glong
10-24-2004, 16:13
Tactics, Mindset, and Skill at Arms
There has been a lot of debate over which of these concepts is the most important. I do not purport to have the definitive answer to the question, just some observations I have made over the years.
I am not writing on this subject to deride anyone’s work or opinion, but I do understand that some will take offence to what I have to say.
Any training organization must sell itself to potential students based on what it is best able to offer. Some concepts of Combat Arms Training are more difficult to sell than others. It is with this statement in mind that I write this article.
Tactics is a very interesting subject matter that has some very colorful instructors in this world. The curricula range from the simple stuff which makes sense and works to the silly stuff that some instructor created in order to have the “better mouse trap” approach. I absolutely believe that sound tactical judgment is a very important part of the whole package.
People buy in on an emotional level to tactics classes. We all like to think that we can be the toughest cat on the block. It is the instructor’s job to sell the techniques to the student in such a way as to inspire enough confidence that they are convinced that if they do things the way they are being taught, the student will prevail in a life or death circumstance.
There are trainers out there who can teach you no nonsense techniques that can save your life. They are not necessarily the ones with the loudest credentials.
The tactical training arena boils down to knowing what to do, or probably more importantly, what not to do when things get ugly. If a trainer can convince students that they can teach these concepts, for better or worse, they are a success.
Mindset is essentially the will to drive on and win even when the body in uncomfortable. Most adults are not willing to train at the level required to toughen the mind. Most people in this world let their comfort level determine where they stop. The concept of driving the body past where it hurts is just that, a concept. Students can be given the information that the mind drives the body, but true understanding and practical application of that concept is lost to all but the ones who have experienced it. To those who have not, this is nothing more than cliché.
The most important part of mindset is simply awareness of your environment. This lesson does not have the bravado and pump of the “I will continue to fight and kill the aggressor even when I have been shot,” but it is the aspect of mindset that is most useful and applicable to every day people. Even this concept in practice is mentally tiring and requires an exercise in willpower in order to stay focused for prolonged periods of time in public life.
People love to be convinced they are the invincible, for that reason people will allow themselves to be sold on classes dealing with mindset. If an instructor can convince a student that they are tough in the classroom, they are a success.
Skill at Arms as a concept is very concrete and is quantifiable. Therefore a student’s performance when they start and finish a class is measurable. With this in mind, the student only buys in on the class when the improvement is apparent to them.
The success or failure of the teacher is clearly defined due to the quantifiable nature of skill at arms training. The proof is in the student’s performance. Can the student hit the target more quickly and accurately at the end of the class than they did before the class?
In closing, all three of these concepts are important and they each have their undeniable place in the Combat Arms Training world. Two of the three concepts are abstract and one is concrete. Abstract concepts are bought into through an emotional sales pitch, while concrete concepts are bought in on through improvements in performance.
Glen Long
There has been a lot of debate over which of these concepts is the most important. I do not purport to have the definitive answer to the question, just some observations I have made over the years.
I am not writing on this subject to deride anyone’s work or opinion, but I do understand that some will take offence to what I have to say.
Any training organization must sell itself to potential students based on what it is best able to offer. Some concepts of Combat Arms Training are more difficult to sell than others. It is with this statement in mind that I write this article.
Tactics is a very interesting subject matter that has some very colorful instructors in this world. The curricula range from the simple stuff which makes sense and works to the silly stuff that some instructor created in order to have the “better mouse trap” approach. I absolutely believe that sound tactical judgment is a very important part of the whole package.
People buy in on an emotional level to tactics classes. We all like to think that we can be the toughest cat on the block. It is the instructor’s job to sell the techniques to the student in such a way as to inspire enough confidence that they are convinced that if they do things the way they are being taught, the student will prevail in a life or death circumstance.
There are trainers out there who can teach you no nonsense techniques that can save your life. They are not necessarily the ones with the loudest credentials.
The tactical training arena boils down to knowing what to do, or probably more importantly, what not to do when things get ugly. If a trainer can convince students that they can teach these concepts, for better or worse, they are a success.
Mindset is essentially the will to drive on and win even when the body in uncomfortable. Most adults are not willing to train at the level required to toughen the mind. Most people in this world let their comfort level determine where they stop. The concept of driving the body past where it hurts is just that, a concept. Students can be given the information that the mind drives the body, but true understanding and practical application of that concept is lost to all but the ones who have experienced it. To those who have not, this is nothing more than cliché.
The most important part of mindset is simply awareness of your environment. This lesson does not have the bravado and pump of the “I will continue to fight and kill the aggressor even when I have been shot,” but it is the aspect of mindset that is most useful and applicable to every day people. Even this concept in practice is mentally tiring and requires an exercise in willpower in order to stay focused for prolonged periods of time in public life.
People love to be convinced they are the invincible, for that reason people will allow themselves to be sold on classes dealing with mindset. If an instructor can convince a student that they are tough in the classroom, they are a success.
Skill at Arms as a concept is very concrete and is quantifiable. Therefore a student’s performance when they start and finish a class is measurable. With this in mind, the student only buys in on the class when the improvement is apparent to them.
The success or failure of the teacher is clearly defined due to the quantifiable nature of skill at arms training. The proof is in the student’s performance. Can the student hit the target more quickly and accurately at the end of the class than they did before the class?
In closing, all three of these concepts are important and they each have their undeniable place in the Combat Arms Training world. Two of the three concepts are abstract and one is concrete. Abstract concepts are bought into through an emotional sales pitch, while concrete concepts are bought in on through improvements in performance.
Glen Long