Mantis Laser Academy: Introducing the Training Journey

For over a year, we have been developing and testing a brand-new training experience for Mantis Laser Academy. Today we are making that journey available to all Laser Academy shooters. This new journey is a sequence of training videos, exercise walk-throughs, training drills, quizzes, training courses, marksmanship assessments. It builds on the amazing technology that Laser Academy introduced to the world: automatic target detection, automatic scoring, multi-shooter duels, smart targets, and much more.

Why?

When most people are first learning to shoot they have multiple new and unfamiliar tasks they are trying to execute all at once, which can be very overwhelming.  Much like throwing a ball, most humans can execute the action of pressing the trigger, but just because we can perform the action doesn’t mean we do it well.  Even with talent the skills to be good at something take time and effort to acquire.  The shooting world knows this is especially true as even the best in the world have room for improvement and since shooting is a perishable skill practice is paramount.  

So like many complicated processes, it is easiest to break it down, isolate pieces and build up as you go.  Many shooters will do this through dryfire, and in recent years with app and laser cartridge assistance like our very own Laser Academy.  While the systems are fantastic for saving ammo and time by bringing the range to you, if you are just starting out or working on specific skills some extra instruction can go a long way.  At Mantis our mission is to improve every shooter, which is why we have added a new feature to our Laser Academy app to lead you through your Training Journey.

Laser Academy App

The Laser Academy app is available in the App Store, Play Store, and Amazon Appstore as a free download and our training kits come with a Full Access pass to unlock all features along with a laser cartridge, tripods, dozens of targets, and a few ways to display those targets for practice.  Laser Academy is easy to use, has tutorial drills and an instruction guide, plus our US based shooters only customer service team is available if you ever need anything.  If you purchase a training kit, it has everything you need to get started in minutes.

For all of you who are saying “but wait I already own a Laser Academy kit, what about my Training Journey?”  Don’t worry, our app updates are always free for existing users, meaning the Training Journey is available to you at no extra cost, just open the app and start down the guided path.

Who is the Training Journey for?

You may be wondering who this new feature is for and the short answer is, everyone.  The only appropriate place to start a journey is from the beginning and the best part of a journey is what happens along the way.  So regardless of skill level remember good foundational skills are the keystone to firearms, but let’s take a closer look at just how it works for everyone. 

If you are just starting your shooting endeavor then the Training Journey is the perfect at home companion to reiterate what you learned in class and ensure that you are consistently practicing correctly.   The videos guide you through concepts and techniques and then reinforce them with drills and quizzes helping solidify the new information.  

Perhaps you are not a new shooter though, just new to Laser Academy.  No problem, the Training Journey will walk you through setting up and using the app to get you familiar with using technology in your dryfire practice.  

But what if you aren’t new to shooting or Laser Academy, well we still suggest you go through the Training Journey.  Not only is it good to get back to basics but the concentration on specific areas of your technique may reveal where your body has gone into auto pilot and is not adhering 100% to the way in which you should be executing it.  

If you really want to take advantage of the early stages then create a constraint for yourself.  This could mean switching primary hand dominance, using one hand only, switching to a red dot instead of irons (or vice versa), using a firearm you are not particularly familiar with.  Or you could extend the distance, perform it from different positions, incorporate the use of cover or even turning.  Giving your brain something unfamiliar to do while performing the very familiar act of shooting will up the ante in a fun way.  

But the biggest incentive to enroll for shooters of all levels is to know that this is just the beginning, the Training Journey will continue to grow and introduce new concepts and techniques.

What happens on the Training Journey?   

When you start your Training Journey you will be introduced to setting up targets and your smartphone so the camera can track each laser indicated shot.  We provide Smart Targets for various drills that when used allow for scoring to be calculated by the app, but don’t worry you can use your own targets and manually create hit zones as well.  Everything you learn about how to use the app in the journey also applies to any other drill or course you complete in the app.  Once we get your environment setup we go over safety and get started on learning how to shoot.

The user will then go through videos, guided drills, and quizzes for each learning block.  We have broken down the shooting process into easy to master steps to help you feel confident with your firearm quickly.  Along the way each shot and session is tracked to give a detailed history of your dry fire sessions which can be accessed at any time.  After completing each lesson the user will gain experience points and move up the ranks, as well as accumulate coins which can be redeemed for in app special features or at our online shop for physical goods.

At the end of each learning segment is a course and a test to see how well those new skills stuck.  If your results aren’t satisfactory to you feel free to repeat any portion of the journey.  Putting these building blocks together will give you the fundamental knowledge necessary to shoot a gun well, now to acquire that skill it must be forged in practice.  Go to the settings tab and set a daily shot goal, just a few minutes a day add up quickly and you will feel confident in your gun handling skills in no time.

What’s next?

Mantis is always working hard to bring gun owners what they need to improve their skills for a one time fee, at home or on the range.  For instance, we just released BlackbeardX for the SIG Sauer MCX, and dropped the all new Elite Rifleman course along with it.  And that was just October, so rest assured we have more up our sleeves for this new feature.  We want to improve every shooter at every level, so are you ready to start your journey with us?