I took this course yesterday and what an eye opener. The instructor was John Zane and if you've taken the concealed carry course with him he brings the same professional yet approachable demeanor to this training. If I had to sum up the course in a few sentences it would be: This course is not about the legal aspects of self defense, they are brought up, but briefly. This course is framed around "I've made an observation, I've assessed what is going on around me, I've made a decision to draw my firearm and be prepared to put it into action immediately if necessary." This is about keeping yourself safe knowing that you will be judged for your actions after the fact. Violence is not good or bad, it is simply a tool used to get a desired outcome. If you take this course, bring your big boy(or girl) pants.
If you want the class to be as effective FOR YOU as possible, wear what you would typically wear in day to day life and take your holster that you typically CC in. If you rotate between firearms and holsters then bring multiple and switch out throughout the day as you'd like, its allowed. Don't bring your drop leg or vest mounted holster if that is not what you'd wear out to eat or to Reasors or wherever you are a valued shopper. I shot both an M&P9c and M&P9 Pro in a Blue Ridge Holsters CAMO holster. Another guy shot a G26 carried IWB, a gal shot a Sig P938 carried OWB, and another guy shot a G19 carried IWB.
Our class was small so each student was able to receive lots of individual attention which in my opinion is exactly what you want in a class like this where more advanced shooting techniques are learned and then actually used. Every single drill was practiced from the draw. I probably drew from concealment and presented my weapon over 200 times yesterday. Each drill/method was slowly demonstrated empty gun and talked through, then demonstrated again at about half speed empty gun, then demonstrated at full speed live fire. For the more simple, easy to keep safe drills there may be one dry run by students followed by live fire. For the more advanced shooting positions like Supine the students would practice at whatever speed they were comfortable, empty gun, practice again a little faster empty gun, then as fast you wanted to push yourself live fire. The instructor would watch each student run each drill individually and provide on the spot immediate feedback which you could then work into the next string of fire and later drills. Not all drills were shot with the whole class watching you, still shooting in a line of people but the instructor would travel up and down the line observing each person. I really appreciated this because I subscribe to the "train how you fight" mentality and if you train half-assed you will fight half-assed. Getting on the spot corrections and feedback allowed me to practice that correction immediately to see how it felt and how I performed compared to 45 seconds ago. Not "go home and dry fire and try and remember what it felt like going live 2 hours ago and then try it next time out at the range." Which for me could be weeks later. Practicing wrong or wasteful motions will only lead to ingraining that motion into a real life situation where you don't want it. Eliminating wasted motion and becoming as efficient as possible in deploying your firearm effectively is stressed heavily, as it should be.
The course is not about punching the bull out of a target and taking pictures to post on the forums. The course is about getting combat effective hits in critical areas (CM, Pelvis, Head) as fast as you can effectively. In real life some scumbag meth head at the QT about to hassle you for your wallet isn't going to notice the difference between a hit 2-3" one way or the other off center. Tactics to make yourself less of a sitting duck in a variety of situations you might encounter in real life are also taught and these were the real eye openers for me. It's simple common sense stuff that you don't really think about but immediately make sense when being taught. Then you get to practice them live fire.
This course is designed to push yourself in a safe environment to see where your proficiency level is and what you need to work on. I was confident going into it but you will quickly see throughout the course where your level of effectiveness is.
We shot from distances varying from in body contact with the target up to about 10ish yards away. At the range I typically shoot targets from 10-25 yards with pistol but thinking about it in again, real life, most situations would be shot within 10 yards. Some other scenarios drilled are seated in a simulated vehicle and engaging a target from both driver and passenger side windows, taking cover behind a vehicle specifically and deploying your firearm, deploying your firearm from behind cover generically, deploying your firearm from after being knocked to the ground, firing while retreating, the final drill for the day is super close quarters where you shoot a target with your body so close to the target you are in physical contact with the target on your weak hand side. Firing your weapon with your thumb flagged against your chest with your wrist just about in your armpit is quite an experience and potentially not for everybody, just like carrying a gun might not be for everybody.
We practiced weak handed one handed shooting and strong handed one handed shooting to simulate one arm being occupied with pushing a child behind you or being used for something else. The whole course was very "real life CCW situation" oriented and not "tactical". It doesn't teach you how to move through a building in a stack or clear a house. Everything learned was very immediately obvious how it would potentially be used in a situation. Another aspect of the training that was nice to see was the instructor made it known, there is not one best way, each person male or female, big or small, will have a way that is most effective for them. In nearly every drill multiple methods, all discussed as to their pros and cons, were offered and it was up to the individual to decide given their build and lifestyle which was best for them.
It was intense and today I am sore and yesterday was mentally taxing. If you take the class and don't feel this way the day after, you didn't push yourself. The instructor wont push you, but will allow you to push yourself as hard as you are comfortable with.
There was another member of this forum who shot the course with me and I will let him chime in with his feedback if he chooses. I highly recommend John Zane and this course for anyone who wants to see where their proficiency level currently is with their carry weapon, how their carry gear runs under stress, and how to push it all to the next level in real life situations.
Total round count for the day was probably around 300, which today is a chunk of change on top of the course cost but it was very effective and money well spent as far as I am concerned.
If you want the class to be as effective FOR YOU as possible, wear what you would typically wear in day to day life and take your holster that you typically CC in. If you rotate between firearms and holsters then bring multiple and switch out throughout the day as you'd like, its allowed. Don't bring your drop leg or vest mounted holster if that is not what you'd wear out to eat or to Reasors or wherever you are a valued shopper. I shot both an M&P9c and M&P9 Pro in a Blue Ridge Holsters CAMO holster. Another guy shot a G26 carried IWB, a gal shot a Sig P938 carried OWB, and another guy shot a G19 carried IWB.
Our class was small so each student was able to receive lots of individual attention which in my opinion is exactly what you want in a class like this where more advanced shooting techniques are learned and then actually used. Every single drill was practiced from the draw. I probably drew from concealment and presented my weapon over 200 times yesterday. Each drill/method was slowly demonstrated empty gun and talked through, then demonstrated again at about half speed empty gun, then demonstrated at full speed live fire. For the more simple, easy to keep safe drills there may be one dry run by students followed by live fire. For the more advanced shooting positions like Supine the students would practice at whatever speed they were comfortable, empty gun, practice again a little faster empty gun, then as fast you wanted to push yourself live fire. The instructor would watch each student run each drill individually and provide on the spot immediate feedback which you could then work into the next string of fire and later drills. Not all drills were shot with the whole class watching you, still shooting in a line of people but the instructor would travel up and down the line observing each person. I really appreciated this because I subscribe to the "train how you fight" mentality and if you train half-assed you will fight half-assed. Getting on the spot corrections and feedback allowed me to practice that correction immediately to see how it felt and how I performed compared to 45 seconds ago. Not "go home and dry fire and try and remember what it felt like going live 2 hours ago and then try it next time out at the range." Which for me could be weeks later. Practicing wrong or wasteful motions will only lead to ingraining that motion into a real life situation where you don't want it. Eliminating wasted motion and becoming as efficient as possible in deploying your firearm effectively is stressed heavily, as it should be.
The course is not about punching the bull out of a target and taking pictures to post on the forums. The course is about getting combat effective hits in critical areas (CM, Pelvis, Head) as fast as you can effectively. In real life some scumbag meth head at the QT about to hassle you for your wallet isn't going to notice the difference between a hit 2-3" one way or the other off center. Tactics to make yourself less of a sitting duck in a variety of situations you might encounter in real life are also taught and these were the real eye openers for me. It's simple common sense stuff that you don't really think about but immediately make sense when being taught. Then you get to practice them live fire.
This course is designed to push yourself in a safe environment to see where your proficiency level is and what you need to work on. I was confident going into it but you will quickly see throughout the course where your level of effectiveness is.
We shot from distances varying from in body contact with the target up to about 10ish yards away. At the range I typically shoot targets from 10-25 yards with pistol but thinking about it in again, real life, most situations would be shot within 10 yards. Some other scenarios drilled are seated in a simulated vehicle and engaging a target from both driver and passenger side windows, taking cover behind a vehicle specifically and deploying your firearm, deploying your firearm from behind cover generically, deploying your firearm from after being knocked to the ground, firing while retreating, the final drill for the day is super close quarters where you shoot a target with your body so close to the target you are in physical contact with the target on your weak hand side. Firing your weapon with your thumb flagged against your chest with your wrist just about in your armpit is quite an experience and potentially not for everybody, just like carrying a gun might not be for everybody.
We practiced weak handed one handed shooting and strong handed one handed shooting to simulate one arm being occupied with pushing a child behind you or being used for something else. The whole course was very "real life CCW situation" oriented and not "tactical". It doesn't teach you how to move through a building in a stack or clear a house. Everything learned was very immediately obvious how it would potentially be used in a situation. Another aspect of the training that was nice to see was the instructor made it known, there is not one best way, each person male or female, big or small, will have a way that is most effective for them. In nearly every drill multiple methods, all discussed as to their pros and cons, were offered and it was up to the individual to decide given their build and lifestyle which was best for them.
It was intense and today I am sore and yesterday was mentally taxing. If you take the class and don't feel this way the day after, you didn't push yourself. The instructor wont push you, but will allow you to push yourself as hard as you are comfortable with.
There was another member of this forum who shot the course with me and I will let him chime in with his feedback if he chooses. I highly recommend John Zane and this course for anyone who wants to see where their proficiency level currently is with their carry weapon, how their carry gear runs under stress, and how to push it all to the next level in real life situations.
Total round count for the day was probably around 300, which today is a chunk of change on top of the course cost but it was very effective and money well spent as far as I am concerned.
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You are such a stinker!! 
