by Chris Cerino
Experience is hard to come by in the firearms training world. Think about it. How can you teach someone to win a gunfight when you’ve never experienced being in one yourself? This is something I’m sure many instructors, as well as students, have had cross their minds more than once.
Unless you’re a combat veteran, highly active police officer, or a tremendously unlucky civilian, experience doesn’t tend to come as fast as some of us would like. For some, experience is baptism by fire, yet for others it’s a journey that covers miles and takes years.
By now you might be wondering what this has to do with the how and why part of the title of this column. Honestly, these are probably the most important questions you can ask yourself, and your instructors when training. “How do I perform this technique?” or, “How do I obtain a specific result?” are common thoughts. “Why is this important?” or, “Why am I having such a hard time with this?” are likely the most common and most underasked.
Many instructors are satisfied running a range session where rounds are put down range with an overall safe ending. As the student, unless you are a complete basket case, you will probably learn something, even if it’s something NOT to do. There is almost always some take away when you get out to practice.
In the past, when training the “trainers” of law enforcement agencies, I have used the term “instructor/mentor.” In many of the martial arts, these terms are synonymous. To a good deal of people, shooting and gunfighting are martial arts. If you aren’t familiar with legendary sniper, trainer and martial artist Jeff Hall, look him up and his training sometime. Jeff’s combination of martial arts and gunfighting is called Hojutsu Ryu. A prime example, Hojutsu Ryu is an integrated fighting system. Granted, Hall has been blessed with many experiences as an Alaskan State Trooper. Not always good, experience comes in many forms. Hall is an experienced instructor and mentor to his students.
So what’s the point here? With many readers becoming instructor certified, and the Second Amendment Foundation beginning a new training department, I want to inspire you to be more than a “certified instructor.” Certifications are important and can open many doors; however, the certification alone does not make the trainer. As a certified Range Officer you may be given the opportunity to work on a flat range or at a shooting match. At that match you experience watching dozens and maybe hundreds of shooters perform. Many shooters will execute great feats of marksmanship and a few will do sh*! so bizarre that it will cause you to dive for cover and count your blessings. As you must deal with the bizarre you should also ask the “how and why” of the great shooters’ successes. All of it builds your experience to be the mentor you need to be.
My instructional goal has always been to act as a mentor, leading by example. I wear a gun on the range to shoot demonstrations, and to display the skills I want the student to imitate. It’s hard to believe, but in my arena there are actually instructors who feel that it’s not appropriate to wear a gun on the range. Many won’t even shoot on a range where they are instructing.
Have you ever seen a martial arts class where the instructor (soke, master or sensei) didn’t work with the class as they began to stretch and work their movements (kata)? The master approaches a student and touches them, moving their limbs and body where they need to be. Allowing the student to see, feel and experience in the instant what they should be performing. But how does the sensei know how to move the student?
Soke knows because he is a practitioner of the art. He may never have been in a Bruce Lee, knock-down, drag-out fight, but he has trained with those who have. Those who have been there and done that and who were able to explain, demonstrate and coach the practice of his students. And when the good students, those who will ultimately be better than him, ask the “how” question and the inevitable “why” question, he answers with conviction, confidence and experience.
In almost every class we run, there is an example to be made with a student who is performing poorly. Not humiliation, but a learning example. Students can learn as much from seeing something done wrong as something done right. With everyone watching, I’ll talk about what the student is doing wrong and it’s usually not just him. I’ll bring him out in front and have him shoot the specific drill next to me, allowing the class to watch. After the drill I ask the class, “Why did you do better than this student?” Usually it’s because the shooter is trying to go too fast and all economy of motion is lost.
We discuss it, re-shoot it, and again ask the class. After hashing out particulars, and pointing out specific details to work on, the poor performer is able to make positive progress. In actuality, I usually have to step up my game so much that it becomes hard for me to beat that student. The class loves this. What starts with a student feeling embarrassed, ends with me getting my a#$ handed to me.
The firearms mentor isn’t just a “certified instructor.” The firearms mentor is someone who was trained and was then mentored by others. Others who have learned as much from the difficult as from the easy. Others who have asked the how and why questions. Others that have gained as much from the answered as from the unanswered.
Train hard and one day you’ll turn and look into a student’s face and know exactly “how and why” you’ve become their mentor.
Chris Cerino is most recognized as the competitor that came in 2nd place in both Top Shot season 1 and Top Shot All Stars. He is currently the field host of Gun Talk TV, Guns and Gear and a trainer on The First Person Defender series on Gun Talk’s YouTube page. He is an internationally known firearms instructor who has been training law enforcement officers, military operators and civilians for more than 18 years. He has worked as Peace Officer in a variety of positions from municipal and county to state and federal agencies spanning 23 years. Chris continues to instruct through his company Chris Cerino Training Group. Contact him at chris@cerinotraininggroup.com or http//:www.chriscerinotraininggroup.com
