Training, Practice, and Testing

Posted by Mostly Genius – April 20, 2009

Training is taking a class. I am trying to stretch this definition into reading a book, watching a video, but it really boils down to being taught something by someone. There are some subjects that can be “self-taught” but really fighting and/or shooting isn’t one of them. I would also say that getting a few “tips”, or “pointers” from somebody really isn’t training either. I can tell you to look at your front sight and press the trigger, but that isn’t the same as “training” you to actually do it. Without feedback and correction it isn’t really training.

Practice is going to the range (or it’s equivalent.) This where you repeat what you have learned in training. Practice makes you better at what you know, but it doesn’t do much for learning new things. If you practice looking at your front sight and pressing the trigger it won’t make you better at reloading the gun or clearing malfunctions. Practice is what creates a “habit” (good or bad.) Undisciplined practice really isn’t practice at all. I see people at the range all the time making their guns go bang: magazine after magazine, box after box of ammo, and they never seem to show any improvement.

Testing is any sort of competition. Shooting IPSC/IDPA, ring fighting or martial arts tournaments are an objective measure of a set of skills. It’s not combat, but it is being forced to produce results under stress. There are those in the “tactical” shooting world that dismiss the guys that play gun games as “gamesmen” or point out that some piece of the game isn’t really “real world.” I would point out that the top-tier military units all seek out and train with the best competitive shooters and try to learn speed, accuracy and gun handling from them. They don’t seem to have any problem with tactics or real world performance.

  • Tam:
    Competition is where you work on your shooting. Work on your tactics in Force-on-Force or the shoothouse.


    Actually, that isn't accurate. Competition can certainly be "tactical." Force-on-Force may or may not exercise tactics, all of that is driven by how the competition or simulation in question is setup.


    ...the gunfight is the one where the targets shoot back.

    Not if you are doing it right.
  • Tam
    pax r smart.

    Listen 2 pax.
  • pax
    You need one more category!

    Reading a book or watching a video is education, not training. To educate someone is to provide them with facts about something. To train them is to teach them how to do something. When I learned to drive, I took Driver's Education (sitting in a classroom taking notes) and followed it up by taking Driver's Training (ain't dual brakes grand?). College education is followed by on-the-job training.

    Firearms schools generally provide both education and training, because you need both. But of the two, training is the most critical. If your education is lacking, you might mess up your own life because you lacked mental knowledge of what you could do, and so broke a law you didn't know existed or failed to engage when you should have. But if your training is lacking, you might kill someone by accident, because you lack the physical skills to run the gun safely.

    The distinction between education and training is very important to people who, like me, tend to be self-taught in most things. Education is very easy to acquire on your own, but by definition, training requires the active feedback of another human -- and defensive handgun is one of the relatively few subjects that requires just that. Very little of what a defensive handgunner needs to know can truly be learned from books, videos, or websites. Like most physical skills, defensive handgunnery is best learned through hands-on training.
  • pax:
    You are absolutely right. "Education" would be a good definition of books, video, etc. I will try to update the post when I get a chance.
  • Tam
    "Most of the trainers I train with agree that IPSC or IDPA are good for shooting under pressure, but only as long as you stay true to your training, and don’t game it."

    Competition is where you work on your shooting. Work on your tactics in Force-on-Force or the shoothouse.

    To help you distinguish between the IDPA match and a gunfight, just remember that the gunfight is the one where the targets shoot back.
  • Mark
    Most of the trainers I train with agree that IPSC or IDPA are good for shooting under pressure, but only as long as you stay true to your training, and don't game it. Don't go to the stage walk through, use your carry pistol and concealment leather, use "cover" properly, etc.
    No, you won't win any matches, but you will perform adequately in a real world situation.
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