This past weekend I had the absolute pleasure of attending a Rangemaster Instructor class, taught by the man himself, Tom Givens. I’ve known Tom for many years (because of TLG), but I had never shot or trained with him until recently. Tom has been teaching for almost 50 years now and has influenced so many top-tier programs around the country that he probably can’t count them anymore.
In addition to improving programs around the country, Tom’s defensive students have amassed an excellent win/loss record on the street, with the current tally sitting at 69 wins, 0 losses, and 3 forfeits. The three forfeits were students who chose to go unarmed and died for it. Hard to win a gunfight when you don’t bring your gun with you. One of Tom’s main teaching points is that you must carry your gun. ALL THE TIME. It’s really amazing to me how many people don’t fully grasp that concept.
The class is split almost equally between classroom and range time. Though I enjoyed the range work immensely, I was particularly interested in hearing Tom’s take on the classroom topics. Tom is an excellent presenter and though none of the material was new to me, I was never bored. It was fascinating hearing him speak about so many topics of interest. We covered everything from deadly force law to holster selection, tactics to hardware, teaching, of course, and almost everything else.
One thing that really sets Tom’s training apart is that he is finely focused on civilian defense. To that end, he doesn’t teach things that don’t apply to civilians in America. He may touch on them in his more advanced classes, I don’t know, but in this basic instructor class, the focus is on creating instructors who can teach civilians to win the typical fights they may encounter. Not the “average” fight, but the typical fight. The typical fight in America happens at a fairly close range, in light good enough to see the problem. That is what you need to focus on until you are good enough to worry about more esoteric situations. And even when you are good enough to learn more, it is important to keep the ball in sight. “Operator” type training may be fun, but probably isn’t really going to help you defend yourself.
To become a Rangemaster certified instructor, you have to pass one of two attempts at a qualification course as well as pass a written test. 90% is required on each to pass, and though most pass, Tom has a steady number that does not. Studying the coursework is highly recommended. Knowing how to shoot very well is highly recommended. Honestly, if you can’t shoot really well, and you don’t know this type of material fairly well to begin with, I’m not sure why you think you should be teaching.
To teach basic self-defense, you don’t need to be a high-speed operator or competition shooter, but being able to hit small targets at moderate speed, draw reasonably quickly, and get center hits at various distances, is not asking too much. You and your fellow students will enjoy the class more if you can do this. And I hope it goes without saying that you should understand how your gun works and be able to get and keep it up and running without thought.
Tom has a few awards he gives out during training for various drills that he likes. One is a bullseye-type drill, another is his well-known Casino Drill. I had never shot the Casino Drill specifically, though I have shot similar drills that are designed to do the same thing. I think it is a great drill for what it is trying to accomplish, but I think that some shooters have taken it a bit too far. Running it over and over in order to get a lower time is not helping you. It may make you a slightly better shooter (which is fine) but it is not helping you deal with task-loading, which is the point. Once you’ve shot it once or twice, you’ve gotten whatever benefit you are going to get. If you want to keep shooting it, you need to change the parameters. Tom explains this very well in class. I intend to shoot the drill every once in a while, in different ways, and I think it will be beneficial to do so.
If you haven’t trained with Tom yet, now is the time to do so. He puts you through a very full day, every day, and has clearly spent the time and effort to deliver a product he can be proud of. There is no “mailing it in” here. If you have a friend or loved one who needs to learn how to defend themselves but is not an enthusiast, I can’t think of a better school to send them to. Rangemaster in general, not the instructor program. But who knows? Given how much Tom clearly cares about helping people survive one of the worst days of their life, they may just get enthusiastic about it and then find themselves at the instructor program down the road. Wouldn’t be the first time that has happened.