Training should be “relevant” to you and your lifestyle. You have probably heard that statement often. However, like much in this world of personal protection, repeated mantras often remain nebulous and vague. How should the practitioner decipher what skills and tactics are relevant?
Here we refer strictly to the armed citizen as law enforcement and military training is outside of the scope of this blog. There are a plethora of skills and tactics relevant to the law enforcement officer that are not relevant to the armed citizen nor the soldier. Likewise, there is much that is relevant to the soldier in the field, but not at all applicable to the LEO or citizen.
However, a great deal of law enforcement and military doctrine has shaped the training world that caters to the armed citizen. Much of it is applicable, but much is not. Therefore, the citizen self-defender must determine where to spend their time and resources for training.
Before wading into firearms training, let us touch on the fact that many other skillsets are equally, if not more, important for the citizen. You should have emergency medical skills, some hand skills, some less-lethal weaponry skills, and you should be superbly educated in self-defense and use of force law. Beyond that, pertaining to firearms training, here are three considerations when determining relevancy:
Tactical or Practical
Does a particular firearms class teach tactical skills such as clearing buildings, “dynamic entry,” team tactics, and the like? Ask yourself how relevant that is to your life. Is it relevant to the life of a special forces team member or a SWAT team member? Sure. Outside of kicking down doors in a professional capacity, such training is for entertainment. The basics of knowing how to clear corners and move through structures is a good skill to obtain, but dynamic entry with body armor and rifles, team tactics, and the like, is not anything that a citizen will do. Such training is a great form of entertainment, if that is your thing, but it should not compete with the budget available for training in relevant skills.
Equipment Used
Does the class you are interested in work with equipment that is relevant to your life? Does the instructor and students involved wear a battle belt in the class? Ask, how is that relevant to your life? Do you go to work, the store, and walk the dog in a battle belt? The reality is, if you are an armed citizen, any form of handgun training that does not work from concealment is probably not relevant to your life.
Use of Force Legalities
While the discussion of law does not necessarily need to come up in technical shooting classes, it is important that all training in the skills of personal protection are constrained within the laws that govern use of force within the United States. There is a lot of training that is, frankly, irresponsible in terms of use of force for armed citizens within contemporary society. Skills and tactics taught should be applicable to the laws and ethics that govern the use of force.
These three overriding principles should always apply to your selection of training classes or functions.
Live fire practice is essential. To buy the ammo I use for practice, go to:
https://www.ammoman.com/9mm-blazer-brass-124-grain-fmj-5201-1000
Reflex Handgun 
Excellent analysis that is too often overlooked. It is difficult to search for decent instruction for the lawful private citizen. So, many instructors come from a military and/or law enforcement background and seem to teach what they learned. Rare is the instructor that teaches to the audience.
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