I am sure I am not the only one that checks certain magazines or watch TV shows that have great trainers teaching some cool stuff & tactics. But really, what does Mr. & Ms. Average get out of knowing how to shoot the Uber Tactical AR from underneath a moving vehicle while crawling through a minefield in the middle of monsoon season? While the drill may be very necessary for those in the front lines or Law Enforcement, Regular Joes and Janes will wasting their time, monies and ammo on that training.

We need instructors that understand we are not fit super heroes but middle aged cubicle dwellers that will have a great chance to face Kanish Bubba Perez, known tweaker and overall armed robber than Sheik Said Altowellette. Example: I have seen both on TV and printed that Isosceles stance is the best because not only is a stable platform for handgun shooting but also it faces the body armor towards the enemy thus giving protection against incoming rounds….Excuse me?? What frigging body armor? The closest I get to body armor is the excess weight I carry around my mid-section and I don’t think it really will stop most rounds.

Yes, I want to learn to defend myself with a rifle, a shotgun and a handgun but let’s get real here. How many of us have an AR costing $4,000 or more after accessories? More likely an AK Klon or Lever Action rifle are gathering dust and cobwebs because they are not “tactically cool” and will be sneered upon at most classes by the Black Nylon Ninjas. Same for shotguns: Ultra Slick Wilson Tactical SBR shotgun with all the gizmos versus a coach gun or plain jane hunting pump shottie. These uncool weapons have their own traits and shortcomings so a training must be developed so they can be used for defensive purposes. And yes, I understand that a slick long gun platform may have special advantages, but the idea here is not to show off the latest and coolest but to help your average citizen deal with a life threatening situation with the tools he or she has.

We get many a contradictory message in this realm: How many times we hear “It is not the arrow but the indian” in the same breath that loudly proclaims no handgun unless is a 45 and costs you one and a half mortgage payment is worth buying? Or in the case of a home invader you are told to retreat to the safe room only to immediately start training on how to clear a house by your lonesome?

I think it is time to shake the digital cammo pattern, Oakley glasses and Converse boots mentality out of the training and go more for plaid bermuda shorts, black sock and sandals. Might not be very cool among the high speed-low drag fraternity, but students that survive a deadly force encounter thanks to a common sense training with the tools they have is the ultimate in coolness.