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Discussion: Are Cheap Skills Worth Learning?

JMHO, more train like Seal team six is going to call and ask for a helping hand. :rolleyes: "Professional shooters, instructors, and high-level competitors all converge on the same definition of skill: on-demand performance." Okay yet most of us are not in these categories. We are carpenters, truck drivers, electricians, doctors, lawyers (YUK), butchers, bakers, candlestick makers and have lives outside of the gun. Even first responders are not professional shooters. 99% have other professional responsibilities other than dropping the hammer. "High speed low drag" training is great. If someone has the opportunity grab it. However, every little bit is a plus. Instead of looking down our nose at shooters that don't meet our perceived standards of acceptability maybe just maybe we should encourage them to keep doing what they can and not turn them off so we can pat ourselves on the back.
 
I run a course of fire for myself and my posse on a weekly basis. I have the luxury of my own range and the time to practice. We stress fundamentals-speed comes with practice. Over the years I have learned that if I go more than 2 weeks without practice, my scores start to drop off. These are perishable skills. If you can't go shoot, dry fire at home helps a lot to maintain an edge.
 
Blah, blah, blah. It is all well and good to run your drills, go to your shooting matches and run all the Dynamic courses your heart desires. Fact of the matter is, unless you are running courses and drills with moving, thinking targets that fire back at you, you are not totally prepared for when that happens. Running predetermined courses and patterns does not simulate anything even close to that. Like Tyson said: "Everybody has a plan....until they get punched in the mouth". Want to train and prepare? First prepare your mind. heart and soul for what you will have to do should you be in that situation. Mental and emotional preparation will be key. Sgt. York didn't go through all those drills and training. He was a good ole' boy from Tennessee who grew up with a rifle in his hands and knew how to use it better than the Army taught him. And single handedly gathering 35 machine guns, killing 25 German soldiers and capturing 132 prisoners. And he wasn't a "professional shooter". Most of us working class stiffs don't have the time and money for all of that. We have more important priorities in our lives. We do the best we can and pray we never have to. But you can bet that if we are, we are not going to be thinking about which course we ran that best applies to that situation. We will just do what needs to be done, without all those fancy split times
 
It's worth remembering that prior to 1976 API/Gunsite & Jeff Copper there were virtually no training courses, jet alone academies. Today you can't swing a dead cat without hitting one. Some good, some not so much, and a few way over the top (but they look cool). S.D. training has become big business and many still feel the need to justify the expense. IF that's your thing by all means have at it. Are you better trained than the rest of the world? Maybe. I'll use my own dad as an example. I used to watch him shoot bats out of the air with an M1 carbine, and other "stuff". He was a WWII vet, then off to Palestine, then back to the US were Uncle Sams Misguided Children said boy you have had enough fighting. We are going to send you on a little hike to the beach. Chosin Reservoir. I can remember some interesting times as a kid. Too young to understand, and it was normal so nothing to be scared of. Cautious yes, scared no. If I had to be waist deep in poo, I'd rather have dad at my side than all the S.D. tactical trainer combined.
 
We operate with two kinds of memory. Automatic or Implicit memory is where we recall things without thinking about it. Things like putting one foot in front of another to walk, riding a bike, etc. Recalled or explicit memory is where you recall information at will, like remembering a phone number or address, multiplication tables, the names of acquaintances, etc.

Training drills are intended to build the neuromuscular memory to imprint it as automatic memory that requires no conscious thought to perform a physical task. Here I point out that "muscle memory" is a misnomer, because the memory resides in the brain, not in the muscle fibers. Fundamentals like grip, the draw, safety and trigger management, presentation of the gun, and sight alignment are skills we want to build into automatic memory so we don't have to take time to think about them under pressure. As an example, I and fellow officers shared the experience of having the gun in hand when a threat appeared, but no awareness of having drawn the weapon. The goal is to build those skills so firmly into automatic memory that they are instinctive. That's the foundation we build upon.

We know that cognition, and explicit memory diminishes at times of extreme stress. Our ability to recall information that facilitates survival in combat relies upon education and experience. The new guy in a combat unit, or a new cop on the street, is more vulnerable until he has the experience to function under high stress. Realistic training scenarios can help but individual brain functon is crucial.

Now consider the disadvantage to an individual who has not mastered the firearm handling and shooting fundamentals in automatic memory, who is thrust into mortal conflict. This is where fundamental skills imprinting is critical.
 
I try to dry fire several times a week. This includes drawing from the holster, getting sights on target, and making a clean trigger press. For the first four draws, I recite the four rules of firearm safety (every time). Each draw, presentation, and trigger press is evaluated based on grip, motion, how long it takes to acquire a good sight picture, and how quickly I can "take the shot." I am not at competition level, but practicing these fundamentals with the goal of establishing repeatability and improvement gets me "on the range" in between range trips. If I don't do it for a week or two, the drop off is noticeable.

Also, this article was (at a minimum) run through AI. Different folks have different opinions on the use of AI for professional writing. It can be a time saver if quantity is a goal, but I don't rate AI's writing ability. I suspect the author wrote most of the content, then ran it through AI for "polish." The problem is, AI isn't a very good polisher if the goal is exceptional. My two cents as a writer.
 
Onewolf426 said:
Blah, blah, blah. It is all well and good to run your drills, go to your shooting matches and run all the Dynamic courses your heart desires. Fact of the matter is, unless you are running courses and drills with moving, thinking targets that fire back at you, you are not totally prepared for when that happens. Running predetermined courses and patterns does not simulate anything even close to that. Like Tyson said: "Everybody has a plan....until they get punched in the mouth". Want to train and prepare? First prepare your mind. heart and soul for what you will have to do should you be in that situation. Mental and emotional preparation will be key. Sgt. York didn't go through all those drills and training. He was a good ole' boy from Tennessee who grew up with a rifle in his hands and knew how to use it better than the Army taught him. And single handedly gathering 35 machine guns, killing 25 German soldiers and capturing 132 prisoners. And he wasn't a "professional shooter". Most of us working class stiffs don't have the time and money for all of that. We have more important priorities in our lives. We do the best we can and pray we never have to. But you can bet that if we are, we are not going to be thinking about which course we ran that best applies to that situation. We will just do what needs to be done, without all those fancy split times
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I always love the advice and input that comes my way. There is another factor that applies to quite a few people that enjoy the information even if there not able to do the things suggested and I happen to be one. My training in 1953 and I have been in several different situations. Yes I'm old and disabled and so is my wife and we operate on a very very tight budget and there are several meds that I can't afford but we carry on. We don't get to eat out but we do enjoy a good steak and we happen to love a special wine which we can't always get but that's life. We don't have cable or dish we just watch what's in the air for free with rabbit ears. Over the I have kept track of what training and the situations I have encounter over the many years. I have the scar's from knives and the surgeries along side memories of being shot at. So in today's world I walk with a cane sometimes with a crutch but I have to be able to pick my wife up when she falls or maybe pass out. Now what all this boils down to is folks like us don't have a lot of expendable cash and no range with in 30 miles and they are out of reach with our budget. So the moral of this rant is there's not a lot of info supplied to folks like but the true moral is if you want to rob me or invade my home I truly suggest they bring a lunch and maybe a friend because it will be more than a all day job. Now I will scurry back to my recline and wait for Avon Calling. Have a good day.
 
bc22wm said:
It's worth remembering that prior to 1976 API/Gunsite & Jeff Copper there were virtually no training courses, jet alone academies. Today you can't swing a dead cat without hitting one. Some good, some not so much, and a few way over the top (but they look cool). S.D. training has become big business and many still feel the need to justify the expense. IF that's your thing by all means have at it. Are you better trained than the rest of the world? Maybe. I'll use my own dad as an example. I used to watch him shoot bats out of the air with an M1 carbine, and other "stuff". He was a WWII vet, then off to Palestine, then back to the US were Uncle Sams Misguided Children said boy you have had enough fighting. We are going to send you on a little hike to the beach. Chosin Reservoir. I can remember some interesting times as a kid. Too young to understand, and it was normal so nothing to be scared of. Cautious yes, scared no. If I had to be waist deep in poo, I'd rather have dad at my side than all the S.D. tactical trainer combined.
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I would have my son with me and my daughter would scoop up her AR and be right there with us.
 
Most obviously , having Basic Skills is exponentially better than not having them . So obviously , they are * worthwhile * .

What AI should have titled the piece would have been : Are Cheap Skills Sufficient .

( And " cheap skills " are a generic insult , a wide range of skill could be lumped into that . )
 
I am not knocking training and practice, far from it. Yes, "muscle memory" and "learned reflexes" are important. However, you hear shots fired nearby, or you see it start to go down and you automatically draw your weapon, now what? Do you have the training or instinct to override that "fight or flight" freeze up? That split second your brain overrides your muscle memory and you freeze, or your brain goes into an automatic cascade of emotional responses which overwhelms the system. So, are you sitting/standing there waiting for your brain to release the fight or flight response? How long did you hesitate before responding, and how quickly are you able to assess the situation, assess all the variables involved, and make a decision on who, what, when and where? This is where military combat training comes in, or SWAT team training comes in. Most people are not trained like that, nor can they spare the time and money to do so. Threat Assessment Training, Force on Force training are all well and good. But if your mind is not trained to know how to respond when an active shooter situation develops, all the training in the world is not going to help. The criminal/shooter has already made up their mind and taken decisive action. Unless you have been paying attention to what is going on around you and you are alert to your environment, you now have to react and respond within a split second under duress and already behind the 8-Ball. Fortunately, most situations have unfolded with the concealed carriers having time to process and make a decision in this. Salinas, for one, the Bend, Oregon father is another where they were situationally aware and had the time to act accordingly. This is not always going to be the case. People need to be mentally and emotionally prepared to take action immediately. Whether it is fight or flight, that response and situational awareness need to be addressed. I have made it a habit to acknowledge that I cannot assume that how someone dresses and what they look like makes them a threat. Much like that scene in Men in Black where they are in that shooting simulator and everybody is shooting at the overt aliens, and J simply shoots the little girl with all the physics books walking through the hood. We all remember the reason he gave, and it holds true. You don't need to be paranoid that "everybody is a threat and out to get us", you need to acknowledge that it may not be that young individual walking down the street with tats, bling and dressed a certain way. Most of the time, it is that innocuous looking individual who looks harmless. It could be that street vendor on the corner. Point is, anybody can be a threat. Heck, the In-n-Out shooter, the Bend Oregon shooter and the Indiana mall shooter weren't walking around throwing gang signs or throwing out the nazi salute. But, I am rambling and apologize.
 
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