Sometimes I jokingly refer to shooting bullets as planting freedom seeds, but how do we plant the seeds of freedom? Maybe it can be through offering beginner level shooters THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON….THEIR FIRST.
I designed The Complete Combatant’s live fire classes to “build upon” each other starting with Pistol Essentials and then moving onto Beyond Pistol Essentials for the intermediate to advanced level shooters.
Decades of professional teaching can make it is easy to lose the connection to how a beginner thinks and feels and teaching our newest class called Entry Level Pistol Essentials was a unique change of pace. Taking a group of inexperienced shooters through terminology, safety, medical, and fundamentals for their first time was a gratifying, and enlightening experience.
It is quite easy to forget how nervous you feel as a beginner before you shoot, the mystifying terminology that is the language of firearms, and the demanding nature of marksmanship. Shelley and I watched these new shooters courageously tackle each lesson, one step at a time, celebrating their successes.
We taught the lesson I wish I had received when I started shooting, that the fundamentals are the path to shooting well, moreover, you can understand them, and in addition you can correct your technique as you practice. Self empowerment through learning should be the focus of every teacher, furthermore that we are a team solely focused on your progress.
We must encourage the new shooter to grow our ranks, in both the shooting sports and personal protection, planting new seeds of freedom for the second amendment. Make your new year’s resolution to take someone shooting for the first time and make it the lesson we all wish we had when we started shooting.