Another fine day at KR Training. Being as we’re in the worst of the Texas summer heat, we’re limiting ourselves to morning classes. So we held just a Basic Pistol 1 class. I was lead instructor for the class, and I had two assistants in Greg Howard and a special guest of Tina Maldonado, one of the co-Facilitators for the A Girl and A Gun Women’s Shooting League. Tina’s building up her instruction skills, so she was out to help and “intern”.

It was quite cool to have Tina there because the class was an all-ladies class. We had 8 ladies of varying ranges: 3 were teenagers (and family-related), 2 were a mother and daughter, and 3 were friends working towards their CHL together. There was no planning of having such a grouping like this – truly serendipitous coincidence – but it was really neat to have Tina there for this class.

Class ran smooth. Since I’ve been handling the BP1’s lately, I’ve been trying to stay true to the goal of the class and ensuring all the important points are made, but streamlining the presentation and ensuring focus and delivery are good. We love what we do and we just have so much to give, that sometimes we want to give it all… and it’s too much. At this level, most students are excited or afraid or unsure or simply overwhelmed. So it’s up to us to temper our delivery so we don’t overwhelm with too much information; that stuff can come later. I mean, isn’t that the right thing to do? always leave them wanting more? 🙂  I also want to ensure we hit all the important stuff and don’t skimp on the shooting time because that’s the fun part!

All in all things went well. I received some good feedback from the class participants and auditors (read: dads/husbands/chauffeurs), and am honored and humbled by your choice to come to us for your training. You’re starting down a road, and I know the first steps of the journey can set the tone for the rest of the trip. I do my best to ensure a successful start, and if there’s anything I can do better, please let me know.

I know some of the students will be back in a few weeks for Basic 2, and I look forward to seeing you then!

In other news…

After class was over I went out and did some of my own shooting. Since Karl made “version 4” of the “3 Seconds or Less” drill, I wanted to shoot it. I also wanted to shoot it with my snub, since I’ve been carrying it AIWB for a while now and should do some more live fire with it (not just dry).

Biggest take home is I need to be faster on the trigger, but not what you think. It’s not my press, it’s the release! I think it’s actually a symptom of too much dry fire, because it’s just not the same as live. I need to press then get off that long, heavy trigger faster, then get back on it faster. I’m focusing too much on keeping the crappy J-frame sights on target that I’m moving the trigger WAY too slow. I can’t buzz it as fast as my M&P, but I can have a better cadence than I’m shooting.