PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED STATES CONCEALED CARRY ASSOCIATION.

Printed in the United States. Written by Michael Martin, USCCA Chief Instructor. Design by Dusty Reid.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any
means: electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without first obtaining written permission from the author.

Mistake #1: Mistake #6:

Believing that PowerPoint or other Focusing on marksmanship,
multimedia is for technology nerds rather than defensive rearms shooting.

Mistake #2: Mistake #7:

Believing that your students will retain Presenting an unprofessional image
everything that you taught in class
Mistake #8:
Mistake #3: Taking a, Do what I say,
Believing that since this is a right, not what I do approach.
you can just rubber stamp student certicates
Mistake #9:
Mistake #4: Teaching with an approach of,
Making class about war stories or Its better to be judged by 12 rather than carried
politics, rather than the facts. by six when it comes to the legal use of force.

Mistake #5: Mistake #10:

Making your concealed carry class more Believing that you can build a rearms
about shooting, and less about situational training business without understanding
awareness, conict avoidance or the law. how to market it.

2
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THE TOP TEN
MISTAKES
THAT FIREARMS INSTRUCTORS MAKE,
AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
A
s a firearms instructor, I get the fact that
starting or running a firearms training busi-
ness isnt easy. Its one thing to work, train,
and study to the point that you can be con-
sidered an expert in your field, but its quite another to
also become a PowerPoint expert, an expert photog-
rapher, an expert illustrator, a legal expert, and a sales
and marketing expert. Unlike major corporations who
have entire departments dedicated to developing those
skills, most firearms training business are small busi-
nesses, with most (or all) of those responsibilities falling
on just one or two people. As small businesses, we also
have no senior management to coach and mentor us,
or to point out the minor or major mistakes we might
be making. Unfortunately, the first indication that we
might be making those mistakes will be a drop-off in
student referrals, and fewer butts in the seats.
When I started teaching concealed carry and home
defense classes over a decade ago, I began my career as
most do, by becoming certified with one of the nation-
al firearms organizations, and taking a few classes from
other instructors to learn from them. Beyond that, I was
on my own. There was no classroom in a box waiting
for me with a full blow PowerPoint presentation; there
was no up-to-date student text book or classroom vid-
eos; there was no resource that I could turn to for pre-
designed certificates that I could hand out to my stu-
dents once theyd completed my course; I was even on
my own when it came to figuring out what my instructor
uniform was going to be. I also had no ongoing train-
ing, mentoring, or support that I could count on to help
me avoid the mistakes that thousands of instructors had
made before mein other words, I could easily have
fallen into the trap of the old saying, Those who fail to
learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Thankfully,
in addition to being a firearms expert, Id also spent years
as an entrepreneur, successfully developing small busi-
nesses or small divisions of larger companies. You could
also say that I was a professional presenter and trainer,
having spent nearly every day of my twenty year career
in front of audiences, presenting complex topics in a
way that they could easily understand and retain. When
I launched my first firearms training business, I wasnt
going to be satisfied with full classrooms a few times a
month, and instead, I committed myself to creating the
classroom in a box that was so sorely missing, and I also
committed myself to helping other instructors avoid the
mistakes that could spell the end of their own firearms
training businesses.
A dozen years after teaching my first firearms class,
Im now the Chief Instructor for the United States Con-
cealed Carry Association, and Im the creator of the
Firearms Instructor Toolkit, currently being used by
hundreds of firearms instructors across the country. My
book, Concealed Carry and Home Defense Fundamentals,
the classroom PowerPoint and videos, and the other
products in the Firearms Instructor Toolkit, are not only
designed to help you to avoid the mistakes that Ive
described in this guide, they are also designed to help
you to become the best instructor you can possibly be,
and to outshine the competition. If youre a brand new
instructor, I believe that this guide and the Firearms In-
structor Toolkit will help you to successfully launch and
grow your business; but even if youre an established in-
structor, the Toolkit should be beyond anything youve 3
ever seen, and, dont feel bad if you recognize yourself
WWW.USCCA.COM
in one of the mistakes that Ill describe. The best sign
of a great instructor is also being a great student. Its
never too late to improve your classroom material or
your business strategy!
1
MISTAKE
BELIEVING THAT POWERPOINT
OR OTHER MULTIMEDIA IS FOR
TECHNOLOGY NERDS
W
hen I jumped into
the world of pro-
fessional firearms
instructors a dozen
years ago, I was pretty frustrated
that there was no up-to-date text-
book that I could use in my classes,
and like most instructors, I wasnt thrilled that I had to
build an entire PowerPoint presentation from scratch.
Nothing would have made me happier than if a senior
firearms instructor had said, Here as he or she handed
me a disc containing every lesson Id ever want to teach
in high resolution PowerPoint slides, full of beautiful im-
ages, illustrations, and HD video; and a stack of full col-
or textbooks. That dream was shattered pretty quickly
when I realized that no such thing existed. So I set out
to build a set of classroom materials unlike anything any-
one had ever seen.
Not only have I sat through hundreds of PowerPoint
presentations, Ive also given thousands, to audiences as
small as one or as large as 6,000. I believe that Ive at-
tained a skill level with PowerPoint that allows the pre-
sentation to compliment my knowledge and skill set, and
allows me to illustrate topics visually that I would be un-
able to illustrate by simply speaking, or by hand gestures
alone (some instructors Ive had over the years seem to
think that the more wildly they gesture with their hands,
the better our retention will be). Too often however, in-
structors believe theyre giving their students a break
by skipping PowerPoint or other multimedia options in
class. In fact, far too often Ive heard my own instructors
say, Instead of death by PowerPoint, Im just going to ex-
plain the topic. Occasionally, there will be a weak cheer
from class, but most often the reaction is a silent, So
youre telling us that all we get to do for the rest of the day
is sit and watch you talk and gesture? Its my belief that
the death by PowerPoint comment is simply a reflection
of the insecurities that the instructor has with present-
ing a multi-media presentation, or their own inexperi-
A picture (or video) is
worth a thousand words
or more. When designing a
presentation, you should first
decide how you want to show
a skill or topic, and then
determine what you should
say or write about it.
ence and discomfort with the
materials themselves. I will agree that simply watching
an instructor read bullet points off of a PowerPoint slide
(a sign that the instructor doesnt know the material), is
mind numbingly boring. But, when instructors know the
material well, the PowerPoint amplifies and reinforces
their knowledge and their ability to tell a story or explain
a topic, especially when the PowerPoint slide contains an
image or illustration explaining the topic visually, rather
than just containing text bullet points.
Imagine trying to explain the topic of how a semi-au-
tomatic works in front of your class. Whats more effec-
tiveexplaining the entire process in hundreds of words
while gesturing with your hands (Okay, now imagine
that the expanding gasses from within the casing have
pushed the bullet down the barrel. Further imagine that
the barrel has spiral grooves cut into it...), or, by using 4
high resolution cutaway illustrations of the inside of a
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semi-automatic, to show exactly what happens when the
trigger is pressed? I also buck the trend when it comes
to the traditional use of PowerPoint, which suggests no
more than a sentence or two per bullet point, and fewer
than 34 bullet points per slide. That approach works and even shots taken from above, which is something Id
for what I call the big event type of PowerPoint presen- never seen before. Whether Im presenting those imag-
tation. Picture what Steve Jobs did every time Apple es in class, or whether the student is reading about them
had a big announcement. Hed advance to a slide that before or after class, they suddenly get it. That light bulb
had a few big bullets on it, such as Voice activated com- goes off much more quickly and much more often.
mands. Then Jobs would spend ten minutes expound- Think about it this way. If youre simply standing in
ing on that topic in a very specific way. But, if Jobs front of your classroom talking to your students with
handed that presentation off to ten (or 100) other Apple nothing backing you up visually, you might as well turn
employees, and told the employee, explain that bullet the lights out and teach in the dark, or teach by confer-
point with everything that needs to be said about it, ence call. Students learn visually, and when they hear
how consistent or thorough do you think the other pre- it and see it on the big screen in class; when they see it
senters would be? Big bullets are good for presenting and read about it on posters on your classroom walls;
big ideas, but theyre not always best for detailed topics, and when theyve read about it before or after class,
such as What is the purpose of a personal protection their retention will be dramatically higher than it would
plan? or, What are the rules for the use of deadly force? be if they simply saw you standing in front of the class-
Over the years, Ive also been witness to something in- room speaking, and gesturing wildly. More on student
teresting. Ive found that when instructors use the big retention next.
bullet approach, their students are more likely to stare
blankly at the screen, reading those bullet points
(or imagining what theyll have for din-
ner). But, when the instructor fills in
the slide with more content (effec-
tively making the slide their own
cliff notes, with multiple points to
reinforce), the student focuses
on the instructor, and only
refers to the slide when the
instructor refers to it.
I also believe
whole-heartedly in the
picture is worth a thou-
sand words philosophy.
When it came to design of
my PowerPoint slides or a
section in my book, Id first
think about how Id explain
a topic visually. Whenever
Id add a new topic, Id first
think about how I would vi-
sually explain that topic, and
then Id get the illustrations
created, Id have the photos
taken, and then Id create the
words around it. As an exam-
ple, when I wanted to explain Images on the screen, in a text book, and on classroom
various shooting stances, I posters will reinforce what you demonstrate in class, and will 5
had a professional photog- lead to higher retention when the student walks out of your
WWW.USCCA.COM

rapher get shots of me not classroom. Quality and creativity countstudents can tell the
only from the side, I also had difference between a picture snapped in your basement with a
cheap digital camera, versus professional studio shots. In this
shots taken from the front,
example, the student is able to see all angles of the Isosceles
stance, including what it looks like from above.
2
MISTAKE
BELIEVING THAT YOUR STUDENTS
WILL RETAIN EVERYTHING THAT
YOU TAUGHT IN CLASS
W
hen I get the chance to get caught up on
one or more of the internet gun forums, I
love to see questions from new concealed
carry permit holders, but Im dismayed if
the replies include, Didnt you learn that in class? Who
was your instructor? Not only are those responses not
helpful, they also ignore the fact that knowledge will at-
rophy unless its continuously relearnedin fact, its not
unusual for students to retain just 1020% or less of
what they just heard in class. Muscle memory isnt just
about physical movements alone, its also about knowl-
edgeto believe that your students will file away every-
thing you just taught them into their long term memory
for immediate recall, is hopelessly naive. That said, there
are proven techniques to improve student retention, and
there is a logical solution to helping your students to con-
tinuously relearn the information you taught in class. To
improve my students retention, I follow a multi-media
approach, all sharing the same high resolution imagery.
My courses, and the Firearms Instructor Toolkit contains:
A full-blown PowerPoint presentation following seven
lessons, and containing more than 300 high resolution
photos and custom illustrations. Its a proven fact that in-
formation has a higher probability of making it into long
term memory if the student not only hears it, but if they
also have a visual reference to file away (remember the ex-
ample I gave of explaining how a semi-automatic works).
High-resolution videos that help to break up the
course material, and bring in outside expertise. The fact
is, as a professional firearms instructor, you could say the
exact same thing that I say about the Reasonable Person
Test in Video #1 (contained in the Instructors Toolkit),
You may be an incredible teacher, full of knowledge and
amazingly skilled at presenting material to your students.
Even so, your students will be lucky to retain 20% of what
you taught them when they walk out the door, and 10% a
year later. A quality textbook full of the same high resolution
graphics, illustrations and images that they saw in class, can
lead to dramatically higher student retention, months after
your student leaves the classroom.
6
but by playing this video in your classroom, your class
will be viewed with extra polish; it will be as though you
invited me to your class as a visiting expert; and the fact
that youve just broken up the class format by mixing in
multi-media will elevate your students attention, and re-
tention.
Classroom posters that reinforce key topics taught in
class, and in the book. Even on break, I want my students
to continue to learn, so Ive created half a dozen high res-
olution posters, which keep the students talking, asking
questions, and learning, even when on break.
A seven chapter textbook paralleling the classroom
presentation, with the exact same lessons, photos, illus-
trations and advice that they heard in class. The text-
book, Concealed Carry and Home Defense Fundamentals
not only reinforces what the student learned in class,
it contains additional information to take the student
to the next level. Student retention is driven to all new
highs when they not only see it and hear it in class, but if
they also read about it before or after class. Its like get-
ting two or three classes (or as many times as they read
the book) for the price of one course.
As you might imagine, this multi-media approach not
only dramatically improves student retention on these
ultra-important topics, it also provides an incredibly
high-quality experience for the student, ultimately lead-
ing to more referrals, and more butts in the seats.

This poster of what exactly happens when the trigger is

pressed, is included in the USCCA Instructor Toolkit, and is one of
six posters available from the USCCA.

7
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3
MISTAKE

BELIEVING THAT SINCE THIS IS

A RIGHT, YOU CAN JUST RUBBER
STAMP STUDENT CERTIFICATES

I
f you spend any time at all on
Second Amendment web fo-
rums, youve probably noticed
that when the topic rolls around
to concealed carry classes, there is a
vocal minority that believes that since
self-defense is a natural born right,
that the state, and by extension, in-
structors, have no right to create arbi-
trary hurdles that the concealed car-
ry student should be forced to jump
through. This minority believes that
even if the state requires a con-
cealed carry course, that instruc-
tors should only provide mini-
malistic courses which just meet
the states requirements, and nothing
more. While there may be a small per-
centage of concealed carry applicants
that are simply looking to have their
class certificate rubber stamped so that they can send in no higher than it is in states that require up to a ten-hour
their application, far more students are looking to be ed- concealed carry course or more. That said, I do believe
ucated so that they can be responsibly armed Americans, in education, and if a student comes to me paying good
rather than just armed Americans. money for a concealed carry class, I am going to deliver
Let me add that I believe that the right to self-defense to them the best education, the best advice, and the best
is as natural as a right to breath, a right to be free from techniques that I can provide. I will not simply rubber
slavery, and a right to worship however you choose. I do stamp any student certificate because I have ethical is-
not view concealed carry laws as bestowing any right sues with the government requiring a permit for some-
upon us, rather, I consider them to be meddling with thing that I consider to be a right.
what I view as that natural born right. For state legisla- Whether you teach a two-hour, a five-hour, or a two-
tures that argue that classes should be a required part day concealed carry course, give your students the abso-
of the process since otherwise, permit holders are likely lute best experience that you can provide. If you want to 8
to do stupid, dangerous or illegal things, Id simply point make a name for yourself, make a name by offering the
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out that in states such as Arizona and Alaska which sport most professional, most complete class in your area. Let
constitutional carry (where the right to carry is inherent the other guys teach the absolute minimums, because
for anyone who is not legally barred from owning a fire- thats the amount of knowledge that their students will
arm), the incidence of permit holders breaking the law is walk away with.
4
MISTAKE

MAKING CLASS ABOUT WAR STORIES

OR POLITICS, RATHER THAN THE FACTS.

L
ets face it, we all enjoy telling stories. And if flict avoidance advice), and to be honest, your students
we dont have a good story to tell, we might be arent going to care how many high-speed, low-drag,
tempted to make one up that makes us sound advanced defensive shooting courses youve personally
a bit more interesting to our audience. While attended. They will care about how well educated they
personal war stories certainly add a bit of spice to any feel after they leave your class.
class, these stories have a habit of overwhelming the ac- War stories also run the risk of inadvertently giving an
tual content that we should be sharing with our students, example of what not to do. For example, if you person-
and they can make the class appear to be more about the ally experienced a bit of road rage where another driv-
instructor, and less about the important material that the er threatened to kill you, the story only has merit if you
student needs to learn. In my experience, instructors will were completely innocent in the situation. If at any point
fall back on war stories for the story includes you laying
one of two reasonsone, on the horn or flipping your
they may fear that without YOUR STUDENTS WILL DRAW middle finger, youve not
the stories, their class will be THE CONCLUSION ABOUT YOUR only failed to teach a lesson
too short since theyre short about what to do, youve also
on actual, trainable mate-
EXPERTISE BASED UPON HOW YOU thrown a bit of tarnish on
rials; or two, the instructor PRESENT YOURSELF, WHAT YOUR your own image as a trusted
feels that the, It happened CLASSROOM MATERIALS LOOK advisor.
to me stories are necessary My advice is that you limit
LIKE, HOW YOU PRESENT THOSE
to justify them as an expert. your anecdotal stories to less
Weve solved the first prob- MATERIALS, AND HOW WELL YOU than ten percent of your to-
lem for firearms instructors KNOW THE CONTENT. tal class content, and do not
with the USCCA Firearms In- make them all about you, in
structor Toolkit (in fact, there is enough material in our fact, Id go as far as saying that none of them should be
Toolkit to teach up to a ten-hour course); and if you feel about you. Anecdotal stories have more merit if they are
that war stories are necessary to justify yourself as an ex- a story that you can analyze from all sides, with a criti-
pert, stop worrying. Your students will draw the conclu- cal eye (e.g. The mistake that I believe the permit holder
sion about your expertise based upon how you present made was...), and has a conclusion (The permit holder
yourself, what your classroom materials look like, how was found not guilty of attempted murder, but had to
you present those materials, and how well you know the plead guilty to second degree assault...). 9
content. They arent going to measure your expertise
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by how many times youve had to draw your firearm on

an attacker (in fact, if it was more than once, your stu-
dents might wonder if youre following your own con-
5
MISTAKE

MAKING YOUR CONCEALED CARRY CLASS

MORE ABOUT SHOOTING, AND LESS ABOUT
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, CONFLICT
AVOIDANCE OR THE LAW.

W
hen I start my concealed carry classes, Ill
joke with the audience that if they thought
they were going to attend a class that
would teach them about how to shoot bad
guys, then they were going to be disappointed. Instead, Ill
let my students know that my class will focus much more
on conflict avoidance, situational awareness, the legal and
practical aspects of concealed carry, and a number of oth-
er techniques that can help them to avoid ever drawing
their firearm in the first place. As they say, the only assured
method of surviving a violent encounter is to avoid it in the
first place, and as defensive firearms instructors, its our re-
sponsibly to help our students, first and foremost, to avoid
violent crime to the best of their ability.

10
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If you pride yourself on being an incredible defensive shooting instructor, with the finest
methods of teaching trigger press, sight alignment and stance, but you fail to teach your
students about things like situational awareness and conflict avoidance, your students
might find themselves in a situation like this, that could have been avoided.
In my concealed carry and home defense
classes, I follow a 70:30 rule. I spend 70
percent of my classroom time discussing
the legal and practical aspects of
concealed carry, with a heavy emphasis
on conflict avoidance and situational
awareness. I spend just 30 percent of my classroom time
on defensive shooting fundamentals. Those numbers are
reversed for my advanced defensive shooting classes, but I
consider my concealed carry classes to be entry-level classes.
You should assume that your students havent heard of things
like cover, concealment, situational awareness, and the
color codes of awareness. Spend your limited time with your
students focused on helping them to avoid violent encounters
in the first place, rather than placing too much emphasis on
how to shoot bad guys.
While our classes should contain an introduction to the
fundamentals of defensive shooting, my recommendation
is that you follow a 70/30 rule on how much time you spend
on conflict avoidance, the law, and other aspects dealing
with the seriousness of concealed carry, versus the amount
of time spent on shooting fundamentals and at the range.
Heres the problemthe average student attending a
concealed carry class will believe, rightly or wrongly, that
theyre about to learn everything they need to know to
carry a firearm responsibly. Youll have their attention for
four to ten hours (or 16 hours if youre an Illinois instructor),
depending upon the structure of your class. Even if you
dedicated 100% of your class time to defensive shooting
fundamentals, you couldnt possibly hope to run through
enough repetitions to build long term muscle memory,
yet you would leave your students with the impression that
theyre now done, that theyve learned it all. Instead, I make
my concealed carry classes more about conflict avoidance
and understanding the legal and practical implications of
carrying a firearm, and my on the range portion of class
is simply to introduce the students to defensive shooting
fundamentals (as opposed to marksmanship fundamen-
tals), and to make the range time enjoyable enough so that
the student is willing to seek out advanced training. While
on the range, Ill run my students through a set of drills to
demonstrate how those drills can force a balance of speed
versus accuracy, but rather than scoring my students on
how many rounds they place in the ten-ring, Ill instead
score them on their ability to follow the Universal Safety
Rules and their understanding of the defensive shooting
fundamentals. Bottom line, I want them to perceive the
range time as entirely enjoyable so that they want to do it
again, and again, and again.
Think about it this wayif you knew that after leaving
class, every one of your students would be walking through
an area known for its high crime rate, what would you want
your student to remember? Would you focus on trying to
ingrain defensive shooting fundamentals during the few
hours that you had their attention captured, or would you
teach them the techniques they could use to avoid a crime
in the first place? Keep in mind that when I say ingrained
I mean movement and action that has been repeated so
many times that new pathways have been formed in the
neural pathways of the students cerebellum. Those path-
ways are typically only formed after thousands of repeti-
tions across weeks or months. For my students, Id rather
have them remember, I should always be in condition yel-
low when in public, and I should trust my instincts if some-
thing doesnt feel right rather than, Drawing from the 11
holster takes five steps. Step number one is... Use your
WWW.USCCA.COM
time in class wisely, and youll have created a repeat stu-
dent who will be ready for your advanced defensive shoot-
ing course when the time is right.
6
MISTAKE

FOCUSING ON MARKSMANSHIP, RATHER

THAN DEFENSIVE FIREARMS SHOOTING.

O
kay, I just got done saying that I believe its a
mistake to make the major focus of your con-
cealed carry class all about shooting, rather
than things like conflict avoidance and the
law; but that doesnt mean that I believe you should skip
time at the range altogether. Even if your state doesnt re-
quire range time as part of the legal course requirements
(or even if your state doesnt have a training requirement
at all), I believe that were doing our students a disservice
if we dont give them a healthy introduction to defensive
shooting fundamentals, on and off the range. As import-
ant, range time is also the only chance youll get to eval-
uate whether your students have absorbed the lessons
that you taught on the proper and safe handling of their
firearm.
So lets talk about what the shooting portion of your
class should be about. Many instructors who are new
to teaching concealed carry courses can easily slip back
into their comfort zone, which might include previous
experience teaching firearms safety or basic marksman-
ship courses. New shooters, especially new hunters, are
often taught a set of marksmanship fundamentals that
might work well during a relaxed round of shooting at
the range when using a bench rest or sandbag support,

There is a significant different between a relaxed

day at the range, when compared to what your
body will undergoe during a dynamic critial
incident. Dont make the mistake of focusing
on marksmanship skills, rather than defensive
shooting skills. Those marksmanship skills may
fail your student if theyre ever confronted with an
attacker such as this.

12
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but those skills simply dont translate to defensive shoot-
ing fundamentals. For example, back in Boy Scouts, I was
taught that for accurate shooting (from the prone posi-
tion, with sandbag support), I should focus on the front
sight, and then breathe in, let it part way out, hold it, and
then slowly squeeeeze the trigger in order to avoid antic-
ipating the recoil. While that worked at Tomahawk Scout
Reservation, its not going to work in the chaos of a vio-
lent attack with adrenaline screaming through your body,
and an attacker just seconds from reaching you, or al-
ready upon you. In the time it would take you to breathe
in and let it part way out.., the fight might be over, yet
many training organizations continue to teach the same
type of stance, trigger cycle or sight alignment for their
defensive handgun courses as they do for their hunter
safety courses, and thats a mistake.
But rather than just explaining to your student that cer-
tain skills might be used for marksmanship (or hunting)
while other skills must be used for defensive training, I
like to explain the why around those differences. One
of those major whys is that unlike relaxed exercises on
the range with paper targets at 50 feet, dynamic critical
The Amygdala and endocrhine system are
responsible for initiating and sustaining
the bodys fight or flight defenses.
Instructors must understand what
these systems will do during a critial
indident, and they should model
their shooting fundamentals
portion of class, on what the body
will do naturally.
incidents are usually fast, theyre usually close
(with nearly ninety percent falling between 9
and 15 feet), and when rounds are fire, multiple
rounds are usually fired. In addition, Ill explain
that when were under the extreme stress of a
violent attack, our higher brain will very likely
check out, and to one degree or another, auto-
mated responses will take over. Those automat-
ed responses (part of our fight or flight defenses),
are initiated by a tiny, almond shaped structure in
the brain called the amygdala.
The amygdala contains most of the brains alarm
circuits designed to react to any imminent threat, which
would include a violent attack. When its alarm circuits
are tripped, the amygdala has a direct connection to the
motor cortex (that is, it skips the reasoning and planning
part of the brain) in order to take immediate action, such
as: freezing our legs if we were about to step in front of a
speeding bus; raising our hands to protect our head from
a flying rock; or ducking into a crouch, orienting toward a
threat, and pushing the arms out to full extension to de-
fend against the threat. That last automated response has
been recorded time and time again on dash cam videos
during police shootings, and must be factored into our
training regimens and training advice to our students.
While its often said, well fight the way weve trained,
those dash cam videos suggest that we should, train the
way well fight which must include educating our stu-
dents on a natural and neutral shooting stance (rather
than the more choreographed Weaver stance), unsighted
fire (which isnt the same thing as un-aimed fire), and a
rapid trigger cycle (which is far from the trigger squeeeeze
taught to me in scouts). In your very next class, dont
make the mistake of presenting a single PowerPoint slide
on the physiological reactions to violent attacks, and then
advising your students at the range to, focus on the front 13
sight while you help them to take up a perfect Weaver
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stance. Dont forget that you are a defensive firearms in-
structor, not a marksmanship firearms instructor.
7
MISTAKE

PRESENTING AN UNPROFESSIONAL IMAGE

W
hat do your students want to see when
they see you standing in front of their
class? Do they want to see a reflection
of themselves? Do they want to see
someone that looks like you could be their best friend
or relative? Or do they want to see an instructor with an
aura of confidence, professionalism, and knowledge?
Too often instructors believe that they can gain their
audiences trust by acting, talking, or dressing as an
everyday guy. The reality is, that approach backfires.
For example, if your audience is rural, do you gain their
confidence as a subject matter expert by wearing your
dirty camouflage jacket, greasy blaze orange hat, and
sporting a five day growth of beard? Do you exude
expertise when you say, Let me show you this bad a--
f---ing gun. Let me ask that a question another way.
Lets say youre concerned about a spot on your chest,
and youre frighted that it might be skin cancer. Two
doctors are available for you to meet with. The first
dresses professionally, his clothes are new, clean and
pressed, and hes cleanly shaven with neat hair. The
second looks like he hasnt showered or shaved, hes
wearing the aforementioned camouflage jacket and
blaze orange hat, and he says, Let me take a look at that
f---ing spot. Dont let it throw you that Im talking about
firearms instructors versus doctors. A professional
is a professional, and students know when a non-
professional is standing in front of them. Your students
arent looking for someone to fish with, or another
While this look might work when youre plinking on the family
hunting buddy. Theyre looking for a professional land, it isnt going to work in front of your class. Your students
firearms instructor, and they want to believe that you arent looking for a regular guy, theyre looking for someone
have the answers theyre looking for. Look, and dress who looks like the professional instructor that theyve paid 14
the part. If you dont have a professional instructor good money to see. Even if your students wear blaze orange or
WWW.USCCA.COM

golf shirt and hat, the good news is that we include a
USCCA Firearms Instructor shirt and hat in the Firearms
Instructor Toolkit. Not only will your presentation look
great, youll look great too.
camouflage to class, you should refrain from doing the same.
Instead, wear a professional looking instructor golf shirt and
pants, and keep any facial hair neatly trimmed. And, make sure
you use a holster for your own handgun.
8
MISTAKE

TAKING A, DO WHAT I SAY,

NOT WHAT I DO APPROACH.

L
ike your children, your students are going to pick- As a professional instructor, if youve just finished telling
up more on what you do, then on what you say. your students that their muzzle shouldnt cover anything
Ask the average firearms instructor what theyre not willing to destroy, and then you go on to use
their number one goal during any range exercise your Glock with the integrated laser sight as a teaching aid
would be, and youre very likely going to hear, The safety to point out, really interesting things on your PowerPoint
of my students. At least you should hear that. So when it slide, what do you think your student will remember? Will
comes to those ranges exercises, and your handling of your they remember the Universal Safety Rules covered 15
own personal firearm, are you making the mistake of, Do slides ago, or will they remember the fact that their instruc-
what I say, not what I do? When you pick up your firearm, tor didnt really think it was important? If you instruct your
are you absolutely ensuring that your finger remains out- students to never step in front of the firing line on a hot
side the triggerguard until youre on target and have made range, and an hour later, you step across the line to pick
the decision to fire? Are up your dropped mag-
you exhibiting the best ACTING ABOVE THE RULES DOESNT MAKE azine, what will they re-
muzzle control of anyone YOU LOOK LIKE A PROFESSIONAL, IT member? As with war
on the firing line? Or are stories, instructors can
you falling into the trap MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE AN AMATEUR. fall into the trap of mis-
of, Im the expert here, I can get away with things that my understanding what makes them look like a professional to
students shouldnt do. The reality is, students can buy that their students. Acting above the rules doesnt make you
attitude, up to a point. Weve all seen countless episodes look like a professional, it makes you look like an amateur. If
of TV shows where the host implores the audience, Do not you want to keep a professional aura around yourself, dont
try this at home! and then theyll go on to do something just talk the talk, walk the walk.
that we shouldnt, well, try at home. But thats TV folks.

Like it or not, when youre on the

range or in the classroom, your
students are going to not only
listen to what you say, theyre
going to watch what you do. Are
you doing what youre saying?
For example, you can preach the
Universal Safety Rules in class,
but do you follow them when
you get to the range, including
keeping your finger outside 15
the triggerguard until youre
WWW.USCCA.COM

on target and have made the

decision to shoot?
9
MISTAKE
TEACHING WITH AN APPROACH OF,
ITS BETTER TO BE JUDGED BY 12 RATHER
THAN CARRIED BY SIX WHEN IT COMES
TO THE LEGAL USE OF FORCE.
A
s concealed carry and defensive shoot-
ing instructors, its appropriate to teach a
healthy dose of the law in our classes, in
particular, the laws surrounding the legal
use of force. While Ill often comment in my classes that
the law isnt a mathematical formula where a situation
can be plugged in on one side of the equation and
the answer of Guilty or Not Guilty spit out the other
side; I do believe in properly educating my students on
what the law says, how its been interpreted in the past,
and how it may be interpreted in the future, perhaps
in their very own case. However, too often Ill hear the
legal conversations that should be taking place, dis-
missed with the comment of, Id rather be judged by
12 than carried by six. I understand the sentiment of
that statement, that is, I get the fact that on the whole,
wed rather have the right to defend our life or the life
of a loved one and deal with the fallout, then to not
have that right, and most certainly be injured or killed
if were subject to a violent attack. But the Id rather
be judged statement ignores the fact that the actual
violent attack or home invasion is just the first of three
injuries you might facein other words, if you only
concern yourself with protecting yourself from physical
16
WWW.USCCA.COM
injury, but you dont protect yourself from the financial basement window, and you shout a warning to Freeze!
and emotional aftermath, you may be making mistakes Instead, he turns toward you, and you see a flash of met-
that ultimately devastate you financially or emotionally. al in his hands. Reacting instinctively, you fire a blast in
When I explain the purpose of a personal and home the intruders direction, and he drops to the floor. With
protection plan to my students, I not only discuss that its a shaking hand, you turn on the basement lights, only to
a plan to help keep them physically safe, I also describe discover that youve just shot and killed your 16-year old
it as a plan to keep them financially and morally safe as neighbor, and the flash of metal in his hands, turned out
well. While its easy to understand protecting ourselves to be a six-pack of beer that the young man had just sto-
and our families physically, the Id rather be judged ar- len from your basement refrigerator. Investigators later
gument fails to recognize the financial and emotional tell you that your neighbors friends had challenged him
aftermath that can occur after a use of force, in particu- to steal the beer from your home, as youre charged with
lar, when the attacker has been injured or killed. While manslaughter. If that scenario happened to you, how
wed like to think that any defensive use of force on our comforted would you be by the words of your instruc-
part would be viewed as a slam dunk in our favor where tor, that Its better to be judged by 12 rather than car-
well be hailed as the hero, but reality is far more compli- ried by six? Or, would you hope beyond hope, that you
cated than that. There could reverse the clock,
are too many stories of and make a better deci-
individuals who did ev-
WED LIKE TO THINK THAT ANY sion? Months later and
erything right when it DEFENSIVE USE OF FORCE ON OUR PART hundreds of thousands
came to a defensive use WOULD BE VIEWED AS A SLAM DUNK of dollars in debt, would
of force, but still found
IN OUR FAVOR WHERE WELL BE HAILED you be satisfied knowing
themselves charged that you were alive and
with a crime and facing AS THE HERO, BUT REALITY IS FAR MORE about to be judged by 12
jail time, the loss of their COMPLICATED THAN THAT. strangers, half of whom
firearms, and economic were selected by the
ruin. Each year, we hear heart wrenching stories of peo- prosecutor? Or would you dream about stepping back
ple just like us who lost their job or even their homes, to the decisions that you made leading up to the event?
because of the financial burdens that were associated The bottom line is that as a defensive firearms instruc-
with defending themselves in court, after defending tor, dont forget that defensive is in your title. If your
themselves on the street or in their homes. The finan- primary (or only) focus with your students is to teach
cial burden for many proves to be too great as the de- them defensive shooting fundamentals and you dismiss
fendant must weigh how much justice he or she can legal or conflict avoidance topics with the Id rather be
afford. Even in cases where the legally armed American judged statement, then you are doing your students a
did everything right, the individual might find them- disservice, and your advice (or lack of advice) may ulti-
selves accepting a plea bargain, rather than gambling it mately get your student killed or jailed, rather than the
all, and running the risk of financial ruin. reverse. In my classes, Ill often tell my students that if
To illustrate where the Id rather be judged approach they leave my class with only a single piece of knowl-
fails, lets look at an examplelets say that youre asleep edge that theyll use for the rest of their lives, it would
late at night, when youre suddenly awoken by the sound be for them to operate their lives in a state of condition
of breaking glass. Rather than calling 911 and barricad- yellow. I have the confidence that if my students did
ing yourself in your bedroom, you decide to grab your nothing more than that, their probability of becoming
home defense shotgun and investigate, because after all, the victim of a violent crime would drop dramatically, as 17
your instructor told you that, Its better to be judged by would their probability of being called the defendant.
WWW.USCCA.COM

12 than carried by six. You silently descend the staircase, If your students remembered one thing and one thing
a step at a time, all the while hearing sounds of an intrud- only, what would you want it to be?
er in your basement. As you step off of the bottom step,
you suddenly see the intruder silhouetted against the
 BELIEVING THAT YOU CAN BUILD A
FIREARMS TRAINING BUSINESS WITHOUT
UNDERSTANDING HOW TO MARKET IT.

T
he world is full of industry experts, whether rials that Ive already discussed, youll also get a spot
that expertise is technology, automobiles, on our instructor search page. In other words, when
firearms, etc. What the world has far fewer students in your local area are ready for a class, theyll
of, are industry experts who have successful- simply come to our instructor page and search on their
ly launched their own business. In fact, the landscape state. Your name, business, and contact information
is littered with experts who tried, and failed, to launch will be immediately accessible to them, and the fact
their own business. The rea- that youre listed as a USCCA
sons for those failures are Affiliate Instructor will give
varied, but in most cases, it the student the confidence
boils down to the enormous that your class uses the trust-
gap between their industry ed materials contained within
expertise, and everything else the Firearms Instructor Tool-
that is required to run a suc- kit. In addition to providing
cessful business, including a listing on our website, as a
an understanding of how to USCCA Affiliate Instructor,
successfully market that busi- youll also have access to our
ness and sell their product, twice per month webinars
which in the case of a firearms (providing a variety of edu-
instructor, is the service and cation on things as diverse
knowledge that they provide. as how to edit PowerPoint
In this connected world, there slides, to public speaking
are a variety of ways to advertise your firearms train- techniques); youll get an early invitation to our instruc-
ing business beyond placing an ad in your local paper, tor certification courses being held all across the United
such as paying for advertising through Google, Bing, or States; and youll have direct access to our staff of USC-
Facebook to name a few. The problem is, those ads can CA instructors who can answer any question about the
empty your bank account faster than your classes can program or materials. Speaking of our materials, youll
fill it up unless you understand how internet advertis- also get frequent updates to the PowerPoint, and youll
ing works. If you take the next big step with us and be- have immediate access to additional classroom videos,
come a USCCA Certified Instructor by taking one of our student quizzes, and more.
certification courses, youd receive education on exactly As you can probably tell, the USCCA Instructor Program 18
how to become an internet marketing expert, but until and the Firearms Instructor Toolkit both allow you to fo-
WWW.USCCA.COM

then, we can still help to get your name out there. Heres cus on being the firearms and training professional that
howwhen you purchase a USCCA Firearms Instructor youve worked so hard to become, and it leaves the heavy
Toolkit, not only do you get all of the classroom mate- lifting for course development and marketing to us.
I hope this guide has helped to identify potential mistakes that you might have made
if youre considering launching a firearms training business; and if you already have an
existing business, I hope that I didnt hurt your feelings by pointing out mistakes that
you might already be making. The advice in this guide, the contents of our Instructor
Toolkit, and the ongoing training, support, and mentoring offered by our cadre of
certified instructors are all designed to not just avoid mistakes, theyre designed to
help your training business succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

Imagine being considered the best prepared, most professional instructor in your
area. We can take you there!

To learn more or to order your Instructor Toolkit, visit:

www.USCCAInstructors.com/GetEquipped

Thanks and stay safe,

Michael Martin, Chief Instructor

United States Concealed Carry Association