So I was able to take part in Tim Herron’s 2 Day Practical Performance Pistol Course and wanted to give myself a couple of days to unpack everything before reviewing it. I just wanted to make sure I was able to properly convey what I took away from the class and what it meant to me. So I broke the course down into three parts: 1. The Teacher, 2. The Content, and 3. The Group.
1. The Teacher, Tim Herron. I said this several times during the course but Tim is not an “instructor”, he’s a Teacher. The difference is right there in the words. Tim is as analytical of a person as I’ve ever met and as an engineer I really appreciate that. He can visualize a process, break it down, analyze it, apply it, and then teach it in such a way that anyone can follow it and benefit from it. Tim definitely doesn’t just teach “theory”, he can demonstrate it in practical application. He’s not one of those highly successful people who says, “Look at me! If you just do it exactly like I do you can be as awesome as me!” The former tends to make the best teachers because even if you are having trouble grasping a single component, they can break that component even further down so all the nuts and bolts are on the table. He can give you the “what”, but he also gives you the “how” and definitely the “why”. And he would never leave a student behind. He made sure everyone understood what was going on, regardless of skill level and would spend as much time as needed with you until you were comfortable with what was going on. Being able to teach a class with a wide variety of skill levels and knowledge and keep everything together is a rare quality. All of that aside, Tim is also one of the nicest, most positive, upbeat people I’ve ever been around. and was a blast to hang out with after class.
2. The Content. The information I got from that class was unbelievable. I said I got my money’s worth in the first half of the first day, and that’s no lie! When we went back and did a, “from the ground up” approach to learning the fundamentals, I saw and was at least cognizant of, if not able to correct, the flaws in my technique that have plagued me since I’ve started shooting. The class just got more interesting and advanced from there, but I never felt lost or underwater. If I had problems I could just go back to step 1 and rebuild and correct. The class was taught in such a way, that ANYONE of ANY skill level can benefit from it and improve. The content itself was packaged in such a way that you can take all of it home and practice it in a variety of situations, even dry fire practice. I’m still trying to unpack and reflect on what I learned (It’s a LOT!) but my shooting immediately improved. It also quickly became obvious that you can apply this content across all shooting disciplines and that it wasn’t just a competition pistol class. By the way, what he teaches works.
3. I swear I’ve not been around a nicer, more positive, motivated and knowledgeable group of people in my life. Everyone was helping , encouraging and supporting each other and it was just great. I can’t say much more, but I also can’t say enough about my classmates. It was a true blessing to have met each and every one of you all.
