So you want to go to a Training Course for the first time?

[lethal dose]

Stick this. Anyhow, f2s makes some awesome points. To expound, I cannot stress enough to you guys to make sure your gear works for you before you enter any kind of defensive class. As for helping out my fellow m4c members, as always... my property/range is open to use for free training as long as I don't have a class going on. Just get ahold of me and we'll set something up.

[Irish]

Great info and awesome post, thank you! This should be stickied, stuck and read several times over.

[Whootsinator]

I'll give a third on that sticky recommendation. AWESOME post.

[RogerinTPA]

Awesome thread. True words have never been spoken. This should have been put together years ago. This info is LUBE for your training.

To add: Bring functional gear (No Ninja shit), less is more (Streamline your gear) and Loctite everything. Bring spare parts for your BCG. A spare BCG is better. A spare weapon is mo better. Lube...you can never have or apply enough of it. Check your BCG after every relay. If it's not wet, lube it. I bring an ammo can full of preloaded mags so I can listen and learn more, take notes, snack, hydrate, take pictures and chat with other shooters, instead of jamming mags at every break.

[Scotter260]

I'm surprised someone hasn't/hadn't done one of these yet, it's why I asked the question in the "rant" thread.

I'm glad someone who explains things very well decided to do this, thank you sir.

[VMI-MO]

less is more (Streamline your gear) .

So true. Do the jump and run test also. If you can jump up and down 10x, run 100m and touch your toes with out your shit spilling everywhere then you are on your way to being good to go.

and Loctite everything. .

It is funny when other people dont do it. Its the sign of a non-professional when you dont do it.

Bring spare parts for your BCG. A spare BCG is better. A spare weapon is mo better. .

Soo true, but also make sure your backup weapons are zeroed

Lube...you can never have or apply enough of it. Check your BCG after every relay. If it's not wet, lube it. .

Make sure its in the right places.

I bring an ammo can full of preloaded mags so I can listen and learn more, take notes, snack, hydrate, take pictures and chat with other shooters, instead of jamming mags at every break.

Paul Howe has said he can tell who the serious students are by who brings note taking gear. This is somehting I took to heart and numerous Rite in the Rain pads filled with notes from training.




PJ

[UDT]

Thanks, for sharing. Great info. A sticky would be nice also.

[SeriousStudent]

As always, a valuable read. Thanks very much for creating this.

[High Desert]

The night before class or in case of multi day classes.

• Get a good nights rest
• No alcohol
• Eat sensibly
• Hydrate

No reason to go out and party just because you are out of town.
This advice was given to us by our instructor on day one of my first class. It made a lot of sense.
HD

[GlockWRX]

I'll add a couple of other things:

Come with an open mind and willingness to learn. In each of the classes I've been to, there are always a couple of guys that are just too stubborn to learn. Like F2S said, if the instructor is teaching you a certain way to do things, do it his/her way. The last class I was in, a guy got pissed because all of the techniques (draw, presentation, stance, grip, etc.) were all geared to the isosceles stance and not the Weaver. It was like pulling teeth to get him to try isosceles. The guy paid a lot of money to the instructor for the opportunity to ignore what he was teaching.

Be helpful during setup/cleanup. My first priority is to make sure I'm ready to participate in the drill, but if my feces is cohesive (mags are loaded, I'm hydrated, etc.) I will try to help the instructors set up the range for the next set of exercises. I remember setting up some steel targets, and about half the class pitched in. The other half just stood there watching. The less time spent setting up the range, the more time for shooting.

Just a few I've observed.