Training Progressions

How good do you need to be and what is the path to success. I don’t know and here is the hard truth, nobody else does.

Hard Work

Yes, there are statistics you can use to help in your decision making process, but remember nothing is free. What you don’t want to do is use statistics as a crutch for being lazy and not putting in the work. There is no way around the subject if you want to see peak performance. I am not saying to ignore statistics, don’t use them as an excuse or to take shortcuts. Even if the statistic is high, there are no guarantees. This is why we have historically favored taking a broader approach, avoiding specialties. Nobody goes back to see a one trick pony.

Skill Level Defined

When it comes to skill level how do you know where you stand. It is not uncommon to give yourself high marks over realistic ones. We have identified three skill levels we train to in our classes. They make up the basis for much of how we design our programming. When we see folks struggle, we have to figure out if it is because they are in the wrong class for their skill or if they are having difficulty grasping the material. The three levels are beginner, intermediate and expert. Beginner level students have exposure to the skill and understand its basic concepts but lack experience. At the intermediate level you have experience with and can carry out the skill but don’t understand its advanced concepts. At the expert level you have solid experience and training with the skill and understand advanced concepts. The key is really in your ability to demonstrate your knowledge of the skill.

Additional Conditions

The next progression is whether you are performing the skill static or dynamically. Each of these conditions are broken into beginner, intermediate and expert. Just when you feel like you have a handle on the subject you realize there is the ability to perform the skill dynamically; while on the move or in motion. Regardless of the core skill, you have the option to do it standing still or moving. The real question is at what level can you expect to perform the skill in this condition. It makes a big difference, being able to perform the skill without the added stress of motion separates a large body of students. The problem is moving into this domain comes at a high cost in the form of hard work. You don’t get to lay claim to the skill level without doing work.

The Top of the Pyramid

The last progression is whether you are performing the skill under day time or night time conditions. Performing the skill stationary is one thing, moving to night time conditions adds more stress. Trying to perform the same skill in night time conditions while in motion is yet another layer to the progression. As far as I’m concerned there is very little other conditions the average person could expect. To help paint the picture we can use the drawstroke from open carry. What skill level; beginner, intermediate or expert would you give yourself. Would you give yourself the same skill level when in motion. Then add lighting conditions, day or night both from static and dynamic.

Yes, we all want to say we are experts at everything. You may be able to lay claim to an expert rating, but does it include the other conditions or do you find yourself with a more narrow set of skills.