at your own pace. Many are even free! Some examples are awareness, trauma medical, mindset, and decision making. The list could be endless. I’ve even taken online classes on how to be an effective assistant instructor and how to build better powerpoints!
There are also many options for private consultations online with many national instructors. These private online sessions are commonly for advice on shooting skills (a virtual private lesson). There are instructors out there who offer a wide-variety of training via interactive social media on a weekly basis.
Training digitally doesn’t necessarily mean interactive. There are so many resources available online through written articles and shared video. Don’t know where to start? Greg Ellifritz, a nationally recognized trainer puts together a comprehensive weekly email newsletter sent out each Friday of noteworthy articles and videos, both new and old that can give you a good idea on websites and other social media channels to check out on a regular basis. You can subscribe to his newsletter at https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/.
Also consider educational articles or published studies on the actual learning process. These articles are not going to be firearm training specific. Adult learning theory is different from standard “school” learning theory. There are different learning types and processes that adults use. Student feedback is huge in the firearms training space. There’s many articles on feedback that relate to other sports that can be applied to the firearms world. Similarly there are many articles on coaching and the type of coach you might be and what you might aspire to be that you can read.
The introduction of video on social media, be it short or longer length video, has made sharing of information much easier. We can take entire classes through video, but many of the great nuggets can be found on instructor social media channels where they post topics regularly, be it just videos or podcasts. If you teach concealed carry or legal aspects to self-defense cases, video can give you lots of information from experts in that space (and a whole lot cheaper than hiring a lawyer to ask questions). One YouTube channel to consider is Active Self Protection Extra where there is a weekly discussion with a lawyer regarding self-defense, along with firearms training tips from respected instructors in the industry and fun dry fire challenges with Mantis products.
As with any training, there is always good vs not so good education in all media types. It’s important to read up on influencers/authors and vet them by checking out reviews or asking other instructors on who they recommend.
Train by Reading Books
Just because we are in the 21st century with all of the technology, don’t count out the value of the written word in books! Don’t read? Many books are on audio platforms like Audible. The beauty of books is that almost all the books recommended from national instructors are available from a library, whether you go and check out to read the physical book, or many libraries offer digital audiobooks for free through a shared platform, allowing you to listen for free if they are available to “check out”.
There are more books written in the firearms space now than ever before. But as in other types of media, do not discount books that teach adult learning, performance learning, providing feedback, mindset, awareness, self-defense, and encounter aftermaths just to name a few. There are also many non-fiction books that cover key historical events that provide insight into how you might train your students. Just as Greg Ellifritz compiles great articles weekly, he also has a great book recommendation list categorized by genre type on his website here: https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/recommended-reading
Tools to Enhance Training Programs
When you started out as an instructor, there were many tools in which you needed to obtain to teach, from the basic laptop/projector, to additional firearms, targets and stands. As you progress as an instructor, you may see a need to fill a gap where you need additional tools to demonstrate a concept to help your students cement the knowledge.
Tools for Teaching
Some of the best tools are homemade! Making something or repurposing something as a prop is a great way to save some money since most instructor budgets are tight. Examples could be sight alignment trainers. Early on in my teaching career I made and laminated these rudimentary sight trainers that I still use to this day, and since then I have also purchased something of better quality to have in my range bag.
Tools can expand beyond the basics needed to teach effective classes. Want to induce stress during shooting, or working with advanced shooters? Consider purchasing a shot timer, which tracks the time that elapses from a beep to the shot, and can track splits in between shots. There are apps available on Apple/Android that can accomplish these items, but they are not as reliable or robust as having a separate timer unit. Separate shot timer units will be more costly than an app, but work better in areas where there might be multiple shooters or lack of cell/internet coverage.
The best tools you can consider for your business are tools that can do many things, thus stretching your dollar further in your business. The MantisX Shooting Performance System is a tool that can be used to help train both pistol and rifle skills, giving you the ability to provide your students trigger press analysis in both dry fire and live fire. It includes a built in shot timer, as well as a par timer and drills that you can utilize to help train every level of student.
Better yet, your student may see the benefit of having a MantisX and decide to purchase. If you are a Mantis affiliate, you could earn money for your business with each purchase and track and guide your students on their progress through the MantisX app through the group function. If you want to find out more about becoming an affiliate, sign up at: https://mantisx.com/pages/affiliates.
Need the ability to work with students without being on the range? Whether it’s a new student, experienced student, or you live in a climate where temperature and precipitation can play havoc with a class, Mantis Laser Academy is a great tool to have at your disposal. Imagine being able to work fundamentals with a new student and give them a visual of where their shots are going before introducing the “bang and recoil” on the live range.
Laser Academy can even work great for advanced students with drills like Holster Draw or the DCS drills. The built in shot timer will help induce that bit of stress, and give quantitative data of shot times and accuracy. Add in cognitive load by using the Hunt drill and respective target and you can challenge even your most expert shooters in quick decision making along with accuracy. You may consider having multiple laser training cartridges for the most popular calibers to have at your disposal with students.
Tools for Business
Let’s not overlook that having the right tools will help you run a successful business! Most businesses that have a client base use customer relationship management (CRM) software. This is software that helps you stay organized, keep in touch with your students, can trigger emails, and some can even be tied into websites to have class signups and payments. If that is not within the budget yet, starting out with a free email address for your business and a simple build-your-own website through a website provider, and making a Facebook business page are still valuable tools to have to build your client base.Just Keep Training!
An instructor who rests their laurels on where they are at now will stay stagnant as the industry evolves. Is that the legacy you want to leave behind with our next generation of students? The most effective and informed instructors are consummate learners and are invested in learning as much as they are teaching. Take advantage of what possibilities are offered as discussed in this article, even as simple as reading a book. Just like Dory encourages Nemo, we here at Mantis highly encourage all instructors to “Just Keep Training!”.
Cara Conry
Author