Keep a Training Journal
One quick and easy way to help your personal growth is to keep a training journal. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated or expensive. It just needs to be done. There are advantages and disadvantages to doing it old-school with a hard copy. The same can be said for doing it digitally. The point is to pick a method and do it.
Once you start to take your training seriously (not to say you’re not serious if you don’t keep a journal), you need to keep a record of your performance to gauge and monitor your progress, or lack thereof. We should always be looking to improve. Without a record of your performance there’s no way to tell.
We do a few things as a company to help you. In most of our live-fire courses, we shoot the “Half & Half” drill. We often encourage students to take a photo of their target afterwards, so they can compare and contrast prior performance and for use in the future. This drill has a set time, distance and target. The only thing different is you. Another thing we do is our CTEs. Critical Task Evaluations. They are specific drills with a set par time. It is gauging how well you can correctly do a particular task in allotted time. We do CTEs in as part of some of our courses, like the Six-Day SFAUC Flat Range, as well as some dedicated classes for just those. Recording your times and progress is essential.
Another very useful aspect of a training journal is the ability to take notes during class. Take notes on your questions and other’s questions. Record tips, techniques, and principles you learn in class. Record drills you do. We list out almost every drill on a whiteboard, including the round count for the drill. Some students will often record all of that information off the board. Nothing wrong with you asking for us to decipher the abbreviated code or note for you to ensure you record the right drill. If anything, I encourage you to do this. Then you can recreate the drill at your home range and get more reps in!
One last good idea. After class, before you take off, review the notes you took that day(s). If you have any unanswered questions or if you want a further explanation, ask. Your job, and responsibility, is to ask. Ours is to explain so you can understand. Then ask me or whoever the instructor is to sign and date your journal. That way you will have that permanent record.
Like I said before, the journal doesn’t have to be anything complicated or expensive. A spiral notebook will do. But if you want to be stylish, here’s a link to Lodestone’s.
Jared Ross