While a decent instructor should be able to teach both men & women, the cold hard fact is that many female students are much more comfortable and enthusiastic when their instructors and fellow students are also women. Who better to teach women how to shoot than one of the most experienced & successful women instructors and competitors in the country? The answer to that is: All of the most experienced & successful women instructors and competitors in the country at once.
Julie Goloski (pictured left, photo by Yamil Sued) is a 12-time National Champion in USPSA and IDPA competition. Kay Clark Miculek is a 2-time IPSC World Champion and 11-time USPSA 3-Gun National Champion. They and some of their fellow championship lady shooters have been teaching Ladies’ Camps for many years. These programs are immersive two-and-a-half day schools where all the teachers and students are women.
The Ladies’ Camps are suitable for any woman, from the beginner to the seriously experienced. That’s not just advertising hype, it’s proven fact. I’ve spoken with one woman who had almost no shooting experience before going to a Ladies’ Camp, and came back not only a much more skilled shooter but a much more enthusiastic shooter, too. The Ladies’ Camp instructors create the kind of safe, comfortable, fun learning atmosphere that will allow any student to excel.
You can see photos and video from recent Camps at Julie Goloski’s Ladies Page. If you are interested in signing up for one of the camps (scheduled this year for Louisiana, New York, Iowa, and Arizona) or getting more details, you can visit Kay Clark Miculek’s Bang Inc. page. You can even sign up and put down a deposit right at Kay’s site.
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
Funny thing…..I was just mentioning to my kinder and gentler half that we need to look into some formal training for her.
I could not agree more that women learn much better from other women, especially when it comes to shooting. The worst combination I have ever seen has been a husband trying to teach a wife, or bf trying to teach a gf. Almost always ends in disaster at the worst, or a woman that despises shooting.
I have been in the position where I did have to train women, and most of the time I had decent success, but what I would not have given for a woman who really knew shooting to relate things to them from a woman’s point of view.
Brilliant idea, and I applaud ladies for teaching what they know, and the students for seeking out quality instruction.
man it would be cool to have something like that come to Canada. I bet we’d fill a class no problem.
I used to teach fly casting and women were by far the easiest to teach and generally were better casters. Why? They didn’t try to use brawn and strength to throw the fly line. They listened and they practiced.
flyfishtom — I’ve found the same to be true with firearms training. Women tend to listen and follow instructions because they don’t come to the class thinking they already know everything. They have less ego (and testosterone) wrapped up with shooting.