What is the best self defense training for new preppers?

While this should be fairly obvious… to prepare for the potential use of self defense. While we will cover many other self defense options and courses, here is always my first suggestion…

“Buy a gun AND learn how to use it.”

Nothing can equalize the playing field like properly applied kinetic energy. Regardless of the sizes and strength of the “participants”, a firearm will negate almost all previously assumed advantages of the attacker(s).

There are training locations popping up on every corner nowadays. While I love the fact that training is becoming more readily available to the average prison. NOT ALL TRAINING IS GOOD!!! That is why I ready like and support Frontsight Firearms Training Academy outside Las Vegas NV. I have been a member for years and I have taken many classes through Frontsight.

Similar to many arguments online. Everyone has an idea and opinion when it comes to training. While some of the techniques taught at Frontsight might not be the most cutting edge, all the things taught are tried and tried methods.

One of the big ones that people take issue with at Frontsight is the teaching of the Weaver or modified Weaver instead of the isosceles stance. While both have their merits… Most arguing these points are the ones struggling to stay on paper at 10 yards.

First let’s start with the pros.

• The first one is cheap training. If you look on their website you will see many “deals” and courses listed for thousands of dollars. Don’t even consider paying that. If you look online or contact me directly you can get lifetime memberships for a few hundred dollars. That’s how I started. I got a lifetime membership form a coworker for $250 and immediately, I took 3 classes (valued at $6k 😉 ) for that price.
• Amazing training is provided for new shooters. I would hesitate to bring new shooters to many “tactical courses”. I have taken my wife and mother to courses, with no hesitation that they would be overwhelmed or intimated. Consistency across classes is another awesome benefit to training at an established academy. One 4 day rifle class is the same as the next. You won’t get a dud of an instructor, or even worse… The experimenter.
• Limited gear is needed for most classes. The initial prerequisite courses are designed with the average concealed carry permit holder in mind, not Delta Force or Seals. Simple and safe repetition and practicing drawing from concealment is much more important in my opinion than summersaults through windows. All you need is a weapon, magazine retention device of choice, holster/sling, and safety equipment. Oh yeah… Ammo is also important, only factory new ammo is allowed. So you have to leave those “parking lot deal” reloads at home. If you or your guest don’t have gear, rentals are available.
• Easy access to lodging and entertainment near the class. A few of the classes I have attended elsewhere, are located seemingly just outside of BFE. While Pahrump isn’t a bustling metropolis by anyone’s standards,  Vegas is only an hour from the ranges. This way you can spend the day on the range and the night on the strip.
• Vacation training is a fantastic option for the family. I often take the wife and kids with me to training courses. While I’m shooting, they are exploring and playing around Vegas. 
• A huge win for me as a California resident, is that Nevada is open carry and CCW friendly. I have since gotten my “coveted CA CCW permit”. But before I was blessed with this magical piece of paper, I would pull off the road as soon as I crossed the state line and carried throughout my time in NV. I did this using my Utah CCW that I received through Frontsight. (Anyone can open carry in NV, just don’t try it on the strip or God forbid a casino floor. You will meet some of LVPD’s finest.)

Now onto some of the cons.

• Some of the training for the handgun courses is a bit dated. This is due mostly to safety concerns. With the ridiculously high volume of students, some concessions must be made; such as Weaver stances, no appendix draw, and mandatory cold range.
• Very structured courses can be great for first time attendance, but if you are bringing new people to courses the repeated scripts for classes can lead to some dull moments. I could step into a few parts of the lecture at this point without missing a beat.
• The entire complex has been expanding and improving for the last few years, though some things are still dragging behind. One of those things that needs updating is that the bathrooms are far from the majority of the main short ranges and classroom. Not a huge deal, until you are 3 coffees deep and you are next up to the firing line. Luckily all the new ranges have facilities on each of them.
• Food is available at the range. You are looking at about $10 for a sandwich and chips. This is being redone currently, so hopefully this will improve. A hot meal after a long winter morning would be a welcome relief.
• Spam emails! Do not sign up with any real email or phone number.
• The days can be very long, especially if you are staying in Vegas. The first day, the gates open at 0630, which means everyone gets there and lines up at 0600. Not too bad, until you remember the hour drive from Vegas.

The premiere courses that they offer and promote is a series of pistol classes. Handgun is broken into two and four day defensive handgun classes, CCW class, and Tactical handgun courses. To be allowed to participate in the tactical classes you must pass the proceeding entry level courses.

The most entry level course is “2 Day Defensive Handgun”. This course starts with basic safety, nomenclature, and overview of marksmanship. On the first day only a few rounds will be fired before lunch. After lunch if when the fun starts. For the next day and a half you present from the holster and practice “controlled pairs”. This takes place from 3-15 yard, though practice from concealment is encouraged, practice from concealment is not required. Administrative tasks such as loading and unloading are hammered hard throughout the course. Tactical and emergency reloads and malfunction clearances are also practiced. At the end of the second day you all walk over to the shoot room. The 2 day course doesn’t offer full room clearing, but you are placed into a dynamic environment and are required to access and engage various shoot/ no-shoot targets. This is my go to class for new shooters. I have personally taken this course 4-5 times with others, to introduce them to structured training.

The “4 Day Defensive Handgun” course is very similar to the 2 day class, only more involved. The same general content just more in depth and more practice on each stage. I won’t cover all the same info again, so here is what is different.

In the 4 day class you practice room clearing and transitioning through doorways and hallways. We also practiced multiple targets, and some verbal tactics devolving into concealed draw followed by controlled pairs. Failure to stop drills, shoot/no-shoot targets, and malfunction practice were sprinkled throughout the third and fourth days.

You are actually tested on day 4. This is to rank you as completed, graduated, or distinguished graduate. A distinguished graduate is required to advance to the tactical courses.

After the testing you have a shoot-out, this was a freaking blast!!! We paired off and began a bracketed championship of head to head shooting on some steel targets. This was so much fun the first time I was able to do this.