Should we limit our training courses?

I agree. I don't see any logic behind arguments that citizens shouldn't be allowed to take certain courses. I know of quite a few ex-military who took some classes similar to the ones you offer in order to prepare to be serious candidates for PD's.

If "strategic" courses are limited, then quite honestly we should start restricting laser-tag and paintball to courses that are only open-ground not involving any real tactical skills.

Also, I took a couple of strategic courses in the military and I learned a *TON* about what things to consider when clearing rooms, advancing on blind corners/stairs, etc. That knowledge is now serving me very well as I walk around my house and think about what a real-life night-time situation might look like where I may not be entirely sure where the perp is in my house. Without that valuable knowledge I am much more at risk defending my home.

To limit a person's KNOWLEDGE is to limit one's ABILITY to hand oneself in a safe and effective manner.

It's funny... the anti-gunners are always crying about "uneducated" and "untrained" gun wielders not being able to handle their weapon safely and effectively... yet here they are criticizing the very classes which aim to correct that deficiency.

I'm confused... are you stating what your current offerings consist of (along with the limitations and your current reasons for those limitations) or are you stating what some of the other instructors are arguing the current offerings should be limited to?

Anything less that what you have stated, I think, is a mistake.
If what you are stating is that some of the other instructors are arguing to move towards, then I tend to agree with them. Indeed, team movements aren't necessary. Again, though, to place those limits is to deny those who perhaps want to get a step-up to going into some form of LE. Also, what about those who take such classes simply b/c they are fascinated by it and enjoy it as a form of entertainment/personal growth/knowledge???

Obviously it is your shop's right to restrict what you offer however you wish -- especially if you don't have enough customers for a certain class. But if you have plenty of customers and no better reason for limiting your offerings than just "the public shouldn't know these things", you are just doing the public a disservice. The "bad guys" will still learn it -- videos, ex-military who work for $$$ and not values, books, internet, etc.

Protecting the public against the public is always a lost cause.

Chris-

Ignore the naysayers if they are idiots. If they have a glimmer of intellect, try to bring them up to speed. We just chatted today about one of your upcoming classes and about OFA. OFA teaches team techniques in some of their classes, and here's a few things I've learned from it:

1) Heightened muzzle awareness. One thing to cross yourself during a drill. Very different if you cross your partner or they cross you-even with an Airsoft. Great teaching tool - even for guys with good muzzle discipline- it really allows you to see the importance of those little things that you have to constantly work on and drill.

2) Ability to work with different people - they'd have us go with a buddy, then somebody we didn't know - very different communicating with, trusting with somebody you don't know. Did I trust my buddies more? You bet. I knew everybody there was good and safe, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't some I'd rather have by my side than others. In the real world, we might have to communicate with panicked, ignorant people during a crisis.

3) Sound, movement - threat identifiers - tough to pick up footsteps or crunching gravel of a "bad guy" when your "partner" is making a racket (relatively speaking)- you have to learn to focus elsewhere and look for other things.

The other thing is that lots of my friends carry and my wife carries. Having done teamwork drills, we're a leg up should anything ever happen. Sure, the chances of it are pretty darn low, but it could happen, we don't get to pick where or when.

Now, I'm not saying team building clearing should be at the top of the list of things to learn for somebody relatively new to training to defend them self - but after you've done some interior movement classes, when you have some skills developed and think you are comfortable with it (I never am-I hate clearing buildings), I think there are things you can learn better and improve on when you are working with others that will ultimately benefit you in the event you have to clear your way out of a building by yourself.

As for other 'advanced' tactics- knowledge is power, and some people fear their fellow citizens or are flat out elitists having any power. Some people are just plain ignorant and aren't comfortable with the responsibility of knowledge, so they want to limit others.

See you in December.

Mike